A couple of months ago, one of my readers shared a post by the musician Dominic Balli with me. I tracked Dominic down and asked permission to share his post with my readers. He kindly agreed. But first, a little about Dominic, abbreviated from his church’s website.

Dominic grew up in church knowing about Jesus but never knew Him personally. It wasn’t until the age of 16 that he finally surrendered his life and chose to follow wholeheartedly after God. Growing up with a mother who was a professional musician and songwriter, it seemed natural for Dominic to pick up the guitar. There was only one problem: he was legitimately tone-deaf. Though his condition left his guitar and voice regularly out of tune, his broken physiology didn’t stop him from tirelessly pursuing music. When he met Jesus at 16 and was filled with the Holy Spirit, his tone deafness immediately vanished, which changed the course of his life.

Knowing where the healing came from, Dominic began writing songs with the intention of sharing the good news of Jesus with the world and, soon after, began leading worship at church. He took a position as a youth pastor and worship director at Reality Carpinteria and was soon after ordained as a pastor/elder. After his first album topped the Gospel and Reggae charts in 2008, Dominic stepped down from his staff position at Reality Carpinteria to pursue a career as a self-produced, full-time independent recording artist. In 2016, he joined the team at Reality Ventura as the Interim Pastor for Preaching and Vision, then in 2021 Dominic moved into a part-time role as Pastor for Worship Life.

Now here is his post…

At the beginning of the year, my wife and I sat down and asked God how he wanted me to spend my time when I wasn’t working at church. After we asked the question, we listened (PS, if you don’t listen in prayer, you should.). As we sat in a silence, a conversation started forming in my mind…

Me: What do you want me to do?
God: What do YOU want to do?
Me: Um, I want to make music again.
God: Oh, I love it when you make music.
Me: You do?
God: So much.
Me: I love it too.
God: I know, I made you like that. Son, I’ve put it into the heart of man to enjoy the work of his labor. That’s what I want you to do? Enjoy.
Me: Enjoy?
God: Yea, enjoy making music.
Me: But what about money?
God: I’ll take care of the money. You go enjoy.
Me: Ok, but you’re gonna have to tell my wife.
God: I got you. 5 seconds later… Wife: Did you hear anything?
Me: Yea, did you?
Wife: I saw a picture.
Me: Of what?
Wife: You were in the studio, working on a song, and you had the biggest smile on your face. And above your head there was a huge word written: ENJOY.
Me:🤯
God:😉

So after five of years of hardly doing anything with my music, this year I’ve been enjoying. For so many years, I was so focused on building that I forgot to enjoy. So here’s to enjoying again. Enjoying the process. Enjoying the mess and magic. Enjoying the music. These photos (above) are from a small outreach concert I played at in Kauai recently, but they represent something bigger—a new season of enjoying. And he made good on the money promise too. Is there work that you truly ENJOY – where you feel the pleasure of God when you do it? What is it? I’d love to know!

You can follow Dominic on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dominicballimusic

Pause and Reflect

Many people take time at the beginning of each year to make resolutions and resolve to do better. What if, just like Dominic did, we take some time to listen and ask God him what he wants us to do in the new year?

Dominic Balli photos from his church’s website and from Dominic’s Facebook page.

Child with headphones photo by Alireza Attari on Unsplash