A Light Dawned & Broke Through The Boundaries of Time

This Video makes me grin. Then I have to dance around a bit. Celebrate!!

The Carousel of Time

I've always loved this Joni Mitchell song and it totally fits the occasion of my baby's 20th birthday. This is a milestone day. I no longer have any teenagers. Amazing,

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you're older, must appease her
And promises of someday make her dreams

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell her,
Take your time, it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

So the years spin by and now the girl is twenty
Though her dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Molten-Golden Notes

If you haven’t seen the You Tube video of Susan Boyle yet, you must watch it.

I am fascinated by the tidal wave that's been created by her appearance on "Britain’s Got Talent" April 11th. The YouTube clip has been viewed more than 50 million times in just one week! I believe it’s the underdog in all of us that rises to applaud loudly. In my mind, she represents the unfulfilled dreams we all have. Her courage and mettle are as molten lava in the tide of cynicism and defeat that are washing away the hopes of many.

Her life has no doubt changed in the last week. Regardless of her future recording contracts, she has touched the world with her gift. How appropriate that her song choice was “I Dreamed a Dream”.

“From the molten-golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle dove that listens, while she gloats on the moon!

Excerpt from “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe

Whatever form of expression your song may take, I hope you sing this week.

A Drop of Golden Sun

If you need a little kick of energy on this Monday, this video clip will do the trick. It'll put a smile on your face and a spring in your step! I would totally have jumped into the middle of this, what about you?



I swiped this without remorse from Uncommon Blonde. : )

A Joyful Sound

I read with interest an article this weekend on the “dumbing down” of church congregations in America. Musically speaking, that is. The author was complaining about the fact that churches with contemporary music in their service are using screens to project words and people don’t have printed music as they do when reading a hymn book. The result is that people aren’t learning how to read music.

Do people learn to read music from a hymnal?

I’d never thought about this. I do know that being classically trained on the piano, it was a whole new world to play in churches where I was simply handed a chord sheet. I can sight-read music but I thought “where are the notes?!” I had to learn to make my own. Not as easy as it sounds to someone used to reading Bach & Beethoven.

I didn’t learn to read music at church because my dad was a musician and we were taught to read music before we could read books.

Lest anyone worry that music threatens to become a lost art (never!), check out these little Texas songbirds. This clip is less than 2 minutes and is a replay of the National Anthem sung by five young ladies. You have never heard it performed better than this!

An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song. You could hear a pin drop.
The two young ladies on the right are six years old.
The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight. This gives me goosebumps. I've watched it over and over again.

Works For Me – Music to Go

I have wanted to participate in Work for Me Wednesday for a good while. This is the day!

Have you always wanted to be able to play a musical instrument and just don’t know how? I’ve got the instrument for you.

I love music. As I’ve stated before, I breathe music.

My dad was a musician and when we started kindergarten, it was time for us to begin to learn an instrument. I chose the piano and took formal lessons for 13 years. The problem with the piano is it’s not mobile. I taught children’s church for years and always enjoyed the music portion, but found that when I sat down behind the piano, I lost their attention. So I began the search for an instrument that was mobile and could be learned easily.

I am on now on my second OmniChord and it is so much fun. (I wore the first one out.) Children and adults alike are fascinated by it. I describe it as an electronic autoharp. I currently use it when I go see my sweet grandmother.

My best friend did not ever learn any instrument but really loved my omnichord . I used it to lead praise and worship in a small group Bible Study we did at her house. She bought one and learned to play it!

This instrument is not expensive and I think you might possibly love it as much as I do. Let me know if you have any questions about it. Be blessed!

Rich Gifts

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
~ Dr. Seuss

I love Dr. Suess. He has a way keeping it simple. Clearly a gift that he used well.

Edie over at Rich Gifts posts a question every week. Her recent question asked about our unique design. I wrote pages in my head and had so much to say I couldn’t seem to get it through the computer. So I’m just going to comment on one thing that has been at the forefront for me because of recent events.

I love music. I breathe music. The way I tell it - I am bilingual. Music is my first language and English is my second. I mean it. And I’m a worshipper. Time has no meaning once I sit down at my piano and get lost in the sounds and the presence of God.

There’s a long story that I’ll make short about all this. I studied piano for 12 years when I was in school and was quite “fluent”. When I was about 15, an unnatural fear of playing in front of people took over. And for about 25 years, I only played at home. One day, I recognized that fear had stolen something precious and good and I determined to press through the fear. I continue to work on that. It’s crazy to me that I can speak or sing in front of 1,000 people and I’m not nervous. But when I put my hands onto the keyboard, it’s a different story.

Last week I was asked to play and do the music and worship during altar time at church. It was truly a God thing that I was asked, as pastor had never even heard me play. I started Sunday and I am so excited. This is a new season. This is a door of opportunity. And even though I was nervous, I felt a new freedom and it felt glorious.

“...For the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy….” BUT we’ve been made more than conquerors!

I know music is a part of me. It’s a gift that is being restored in ways I have yet to experience. I’ll be seeking out bloggers who lead worship for resources and such, so let me hear from you if this is your gift!

Best Friends Forever

My new BFF is Matt Maher. He sent me his new CD for FREE because I blogged about him! I love his new CD “Empty and Beautiful” and have played it countless times already. For your information, he also wrote “Your Grace is Enough”, recorded by another favorite artist, Chris Tomlin. This is the first time in eons I have won anything! And the first tangible reward I have received from blogging! (Oh, but who can count the value of the intangible rewards?!) It made my day when I received the gift in the mail.
If you missed his offer, you can get his CD here for the amazingly low price of $8.97.

Since I introduced my new BFF, I felt it was time to introduce my old BFF. Since I can’t live a day without music, we have been friends a long time. He’s always in tune with my moods and very willing to jump right in and agree with me. He never tells my secrets or talks back. The only strike against him is he never helps with housework. Meet my piano - isn’t he beautiful?!

Free Music Alert!

I visited Big Mama, one of my favorite bloggers this morning, and she had just posted about the opportunity to win a free CD for bloggers with at least 50 unique visitors per month. I think I met the requirement to be in the first 100 people to sign up, but this will have to be a banner month for me to have 50 new visitors. I'm sure the music of Matt Maher will inspire and catapult me to higher levels of creativity and technorati maneuvering. I laugh when I read what BooMama says on her blog, "Read by Tens of People Every Single Day". Except she is just kidding. Go here for your chance to win a new CD from Matt. This is an artist I want on my iPod!