PSALM 121 (my first blog!)

Welcome to the first blog post! It's a BTS look at our most recent shoot. Hope you enjoy!

THE SHOOT - I over analyze, I'm an "over-analyzer". It's something that plagues me and in all honesty, I'm probably over analyzing this blog post! But we're gonna make it. This over-analyzing is the main reason I walked away from the Psalm 121 shoot a little deflated. Angela and Joe did great but I didn't think I was at my best and I didn't feel 100%. I had nasal congestion (which I tried to remedy by doing jump-squats right before the take), it was raining (which cluttered the audio), the lighting kept changing due to the rain, and I was kind of struggling with the picking/new lyrics/melody. All these things made for a TON of "Mind Clutter" which, when left to pile up, can be more debilitating than a broken string during the Freebird guitar solo. (Ok maybe not THAT debilitating but pretty close)

"I should have prepped way more" - Is the statement that just kept running through my head.

But in hindsight I was learning the valuable lesson to practice what I preach - well sing, in this case. Don't look inward. Look up.

It wasn't until I started editing the video that I realized the shoot went better than I expected. The weather was rainy at the start but then the sun broke through which made for some great footage. It was crazy windy and cold (at least for us native Texans) but we toughed it out in order for the pics and video to get done. In full disclosure, Angela's hair is all over the place in the picture above. Photoshop FTW.

My friend Casey did well behind the scenes. Making sure everything was going as smoothly as he could. We are still working out the kinks with these live videos but it will only get easier from here (or thats what I keep telling myself!)

THE PERFORMANCE - The pedal steel was a new addition for me. I pretty much learned how to play on the fly - and with the help of Youtube of course - but I really liked how it turned out. The sound really adds a lot to the feel of the song and I fell in love with it. The opening/closing picking part was a source of some frustration at first but with a little practice I was able to play it and sing without any real hiccups. My mind was really working in order to remember all the lyrics I wrote in the week prior to the shoot (I'm pretty terrible with lyrics, especially my own) but in the end, it all worked out. Angela and Joe killed their parts, per usual, and I am grateful for that.

THE MEANING - The song is inspired by the classic scripture, Psalm 121. However, the first verse is much more out of the box. It describes a shame and desperation we have all felt at some point in our lives. The wilderness is a place we can easily wander into if we lose focus and keep our eyes on the ground for too long, figuratively speaking. When our focus is solely on the place or situation we are in, we will find ourselves lost and desperate. He calls us to look to Him no matter what. He is our source.

The second verse in much more based in the scripture.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The ending is really just a declaration of how no matter where I am or how I feel, I will KEEP my eyes on him. He is the strength of my heart.

LYRICS-
My head on my chest
Wondering, face down in this wilderness
My eyes on the ground
The burden is heavy with shame so profound now
Your hand on my cheek
Lifting my head and restoring my peace
You’re reminding me
You’re reminding me

Oh where does my help come from?
It’s You alone
You alone

My guardian, You never sleep
You are keeping my feet covered by your hand
I know you are here in the midst of my need

I will lift my eyes to the heavens
No matter what’s surrounding me

I will keep my eyes on the heavens
In darkness, my soul will sing

If you're still here, thanks for reading! I hope to do one of these with each video we put out. Hopefully you enjoyed the insight!