"Keep Me" Music Video

I did this music video for my friend, Karen. Some people are more visual, which she is, and this is her favorite song of mine. I thought I would share it with those of you who are visual as well. =)

I hope it encourages you today to stay covered by the Lord, abiding in Him throughout your day, whatever place you are at in your life at the present moment.

You may be looking at the sheer side of a mountain, wondering how you can possibly succeed in scaling it. Surrounded on all sides, the only way is up...but how?

Your boat may be capsized and waves may be crashing over and over you, and you can barely catch your breath. The sky is dark and cloudy, the sea angry and you wonder if you will survive this storm.

You may not be facing any big decisions or trials at this time. Your way is clear, your path level and easy. Your sea may be calm, the sky perfectly clear and sunny and everything is going absolutely wonderful for you.

Wherever you may be, the need for us to abide with Jesus is still true. May God keep you close to His heart.

To read the original post of and story behind this song, go HERE.

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel

Why I Like to Sing Alone

Last week, my two oldest were out for the afternoon and my mom took the littles over to her house for their naps. I was able to get some vocals recorded, which I had been itching to do for awhile.

Maybe someday I will give you a tour of my "studio"...it's a very simple setup, trust me. It would probably make some of you cringe. haha 

But the real thing (the real studio experience) would be terribly intimidating to me, I think. I'm so thankful that I can sing alone all by myself and not worry about those hiccups that happen and worrying about the professional sound engineer that is having to listen to me hurt their ears. Yeah, I guess I'm too self-conscious. I probably need to get over that. Not probably, but I do. Need to. Have to. Must.

But let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, I wasn't nervous of being in front of people. I have fond memories of singing with my sister for special events. We did little duets together, people thought we were cute. You know, two little girls who are sisters, singing together, that's kind of cute. Anyway, I became confident and comfortable as time went on doing that.  

Then about nine years ago, I was invited to do a special song for the ladies' tea at the church we were attending. I don't know what it was - the combination of having to play the piano AND sing at the same time, or just not having been in front of people like that in a long time - but I totally, completely croaked. Waaah! My voice flew away and was replaced by a weak, pathetic sound. I'm not even going to call it a voice, it was that bad! And I was mortified. It left me scarred, but I'm really hoping not for life! Never give up hope!

So here's my question to you singers out there. How did you overcome your fear of croaking after you'd croaked? haha I really think it's bad that I even have that fear, because I'm just singing for the Lord anyway, but after you've had one of "those moments" (and you have to have had one of "those moments" to know what I'm talking about), it leaves you thinking that you will never try that again...EVER! Any tips? ;-)

Croaking and all, all glory to Jesus,

Adriel

A Sample From Last Week's Recording Session

Last Friday, after I was done for the day with recording, I mentioned on my Facebook page that I had some samples of what I had worked on.

Today, I'm going to share with you one of those samples. It's a little snippet from "When You Speak to Me" and I hope you enjoy it. My brother, Daniel Tekunoff, did the arrangement for me. He is not only very talented, he is a blessing, and I'm not just saying that because he's my brother. =)

Keep in mind that it's a rough draft, (not the arrangement by any means!), the vocals and levels and such. And it's missing background vocals at the moment. But it's a preview and I hope you enjoy it. You can listen to it HERE on SoundCloud. I'd love to hear what you think about it. =)

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel

Upcoming Plans...

First of all, I'm still alive. I haven't updated this blog in two weeks. That is terrible!

Second, I have a couple of projects mulling around in my head right now. I just don't know which one to do first. I'm somewhat torn. Should I do the one I planned on doing right after I Exist for You (which I planned on titling High Above Me), or should I do the project which chronicles my recent health crisis (which I plan on titling When I Look Back)?

Hmmm...any thoughts?? Too many songs and not enough time. I'm getting to the point where I'm willing to share the rough recordings with you guys. Just me and the piano. That would be really awesome (not really, I'm being sarcastic). I honestly don't play too great, but I may be throwing in a few songs that are a little "rough", just an FYI! =)

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel

I Exist for You Project Complete!

Well, after going back through the old recordings and polishing them up a bit, the whole I Exist for You project is now complete on SoundCloud. Eight years ago, when I first recorded many of these songs, I don't think anything like SoundCloud existed. It has been a wonderful way to share these songs! =)

You can find the entire project HERE and listen to it or download it for free. =)

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel

"So Good to Me" - Story Behind the Song

(Link to listen is at the bottom if you're in a hurry.)

Okay, you know when a song is not produced well when your almost-teen-daughter listens to it and laughs! LOL! =D

So, this song will be the most embarrassing one that I have share with you yet. But I'm making myself do this for a reason - this is where I started and I want to share that starting point with you.

I did go back into Cakewalk and adjust the levels a little bit, and the end result didn't make my daughter laugh as before, but I know it's still not all that great. Still, the words are true and they speak to my heart and soul.

This song was written back in 2005 in regard the same situation as "Whom Shall I Fear?" A scripture I wrote in my journal a few days before the writing of this song says:

"All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

If we can learn to look at our circumstances and instead of considering ourselves oppressed, consider ourselves blessed and have a heart of praise and thankfulness, we will have a continual feast of joy which will not only give us strength to endure, but also to flourish.

When we go through hard things, there is a choice to bless or curse God. The enemy continually makes attempts during our trials to cause us to curse God, to doubt Him, to believe He is absent, to lose faith in Him. In the midst of our difficulties, it seems almost like a tug-of-war. Some days - or even hours - we pull strong on the way of praising and believing God; and other days we are pulled toward the doubting and despair.

Have you ever noticed, however, that once a trial is over with, once you have passed through something hard, the tug-of-war is over with? In whatever way those difficulties end - either with us standing on God's truth and blessing Him, or falling into despair and cursing Him - that is forever how the difficulty will be remembered. By us and by those powers in the spiritual realm.

A difficulty that was ended in blessing and praising God, the enemy won't dare touch. But a difficulty that was ended with us cursing and doubting God will be used by the enemy over and over again throughout our lives.

In whatever we are passing through, may we be found praising and blessing the Lord Who promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. This is a declaration in the spiritual realm of our God's faithfulness. He is worthy of our praise!

You can listen to "So Good to Me" and download it for free on SoundCloud HERE and view lyrics in the description of the song as well as HERE.

I hope you are having a blessed weekend. And in spite of the quality of this recording, I hope that it blesses you. =)

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel

"Your Word is a Light" - Story Behind the Song

(Link to listen is at the bottom if you're in a hurry.)

Time for another song from the old bunch. This is the second to last. I cannot believe I am going to let you listen to this. The lyrics are good, but the production is not. <cringe>

Anyways, yeah. Let's get back to the story behind the song, shall we?

First of all, this song is dedicated to my parents. I don't know if they want their names publicly posted, so I'm going to play it safe and not do so. <a big wave to Dad and Mom>
My parents raised me in a loving, Godly home. Now, as a parent myself, I appreciate them so much more than when I was a kid. I took so much for granted or wasn't as grateful and thankful as I ought to have been. They made a lot of sacrifices for me, my sister, and my brother. Sacrifices that they didn't have to make, but that they chose to make to give us a stronger, better foundation than if they had chosen the easier, more popular, route. They weren't always popular with other parents, I know they were considered "strict" by some, and they didn't try to be my best friend. They trained me in God's way and I am so thankful that they did. They truly showed me love as I see now how much they laid their lives down for me and my siblings.

Do you know how hard it is to get weird looks from other parents or have to explain your family's opposing position on something that is normal and benign to others? It's not easy, but my parents were a great example to me and continue to be.

So this song is just a tribute to them. A simple declaration that I will continue walking in the truth and Way that they trained me to go. I will not depart from it. Dad and Mom, I really love you! =)


I received this song in 2006. I think it was one of the last songs I wrote that went into the original project (I Exist for You) that I had started a year or two prior to that. Over the past several months prior to receiving this song, the Lord had put in me a strong appreciation for His Word and a realization that the truths that are found in His Word were a foundation that was to be stood upon and not compromised.

At the time, we had just been introduced to Precept Ministries and we were watching the Jude video with those whom we were in fellowship with at the time. The teaching from this book (Jude) was very sobering to me, as I realized that the Word of God had been lost in the house of God. This question formed in my mind: If God's Word is non-negotiable truth, why is it compromised to accommodate the ungodly?

After viewing the video that evening, I came home and sang this song. It is very simple, yet true. It is good to be reminded of these things.

"Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

You can listen to "Your Word is a Light" and download it for free on SoundCloud HERE. Lyrics are in the song description as well as HERE.

All glory to Jesus,

Adriel