And the Adventure Begins!

These 30+ songs have been written on my heart for a long time, an accumulation of worship songs, tributes, love songs, and a few trademark goofy ones.  I'm slowly whittling them down to the 12 that will form the album, Deeper Wider.  I have a story to tell about the roots of love for God that have grown deeper and more solid since my last album, Herald.  The story also tells of the branches that have spread wider with love for people and issues God cares about deeply.  

My mind is alive with songs.

Finally, after engaging in a wide learning curve of new recording software, navigating computer problems, and carving out the elusive TIME that I divide like pie among many passions, particularly my children, Dave and I sat down last night and recorded the first tracks of the first song, appropriately titled, The Long and Winding Prayer.

It describes my life perfectly.

This is a long and winding prayer

That wraps around the deepest part of me

I'm gonna take a cold, hard stare

At the demons I've been wrestling

-Long and Winding Prayer, verse 1

If you've been reading my blog, Deeply Drawn, you know I've wrestled a lot since I turned 40 with various things: my purpose, my weight, parenting a teen, God.  It's the Jacob kind of wrestling, where you end up blessed with a limp called wisdom and humility, and with some real aches and pains thrown in!

What I remembered during our recording session last night was what a gem of a husband I have.  He is patient, encouraging, and quick as lightning with the software.  This is our 5th time recording together, and I think we've mastered the art of "when to stop."  Ha! Last night is was 11:00.  

I also want to thank my son, Noah, for his invaluable help.  He has spent a lot of time this summer learning the software and helping me, and I can't wait to use some of his musical skills on the album. He's trying to get me to write a hardcore song, so he can blast out on the drums and guitar!  Um, sorry, he's just going to have to channel his inner Jason Mraz coffee house vibe.

I was determined last night to lay my own guitar track, since I've been improving steadily on the instrument.  I looked at the piano longingly several times, knowing it would be so much easier (and less painful on my fingertips) to pop out a piano track.  But this process is about going deeper and wider, not simpler and safer. I'm happy with how it turned out.  I can't wait to beg the help of 3 of Noah's friends, who play upright bass, banjo, and fiddle.  They don't know it yet, but they are going to make this song SICK (teen slang for awesome!)  

I love my Guild...a gift from my dad

If you've read to the end of this post, please lift a little prayer over the process.  My heart is to use the tools God has given me to glorify him, not just musically, but in how I treat my husband in times of frustration, in how I prioritize my time, and in how I serve others when I'd rather be served so I can finish the project.  The last thing I want to be is a truth-singing hypocrite.  

By the way, my recording studio is anything but a "spacious place." The blog title refers to the state of mind found here:

Psalm 118:5

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.

Songwriting: The Tribute

From the time I was very young, I found my most satisfying purpose for songwriting was to write a tribute. This is a little embarrassing, but I think my first official tribute song was to the graduating seniors in my high school choir.  I got up during rehearsal one day, nervous and awkward, and played and sang my little song about how awesome they were and how much we underlings would miss them when they graduate.  I wonder if I found a rhyme for graduation.  Adulation?  I'm glad I've forgotten!  If the seniors thought I was a geek, they disguised their feelings, and thanked me for my song.

Over the years, I have written poignant songs for suffering friends, good-bye songs for teachers, funny songs for showers and birthdays, romantic songs for weddings, sentimental ones for my kids.  I love the process of personalizing a lyric, especially if it is like a secret wink that no one else sees.

Over the last couple of months, I painstakingly composed a song for my niece's wedding.  I had to write it for guitar because we could not fit my keyboard into the van with all the sound equipment, unless we left the kids and grandma behind, and the lodge where she got married had no piano.  I practiced the heck out of my guitar and have the finger callouses to prove it.

I knew Jenna and Alex would not want a sappy love song like The Rose or a traditional Ave Maria-type of song.  This is the couple who sent out a "save the date" wedding video that was worthy of a Target Commercial award for cuteness and joy.  My favorite engagement photo of them was on the tandem bike that they actually ride around in their neighborhood, always garnering hoots and hollers.

So when I wrote the song, I knew it had to have a nod to the bike.  And to their playful romance.  And to their faith in Christ.  Probably the first wedding song ever about riding a bicycle, but it brought a big smile to the adorable couple, and that's what it's all about.

Chorus:

Let's go ride a bicycle together

And let's go make a lovely life forever

We'll build it on the ROCK that will not falter

I give my heart here at the altar

Now if I only had a picture to share of Dave and me dancing Gangnam-style at the reception.