Choices

I am most definitely an over thinker. I tend to make small decisions into really big deals and stress myself out over whether or not something is what God wants me to do or not. I get frustrated when it's not clear. Today at church our pastor was talking about choices. I loved his simple advise. "Does it please God?". Yes? Or no? I think I tend to get more wrapped up in the consequenses and ramification that may come back on ME instead of turning the focus onto HIM alone. So often I find I don't want to make a wrong decision because it's not what God has in MY best interest. Still, I'm missing the point because I'm only thinking about myself. Does it please Him??? It's not about what happens to me, it all about and only about Him.

The Drums!

This past Thursday we were back in the studio recording the final drum tracks for 'Ocean'. After setting up and tearing down the drum set three times we were finally ready to go. I was pretty excited when I learned that the drums we were using were the same ones that Barlow Girl used last time they played a show here in town :) The guy on drums is a friend of mine who's 15 named Gabe Reasoner. He amazes me.. I don't think I'm coordinated enough to ever be as good of a drummer as he is (or a drummer at all)! Singing and playing guitar is about as complex as I get.. even talking while I play confuses me.. haha. He did an incredible job though!

Several weeks ago I went in and recorded my scratch tracks of all five songs, which basically is just a rough recording of me and the guitar set to a click track (to keep it in time). This is what Gabe listened to to record the drums. We just locked him up in the recording room and didn't let him out until he was done :)

For the song "Oceans" I asked a friend of mine, Thad Joyce to play the djembe, which is an African style drum. I LOVE the sound of it!!! Every time I listen to it I'm back in Africa, which makes me smile.

I would say that overall it went really smoothly. We probably spent 4 hours in the studio. I didn't have to do anything so I enjoyed just hanging out with my friend Caitlyn and eating dried mangos and jelly beans and watching as the songs took on a brand new life and heartbeat.

Adventure in the Studio Part 1

Here's a little clip of the fun.... :)

Recording 101

Ok, so most of you know that I'm recording a CD right now and I've been getting a lot of questions about it.. so I decided that I'm going to start blogging about it! It's funny because most people will ask me how it works, like the process it's self, and to be completely honest, I really don't know! So, I just thought it would be fun to let you in on the journey as I learn the ropes and experience the process myself. Thankfully I have lots of people helping me out and showing me what's going on, otherwise I wouldn't even have known where to start. This has been a goal of mine for a REALLY long time and to see it coming about it really exciting for me! I feel so blessed to have all of the people involved with this by my side, and there are so many others that have played a part in this that don't even know it! The encouragement, guidance, and inspiration I've received from all of you is a huge part in making this CD possible. Actually, it's not really a CD, it's more of an EP, which stands for 'extended play'. EPs or typically 20-30 min. long verses a CD which is longer. I'm recording 5 songs so really it's an EP, but since most people don't know what that means ( I admit, I had to look this up on google..lol), I'm just going to call it a CD.

I'm calling this project 'Oceans' after the song I wrote after retuning from Africa this summer. I'm planning on making that the theme. In a way, this is my way of remembering them and keeping the memories of the people I met there alive. One thing they asked us when we left was to remember them, and in a small way, this in how I'm going to do that. Hopefully it will be done in time to get some copies to my friends from Mozambique this summer!

Ok, that's all for now.. I'm heading out the door to the studio! We're recording drums today!!! I'm pretty excited about it :)

Sheer

Mark 9:

19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

...“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

There's something about this passage that resonates in me every time. I tend to be the type that likes to convince myself that I'm strong enough. I think that often, this carries over into the way I interact with God. What I love SO much about the man in this passage is the fact that he's real, shamelessly honesty, and humble enough to admit that he's incapable . I'm so self determined at times that I feel I have to be the one to work up the strength and courage to trust Him or even just to understand Him. Yet, that's such a twisted way of thinking. I know that it's our choice whether or not we do, but I also know that on my own strength I'm going to fall on my face. I don't want to wear a mask. I'm thankful that God can see me even when I do, but I want to rid myself of it all together. It's such a freeing thought to think that we can ask Him to help us overcome are humanness and doubt and that He's more than willing to meet us where we're at.

Times

I hear you say "my love is over,
its underneath, its inside, its in between
the times you doubt me, when you can't feel
the times that you've questioned 'is this for real?'
the times you've broken, the times that you mend
the times you hate me and the times that you bend
well my love is over, its underneath
its inside, its in between,
these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
the times you're hurting
the times that you heal
the times you go hungry and are tempted to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain
im there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame
im there through your heartache
im there in the storm
my love I will keep you by my power alone
I dont care where you've fallen, where you have been
I'll never forsake you
my love never ends", it never ends.

A little piece of Africa

Today I had the opportunity to do something that I love. Since coming home from Africa last summer, I have known that my story isn't finished. A chapter may have come to a close for now, but there are still many pages to turn. The month I spent there was life changing, eye opening, and unforgettable. However, that is only part of the story. "Now that I have seen I am responsible", is how the lines of one of my favorite songs goes. I believe that it is my job to share what I learned and saw while I was there, and since I can't go back right now, this is my mission field and this is how I serve Africa.
Caitlyn and I have made it our goal to share our experience with those around us, and today we were able to do just that. We gave a presentation to over 50 residents of the retirement home that I work at. Looking past the fact that some of them fell asleep, or that some plugged their ears when I played guitar and sang ( I learned that turning your amp up really loud because you think that all elderly people are practically deaf,is not a good idea and only messes with their hearing aids making things very uncomfortable for them... oops) it went REALLY well. We had several come and talk to us after it was over and some even took information on child sponsorship! I love giving presentations because while I'm up there all the stories and memories come flooding back and for an hour or so, I'm back in Mozambique.
We figured out today that we (Caitlyn and I) have been able to share our story with over 5 groups and churches, and over 300 people since we got home. I guess my point of posting this is simple that I'm realizing how sometimes what we feel like God is asking us to do isn't always what we had originally planed.. I guess that's obvious and sort of goes without saying, but lately it just seems to be what He's lovingly been pounding into my head. Honestly, I would have much rather gone to Africa this summer. As much as I love talking about it, it's just not the same. It's difficult sometimes, but this is where I am and this is the job I have been given and I'm excited about it. It's funny how God can work things out and open doors we never even knew existed when we're willing to obey.