Happy Palm Sunday!

I've been a bit of a lazy blogger lately. Not because things aren't happening, but I guess because it's all little stuff, day by day. Also, I'm writing the Gospel Thoughts blog with Dad, and that's probably eating up some of my blogging energy.

First off, Happy Palm Sunday! I am so excited about this week. Holy Week is totally my favourite time in the church, possibly even more than Christmas. I love all the different services, and the theatrical part of me loves the way we tell one amazing story, day-by-day, over the course of a whole week.

I sang both services this morning at Redeemer. I brought "Go To Dark Gethsemane" to our music director, and she loved it so much she asked me to do it today and Good Friday. We just used keyboard, and the effect was simple and lovely. It went really well at both services, and the feedback was tremendous. I love that song, so the whole thing was just a joy.

And here's some updates from the last week:

- I now have 1100 CDs in my living room! The final manufacturing round was done, and we are now overflowing with boxes. Luckily, I bought a huge armoire on Friday, so things should look fairly civilized soon.

- I'm in the Gaither Homecoming Magazine! A few month's ago, Ben was interviewed for the magazine, and Rebekah and I, as school staff, sat in on the interview. I was asked about my experience at the school, and she included my story in a paragraph! Very excited! I need to find out where I can get a copy. Oh, and they spelled my name wrong. I was highly insulted, til I noticed they spelled Allison Durham Speer's name wrong too. At that point, I just figured I was in good company!

- My next SGM Radio.com article is due this week, so last week, I interviewed Ben about his experience singing with Elvis. Yes, the Elvis! What a fascinating story! I'll post a link when it's up.

- Tried setting up a SNOCAP store for digital downloads, but they take way too much per song. Going to cancel it and try something else.

- I finished reading the Bible! Yes, I know I was on a Bible-in-a-year program, but got a little behind, and I kept putting off those final few chapters. But the goal was never about timing, just to read the whole thing, cover to cover. I'm so pleased to have done it! It was incredibly inspiring, both artistically and spiritually. I'd read and studied many of the books and major stories, but this gave me a more holistic view of the whole book. I highly recommend this exercise!

- And finally, now that the manufacturing is complete, I'm finishing all my paperwork for my mechanical licenses. (Basically, that's what allows me to record someone else's songs, and how those songwriters get paid by me.) I've heard lots of people say they only want to record public domain songs because it's "so hard" to get licenses. It's not hard - it's just work. Glad to have it all wrapped up.

That's it for now. Very busy week ahead. Church every night, and lots more promo stuff to work on...