For 12 years, we've poured all our efforts into a 3-day October workshop in St. Charles, Missouri, called Write About Jesus. There has only been one time that we've organized and hosted a Write About Jesus at another time of the year in another place. That was several years ago when we did a one-day workshop in Nashville. It was a lot of fun and a big success.

We're excited to announce that we're bringing Write About Jesus to Austin, TX, on June 23rd! It's going to be one power-packed day of classes and competition at Promiseland Church in Austin. Several members of the regular Write About Jesus faculty… Tony Wood, Don Poythress, Gina Boe, Twila Labar, and Sue Smith… will be there to teach, mentor, and judge the songwriting competition. The whole day, complete with the WAJ classes, the WAJ notebook, and even a songwriting competition is only $85 if you register in advance, and $95 if you register at the door. 

In the coming days, we'll be telling you more about WAJ-Austin. It's going to be a day you won't want to miss. 

You can register for Write About Jesus – Austin by following the link on the homepage of the WAJ web site. And you can read how we're doing the special songwriting competition for this one-day event here. Make plans today to join us in Austin! 

Co-writes are all different. Some feel comfortable and fun. Some are awkward and halting. Some are painful and unproductive. But I think there are a few rules for every co-write that are important to follow. 

1. Try to show up. 

Somebody is counting on you. They've set aside this time for you. It's really all they've got. If you don't show or cancel at the last minute, it is such a bummer. So unless you are infectious or just really can't write for a darned good reason, show up. Even when you're nervous. Even when you're a little freaked out.

2. Try to be fully present.

Look distractions happen. But you can't wimp out every time you're the least bit upset about something. So suck it up and focus. Just like an athlete has to set aside some personal things while he or she plays, as a writer, you sometimes have to do the same thing. Only you're better off than athletes. You can channel all that angst into a song.

3. Care about the person more than the song.

You're writing with a person. Presumably they have family and friends and needs and concerns. If your only interest is in the song you can pull out of them, well, I think the song will show that. Chances are… I mean really… the chances are not spectacular that the song you write will get cut. Most writers write a lot more songs that don't get cut than ones that do. But successful writers have good relationships. And they take care of them. Because they take care of their relationships, they write again and again with people. Eventually, they write a song that gets cut. Then they have a cut… and a friend too. See how it works?

4. Keep confidences.

Co-writing requires you to be vulnerable. You've got to trust your co-writers with some stuff and they've got to trust you. Be worthy of that. 

5. Be brave.

Don't hang back and wait for the other person to do all the work. Put your ideas out there. Even the ones that are bad might lead to something good. Be prepared to have some rejected. Say what you're thinking… in a nice way. 

6. Be considerate.

Yes, yes, we're all professionals and we're used to being criticized. But we're still creative types. We get wounded easily. Find a way to say no to an idea, a line, a word, a concept that doesn't wound your co-writer unnecessarily. The idea is for them to leave the room feeling good about you, the song, and themselves. 

7. Be honest.

Don't lie and say you like something when you don't. You don't have to say you hate it. But you can say you're not convinced that you and your co-writer don't have something better you just haven't found yet. I value so much my co-writers who are willing to tell me when they think I've gotten off track. I don't always like it, but I need it anyway.

8. Don't compete. 

It's not a contest to see who can get more of their ideas into the song. Don't count words, lines, or ideas, or pay attention to who wrote what. If it comes down to you and your co-writer disagreeing about a line, my feeling is you have to wait until you get to a place and time where you can agree. 

9. Be generous. 

With your encouragement. And praise. And your snacks. 

10. Serve the song. 

It isn't about you. It isn't about your co-writer. It's about the song. Whatever you do, do it to make the song better. Does that sound like a contradiction of rule #3? It isn't. But say, you're an experienced writer and you're writing with a new writer. Serving the song will keep you both honest. If you a new writer and you're writing with an experienced writer, serving the song will give you courage. 

I'm a huge NCIS fan, and if you watch that show, you know that Gibbs has his rules. These are mine.

So, what do you want when you get a new cd? 

If you're like me, first you want great songs… writing that lets you see the writer's heart and gives you a peek into their mind and most of all makes you feel something. You want great singing… singing that pulls you in, that makes you cry on the sad songs and want to dance on the happy ones. You want a cd that makes it hard to stop listening. 

Oh, my friend, Belinda Smith. You've done it. Like your "Beautiful" song, your new cd is just beautiful. This celebration of your 40th birthday is a gift you have given to all of us who are your friends. I love it. 

Start to finish, this live project called Time Machine, has done what might seem impossible. It has captured "Essence of Belinda" in such a memorable way. The songs are full of snapshots of childhood and teen years. They are about relationships gone bad and the good ones too. They are self aware but never self absorbed. They are funny and honest and true. There is faith and hope… and of course, humor. 

I have always loved Belinda's voice. In my dreams, I sing like her many nights. She sounds so great on all these songs. She has power, she has tenderness, but what I think of over and over when I listen is that you just know she's being real on every single note and word. That's what makes people love her. Those of us who do, love that she decided to do this cd live because Belinda just singing one song after another, although it would be highly enjoyable, just wouldn't be the same as Belinda talking to us in between. 

Should I choose favorite songs and moments when really it's the complete package that makes this what it is? Oh, all right. I love "Beautiful." I can't resist "Under My Bed." "God Is On His Throne"… just wow. Dang… some major label artist just needs to cut "Feels Pretty Good" and have a huge radio success. And "Another Day"… well, you nailed what keeps all of us who dream going through the hard times. 

If you'd like a copy of Time Machine and you didn't get to be part of the Kickstarter campaign that funded it, you can get in touch Belinda through her web site (http://belindasmithcreative.com/). I feel certain you can find out there how to get it. And really… you should. 

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. 

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!

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?

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.

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.