I thought this was a great article.

Everyone should read 'The Final Quest' by Rick Joyner to heal you of your 'apathy'.  <-(this will clarify everything)

Also walk down the street and spend one day helping the homeless or someone clearly in need and you will understand WHY we need to do these things.  <-(and why not reach out help someone EVERY day? it will change your life, 10 min a day, c'mon, just do it)

I don't look at 'what is my purpose in music' anymore, just 'what is my purpose in life' including everything, that means Loving God and Loving People. <-(everywhere I go, with or without the music)

Knowing Christ and walking with Christ, lately I have compared Jesus Christ, and Mother Theresa in my mind as possibly the most Christlike person in our generation, if we have a true understanding of who Jesus is (if you read the gospels, over and over) you will see that there is a certain lifestyle that Jesus lived, and if you do that....... all you have to do is 'show up' and things will happen for the Kingdom.  I mean life is a journey of learning and growing and we need to learn and grow with God and be a part of our community and reach out and touch other people no matter which way we do that.  I really don't care if I'm some rock star or a total nobody, it's the 'well done good and faithful servant' that I want to hear on that day when I see Jesus.  everything else is wasting time.

It's just not realistic. I realized awhile ago that my creative talents have to make me (and hopefully God) happy first. If people enjoy what I do, in whatever medium, that's great and it will normally give me extra incentive to keep doing it etc. but bottom line, my need to be creative is not beholden to the success that it may or may not bring me.  That is a good deal, so many of you made really great points.  I myself find that their are times I feel that I can play for youth groups.  Then I think that my wife and 2 kids should come first after God.  I really like dance music, I like it better when it has a lifting message.  So for me from the time I started posting on tasty back when the first boards were up it seemed like this was for the most part a small group of friends hanging out online.  I think we have come  a bit father from that.  It's hard not to just get apathic about live.  I really dont have the money to get the set up that I want, then it's a choce of what music to play.  I may have to just wait till my boys get older for me to take this seriously.  For now it's just kinda a hoby/ misnistry.  I dont personaly need to be Shilo.  Somtimes I wander if God wants me to minister with music or just witness while I'm out skating.  If anything  I just want to thank all the people who have put mixes and made music, it has made a differnece in my life.  Mabye we need to think about the lives that we are touching, evern if thier is not a huge sceen.

Do you think making yourself happy is more important?

Sorry, it sounded like if music makes me happy, who cares what God thinks.

No I did not mean it that way.

Monkeypunk quote- Actually, he was quoting me from my posting earlier in the thread. And what I meant is; making God happy makes me happy. 

That is all I was trying to get at.

I dont know their are days I would love to dj for the kids in the youth group, then thier are days I just seem to get selfish and from time to time think that God cant use me.  I have to come to the conculsion that that is a lie from the Devil himself.  It's just a fight for me, my wife is not the most supportive of the dj ministry.  She is worried about the girls and the way they dress and all that.  So I go back and forth, trying to think of a way God can use me.  Just need to keep praying that the right time and ops. come around and stay focused on the Lord.

just a few thots real quick

I find some of the music that has the deepest meaning can't possibly be commercial... yet it has the most profound impact on me... there is a place for every kind of music.  to me, it is more important to honestly and truthfully express yourself in a way that would impact others positively, than it is how many records you sold or how much money you made.  because you can make money by working some part time job.  but if you write music that impacts people's lives, it has a far-reaching impact on their lives, possibly for eternity, and maybe even their friends as well.  no amount of money can buy that.

also re industry: I too find that some areas I just don't have the desire to do at all right now despite my original intentions e.g. secular DJ gigs... a lot of clubs/venues/places I like to avoid in fact, at the moment I am not DJing at all really but more interested in producing because I want to impact the world with my own voice and not be in constant danger due to crime/drugs/etc that Djing here in my own city exposes me to.  I think some people need to do that, but I don't feel that is my place right now.  I do want to produce for the international industry tho, and let the other DJs play out my original tracks.  maybe through relationships and my example and my music I can have a greater impact that way anyway, and money I've decided is not an issue, because for now I prefer to live in Canada, and here, I'm best working other jobs to balance the lack of money in our industry here.  (so I won't be forced to work jobs I don't want to, like DJing secular clubs.  it is just as easy to work part time, in fact, easier.)  I no longer limit myself as to where my money might come in and not afraid to find satisfying work outside the music industry that can also impact the world positively in big or little ways.  and I don't know the future but God provides each and every day so I don't worry about where I might be 3 or 5 years from now, I work on what I can today, and lead into directions that I believe are important for me, and that have a future, and that I feel God has his blessing on.  Paul said that our struggles are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.  so the sacrifices in our journey for what we will attain are worth it.  and true happiness often means more about depending on God than it does a financial payoff because all that is is a number.  money is relative.  who cares as long as your needs are met day by day?

Gsynth, I was impressed and convicted by what you said. As much as I know and say that I should be doing things for their eternal value, I rarely find myself actually living my life that way. Material things--and my ego--tend to have far more control over my daily life than I really like to acknowledge.