Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.
Mustering up a lion’s share of courage, I volunteered to sing a solo in church this Sunday. I selected “I Shall not Want” by Audrey Assad. Well, the problem is I am not Audrey Assad or Stevie Nicks or Allison Krauss. No, I’m just little ole me.
When I ran into my friend Anne, I told her about taking a leap of faith to sing this song in church. She offered to give me some voice lessons. I want to celebrate what I have learned from her this week.
- Breathe deeply, all the way to your diaphragm.
- Reach beyond.
- Open your mouth.
- Smile!
- Think of yourself as a gift.
- The audience (congregation) is rooting for you.
- You are who you are today. Yes, you will be better tomorrow, but today you are the best you can be.
- Accept your mistakes as part of a growth process.
- Putting your work out there is important to the universe.
These lessons are good lessons for any kind of artistic endeavor, painting, writing, singing, dancing. They all require courage and confidence. I want to thank Anne for not only the awesome voice lessons, but for the helpful life lessons.
And now that I’ve told the world, I will envision all you supporting me tomorrow up in the loft with the heavenly choir.
Reflections on the Teche 
Oh Margaret, how wonderful this is. Thank you for sharing and giving us all a few life lessons. Doing something everyday that scares me? I will try to keep track, & sometimes I do think I do, don’t exactly think about it, just do it because it’s necessary. I will be thinking of you tomorrow, & sending a little applause your way.
Brave you. What a great opportunity to learn and take a risk. That list is something to think about every time we have to or want to take a risk. Love the Eleanor quote.
Oh I have faith you will be a blessing to all who attend! I wish I could hear you. What time is the service tomorrow? Keeping you in prayer. Please share with us how it went!!! 🙂 I just listened to the song for the first time & I love it!
I am going to dare to record it, but I may not post. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for the positive thoughts!
Good for you!!
Oh my! I didn’t know you were a singer! I know you will be a blessing tomorrow. Like Michelle, II hope you record it so you can share it with us, too. #shareyourwork
BTW – if there’s one thing I hope I can do in Heaven that I haven’t been blessed with the talent to do here on Earth, it’s to sing. 😉
Me too, Holly!!!
Hooray for you to take a leap if faith. I am sure you will sing with much grace.
Wow, I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow as you take this leap of faith. What wisdom from your friend Anne and applicable to so may things in life.
Margaret, great advice for all of us! Glad that you took a risk and shared.