Podcast – Page 18 – AprilSingsalot

Is this a test or a quiz?

October 21, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

I was on my way to an appointment this morning and got stuck in traffic.

Immediately I started wondering…

“How long is this gonna last?”

It got me thinking about the times in life that feel stuck and we wonder the same thing…

Sometimes it’s a short period of time and then you’re off on your merry way again.

Sometimes it feels like forever and your still in the same spot.

And then there are the absolute worst situations…when the lane you’re in is stationary but the people next to you are sailing by without a care in the world.

Ugh…I get mad just thinking about it!

And so it is with life, right?

Sometimes you hit a snag, sometimes an all out stop,

and sometimes you’re in limbo while the rest of the world keeps going.

It can be so frustrating.

When I feel stuck and all alone this song helps me.

It’s one that I’ve even sung to myself at night as a prayer.

I hope it brings peace to you today as well.

When an unexpected card brought hope that turned my world around.

Hope Arrived in the Mail

October 14, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

“Hope Arrived in the Mail” is inspired by an experience that happened in 2003 when I was about to graduate from college. I felt disconnected from everything and everyone. I sent out no graduation announcements and expected no gifts.

So imagine my surprise when I received a card in the mail. It was a simple card but it made a huge impact on me. Because it showed me that I mattered at a time when I felt very lost and confused.

Many of you know that I still love cards to this day (I’m looking at four of them posted over my desk right now!) but this one will always have a special place in my heart…because it symbolized hope in the midst of a desperate time.

I hope this song brings inspiration and encouragement to you today.

“Hope Arrived in the Mail”

When I graduated college

I felt lonely and afraid

So imagine my surprise

When a card arrived in May

Hope arrived in the mail

Gave me courage to press on

Kindness in an envelope

Stamped and sent from home

Graduation and Good Luck

Were printed on the page

But more than the simple gesture

It meant that I would be ok

The card said that I mattered

There was an impact I had made

And that simple piece of paper

Is why I’m here today

Well that was many years ago

yet still when the hard times come

encouragement arrives

in a card sent to my home

Hope arrives in the mail

Gives me courage to press on

Kindness in an envelope

Sent from your friends at home

what could have been…and what will be

October 7, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

As a child I grew up hearing my mom say, “Well I could have become this or done that……but instead I became a mom.”

My mother put off her dreams indefinitely when she had kids…and I never realized it until this summer.

Why? Because this summer my husband and I passed our adoption home study.

That’s right…..we are qualified to be parents and have the paperwork to prove it!

While we wait to become parents, out of nowhere a drum beat started inside of me.

…..there’s a baby comin’….. there’s a baby comin’ …..there’s a baby comin’…..

It challenged me like nothing else has ever challenged me before.

I thought of all that I want to be.

All that I want to do.

And then….”Well I guess I’ll never get to do them….because I’m gonna be a Mom instead.”

WHAT?!?!

< Cue screeching break sound >

Thankfully, as soon as that thought came into my head, I realized how wrong it is.

And that if I believed that thought, and acted as if it was true, I would become a shell of who I was meant to be.

I refuse to do that to our children!

So I started asking myself….What kind of mom do I want them to see?

Someone filled with regrets? No!

Someone pursuing their dreams and accomplishing great things? Yes!

And if I want to do those things when I become a mother,

what am I waiting for?

I want to empower our children to pursue their dreams.

How can I do that if I’m not also pursuing my dreams?

And that’s how I ended up here. Starting this blog, expanding my business to include online courses, and challenging myself to write and share original music.

Am I totally petrified most of the time? Yes!

Do I have any regrets? No.

This is where I’m meant to be…and I’m excited to see where it goes!

I have a confession to make…

September 30, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

There is a bag under my desk of song ideas.

Entire journals of notes. Scraps of paper with lyrics.

Even some with chord charts and sample recordings.

And exactly none of them have seen the light of day.

Why? I could give you a lot of great excuses but they all boil down to

FEAR.

Recently I crossed a big milestone by offering my first music album for download.

Selling that first album was an emotional moment I hope I never forget.

And guess what happened after that celebratory moment?

I wanted to quit. Give up.

I had faced my fear, accomplished a life long goal, so time to pack up and move on to something else.

Because putting that out into the world was super scary and I never wanted to do it again.

And then I saw the bag of songs.

It isn’t helping anybody sitting under my desk.

Maybe it won’t help anybody when I put it out into the world.

But I’ll never know if I never try. And that led me to this realization:

The size of your impact in the world is in direct proportion to the size of the fear you push through while you’re here.

With that being said, are you ready for some original music? This is one of my favorites…and a great reminder that every day brings the opportunity for impact greater than we realize.

God IS Blessing You

September 23, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

“God is blessing you.”

That phrase was uttered to me in passing by a sweet lady in Cuba during my visit there in 2016.

She was probably meaning to say the often used and (dare I say it?) tired phrase,

“God Bless You”

Ugh…how many times have we heard (and said) that?

When I’ve said “God Bless You” it has been to wish that person a FUTURE blessing.

Or used the phrase “God blessed me” when remembering a time in the PAST.

But to think that God IS blessing me? Right now? In this moment?

Isn’t it interesting how a simple change in wording can give something a whole new meaning?

It has challenged me to see present blessing instead of only thanking God for the past or praying for the future.

God IS Blessing You

Christmas…bleak or joyful?

September 16, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

One of my favorite Advent songs is “In the Bleak Midwinter” which, given how much I like to be cheerful and happy, may not make a lot of sense.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good uplifting “Joy to the World” moment as well, but let’s face it…holidays are not always a joyful time.

“In the Bleak Midwinter” is such a hauntingly beautiful song and there’s something about it that just sticks with you.

Because we all know a bleak midwinter. We know what that is. We’ve experienced it.

Some of us may even be going through it right now.

From Ridiculous Rant to Refined Response

September 9, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

I spent the day trying to get my phone fixed.

It didn’t go well.

I came home frustrated, aggravated, and a few other words I won’t type here.

As I was complaining about how frustrating this was I heard myself.

Really heard what I was saying…

Have you ever stopped in the middle of a rant and really listened?

I don’t know about you but I can get very worked up and impassioned over silly stuff….and the phone situation is definitely in the category of “not the end of the world.”

The whole thing got recorded since I was trying to come up with a song at the time.

I’ve decided to include it all…the ridiculous rant, realizing my silliness, and the eventual song that came out of it.

From frantic to grateful in 3 minutes…

now if I can just get to the point of not getting frantic in the first place…

We set out to find happy and realize happy is right here.

Finding Happy

September 2, 2016 aprilsingsalot Comments Off

“We set out to find happy, and realize happy is right here.”

I was selected to read an advance version of a book recently.

Feeling fancy and important I blocked out an afternoon to read and comment on the material.

And then this quote from Seth Hanes hit me square between the eyes:

The consequences in your head are always worse than the reality.

So true, isn’t it?

Starting this weekly email is a prime example.

I was super scared of numerous things before I started and guess what?

Absolutely none of them have happened.

In fact, this has turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the week and sparked so many interesting conversations I never would have had otherwise.

Please allow this email to be your permission to face the fear in your mind and push through to the other side. I promise it’s brighter and better than you ever imagined!

?Finding Happy?

We live in fear and trembling

About mysterious scary things

Then push through them to realize

They are as flimsy as dreams

We set out to find happy

And realize happy is right here

Would you like your own copy of this song? For the first time ever it is available for digital download as a part of the album “Custom Collection.” Check it out here!