July 31, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
I can’t let the month slip by without celebrating THE event! Maybe you started this journey with me, maybe you found me a week ago…..either way, you can help me celebrate! It’s been a one year of blogging!!!
I started out just jabbering about my time in the recording studio. Was that REALLY a year ago? It was just so much fun! I remember driving over to the studio in downtown Nashville and thinking how crazy-cool it was to be doing this again! A couple of the same players from 2004 were there (like Jason & John) and I had the awesome priviledge of meeting two new guys (Mark & Craig). It was a blast!
Why I decided to keep on jabbering…..even after I ran out of things to say……
Well, cause I’ve made a lot of new friends, found a place to dream, and……I guess I just like to hear myself type!
AND…as you can see…..I’ve finally figured how upload an image……so maybe that means I can actually upload a real picture once in a while. Who knows? The blogging possiblities are endless…………….
July 31, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
I love the unexpected.
Like the surprise ending to the movie “The Illusionist”…..
Like hearing that a friend took an art class on a whim and discovered she has a real talent for it….
Like reading a card from a friend that includes a Bible verse that was JUST what I was needing to be reminded of…..
…and watching the show “Six Degrees of Martina McBride” and seeing that old lady win the competition!
O.k….she wasn’t “old”, she was only 44. But she was at least fifteen to twenty years older than her competiton. I missed the first part of the show (bummer)….but when I started watching it, the “field” was being narrowed down to the top three. The top three ended up being a young guy, a young girl and Deanna (i think that was her name….you know I’m old and forgetful now!).
Each of the finalists had their song played for the judges. I thought each one did a fairly decent job. I will say that I thought both of the ladies sang with more of a passion in their voice than the guy did. But I didn’t give Deanna much of a chance because how can a 44 year old be commercially viable in this day and age? Especially up against two good looking young’ins?
You could definitely tell that when Deanna sang, she meant what she was singing. Her heart and soul was coming through loud and clear in her voice. And you could tell as they awaited the judges decision, that this was something that she really wanted. She was ready for something new in her life. She was ready to follow her dream. And I kept thinking how hard it was going to be to see the disappointment on her face (and the faces of her friends and family, who they were showing on a split screen), when they didn’t call her name.
Boy, was I wrong! The girl went and won! I just loved that!
She seemed shocked and yet at the same time….as if part of her had expected it to happen. Maybe we know, somehow, when it’s time for something new in our lives. Maybe we start to wake up and realize that we’ve been sleep walking for a while. How can you “wake up” and then start living a dream? I don’t know….but I know that is what has happened to me…..and it looks like that is what is about to happen to Deanna.
The unexpected! Good for her! You go girl!
And now she gets to go all the way to a recording studio!
July 31, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
Our pastor has been preaching out of the book of Ezra for the last few weeks. It has been an excellent series. I don’t know if I can remember the last time that I heard someone preach from Ezra….but it is full of some great moments. Yesterday’s sermon was about second chances……specifically the second chance that God offered the Israelites to be able to rebuild the temple. We were reminded that God is the God second chances and we were challenged to think about what we were doing with our second chance (or third, or fourth…..). It has really made me want to just sit down and read through the entire book….I think sometimes you learn a lot by doing it that way……just read through as if the characters were living out the story again and immerse yourself in the story.
This last week I finally started reading a book I’d pick up about a month ago. It’s called “Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge. I’d never read anything that he’d written before, but I am LOVING this book! It is going straight to the heart of that matter….and that is the heart. Eldredge quotes Saint Irenaeus who says, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Eldredge claims a lot of Christians are walking around not fully alive…..not truly living from their heart. They are living out of duty and completing “to do” lists, but they’ve forgotten their first love. He reminds us that we are in a ”war” and that the enemy is doing his best to see that we don’t live passionately and that we accept a “ho-hum” attitude. He also reminds us that our Father stands ready to indwell our hearts completely, as we are willing to give up every area to Him. I’ve only read three chapters and I can’t wait to get through the rest of the book. It’s hitting me between the eyes!
I was talking to a friend this week about the scripture in Matthew chapter seven that talks about the wide road that leads to destruction and the narrow road that leads to life and the few people that will find it. I used to think that the people who didn’t find the narrow road where the people who were just not looking hard enough. But I’m wondering if the narrow road is something that people can easily see, but maybe they just find it hard to stay on.
It’s much easier to travel on that wide road…..easy street. I imagine it to be wide because on that road, we’re all allowed to do whatever we want, go where we want to go, be in charge of our destiny. We can wander to the left or to the right….because it’s wide, there are no barriers, no road signs, no warnings. It’s the road to destruction and we are blissfully skipping down it.
The narrow road is much different. It offers a much smaller path. I imagine it to be steep and rough at times. I imagine it to have curves and sharp turns and detours. Perhaps there are even several side roads that look like a new tempting path to take, but there would always be a sign, warning that that is NOT the way and to stay on the narrow path. It’s the path to life and we cannot begin to imagine the joys that await us as we finish the journey!
July 29, 2007 - Posted by - 2 Comments
It’s movie night tonight and Paige picked Princess Diaries II. It’s a really cute movie. There’s a handsome love interest, there’s a palace and royal clothes and there’s a really cool remake of an old song.
It’s Norah Jones singing Love Me Tender. The song is playing while the Princess is dancing under a midnight blanket of stars with her forbidden love.
I won’t tell you how the story ends….but if you haven’t seen a good fairy tale in a while, you need to watch it.
When I was a little girl, my favorite picture to draw was of princesses. I knew just how to draw their tiny waist, their long flowing gowns complete with their royal robe and tiara. I would pretend at night sometimes that I was a princess going to sleep in my bedroom in the castle. I would even pretend that the lamp beside my bed was a candle and I would blow it out and pull up my silk bedspread to keep me warm on a cold night in the castle!
Doesn’t every little girl dream of being a princess just once? Is it the gorgeous royal clothes or the hope of finding Prince Charming? Or maybe it’s the tiara?
I remember watching Paige and her little friend Emily play princess dress up when the girls were around three years of age. It was so cute to see them dress up and the princess outfit was never complete until both girls had found a tiara. They would enter a world of white horses and glass slippers….a world of silver trays and tea parties.
If I had my way, we’d never grow completly up…….you know, we’d hold on to enough of the fairy tale to still enjoy dreaming! Growing up shouldn’t mean the end of tea parties and tiaras! Maybe I should polish my silver tray and send out some invitations!
July 28, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
I’ve been looking forward to the weekend all week! You know, it’s been one of those weeks when everything has been dragging by. It’s not the busiest place to be at an accounting firm in the summer!
So, I’m taking today off to spend the day at band camp! Karlee has been in band camp all week. The kids spend the first four hours of the day outside….practicing their marching formation and then they spend the afternoon inside, working on their new music. The program this year is going to be a great one…based on some great jazz tunes! It should be a fun show to watch.
Today the kids are only at camp till noon. After the kids practice marching, we are going to treat them to grilled hambugers and ice cold watermelon!
Then tomorrow the teens from the church are going tubing down the Itchetucknee river. Yeah! Nothing like jumping on an intertube and floating down an ice cold river for three hours! The view is absolutely gorgeous as you float down the river though. It’s all just crystal clear water, lilly pads and big trees. Of course there is the occasional stump in the water that you have to be careful to avoid or you’ll end up with a big scratch…..well, you know where!
I’m also going to try a finish up a worship song that I’ve been co-writing, long distance, with a writer from Pennsylvania! Fun! I was so tickled when I was finally able to do what I’ve been trying to do for so long. I took my lap top to church. I opened up the audacity program and pushed the “record” button. I played the song that we’d been working on, recorded it, converted it to an mp3 file so that I could email it to her. She said the recording was really clear. Yeah! It really wasn’t that hard after all. It sure beats waiting on my brother to come to the church, record the song to a CD, load the CD into the computer and send it.
Lots of people are heading to Colorado this weekend to something called Praise in the Rockies. I’ve read about it, heard about it and looked at pictures on the website. It’s a week of music competitions, classes and mingling with tons of cool people. There are great concerts and lots of events for families to participate in. It sounds like fun and a bunch of my WAJ friends are going to be there. I’m wishing them a great time!
July 26, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
a poem by D H Lawrence
Healing
I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections.
And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ill.
I am ill because of wounds to the soul, to the deep emotional self.
And wounds to the soul take a long, long time.
Only time can help
and patience
and a certain difficult repentence,
long, difficult repentence.
A realization of life’s mistakes and the freeing of oneself
from the endless repetition of the mistake which mankind
at large has chosen to sanctify.
July 25, 2007 - Posted by - 1 Comment
Why is it so hard to see clearly sometimes? Especially when it comes to looking at ourselves?
(note to the lunch bunch: what I’m about to share isn’t anyone in my close circle of friends….so don’t freak out!
)
I was talking to a friend the other day and she was commenting on how frazzled acting one of our friends can be. What so surprised me about her comment was that I didn’t see that in our other friend at all….instead, I saw that in her!
It made me think again about something I often wonder about…..how others see us, and how we really see ourselves.
Why is it that sometimes we are so easily misunderstood? I think I am portraying someone who loves other people and wants to connect with other people (because I really do) and yet I have been told (one more than one occasion) that I seem unapproachable.
I am still struggling to figure life out, and then I am told that I look like I “have it all together”. You know what I tell people when they say that? I tell them it’s because I’m wearing jewelry! They laugh and ask what that has to do with anything. And I tell them it’s something I learned when I was selling Premier Jewlery……if you want to look “put together”, you should always add earings and a necklace…it always completes a look. And thus, makes you look like you have it all together!
Yeah, it’s tough when people see things in you that aren’t true. It’s also tough when they see things in you that ARE true, and you can’t seem them. I’ve had that happen before. A long distance friend and I had a chance to be together for a visit. She was sharing with me something that she “saw” in me……and do you know what? She was right on target and I hadn’t even realized it……although as soon as she said it, I knew it was true. It makes me wonder if someone could pass me the glasses and I could see all my faults and failures……would I want too?
I guess that is the beauty of good friends….the kind of friends who know you, sometimes better than you know yourself, and still love you.
That’s the beauty of God, too.
July 24, 2007 - Posted by - 3 Comments
I am so excited because my songs are going to be listed in a catalog.
I don’t really, exactly, for sure, understand all this music business stuff yet. To say that I am “green behind the ears” is to put it mildly. Hum…..where did “green behind the ears” come from? Is that some kind of farming lingo? Anyway, I digress.
In my limited knowledge, I picture it to work something like this. My songs are now listed in a Sunday Best Music catalog. That is Dave Clark’s publishing company (of which I think he has several, but I’m probably fuzzy on how all that works, too). Not to be confused with the record label he is now managing….Canaan Records. Anyway, I think as he signs new groups to his label, they obviously will record a new project under his label AND for those groups that are needing songs for the record (those who aren’t already writers and just record their own songs)….they can “shop” through the catalog. Actually, I don’t know if THEY look….or if someone looks for them and then suggests a few songs. But anyway, having my songs in a catalog is definitely a step in the right direction.
Dave’s assistant sent me some song information sheets that had to be filled out for each of the songs on my last two CDs. I have to tell you, it was pretty cool filling out those sheets and sending them in. I felt like a real writer!
The next cool thing she’ll be sending me is a single song agreement. Again, in my limited understanding, this gives Sunday Best Music the publishing rights to my songs on a song-by-song basis. I am not a “signed” writer…..where every song is going to automatically be put in the catalog…..my songs that I write in the future will be reviewed to be put in the catalog or not.
I remember when I started writing, I wasn’t really sure what to do with my songs. When I met Dave and he encouraged me to attend Write About Jesus…..I found out just how big this songwriting world is. There is SO much to learn. I heard the term “commercially viable” thrown around and wondered if I could ever write a song like that…..a song that had potential to be recorded by an artist and “cut” on their album.
When I recorded “The Invitation” I felt good about several of the songs on there. I felt even better when Dave liked them. And I felt even better when Karen Peck called one morning and kept telling me how much she LOVED the songs and even requested to put three on hold. I mean that was SO cool……Karen is out there….singing NOW…..and she liked my songs.
I began to see a direction I wanted to head. I wanted to write commercially viable songs. Attending the co-writing retreat a few months ago only made me want that more. Made me realize I want to do what it takes to be the writer God has called me to be. And being at the retreat just showed me that there isn’t any really “secret path” to that goal….it just involves a lot of good old fashioned, hard work and dedication. And getting rid of a few green ears!!
July 22, 2007 - Posted by - 0 Comments
We took a train ride today on the S.A.M. Shortline. We drove up to Cordele to the train station. We began boarding at 9:10 and left at 9:30. The train consisted of two engines (one at the front to take us to our destinations and one in the back to take us home again) and seven cars. The train holds up to 360 passengers and they said the train was full today.
Our car was located right next to the Commissary Car…..filled with all kinds of goodies…..ice cream, pop corn, nachos, hotdogs, sausage dogs, b-b-q sandwiches, drinks, candy and souvenirs. We made several trips to that car before the day was over.
Our itenary was going to be: Stop 1 -Americas, GA…..load up on shuttles delivering you to your choice of restaurants for lunch, Stop 2 -Plains, GA….check out the headquarters of the 39th President of the United States AND taste the delicious homemade peanut butter ice cream and visit the antique shops downtown……..Stop 3 -Archery, GA……tour the boyhood farm of President Carter.
It was a fun day, but very tiring. By Stop 3, some of our crew decided just to stay on the train. It was only going to be a 30 minute stop to tour the farm, and the sun was beating down pretty strong, so some of the group wanted to stay in the cool air conditioning. Ben and I headed out of the train, along with a few others.
Several people headed over to tour the house, so we decided to head the other direction and see the barn, blacksmith shed and store. Several areas had a pre-recorded message by President Carter describing what was done in that area and memories he had as a child.
After petting the mule that was behind the barn, we decided to head over to the house. It was still crowded and with no a/c, it was rather warm. We decided to just do a quick walk through. All of the rooms were roped off and we basically just looked to see how they were decorated and listen to the recording by the President.
We were headed down the hall and decided to stop in the dining room. You could actually walk in that room, it was partially roped off so you couldn’t touch the table, but you could walk in and look through the second door located in the back of the room that had a view of the breakfast nook in the next room.
Ben and I were discussing how real the fake food looked on the table when I turned around and he was right next to me. Yes……President Jimmy Carter was standing next to me, pointing to the breakfast nook and telling the young couple about life in this little house!!! It was then I noticed the secret service men at the doorway….how did I miss them? (in hindsight, I remembering seeing a man in the doorway as I tried to go in, and it seemed he was almost blocking it and discouraging people from taking that route and I just thought he was a rude tourist. I didn’t realize he was scoping it out to see if it was fairly clear for the President to go in!)
I looked at Ben……we were both speechless. We just stood there listening to him talk. He was wearing a white polo shirt and khaki shorts and tennis shoes. People out in the hallway where holding their cameras up and flashes began to go off.
The President finished his story and started to lead the young couple to another room. He turned and saw us and said, “thanks for coming!” I think I stood there with my mouth open and then I heard Ben say, “No, thank you!”
OH MY WORD……I just stood next to a President. Of course we didn’t have our camera with us. We were bemoaning that fact later to a nice gentlemen outside and he said he got several good shots and would be happy to send us a picture.
As President Carter walked throughout the house, people began to gather outside…..word had spread that he was actually IN the house! We walked out onto the front porch and waited for him to exit. It was like we had to see him one more time, just to be sure we had really seen him.
He came out, along with the young couple and secret service men and everyone began to applaud and cheer. He was very gracious, waved to the crowd and thanked everyone with that big grin.
I guess I should practice my “Hello, Mr. President” so I’ll know how to use it next time I run into one!
July 20, 2007 - Posted by - 3 Comments
Hey there! My name’s Karlee, and I am Donna’s oldest daughter. I’m sure my mom has told you guys lots about me (ha ha ha). I don’t know if you know this or not, but I had the blessing last week to attend the Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC) in St. Louis, Missouri.
This conference is held every four years, and this time around I was old enough to attend. At NYC, thousands of Nazarene teenagers come together to worship God and change lives- lives that are frequently their own.
I knew that this would be an incredible experience, but I never realized just how incredible it would be until I was there. I know I won’t ever be able to accurately put into words just how wonderful my experience was, but I will try!
The one thing that really changed me and ministered to me was the worship services. Just like my mom, I LOVE MUSIC!!!!! It’s what I do, how I express myself, and it’s how I draw close to my heavenly Father. Worship at my home church in Valdosta is wonderful, but nothing equals the Spirit of God in a stadium filled with over 9,000 teens worshiping Him! Many times during a song I would just stop singing and listen to the voices. . . it was more humbling than anything I’ve ever experienced.
For those of you reading this that are teens, or that have teenage kids, I really encourage you to send them to the next NYC, or to any place where teens gather to praise God- they will derive more from it than you could ever imagine- I know I did!
The worship leader during NYC was a band called Starfield, and they were wonderful! We learned some new songs, and sang many old hymns. One song that we sang still stands out to me- O Come Let Us Adore Him. Yeah, we don’t really sing that one till Christmas comes around, and now I’m wondering why we don’t sing it all the time!! Isn’t that what the world is called to do?? We are called to adore Him!! The one and only, the Alpha and Omega, my strength in weakness, my Father and Savior!!!!! As, we sang that song, I was overwhelmed with His spirit. I sat in my seat and cried and cried. It was like He was speaking to me. I could almost hear Him saying, “Karlee. . . this is what I’ve called you to do. I want you to adore me. You didn’t come to this place for friends or family- you came to draw close to me.” He assured me that all He wants from me is adoration. At this moment, I gave everything to Him. I said to myself, “You can’t do this by yourself, so stop trying!” After 15 years, I was finally able to let go of everything in my life and let God handle it. Sometimes all we need to do is hear something as simple as a song, and God begins to speak in a way we never thought possible.
Another amazing thing about the past week is that I watched many of my friends give themselves to God. Many of them opened up and poured out their souls to God in a way I never thought possible. I learned that even your closest friends keep secrets from you. I ask each of you who reads this to go out and pray as hard as you can for a teen you know- all of us need it. As teenagers, it is SO hard for us to really communicate anything of deep consequence to adults. Being at NYC with 9,000 other teens who I knew were going through the same things I was made it SO much easier for me to share with my friends. I believe that this conference changed everyone who went in one way or another. One of my friends discovered her calling to missions, two of my friends were saved for the first time, along with thousands of others. The fellowship that NYC provided for us helped me and the other thousands of teens who went to really draw closer to Him than ever, and give ourselves back to the one who created us.
The theme of NYC ‘07 was Water, Fire, and Wind- and I now know why.
WATER- We all thirst for God in our lives, whether we realize it or not. When we accept His rule over our hearts and minds he pours out His Living Water that quenches our thirst and humbles the proudest of spirits.
FIRE- God then builds a massive bon fire in our hearts and gives us a passion for Him and His Word. We long to spread the Gospel to friends and family. We begin to bury ourselves in His Word, adding fuel to the fire.
WIND- This wind, only coming from the Father, helps us to spread our flame to other hearts. We listen to Him and go wherever He leads us, trusting that He will guide us down the path of righteousness.
Please pray for all the teens who went to NYC last week. Pray that the fire burning in our hearts doesn’t fizzle out or get doused by our tears of selfish pity. May God bless you as you live each day for Him.
>>>Karlee<<<
