hard working momentum

I sit here trying to think of a more descriptive title for this post. The hard part. Tough stuff. I can't really come up with one.

The recording project is coming along quite well. We've had a total of 3 rehearsals now. You know, just getting everybody together on one night is hard to do. The amount of schedules that have to be rearranged alone makes it tough, and add to that that I think we all miss our bedtimes in order to be a part of this thing:)

I posted a couple of weeks ago about how electric and exciting rehearsal is with a great band, and that is every bit as true today as it was then. But you know, it's also hard work. Excitement and electricity don't carry you through to the finish line, do they. There is a time when hard work is called for, and if you are going to keep up your momentum, there is a lot of study, and sweat, and practice that will go into that.

I'm playing my guitar more these days than I ever have. I think you go through periods of time of rediscovery and then periods of time where you plateau a bit. I would have to call this period a time of rediscovery and new growth. The difference is, I find myself pulling out the guitar a bit even when I don't really feel like it. Now there's a concept, isn't it? Actually practicing when you don't want to. Imagine that.

I'm hoping that everybody else involved is doing the same kind of things I am. I know that there are times in rehearsal when I say, "let's do it again." and they have to be thinking, "Not one more time through the same song! We've been playing it for an hour!" I know they have to be thinking that because sometimes I am thinking that. Oh man, here we go again.

But oh, every time we play it gets a little tighter, the notes get a little clearer, the rests get a little more pronounced, the dynamics make a little more sense. Everybody listens to each other a little bit more, and we play together a little bit more like a unit.

I don't think you have to look real hard to see the parallels here. There have to be times when we are tired and up past our bedtimes, and don't want to do the one thing that still has to be done. There have to be times when we don't feel like studying, don't feel like reading, don't feel like spending time with the people that we love the most. There are times when we just want to veg out on the couch and get lost in something mind-numbing. But oh man, every time we do the hard stuff we get a little stronger, a little more faithful, and dare I say - a little more Christ-like?

The Things I Do

So I have to say, having whipped cream thrown in your face is not exactly the best way to spend an afternoon. There are a lot of things I could think of that would be more fun -- like fishing, bowling, maybe going to the dentist...

ok maybe not the dentist.

When whipped cream gets in your hair and dries, it hardens like a really stiff gel. Actually, I think it probably holds a little bit better than the gel I use. It would make a very nice substitute if not for the smell. You see, getting covered in it means you have dairy product smeared all over you, soaked into your clothes and other places, and then standing out in the sun pretty much guarantees the smell of sour milk will follow you wherever you go.

I did learn that if you were in an industrial setting and perhaps forgot your ear plugs, whipped cream would do quite nicely. If you need a little ear protection for your hearing and don't have any foam plugs around, grab a can of reddi whip, stick it in your ear, and let 'er go. You will be in your own, quiet little world of white frosting in no time. My first customers managed to block out my hearing quite nicely with just such a maneuver - And by the way Adam, I'm pretty sure it did hurt me more than it hurt you. Thanks anyway:)

The application of whipped cream to your eyeballs leaves a milky white texture, which translates into a visual haze. It's kind of a fog effect, giving a little glow to everything you see. I'm told that wearing contact lenses amplifies this effect, but I can only pass that on as hearsay. Everything else I am describing is scientifically proven by direct experience.

When one gets whipped cream in one's nose, one might notice that the entire world will smell like it for the rest of the day. Taking a shower might wash the smell off of you, so the people around you won't notice anything, but have no fear. The smell is still yours to cherish from the amount that got squished up your nose.

Finally, taking a whipped cream pie in the face proves how much one is committed to a cause. To raise money (I believe we sold 44 pies at $5 each to be smooshed into one our our faces) we thought this might be a good idea. Of course, getting the equipment to get a recording done is a real dream of mine. Those other poor suckers were just in the wrong leadership at the wrong time!:)

synergizification

I haven't written here in a long time.

I don't know if I would consider myself to have been grossly uninspired lately or what, I just haven't been in the writing mode. Partly I think life has been crowding out the space that I really need to be creative and/or reflect. Sandboxes and lawn mowers, flowers and ministry - not to mention the long list of things still left to do.

But now there are some exciting developments, and I guess you could say I'm inspired once again.

We had an awesome band practice last night. I mean really good - better than we've ever had. Partly because of the caliber of the people playing, it makes a big difference. Partly because we rehearsed for 2 hours and covered all of 2 songs. Man, there is so much energy in musicians collaborating and really sweating the details and fine tuning a piece of music. It is really humbling from my perspective because we are fine tuning and sweating songs that I have written (and a couple that I've co-written.)

That's a cool thing. I mean I haven't gotten that much energy from playing 2 songs in a long time. We're rehearsing in anticipation of doing a live recording of a bunch of the stuff I've written.

It's going to be a very long summer - I hate giving up another night of the week. But boy, I'd give up a lot more than that to have another rehearsal like I had last night.

thanks guys and gals who gave up their time to collaborate and inspire with me:)