Welcome to my new blog, a place where I hope to explore the complexity of the human condition, the depths of God’s grace, music, and dabble in a little cooking and baking. It is my hope that you come along with me on this journey. I hope through what is shared will inspire you to look at life in a new way. It is also a space for me to share some music I have written and thoughts I have about random day to day things. That is the ones that don’t get interrupted and scrambled by my lovely and rambunctious toddlers.
I love being a mom. I was a teacher for 10 years before that and loved that too. Both involve investing young lives to prepare them for the world out there. Maybe those to worlds will collide one day, but for today this is a season to invest in my little ones, my marriage, my heart.
This blogging journey, frankly, was not on my radar. I am not the kind of person to put my business, thoughts, etc. out into the public eye to be scrutinized. Nor am I someone who feels the need to be affirmed by a crowd. Which is why, perhaps to your surprise or annoyance, I’m choosing to remain anonymous. However, I feel an instinctive need to share in other peoples lives.
Since a part of this blog is to share music here’s a little background. When I first started to write music I was mostly curious if I could. The very first song I wrote was based on Psalm 133 when I was a teenager. I used the line “like oil running down my beard/is the unity of brothers to my soul.” It was a short simple melody. But it brought my dad into the room with confusion and laughter. He “reminded” me that I don’t have a beard with a chuckle. I let him know that it was simply restating scripture and I didn’t need to have a beard. I just needed to trust the writer.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Psalm 133
My next investment in writing music didn’t come until my junior year of college. I thought my enjoyment of music and playing piano would be a thing of the past when I moved on to adult life. But I learned a valuable lesson those first to years of college; I love music and it would be a part of my life for a long time. I transferred colleges after my sophomore year and moved in with my aunt and uncle. It was there my second piece was written.
The second piece was a more complex piece. It had lyrics I written, but the song became more about the spirit in the melody rather than the lyrics. It was a piece that had a foundational melody but could be ad-libbed whenever the mood arose. And it did often. I was learning to find my way around the piano without written music, to hear the intervals and chords.
I have no training in writing music. I simply sit down and experiment. It has become a conversation that God and I have. Some of the pieces come together quickly and reflected something that God had done or was working on in my heart. Some pieces began with a phrase and a short melody and had to be hashed over and over until they came together. Some pieces don’t go anywhere, but are an experiment in the moment that isn’t written, just felt.
It has become a therapeutic act to write or play music. If I find I am stressed or overwhelmed, sitting at the piano and either playing someone else’s written music, my own pieces or writing a new piece calms my heart and allows me to be still before God. It makes my heart soft and willing to be transformed.
I have strict rules about what I write. It must align with Scripture. A good lyric is only as good as the truth it speaks of. I have no interest in misleading anyone who would listen to any of the pieces. I am a strong advocate for testing all truth against the Word of God. Science and culture will always have lots to say, but God will always be proven right. He doesn’t need me to defend Him, only to stand by His truth.
Anyway, enough introductions for now. Join me on my journey to sort through life. It certainly is a grand adventure.
Lady Worship Fingers 