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Okay, this is a little bitter-sweet. This month marks the release of a SILVER ANNIVERSARY boxed set of my songs. Six CDs combining "best of" songs from albums I've created over the last 25 years along with brand new songs hot off the recording presses. The sweet part is realizing that I've been lucky enough to make music for a living for a quarter century and how exciting it is to share my newest songs with my friends who've been encouraging me to keep writing all these years.
The bitter part is the realization that it's been a "quarter century". That's OLD!!! When my folks celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary I was so happy they were still in love and going strong given their "advancing" years. They were younger then than I am now and I thought they were ancient. Well, I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun.
The latest collection is divided by themes: Hope Hiding, Tender Mercies, The Other Side of Sorrow, Changed, See Us Shine and It's Not Love Til It's Been Through A Storm. I'm pleased that Shadow Mountain Music is releasing the albums individually as well as in the boxed set. This way if you, or someone you love needs some songs about hope or love or friendship they'll be easy to find and easier to share. I do hope you enjoy the offering and that you'll let me know if any of the new songs will be added to your favorites collection.
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The 2007 tour is officially underway, and I couldn't be happier. The show this year feels very personal to me this season and I think It might have something to do with our recent experience with the wild fires. Before the tour began I wrote this for the program notes:
"Until a few weeks ago I would have never associated wild fires in Southern California with a Christmas story like THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS. But having lived through the recent fires I see a very real connection, and I’m sure it will affect tonight’s performance. When Lynne and I were evacuated from our home at the end of October an instant sense of vulnerability overwhelmed us. We weren’t in control, though we desperately wanted to be to preserve things that were important to us. We, like Nurse Chamberlain, found it hard to let go. As evacuees we experienced being “homeless” and had a new perspective on the lines from the song, “it’s HOW we live, not WHERE”. We were the recipients of great kindness and concern and discovered that we were loved and cared for more than we knew, just like Connie Lou. And then we realized all over the country various people are battling the wild fires that nobody sees…the emotional, spiritual and psychological ones that are consuming hope and destroying faith. A greater sense of urgency to be like Uncle John for those we know who are in particular need of the healing power of love this holiday season has certainly filled the McLeans. Ironically, our experience in Malibu has lit a fire within our hearts to spread the spirit of Christmas to those who may need it this year more than ever. We hope the show tonight reflects the gratitude, comfort, peace and joy we received an extra measure of during a difficult time in 2007. And we hope tonight our performance can add to the flame that burns brightly in hearts that bear the name of the One whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Merry Christmas "
PS I'm really excited by the wonderful response we've had to the release of the DVD of The Forgotten Carols Live Stage Show. So many people who've made coming to the show a part of their Christmas tradition have told us how much they wished they could share the experience with their family and friends who live well beyond the cities we tour each year. I'm glad we have something to offer, and truly hope that the show, along with the special features I added as "behind the scenes" insights about the evolution of this show, make it a gift worth sharing. So please, come to the show if you can, and if not, take it home with you and join us as we remind each other of some of the carols (and truths about the season) that have been forgotten .
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It's late and I can't sleep. A week ago we were evacuated from our home in Malibu, along with thousands of other residents, and spent some humbling, vulnerable moments watching the fires of Southern California alter the landscape not just of our neighborhoods, but of our hearts and minds.
We're safe, and our home survived untouched by the flames, but I'm sure I won't ever be the same. It's been an emotional roller coaster that will take me a while to recover from, and I don't know when I'm going to work that recovery into my current schedule. Rehearsals for the FORGOTTEN CAROLS tour begin in just two weeks. Between now and then I'm going to be in Atlanta for a Time Out For Women weekend and the following week in Tacoma to host another TIME OUT FOR COUPLES. Along the way we're getting an exciting DVD of The Forgotten Carols Sold Out Tour from last season ready to hit the shelves along with some exciting announcements regarding 2008 (which is the 25th Anniversary of my first album released by Deseret Book back in 1983) Needless to say, it hasn't been a great time for a fire (like there's EVER a good time for a fire)...
Or was it? During the week of our evacuation I got word that my mother was in the hospital, having suffered a heart attack. My daughter's husband did some hospital time as well (different hospital, different ailment) and I've had a few health set backs that I wasn't counting on. But the context of all the scares in our lives was this fire that could be seen on news stations and internet sites around the world. And as a result, those who know we've been here for a while have sent us SO much love and concern and faith and prayers in our behalf that I've been a blanket of tenderness comforting every day this week and I'm grateful beyond words.
Realizing that you're loved shouldn't be as surprising as it often is, but this week I've noticed that being the recipient of so much concern has expanded my ability to BE more concerned for others. What a gift that is, and what a perfect time for me to receive it...just before taking the road to do a show about the gifts we've been given that have been "forgotten".
If you have loved ones in Southern California, please let them know we're bringing the tour to the San Diego area (Dec. 20) and just over the hill from Malibu at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Cetner (Dec. 21). At the end of the show we do a song called ARISE which has this line: "Arise and shine forth, let us add to the flame that burns brightly in hearts that bear His name". It is THAT fire that will be burning brighter than ever for me this season because of the lessons I've been learning from the recent fires that have, for now, been contained.
Thanks for the conern, both expressed or simply felt for those of us who've had a scare this week, or, far worse, who have lost homes or loved ones from the devastation. In every effort you make to reach out to us you have fanned the flame of that OTHER fire I mentioned in the lyics to the song. Bless you for blessing all of us who needed to know we are loved.
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