Baby Bump Harp Playing
Music is powerful and the lullabies we heard as children stay with us for life!
Category: Childhood
I Couldn’t Keep Up
There will always be a metric to measure success and find ourselves not good enough. Here’s to simply being ourselves instead!
God’s Got It
We truly never know how God will use an idea and I need that powerful reminder when I get caught up in worrying and forget to just be.
Puzzle Pondering
When I was younger we had a 25 piece puzzle of Bambi (one of my favorite movies at the time).
I couldn’t get the pieces to fit together the way I was pretty sure they were supposed to…actually, the way I was VERY sure they were supposed to!!
So I took some scissors to the puzzle pieces and I cut them to fit.
Well, what do you know, they actually weren’t supposed to fit together that way and I totally ruined the puzzle.
I had that exact same impulse when I was putting together my tulip puzzle over the weekend.
The puzzle was from dollar tree and when I finished the border I had a whole bunch of edge pieces leftover.
I was so sure the dollar tree people screwed up!
Time to break out the scissors and make it fit!
Thankfully my husband walked in before the massacre began and when I showed him he helped me to realize that even though it looked like I had pieces left over, In fact they were pieces that went on the inside of the puzzle but they just looked like edge pieces.
Yikes! I realized that is definitely one of my impulses for life as well. When I don’t really think things are fitting together like they’re supposed to, I take my scissors to it and make it work.
“I’m going to pound on the pieces until they jam together.”
In reality when you find pieces that really do go together they fit together beautifully, easily, and it all just flows.
The resulting picture is much prettier.
So…the puzzle that did turn out beautifully and all 101 pieces I actually did belong in that puzzle. (Thank you dollar tree you didn’t screw up after all.)
Here are my lessons learned:
The pieces (and you and I) are exactly the right shape.
We may be in a place where it doesn’t seem like things are going to fit together, but we are exactly the right shape and have exactly the right skills.
We have exactly the number we need.
We may feel “not enough” for whatever situation we’re in…but we have exactly what we need!
We fit easily where we belong.
We can stop making ourselves fit where our pieces are not meant to be.
So if you feel like maybe you’re not the right size and maybe you don’t have exactly what you need to succeed I would encourage you to go buy a puzzle at dollar tree (or wherever fine puzzles are sold) and see what discoveries you have while you are putting it together.
Behind the Scenes
Have you ever wondered what happens backstage at a play?
Attended a concert and tried to catch a glimpse of what goes on when the lights are off?
If so, I’m right there with you!
As a child I got backstage passes to a Sandi Patty concert and couldn’t wait to see what glitz an glamour awaited behind the curtain.
You know what I saw instead?
Concrete floor, cinder block walls, and a folding table with a coffee pot.
Yup. Not so glamorous.
I do however have a photo of the big moment…
You’re welcome.
Lesson learned…the snapshot you get on stage is absolutely awesome.
But it is NOTHING like what is going on behind the curtain.
Which translates beautifully as a metaphor for many aspects of life, including learning new music.
This week I thought I’d share some behind the scenes footage of the prep and practice that goes into learning a new piece of music. Lest you think I wake up with music flowing effortlessly from my fingertips…
One Small Voice
Ever feel like you are “too small” to make a difference in the world?
The song “One small voice” is something I sing to myself when those doubting voices start up in my head.
(You know those very serious sounding warning voices that say “Why even try” or “Your not good enough yet?”)
The song is from Sesame Street and it’s a very simple message.
But after all, didn’t we learn everything we need to know in Kindergarten?
Those voices were going in full force when I sat down to record this. Super early morning, no makeup, with a dog on my lap and coffee in my hand.
I powered through and this is the result, because
One small voice CAN teach the world a song…
And if you would like to learn how to use YOUR voice in a powerful way, sign up for emails below and get immediate access to an awesome video that will teach you how!
I’m so thankful I didn’t listen…
The song “Reflection” from the movie Mulan is one that really resonates with me.
Especially the lyric, “if I were truly to be myself I would break my family’s heart.”
It hits very close to home because when I was heading off to college my dad said,
“Don’t major in voice, you’ll never be able to support yourself as a singer.”
Spoiler alert: I majored in voice.
And when I graduated college, I joined the Navy….as a singer. ⚓️
The people closest to us don’t want to see us fail.
So they encourage us to play it safe. Get a “real” job.
I’m so thankful that I didn’t listen.
And when I was stationed in New Orleans I took my dad out for dinner….My treat. ☺️