Trading Trivialities

I'm pretty close to reaching the end of my song stockpile. There are a few left, but I haven't posted them yet because I'm not really 100% happy with them. I think after working on Life's a Beach I realized that I might have a shtick. Mid-tempo songs where the verses ended with drawn out notes and have a tendency to be "rhymey". Sure rhyming isn't terrible in and of itself, but I'm learning that you have to be pretty careful with rhyme. It's great if it allows your music to be memorable and catchy. It's bad if it makes it cheesy, saccharine, or expected. And I guess as I'm going back and tweaking stuff before I try to post it, it feels rather expected.
Of course this could also be due to the fact that after you work on something for a while, it becomes impossible to discern if it is original or inspiring at all because of the sheer weight of repetition you have to go through when editing it. The best metaphor, most clever lyric, and the most original rhyme sound tired and expected the 30th time through. But anyway, I just finished the song for Judah and I posted it on the baby blog, but I'll put it here too just to consolidate all of the music in one place.

Writing that song though has been kind of eye opening for me though. I mean lets be honest, its kind of gooey. And this is not a bad thing because I really do love the dude and the point was to saturate the song with theme of unconditional love. But its certain

ly a different side of me. I've been wondering a lot lately about what sort of shift is going to go on as we make the transition to parenting.

For example, today I was reading a blog (that was actually excellent) and the girl was talking about laundry piling up and the stress of trying to manage three boys clamoring for attention and peppering her with requests for juice and chocolate, and all the while struggling to find simplicity or any sort of quiet time for reflection and centering on God's love. And as I'm reading I find myself nodding along like all of this is so very expected. I feel at home now in conversations about mortgages, lawn techniques and stain removal and it worries me slightly.

And maybe it shouldn't because maybe I'm just trading in the boring trivial things that I used to talk about for a new "parenting" set. Is there more redeeming value in talking about great beers and 30 Rock, than the benefits of breast feeding and whether cloth diapers really are worth the trouble?

I don't know. I imagine it doesn't matter as long as we eventually get around to what really matters. It's all part of the dance of human interaction that creates the environment where we can dangerously expose what's on the inside to one another under

go the risk of being known. It's so dangerous because when we are known we share all the crap that has blinded and crippled us all and when we share that we can either receive healing or find agreement with the lies that we tell ourselves to cope with the pain.

I guess that's what I'm worried about though. Being buried beneath the weight of preschool and soccer practice and our constant lust for more/better stuff and somewhere along the line ceasing to do the things that matter. Tending our own gardens and insuring that what grows is all together lovely, not just shiny or new.

Anyway, here's to the idea of a garden that is so showered with love and grace that it gives birth to a oak. A child who never has to doubt wether God or his parents adore him and knows in his deepest parts that nothing he can do for good or for evil can change that.

Judah's Song

shake the tree and the apple falls

not far at all

just far enough to know his life’s his own

so put down those roots and grow

cause right here you’re home

and nothing can change that

there’s a lion I love with all my heart,

it’s not what you do, just who you are

sleep in peace my child the only war

is over if there’s any room to love you more

A curly mane and a tale that grows

as we slip down these roads

that lead us everywhere from Narnia to Boles

through autumn leaves and the summer sun

we’ll laugh and play till evening comes

Then we’ll lay back down and sing that

There’s a lion I love with all my heart,

it’s not what you do, just who you are

sleep in peace my child the only war

is over if there’s any room to love you more

You’re teaching me about love so strong

that’s its power alone

can make a heart of flesh from one that’s wrapped in stone

so lets sing about the one

who made this love that keeps us breathing

our tameless one who’s singing

there’s a lion who loves with all His heart,

it’s not what you do, just who you are.

sleep in peace now child may fear be gone

because He loves you and His love will guard your heart