Musical Blessing

Over the past couple of years, people have complained that my blog posts are too happy. It makes them feel bad, and for that, I feel bad. I never write to brag, or boast, or make anyone feel bad. I write because "my cup overfloweth". My life is so blessed, and I feel that I need to publicly thank my Heavenly Father for all that he has given me. Yes, I feel gratitude for even the smallest things, but I can't help it. Life is a blessing.

I am so thankful for music. Because Anna is here with us this weekend, I arranged for us to perform a musical number at church tomorrow. I asked a good friend of mine, Claudia, who also happens to be an amazing cellist to help me find a good musical number. In the end, she found an arrangement of "Beautiful Savior" which could be voiced for a clarinetist, two violas, a cello and ... me! Today, everybody showed up at our house for rehearsal, and I was so happy to hear all those beautiful sounds that wouldn't typically play in that particular arrangement.

Here's my funny friend, Claudia, who joked that she likes to be "surrounded" by music.
Yeah, she really just needs to update her version of Finale!

Then, after a very tiring day, Anna told us that she was going to practice in the other room. What a delight to sit here and just listen. I know just about every horn orchestral excerpt from Mark playing in the house for years, and now I know every note of every piece the girls are playing. Having Anna here, just practicing, feels like my own private concert. New music, beautiful music, peaceful music.

I'm thankful that I have heard children practicing music in my home for past 15 years. It started with Ethan on piano, and it has included two pianists, one hornist, two violins, one viola, and lots and lots of singing over the years. I know the kids haven't enjoyed having to practice, especially when they were young, but I love it. I hope it continues for the rest of my life. Pure joy.

Comments

Like Dominos....

It all began with glare. Simple, obnoxious, I-can't-stand-it-anymore glare. Our 60" rear projection TV in the family room was basically unviewable except after 10 o'clock at night. The glare from the windows was making it impossible to see anything during my 10 minute lunch break each day, and something had to change. Too, the TV didn't fit in the entertainment center from Germany. John, wanting bigger and better, hadn't considered that the space is only 40" wide. For the past five years, I have been nagged by 6" of overhang on both sides of the TV stand. I went to Lowe's to price blinds. $1,043 for five blinds, and that was at 20% off. I figured a new TV would be cheaper than that. I was right, even with the state-of-the-art receiver and new HDMI cables that sly salesman told us we needed to have. But where to put the old TV? It just needed a quiet, dark place to retire. Glo's bedroom. Her TV was a relic from the paleoneoneand...

The Quest for Birkenstocks

One of the main reasons I go to Germany every couple of years is to restock my supply of Birkenstocks. I started buying them when I lived there, and I basically can't live without them now. It just about kills me when a pair runs its course and needs to be thrown away. I think in my lifetime, I've thrown away only three pairs. One that never was quite right (the straps were plastic and would cut into my skin after a long day), one pair that I wore gardening one too many times (the brown dirt stains wouldn't come out of the white leather), and the pair that I was wearing when I broke my ankle (they were an unfortunate casualty of broken ankle PTSD because those purple and blue paisleys go down as one of my favorite pairs of all time). I only threw out the garden ones a couple of days before I left for Germany, because I knew I would be getting a new pair. The only store where I have ever bought my Birkenstocks is Hoffmann's in Speicher. (Well okay, t...

Thinking Beyond Ourselves

In our church, most adults hold a “calling”. What this really means is they have a job, or a specific way to serve within the local congregation. We believe that this calling is inspired from God—it’s a specific way that he wants us to serve, so that we can either learn and grow ourselves, or so that we can help someone else. I have had more callings in the church than I can count, and with few exceptions, I have loved every one of them. I have come to love people (adults, teens and kids) who I might never have met. I have learned much--from how to organize a Christmas music program, to how to make a Sunday School lesson meaningful to apathetic teenagers. I have served as president of the children’s organization, and I have been the leader of 30 young, single adults. With every calling comes a lot of work. Of course, the amount of work one puts into a calling is up to an individual. I choose to put everything into a calling. I give up ho...

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Search This Blog