Are blogs still a thing?
In this day and age of podcasts, social media posts, reels, vlogs, audio and visuals at your fingertips - do people still read each other's extended thoughts? I'm not sure the answer to that question, but I've recently felt more and more compelled to share my thoughts in a deeper manner in this type of forum.
My goal with these future blog posts, and my decision to ultimately revive my blog, is to shatter the image of a picture perfect life. I feel like our culture and social media has so twisted our minds to believe that everyone's lives seem to be perfect, except for ours. My aim is to be vulnerable, real, and raw about life's struggles in hopes that it will encourage someone else in the midst of theirs.
I'm a wife, mother of 2 (a toddler and currently a one month old - so already you know my life can be chaotic); I'm also an executive pastor, worship leader, singer/songwriter, and music teacher. I wear a lot of hats, and in the midst of life and ministry I want people to know that serving God in these manners is not without great difficulty BUT it is definitely worth it!
The combined power of great art and a great message is in its power of delivery and authenticity. Whenever I create something (listen to my past music projects for reference!), I refuse to create things that are cookie cutter. I'm not interested in making things that have been made or done before. I want to break molds, shatter glass ceilings, make art that really matters and really speaks.
Just an example into my heart: when my first full length album Refine came out I really struggled with deciding whether or not to re-record the last track, Refiner's Fire. When I first recorded it, I started crying in the middle of the vocal take during a spontaneous section because of how much the lyrics meant to me. I was later going to re-do the vocal take since my voice choked up, but Michell (hubby) convinced me to keep it. He said that was his favorite part of the song, because it conveyed how I truly meant what I was singing. Now years later listening back it still brings me to tears when I listen to that part. It reminds me of how much God was doing in my heart and life in that season of my life, and the same emotions come rushing back to me.
To put it bluntly, this type of expression would not be received or accepted by Christian radio or by most casual listeners who just want to be “uplifted” by Christian music. I chose to push the line here to show that real, honest music can be more powerful when it's stripped down, real, and raw. What's the point of singing happy songs if we also don't have the contrast of singing the unhappy ones?
The testimony of the message wouldn't mean much without the mess that it came from. Tune in and share my blog/website, pour a cup of coffee (and NOT decaf), put some reflecting music in your headphones (maybe some Joni Mitchell!), and reflect on life with me. Let's get messy together!