All Through the Night
A lullaby to remind us of God’s constant love for us
May you find peace and love around and within you today.
Podcast
Pieces of Peace
This week I learned (yet again) that if I wait for the world to provide me with peace, I’m never going to get it.
As I was rushing to get the rest of the decorations up around the house today I started wondering when this season was going to stop being stressful and start being fun.
Of course, I was pretty sure this wasn’t my fault. I had a pretty good list going of all the things other people should have done that would have helped give me some peace. If only my husband had said this, or there weren’t so many programs and activities to attend, or my dogs weren’t barking incessantly….
Please tell me I’m not the only one….?
So I set out to pick up the pieces of my sanity (littered amongst the wrapping paper, unopened mail, and Christmas lights) and find peace in the best way possible….playing music.
Music Dynamics or The Dynamics of Life?
Through teaching music, I learn about life.
Especially from the refreshingly honest perspective of children.
I’m constantly amazed at their insights and intuition!
Yesterday as I was explaining to a student dynamics (playing loud versus soft) we had an interesting discussion. He was protesting the need to play soft because playing loud is so much easier.
He is totally right…playing soft does take practice and develops fine motor skills that you don’t have immediately.
It also requires a level of concentration and discipline that only develops over time.
(I suspect he also enjoys playing loud because it annoys his younger siblings…but that’s just a theory!)
It’s much easier to be loud in life too, isn’t it?
In this week alone, I’ve loudly lamented the long lines at Sams, poor customer service at a local pharmacy, and lack of selection at a restaurant.
Just writing those out makes me seem totally superficial and ridiculous. But it’s true….I’ve seriously wasted valuable time and energy on this.
So now I’m going to take my own musical advice and practice playing soft.
Instead of approaching perceived injustice with laments, I’m going to try the opposite approach. After all, it’s not like I got anywhere with my indignance except spreading frustration to everyone around me.
And just like it takes time to develop the skills necessary to play soft, I’m sure that I will not be totally successful.
But I will practice.
I don’t expect perfection from my students, so I will try not to expect perfection from myself.
Here’s to a playing (and living) a dynamic life!
When music is your escape, but also your job…
Here’s a few phrases we’ve all heard about music:
Music is my…
way of getting away.
sanity.
escape.
love.
life.
Those all may be true. But here’s another truth:
Music is my job.
And I don’t have to tell you that Christmas a very demanding season.
Dozens of services and performances, not to mention the planning, practice, and rehearsals associated with each.
It can get overwhelming.
And if I’m not intentional about clearing time every morning to pray/meditate I’ll get sucked into the vortex of craziness and come out at the end of the day a frantic mess.
Just ask my husband…
To that end, I am committing to doing a Facebook live every morning from now until Christmas. This will just be me singing and/or playing songs for the pure enjoyment of it. Not super rehearsed, not polished, and definitely not perfect. A time for me to create music for the pure enjoyment of it, before heading out to make music experiences for others.
So here’s my challenge for you this season:
Pursue what makes you happy and fills you up before you fill your day helping/serving/working for other people.
Do you think this sounds selfish and indulgent?
Here’s a reframe that has helped me:
Anything that makes you a better person to be around is a benefit to everyone!
Deal? Deal!
Life Lessons: Writing them down or living them out?
There are some lessons I keep having to learn over and over again.
This week has been one of serious decluttering, cleaning, and organizing.
Inevitably, every time this happens, I run across something that truly surprises me!
This time it was some journals filled with my musings from 2008. As I flipped through and glanced at the entries I was horrified to discover I’m still struggling with a lot of the same things. Relearning the same lessons.
REALLY? I’ve read so many books since then, been to counseling, prayed and meditated, learned so many lessons…how can I still have the same problems?
And then it hit me….
I do a lot of writing things down but not a lot of living things out.
Ouch. That hurt.
Once I recovered a bit from that shock I started to see my cleaning and decluttering in a new light. Instead of just getting rid of things, I started asking myself to get rid of habits.
So as I’ve read and meditated this week I’ve tried to resist the urge to underline obsessively or take pages of notes. Because filling up another notebook isn’t going to change my life. Only my choices can do that.
I’m choosing to change and actively act like the person I want to become…instead of expecting magic to happen because I read a book or attended a seminar.
I must say, It’s a freeing (and scary) feeling…and for that I need HIM every hour...
What does freedom mean?
As we celebrate veterans today in America it got me started contemplating the idea of freedom.
Specifically, what does that actually mean?
I realize that as a nation it means we have independence.
But what about as an individual?
When I’m faced with the challenge of putting something complicated like this into words,
I start searching for someone else who has already explained it well.
And I was reminded of this quote:
“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.”
-Viktor Frankl
Short.
Sweet.
And so pointed it cuts me.
We have a choice in every moment of every day.
No matter what.
So, I’m choosing to make music. What about you?
It is Well
I spent some time this week remembering painful times in my past.
I’m not a glutton for punishment,
the intent was to remember, forgive, and move on.
In reality, I found myself descending into a spiral of
“it’s not fair that this happened…why me…I shouldn’t have to deal with this….”
Not productive.
And definitely not helpful.
In the middle of arguing with myself about how best to handle this
I started singing…
not on purpose, the song just came back to me in the moment
when I needed it most.
It is Well with My Soul
Events that stop us in our tracks force us to reevaluate everything.
Send us spinning out of our normal orbit and into an unknown world of emotions.
It can be painful, but it can also be an opportunity for change.
A complete reset of how things will be in the future.
As we pick up the pieces and begin to put ourselves back together,
we have a choice.
We can put everything back exactly where it came from,
try and make it exactly like it was before,
or we can choose to change.
Incorporate a new habit, change up a routine, or cut out things we don’t need anymore.
My new habit (at least for this month) is to meditate every morning.
So far so good…although I’m only a few days in!
When sorrows like sea billows roll, I’ll be singing…
Behind the Scenes
Have you ever wondered what happens backstage at a play?
Attended a concert and tried to catch a glimpse of what goes on when the lights are off?
If so, I’m right there with you!
As a child I got backstage passes to a Sandi Patty concert and couldn’t wait to see what glitz an glamour awaited behind the curtain.
You know what I saw instead?
Concrete floor, cinder block walls, and a folding table with a coffee pot.
Yup. Not so glamorous.
I do however have a photo of the big moment…
You’re welcome.
Lesson learned…the snapshot you get on stage is absolutely awesome.
But it is NOTHING like what is going on behind the curtain.
Which translates beautifully as a metaphor for many aspects of life, including learning new music.
This week I thought I’d share some behind the scenes footage of the prep and practice that goes into learning a new piece of music. Lest you think I wake up with music flowing effortlessly from my fingertips…