Do you ever have something huge that simply must get done, but you can't seem to find the motivation? I'm actually thinking of taking a couple of days off from work this week to get an enormous project finished. I'm also thinking of delegating parts of it to a couple of folks.
Yesterday just about killed me, but I would've died happy. I played for all the worship services again, which means I'm there from before 7 AM to about noon, then I'm back at 4 PM til about 8 PM. It usually gives me time for a movie or for going out to eat and then taking a nap in the afternoon. Sunday afternoon naps are the bomb. Yesterday, however, was the quarterly worship team meeting.
Ah, yes, you got that right. It's my favorite word: MEETING. Actually, I wasn't too aggravated at having to go to it, because it's something I'm actually interested in, as opposed to school faculty meetings that drone on and on about hall duty. But even interesting meetings are hard for me, so after about, oh, half an hour I had to get up and walk around a little bit. I'm thankful that this is the kind of group that seems to understand that. We're all artists, so it's somewhat freer and more tolerant of individual differences.
Jeff led the meeting and mentioned an article he had read recently comparing the worship team to the sherpas at Mount Everest. The sherpa's job is crucial; few climbers succeed without one to guide them up the mountainside. But the sherpa isn't the star of the show, he's only there to facilitate the climbers on their journey up. Likewise, the worship leaders at a church are there NOT to get a lot of praise and pats on the back, they're there to use the gifts God has given them to point people to Christ WITHOUT taking credit. I can occasionally feel myself slipping into a "performance" pattern, where I'm so concerned with myself and what I sounded like that I lose the singular focus of what I do. Sometimes, however, I am completely free from that pattern and I slip into a "slouch" mode where anything goes and I don't care what I sounded like. I wish I could find the middle ground and stay there; I'm there from time to time, then slip out of it as easily as one changes lanes on the freeway.
But wait a minute, you say... didn't Kris just say in a previous paragraph that yesterday just about killed her BUT that she would've died happy? Let me tell you that making music with these people is sheer bliss for me. The early morning service was marred by yet another broken string for Jeff, which totally bites and leaves a big gaping hole in the sound. I came in and tried to help fill out the sound so he could still lead, and I think it turned out okay anyway. What I really appreciate about Jeff is that he's not a fake. He's very natural and very real; he doesn't freak out, but just picks up and runs with whatever he's got. I think he doesn't realize just how gifted he is. Not everyone can do that! He also has a very nice voice. Okay, yes, he's the worship leader, aren't they supposed to? Well, I've met a few who really only have average-to-decent voices, but superstar vocal talent isn't a prerequisite for good worship leading. Jeff has both gifts, though. His voice is very smooth and he's comfortable and natural with it. His speaking voice is like that, too; I asked him recently if he'd ever done any radio, and interestingly, he has. I need to ask him more about that.
He re-strung his guitar offstage during the sermon and the second morning service went without a hitch, instrumentally. The song I'd been working on carefully all week went well (Jeff sang it as a solo and I backed him up with some harmony on the chorus). Rick was there during the second service and said that the music sounded fine but that the vocal team's faces were expressionless. I know that both those girls were really tired, but ouch! I'll try to be more encouraging to them on Sunday mornings. I may be an early-bird, but not everyone is.
Stratman (who occasionally comments here) did an admirable job playing the electric guitar (a Stratocaster, of course); he's always so funny. I will never be able to look at him the same now, though... you see, he plays in a band called the EvenOdds, and last Tuesday he showed me a list of the covers they were working on for their next gig. It included Billy Idol's "White Wedding"... which is actually a song I rather like, but somehow it just seemed incongruous with the Stratman. He's a grandfather, for Pete's sake. But hey, I suppose that could apply to me, being a putzy mom of three with delusions of musical grandeur. The Stratman is a very cool person. When I grow up, I'd like to be that cool.
Stratman's son Eddie played drums this week. Eddie has absolutely the coolest hair ever... bright orange, and 100% natural. He's got two little kids, and they both have the same orange hair. It's just awesome. His wife is young and pretty and blonde, but I've never really met her yet. Eddie did a bang-up job on the reggae number. Okay, maybe that's a poor choice of adjectives for a drummer. He did really well on it. hehe
Brandon... well, Brandon is a phenomenal guitarist (bass and electric -- he played bass yesterday). He's always carefully crafting what he does, thinking deeply about every minute detail and its eternal significance. He's just not of this world, really... he always has this ethereal expression on his face, like he's somewhere else, but then he says something and you realize that he hears everything that goes on around him as though it were amplified a million times.
And then Melissa played some kickin' trumpet fills during a couple of the songs. It's so nice to have that added punch; it really wakes up the room.
Okay, yes, this is getting long, but I did title this post "Ramblings." Deal.
We got done at about noon, and the kids wanted to go out to eat. We went to our favorite Chinese buffet, ChinaOne at 24th and Ingersoll. I tried to get done a little earlier so I could go on home and change clothes, then head BACK down to Norwalk for the meeting. I was desperately hoping the meeting would only last an hour or so, because at four o'clock was SoulFire rehearsal. The significance of that bit of minutia? Well, Tim wanted to do a new song, and while it's one I've heard a gazillion times on the radio, I hadn't really listened for the keyboard part, per se. After the meeting was over, I zipped over to Wal-Mart to try to find the CD. Thank the Lord, it was there, so I bought it and listened to it closely all the way back to church. By the time I got there, I had it mentally mapped out in my mind, and was able to play it for rehearsal. We did it at the youth meeting last night... Tim & Mark were really acting impressed, like I knew what I was doing, but if they only knew!!! I swear, I live my life by the seat of my pants most of the time. How good would I be if I only was able to plan things out and live an orderly life?
All right, I'm done yapping about church & music. Sorry.
Well, I received my Iowa teaching licenses in the mail on Saturday. Can we all just shout AMEN? I'm tired of dealing with that.
I start my first Master's Degree class this week. Like I needed something else to do, right? But this is in response to pressure from the school district; I'd much rather wait until the summer to start. I've decided to get my Master's in Special Ed. through the University of Phoenix, totally online. It's not cheap, but in considering my schedule and my own personality, I'm much better if I don't have to sit through a regular class MEETING. This way I can log on to class whenever I have a spare moment, perhaps during my planning times at school (other teachers do this, also, so it seems to be acceptable practice). It fits my life much better. You'll probably hear more about my experience as we go along, since this is likely going to take me about two years to finish.
Okay, so I'm not done talking about church & music. One more thing. I talked to Jeff's wife Linda (also a very cool person) after the early service, and she was feeling really bad for Jeff (since he's broken a string on three of the last five Sundays) (she calls it a "string of bad luck") (ha). I know that she's been a little reluctant to let him get a second guitar, but I think she may be seeing the logic behind it now. It would certainly be helpful to have a backup on stage with him the next time a string breaks in the middle of the worship set.
Gotta run; I need to get myself ready for the students to arrive. I'll check in a little later, when I get a quiet moment.
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