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A couple of Manitoba artists have teamed up for a new song out today, January 16.<\/p>\n
Jake Fretz and Nathan Keys have been working on “Not My Will” for close to a year. “It really started with Nathan and I getting together to begin a co-write. When we sat down, we ended up wasting the first hour just hanging out and talking. I say wasting because it was inefficient,” Fretz says. “But really what we were doing was catching up, and we realized that in both of our lives, Jesus was asking us to sacrifice in a different way and to submit in a different way, and we realized there’s this really big similarity.”<\/p>\n
While Fretz was talking about Philippians 2, Keys says he was thinking of the Garden of Gethsemane. “Jesus is praying to God. And I was just saying, Lord, not my will. But Yours be done.”<\/p>\n
Both Keys and Fretz are used to writing songs that work for radio, but also for church congregations.\u00a0“It just started falling out of us. Immediately, when we knew that we were writing a song for not just radio, but also for congregations, that’s when we started to imagine that the PAC Worship Collective could become part of this,” Fretz says.<\/p>\n
Also working on the project is Tyson Unraeu from the Color. “We got Tyson from The Color to produce and I co-produced,” says Fretz. “It stayed local, in Manitoba. So this was really Manitoba-born music and that is exciting.”<\/p>\n
Both Keys and Fretz see the impact on collaborating on the project. “There’s a real joy in collaboration and even more so when we get to do it locally, not just on Zoom or FaceTime. There’s something about doing things online rather than in person,” says Keys. “There’s no awkward, weird pause, no lag between someone’s talking. We can just keep going back and forth when we’re in person.”<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=\/-CEfhxwF5rQ<\/a><\/p>\n After hearing the song, Fretz hopes listeners will be able to experience the song as he did while writing. “All of us are confronted with moments where we get to choose. Am I going to choose my own preference? Am I going to choose my own ambition? Am I going to choose my own comfort? Those are the moments where the Holy Spirit shows up and says, are you going to serve me or you going to serve yourself? Those three words with the little melody, not my will, would just hit me in the head, and I’ll be like, okay, not me. And then the Holy Spirit would just give me an opportunity to follow Jesus and become more like Him in that little moment.<\/p>\n “I hope those three words, which are actually Jesus’ words, not ours. I hope Jesus’ words become their prayer and their response every time the Holy Spirit shows them a choice. Ultimately, I hope this helps people look more and more like Jesus.”<\/p>\n Keys echoes the goal and says, “The things that we want to do in life, are we willing to let those go? Are we willing to sacrifice? Maybe they’re not necessarily sinful or self-seeking, but if they’re not in line with God’s plan and God’s desires for our lives, are we willing to surrender that and ultimately give it to God and follow what He wants?”<\/p>\n Looking ahead in 2026, both Fretz and Keys are excited to continue releasing music. You can stay up to date with Nathan Keys here<\/strong><\/a>. Follow along with Jake Fretz here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n You can hear “Not My Will” below.<\/p>\n