Out of the Nest

It's time.  Time for me to move out of the comfort and safety of my self-made little nest.

Please indulge me for a moment.

I love music.  For as long as I can remember, music has been an important part of my life.  My childhood home was filled with the sounds of 50's Doo-Wop on those little 45 records.  Johnny Cash's rich, bass voice crooned about Folsom Prison while Loretta Lynn's down home Kentucky accent warbled about being a Coal Miner's Daughter on our new 8-Track player.  33-1/2 LP's scratched out The Carpenters ~ "Close to You", John Denver ~ "Country Roads", Billy Vaughn ~ "Telstar", Tina Turner ~ "Proud Mary", Julie Andrews ~ "The Sound of Music", Tony Bennett ~"I Left My Heart in San Fransisco", Frank Sinatra ~ "Fly Me to the Moon", Southern Gospel, Classical and Jazz music.  I remember sitting by the stereo for hours just singing along with these amazing artists, imagining I was up on a stage myself.

It was around the 1st or 2nd grade when my oldest brother taught me how to play "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog" on the piano.  "Heart & Soul" as well as "Chopsticks" came soon after.  However, my all-time favorite was the theme from "The Young and the Restless". (seriously!?)  When I tired of those four, I began to made up songs and play them over and over ~ quite possibly driving my mother crazy.  It wasn't too long before she enrolled me in piano lessons.

Learning the notes and playing the songs were enjoyable for me ~ I played that old Wurlitzer spinet every time I passed by.  I advanced quickly enough through the levels of John W. Schaum and John Thompson ~ remember those? ~ and began working through harder classical music and the piano stylings of Mr. Dino Kartsonakis.

By the time I graduated from high school, I had participated in every choir, ensemble, quartet, trio, duet and solo that I could.  I also enjoyed working with younger girls, teaching them how to harmonize and sing in a group setting.

In fact, I loved music so much that I decided to study it in college.  How hard could that be, right?  I enrolled as a piano major in the music education program of Baptist Bible College in the fall of 1986.  I was completely naive of all that it would entail, but I'm so glad that I did!  I had some of the most amazing professors and gleaned so much from them!

I graduated in the spring of 1991 with my degree in music education and my minor in elementary education. I even landed a job during my last year of college at a Christan school where I could teach my new found musical "knowledge".

I taught general music as well as elementary, junior high and high school choir for 8 years. My choirs competed at the state and national levels, even taking first place nationally.  The Lord blessed me with an amazing group of kids to work with and I loved it!

That being said, everywhere I've been during the last 20+ years of my life, I've been known as a director, singer and pianist.  That's how I've served the Lord.  Music.  That's my ~ nest.

This nest ~ comprised of the carefully woven materials of education and experience ~ as well as praise and worship ~ is strong and has been my security for years.  However, lately, I've come to the conclusion that these things are easy and take minimal effort ~ and they have kept me from serving God in other ways. Ways that I now believe are far more important for the kingdom.  I've rested for too long.

So, even though it's a little scary and I'm more than a little nervous, it's time to take a leap of faith and try my wings at something new.  It's time to fly!