Blog | Kevin Ward Music

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Every Child Deserves a Home

Another post by Kevin

Earlier this year, I was asked to produce a song for NewSong. It was fun and all the guys are awesome. I can’t wait to do it again. I even played a few instruments on this cut… some acoustic guitar, bass and even a little percussion.

When Russ Lee told me what the song was, I was excited about WHY we were doing “Every Child Deserves a Home”. It was for an organization called Holt International. It was to help promote adoption and support for those kids until they were adopted.

Since last year though, a lot has happened in my life including the birth of my own daughter Kaelyn Sarah.

I just saw this video for the first time a few minutes ago and I’ll have to say… Since Kaelyn has been around, this song means something completely different to me now.

Thank You Russ, NewSong, and Holt International for letting me be a part of something so beautiful and life-changing.

Here’s the video:

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The Street Preacher and Andy Stanley-It’s not always what you say, it’s how you say it

Another post by Kevin

The Street Preacher and Andy Stanley

First of all, let me say that I love to hear Andy Stanley speak. I don’t think I’ve heard a more effective communicator than him in a while. I’m reading his book The Principle of the Path for the second time now.

On the other hand, I’m not discounting street preaching either. I think in some cases, it’s effective… but there are some markedly different styles in play here.

Andy Stanley and the Street preacher do have some things in common.

They both have a message that the world needs to hear
They both are communicators (they talk)
They believe their message is relevant

Here are the differences.

One guy spends many hours of educating himself on how to present his message
The other believes that just saying his message louder is good enough
One guy studies who his core audience is
The other doesn’t care who the people are, he blindly says things that he would never tell someone he loved
One guy has people coming back every week to the same place so that they can hear what he has to say about another subject
The other has people actively avoiding him

In both cases, the message is the same. It’s not the message that needs refinement, it’s the messenger.

Two questions for you:

Don’t you think that what you are marketing, your passion deserves to be presented in the best way possible?
What will you do about it?

Kevin

P.S. I love it when you comment!

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How to EASILY have a website up in 5 minutes

Another post by Kevin

I used to think that putting up a website was hard. The fact is… it used to be. Even for a self-proclaimed “geek”, trying to put up a legit website was intimidating… until I found BlueHost. I saw a video from a friend of mine and thought, “It couldn’t really be that easy!”

Then I tried it.. it was THAT easy.

It was not only easy, but the customer support with BlueHost is AWESOME. I had a simple question and thought I would check out their “live chat” button.

I’ll admit that I was prepared to wait for at least 15 minutes for someone to say hello and answer my question… it took less than a minute for a very knowledgeable person to answer my question.

Check out this video and then click this and see if your website is not up and running in 5 minutes.

Convinced? Here’s what to do next:

Click this link ==>

to get started.
click the button
enter your domain name that you want (or type in your existing domain name)
fill in your contact and Credit card information (it really is super cheap.. $6.95/month!)
wait a second for it to process…
click the “control panel” button
scroll down to “software and services” and click the “wordpress” script
log on to your website

Was I right?

Send me a link to your new site in the reply section and I will send you a tutorial video that I did that will show you around your website. It will show you how to do a post, a page and a few other odds and ends.

Thanks for reading,

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Here’s a blueprint on how to use Social media in your ministry or business

Another post by Kevin

This is from Darrin Rowse, one of my favorite bloggers. He talks about how going to a party is a lot like using social media.

NO ONE would hang out with the person at the party who only wanted to talk about themselves.

The one at the party that everyone is attracted to is the one who is not only Interesting, but is Interested in you. He’s entertaining, personable (he laughs at himself too) and he’s engaging.

Watch this and see if there are any ways that you can be more of the “life of the party” when it comes to using FaceBook and Twitter.

Thanks for watching.

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How to stand out in a crowd of Yellow-Jackets

Another post by Kevin

Question:
How can a good band stand out from every other ZZ Top cover band?

Answer:
Let the whole band wear bright yellow jackets.

Question:
How do you stand out in a band where EVERYBODY is wearing bright yellow jackets?

Answer:

Have you tried to “stand out” lately?

just wondering.

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3 things that complaining will do for you

Another post by Kevin

Complaining seems pretty harmless most of the time. The fact is, it’s not harmless. It can derail what you are meant to do. Let me explain a few things complaining can (and will) do for you.

1. It will make you feel like you’ve done something about the problem – We only have a certain amount of energy to apply to a problem. When you complain about a problem, you’ve done nothing really to correct it, you’ve only complained about it.

When I hired my first coach, she told me to sign a “complaint free contract” for this very reason. I don’t complain a lot, but since I read and signed her contract, I did take notice every time I was tempted. If you will “refrain from complaining”, even for a short amount of time (say a week) you will notice that you will apply that precious energy to actually correcting the problem. Try it.

2. It will place your happiness in someone elses hands - Always complaining about a problem takes ALL the responsibility off of you… and onto someone else. Next time you are tempted to complain about something, ask yourself, “Is there anything I can do to make this better?” I’m not saying be a martyr and take the blame for every little thing, but I think that we should take some responsibility for our own destiny. I mean, who’s responsibility IS it to solve OUR problems? (Before you say it… I’m sure our heavenly father would be proud if we took a little action every now and then.)

3. It makes you focus on what’s NOT working – Every time you complain, you are giving your precious attention to something negative. Why not “think on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Phil 4:8

Bonus: I know I said 3 things, but I can’t stop…One other thing complaining does for you? It attracts other complainers. Is that what you want?

I’m just sayin’.

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3 things that I’ve already learned from my 3-week-old daughter

Another post by Kevin

It’s amazing how much there is about being a parent. Just when you think you have a grip on things, something changes.

At 4 am this morning (her 2nd “midnight” feeding) I was thinking of how I could apply what I’m learning to the rest of my life… and possibly yours too.

So, in the last three weeks, here are just 3 things I’ve learned from Kaelyn.

1. You tend to become who you hang out with – For the last 3 weeks, I’ve been hanging out with a little person who only wants to eat and sleep (and poop their pants, although I haven’t succumbed to that temptation yet) . Seriously though, if you hang out with people who are satisfied with playing video games and watching Jerry Springer all day, then it’s just a matter of time before you become the same way. On the other hand, if you want to start a business, or buy an airplane, you’d better be looking for those kinds of people to hang with. They will encourage on the days when your dream seems so far away.

2. Be thankful for the small victories – It’s a great feeling when I “figure out” that Kaelyn has a wet diaper or she’s hungry and I knew what to do about it. It will also be nice to be able to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time too (but I don’t want to wish these days away either!).

Ever since Kaelyn has been here, I want to follow my dreams even more. I want to travel and show her how big the world is… I want to show her how to take a BIG bite out of life… But, again, some days my “big picture” seems SO big.

I’ve always heard that gratefulness is the MOST powerful emotion there is. So while I’m still trying so hard to get to the next dream, I’m careful to be very thankful for God’s many blessings. It seems that the more I thank Him for, the more He blesses. I’m thankful for the small victories.

3. Rest well and know that God loves you – From the moment I laid eyes on Kaelyn, I was in love. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this little punkin’. I remember thinking, “If God loves me HALF as much as I do this little one, I’m in GREAT shape” (although I know He somehow loves me more).

Now, I only covered 3 things. I know I missed some. Please feel free to comment below and tell me what you’ve learned from YOUR (or someone’s) little one.

Thanks for reading!

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Kevin on Letterman?

Another post by Kevin

Tim Dill sent me a picture wondering if I was holding out on him. He sent it last week sometime. In the midst of bringing Kaelyn into the world, I overlooked his email.

Does the guy in the middle look like ME? Any body know who he is? Maybe we’re related…

Kevin

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That’s my daughter-Kaelyn Sarah Ward

Another post by Kevin

Hey guys. Janna and I want to say a big “Thank You” to all our friends and family who have been so excited about Kaelyn’s arrival.

Your enthusiasm has been priceless.

Here is a video that I put together from the first 2 or 3 days of Kaelyn’s life.

I dedicated the book that I wrote to her. Check it out on my website (if that’s where you are seeing this, it’s top right of my website.

My best to all of you,

Kevin, Janna and Baby Kaelyn

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Some New things Happening

Another post by Kevin

Hey guys. I just wanted to keep you in the loop with what’s happening with me.

I have a new book out. You can get it for free! I wanted to document seven of the BIGGEST pitfalls of recording your own record. I wanted to see if I could help you to learn from my mistakes… go ahead and get it… its FREE.
Kaelyn Sarah Ward will be here in 3 weeks. Excited doesn’t even begin to convey how Janna and I feel right now.
I will be shipping an instructional Mixing DVD in just a couple of days. I wanted to show engineers and studio owners how I go about a mix. If you sign up, you will get a notification as SOON as it’s available.
I’m working on a Podcast! I’m most excited about this… again, more info coming soon.

Wow, I guess I have been busy.

Thank you guys for reading. I’ll be in touch soon!

Kevin

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