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

A Volunteer Miracle 2004

In February of 2004, I received a call from Brian Lewis, a staff writer at The Tennessean, the daily newspaper in Nashville. Brian wrote for the religion section and had heard about Music for the Soul from a mutual acquaintance. He was calling me to see if he could do an interview with me about the ministry for the newspaper.

So on one afternoon Brain came over to our office. He and I sat up in the prayer loft and visited about my mission for Music for the Soul. At that time we had released The More Beautiful CD and the Heroes Unsung CD only so the ministry was still relatively new. I shared with him the mission behind the ministry and the long range vision.

He took his notes in shorthand and the interview proceeded in what I would call a perfunctory fashion. I didn't think it had gone particularly well or particularly poorly. Brian told me a photographer would be getting in touch and coming by in the next few days to take my picture for the paper.

When the photographer came by I assumed he would just do a head shot. After all, a small black and white photo buried in the religion section was not going to leave a lot of room for artistic license. But this guy was very into what he was doing and tried some really creative things. He even staged a shot where my image appeared as a reflection off the wood of the piano.

Brian had told me the article would appear in the next week or two so I basically forgot about it and figured I would see it eventually.

The following Monday I got a phone call on my cell phone from Shawn McSpadden, a dear friend and board member of the ministry. "You're in the paper!"

"Yeah, I did this interview last week for the religion section."

"NO! You're on the front page! And there's a color photograph!!!!"

Honestly, my first thought was – "Thank God for a slow news day."

Since my wife and I didn't take the newspaper and I was out driving I thought, "Hmm, where's the nearest place where I can see this thing?" Then my phone rang again.

It was Risley and Elizabeth Lawrence, dear friends from Vine Street Christian Church and loyal friends of the ministry.

"You're in the paper Steve," said Elizabeth excitedly. Being less than a half mile from their house I asked her if I could come by and see it.

When I arrived at Elizabeth and Risley's home and she showed me the paper I was stupefied. There I was, on the front cover, in full color, ABOVE the fold. And it was the artiest of the photographs; the one showing me in the reflection of the piano. "We're so proud of you Steve," crooned Elizabeth affectionately. In the interest of disclosure it should be said that, Elizabeth and Risley, long time elders of Vine Street Church are the kind of people who mentor just by being who they are. I have often told them that I want to be like them when I grow up. Elizabeth says "We're so proud of you Steve," every time she sees me, but I never get tired of hearing it.

I knew the article would generate some local interest and we did receive some calls, e-mails, and song pitches from therapists, churches, and songwriters in the Nashville area. After a week or so the response dwindled away.

And then a most remarkable thing happened. I got an e-mail from a woman named Sue Foster, a licensed therapist who was working as a social worker in San Diego, California. Sue had seen the Tennessean article when a friend of hers who lived in South Dakota had seen the article online and had forwarded to her.

The second to the last paragraph of the Tennessean article was a quote from my friend Tony Wood talking about what I wanted to do with the ministry:

''There are a lot of real specific topics that he wants to take on and write songs and create products that speak to people that are going through them that aren't necessarily a radio type topic,'' said Tony Wood, a songwriter who recently co-wrote a song with Siler about grieving a suicide. ''It's hard to craft a pop song that would have any chance at radio around a topic like that.''

It was this part of the story that had prompted Sue's friend to forward her the story. Sue had tragically lost her daughter Shannon to suicide death several years earlier.

In Sue's e-mail she told that she felt God speaking to her through our songs. Sue later told me that after sending the e-mail she thought to herself, "This is some big shot and he's never going to answer me back."

Of course, I answered her immediately.

Sue was then in the process of writing her excellent book Finding Your Way After the Suicide of Someone You Love. Because of her personal experience with the issue of suicide and her professional background in therapy both Sue and I thought it might make sense for her to be an advisor on the Chaos of the Heart project that was taking shape at Music for the Soul. I had a planned visit to Los Angeles coming up so Sue drove up from San Diego and we met for coffee.

I was very apprehensive to play the song Chaos of the Heart for Sue, as it would be the first time a suicide survivor would hear the song. Her response was that it was "perfect."

Shortly thereafter Sue came out to Nashville for a visit. Upon returning to San Diego Sue felt God calling her to come and be a part of the ministry.

Since leaving her family, her friends, and her job to move to Nashville in 2005 Sue has given Music for the Soul over 6,000 – that's six thousand - hours of volunteer service. Without Sue's selfless and sacrificial heart of service Music for the Soul would probably not exist today.

The paperwork and administration alone would have buried me alive! Sue has taken calls, filled orders, written letters, catalogued sales, managed the donor file, and kept me from having to deal with the mounds of infuriating paperwork that come with running a non-profit.

She has taught classes at conferences, run the sales table at concerts, coordinated our volunteer teams at dinners, made sales calls, and with her professional therapist background has acted as an advisor on our recordings.

She has kept the plants watered, the trash cans form overflowing, found my keys and wallet which I lose on a regular basis, and has beautified the office at Christmas time. She has done all of this all the while putting up with the erratic and moody behavior of someone who should be in the writing room or recording studio, not the office.

Sue has given Music for the Soul the gift of believing in the ministry on days when it felt like maybe she and I were the only ones who did - not to mention making fabulous coffee and iced tea and bringing in the occasional oatmeal raisin cookie!

For all these reasons Sue has been a miracle to Music for the Soul. If our resources have blessed you please send up a prayer of thanks for Sue.





Phone: 1-877-214-7703 Email: inquire@musicforthesoul.org P.O. Box 159027, Nashville,TN 37215-9027
Music for the Soul is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3). Donations are tax deductible.
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