Finding Freedom In Confinement
Are you finding new freedom in this self-imposed confinement? Living With Limitations Social distancing and sheltering in place in the time of Coronavirus have created a unique situation for many of us. For example, a friend who lives alone is now working from home. This could double the loneliness for her, but at least she … Read more
Babies on the Bus: Trust in Life Unfolding
Volunteer Babysitters “Hey, Out of the Grey, here’s your babysitter for the day,” said Ron, the road manager. The teenage boy stood at the door of our tour bus and reached to shake our hands. Gulp. My husband and I exchanged a quick glance then invited him into our home on the road. Up the steps came … Read more
3 Creative Ways to Move Toward Emotional Health
Get Out of Your Head and Into Emotional Health: 3 Ideas If you are like me, you get stuck in your head and need help moving toward emotional and mental health. Do you have a secret sadness or a shapeless grief that keeps you down? Do you lean toward despondency, especially in colder seasons? What if … Read more
10 Songwriting Tips for Better Songwriting
We songwriters can all use new songwriting tips. Even tried and true songwriters can do better from time to time. Inspiration can come from unlikely places. For example, whenever I hear the intro to Steely Dan’s song Aja, joy wells up in my chest. I was studying songwriting at Berklee College of Music in Boston when … Read more
The Art of Compromise or The Compromise of Art
Gravity and Relativity Out of the Grey lite. That’s what my husband Scott and I call Gravity, our fourth record. Actually, a fan came up to our CD table after a concert one night in 1995 and bestowed that description. “I love all of your albums up to this point but this new one is more like … Read more
Change–Going The Distance
I don’t like change very much. I cried every time I tried to finish the song,“The Distance.” It’s a song about my son growing up and out of the house. It took me 5 years, really, to put the final lines together and then let it go, move on. Planted on my padded piano bench, my … Read more
The Curse of Encouragement: 3 Ways to See It
Last spring, I went to a dinner party where I barely knew anyone. As I walked in, I decided to be open-hearted and unguarded for a change. And for once, I would refrain from offering unsolicited encouragement. I told myself: “Just listen to people and don’t share your much-needed insights or words of wisdom. Be … Read more
Of Fear, Faith, and Foxes
The Beginnings of Fear When I was eight years old, a strange man banged on our front door. My mom opened it and he asked her, “this cat out here yours?” Looking over her shoulder at me, he leaned in to say something which only she could hear. Mom turned to me and my sister … Read more
The Music Recording Process: Part 1, An Overview
The Music Recording Process in Order of Appearance I thoroughly enjoy the music recording process. At least the way my husband and I did it as recording artist, Out of the Grey. Crafting a song from start to finish in the recording studio excites me. My favorite part of this art is singing the lead vocal. … Read more
About Christine
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Lifelines -
Tracing My Journey in Story and Song
Hi! I’m Christine Dente. I am a writer and a singer/songwriter.
I am a God-pursuer and a Jesus-follower.
Someone once said that “we write our own medicine.” That’s what I have been doing most of my life with songs and with prose.
- I try to draw beauty out of the grey shadows of life,
- trace the shape of grace in childhood traumas,
- find lifelines of hope in everyday dramas, and
- share the things I’ve learned along the road.
- find lifelines of hope in everyday dramas, and
- trace the shape of grace in childhood traumas,
I grew up on Horseshoe Road in rural Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I spent much of my childhood negotiating the rocky places in my parents’ relationship and the effects of their eventual divorce. Shaped by American culture and family dysfunction, I developed the skills I needed to survive and thrive in my high school years and beyond. Some of those skills needed dismantling when they wore out their usefulness. Some have made me what I am today.
In 1985, I met Scott Dente at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
We graduated and married in 1987, moving to Nashville, Tennessee, a year later.
Armed with 2 cats and a guitar, we took on the music business and became recording artists 2 years later.
As Out of the Grey, Scott and I had the privilege of writing, recording, and performing our music as we were raising our family. You can find out more about Out of the Grey here.
After years of homeschooling and touring, our 3 children grew up and out of the house.
With more time on my hands, I let my thoughts and memories stretch their legs and take their turn in the journey.
I get to write books, blogs, and music.
I get to work on my issues with fear and faith.
I can discover some freedom in getting older.
This is where you find me.
May the words of my medicine and the meditations of my heart inspire and encourage you on your own journey!
Thanks for listening,
Christine
