Until last year, I never really considered myself a musician.

I can hear some of you making snide remarks and noises, but hear me out.  Yes, I play the piano, and have done so in church for most of my life.  Yes, I have sung in a choir since Laverne Johnson led us in the preschool department at Orlinda Baptist Church.

But all of that was done on a very voluntary, not-getting-paid-for-it kind of basis.  I would always try to do my best, but in the back of my mind I knew that if I didn’t really have time to prepare it would be okay because I was only volunteering in the first place.

Then there is the little fact that I went to Belmont University … and studied English.  Most people are pretty disappointed when they learn that I went to Belmont … and did not study music.

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed Belmont so much was that I got to be around music and musicians, but didn’t have to do all of the hard work (and the 7:00 a.m. classes!) that go along with majoring in it.

Anyway, I digress.  Now, I spend more time working on music than I ever have in my life.  I play the piano for the choral classes at Apollo High School, and let me tell you boys and girls, this is REAL music.  I have to study and practice in order to be able to play this stuff.  I even broke out the old metronome recently!

Then, there’s what I do with music at church.  I realize that I actually do fewer ACTIVITIES than I have done in the past, but I spend more TIME on what I am doing than I ever have!

Tomorrow morning will be packed with all of these things.  I will spend time at school, where I will leave to go to church to work on Sunday’s service, and then on to a meeting to get ready for our Kidz Choir kick-off (say that ten times fast).

Yet, it’s all good.  It’s good to stretch and learn and grow.  I’m maturing in a skill in which I have a lot of years and money invested.

I’ve met a lot of people in the past year that I would not have met otherwise.  I have the opportunity to be an influence on a group of kids that I would not otherwise get to know.  I am getting better at what I do.

So, what areas have you stretched yourself in lately?  Do you have a skill or a hobby that you would like to invest more time in developing?  Is there something new that you would like to learn?