I am in Texas for several days. It's a time that is busy with family activities… like working on a first grade science fair project, shopping for a dress for Lauren's summer wedding, and oh yes, eating, eating, and more eating. 

One of the bonuses of being in the Dallas area is that there are so many possible co-writers here. I could drive south a few hours and be with Twila. I could drive north an hour and be with Jennie. There are people I have written with at some point dotted all over the Texas map. And oh yes, there's some guy named Bart who sings with some very popular group. He is supposed to be a great writer. I've never written with him, but he's here, and I could write with him. Just sayin'.

That brings me to one of the great things about being a songwriter. I can write anywhere. Even if a co-writer I admire and trust is not available, I can still write. Even if you take away my laptop and my iPad, I can still write. In fact, even if I have no legal pad or pen… yep… writing is still possible.

If I can observe and think and remember and listen and meditate, and maybe even evesdrop just a little, song ideas are out there waiting to be found. Heaven is sending lyrics and melodies down through the atmosphere if I will pay attention. I've been convinced of that for a long time. 

Yesterday I had a trusted co-writer with me. Jayme Thompson drove about 45 minutes to get here. We set ourselves up in a sunny room at Cindy's house and spent the day talking, laughing, sharing, chasing an idea down, and writing a lyric we hope will eventually get used in a musical. It was a good, productive, rewarding day. 

So… science fair project finished… check. Dress purchased… check. Lyric written… check. I think my work here is nearly done. 

Oh I can hear the snickers from my friends already. My getting a new computer… not such a shock. John always says, "You like your toys!" 

But truly, I swear getting a new computer was not on my list of "things to do," especially right now. 

About a month ago, I started getting the "Your startup disk is almost full" message. 

I took off every movie and television show I had saved. I took off every audiobook I had. That supposedly saved me 100 gigabytes of space on my hard drive. "Good," I thought. "That should last me another year before I fill it back up."

About a week ago, the message started again. I spent one writing day struggling with it. Watching the little colored spinning wheel of wasted time over and over. I visited a Mac store. The guy there did some supposed "magic" that saved me 60 gigabytes. "Good," I thought. "That should make me ok for another six months." 

The next day, all that empty space was full again!

I visited another Mac store. Again, the guy there clicked here and there and said he had saved me another 30 gigabytes. But the following morning, the message reappeared, "Your startup disk is almost full." GRRRRRR! This was getting ridiculous. It was like my data was liquid, and every time I took some off my computer, the rest of it rushed in to fill the empty space. 

"If I can just get home and get to the Apple Store, they will solve my problem!" I said to myself. And that's where I went yesterday with my trusted Macbook Pro. The "genius" at the Genius Bar quickly discovered that something quirky in my AOL email was eating up a bunch of space. But he also said I needed to consider a "clean install." He would back up all my data and then totally erase my hard drive and start over. 

I said okay. If that solves my problem, it's worth it. I left my computer with him, a little sadly, but looking forward to a "like new" hard drive in 24 hours. I left the store.

Fifteen minutes later I got the call. My hard drive was going bad. And… well… I'm not going to try to justify my next decision. Let's just say the list of expenses I was incurring, although not nearly as much as buying a new computer, well, they pushed me over the edge. (It turns out I really do like my toys.) And I did call John and ask him what he thought, and he encouraged me to do what I did.

So, I have a new computer. And for the first time in my long history with Apple, I bought something smaller. Well, the dimensions are smaller. But I got the biggest hard drive they could give me… and I'd better NOT be seeing "Your startup disk is almost full" for a long long long time!

Remember when Jennifer Hudson got kicked off American Idol?

I do. I thought about that last night when she was singing on the Grammys, doing such a beautiful job of paying tribute to Whitney Houston.

The night that Jennifer got dropped from American Idol it certainly seemed like the end of the road for her as far as her chances of becoming a well-known artist in the music business. My feeling, in all truth, was that no one had really ever expected her to win, and it didn’t seem to come as a big surprise that she hadn’t been voted through. From the start, she didn’t seem to have been “cast” in the leading role.

It’s pretty common on American reality tv for every dropped contestant to say, “You haven’t heard the last of me!” Jennifer Hudson has had what must be the exquisite pleasure of actually watching that come to pass.

I don’t know what it was in her personality or character that made it possible for her to absorb the AI rejection and come back in spite of it. I don’t know how she translated that “end” into a rebirth that has made her one of the more successful Idol alumni. For sure it has made her THE most successful one who didn’t win the show.

Several things are clear: She hung in there. She didn’t believe what her critics said about her. She refused to quit. She worked hard. She took advantage of every opportunity.

I’m so glad she stuck with it. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have seen and heard her at the Grammys… classy, beautiful, composed, gifted.

Every songwriter knows what it’s like to have that kind of rejection. We deal with it non-stop. There is always so much more rejection than there is acceptance. There are always more people ready to tell you that you can’t make it, than there are those who say you can.

Jennifer Hudson should give us all hope. And encouragement. And maybe even a swift kick in the seat to remind us that this isn’t supposed to be easy. So the question becomes, is it worth it?

I went to a huge Grammy party tonight with a whole bunch of my friends and some people I didn't know.

Everybody there agreed that Adele's wins were expected and well-deserved. 

And we all just hated that Nicki Minaj travesty. 

We disagreed about Taylor Swift's performance and also Rihanna and Cold Play. We mostly thought the Beach Boys looked really old, thought Jason Aldean got way outsung by Kelly Clarkson, and whined about there not being enough awards for an awards show.  

It was unanimous that Jennifer Hudson's performance was the high point of the evening. 

It was a great party, and I never had to get out of my pajamas to attend. 

Thanks, Facebook.

Sometimes you think you're going to write with someone… you've got the date and time on your calendar and you're all set… and then at the last minute plans fall through. Here are some songwriting realities that I try to keep in mind. 

1. Develop a good system for keeping your calendar. Write things down. You think you'll remember, but as you become busier and busier, things will slip your mind. 

2. Confirm your appointments a few days ahead of time. Make sure of the day, time, duration and place. 

3. Come prepared. Try to show up rested and with song ideas. If you're finishing up a song you started during another session, re-listen and re-read the lyric before you come. 

4. Don't cancel unless you simply must. I know it's scary to go into that little room with someone else. And it's awfully easy to come up with excuses. You didn't sleep well the night before. You're upset and stressed. You're not feeling well. Unless you have a really good reason, show up and write. 

The rules you keep for yourself with regard to appintments are one thing. But what if you are the person who has been cancelled on? When that happens, you have several choices. 

You can get mad. You can "read between the lines" and imagine that the person never wanted to write with you in the first place. You can say you just won't write with that person anymore. You can let it ruin your day and go home and pout and do nothing. 

OR…

You can see this as God's way of clearing your calendar for something else He has purposed. Maybe you need to write alone. Maybe He wants you to finish something up that you've been postponing. Maybe he has an "accidental" co-write planned for you. Some of my favorite songs have been written "by accident" when I wasn't supposed to be in the room with someone, but someone else was a no-show or had to cancel. 

You can offer grace to the co-writer who cancels or just doesn't show. As much as you think you'll never do it, it will happen sooner or later, and you will be the one asking forgiveness. Your co-writer may have reasons you know nothing about and they don't feel comfortable sharing. OR, it could be, they just screwed up and forgot to write the date down. OR, maybe your co-writer really is that inconsiderate. 

Offer grace anyway. Seriously. Don't just say it. Change what you say to yourself about the cancellation and change what you say to God about it. Then trust Him to help you redeem the time!

Finally, if you have a co-writer who makes a practice of being a last-minute canceller, it's probably wise to take that into consideration when you schedule your appointments. What is it worth to you to set aside this time when the reality is there's a good chance you'll be left hanging? Be a good steward of your time and opportunities. At the very least, have an alternate plan ready for last-minute cancellations. 

If you haven't figured out by now, my co-writer didn't realize we were supposed to write today. I am practicing what I preach and using today to do other things… like write this blog! And who knows… maybe I'll try writing something by myself.

My friend Steve Siler recently sent me a copy of his latest Music For The Soul project. It's called "Dignity." 

Over the years, Steve has created comforting, healing music for people dealing with eating disorders, pornography addiction, and surviving a suicide, among other topics. Every music for the soul project combines great songs with spoken word, all of it overseen and approved by experts in the various fields. 

"Dignity" is a wonderful addition to the Music For The Soul collection, and I hope that if you are a caregiver or if you know a caregiver, you will get a copy of the project. The songs deal with the stress and constant demands caregivers deal with, as well as the way they face loss and heartbreak. The spoken word sections are from different people who have personal knowledge of the situation. There is an adult child caring for a parent with Alzheimer's, a husband caring for a wife with MS, a professional caregiver who sees his work as a calling, and several others. 

I know a little of this battle because of my dad. We were so blessed that my mom was able to care for him at home until his death, and she did an incredible job. But she would tell you that she also dealt with strain, stress, anger, and guilt. It's difficult to imagine being able to navigate this road without a lot of support or without faith that God has a plan and that something better is coming. 

I applaud Steve and the Music For The Soul team for another great project. Go to their web site to get "Dignity" and to see the other cds that are available. It would also be a great place to learn how you can support MFTS's work. (http:www.musicforthesoul.org)

a nebula left after a stellar explosion.

God is the ultimate "creative," the source of every color and shape and texture. He sees everything. He's sensitive to the slightest nuance of hue and opacity. He loves balance and contrast and symmetry, and He loves their counterparts, imbalance and similarity and assymetry. He knows how to use them all perfectly to create the beautiful, the awe-inspiring, the terrifying, the inexplicable, the revelatory. 

God is the original artist. He is painter, sculptor, writer, singer, performer, communicator, director, producer. 

It makes sense then that He wants us to be artists too, doesn't it? I was talking with someone about this the other day. We were talking about how the world is not necessirly divided into people who are creative as part of their jobs and people whose jobs do not require creativity. There are businessmen who are "artists" in the way they do business. They aren't satisfied with simply following the old methods of the past. They are always searching for a better way, a new way to make their business successful. 

God has designed us to appreciate what worked well in the past and to tend to rely on that for how we will do things now. But God has also put into all of us the spark that wonders if there's a new, easier, more productive more beautiful way that we might try. I think about something as simple as the way the t-shirts are folded at stores like The Gap. Someone figured out this way that t-shirts could be folded in one fluid motion. It's efficient and it's beautiful. In fact it's kind of beautiful because it's so efficient. 

Are you a writer who wishes you had more time for that part of your life? Maybe God is nudging you a little and reminding you to use your creativity in every part of your day-to-day… in the way you fix cars or wait on people in a store or keep track of profits and losses or keep house or rear children or drive a taxi or even write songs.

The greatest artist of all has designed you to live a creative life. 

Songwriting is such a good lesson for how to live life. 

Songwriting is often about giving an idea time. Recently I read all about the word "ruminate." That's the root of the word the Bible uses about meditating on scripture. It's also the root of the word that describes what a cow does when it chews its cud. I'm not a farm girl, but I know enough about that process to see the connection. Song ideas are like that. You have to ruminate on them a while. So that means that sometime you have to retreat with them or even from them. Life is that way too. Sometimes the best things just need more time. Just like I do with my granddaughter, God says, "Not yet" sometimes. And just like Violet, we usually respond, "Right now!" But giving things time is God's way more often than not, it seems to me.

Songwriting requires rethinking. I once heard songwriter Regie Hamm say that the test of a good songwriter is how far down one road he or she is willing to go with a song, discover that it's not working, and go back up that road to try a different way. That is so hard to do with a song. When we've invested so much in going a certain direction with it, we fight against starting over. It's just so hard. I can think of a lot of times in my life when I've done the same thing. I've invested so much in a certain desire or project or decision or relationship, the thought of giving it up and starting over seems unthinkable. 

Songwriting is constantly about retrying. Small things like trying another word in a line. Bigger things like trying another point of view, trying another approach, trying another melody. Huge things like trying yet another pitch to get a song cut when it has been rejected. In some ways, success in songwriting is ALL about trying again. It's just that sometimes, we have to try something new, something different, something else, when we want to just keep trying the same thing. 

Today reminded me that sometimes things you've planned fall apart. When they do, God has another plan. I'm believing that today… and every day.

When Holly and Guy moved eight years ago, Jacob quickly became friends with the little boy next door. Gabe was recovering from a serious fight with a malignant tumor. He was and is a great kid. He would often hear Jacob and Houston calling me "Grandma Sue," and for a while he thought my name was "Grandma Zoo."

Gabe made his movie debut this past year in the movie Country Strong. In the film, he plays a boy with cancer. The producers asked that he shave his head and eyebrows so he really looked the part. I asked Lu, Gabe's mom, if he minded that very much, and she told me he was okay with the head-shaving, but he hated having to wear makeup for the filming. 

While Gabe was having his chemo treatments, Lu took a stuffed duck he had been given, and using her sewing skills, added pajamas, a head scarf, a blood pressure cuff, and even a chemo port. Having the duck seemed to comfort Gabe and also helped explain to him what the doctors and nurses were going to do during each treatment he had. This idea proved so effective, that soon, other kids in the hospital were wanting a duck like Gabe's. Lu, who had to spend long hours in the hospital with Gabe, spent a lot of that time making ducks for other children who needed them.

Eventually, Lu began a foundation called "Gabe's My Heart." The mission of Gabe's My Heart and Gabe’s Chemo Duck program is to use education to give comfort to children living with cancer through medical play using therapeutic tools. This means that these kids, who are in the fight of their young lives, can gain back some sense of control as they play with their duck, mimic taking the duck's blood pressure, and even pretend to administer drugs through the duck's chemo port.

Already chemo ducks are being used by hospitals around the country. Gabe's goal is to furnish 10,000 ducks by his tenth birthday, and I want to help.

I found out last week that Cardinal Glennon hospital in St. Louis has asked for a supply of chemo ducks for patients there. I told Lu that I would do my very best to raise the money for one shipment of ducks. Each duck is $25, so a carton will cost $600. 

It would be awesome if some of my friends would help. Go here (http://www.chemoduck.org/chemo_duck_video.html)  to watch a brief video about the chemo duck and see the way it helps kids with cancer and their families. I think you'll agree that it's a very small donation to make for something that is a huge help. 

You can make your donation right there at the site. There will be a place where you can donate 1) on behalf of 2) in honor of, or 3) in memory of someone. If you want your duck to go to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis, put "For Cardinal Glennon" somewhere in that line. 

IF YOU DONATE A DUCK, LET ME KNOW! If you come to Write About Jesus this year, we will give you another $25 discount for each duck you provide. This will be in addition to other discounts you qualify for. 

I have been blessed with six incredible grandchildren, and I'm so thankful they are healthy. But I have known families who have had to walk the terrible road Gabe's family walked with him. Making sure a child has a bit of comfort and help through a little stuffed friend seems like the least I can do.

 It took me a while to decide to read the Harry Potter series. It wasn't because I'd heard it was profane or dangerous or ungodly or anything like that, although I had heard all those things. It was just because I'm not into fantasy and I really thought I wouldn't like it. Holly kept telling me I should give the books a try. And finally, David Moffitt said I should try listening to the audiobooks. He just happened to have all of them. 

About two chapters into book one, I was hooked. 

I listened on my drives back and forth to Nashville. I listened as I walked. I laughed out loud when Hagrid gave mean cousin Dudley a tail. I cried when Harry looked into the Mirror of Erised and saw his parents for the first time. I adored Hermione from the first moment she was introduced. I loved the whole Weasley family, and I suspected Snape had secrets he was hiding. 

I listened straight through all seven books and watched the movies as I finished each book. I was there for opening night of Deathly Hallows Part II. And now, I am listening through the books again. 

Here is why:

Because the story is about good and evil, and in the end, somehow against all the odds, good triumphs.

Because the characters grow and yet they never do things that are not consistent with their character.

Because with few exceptions, the best characters have flaws and the worst characters have some redeeming moments.

Because things happen in book one that come back in book seven to resolve a plot point. The story is that well plotted.

Because there are no loose ends that don't get resolved and yet the resolution of each doesn't seem forced.

Because even the secondary characters like Alastor Moody, Gilderoy Lockhart, Luna Lovegood, and Dobby are so vivid and wonderful.

Because even the villains, including Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge are fascinating.

Because friendships are precious although not always easy, and friends are never discarded.

Because the least likely characters do heroic things. 

Because the stories are funny and scary and emotionally compelling all at the same time.

Because the second time through is even better than the first. 

Because now I know words like hippogryph, quidditch, horcrux, polyjuice potion, and blast-ended scroot. 

Because elves and giants and werewolves and goblins have feelings too.

Because in the end, Harry shows such courage and nobility and self sacrifice.

I love Harry Potter. There. I put it in writing.