On My Way to Ashland
From the loss came grieving!
INTRODUCING…CAYLA CORKILL! When I first heard this young lady sing, I listened to this brilliant combination of Stevie Nicks and Linda Ronstadt. Cayla is not Stevie or Linda. She is herself, and it shows in her voice. Cayla was leading worship at a small and generous church in Missouri. Combining God's heart with her voice's beauty, it was as if her words carried a smile—it was like she enjoyed singing.
As a group of us were visiting her church, we went to lunch, and they (Jesse, her husband) joined us. I had my chance to express how much I enjoyed worship and what I heard in her voice. I asked about recordings, and a YouTube channel was mentioned, “But nothing professional,” she quietly responded.
I hoped that someone would get a clue and record her. That someone turns out to be me. Maybe you haven’t known of the music side of my life. Perhaps I’ll go there in fuller detail in the future. I want to stay focused on Cayla.
Two years passed, and I was traveling to this little church in Ashland, Missouri, called Walk in Faith. Once again, we enjoyed the morning with Cayla’s worship and then went to lunch, where she told me the story of a loss. I want to invite Cayla to tell the story. It’s her and Jesse’s, and I need their hearts. I will say that from this loss came grieving, and from the grieving came songs. Heartfelt, life-giving songs. These songs were the project that needed to be released.
We are currently in the arranging stage, which requires time, many adjustments, and discussions. I learned a system early in my arranging/producing side of music. Time, Talent, and Money are three possible sides to a project. You have to have two of the three to create a good outcome. We have our two, and money isn’t one of them. When I say money, I mean tens of thousands. We do have talent, and we can take our time.
Most musicians lack the money they would desire to do a project. I’ve discovered through the years how creative you become when you don’t have full funding for a large commercial project.
Those three points of time, talent, and money are valid for many of life’s experiences. We often find ourselves thrown into a different mindset when we have a limited budget. We get to apply a more significant measure of creativity, allowing us to think outside the box. As for time, well, time causes us to relax. When we don’t have to push so hard to make it happen, we begin to relax, and creativity often expands. It’s incredible to think there are opportunities for some to have all three of these points—more power to them. Indeed, that sounds amazing, yet there’s another side to restricting the finances and focusing on time and talent. Relationships.
When you can’t buy your way through a project, you have to develop relationships. You spend more time in discussion, working through the soul and spirit of a project. Sometimes, this creates a rub that ultimately, if allowed, leads to a deeper friendship. You get to know the people involved. Isn’t this a huge part of our lives to have a relationship with a living God? Sometimes, as the church, I wonder if we have forgotten the purpose of the gathering.
In the meantime, I’ll ask if she will write about their story and ask if you would like to pray for all the fullness of heaven to enter earth and be on these songs Cayla is releasing.