Today I convinced a bunch of kids to become songwriters.

I brought my instruments to camp and enchanted the kids for about 25 or 30 minutes. The banjo and the dulcimer are just strange instruments to begin with, and all things strange and unusual are guaranteed attention-pilferers. You need such things in order to keep the attention spans of 12 youngin's whose main problems are loose teeth and not enough cookies for snack.

Granted... this group was creatively minded. I think children are massively creative as a general state of being, but these kids... they made up all their own games and played them for hours. I think they all played collaboratively at selling pretend ice cream for at least 45 minutes straight. (I might've played a role in purchasing the initial double-scoop of Rosewood-flavored ice cream. The generous store owner made me try a sample before I made my purchase, though.)

Anyone who has worked with kids for even half a day can tell you that children crave role models. They look to you. They take their cues from you. If you are silly and relaxed, the kids are going to have a great time. Apparently, they are also going to copy everything you do, because you are just really great for some reason that you won't be able to fathom.

So after I played a few of my own songs, and improvised a few on the spot, they immediately wanted to write their own. And they didn't forget about it. Over the next few hours, they wanted paper, and pens, or crayons. They wanted the paper stapled into booklets so that they could use it to collect their lyrics. They came to me with their songs and they sang them or wanted me to help them sing them. They were stories about clowns and fish, or songs about contradictions (yes seriously), or about how the camps at this park are the best (!!!). They wanted to collaborate and put their songs together.

They were awesome! I was really honestly floored by some of the songwriting talent in this camp. One kid was improvising lyrics, callback lines, with perfect rhythm and pitch that was all in one key.

It really made me think about some of the stuff I write... or don't write. Some of the things God pours on my heart which I ignore because it doesn't conform to my own standards. God said, my songs look and sound like all kinds of things, who are you to ignore the songs I ask you to write? I love those songs just like you love the songs these kids are writing.

Thanks God.