I know too well the distractions and demands of modern life are profuse. From the youngest to the oldest, few are spared the onslaught. Mostly, what distracts us is both trivial and unnecessary for living. But I don't want to get into a long treatise here on what's important in life. As I've shared at practice, I strongly feel that it is tough to imagine much that fills our daily lives that even comes in a distant second to what we are doing on July 27, singing to honor first God and veterans. What we are doing is not trivial; it's not unimportant; it is, in fact, one of the best things we will ever do.

So to distill it down to where our focus should be as we prepare, keep these in mind:

1. Pray. Each day, pray for this event, for the veterans, for the singers/speakers, for our choir, and for your participation and preparation.
2. Read. Read the lyrics of each song. It's easy to learn songs and gloss over the meaning and impact of the words, as we focus on the other musical parts. Read the lyrics without the music, and let them impact your soul. This is especially true this year with the song You Are There. In fact, I urge you to spend time reading the NIV version of Psalm 139. You Are There is word-for-word verses 1-12.
3. Listen. Of course it's important to sing, but it's also important to not sing, and just listen (to the demo tracks). Sometimes, it's hard to keep from singing, but even singing very softly, so that you hear the recorded singers more, can be helpful.
4. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. One of the more challenging things when doing anything well is the monotony of repetition. Whether it's sports, art, music, or any trade even, when we see a master perform, we only see the beauty and ease with which it all happens; we don't see the drudgery of repeat, repeat, repeat, that went into the "final performance." While we aren't performing at the professional level, our "final performance" can be awesome still and can have a profound impact on its hearers, but like it or not, much of that will depend on how often we each push that repeat button!

For the next 10 days, put aside the distractions of daily life when you can; give that extra effort when you're tired and it would be so much easier to kick your feet up and watch TV; and maybe even sacrifice "important" things to have time to prepare your heart and your voice for this event. Thanks so much for volunteering to do so!

Chris