It's Musical Time!

I will probably never figure out how to get pictures and text in an agreeable order until the technical side of blogging is simplified... a LOT!

Anyway, it's that time of year - time for a musical! Bear Valley Church puts on a full-length musical production every other year, and this year's selection is the best yet. "Gifts of the Magi" is the musical rendition of the familliar O'Henry story of Jim and Della Dillingham, a young married couple determined to give the other a gift to remember. As the story goes, Della sells her hair to buy a watch fob for Jim's heriloom watch, and Jim sells his watch to buy Della an exquisite set of hair combs. The choir adds texture and oomph to several of the songs. Jim and Della's tale is superimposed over the story of Soapy Smith, a New York City bum looking for the guaranteed warmth and food of a jail cell.

All of you in Colorado, you need to come and see it! We have three more performances: Tonight at 7 PM, tomorrow, 7PM and Sunday at 3 PM. If anything, you'll get to see John in a kilt! He gets in touch with his Scottish side. I'll leave it up to your imagination as to wether or not he's "authentic" under that there kilt...

The set - 1906 NYC, designed and painted by some of our church members. It looks better in real life. The gels on the lights are warm, and at that point, I didn't know how to adjust the white balance on my camera.

Stinky, Mary Louise and Norma sport their Edwardian attire. We spent an entire afternoon making the hats for this thing. NOT a fun project for those of us who are "craft imparied".

Work on this musical began in late June. Hundreds of individual hours have gone into this thing. I can't even begin to calculate how many total man hours are involved. My brain would melt, and I'd break out in mathmatically induced hives!

Several people have said to me, "I would love to do something like that if it weren't so demanding of my time. I wish I could just put on the costume and walk on stage. Why do you put yourself through that? Especially when you have a little baby and your husband is also involved?"

Why do both John and I do this again and again, knowing we are up from early morning to very late at night with no rest time between the demands of the day (job & Kyle) and rehearsals. Why do we morph into human vacum cleaners, inhaling dinners w/o tasting the food to be at rehersal on time - especially at Christmas time???

Because we LOVE to do this. God gifted John and I with musical talent. It's what we do best. Our worship pastor, Ryan Durfee, uses the parable of the talents to encourage us when the crunch feels like more than we can handle, or when we question what we do. When God gives us talent, he expects us to use it for him. When we do so, it grows. Remember the guy who burried the money his boss gave him to invest? He was called wicked! His boss nearly ripped him a new ear canal for his "safe" stashing.

Some people can teach Sunday School, or arrange for meals to be made for Gertrude who had her liver removed last week. Oftentimes the demands of such jobs are not as time consuming as the demands of an artist, but their talents are not worth more or less. when things do get crazy, regardless of your area of service, if it truly is your gift/talent, you push through and rest up for the next go around. If it's not your thing, you wipe your hands and say, "Never again!"

Yes the hours are long, yes the demands are hard on Kyle, but we believe we are setting an example for him as he grows older. John and I are doing what God created us to do - that is make music. Boy and I tired, and I think I need a nap NOW, but walking onto that stage knowing I'm in God's will is more satisfying than a gazillion naps!