LYRICS:

The Forgetting Part· w/m Taryn Hofert 

[verse 1]

The forgetting part’s the hardest part to get

There is no escaping the tapes inside my head (they say)

You’ll never change You’ll always be the same

Just another day to replay…

[verse 2]

You can’t see the cloud  affixed above my head

I take it everywhere - My hovering regret

Oh for for just a day to escape it’s shadow cast

To reconcile with myself at last

The way I live is almost as if

I’m out for revenge against myself

 [chorus 1]

This is love -  To be seen for who you are not what you were

This is grace -  To be held as though I never made mistakes

This is You  -   Drowning me in your forgiveness  

[bridge]

Like a broken record, it haunts me

Like a tape in my head, it taunts me

Like a knife in my heart, it’s tearing me apart

Wounding daily, then in my frailty

You come, You run….to me

You embrace me in the middle of the street

You lift the needle from my record

In the silence I can hear

Chris and Kay McNulty's story from Watershed Charlotte on Vimeo.

As we talked about this together we realized there was a problem.  We really didn't know anyone living in poverty.  We started asking questions like, "How do we start real relationships with people in poverty?" and "How can we get our entire family involved in the lives of those in need?". It wasn't too long after this that we were given the opportunity to join a Hope Team through Watershed.

We are now part of a team with five others from Watershed and an amazing Hope Team Family: Mom and 4 wonderful kids.  We had no idea what to expect, given the opportunity to build relationships with this Hope Family.  Being a part of a Hope Team gives us the opportunity to move beyond supporting a cause, to building real relationships with hurting people.  We are not only learning about the difficulties of rising out of poverty, but we are learning how so many of our assumptions were not reality.  Society says this family is "so different" than us because of class, race and economic distinctions.  Yet, it's been so amazing see a bond form with our Hope Family as we are leaning to really love and care for each other.

As a team, we now have the opportunity to be directly involved in the lives of this family and to leverage our relationship and resources to help this family rise out of poverty.  The process can be difficult and messy at times, but we have hope for an amazing future!

 Music has been a huge part of my life since I was a little girl. I spent the greater part of my childhood dancing around my room, singing everything from Disney songs to Mariah Carey ballads. The lyrics, the melodies, the rhythms, the energy...I've always been moved by music.

There's a beautiful vulnerability in music that I've always connected with. Any song we've ever heard is because a risk was taken. Someone, somewhere, in some phase of life, poured their heart out in lyrics and was brave enough to share it. We find truth in lyrics, we get lost in melodies, we rock out to riffs, we bob our heads to beats- all because musicians were brave enough to share their art with us.

I'd always dreamed of being a singer or actress in a musical on Broadway, performing over-the-top musical acts in fancy costumes (and I REALLY wanted tap shoes). I realized though, at a very young age when auditioning for a middle school production of West Side Story, that the idea of getting up in front of a room of people and singing on a stage, surrounded by talented musicians and bright lights, was terrifying. The crowd overwhelmed me. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't like the spotlight. I didn't like the risk. I felt out of control of my surroundings; I never wanted to sing on a stage again.

Being in the band at Watershed has been completely transformational. I never thought I'd find comfort on a stage or in front of a microphone, but I have. What makes this experience so different from what I've done in the past is that it's not about the performance, or about what the crowd thinks, or if I get the lines right. It's about opening my heart and using my voice to sing to God. It's not about ME.

I've heard so many people say they don't like to sing aloud because they "have a terrible voice" or "can't sing.” Every time I hear someone say this, it reminds me of making cards for my parents all the time. I'd scribble what I could in crayon, draw pictures all over it, and give it to them like it was the greatest gift they'd probably ever received. I'd sit and watch my mom as she deciphered my misspellings and messy penmanship. Her face would light up, and her eyes were full of love as she'd proudly display the card on the fridge- all because I did the best I could to show her how much I loved her.

God loves our scribbles. And our misspellings. And, I like to think that God hangs even our off-key, out-of-tune praises on his fridge.

A worship song I really connect with is Hillsong's, "From The Inside Out". One of my favorite lines is:

"..Your will above all else, my purpose remains,
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise"

Every Sunday I sing with the Watershed band, I lose a little more of myself. I am reminded that it's not about ME. Or, US. Or, our performance. Or, our voices. If there's anything I can encourage you to do, it's sing. Sing out, sing loud, sing with all you have. And, lose yourself. In losing myself, I find God. And, that's exactly what I need.

Written by Lauren Rosenau