Operation: Rehydration

Dear Blogging World,
I'm going to attempt something that I have attempted in the past but hope to make last longer this time around. It isn't going to be easy. It might be painful. I might be angry. I might want to punch someone in the face. I might have headaches and be sleepy for a while. But i'm going to stop drinking this:

and start drinking 10x more of this:

I know what you're thinking. You're racing with questions like the following:

How will you survive?

How will you get through your day?
Are you crazy?

Aren't you going to miss it?

How long can this possibly last?

The answers to these questions are as follows:

By grace alone.

Prayer.

Yes.

Heck yes.

I have no clue.

The truth is, I think i'm killing my vocal chords.

I can't belt like I used to.

And believe me, I try often in the car.
I get tired so much faster and just don't have the UMPH in my upper range.
I just don't have the kind of control and strength I used to.

A lot of this is due to being out of practice. The singing I do from week to week is not necessarily "correct" - and in combination with the amount of caffeine I consume, the results are not positive. If I were teaching lessons again and warming up properly each day, i'd probably be a bit better of than I am now, but I still do not drink nearly enough water for the amount of caffeine I drink. 

So i'm dropping it. 

For who knows how long. 

This past Fall, I kicked it for 4 weeks. It was kind of sad, but I know it's possible. The bummer thing was that once my body stopped craving the caffeine, I still missed the taste of coffee. 

But OPERATION: REHYDRATION of the vocal chords is in full swing starting today.

And you get a front row seat.

Please, try to contain your excitement.

Observation.

Eyebrows...

...are weird.

that's all, folks.

the dress.

why do i need to blog about myself when my friend lisa already did?

check out my sweet princess party moves HERE.

life support.

I have a confession to make.

Ok, maybe not a confession, but an adendum.

A correction?

Some clarification, perhaps.

Things that I was not able to share before, but am able at this time to share.

Not only am I raising support for India, but also for my LIFE.

Well, half of my life.

You see, friends, I am making a pretty sizeable life transition this summer into part-time ministry at my church, the harbor. I've been leading worship there for quite some time now, and both my role and my passion for leading this community in worship have been steadily increasing, especially since the fall. I am so in love with this community. It has been the biggest blessing to me since moving here in the Fall of 2008. And I am so in love with Jesus and leading others in worship. So this summer, I will be transitioning out of my full-time job and into a part-time role at the harbor, plus a second part-time job that is yet to be determined. And this part-role at church involves support raising - like a missionary, only my mission field is right here. Let me share with you my thoughts in this new, exciting time of support-raising in my life.

The following is a visual guide through some of my emotions during this season. Yes, in this order, and because kids display the best emotions.

Thank you for joining me on that roller coaster ride of emotions.

If you would like to receive one of my newsletters - even if you just want to hang it on your fridge because it's pretty and has pretty pictures (no really, it's very visually appealing, i'm quite pleased) and offer up the occaisional prayer for this madness I am embarking upon - just shoot me a line and I will get one right to you.

And as always, the music is still available for download.

http://jennarene.bandcamp.com/



Eye of the Hurricane

How do I even begin to sum up my past weekend?
Was it even real?
Did that really just happen?

Here's the deal:
I won a contest by uploading a video of myself singing a David Wilcox song to his facebook page. David Wilcox is an acoustic singer/songwriter that i've been listening to my entire life. Not an exaggeration. My parents have been fans since before I was born. There is some old VHS floating around my house somewhere of home videos of me, one of which caught me dancing and singing one of his songs at age 5.
So I entered this contest and I won. And winning meant that I got to go on stage with David Wilcox this weekend and sing one of his songs with him.

I had already had tickets to see him Friday night at a small church in Marblehead. That was sweet. Small venue, great seats, great acoustics, great David. I hadn't seen him in concert since early college, and it was amazing. I went by myself - a little date with Jenna. Couldn't have been happier.

Oh wait, yes I could have been. Because Saturday, he was also playing 2 hours away in Northampton, MA. So Elisa, Lauren and I drove out there on Saturday, putzed around the quaint hippy town for a while, I bought a great pair of $6 sunglasses, and we ate burritos. Then at 4pm I went to soundcheck. With David Wilcox. I just waltzed right into the bar, introduced myself, and waited for him to check the sound to a point where I could sing along. And then I did. And it was magical. He played guitar and sang harmony, while I led the vocals on "Eye of the Hurricane," one of his most well-known songs. I almost felt guilty for taking such a personal song away from him - but he was so gracious. And he complimented me up and down (can't complain about that). He was so excited to share the song with me. He kept saying how people were going to love it and he was so excited and it's going to be a better song together than on his own. And he said I did things vocally that he wouldn't have come up with on his own. I melted.

Sound check lasted all of about 15 minutes, and as I was trying to plan out how I would respectfully offer him a copy of my own CD, he beat me to the punch and asked me for it. I about fell over - but handed him a CD and left sound check to kill an hour or so before the doors opened for the show.

We had great seats at the venue, delicious seasoned fries, and the waitress sat one random, but super nice man with us who was on his own and needed a seat. He offered to share his brownie sundae with us, and even though we had a lovely time chatting with him, we declined the generous offer. He later covered our bill. (That's how you know you've hit rockstar status - jokes.) I also got to meet the Promo lady who helped set up the gig, and David's manager. They were both super nice and also complimenting of my singing.

David called me up in the middle of his set to do the song - and I can't even describe it because i'll never do it justice. It was just so unbelievably cool. Who gets to sing on stage with their lifelong favorite musician? Lots of audience members had super nice things to say on their way out, and I went up before we left to say goodbye and thank you to David. They were rushing to pack up so another band could go on stage, so there wasn't a lot of chitchatting - but I got my moment. I'm set. It was unreal.

There are photos and videos on my facebook of us playing the song together.
Check it out.
And once again, tell your friends about http://jennarene.bandcamp.com/ OR www.noisetrade.com/jrvoorhees - you can get my music and help me get to India.

just being cryptic.

What am I doing here
If you're not with me?
What have I got to live for, if it's just my own dream
Take it back to the beginning, back to the start
When gravity's pulling, you're still holding my heart
You come crashing down
Crashing down

-Mat Kearney

counterintuitive.

Raising support is funny.
You get put in this place where you have to rely on others for accomplishing the things you feel God has called you to.
You have to trust that God actually called you to them and believe that He will make it happen.
You have have faith that others will jump on board with this dream and have a desire to help you make it happen.
There is me.
And there is a dream.
I've been told to chase the dream.
With a blindfold and handcuffs on.
In a 3-legged race.
It is a place of totally relinquishing control.
I don't do relinquishing well.
And the funniest part is, you have to invest a certain amount of money in order to see the money come in.
Counterintuitive if you ask me.
We copied folded, tied, stuffed, addressed, and sealed so many letters last night for my trip to India.
It's an investment.
Color copies ain't cheap.
And people want to see pretty pictures of what i'm up to.
Stamps ain't cheap.
And these letters ain't mailin themselves.
If you get a letter from me, just do me one favor.
It doesn't matter how you choose to respond to it.
I've relinquished control over that.
But please don't throw it away.
At least until after the trip.
And then maybe wait another year or so.
Because the letter is pretty and fun to look at.
And maybe you'll want to pray for me when you see it.

como se dice...

i walked out of my house today, down the street to where my car was parked.
sun is shining.
birds are singing.
spring is in the air.
my car is covered in ice.
my ice scraper has 3 remaining teeth.
the rest were eaten by the blizzards of 2011.
it was a confusing morning.
but ray lamontagne is not confusing.
he is good for my soul.
his music is rich and raw.
his voice is like cinnamon sugar on buttered wheat toast.
the hearty kind with all the seeds and grains sticking out.

You know you wanna....

....help me get to India this summer and tell your friends to help too.

Bandcamp.

One thing to be super excited about - I'm going here this summer:

India!!!!!

2 whole weeks.

One thing for YOU to get super excited about:

I posted 5 songs onto bandcamp.com to sell and raise money for the trip.

Go do it. Or just listen. Either way, it makes me happy.

http://jennarene.bandcamp.com/

buckle your seatbelts.

oh, hello there.
i think maybe you thought i had forgotten that i had a blog.
you were wrong.
i often think to myself, "gee, i wish i had time to update my blog. i wish i had something clever, witty, and inspirational to say."
well, i don't.
but i will let you know what i've been up to.

i went to rhode island to visit jaime and nate. it just so happens that my high school bff had to move to rhode island for a few months with her marinated husband.
no wait, that's not right.
he's a marine. and i'm oh so thankful for it, because it means i got to see my jaime.
so i drove to rhode island in a twilight zone-eque snowy haze. my car didn't like it much and is still recovering. (you can pray for him - he seems sick.)
we went to see seals, and a beautiful lighthouse. and i had left my camera in jersey, so you get to see the high quality photos my phone takes.

i finally got to meet their dog, daisy, who i was told doesn't like to snuggle. 

don't worry, i taught her a few things. 

we also played trains (i schooled the southerners) and dread pirate (nate was too tired to do his pirate voice) and we made A-freaking-mazing cookies.

see for yourself

if you ever can't decide between a cookie and a brownie. THIS is what you make. 

then jaime and i came back up to the bev, nate met us later, i sent them to not your average joe's (you're welcome) and then they came to church! it was lovely.

this past weekend involved way too many good things. 

number one: bonnie's 30th birthday party.

theme: prince and princess.

cake decorator: moi.

the award for most fab 80's princess dress found at the thrift store for $6.99: moi.

please try not to be too jealous when i tell you there's a huge satin bow in the back. 

THEN Angela came to visit all the way from oklahoma. it was grand. it involved friends, trains, way too much indian food, frozen yogurt, stephy's, and the beach. 

and now, ladies and gentlemen, we are back to the daily grind. and march is madness. it is gonna be a crazy month. buckle your seatbelts.