The idea of recording a CD came a little over 2 years ago. A friend of Dave’s and mine unexpectedly approached us with a considerable donation to be used in my music ministry. Keep in mind, up until that time my “music ministry” had consisted solely of two concerts I had done at our own church. We were floored. We were so happy to receive such a gift, but at the same time I felt the daunting responsibility of deciding what to do with it. After much prayer, I decided to pursue recording three songs as a demo. These were recorded in early 2006. For the rest of 2006 and into 2007 I prayed, “Lord, what next?” Several friends suggested recording enough songs for a CD. This seemed ludicrous to me, as there weren’t people at my door clamoring for a “Laura Kleinschmidt CD.” Being the very reasonable person I am (I’m being sarcastic here), I put this thought off. I continued praying for guidance and the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) kept coming to mind. I was convicted to use the rest of the gift instead of burying it.
The rest is nothing short of amazing. God graciously provided two audio engineers within the band I had been practicing with. How convenient! We recorded three more songs with our band, but I wanted to record some songs that were more acoustically based. Every time I thought about calling a musician I thought “Hmmmm....They’re pretty busy....I don’t think they’ll do it.” Well, I was amazed as every musician I asked said, “Yes!” Not only did I have musicians, but they turned out to be wonderful arrangers who helped tweak the songs into something much better than I could have created on my own. When we approached the time when the CD needed to be mastered, I was so blessed to know a friend who did this for a living! The amazement continues as we looked into the artwork. My wonderfully artistically gifted husband, Dave, took some incredible photographs and a good friend of ours worked his magic with the design.
God has taught me so much through the process. I've learned that being faithful sometimes means pursuing things that you don't fully understand, feel confident in or know the end result of. Also, I feel like I've gotten a glimpse of the beauty of the body of Christ. Seeing how it functions through others serving unselfishly and out of their giftedness is an incredible privilege. I am truly humbled and still amazed.