Music for the Soul, Inc.
Stories

Dear Friend - As ones eager to be good stewards of the vision that God has given, we at Music for the Soul prayerfully seek God’s call and leading every step of the way.

Living in the rigors and demands of the day to day it is often difficult to see God’s hand at work. That’s why it is so important to reflect on the journey from time to time; to remember what God has done. For it is through the stories of a ministry like Music for the Soul that one can see God’s faithfulness in weaving together something more beautiful and surprising than could ever be imagined. I hope you’ll enjoy reading some of these stories and seeing the miraculous way God has inspired us, encouraged us, and sustained us.

Additionally, we have been blessed with many wonderfully thoughtful, creative, wise, and passionate friends. From time to time to they have shared their thoughts with us on a wide range of subjects having to do with music and ministry. Some of these are archived here as well. We welcome your thoughts and comments on what you read here. And we pray that you will derive joy in sharing with others – whether through song, poetry, essay, film, art, or the spoken word - the stories of the miracles that God has done in your life!

Steve Siler
Music for the Soul

58 days of Miracles 2005 - After the Storm

"You've got to do something for this," he said. It was a phone call from one of our supporters in Florida the day after Katrina had ravaged the Gulf Coast.

We had no budget money for a new recording available and I felt that whatever response we made would need to be swift because the pain was happening now. I also knew Thanksgiving and Christmas would be especially difficult for those who had been impacted by the hurricane.

We started working on the project immediately and within a few days our supporters in Florida had sent us the money needed to record the CD. We set a target completion date of November 1st – 65 days away.

As the racial dynamic of the crisis unfolded I became immediately concerned that we have a song that spoke not only about the physical healing that needed to take place in the city – but also about the healing that needed to take place around the issue of race.

As a middle class white male I felt that it was critical for the make up of our recording to reflect the diversity of New Orleans so that the project would be a gift for the entire city and region.

For the last couple of years my friend Clarence Church, an African-American worship pastor then living in Colorado Springs, had occasionally been sending me songs by e-mail to get my feedback. Though they were always good I never felt like he had sent me anything that was truly special.

So when another song showed up in my inbox just a few weeks before hurricane Katrina I hadn't thought much about it. I was doing some other work at my desk and opened up the e-mail to let the song play in the background. After just a few measures the song got my attention. I pushed away from the desk, closed my eyes, and began to really listen.

The song was called Binder of the Broken, a beautiful song about God's healing and redemptive nature. I felt like it captured the spirit of Music for the Soul as well or better than anything I had written myself.

With Clarence's song fresh in my mind it occurred to me that its bittersweet and tender tone might be a real balm for those trying to recover from the emotional damage of hurricane Katrina.

And then I thought what if? What if, instead of recording the song with one voice as it was on the demo, we recorded it as a bi-racial duet?



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