The Pity Clap

Today I had the privilege of leading music with Jason Dees at his church in Indiana. (By the way, I call Jason "Chinese Jason Dees." If you're wondering why, just ask him about "House and Tiger! House and Tiger!"). We had a great time, but there were some confusing parts. For example, while the kids were lighting the candles, he motioned for me to play something. I didn't have anything prepared, so I picked up my guitar and started playing the first thing that came into my mind. It was Patty Griffin's "Moses."

When the horror of "special music" came, I was in for a major bump in the road. It was just me and my guitar. I started playing "Come Thou Fount" in the key of "G" like normal. When it was time to start singing, I tried to find my first note and ended up singing all over the place(microphone on). I sounded like a hyena or something. I looked at Jason and he just shook his head at me and smiled. That's when I noticed...

I FORGOT TO PUT MY CAPO ON MY GUITAR! (dun, dun, duuuuuunn!)

Oh, the horror! I was in a key 5 half-steps lower than I normally sing the song in. So, I just played like nothing happened and started singing like a man. I'm talking LOW. I made it through the first verse and wanted to die. It was terrible. So, I stopped and said "hope ya'll don't mind...I'm just gonna put this capo on my guitar."

I put the capo and made it through the song. It was horrible. That's when I received the pity clap.

There were like 5 old people clapping really slow while everyone else just kinda looked around. Honestly, that was more than I deserved. They were so sweet to encourage me with applause, but I was so embarrassed that I wanted to run off stage and peel out of the parking lot, never to return. But after the service, an old man came up and told me that I should leave my PA System up and come back next week. So sweet.

Thanks, sir, but I think I'll take my pity clap and stay home.

Just Say No

Erin, Nikki, Kristin: Just Say No Professionals


Why is so hard to just say "no?" Seriously, what is the deal? Once upon a time I had a "just say no" role model. The role model has recently let me down.

I'm not talking about drugs here. I'm talking about when a guy that you aren't interested in asks you out. For some reason, as my mind is screaming "NOOOOO!" the word "okay" comes out of my mouth. I don't want to hurt the guy's feelings. I don't want him to feel weird. Learning to say "no" has been a big deal for me since I moved to Kentucky.

My role model was Gerty*. She is my friend, my confidant, my role model. She had become my coach on this subject. There were several times when she was by my side mouthing the word "no" while I studdered through turning a guy down. But, it worked. I am now a pretty good nay-sayer. In fact, both of my roommates have become very good at just saying no as well. We are the three "Just Say No-ers." We are three honest women. We are three "not leading anyone on" women. We are three single women. (Go figure)

I recently discovered that my role model very rapidly stumbled down the "okay" hill. Not long ago, she was asked out by a guy who she is not interested in at all. And what did she say? "Um...okay" So, Gerty's* place as my role model has been diminished. Now, it seems that I am the role model here. She coached me to this status and now, the student has surpassed the teacher.

Gerty*, next time, just say no.

*name changed for security reasons

On a serious note...

An amazing photo taken by Alex O'Nan (www.camerapocket.net)

Have you ever wondered what your purpose is on earth? I think about this quite a bit. I mean, I just think "God, why did you create me? Why me? The world would go on without me." Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I were born in a third world country. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I were born with red hair. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I were born with just one big nostril instead of two.

Anyway, at the risk of sounding "over spiritual," this is how I see my purpose on earth. I picture an extremely chaotic scene. Some people are laughing out loud. Some are weeping with all their might. Some are yelling "look at me!" Some are quietly watching the scene while others are absorbed in each other. This is how I see the world. This is the overall scene of humans regardless of culture, time, or place.

All the while, God Almighty is seated on His throne. Jesus is by his father's side ready to return to the earth and His Spirit is interacting with the world. The scene is so wild that people do not see beyond thier own selves, comforts, or experiences. I am in the mix of the the chaos amazed with the beauty of the Spirit and the glory of God. I watch as the Spirit makes himself known to some of the people. Those people become engrossed with God.

I keep pointing to God on his throne, Jesus ready to return to the earth, and the Spirit interacting with the people. I keep saying "look at Him! He is beautiful! He is in control! Jesus is coming back!" I run around to people and try to get them to look at these incredible things. I believe that this is my purpose on earth. It sounds "wacko religious" I know, but it's a cool picture.

It's so easy to get caught up in the routine of daily life and not think about eternal things. But I want to remember that my purpose on earth is not to accumulate "stuff" or become famous, but rather to point to His fame.

I love this website called Desiring God (www.DesiringGod.org). You can type in any topic and it will pull up articles and messages on whatever topic you choose.

Does anyone else think about this stuff or am I the only wacko religious person out there?

"Crush-Struck" vs "Star-Struck"

I was so excited to recieve my first comment on my blog until I realized what it said. A big "Thank You" goes out to Becca!! Thanks, Becca, for telling the world (I know there are SO many people reading this) about my encounter with Shane Barnard. Now, at the risk of embarrassing Becca, I must tell the account of my encounter with Shane Barnard.

It was a cool, breezy night in College Station, TX and a ton of bands were playing. My crush, Shane Barnard, was the last show (I think...at least in my mind the show was over when he finished playing). We ran into him and I made a complete idiot out of myself. This, my friends, was me being "crush-struck," not "star-struck." There is a huge distinction.

I've been a fan of Shane since long before he was signed. I've never been a "fan"atic, and in fact I only have a couple of his CDs. It's not a fan crush. One of my best friends dated his brother and an old friend of mine is buddies with him. Thus, we come to the conclusion that Nikki was crush-struck.

So, how did I make an idiot out of myself? It's easy. My friend Erin Woods was standing next to me. I was like "Hey Shane...my friend here works at Sweet Eugene's Coffee Shop and she can get you a sweet deal! You should come hang out with us later tonight!" The problem is that while saying this, I ever-so-gently placed my hand on Erin's forehead. Yeah. I didn't even realize that I was doing it. And to make matters worse, I LEFT my hand on her forehead for the remainder of the conversation which was a good 2-3 minutes. IDIOT! Shane was so nice. He put his hand on my shoulder and said "thank you for inviting me." Picture this with me. It's a nice little triangle of weirdness. Shane's hand is on my shoulder. My hand is on Erin's forehead. Erin, Becca, and Blake were all in the circle, but laughing hysterically because I just left my hand on Erin's forehead.

Needless to say, Shane didn't come to Sweet Eugene's.

Grand Ole Patty

Patty Griffin singing with Emmylou Harris dancing (And half of Buddy Miller playing guitar) at the Grand Ole Opry

I am so honored that my first post involves Patty Griffin (www.pattygriffin.net). She's my musical hero! I just got to see her live at the Grand Ole Opry this past weekend. It was SSOOO entertaining! Seriously, if you ever get the chance, you have to check it out. I went with my friend Laura Beth. She's the one who inspired me to create my own blog. Well...that and Becca Conner begging me to create a blog. So, here it is, Becca. My blog for your entertainment!

So, back to Patty Griffin. When she was on stage (with Emmylou Harris, David Rawlins, Buddy Miller, and Gillian Welch), I totally flipped out. I have always been against people flipping out when they see someone famous. I figure that famous people are just people too. That's it. Bottom line...they are just people. Come on, folks! Don't flip out over another person! But...when I saw those 5 musicians on stage, I was like "woah....AUGH!" I started taking pictures and I even ran down to the first row to get a closer look at Patty. Seriously, I am disappointed in myself. I flipped out. After the show, Laura Beth, Heather, and I went to a local pizza place and we saw Donnie (www.theparkstudio.com) (independent artists looking for a producer-Donnie is your man) and I couldn't stop talking about seeing Patty. A huge smile was plastered on my face for a good 2 hours. I looked like an idiot, but I couldn't help it! I was star-struck for the first time in my life.