"The Merritt System"

OK. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the music of Tift Merritt. LOVE it! This locally-grown artist has been a fave of mine for years. I just finished reading an article about her in Fifteen 501 magazine. There was not a lot in the article about Tift's career that I did not already know, but I did gain some new perspective. I hope my feeble writing skills will be able to convey that here.

Merritt's 2004 CD, "Tambourine", was nominated for a Grammy as Best Country album. The author of this article, Kurt Dusterberg, described her nomination as "a square peg in a category that leaned toward traditional offerings from Loretta Lynn and Tim McGraw."

Hmmmm....square peg in something that leans traditional! I get that! I just love watching people who have to put others in a "category" or "box". Their worlds seemingly cannot function if there is something or someone that does not fit neatly into their parameters. I think that is pretty prevalent in a lot of churches today.

You know what? There are some really different folks out there. Hey! I'm different! I am exactly as God created me to be doing what He created me to do. That is the freedom He offers. I do not have to fit into some false standard of what someone else thinks a Christ follower should look and dress like. Christ is THE standard. It's not you, me, anyone else. Christ alone.

Back to Tift. She is definitely hard to pinpoint as an artist. She's a little bit country, a little bit Southern rock, a little bit R & B. (I sound like Donny & Marie) Defintely not mainstream. Definitely not making millions from her music. She is just doing what she is supposed to be doing.

Go buy "Bramble Rose" (her first CD) and "Tambourine". You won't be disappointed. She should have a third CD out later on her new label. I recently loaned my copies of both to someone, and I miss them!

Anyway, here is the final paragraph of Mr. Dusterberg's article. It speaks to me and my life with Christ.

"Once you're going in the right direction, you follow your heart and you have confidence. I've always been an artist and I always will be. I'll be doing it whether everybody is looking or not."