Worship Wednesdays - 7 Ways to Create an Invitation To Worship...

Today, we're posting from Halifax, Nova Scotia! We just wrapped up the New Brunswick leg of the tour with a concert and workshop in Hampton, which was the inspiration for today's post.

How do we bring our congregation into worship?

As worship leaders, we've rehearsed the songs, studied the lyrics, and we come to church with an enthusiasm and a readiness to worship. But so often, we meet a congregation who is not in the same place as us. They seem reluctant to join in the Sunday celebration.

Here are 7 thoughts on creating an Invitation to Worship:

#1. Where Are They?

When we're leading worship on a Sunday morning, our early hours are filled with preparation - vocal warm ups, Bible devotional, prayer, set up and rehearsal. But our congregation hasn't had the same kind of morning. We can't know what they've all experienced, but we know for some of them, it was probably a challenge to get to church that day. Perhaps their littlest one had a temper tantrum, and the breakfast table became a battle ground. Maybe they had a fight with their spouse on the drive over. Perhaps they haven't slept because they know they might lose their job this week, or maybe they're coming in hungover from a later Saturday night. Or maybe they don't even believe in "this stuff" and someone is dragging them to church today.

That's our congregation. That's who we need to lead into worship. Our first step is to recognize this.


#2. Pray.

We always encourage both individuals and teams to pray before worship. In your prayers, lift up your congregation. Remember that they're struggling. You may not know each person's challenge, but God does. Pray that you may be used to lead them into God's presence, and that they may feel God's love and grace today.


#3. How Do We Set The Mood?

Each church handles those pre-service moments differently. Some prefer silence, and other use that time for announcements. Some play instrumental music, while others lead a sing along of favourite hymns and worship songs. Brian Doerkson talks about "stirring the waters" - a gentle improvisation of all the instruments in the band. It's not a song, but simply sounds that start to tune the congregation's ear to the music.

Find the right pre-service moments for your congregation that will meet them where they are, but will also prepare them for a time of worship.


#4. Issue An Invitation.

This sounds obvious, but it can't be underestimated. Find some way - through words, images, music, or movement - to shift the mood and actually invite them into worship. I'm a big fan of using the Psalms to bring our focus into praising and glorifying God. Sometimes, I may issue an invitational prayer while Gerald underscores with gentle guitar. Other times, we've had slides showing different images of the majesty of creation, with accompanying prayers or music.

Don't be afraid to be direct. There are times when I'll pray something like, "I know many of us have come here today with burdens, things that are filling our minds with worries and concerns. Let's lay them aside for the next hour, and allow ourselves to experience the love and grace of God." 

In each case, we want people to recognize that this isn't the rest of the week - this is sacred time, and they are invited into that holiness.


#5. Now, We Get Them Singing

We've chosen different kinds of songs for our opening worship song - sometimes we start gently, other times we get them off to a rocking start. In either situation, we always choose a well known song. As musicians, we forget that most people don't sing on a daily basis, and now we're going to ask them to spend the next hour singing! Allow them to start with vocal confidence on a familiar song or hymn.


#6. Don't Hit Them With The Wall Of Sound

Often times, worship teams can get so excited to play together that they knock their congregation over with the 'wall of sound'. This is our term for when everyone plays every note of every song and it's LOUD! It can come from enthusiasm, but it can be fixed with some good arranging. Allow your songs to build. Start with one instrument, add another on the chorus. Sing unison in the verses, build into harmony. Give your congregation a way to enter the song, and then take them on a journey.


#7. It Starts With Love

Bringing people into worship is an act of trust. Love your congregation. Get to know them. Attend coffee hour and start conversations. Join a small group or outreach project. Build relationships both within and outside of your worship team. Encourage your band and choir to do the same. Break down the us-them walls. Let people know your love of God and your passion for worship. Because when that trust has been built, we can help bring people into the presence of God, and experience all that is waiting for them.

How do you invite your congregation into worship?

Please let your thoughts in the Comments section

Our new CDs - 

How The Light Gets In and Tonight, Everywhere Is Bethlehem

- are now available    

             online! 

Listen and purchase music at www.InfinitelyMore.ca/Store

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - Holding Sound In Our Hands

It's official - our 2 new CDs are finally here!

Last Monday, we received boxes and boxes from the manufacturing plant. It was amazing to crack them open and see row upon row of CDs, ready to share.

How The Light Gets In and Tonight, Everywhere Is Bethlehem

The next morning, we loaded the car and started out on our 2-month East Coast Tour. It's been a whirlwind start, traveling through 3 provinces, 2 countries, and performing 5 concerts in 5 days.

Today, we've finally had a bit of time to upload the new music to our website. 

You can hear samples of the music HERE.

It's hard to describe the feeling of holding your new CD in your hand. Some people equate the process to giving birth. Many people feel completely drained by the process. Others experience a burst and energy and excitement.

For us, it's probably a combination of all these things. We decided to record because we had so many songs that were crying out for a home. We'd perform them in concerts, and when people requested them on CD, we knew we were singing the stories that needed to be shared. From the writing to the song selection to the actual recording, it's been an intense and emotional season. We've been a little antisocial, and probably should have taken a few more days off, but it's been worth it all.

Our greatest joy now is sharing the music! We're so excited to put these songs into the hands of listeners, and soon, we'll even start sharing our music on radio.

We are so grateful for everyone who supported these projects - those who shared their creativity, their financial support, and their emotional and spiritual encouragement. It truly takes a village to raise a CD!

We would love for you to take a listen, 

and maybe even purchase a CD or Download.

We also want to share the artwork with you today:

Photos by Simon Chambers.

We pray that in sharing our journey with you, you may also be inspired and encouraged with your recording project. In our experience, it's one of the biggest creative challenges an artist can experience. 

But as soon as it's complete, the only real question is, 

"When can we do this again?"

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - The East Coast Tour Has Begun!

Everyone in Ontario has been complaining about the cool summer. Funny thing - when you spend your entire summer inside a vocal booth, you don't even notice the weather...

It's amazing to find ourselves in September, 

and at the start of our East Coast Tour!

Over the next 2 months, we'll sing 30 events in 4 provinces! 

As we head out on the road, we're always filled with great excitement and inspiration. We love traveling and making music, and the first moments of every tour are filled with all the possibilities that lie ahead of us.

And as with all things, we start with prayer.

We've been praying over this tour for months. We've prayed that we will connect with the churches who need us, and that their leadership will be open to the opportunity. We've prayed that calendars, schedules, and distances will balance to keep our route easy and efficient. We prayed for clergy and volunteers as they've prepared their churches and communities for our visit.


Now, our prayers move to the practical, the immediate, and the spiritual:

• We pray for safety, our car, and good weather.

• We pray for good vocal and physical heath.

• We continue to pray for each church, community, clergy, and volunteer.

• We pray for individuals and families who will be coming to the concerts and workshops.

• We pray for our emotional and spiritual heath, both as individuals and as a couple.

• We lift prayers of thanksgiving for our new recordings, and for the opportunity to use our talents to bring a message of hope.

• Above all, we pray that everything we do over the next 2 months will honour God, and serve God's people. We pray that everyone involved in these events will come away with a renewed sense of God's unfailing mercy, grace, and love.

If you feel comfortable, we would love for you to join us in these prayers on this tour!

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 18:20

You can follow our East Coast Tour by visiting this blog, our calendar, and Facebook!

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - Guest Post by Gerald Flemming

Today we feature a guest post by my husband and partner in all things Infinitely More, Gerald Flemming. 

The Nutrients of Prayer
By Gerald Flemming

Allison and I are nigh unto finished with our shiny new CDs, ‘How The Light Gets In’ and ‘Tonight, Everywhere Is Bethlehem’. Anybody who has made a single CD knows the incredible odyssey it is, but like last time, we decided to do these two simultaneously. We’ll never learn. The reasons are many, some of them economical, some of them having to do with the ability to streamline the process. To say we are totally wiped out is an understatement of epic proportions. The last month alone, we didn’t have a single day off.

Two years of writing and road testing songs across Canada and the States, culminated into a three month gauntlet that, at times, tested the very fabric of our convictions. The recording process of course was our main focus, but we were still doing concerts and leading worship on a weekly basis, at different churches and venues. This, while also booking a two and a half month East Coast Tour that looks incredibly full and exciting. The reason I’m actually writing Allison’s blog post this morning is because this is technically, ‘almost’ a day off for me, while she is spending the entire day teaching.

And we’ve all experienced that extended period of time without rest. The seemingly endless days of dawn till dusk, having to make hay while the sun shines. We do everything in ‘our power’ to persevere. Contemporary success tech has lots of words for this focus, but all of them feel like they’re lacking because most of them are rooted in the ‘our power’ paradigm.

For Allison and me, I would have to say, this long arduous process
 was fueled more by the ‘our prayer’ paradigm.  

Prayer, for us, is the flash paper. It unites us and ignites us, giving energy and focus when we really shouldn’t have any. It’s the moment of eloquent quiet and solemnity that not only prepares us for the grind but also gets us excited about the possibilities. There’s no question in my mind that we would have folded at some point in the last few months, if we hadn’t been fueled by prayer.  There were times that all of the crazy brought Allison and I closer, and there were times it felt like it drove a wedge between us. Prayer would then help mitigate any energy draining conflict, align our purposes, and set us back to the task at hand.

In less then two weeks we’ll be leaving for the East Coast for two and a half months.  We have to finalize the set list of a new concert. Make sure all of the tech is sound (pun intended). Get our vehicle fixed (don’t get me started).  And the rest of the toilet roll list of things that need to be done before we leave. Even the thought of all this starts my head swimming and my heart palpitating in an unhealthy way...

Excuse me please, if you will, while I turn away and find a quiet little moment to pray about it.

Peace,
Gerald

We would love your help finishing our new CDs! 

Please visit our Kickstarter page to watch our 'making of' video 

and learn more about our exciting pledge rewards:

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - Why We're Recording a Christmas Album!

In 2012, we did a "never again." 

We started out recording our Infinitely More CD and partway through the process thought, "Hey, while we're pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into this CD, we should record a second CD!" So, we did. Every Church Is A Small Town became Gerald's first solo project. We were thrilled with the results, overjoyed when both projects received GMA Covenant Award nominations, but if we're being honest, it was completely exhausting. By the end of that summer, we were drained emotionally, creatively, spiritually, and financially.

Never again.

Or is that, never say 'never again'...

This spring, we began preproduction on our 5th studio project, How The Light Gets In. It's been an amazing journey of songwriting, collaborating, and recording. But partway through the process, a new idea started to surface.

You see, back in 2012, we recorded a single Christmas song, My Heart Is The Manger.

We've loved sharing that song in our concerts, but it's always led to the question, 

"When are you going to make a Christmas album?"

A few years ago, we recorded some live Christmas performances. They contain the beauty and spirit of the season, but they've only been heard by a few friends and family members.

And then we have these great new songs we wrote last Christmas that everyone keeps asking about. It wouldn't be that hard to just record 2 songs...

As we started thinking, the idea formed, "What if we took all those beautiful performances, and brought them together into a special, festive project?"

And the Christmas EP was born!

So this fall, when we release How The Light Gets In, we'll also release our first Christmas album - 

Tonight, Everywhere Is Bethlehem.

You never know where this creative journey will take you. But the beauty of doing more is learning more, and I can honestly tell you: even though we've had definite moments of exhaustion this summer, this time around, the recording process has been pure joy!

We're so excited to share these live and studio performances with you! If you're interested in learning more about both projects and placing your download or CD preorder, you can visit here:

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page visit us every Wednesday!

BIG Announcements about Our New CD!

Today, we have HUGE news!

Not only are we recording a new full-length CD of original songs and favourite hymns - How The Light Gets In - we're also recording a brand new Christmas EP!

Tonight, Everywhere Is Bethlehem is our long awaited Christmas project, combining sweeping studio recordings with beautiful live performances.

To help bring these projects to life, we've just launched our first ever Kickstarter campaign!

We would love for you to pre-order your CD, and prayerfully consider supporting our recording with some of our exciting pledge packages. You can receive CDs, custom songs, house concerts, and even join our East Coast Tour Club!

Here’s how we want to make this campaign extra special: Our full project budget is $20,000, but if we reach our minimum goal of $3000, every contributor will receive a free Christmas bonus!!!

Please visit our Kickstarter page for all the details:

We'll be posting lots of photos, videos, and song samples over the next few weeks. 

Check back often, and help us bring these projects over the finish line!

Our New CD - Announcing the Songs!

On Sunday, we have a big announcement with our new CD, 

but each day this week, we're posting mini-announcmenets on our Facebook page.

Today, we're sharing the songs!

Stay tuned for more updates!! 

Worship Wednesdays

Worship Wednesdays is on hiatus this week as we prepare some BIG NEWS for you!

Visit us in the next few days for all the announcements and new developments with our New CD!!

Worship Wednesdays returns in its regular format next week...

Worship Wednesdays - The View From The Vocal Booth

The lights are slightly dimmed, save for the summer evening sunshine peering through the shaded window. The warm brown of the soft wall-covering gives the small room the feeling of a cube-shaped blanket.

I carry my lyric sheet, my pink mechanical pencil, and my Contigo water bottle. The water is room temperature, of course. I lay each piece in its appropriate spot, and take a deep breath. My sunglasses and earrings are removed and sit on the stool. They'll just be in the way.

Checking to see which earpiece is marked 'Left', I don the headphones. The room is deliberately silent, but I can hear myself breathing in the phones if I get close to the mic. I swing my arms and stretch my legs a little. Loose is good. Loose allows the breath to flow.

I do a few of the weird sounds that only other singers find attractive - cascading lips thrills, soaringly high sighs, nasal na-na-nas...

I can see Gerald and Carmon, our engineer, in the next room, chatting and trading guitar gear wish lists.

My eyes catch the lyric sheet I've placed on the stand. "A Divine Heart Imagined You" - I love this song. I remember the first time I heard Gerald sing the first draft. The words and the melody were hauntingly beautiful. I was so moved I declared myself "cowriter" and together, we finished the song.

And tonight, we record the vocals.

Photos taken during our current recording sessions at 

Emmanuel Recording Studios, Toronto, ON.

Over the past few months, this song has had to complete in a class of 50 to see who would make it onto this new CD. We created our arrangement, brought it to the musicians in Nashville to add their creativity to the mix, and then shipped it back to Toronto for this moment.

We've sung it live many times, but tonight's performance will be something else. This is the one that people will listen to in their living rooms and on their car stereos. They'll hear it on good days when they feel confident in God's love. They'll hear it on the horrible days when the world feels like its crashing in on them, when they doubt that love or mercy or grace exists at all. As I look at the lyric sheet, I think about all the people who will hear this song, but especially the ones who will need it the most. I imagine them listening to melody, letting the message wash over them...

I hear Gerald and Carmon talking to me. We're ready. Carmon hits play, and the track starts to play in my headphones. I hear Gerald's guitar and that beautiful cello. I take a singer's breath, and start to sing, 

"Before the first face felt the first dawn..."

A few full takes to get the feel of the song. Then, a few passes on individual lines and verses to really work the expression and beauty of each section. We break the song into its most minute moments, using every technical and emotional tool we have to explore the fullness of the song.

After capturing each verse several times, I remove the headphones and rejoin Gerald and Carmon. We sit together to choose our favourite takes and create a vocal that is emotional, powerful, and beautiful. We make sure my harmonies match perfectly with Gerald's melodies. We fuss over the tiniest details to make sure every phrase, every note, expresses the message we want to share.

A little techno magic, and the whole vocal is ready. We take a final listen. Not so long ago, this was simply an idea that entered Gerald's creative space. By the end of the summer, it will be a fully recorded song, ready to play its way into the hearts and lives of folks who need to hear about God's plan and provision for their lives. Amazing.

Our work for tonight is done.

With a click of a button, everything is sent back to Nashville where it will be mixed... 

But that's another story....

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page & visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - The Musical Fountain of Youth

Last week, my Facebook feed was inundated with cell phone videos from this year's Stamps-Baxter School of Music. If you've been reading this blog since the beginning, you'll know that Stamps-Baxter was very influential on my decision to enter ministry.

I've been watching videos like this, of 80-something-year-old Rosa Nell Powell ripping up the piano:

Thank you, Marian, for this video!

Southern Gospel musicians get a lot of flack - some deserved and some not - but there's one thing they do right: they raise their children with music. I saw it every year at the school. Whole families would come, training their children to sing harmony, write and arrange songs, and play instruments.

We would also get the seniors, folks in their 70's, 80's, and 90's who were still singing and playing.

I remember the first time Earl Scruggs visited the school with Little Roy Lewis. Little Roy and the band were tearing it up, and poor Earl was off on the side of the stage. I kept thinking, "Why are they making him sit there like that? How can they just parade him around like a mascot?" Then, someone helped Earl out to a chair in the middle of the stage, and he started to play. I was gobsmacked! All of a sudden, this man came to life, playing energetically with precision and passion. The crowd went nuts. I was amazed...

At that same school, a man named Harold Lane spent his days sitting in the back of the auditorium. In his prime, Harold was a prominent vocalist and song arranger, influencing a generation of music makers. But now, he seemed weak and distant. Ben Speer asked if I would please ask Mr. Lane to arrange one of my songs, to give him something to do. I felt terrible asking this frail man to do anything. One afternoon, I sought him out and made my request. He asked me to repeat the question. I wondered if I was causing him confusion, so I nervously asked again,

"Would you please arrange my song with harmony?" 

"Why?" he asked, "Don't you know how to write parts?" 

"No, sir, " I answered. 

"Well then, sit down and I'll teach you." 

He grabbed a piece of chalk, drew a staff on the board, and turned to face me. Remember that scene in The Wizard of Oz when everything turns from black and white to colour? Well, Mr. Lane had turned to colour - bright, vibrant, ready to share his passion for harmony with me. I met with him every chance I could get. When teaching music, he was a man on fire.

When Gerald and I talk about who we want to be as seniors, we never speak about retiring in the traditional sense. We may change how we do it, but we'll always make music. Stopping just isn't an option.

In our travels, we often meet folks like Earl and Mr. Lane, people who have allowed their passion for music making to carry on throughout their lives. As they age, their bodies and sometimes their minds start to fail them. Eyesight fades, limb grow weak, and yet, the music stays alive. They continue to sing, write, and play. If one skill becomes too difficult, they pick up another:

• Soloists with weaker voices move to the chorus where other voices will support them. 
• Double bass players who can't stand learn to play electric bass so they can sit to play. 
• Guitar players with stiff fingers learn to write lyrics and collaborate with other musicians to create melodies.

It's almost as if the music fills the gaps left by aging. 

It energizes them, and propels them forward into living life it all its vibrancy.

I'm reminded of this verse:

Start children off on the way they should go,

    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Music classes in schools have been on the chopping block for years, and that battle will continue as long as people are foolish enough to think that music and art are frivolous. Those of us who teach and practice the art of music making know that it's essential to who we are as individuals and as a society.

It's critical that we introduce music to children when they're young, so that they learn early how to make music and how to weave it into their daily lives. But I believe it's also critical to make music as long as we possibly can.

Perhaps, in making music, we can find a fountain of youth. 

Let's continue to make music, to teach music, and to encourage others in the art and practice of music making. Let's find a place where our lifetime pool of skills, talents, emotions, experiences, and passions can strengthen and inspire us to explore and enjoy life for as long as possible.

And maybe, in that place, we can inspire the next generation to sing, play, write, arrange, and create...
And the circle will begin once more...

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page & visit us every Wednesday!

Worship Wednesdays - A Visit From My Past Self

Over the past year, Gerald and I have both read "The War of Art" and "Turning Pro" by Steven Pressfield. If you're a musician or artist of any kind, these books need to be required reading, with a pen for taking notes. Pressfield identifies the Artist's greatest enemy as Resistance. Resistance can take many forms, including procrastination, distraction, or negative friends. Once identified, we learn how to overcome Resistance to make our Art.

These books have been, and continue to be, transformational for us this year. Transitioning from staff worship leaders to full-time touring artists has been rife with challenges. How do we book enough dates? How do we balance finances? Do we hire people or do everything in-house? How do we balance creative and business time? Can we afford to record? Can we afford not to?

I was searching for an old blog post this week, when I randomly read my post from Saturday, August 13, 2005. On this day, I had recently returned from my life-changing trip to Nashville. For two weeks, I had been drilled by skilled teachers in performance, songwriting, and music theory. I had said "Yes" to God's calling to transform my life from Performer to Gospel Singer (not even quite knowing what that meant...) But now I was back at home, where the distractions of life and planning a wedding were swimming around me. Resistance was ready to meet me at the front door, waiting to steer me off the path of my new "Yes"...

"I am now in the phases of 'real work'. I no longer have the school's schedule or Allison Durham Speer or Daryl Williams to push and inspire me. This is the tough part of achieving your dreams. The infamous follow-through. Self-discipline. Taking the things I learned, and applying them. Building on them. Keeping the momentum..."

I find it so perfect that I found this post this week. Just a few days ago, we again returned from Nashville. Over the past few weeks, we've been working closely with session players and our engineer to record the tracks for our next Infinitely More CD. Yesterday, we were so tired - physically, mentally, spiritually. The temptation was to simply collapse for the rest of the summer. After all, people do take it easy in the summer. Facebook is full of holiday updates, beach sunsets, and patio party selfies.

Without warning, Resistance was in full swing, like a silent monster gliding through the house, throwing glittering, sun-soaked temptations into every room to distract us ....

But this music, this CD, is our Dream, and there's work to do. We have vocals to record, cover photos to take, graphics to design, and funds to raise. There are hours and hours of rehearsal and creative planning in the next few weeks. We have concerts and worship services to plan and perform, and a 5-province East Coast Tour to book.

As I felt the battle of Resistance surging around me, I read this paragraph written by my 2005 Self:

"With a good gospel song, I can change (someone's) life. And that's what I've always aimed for as an artist. To shake people up. To bring them out of the ordinary. For them to leave my performance with questions, new thoughts, new considerations."

The power to change someone's life. Well, that's still the path I'm on. The post continued:

"I know that God has affected my life in amazing ways in the last few years. I can't wow people with my Biblical insights. That's just not my strength. What I can say is this: I was in the darkest place imaginable. My life took a turn that I thought I would not survive. I can't explain it, but this force we call God brought me through it. I can't explain it, but I know that this God loves me, cares for my everyday thoughts and actions, and stays faithful to me in good and bad. And I know that when I gave my art, my career, and my life to Him for His controlling, that my art, my career, and my life changed in ways I could never "ask or imagine"*. I can't explain it, but I can tell you that I know all these things to be true. And if you have any doubts, try it. Just give your life over to God, and see what will happen. It's truly amazing."

Wow. There's nothing like remembering the first moments the Dream was born...

So in the new few weeks, when I'm overwhelmed, when I'm stressed, when Resistance is trying to convince me that a TV marathon is really the way to go, I'm going to remember these paragraphs. I'm going to remember that the Dream has changed and grown over the past years, but the goal has not.

I still want our music to bring people out of the ordinary, 

For I've met the Extraordinary. 

He changed my life, 

He can change yours, 

And I can't think of a better reason to sing...

*When I wrote this post in 2005, Gerald and I were on separate music career paths. We had no inkling that we would ever become a duo, and we certainly had no idea that we would name ourselves Infinitely More, the same verse containing the phrase "ask or imagine." Until yesterday. I hadn't even looked at this post since I first wrote it in 2005. Don't tell me God isn't in the details!

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page & visit us every Wednesday!

Nashville - The Drive Home

On Wednesday morning, we started to head north again, making the long trek home.

We couldn't resist the chance to visit Memphis one more time, so we stopped for a visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The history of Memphis soul music was traced from its humble beginnings in a local garbage to the record label that brought us Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and The Staple Singers. The original building had been destroyed, but the museum used original gear and historic photographs to faithfully recreate the studio. The museum also helps fund a music academy and charter school for young students. We loved the exhibits and took lots of photos, which will probably come tomorrow...

For today, we're exhausted. After leaving Memphis, we stayed in Nashville for the night, followed by two more long days in the car. In total, we clocked almost 24 hours of highway driving this week! Thankfully, the weather and the border crossing were both easy, but today, we're feeling the fatigue.

We collapsed last night, surrounded by the comforts of home and an abundance of puppy love. We feel blessed and grateful for the events of the past few weeks - safe travels, amazing recording sessions, decadent meals, and beautiful visits with friends.

In just a few days, we'll be back in the studio, recording vocals for our songs. 

The journey continues, but first, we rest...

Nashville - Day 17

Little Rock continues to treat us well, with great meals, beautiful shopping, and lovely cafe visits. 

But the best part has been the music and the company.

Tonight, Tara was leading worship for a youth service, so we visited to attend rehearsal and hear her lead worship. It was awesome to see such a vibrant youth program, with teens involved in missions, outreach, and worship. There's also something powerful about having your friends lead you in worship. I always imagine a trust between worship leader and congregation, and when you know that leader well, it makes the process even more powerful and intimate.

Our spontaneous performances continued tonight as we spent the evening playing our new CD tracks for Tara and Kyle. In the past week, we've sung our songs in a car, a music store, a hotel room, and now a living room. It's been a whole new feeling to sing them along with the tracks. Tara and Kyle haven't heard us sing live for a long time, and even though this wasn't a 'concert setting,' it was still awesome to get their reaction to the songs, and to our performances. Like seeing Tara sing earlier in the evening, we can all see growth in each other's musical abilities, and there's so much encouragement in that.

Tomorrow, we start the long drive home but for tonight, 

we are so thankful we made this side trip! 

Nashville - Day 16

If you haven't seen it already, I spent some time today documenting yesterday's visit to the National Civil Rights Museum. You can read the post HERE and see photos HERE.

Hello, Little Rock! As I shared yesterday, we've taken a little 'side trip' to spend time with our awesome friends, Tara and Kyle. This is our first visit to Arkansas, and so far the weather has been a suffocating heat, followed by wicked thunderstorms. Rethinking the winter gloves we brought as a gift for Tara...

The Big Dam Bridge. No, I'm not making that up...

One of our favourite things to do when we visit a place is check out its music stores. When we walked into Little Rock Frets, we were underwhelmed with what we saw. Mostly a repair shop, the store had a small selection of guitars, only two of which were acoustic. But owner and staff member were friendly, and we soon got into a conversation and told them about Infinitely More. They asked if we'd sing one of our songs. When we said "Sure," they said, "Then we want to play too." They grabbed a guitar and bass. Gerald started to play our Christmas song, "Tonight, Everywhere is Bethlehem." Within the first few beats, we had a small band formed with our impromptu performance. It was such a special moment, and a reminder that the most unassuming places can create special memories.

In the evening, Tara had worship band rehearsal, so I visited the church with her. It's a huge church, with an elegant, circular sanctuary. It was such a pleasure to simply sit in the pews and observe another band at work.

Tonight, we feasted on catfish and frog legs - well, I might have been the only one ordering frog legs - told stories, and laughed louder than any other table in the restaurant. As you know, I'm a planner, and our plan was to leave tomorrow, but after some cajoling and shifting of schedules, we've decided to stay one more night. It's so rare for the four of us to actually spend time together - these are the moments in life when you just need to say "Yes"...

Nashville - Day 15 - The National Civil Rights Museum

Today, we left Nashville for a little side trip before heading home. 

Hello, Memphis! 

We had the chance to visit Memphis a few times when we lived here, but a few sights escaped our view, one of which was the Civil Rights Museum. After a divine feast of ribs at Corky's BBQ, and potentially dangerous visit to a guitar store that had just lost its lease ($7000 guitar for a mere $4000 anyone?), we headed over to the museum.

The National Civil Rights Museum is a site specific experience. The founders of the museum purchased the original Lorraine Hotel - site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination - and the boarding house from which the fatal bullet was shot. Around these historic locations, the museum was built to showcase the history of the civil rights movement in America.

 The Lorraine Hotel and the National Civil Rights Museum.

Your first exhibit is a circular room showing the history of slavery, including a statue demonstrating the actual-sized space in which slaves would be forced to travel on the ships. (I was reminded of the powerful novel, The Book of Negroes.) From there, you enter a movie theatre with a short film explaining the major stages of the movement to overcome slavery and legal oppression. The film ends with the message that we're all moving forward in this journey, with the sounds of footsteps and an image of silhouetted people marching across the screen. Suddenly, a door slides open in the screen, and the audience is invited to join the march as we move into the larger part of the museum.

What follows is room after room of exhibits, showcasing both the horrors and triumphs of humanity. Larger stories like the Freedom Riders, integrating schools, and students sit-ins are showcased. But smaller, lesser known stories about individuals and their part of the story are also shared.

The museum is full of life-sized statues, showing scenes like Rosa Parks on the bus, and the Memphis Sanitation Strike. Coming face to face with these silvery, ghostlike forms brings history into reality.

Words like 'disturbing', 'overwhelming', and 'inspiring' are pale descriptions of the experience. In moments, my stomach turned and my eyes welled up at the intense and bizarre cruelty. Turn the corner, and I'd be reading a story of intense bravery, and the waves of hope that act generated in the rest of society.

The most powerful parts of the visit were Room 306, and the boarding house. Using police photographs, the museum has recreated both rooms to show how they would have looked on that day. In each space, we read a timeline of events, to make the experience present and palpable. We read how Dr. King was laughing and joking on the afternoon of his assassination. We see ashtrays full of cigarettes, a neat hotel room, a messy boarding house. The one detail that wasn't there on that day is the flower wreath hanging on the balcony rail, marking the fatal spot.

The museum was crowded today. People of all races and ages moved through the halls, reading the stories and staring at the photos. As we walked through, I wondered how the different groups were processing the experience. As a Canadian, this isn't my history, but as a human being, this is my history. As we've traveled throughout the South, we've often visited places where you can feel a racial tension. Sometimes it's said aloud, but oftentimes it's simply felt, perhaps in the way that people make eye contact, or even more disturbingly, in the way that they won't. I wondered if we might feel that in the museum, but we didn't. Folks moved through the crowded spaces with a sense of reverence and gentleness. Children laughed and played with the statues. People gave each other space to take photos. 'Please', 'thank you', and 'excuse me' were said often.

It's hard to put into words how we felt after we left the final exhibits. We spent a full 3 hours there, and we could have spent much more time. It's already spurned hours of conversation, and I have a feeling we'll be talking about it for a while yet.

From Memphis, we hit the road again and headed to Little Rock, Arkansas! After a bit of schedule juggling, we realized we could take a few days and visit our friends Tara and Kyle. Feeling blessed and tired tonight.

Between Gerald and I, we took over a hundred photos today. I've sorted through the highlights and created a photo album HERE. One final thought on the day...

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; 

only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; 

only love can do that."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Nashville - Day 14

Apparently, the new tourist trend in Nashville is to visit town looking for characters of the hit show, "Nashville." Well, today, we hit the trend when we saw Charles Esten - aka Deacon Claybourne! We weren't able to speak to him, but we definitely had our geeky do-you-see-who-I'm-seeing moment.

It was so lovely to attend Redeemer again this morning, to be with this wonderful congregation and see even more friends. When we came to the 'prayers of the people' section of the service, there's a place where people can add their personal petitions, either silently or aloud. As people lifted their prayers this morning, I had a flashback to 5 years ago, when we attended Redeemer on the first Sunday following our accident. When we came to this point in the service, I lifted my prayer, "I'm thankful I'm alive, and I'm thankful Gerald is alive." As this memory swept over me, I was reminded of that deep, visceral feeling of gratitude to simply be alive. We say it all the time, "We should just be thankful we're alive and healthy," but it never rings true until we walk the edge of death. This morning, I silently lifted that prayer again. I added prayers of thanksgiving for our family and our Redeemer congregation that supported us in that time, and I gave thanks for where we are today.

After the service, Jenna and our new friend, Heather, joined us for a classic treat: Sunday homestyle chicken at Cracker Barrel! The ability to see friends more than once on this trip has been an enormous blessing. We've been able to get past the 'catching up' conversations and move onto actually just hanging out and creating new memories.

Jenna was anxious to hear our recording, so after lunch we all sat in her car to listen to the CD. There are no vocals yet, so Jenna and Heather sat in the front, while Gerald and I sang the vocals from the back seat. To sing the songs to the new tracks in that intimate setting was incredibly moving. Seeing Jenna and Heather's reactions gave us new inspiration in the power of the songs, and the importance of creating a beautiful CD. We've also decided that "car concerts" should become the next big thing...

Tomorrow, the adventure continues with a visit to Memphis!

Nashville - Day 13

This is what 5 days in the studio will get you:

We started the day by picking up the rough mixes of our tracks! What an amazing feeling to hold them in our hand. One step closer to feeling that completed CD in our hands. Next, we'll return to Ontario and start recording vocals. Before we left the studio, we prayed with Denny, giving thanks for the beauty of the project thus far, and asking for God to be with us during the rest of the process.

After picking up the tracks, we headed downtown for a visit to some of our favourite spots: Lifeway Christian Bookstore and Gruhn Guitars. Our credit cards were trembling with excitement as we entered the stores! Luckily, they left only slightly bruised.

Tonight, we enjoyed another night of stories, bbq, and time with friends. Our last few trips to Nashville have been so rushed. To spend time with so many friends has been a tremendous blessing! Can't wait to attend our Nashville church again tomorrow...

Nashville - Day 12

Happy 4th of July!

Today, we celebrated by feasting on classic Southern homestyle cooking at Monell's! This was high on the To Do List when we arrived. Monell's was one of our favourites when we lived here, and we always brought company when they visited. For those of us not raised on meat-and-three dining, Monell's is a unique experience. You sit at a big table with strangers and share food and conversation over all-you-can-eat bowls of Southern cooking. We were there for the end of lunch and ended up at a table by ourselves - 15 bowls of food for just us! Skillet fried chicken, corn pudding, fried catfish, biscuits with peach preserves, fried green tomatoes and banana pudding were just a few of the treats. Needless to say, we didn't need supper ...

We opted for a quiet celebration tonight, enjoying neighbourhood fireworks and reflecting on the past two weeks. It's been such a whirlwind. Tonight, words like "blessed" and "grateful" are both cliché and perfectly suited to the conversation.

Nashville - Day 11

The tracks are officially recorded!!! Whoo-hoo!

This morning, we met to capture the final piece of the puzzle - the cello and remaining violin parts. Cello is one of our favourite instruments. We've been blessed to do some live performances with a cello, but this is the first time we've had one on our recordings. That low, rich, sound created a haunting feeling on some of the more delicate songs. Both the violin and cello combined to add an orchestral element to the full and vibrant track for There's A Light At The End Of The Tomb.

On Saturday, we'll have a final meeting with Denny and receive the rough mixes. The next step: return to Ontario and start recording vocals.

But our work for this trip is done, which means it's time for some Nashville play time! We visited our favourite shopping area tonight, and feasted one of our all time favourite restaurants, Jim 'n' Nicks. It was such a treat at the end of a long few days, and our wonderful waitress even slipped us a dozen biscuits on our way out! If you've ever had their signature biscuits with the honey butter, you'll know how happy we are right about now...

Oh, and we have a new favourite thing: white BBQ sauce.

Yes, I said white. We'd never heard of it before either, but it seems to be all the rage in Nashville these days. It comes from Alabama, and it's a blend of tangy, spicy, and sweet, depending on the recipe. I'm on the hunt for a bottle to take home with us...

I've uploaded lots of new photos in the last day or so. 

You can see them HERE.

Nashville - Day 10

We woke this morning with the satisfied fatigue that comes from a week of great work. I've finally had the time to post the photos from the studio. You can see them HERE.

When we lived in Nashville, we became great friends with Kyle and Tara Jackson. Today, Tara drove 5 hours from their new home in Little Rock to spend the day with us! It's been 2 years since we've see each other, and it was so awesome to have the whole day together!


We spent the day enjoying some of the pleasures of Nashville:

- the Redneck Taco at Martin's BBQ

- shopping at Opry Mills Mall

- visiting Tara's aunt, whose late husband played piano for Rosemary Clooney, and singing Amazing Grace acapella for her

- sampling rosemary, pear, goat cheese, and other exotic-flavoured ice cream at Jeni's

- singing, laughing, telling stories, and sharing our music dreams...

We've said this so many times this week: we're so grateful for email, Facebook, and Skype for giving us the ability to keep in touch with people. 

But nothing, nothing beats sitting face to face with a great friend...