What I want to be when I grow up...

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of my 27th birthday. I am not afraid to say that I am 38 years old, it is just that 27 was a very very good year for me! It was the year that I started on the road to being who I am. I started dating Jes that year and that led to becoming a mother and spending 6 years on Young Life staff...which has introduced me to the best friends I will ever have, etc. So I have decided to celebrate that year every birthday...at least for now. Perhaps 10 years from now I will be celebrating this year, the year I decided to live large...to seek that abundant life that Jesus promised me!

Part of my year of living large has been a journey to find out how to use my greatest talent; my voice. I also have a natural gift with words and an ease at being in front of large groups of people. In short, when I grow up I want to be a singer/songwriter =) Toward this end I have entered a contest in Nashville in July. If I win this contest ( a long shot at best) I will win a recording contract for a single of my song and will be on my way to becoming a full-fledged Christian recording artist. Also, if the judges like me, even if I don't win, I could be given the opportunity to perform live in Nashville, at a concert with people like Chris Tomlin, Switchfoot, Franchesca Batistelli (I think you get it =)

In preparation, I have been writing songs since last July or so and have 3 or 4 that I like. I have also been learning to play the guitar, which is a tremendous challenge for me. The most challenging part is not the actual playing but the fear of screwing up in front of people. So, in order to get over these fears I decided that I just needed to take my guitar out and play/sing some of my songs. I did that last night, in celebration of my 11th-27th birthday. I took my guitar and some of my songs (and my husband and children) and I signed up to sing them at the Reno Music Project Open Mic Night at Maytan Music. There were only about 40 people there, but I was terrified. Also, when I got there there were only 2 slots left...I either had to go first, or last. Not wanting to prolong my agony, I signed up to go first.

I must have looked like an idiot to the musicians there. I don't know how to play standing up, so I had to sit. I also don't have a guitar with any kind of amplification, so they had to set up a boom mic for that. I fumbled around with my guitar and played all kinds of terrible chords, but I did it! I sung my songs...in front of people...and they clapped. Now, I know that they did not clap for my guitar playing (my voice was in great form last night), but they also did not boo my off the stage.

After I left the stage a lovely younger lady approached me (she really is 27 =). She had that really "put-together" look of a performer who knew much more than I did. She was lovely in lots of ways, and she had some great advice for me as well. Mostly she just encouraged me, that I should use my voice, that I should do what I was made to do, and that I was right to get up there last night and sing! And you know what...she was right!

Happy 11th-27th birthday to me!