I found myself noticing two interesting parallels this month:
1. Working on a hard passage of music is like comforting a colicky baby. No matter what you do, the baby cries and it seems like he will never feel better. Sometimes no matter how much I work at mastering a passage, I continue to trip over the notes and it seems like it will never smooth out. I know that my students feel this way, too.
But research tells us that the the colicky baby does feel our comfort and that it does make a difference, even if he doesn't show it. And working on that passage faithfully will result in beautiful music someday if we don't give up on it.
2. The last month before a big concert is like the last month of pregnancy. It is a wonderful time, but I can't wait for delivery day to just love and enjoy that baby. At at concert time, I just can't wait until the students are all up there playing and just enjoying the music they have worked so hard to share.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Partnering to Remember in 2011
Looking forward to using this great resource to help hide God's Word in our hearts this year so we can be ready to share our hope when the opportunity arises (1 Peter 3:14) and so that it can change us and keep us from sin (Psalms 119:11).
Also, among many other things, these wonderful blessings of memorizing Scripture pointed out by John Piper:
Conformity to Christ - Bible memorization
has the effect of making our gaze on Jesus steadier
and clearer.
Daily Triumph over Sin - As sin lures the body
into sinful action, we call to mind a Christ-revealing
word of Scripture and slay the temptation with
the superior worth and beauty of Christ over what
sin offers.
Daily Triumph over Satan - When Jesus was
tempted by Satan in the wilderness he recited
Scripture from memory and put Satan to flight.
Comfort and Counsel for People You Love
- When the heart full of God’s love can draw on the
mind full of God’s word, timely blessings flow from
the mouth.
Communicating the Gospel to Unbelievers
- Actual verses of the Bible have their own
penetrating power. And when they come from our
heart, as well as from the Book, the witness is given
that they are precious enough to learn.
Communion with God in the Enjoyment of
His Person and Ways - The way we commune
with (that is, fellowship with) God is by meditating
on his attributes and expressing to him our thanks
and admiration and love, and seeking his help to live
a life that reflects the value of these attributes.
Also, among many other things, these wonderful blessings of memorizing Scripture pointed out by John Piper:
Conformity to Christ - Bible memorization
has the effect of making our gaze on Jesus steadier
and clearer.
Daily Triumph over Sin - As sin lures the body
into sinful action, we call to mind a Christ-revealing
word of Scripture and slay the temptation with
the superior worth and beauty of Christ over what
sin offers.
Daily Triumph over Satan - When Jesus was
tempted by Satan in the wilderness he recited
Scripture from memory and put Satan to flight.
Comfort and Counsel for People You Love
- When the heart full of God’s love can draw on the
mind full of God’s word, timely blessings flow from
the mouth.
Communicating the Gospel to Unbelievers
- Actual verses of the Bible have their own
penetrating power. And when they come from our
heart, as well as from the Book, the witness is given
that they are precious enough to learn.
Communion with God in the Enjoyment of
His Person and Ways - The way we commune
with (that is, fellowship with) God is by meditating
on his attributes and expressing to him our thanks
and admiration and love, and seeking his help to live
a life that reflects the value of these attributes.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Poem on Song of Solomon 8:7
Everyday words and
worries drip one drop at a
time on hopeful hearts.
Spring showers soak us;
summer storms wear us down, but
joy girds fainting hearts.
Fall torrents followed
by blinding blizzards fiercely
freeze our frantic hearts.
Faith's flames revive us.
As tsunamis overwhelm,
love grips grace-bathed hearts.
"Many waters can
not quench love. Rivers can not
wash it away." Song of Solomon 8:7
worries drip one drop at a
time on hopeful hearts.
Spring showers soak us;
summer storms wear us down, but
joy girds fainting hearts.
Fall torrents followed
by blinding blizzards fiercely
freeze our frantic hearts.
Faith's flames revive us.
As tsunamis overwhelm,
love grips grace-bathed hearts.
"Many waters can
not quench love. Rivers can not
wash it away." Song of Solomon 8:7
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
What I Learned About Life By Cleaning My House Today
Sometimes things seem so overwhelming.
I looked around this afternoon and in every corner of our home, there was a BIG mess.
It doesn't matter how it happened. It just did. And it didn't happen overnight.
It made me want to cry, and it made me want to shout and complain. The HOLIDAYS are coming up. Things are supposed to be SPECIAL and BEAUTIFUL, not messy and dirty.
I couldn't imagine how I would get things under control in the next twelve months, let alone by next week, or tomorrow (Sunday--another day that is supposed to be SPECIAL and BEAUTIFUL).
So how did I handle this dilemma? I was exhausted so I cried out to the Lord for help and took a nap. Not necessarily in that order. I can't remember which--maybe they were simultaneous.
When I woke up, everything looked the same, and I felt the same about it, but I did the only thing one can do in such a situation. I picked up one item and I put it away. Then I picked up another. And another. This went on and on all day. First the coffee table got cleaned up, then the living room floor. Then the worst things in the kitchen got put in the dishwasher. Thankfully, not as much as I expected had to be washed by hand (something I go to great lengths to avoid).
I won't bore you with the rest of the chores. They aren't all done yet. Are they ever? But I can look around my home and smile again.
About three quarters of the way through all of this, something occurred to me. It's not only our homes that can get to be hopeless messes. Our lives can get this way, too. Parts of our lives, or even all of it may seem that way at times.
These things make all the difference:
1. Tell the Lord all about it. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
2. Rest.
3. Deal with one thing at a time.
4. Don't ever give up--not ever " because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
Are things not right between you and God? Just turn to him now because "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
Remember how there wasn't as much to wash by hand as I thought there was? Well, in your life, there probably isn't as much horrible stuff to deal with as you might think, but even if there is, God can handle it. He will do it with you, and some of it he might even take care of for you. (Even when he is doing it with you, he is doing it for you; he's just letting you take part in the process.)
It may not take as long as you think, but even if it does God will give you joy on the journey. Halfway through my Christmas week mess, things began to look brighter, even though there was a lot more to do.
New trials meet us every day, yet "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."Lamentations 3:22-23
(I don't know why some of the words came out so large. I can't seem to fix it.)
I looked around this afternoon and in every corner of our home, there was a BIG mess.
It doesn't matter how it happened. It just did. And it didn't happen overnight.
It made me want to cry, and it made me want to shout and complain. The HOLIDAYS are coming up. Things are supposed to be SPECIAL and BEAUTIFUL, not messy and dirty.
I couldn't imagine how I would get things under control in the next twelve months, let alone by next week, or tomorrow (Sunday--another day that is supposed to be SPECIAL and BEAUTIFUL).
So how did I handle this dilemma? I was exhausted so I cried out to the Lord for help and took a nap. Not necessarily in that order. I can't remember which--maybe they were simultaneous.
When I woke up, everything looked the same, and I felt the same about it, but I did the only thing one can do in such a situation. I picked up one item and I put it away. Then I picked up another. And another. This went on and on all day. First the coffee table got cleaned up, then the living room floor. Then the worst things in the kitchen got put in the dishwasher. Thankfully, not as much as I expected had to be washed by hand (something I go to great lengths to avoid).
I won't bore you with the rest of the chores. They aren't all done yet. Are they ever? But I can look around my home and smile again.
About three quarters of the way through all of this, something occurred to me. It's not only our homes that can get to be hopeless messes. Our lives can get this way, too. Parts of our lives, or even all of it may seem that way at times.
These things make all the difference:
1. Tell the Lord all about it. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
2. Rest.
3. Deal with one thing at a time.
4. Don't ever give up--not ever " because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
Are things not right between you and God? Just turn to him now because "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
Remember how there wasn't as much to wash by hand as I thought there was? Well, in your life, there probably isn't as much horrible stuff to deal with as you might think, but even if there is, God can handle it. He will do it with you, and some of it he might even take care of for you. (Even when he is doing it with you, he is doing it for you; he's just letting you take part in the process.)
It may not take as long as you think, but even if it does God will give you joy on the journey. Halfway through my Christmas week mess, things began to look brighter, even though there was a lot more to do.
New trials meet us every day, yet "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."Lamentations 3:22-23
(I don't know why some of the words came out so large. I can't seem to fix it.)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
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