Donna’s Blog

Give and take

Co-writing is about give and take.

I was praying that I would have something to give! 

When we first gathered in the sanctuary at the Lodge on Thursday evening, I looked around at all the writers and as much as I tried not to….I made the assumption that everyone there had it “all together.”  They were all confident, secure, songwriters.  They all had notebooks full of great ideas…ready to write the most amazing songs.  They had all had a great week….no problems at all….and couldn’t wait to sit down and spend hours upon hours writing!

I know better than that.  I know we are all on this journey together.  I know that my journey probably isn’t that different from their journey.  I have pain, I have struggles, and there are days I wonder if I am accomplishing anything at all.

The cool thing is that in the middle of all that……there is something to give.  That’s the beauty of co-writing.  I share an idea that comes from right where I am (the good, the bad, the ugly).  In fact, that is the only way I can write.  I don’t want to write about what I “think” someone is feeling, or how I “wonder” someone would handle this problem….I want to write about what is REAL to me.  Because chances are, it is real to you, too.

So I share that with my co-writers…..they share how they feel…..and somewhere in the beautiful honesty of being real…..lyrics are born and a melody is created that can eventually fly the song to soul of someone who needed to hear just what was said.  

And on a weary night in the not too distant future, someone can turn on the radio or put on a CD to listen to and hear words that will minister to their need and they will wonder how God could inspire someone to write a song just for them!  And I really believe that God does just that!

I know if I continue to give, God will continue to take!  

Co-writing 101 to 501

When I left for Atlanta on Thursday morning, I was in a bit of a hurry.  I piddled around Thursday morning and then realized it was 8:45 and I had a plane to be on in Atlanta at 1:10….which means I should probably be at the airport by 11:10.  Thanks to a great flow of traffic, I managed to make it by 11:30!  

The check-in line wasn’t too long and I made it through security without beeping, but then a nice man asked if he could look through my carry on bag.  OK fine….just hurry up.  I was totally shocked when he told me that my mousse can was too big.  What?  I’ve carried this mousse can on several flights; I know because I only use one kind of mousse.  I discovered it about five years ago and I don’t use anything else.  I’ve never had anyone check my bag and tell me I couldn’t take it on the plane.  Of course, it’s been a while since I’ve flown out of Atlanta…I usually fly out of Jacksonville.  Now I remember why.  He also told me my toothpaste and hairspray would have to go, or I could go back to bag check-in. By now it is Noon, but I figure I have to try.  He escorts me through some of the ropes and I’m bag at the check-in area.  Fortunately the line is even shorter and I get through in no time at all.  

It was actually nice flying without worrying about that heavy carry on bag.  When we boarded the plane, I didn’t have to worry about finding an empty overhead bin, or worry about dropping it on someone’s head as I try to shove it into those impossibly small spaces….I just sat in my seat and opened the new mystery novel I purchased at the airport bookstore.  I had to buy a new novel because I left the book I’d already brought to read in my carry-on that was now a “checked in” bag and traveling in the belly of the plane!

The flight was smooth and I got to the Memphis airport right on schedule.  There was a short layover and then I boarded the next play for Louisville, KY.  We made that flight in 52 minutes and my phone rang as I was headed to get my bag.  It was Ed and he told me that he was going to be my ride and I would find him holding a sign with my name on it in the baggage claim area.  We also met Terry at the airport, another co-write participant for the weekend and we were off to Underwood, Indiana.     

We had a great conversation on the way over.  We were all anticipating a great weekend.

But then I began to wonder what the weekend would be like?  I’ve never been in a “co-writing room” before.  The only co-writing I’ve done is with my friend, Jonathan.  We’ve met in my favorite place to write, our church sanctuary.  We chat for a while about what’s going on and then someone ends up at the piano bench playing something they’ve written, or an idea for a song.  It is just so natural and not intimidating at all.  So what is it like to walk into a room with someone I don’t really know and write a song?

I feel like I went from Co-writing 101 to 501 this weekend!  I learned so much about writing.  I learned co-writing is about allowing “the moment” to be in the room….the moment of honesty when you are sharing your heart and an idea you have for a song, the moment of silence when everyone is searching for the perfect word to rhyme with the other perfect word you’ve already found, the moment of wanting the song to be the best it can be even if it means re-writing, re-writing and re-writing!  

My first co-write of the weekend was with Joel Lindsey and Phil Mehrens…..just two of the best, you know?  I was trying not to be scared, but I was certainly out of my comfort zone.  We talked for a while and I began to feel at ease….”these really are just two normal, every day guys…..who happen to be amazing songwriters!!”  We shared ideas we had been thinking about and then decided to write on an idea that I had.  It was fun to see how the song developed.  After a while, Phil went to the keyboard and began to play a beauitful melody.  I am always inspired by that and loved what he was playing.  Before we knew it, it was time for the lunch break.  We ended up finishing the song that night.  I can’t wait to see what happens.  It’s called “If I’m Willing.”  

Co-Write-a-thon!

I sat in a circle of 29 writers on Saturday afternoon and as they shared about the amazing weekend we were having, I thought about how cool it is that you can fall in love with 29 people so fast!  We’d been together less than 48 hours and yet I felt like I’d known some of these people for years!!

I was part of very special group of people this weekend…..people truly in love with God and who have an amazing desire to write songs that will make a difference for His kingdom.  It never felt like a contest this weekend….to see who could come up with the best lyric, or who could create that catchy melody….it wasn’t about that…..it was about sitting in a room with writers, unwrapping the passion that God has given us and packaging that in a song.

I knew the weekend would be special because of two things that happened when I first arrived.  I picked up my key to my room at the lodge and headed down the hallway.  The desk clerk told me that my room mate had already arrived.  I unlocked the door to room 113 and saw Sheri putting her suitcase on the bed.  I introduced myself and so did she.  You have that moment when you think, “Ok, I’m rooming with this stranger for 2 1/2 days, I sure hope we get along!”……and then in the next moment when I saw her smile and she said “Hi, I’m Sheri”…..I felt the genuine warmness of her spirit and knew we were going to be great room mates!  We were chit chatting and she asked who I write for (meaning what company…..Sheri writes for Daywind).  So how do I explain I am just a working mom who writes mainly for my own ministry right now?  Was she going to freak out that she wasn’t sharing a room with another professional?  Those thoughts popped in and then right back out of my head…..because as I shared a little of my story, she was so interested and kind that I knew Sheri was at this retreat for the same reasons as I was…….to get to know some wonderful people, develop some relationships and write our hearts out!

The second neat thing that let me know this was going to be a special weekend was the hand written note from Joel Lindsey.  He had left one for each person in their room.  It was so thoughtful of him to take his time to do that…..after being so busy with organizing the whole retreat and making sure that the rooms were ready, the food was ordered, people were picked up from the airport….he still HAND WROTE notes for each of us?  WOW! 

I’m still processing all the wonderful things that happened.  I can’t wait to share more!    

That was too easy!

I try to be mysterious and I’m just not!  Most of my friends knew one of my “two things” had to involve something for the bedtime routine…..and yes, Margi, you hit the nail on the head! 

New Pajamas are a must for a trip.  The shameful thing is that my old pajamas aren’t even worn out!  It just seems to work….new place to sleep = new pajamas!  The dilemma is whether to throw a new housecoat into the mix.  I love it when I find a matching set…but that isn’t always possible.  And if you find cotton pajamas, does the housecoat have to be cotton or can it be silky?  Does a housecoat even have to match?  And do I go for the zip up housecoat or the housecoat with a sash?  See….housecoats kind of complicate the mix….that is why I usually just opt for the new pajamas!

Then the other “thing”….well, does any woman need an excuse to buy a new purse?  I think not.  I think it is our right as women to own as many purses as we can use in a given time, then fill up our closet with, then yard sale and then start all over again with!  I might offend some of you real purse women, because I don’t buy “name brand.”  I just learned what a “Coach” was not too long ago.  When it comes to expensive purse fashions….I would be last in line.  So what do I shop for?  I shop for anything under $29.99 and looks fun to carry.  Life is too short to just carry a plain, functional purse.  So when I’m shopping, something has to catch my eye.  The color, the sparkle, the shape, the something.  It has to feel good when I put it over my shoulder and it has to be just the right size.  I don’t like the gigantic purses because I can never find my gum.  I don’t like the teensy weensy purses because I can’t put my wallet and hand lotion in them.  It’s really better if it zips….otherwise I am constantly spilling stuff out of them (i’ve learned that the hard way).  When I get a new purse for a trip, that purse can forever remind me of what a great time I had on my trip. 

I am excited and totally freaked out at the same time about this trip.  I think I have some good ideas…but what if I freeze up?  What if it comes to putting pen to paper and I can’t do it?

I watched a new reality show last night that made me think of that.  It’s call “The Lot”.  It’s created by Mark Burnett and Steven Speilberg.  Basically they are giving 50 unknown directors a shot at $1,000,000 contract with Dreamworks Studios!  WOW!  Tonight they cut the first 16.  The first task was to pitch a movie idea to three big whigs.  They were given their movie premise and had 24 hours to pitch it to them like they had come up with the idea themselves and were ready to sell it to a studio!  Some people came in and pitched it like a pro, others came in and fell flat on their faces.

I was particularly impressed by one of the guys who got cut.  He had changed his pitch in mid stream and so he wasn’t as prepared as he should have been when he went in to pitch the idea.  You could tell he lacked confidence in the pitch and the big whigs confirmed it to him by telling him during their critique that confidence was everything.  He walked out the door knowing he blew it and was in tears.  When he got the news that he was cut he said (best I can remember), that “this was the highlight of my career so far.”  Wow!  He was sincere….as if he knew he had just learned (although the hard way) one of the most important lessons and he was going to use it to get better.  What a great attitude!  He didn’t blame anyone and was using the moment as a stepping stone.

The great thing about this weekend is that I’m not sitting in front of anyone who is going to judge me, but I will be sitting next to some amazing writers and whatever happens this weekend, I want to learn from it and be a better writer and hopefully develope some great new friendships!

My two things

I know I’m set for my trip this week because I found my two things. 

I don’t know when this began, but it has become a necessity whenever I’m going on a trip.  It’s not really necessary for just an overnight trip, but if I’m going to be gone more than one night, I usually have to find them.

They’re not something I have to hunt hard for….I usually find them fairly easily.  I like to have them at least a week before I leave.  I start keeping an eye out whenever I’m in Target, or Kohl’s or at the mall.  Then I when I buy them, I keep them in the store bag and just think about how fun it will be to use them on my trip.   

It worked out well this time that Mother’s Day was just a few weeks ago.  The girls were wanting to know what I wanted and I thought “aha”…..they can get me one of my two things!  I was totally delighted when I opened the gift bag and there it was!  I asked “where did you find it?”  Turns out J C Penney’s was the perfect shopping place this time! 

I actually broke my “rule” this week and started using one of my things.  I figured I should break it in and make sure I like it.  I have had the misfortune of buying one and using it the day of the trip and discovering I didn’t like it as well as I thought I would.  That sure makes for a miserable day.  But so far, I’ve done good this time.

Both are in the red family, one is totally red and the other is pink with some red on it.  I like red.  It makes me feel “spicy”.  I guess like I’m “red hot” or something.  Which might be a good thing for this trip.  I need to get the “writing juices” flowing and if I’m feeling spicey, that might just work!!!

Verse 6

Psalm 51 is one of those great psalms.  Like Psalm 23, Psalm 139, Psalm 145….. 

It is David’s Psalm of confession.  Verse 10 has probably been one of the more quoted verses….”Create in me a clean heart O, God”…..and has even spawned some great songs.  But I never really noticed verse 6 until I was reading from Mark Buchanan’s book “Your God is Too Safe.”

Verse 6:  Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Part of the healing process for David, the “clean heart” was for David to search his own heart and allow God’s truth to be manifested.  David had been living a lie after his sin with Bathsheba.  He had been walking in darkness.  The New Testament would talk about this same thing in John 3:19, “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

David had to come into the light of God’s truth……in the “inmost place”….his heart.

Mark Buchannan says this is true holiness….”Every day, God offers us the real thing—His holiness.  Real holiness is truth in the inner parts, God’s wisdom spoken in the inmost place.  Real holiness is being naked and not being ashamed.  Real holiness is coming into the light.  Real holiness is telling ourselves the truth, no matter what.  Real holiness is calling sin by its real name.”

I am overwhelmed every day that God desires this holy relationship with me.  I get aggravated at myself when I run to the shadows instead of the light.  Maybe that is why David starts off Psalm 51 by saying, “Have mercy upon me, O God.”…….because it is only by the mercy of God that we can come into His presence and experience His love and His holiness.

I’m going to be thinking about verse 6 today.

Good day!

It’s been an awesome day….yeahness!

#1  We finally got our pictures hung.  We had to wait for the new addition and then for the new roof and now that both of those are done…..it was picture time!  We set them all out and decided what pictures looked best where.  Ben is the official picture hanger….and I stand back and make sure they are straight.  If I tried to do the picture hanging, well, there would be some casualties I’m sure!

#2  It was a beautiful sunny day here (finally) and I got some pool time.  I have friends who can’t stand to just lay out by the pool….but there is nothing better to me than listening to some great music, relaxing and letting the sun wash over me!  It seems like my weekends have been rushed for the last month, so it was great to be able to slow down today!

#3  I wrote a song today!  When I headed over to the church this afternoon to work on some music, I had the “feeling” that a song might be coming.  I can’t explain this, but sometimes I feel the urge to go to the piano and I don’t even have an idea of what I’m going to do there.  Sometimes it is just singing songs out of the hymnal.  Sometimes it is singing songs that I’ve written.  And then sometimes, I just let my fingers wander over the keys and see what happens.  This afternoon I was about to wrap things up…I’d finished what I needed to do and decided to go into the sanctuary one more time and play.  I sat down and thought about something that had been on my mind this week and wondered if there was a way to put how I was feeling into words.  I think I accomplished that.  It’s personal and vulnerable.  The test will be that I will take this song to the writing retreat I am going to this weekend.  I am anxious for another writer to read it.  At the same time, I am scared because this is so personal….yet I’ve found that the songs I write from drawing deep into my well of experiences, are the songs that most relate to people.

I am so excited about the retreat.  It’s probably all I will talk about for the next five days until I leave.

Strike up the band

I wonder how many great band concerts I missed at GHS?  When I was in high school….I was all about chorus and although the band practiced in the next building, I never paid much attention. 

Now that Karlee is in the band I am learning so much!  There is a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication on the part of the kids and the directors!  They will start practice weeks before the school year kicks off this Fall in order to be ready for the Marching Season!  The kids will be out on the field in the hot sun, learning to work together as a team and learning to be able to perform flawlessly for the audience in the stands.

After marching season, it is the Concert Band Season.  The kids learn some amazing music and perform at festivals.  At one recent festival I attended, the judge came up to the kids to talk to them about their performance.  He told them what a great job they did (they got straight Superiors), but wanted to talk to them about Gladys Knight and the Pips.  He asked the kids what it took to be a good Pip.  “You have to know how to dance”, “you have to work together”……..good answers.  The most important thing?  To remember you backup Gladys.  In other words…..it’s a Pip’s job to make Gladys shine.  He talked about the music they were playing and how several times the melody shifted from one group of instruments to the next.  As a band, it is always important to know when you are ”Gladys” and when you are a “Pip”.

Tonight I get to enjoy another new experience in “band learning”.  There will be a percussion concert at the high school.  Something along the lines of “Stomp” or Blue Man Group.  Again, the kids have put hours into this.  You would think they were professionals who practiced all day and not just high school kids who have homework, family responsibilites, etc.

Tonight…..they are all “Gladys”!!!

It’s great!

A friend let me listen to that latest CD by the Isaacs……wow, it is great!  I have to admit I didn’t grow up listening to groups like that.  So I’ve actually never heard one of their CDs before.  I remember seeing them on a Bill Gaither Homecoming video and thinking how awesome they were.

Sonya Isaacs has an awesome voice….it is one of those crystal clear voices.  It reminds me of Allison Krauss.  In fact, I went and bought my first Allison Krauss CD this week.  I guess I’m in the mood to be inspired and new music always does that!  Listening to Sonya and Allison is just pure heaven.  I would love to be able to sing like that.  I wonder if they sound that good in person.  Probably!

There is the sweetest song on the Isaacs CD called Barbie Bandaids.  Be sure you have a tissue out if you listen to that one!

My favorite song on the CD is called “Bring it to you.”  I put that one on repeat in the car yesterday morning and listened to it over and over.  The harmony is gorgeous, the words are powerful and it is just ministered to me!  I was going to listen to it while I was walking last night but the smoke from the Waycross fires hung heavy in the air last night.  It had cleared out during the day, but drifted in again during the evening hours.  I think the fire has been burining for three weeks now.  Keep praying for rain!

the trio

I tucked Paige into bed last night and she said, “Mom, we’ve got to find more trio songs.” 

The girls and I just sang our first trio yesterday morning at church.  I don’t know why it has taken us so long to do that.  Karlee and I have sung duets before, but we hadn’t all three taken time to practice something together. 

I pulled out my basket of old song books to thumb through.  Some of the books are ones that Ben had when we got married.  Ben loved to play piano and he would spend his money on those big spiral bound song books when he was in high school.  Paige LOVES those old songs.  She helped me look through all the books.  We found one called “Ten Thousand Years.”  We practiced it and I couldn’t believe how quickly we learned the parts.  Paige sang lead, Karlee sang alto and I tried the tenor part.   

It was a treat for me to be able to sing with the girls.  We only ran through it once before church and I was hoping it would turn out all right.  Of course, I knew there wouldn’t be any stage fright……after all, these ARE my girls!  But I wasn’t sure if anyone would forget a part (including me)!  From the faces in the congregation, I could tell that we were doing o.k.!   And I know Paige enjoyed it because she wants to do it again!  How cool…..to actually enjoy singing with your mom!!

On another note…..I talked to an old friend yesterday.  For some reason, I found myself sharing a burden of mine and I was overwhelmed to find that she totally understood.  Why does it always seem a surprise to find that friends have burdens, trials, and struggles…..?  Why do I always feel so goofy for even bringing it up?  She was able to share her burden as well….and now we can pray more effectively for each other.  Small world….really.