A Mother's Closet

Being a wife and mother is my top priority right now.  Having special needs children and unique circumstances makes time management very tricky.  When I married my husband, 16 years ago, I was very planned and organized almost every moment of the day.  I have since come to appreciate the beauty of spontaneous creativity and flexibility with my time.  I am very cautious about what kind of commitments I make, because I know how important it is to be calm in parenting and allow myself the space to be inspired by the Lord.  One thing I have been wanting to do so badly since I wrote my last post is get a very simple recording off of my garage band program of the latest arrangement I made of 'O Come All Ye Faithful'.  With Thanksgiving and out of town guests it just hasn't happened.  There have been many early mornings I could have made recordings, but I didn't want to wake up the whole household at 4AM.  So here I am giving you an update of what it takes for me to make a goal like this in songwriting happen.

It is kind of comical really.  The few times I have attempted to make a recording with my garage band program I have started by recording the piano part first.  It is mostly memorized so I just follow a few scribbled notes on a piece of paper.  When I am completely focused on the notes and my memorization I can play the whole song without problems, for the most part.  But then, when I add in all of the interruptions from my children, husband, neighbors, noisy household interferences etc.  I can't seem to get a recording that I am happy with.

SO, on Wednesday I got a full piano recording with only 2 wrong chords in it and I thought I would just forget about the mistakes and take it to the next level and try to record my singing.  I went to my bedroom closet thinking it would be the best place for quality sound.  Locking the bedroom door I headed to my sanctuary with the lights off because of how noisy they are when I turn them on.  I didn't tell anyone because I felt like I had a better chance of not getting interrupted.  So here I am in the closet hoping I can remember the lyrics and trying not to worry about what may be happening outside my bedroom door and I begin to sing.  There are so many things that I want to accomplish with my singing.  One of the biggest being the capturing of the true meaning of the lyrics.  This is quite the task given all of the odds that are working against me.  I feel I should add here that I homeschool one of my children so this recording time is taking place at around 4:45 in the afternoon, just before dinner preparations.  Trying to record during homeschool has proven to be a nightmare.  Anyways, I finished one recording and didn't even have time to finish listening to it when I heard a knock at the door.  I think my husband thought me quite strange when I opened the door with a laptop in my hands and a guilty look on my face.  No, I wasn't binging on the kids halloween candy I was binging on a moment with music in a darkened closet.  So it is in the world of mothering, our closets are sometimes our only places of refuge.

Needless to say, the recording was not quite the product I am ready to share with you yet, but I think I would like to share a preview of the first verse, because I was happy with that part.  Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gu21jlprx1k5s3p/O%20Come%20All%20Ye%20Faithful%20recording%201%20edit.band.zip

Sharing the simple light

Of course the adventure of songwriting is going to have its ups and downs.  Yesterday I found myself battling some of those negative thoughts that come with this kind of endeavor.  I tried to just keep pushing through my day, though.  Luckily I can't even remember what the specific negative thoughts were, right now.  I feel like the Lord is watching out for me and protecting me as I try my best to take a simple talent and expand upon it.  I am so grateful for the gift he has given me because I find such joy in creating music and lyrics that are from the heart.  I hope and pray that somehow it will be of benefit to more than just myself.  I think the reason I hope that somehow these efforts will benefit more than just myself is because I think it is the Lord's will that I connect with others in this way.  He gave this talent to me so that it may be uplifting to others.  There is great satisfaction in knowing I have somehow pleased my God in doing this.

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O Come All Ye Faithful

Yesterday started as any day would.  I made my kids breakfast and began to take note of things that were in need of attention for the day, but I found my heart being drawn to music.  I began humming the song "O Come All Ye Faithful" and somehow found myself at the piano instead of doing my housework.  Two hours later I had a rendition of my own that included vocals and piano.  I am so excited to share, but it is way to early for me to start waking up the household with the efforts of trying to record the song.  I love singing and playing this song because it captures my desire to adore Christ the Lord and to encourage others to do so as well.  It also seems to capture that joy that comes to my heart when I feel of the spirit of the Lord.  I am so grateful for this joy and miracle that is possible for all of us on earth to experience.

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JUMPING IN

Image courtesy of tungphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have had a series of experiences, lately, where I have felt like I was jumping into some unknown space with no clue of where the space would lead.  Like jumping into a pool of smooth, icy water, I find myself shocked and invigorated all at the same time.  Most of these experiences have been centered around a newfound hobby of mine.... songwriting.  I have decided to start a blog all about my adventure in songwriting.  I have always loved writing in my journal and am looking forward to keeping an online journal of my experience.   So many things have happened to me already I may insert some of the backstory as I go along, but from here on out I want to capture my experiences now and share it with others.  So here it goes I am J
                                                                  U
                                                                     M
                                                                         P ING in once again.   WOO HOO!!!