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Christopher Ames



Last Updated: 12/17/2009

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Status: Single
City: Liverpool
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date: 3/30/2005

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Monday, December 21, 2009 

Current mood:Christmas-y
My wife and I were talking recently about the Christmas season and how to keep it. I admit to lamenting a little bit about the packed nature of our schedules and the ease with which the Spirit of the Season can be missed. So my wife let me in on a secret - the secret of keeping Christmas was to be found in a blog...
My wife has several blogs that she keeps up with and reads regularly. One of these was discussing the very thing she and I had been talking about - the difficulty of keeping Christmas in our modern world. The author stated that in her life - amidst the urgent and the important, amidst the duties and responsibilities - she found that if she focused on five things that spoke Christmas to her, then regardless of what ever else got done or didn't, she was able to keep Christmas.
That really spoke to me - not least because I am easily overwhelmed by long lists - but five things? I can do five things! So I gave this a good think and came up with my five things. And here they are:
1) Watch some Christmas movies- There are tons of great ones out there, and more than I have time for, but I have to see 'A Muppet Christmas Carol', 'A Christmas Story' and 'It's A Wonderful Life'!

2) Going to the Mall when it is decked out and bustling - I am not sure why this one speaks to me, but there is something about the bustle and the decorations and the urgency... the excitement is tangible!

3) Decorating our tree - Over the years the trees have been small and tall, fake and real, fir and pine... but I love pulling out all the ornaments that have accumulated, the shiny glass ones I love (but no one else does), the funky handmade ones from preschool, that 'First Christmas Together' ornament that still has the photo of the models in it...

4) Coffee cups and guitar straps - When my kids were little they did all their shopping at the Dollar store. When they asked what I wanted, I replied "a coffee cup and a guitar strap." That Christmas I received those very things from them. Now every year, I get one of each. Truth be told, these are my favorite presents each year and I hope they never stop coming!

5) Christmas Eve Worship - There is something ancient and deep and mysterious about the miracle of Christ coming at Christmas and I feel that mystery most profoundly at worship on Christmas Eve. I love midnight worship the best... it feels like Hope wrapped around me... it feels like a Promise fulfilled... it feels like Home.
So far, I have done four of my five things and it feels like Christmas to me! So let me add my voice to the chorus around the manger and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas! 
Currently listening:
Mercy Seat
By Mercy Seat
Release date: 2009-06-09
2:24 PM 
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009 

Current mood:  bouncy
 
Blessings of the Holiday season to you! We are so excited to share the news regarding Christopher Ames' new Christmas single titled LEAD US INTO CHRISTMAS DAY. We established partnerships with several radio outlets who introduced Christopher's music to radio programmers worldwide. Numerous stations throughout the country are now airing the song on AC/Country and Christian radio. At one point LEAD US INTO CHRISTMAS DAY was the #2 MOST downloaded song on Airplay Access (A site specifically for radio program managers). In addition, we've established licensing partnerships with YouLicense and Soundclick! And one company who places music in restaurants, businesses, hospitals, and other venues has also added the song to their music library. (That means you might just hear it at Applebee's, or Ruby Tuesday, or a specialty retailer out there!)
 
The song is also starting to "chart" on various radio charts. Our friends at IndieHeaven have composed their list of the Top 20 Christmas songs of 2009. LEAD US INTO CHRISTMAS DAY is on that chart! But it is listener supported so we need your help! Just click on the link and consider voting (with 5 stars perhaps?) You can only vote once a day but the more votes you get the higher your rank. http://www.indieheaven.com/top20
 
Oh...and if you want to download the song, you can do so at IndieHeaven as well or through www.digstation.com. And if you are interested in a "hard copy" of the CD...write to us and we'll email you the ordering link. We only printed 100 copies! The CD includes the original Christmas song, a new arrangement of the traditional song I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY and accompaniment tracks for both songs so you too can sing along.
 
Peace to you this Advent and beyond as we enter the Christmas season!
4:12 PM 
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Friday, October 16, 2009 

Current mood:  happy

Christopher Ames and Remnant Music Group are pleased to announce the winner of the EVERYDAY WITH YOU: Unending Love Story Essay Contest! RMG received numerous entries that ranged from single line thoughts to long descriptive stories of love, commitment and faith. After reading each entry, Christopher Ames and the Remnant Music Group staff selected three finalists. The entries were posted on a special page attached to the Christopher Ames website and the public was encouraged to vote for their favorite submission. Top prize went to Stacie Rockhill of Syracuse, NY for her truly heartwarming story; not so much focusing on a fairytale romantic journey but a journey of trials, tribulations and how faith has kept them moving forward after 13 years of marriage. Second place went to Brian Winograd from York, PA, and third place went to Kathy Baucum of Lexington, IL. Honorable Mention goes to Kathy Anderson of Hillsborough, NJ.

 

Top prize winner will receive a $100 American Express Gift Card and a $50 gift card from Barnes & Noble. Stacie’s story will also be featured in the November/December issue of the Christopher Ames Newsletter. All winners will receive autographed copies of EVERYDAY WITH YOU and other CA swag. Remnant Music Group wishes to acknowledge everyone who submitted entries to this special event contest.

 

If you are interested in bringing the EVERYDAY WITH YOU: An Evening of Marriage Renewal event to your church or community, contact us at cagigs@aol.com and we will send you appropriate information. …and remember EVERYDAY WITH YOU is available at www.christopherames.com, iTunes, and other distribution sites.

 
7:09 PM 
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Monday, October 05, 2009 

Current mood:  enlightened
We thought it would be a relatively easy task to peruse through all the submissions for the Christopher Ames Favorite Unending Love Story Contest. Boy were we wrong! The submissions we received here at the Remnant Music Group were truly heartfelt and some were outright extraordinary. Some were simple, but really made us think. Others were long and descriptive, and clearly put a dent in the tissue box. Some offered advice, others just told a story. We felt the emotion. We felt the connection. We felt the commitment. But, in the end we still had to choose three finalists. So here they are. Now we are hoping to share them with you and need your input on choosing the top submission. For your convenience and ease of voting, we've created an html page with all the stories in one location. Read each one and vote for the one that most tugs at your heartstrings! The one with the most votes wins an American Express Gift Card, a Barnes & Noble Gift Card and some other CA swag. Hurry though...voting ends at 11:59pm on Friday October 9, 2009. Winners will be revealed shortly thereafter.
 
Go here to read the Top 3 submissions and cast your vote!
7:09 PM 
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009 

Current mood:  touched

So what is it that you think inspires an unending love story? We’re looking for your thoughts and ideas. It may be one line or a brief essay. Nonetheless, we are looking for inspirational stories of love and commitment. Did you have a great marriage proposal? Did someone else's relationship inspire you? Is there a particular song that inspires you lyrically in regards to love? What are the top 3 things you find to be of importance in a relationship? We want to know!

Christopher Ames and Remnant Music Group will review the submissions and select the top 3 entries. These entries will then be posted on Christopher’s website, and fans will be asked to select their favorite of the three. The top submission will receive a $100 American Express Gift Card (perfect for dining, shopping or travel), a $50 Gift Card for Barnes and Noble (inspired by the lyric in the song Love To Chance found on the CD), and an autographed copy of Everyday With You by Christopher Ames. Runners up will also receive copies of Everyday With You. The winning submission will also be featured in Christopher’s newsletter and will be featured in his blog on his website.

So what’s on YOUR heart? What do you think inspires an unending love story? Is it YOUR story? We want to know.

Send your submissions to ca@christopherames.com Be sure to include your full name, contact telephone number, your city, state and a return email address. You will be contacted if your submission is selected as one of the final three. Please note all submissions become the property of Remnant Music Group, but only final three entries will be posted for public viewing. 
 
(Deadline for submission is ..September 22, 2009..).

3:18 PM 
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Thursday, September 03, 2009 
I recently got reading glasses. Not real glasses where you go and they match frames with lenses and your perscription... no, the kind they sell at pharmacies and Wal-Mart... you know, basically magnifying glasses in ugly frames prebuilt on a spinning display. Yep, those ones. The very ones I have often made fun of through the years, "You have got to be kidding me! Who actually buys these things?" Umm, I guess the answer would be... me.

For about the last year I have started to notice it, how reading books and magazines has become increasingly difficult. Not that I couldn't see, but in lower light, or if the font was small or against a distracting background, I found that I was not able to easily focus. And then once focused, I could not easily un-focus when I was done. Then the 'trying different distances' started... first I put books closer, no good. Then I tried arm's length, that was better... but never once did I think I needed reading glasses.

I am not sure what triggered it, maybe I saw myself in a reflection as I tried moving a magazine out and back in front of my face, or maybe someone commented that this was normal for "my age"... but somewhere along the line I realized I just couldn't see clearly enough to read. Once I admitted that, one quick trip to the pharmacy took care of the issue. Now I can read again because now I have reading glasses.

It seems to me that my whole adventure is much like our fallen human condition. We are a messed up people, a sinful people. And I do mean all of us... (Romans 3:23 anyone?) But like me going through all the motions of trying to read, we try all sorts of things to cure ourselves. And we never admit that we have a problem.

Maybe that is the sticking point. Maybe that is the place we need to start... just to admit that we have a problem. Admitting we can't read, leads us to reading glasses; admitting we are sick, leads us to the doctor; admitting we have a need, leads to filling the need; and admitting that we are fallen, leads us to the Cross of Christ.
6:57 PM 
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Thursday, August 27, 2009 

Current mood:  inspired

Remnant Music Group is sponsoring a contest to find unending love stories!

The romance found in the lyrics of the song EVERYDAY WITH YOU by Christopher Ames illustrates the pivotal moment of compatibility, followed by the quest to secure a love commitment by the suitor. But, in actuality, it is the realization of simple love that secures the relationship in the end.

For the last year and a half, Remnant Music Group artist Christopher Ames has been promoting his current CD release titled Everyday With You. This CD focuses on the journey of life and love in marriage and family. A multi-faceted scrapbook of hopes, dreams, ups and downs, the highs and lows…the whole motion of love. Not just in one song but in a whole mosaic of music. Now, you may be thinking “That’s great for the married folks listening, but what about me?” This record is for everyone because in some way marriage affects us all… some of us are married, some of us want to be, some of us have been before and wonder if we will be again… some of us think marriage is outdated, others think it is underrated, but no one can deny that marriage is a unique relationship and we all stand amazed to see two people in love who have made it through decades of life.

So what is it that you think inspires an unending love story? We’re looking for your thoughts and ideas. It may be one line or a brief essay. Nonetheless, we are looking for inspirational stories of love and commitment. Christopher Ames and Remnant Music Group will review the submissions and select the top 3 entries. These entries will then be posted on Christopher’s website, and fans will be asked to select their favorite of the three. The top submission will receive a $100 American Express Gift Card (perfect for dining, shopping or travel), a $50 Gift Card for Barnes and Noble (inspired by the lyric in the song Love To Chance found on the CD), and an autographed copy of Everyday With You by Christopher Ames. Runners up will also receive copies of Everyday With You. The winning submission will also be featured in Christopher’s newsletter and will be featured in his blog on his website.

So what’s on YOUR heart? What do you think inspires an unending love story? Is it YOUR story? We want to know.

Send your submissions to ca@christopherames.com Be sure to include your full name, contact telephone number, your city, state and a return email address. You will be contacted if your submission is selected as one of the final three. Please note all submissions become the property of Remnant Music Group, but only final three entries will be posted for public viewing. 
 
(Deadline for submission is ..September 22, 2009..).

 
11:12 PM 
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Monday, August 17, 2009 

Current mood:  excited

Jingle, Jingle, Jingle…Jingle all the way! Nope…it’s not Christmas, but just another exciting bit of “jingle” news from CHRISTOPHER AMES. Just recently, Christopher wrote and submitted a new jingle to the popular booking website GIGMASTERS as they were looking for jingle entries to help launch their new logo and website design. With only 30 seconds allowed Christopher Ames submitted a fun pop ditty called YOU NEED A BAND. After reviewing all the submissions, we just got word that Christopher Ames is a Top 10 finalist!!! The next round of voting requires FAN SUPPORT! Go ahead…click on the icon and vote for Chris’ jingle. We promise…it will stick with you (and get you giggling too).

 

 
GigMasters Jingle
10:22 PM 
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Friday, July 03, 2009 
At a recent festival, I went on to do my set after an Elvis impersonator. He was a pretty good one, too... blue jumpsuit, mutton chop sideburns, full head of black hair (his own too!), the arm movements, tossing teddy bears and scarves to the crowd... and he had the voice.

A couple of years ago I was in Branson and caught a show in one of the theaters featuring the Liverpool Legends, a Beatles tribute band. Just like the Elvis impersonator, these guys had done their homework... the outfits, the guitars, the hair, the accents, the onstage behavior... a good show!

I started to really think about these folks who do the tribute shows - how they must read all the biographies, watch the videos, listen to the records, and practice practice practice to be able to impersonate Elvis or the Beatles. In other words, they eat, drink and breathe the character. It reminded me of what we as Christians do... we read the Bible, we gather in worship, we sing, we attempt to act like Jesus... ideally Christians eat, drink and breathe Jesus. But as I thought in that direction, I must confess that I was also bothered... if we are just like these folks, who are in reality actors of a type, do we end up being no more than Jesus impersonators? And let's be honest... the phrase 'Jesus impersonator' doesn't sound good!

Ephesians 5:1,2 tells us to 'Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.' (NIV) Paul says to imitate God, so that would make us Jesus imitators, not impersonators... now, you might think that is just semantics but I think it is a big difference. An impersonator, by definition, is pretending to be someone. While an imitator, by definition, is using the subject as an example, something to model him or herself after.

An Elvis impersonator is only pretending to be Elvis for that time on stage... it is a character, a costume he puts on and takes off, if you will. It isn't really who he is. When an Elvis impersonator faces a moral decision, I doubt very much that he asks himself "WWED?" In fact, to be a good impersonator you have to separate and remove yourself from the character. You have to look and act like Elvis, not like you being Elvis.

Christians, on the other hand, are not trying to be Jesus at all. We are trying to be like Him. Life in Christ should not be a costume we put on and take off in different situations. And we should definitely be asking ourselves what Jesus would do in any given situation. A fascinating difference between impersonator and imitator is that God calls us to be totally ourselves, we are all part of the Body, after all (1 Cor. 12:12). We are not supposed to remove ourselves from the equation, rather we are called to be totally ourselves infused in every way with the character of Jesus.

Obviously, the biggest difference is that Elvis doesn't actually live inside of the impersonator,  no matter how accurate the impersonation. But as Christ followers, we are actually inhabited by the Holy Spirit, no matter how shallow the imitation. So, may we all go forth and be imitators of God!
9:10 PM 
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009 

Current mood:  grateful

Positive reviews and encouragement continue to come in for EVERYDAY WITH YOU. Just recently Christopher Ames received a 4 STAR **** review from Christian Music Today! We guess it’s a good thing that they say in the review that this music is not “schmaltzy”. Check out the full review here... http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2009/everydaywithyou.html


...and don't forget you can always order through Christian Book Distributors here. http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find/980465563?Ntk=author&Ntt=Christopher+Ames&action=Search&N=0&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1#

 

1:35 PM 
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