Is it a sign of wisdom that you notice your own bad
habits in your advancing years? And is it a sign of kingly wisdom &
virtue if you not only notice them but you start wondering what you can
do about them? Here’s an example of what I’m getting at. I’m
realllllllllly unfit. I can’t remember a time in my life when I was
this unfit. But I’ve noticed that my state of lack of fitness is
largely due to the incorporation of bad habits into my daily routine,
& time & gravity have caught up with me. So now that I am aware
of this, I would be a fool if I were not to do something about it. This
introduction is my rather long winded way of positioning myself to say
what’s really on my mind.

Sunday morning just gone, I was standing on the platform/stage in my
church, playing my guitar & singing in a great band as we lead
about 800 people (?) in worship (over 2 services). There was a moment
that took over my sense of what we were doing & for that moment I
couldn’t sing. Instead I had this disturbing thought & it
wouldn’t/won’t go away. Here’s the question; are you ready?

Are we getting this worship thing all wrong?

To read the resy of this article click here

One of my favourite personal pastimes & a great soul re-generator is the practise of solitude. Solitude is an interesting & I might say, lost art form. We live in an era where we can be more connected than any other time in history. An ever growing array of electronic media are hunting down the corners of the globe connecting people & places in real time.

We once walked to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko (the tallest mountain in Australia) & about 80% of the people that were at the peak of the highest mountain in Australia pulled out their mobile phones & called someone. Hmmm. In this era of connectedness, I would like to put a question out there; ready? When has there ever been a time in history when we have been so connected, & yet anecdotally you would have to say, so alone?

I find that the practise of solitude, that is being alone rather than being lonely, to be one of the the most worthwhile pursuits that can fill my soul. To actually choose to be alone, to find a place to be alone, & to follow through with the act of being alone are a vital part of my survival strategy. To get into the habit of this can be difficult & can take some time to condition the spirit to get used to it; but like anything that is worthwhile, it is a process that is worth pursuing.

For me, it is a way that I can become still & find clarity in the confusion of all that is going on around me. One of my occupations sees me regularly driving long distances across Australia delivering concert systems for shows & events. I love the solitude of getting out on the road. On my first ever trip to Perth, I had no satellite phone, no 2 way radio in the truck & because I had an esky full of food & long distance fuel tanks there was one day where the only words I spoke out loud were “Coffee Please”. For 24 hours I was to all intents & purposes alone.

The great benefit of solitude for me is that it sharpens my thinking, it allows me to take stock of what is valuable, & most of all, it allows me time to meditate & pray; I find that as I enter into each journey, the restlessness of the long trip slowly gives way to a quietening of the spirit. I find it quite calm & peaceful. So much so that I often go many hours without any radio, c.d’s or other such distractions.

I really enjoy getting back into life at the end of it, but I find that the discipline of solitude gives me a great strength of the soul that I can draw upon.

Finally, you don’t have to get out & drive across Australia to achieve this; many’s the time where I have gone into the city armed with a notebook, taken a vow of silence for a few hours & just sat in a busy place, watching, thinking, praying, writing. Even in the busiest of places, we can become still.

MM

Ooops. Forgot to add that they are called "Deeper Water" & "My hallelujah"

MM 

Hey there

Just letting ya'll know that I've uploaded 2 new songs. Have a listen; I hope & pray you get something out of listening to them

Cheers

Mick Mc 

The working theme of the retreat is exploring “Faith, Hope & Love”. What I am asking with this post is that you might contribute a word or 2 to help me develop my thoughts on the subject at hand. For instance, I am trying to generate a word list of words relative to those three; i.e. what “other” words spring to mind when you see those three. What I am hoping to do is spend some time pulling apart some key words related to those themes. Click here to read the rest of this article on my website

Hey there (again!)

I've just opened up the 4 trax from my Twilight Waltz album so that you can stream the entire song rather than just preview them. (What was I thinking!!!???)

I also want to let you know that $10 Australian from each album sale, will be donated towards building homes for aids orphans in Uganda (the Watoto project). 

If you click here, you will be taken to my website where you can purchase a copy on line.

Purchase the album, listen to some great music, make a difference to the life of an aid's orphan. Sounds pretty easy

MM 

(This is a re-release of an earlier blog. Apologies if you;ve already read it. I can't find the other one)

Hey there all you UK friends. This is just a brief note to announce 2 free downloads. These were recorded as atribute to my mum who passed away last year. The full story about each song is available through the info tag that goes with the song, but briefly, "Across the sea" was recorded after the funeral when my brothers, sisters, nieces & nephews all got together one fine day to sing & celebrate mums life.

The second track, "the fairest Rose" is my own instrumental tribute to my mum. Please feel free to download & enjoy them with the caveat "don't let how you feel about someone become the words of a eulogy; tell them how you feel while they can still hear you

BTW; I've listed this in "devotions" coz tha"s what these trax are for me

MM

Hey there all you UK friends. This is just a brief note to announce 2 free downloads. These were recorded as atribute to my mum who passed away last year. The full story about each song is available through the info tag that goes with the song, but briefly, "Across the sea" was recorded after the funeral when my brothers, sisters, nieces & nephews all got together one fine day to sing & celebrate mums life.

The second track, "the fairest Rose" is my own instrumental tribute to my mum. Please feel free to download & enjoy them with the caveat "don't let how you feel about someone become the words of a eulogy; tell them how you feel while they can still hear you

BTW; I've listed this in "devotionals" coz tha"s what these trax are for me

MM

G'day. Do you wish to know more about Mick McIvor & the world of Won Voice Creative? Are you even a little curious?

Well you can find out heaps more about the mind of Mick Mc via his website at www.wonvoice.com.au

It's a blog site that features musings & thoughts upon a whole range of subjects, from the humerous to issues relating to Christian life; it's a blog site & you can enter into the discussion & share your thoughts, raise new topics & have some fun; registration is free & easy to do, & in no time at all you too can join the world of the Christian blogger

Hope we see you there!!

Hey there all you Christian Bands UK type buddies. I have been offline for about a month now; not because I don't love you all, but more due to 2 reasons; 1 We were finishing off our new album "Twilight waltz" & preparing our album launch which was held on the 12 of may; it was a sellout night & we had an absolute blast presenting our new album to a very appreciative audience. & 2; my main computer dies an untimely death meaning that I had to convert my music computer to go online; my music computer died literally the moment I burned my last data file for the launch. So I have been unable to surf the net & do all of the things that I usaually do.

Our new album "Twilight waltz" is available for purchase now. Breiefly, this is an instrumental album that I was using as a project to learn how to use pro-tools. With full humility I have toi admit that God got hold of the project & has allowed it to become something more than I was ever intending it to be. It features 14 instrumental tracks & showcases the talents of my wife, my 4 children & my daughter in law. I just shake my head & thank God every time I listen to it. I will put some tracks up on this site asap, but unlike our last efforts that we have made available to download, we are encouraging people to buy the album coz the album is really a connected set of tracks that you will get more out of if you hear the whole thing together.

If youwant to read more about it, check out my website www.wonvoice.com.au . This is a blog site that anyone can join & discuss a variety of topics but if you go to these links you will find specific info on the new album; Click here for info about the album; click here for some general info about who we are & what we do. Well, can't stay here chatting all day; I've got to go to bed now. See ya in cyberspace.

MM

As a way of saying thanks to the Christian Bands UK family, we've decided to open our most popular song "Hosanna" as a free download. 

Our new instrumental album "Twilight Waltz" is frustratingly close to being released. It's the last few details that are essentially out of my hands that are slowing the release down. Watch this space; it will be available just after Easter

MM

Hi Ya'll or as we say in Australia "G'day mate!"

I was leading worship last Sunday in our church & I had one of those moments where the truth of something that I have known for a while, went from my head to my heart; I shared it out loud with the church as an interlude or segue between 2 songs & it went something like this...

My wife & I have been the recipients of some pretty amazing gifts right throughout our lives; none more amazing than a couple of recent ones; In December last year, the arts team that I headed up all chipped in and paid for me to get my beloved hand made maton 12 string guitar totally refurbished; this was an expensive fix that was needed but I could not afford it. About 4 weeks later, a member of our church just turned up on our doorstep & handed my wife & I an envelope with a cheque for $10,000 Australian. He said that he & his wife clearly felt that God had told them to give us the money; We were (& still are) blown away by such amazing gifts

But here's the thing; as I shared those stories, I was thinking of the fast arrival of the Easter season & all that it brings; As blown away as my wife & I were by the gifts, Easter is a time when Christian churches all over the world gather together in whatever way they can, & reflect on the most amazing gift that any of us will ever be given & that is, eternal life with Christ. These are all pretty basic thoughts for any Christian, but when you get a glimpse of the heavenly aspect of this, as God allows us from time to time, then the effect can be pretty overwhelming; Not sure what exactly I am trying to say with this post other than to wish you all a most joyous Easter, & to encourage all of you Christian artists (as Stewards of the message) to give Easter everything that you can. I pray that as you contemplate all that Christ has done for us on the cross, that this Easter you would allow yourselves to be moved to a place that you have never been before, & that is to a place where the Spirit reveals something to you which is beyond knowledge

In closing, I would love to hear any stories about what your church is doing/has done in the past to celebrate this most amazing of seasons on teh church Calendar

Blessings Grace & Peace to all.

MM

Hi there; I've been a little absent from all cyberspace connections of late; But the good news is that reason fro my absence is that I have just today finished mixing my latest album "Twilight Waltz" Cool Hey?

Next week I will start putting the finishing touches on a "live album" that we recorded & then we will start gigging again getting ready for the biggy.... yep that's right, we ar coming to the UK!!

Our PR person is currently negotiating with the lervely Greenbelt Festival people, & we are now beginning to open up conversations with other churches & so on for around that time; Basically, we hope to be in the UK for around 4 weeks & we are open to consider playing wherever we get invited. SO if you are part of a church ministry team & you would love to host a cool Aussie band in August 2007, contact me directly through my UK bands site & we can begin discussions.

As soon as I have mastered my new album I'll post a worldwide exclusive release track on UK bands site for all our Northern Hemispheric friends; Here's looking at you

 Mic Mc

For those of you who read my first post on Christmas in Australia here is a postscript;

In my previous post I mentioned that we were in the midst of a terrible drought with major bushfires to the East & a thick foggy smoke haze over all of Melbourne;

Tonight I can add that it is going to drop down to 3 degrees celsius, it is puring rain & there is a chance of snow (yes, snow) over one of the mountains that was threatened with being wiped out by the fires. (Mt Buller)

Aaaah; Australia

Blessings & Christmas greetings from the southern hemisphere

Mick Mc

I am of Scottish heritage; I grew up hearing stories about life in Scotland, & at this time of year I reminisce a little about the stories mum & dad used to tell me about Christmas in the homeland. The snow, the cold, the Hot christmas dinners & etc. Australia seems to have inherited a fair bit of the Nrothern hemisphere tradition of celebrating Christmas. It's not uncommon to see advertising catalogues with snowmen, or shop windows with simulated snow in their displays. The only problem is that it is summer here. (Go figure???)

Last Sunday (17th December) I was privileged to be the creative director at an open air carols singing event in our area. (I live in the mountains just to the east of Melbourne) I don't know if you do this in the UK; my guess is that it would be too cold; but here's the scene; we book a local footbal ground; put up a concert P.A. & lighting system, families come with picnics & blankets & sit on the ground, and for 2 hours they sing the ancient Christmas carols. The best estimates put last Sunday's corwd at around 2000 people. It was 27 degrees celsius all day while we were rigging & the temp hovered at around 18 degrees for the event; just a beautiful summers evening. The only drawback is that we are in the middle of a very serious drought (please pray for rain) & there are major bushfires to 100 kilometres to the east of us so there was a bit of a smoke haze;

My point in writing all of this, apart from drawing a picture of Christmas in Australia, is to communicate to you the sentiment of our prayer every time we gathered to rehearse or plan something. Every Christmas, people who would never darken the door of a church will turn up for an event like this, where the church comes to them in a fashion. And what do they do? They sit with their familes and sing words like "Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angels voices", "Joy to the world, the Lord is come" & "O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord". We pray every year that we don't waste this opportunity that is before us, to allow the truth of the words that we are all singing, to seep into the marrow of their being. As you prepare for whatever church event you are part of, maybe you can pray the same prayer? Maybe you have been thinking of inviting a neighbour to your Christmas church service? Maybe you are not sure what to pray. Well my friends, Christians all over the world are the stewards of the truth about this season. Be good stewards & proclaim His birth with all your hearts.

Blessings Grace & peace to all; And a public thanks to Simon & His team for all of their splendid work on this site

Cheers

my songs are available as 79p mp3 downloads - click here