Christa Wells...singer/songwriter and other sombreros

FRAME THE CLOUDS--Get it here!

"Fly" in Eight Takes

For fun, and to further my pursuit of the virtue of humility, this is the "blooper reel" of a recent home recording of "Fly." My 11yo was behind the camera, and the goal was to send a special message to my fellow alumni at Anderson University (Anderson, Indiana). Needless to say, there's a reason I didn't go into film or television. :)

making a life...

Today marks the day when, 11 years ago, Toby and I brought our first child into the world.  It was one of the best days of my life, being a part of this incredible thing: making a human being.  As we walked out of the hospital a couple of days later, we looked at each other, both thinking: "Are they seriously gonna let us walk out of here with this kid?  Don't they know we've never done this before??"  

He is 11 today, and we'll soon be celebrating with some pizza and friends at the neighborhood pool.  

This morning I sat in the Urgent Care office, waiting to have a strep test done, and while I waited, I scanned through an issue of National Geographic magazine, featuring articles and photographs on the global food crisis.  Thirty-five MILLION people starving.  Somehow the numbers fail to shock us very much.  We hear impossibly large numbers referenced all the time and for me, at least, they become too large to mean anything.  

But pictures speak loudly.  

This picture of an Ethiopian woman in colorful wrapped fabric, her back to the camera.  She is holding her infant, a months-old nursing infant, who has no fat at all, but instead transparent skin and expressionless face.  A face that somehow looks like he has been alive a long time.  Ribcage showing.  A colorful bracelet on his tiny, emaciated wrist.  

Not like my babies, who were smiling already and full-cheeked, wiggling energetically.

Right there in the waiting room, my heart came out of my chest.  I mean...starve me, beat me, kill me...but please don't make me unable to feed my children.  

 

Don't make me hear them cry and watch them look to me for help, and be unable to make it better or bring comfort.  

She nurses her baby, tries to offer her body--the only thing she has--but her breasts are empty, because her own body is starving.  She can't even offer her own body.

I was emotional, and I called Toby and wept, saying we must be able to do more.  There must be more.  It makes no sense to me.  

It could have been me and my child.  And the only reason I can stomach spending money on the things we spend money on here in America is because I'm not able to see her face and the child's face here in front of me all the time.  So I forget for awhile.  

It's a marvelous, breathtaking thing to be a part of--making a human.  

Saving one who is already here...that, too, is a marvelous, breathtaking privilege.

Looking for ways...I have some ideas, and invite you all to share yours here.  What efforts are out there that you really believe in or are excited about?  What vehicle have you found that allows you the means to participate in God's healing of people in poverty?  

love and peace,

christa

What do you do with a poem?

What do you do with a poem?

 

What  do you do with a poem

 

That tiptoes

 

On bare feet to your rumpled bedside

Stares quietly at your shuttered eyes

 

Stares

until you feel the question

 

And open your eyes

To sort silhouette from shadows, asking

 

Why have you come?

 

 

What do you do with a poem

That cannot sleep and has no answers

Whose breath falls on your face

In suppressed sighs

Sweetly pleading . . .

 

Do you command it back

To the land from whence it came

Close the door and follow sleep

into familiar caverns of dream?

 

Do you carry it down

To the red leather couch, share a blanket and

Work out small, hushed syllables 

Under moonlight?

 

Or do you, like me,

Scoop it up

To rest on your own impressionable pillow

Curl your body like a cocoon

around its warmth, thinking,

           

I will hold it until morning.

 

--christa wells

a little rain

It's beginning to storm outside. (summer storm streaking light loud lovely)

I cannot lie…yesterday found me in an increasingly foul, frenzied mood.  It’s amazing how things can go from serene to stressed in a matter of hours.  After running one child to and from camp, feeding them all (again), getting another ready for ballet photos, dashing out the door with all five to find ourselves on time at the wrong location, correcting the error, picking up a friend, scraping a bag of snacks/dinner together and running down to swim practice…with zero time to myself…well, let’s just say I was no longer able to conjure up even a fake happy face.

By the time Toby got home at 8pm, I was ready for bed, practically already in my pjs.  I’d had my fill of passive-defiant children, and the fact that no small portion of my “agenda” had been accomplished had me drinking self-pity  and frustration in gulps.

  (aaaahh…Does this make you feel better?  It does me to admit it!) 

Thank goodness for my beautiful husband who commanded me in no uncertain terms to “get your book and get in bed.”  Ha ha.  Does he know me, or what?  Soooo, half a page later, I was OUT.  Until 4:30am, when Dasher the demon dog came tapping into the room, wide awake at the wrong time. 

But it’s okay…I was fairly awake by then, as well.  I got up a couple of hours later and made coffee (which, as our friends know well, is normally Toby’s territory), and spent the early morning talking with Toby and reading & praying on the back deck. 

I’m deeply grateful for a new day...a clean slate...a little rain.

Rowan's Evil Song

I had to share this because honestly...it scares me a tiny bit. This is our middle child. Any therapists out there want to comment? Everyone says she looks like me, and she does write songs, as you can see here. But I haven't yet written anything in this genre. btw...we were standing in the church parking lot when this came out...hmmmm...

LAST DAY to Download "Frame the Clouds" FREE

We've had a ton of downloads this past week while the album has been at Noisetrade, a site dedicated to supporting independent artists by allowing fans/friends to either download for free by referring friends OR by paying whatever you want! 

THANK YOU for continuing to share the music.  Selected tracks will stay at Noisetrade indefinitely, so keep sending your friends there if they want to get a free sampler of the songs.  After today, the entire album will be available for purchase here and at increasingly at other sites.  Thanks again for your support and encouragement.  You're the best.

Please come by Facebook or Myspace to share your own stories and responses to the music.  I for one always love a good story.  :)

How to Whistle and Other Important Notes

Good Sunday. :) It rained a lot today, and it was just me and the young ones, and I cannot tell you how pleasant it was to have gray skies and wet pavement and no events on the calendar after church. We ate veggies for lunch and chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, so we feel well-balanced. I semi-napped and semi-read and fully walked the dog and kids. Even played a game of memory match, in which I discovered my memory is no match for that of my 5-year-old's. 

When you finish reading this post, take a few seconds (literally) to learn how to whistle by viewing the video I'm posting. How thankful we have to be for a reason to laugh in the world, right? 

Well, folks, I saw the final art proofs on Friday and sent back a few minor textual changes. As soon as those are back to me, we should be good to go--good to upload those audio files and get this show on the road. You've been good to stay in touch--to not forget to wait with me. 

The artwork and design, by the way, is in a way minimalistic, which is to say it's not "busy." It's not perhaps what you are expecting for a girl like me. And I absolutely love it, love where it has come from. On the cover you will see a composite of original photo chemical art created by my bro-in-law Rocky Horton (www.rockyhorton.com) and graphic design by Tyler Johnson of Level 2 Design (www.level2d.com). It's really beautiful. With an album title like "Frame the Clouds" it could get really cheezy, right? I mean, if I were the one who had to design it, you'd be getting some fluffy white clouds in a blue sky with a gilded frame around them. Yeah, I wouldn't like it, either! :) So I'm happy to have handed it over to some true artists with real artistic vision. 

Finally, and on a whole "nother" subject, I owe a big apology to several readers who--I was sickened to discover this morning--had written to me through this site weeks or months ago and had not been responded to yet. If that was you, please know this was not at all intentional, and I'll be catching up with you this week. I did not have my email system well-organized and a few of your letters slipped into a giant abyss of family correspondences and were simply not seen til I started sorting. Please accept my apology and know I mean well. :) 

Okay, time for some whistling.  Double-click for full screen.

Puckett's Round: Last Set

This was the last set of the round at Puckett's. Forgot to post it the other day! LOVE both of the songs that Nicole & Billy wrote and played...great night. Again...double click on the play button to get the whole screen.

Puckett's Round w/Nicole Witt & Billy Montana...First Set

Last Sunday night while I was still in Nashville, I had the privilege of joining 11 other songwriters for a performance at Puckett's in Franklin. The event was a benefit for the YMCA, and the place was packed with standing room only. A bit of rainy weather made it that much more pleasant. I shared the stage with Nicole Witt and Billy Montana, both accomplished and talented singer/songwriters, who have written some extremely well-known songs for extremely popular artists. Needless to say, it was a humbling experience. Everything went well and the audience was gracious and warm. I performed "I Want to Know That Man," "Held," and "My Best Remedy." Other than some butterfinger moments on an unfamiliar keyboard, no complaints. Thanks, Nicole, for inviting me! *Oh, yeah, for some reason, my layout doesn't accomodate the whole youtube screen here, but if you double click on it, it should open fully. ;)

from the chapbook: Unsung...by Linford Detweiler

"I want to be known (if I am to be known at all) as one of the great lovers of life.  I want to make love to these days in new--or at least tender and timeless--ways, to make the trees sigh and the sky kneel for a closer view.  (If a few others close their eyes and smile for a few moments with me, it is enough.)  I want to dip this paintbrush pen into the best places of my heart--those places I have all but forgotten--and paint pictures that might convince even me that I was not born in vain.

We will write to go about the work of saving our lives.

Tentatively, new words come like a still small voice.  This is my unspoken request.  By some miracle, I ask that my life be a work of art, even if I never see it as such..."