Amateur Hour

I think I mentioned that Jeremiah and I performed a special at church a few weeks ago.  And I think I've probably mentioned that singing in public (apart from choir-type stuff) isn't really my thing these days. However, the choir director is a sweet lady and I don't think anyone with a conscience (or a mother) could possibly turn her down when she explains that she really needs someone to sing on a particular Sunday.  


I haven't sung in public in at least three years and haven't sung much at all in recent history and I was greatly troubled by the prospect of doing this. But I decided that if I could find a song I really liked and talk Jeremiah into accompanying me, that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad. After listening to my predicament, almost without hesitating, he agreed to do so. All I had to do was find the right song.

The only one I found that really spoke to me, for lack of a better term, was a newer Amy Grant song called "Better than a Hallelujah". It is not an easy song to sing and perhaps I'd have been better off if I'd chosen something less vocally demanding after three years of singing to myself in the car, in the shower, and so on. But the words to this one really resonated with me.

A couple of days ago I accidentally discovered that my second born surreptitiously recorded us singing and put it on You-tube.  As flattering as it is to have one of the boys want to show off what someone else in their family did, it is obvious we will have to have a long talk with Daniel about privacy issues when he returns from a weekend mission trip. And it will come down once Gary (who was just thrilled with the discovery) is through sharing it with all his relatives. But I am grateful for the recording because it means I can share it with you.

For a multitude of reasons, what you are getting here is not (obviously) the you-tube video. The sound quality is terrible (it sounds like I am singing inside a tin can and Jeremiah is NOT guilty of pounding the strings the guitar). I can spot every place I went flat and and every note that fell short of its potential, but the spirit of the intent is there and I'm really proud of Jeremiah, which most of why I'm posting this. He had a lot of tests that week and didn't have time to learn the song until about twenty-four hours before we were due to perform it. We ran through it three times the night before and once just before the service. The boy is that quick. 


Click below.