Tried With Fire

My respect for my violin teacher grew after I taught a few of her beginner students when her schedule was too full. Thankfully she was able to take them back after a year. One year was more than enough for me. Encore: Pachelbel's canon played on a rubber chicken . ht: TwoSetViolin

Wintergatan - Marble Machine: More info here .

Oh Saviour of our fallen race, Oh brightness of the Father’s face Oh Son Who shared the Father’s mind Before the world knew day or night Oh Jesus very light of light Our constant star in sin’s deep night Now hear the prayers Your people pray Throughout the world this holy day You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown Remember Lord of life and grace How once to save our fallen race You put our human vesture on And came to us as Mary’s son You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown For from the Father’s throne You came His banished children to reclaim And earth and sea and sky revered The love of Him who sent You here Oh Christ redeemer, virgin born Let songs of praise your name adore And with the Father be adored And Holy Spirit evermore You came down You came down You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown From Christmas -  Jill Phillips and...

It's time for the last giveaway of 2012! I'll be giving away one copy of Night of Weeping and Morning of Joy by Horatius Bonar, the 19th century Scottish theologian.  In  Night of Weeping ,  Bonar deals with suffering in the life of the believer. He writes from the perspective that this is the family badge of the people of God. But rather than being punitive in nature, our Heavenly Father deals with us in love and faithfulness. "He is too faithful a Father to suffer sin in his children unreproved."  1 In  Morning of Joy , Bonar writes of the consolation we find in the hope of spending eternity with the Lord: "Beyond the death-bed and beyond the grave, she (the church) sees resurrection. Beyond the broken hearts and severed bands of time, she realizes and clasps the eternal love-links; beyond the troubles of the hour, and beyond the storm that is to wreck the world, she casts her eye, and feels as if transported into the kingdom that cannot be moved, as...

It's a dark, dreary, rainy day. I'm having trouble concentrating on work let alone finishing the post I started yesterday afternoon. So here's something to jump start Monday morning - an encore from CDZA, The Human Jukebox:

Penelope Judd from Shai Linne's Storiez :

Although this isn't folly or nonsense, I hope you enjoy this video from Frank and Stephanie .

Here are two pieces from my daughter's recital in September.  Both works are from the 20th century.  Hope you enjoy them. (The links are working now.) Prelude Op. 12, No. 7 ~ Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) Hosted by kiwi6.com free hotlinking . Toccata, Op. 1 ~ John La Montaine (1920- ) Hosted by kiwi6.com free hotlinking .

We are going to the symphony tonight! My daughter's piano teacher has two extra tickets for tonight's concert with the Virginia Symphony. Best of all, Norman Krieger is performing the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, my favorite piano concerto by my favorite orchestral composer. I'm looking forward to this evening.

Since it's the first day of winter... Strength in Numbers: Sam Bush - fiddle, mandolin; Jerry Douglas - dobro; Bela Fleck - banjo, guiter; Mark O'Connor - fiddle, guitar; Edgar Meyer - bass

I am the pair of hands in this video. The piano was horribly out of tune so Sterling's intonation was fine. He's only nine years old! I will be accompanying him at a recital on Saturday. He is playing Tambourin Chinois by Fritz Kreisler. His brother performs the original piece in the next video. They are an extremely talented family. So you can see why I need to practice.

The song is available for download here .

All I Owe Words by Robert Murray McCheyne and Matthew Smith Music by Matthew Smith © 2002 detuned radio music (ASCAP) When this passing world is done, When has sunk yon glaring sun, When we stand with Christ in glory, Looking o'er life's finished story, Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe. All I owe you paid for me From all I owe I’ve been set free And all I owe proves your great mercy to me When I stand before your throne, Dressed in beauty not my own, When I see you as you are Love you with unsinning heart, Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe. All I owe you paid for me From all I owe I’ve been set free And all I owe proves your great mercy to me Chosen not for good in me, Wakened up from wrath to flee, Hidden in the Savior's side, By the Spirit sanctified, Teach me, Lord, on earth to show, By my love, how much I owe. All I owe you paid for me From all I owe I’ve been set free And all I owe proves your great mercy to me

I've been thinking about hymns this week and my own convoluted musical journey. I always remember singing hymns as a child. Since I was raised in a Plymouth Brethren church, we sang lots of hymns. In college, I became enamored with short choruses and contemporary Christian music. I came back to hymns when I became a mom because I wanted my daughter to have the heritage of knowing and loving hymns. Nine years ago, I steered clear of choruses because I was leery of how they could be used to emotionally manipulate a congregation. What's ironic is that after my husband left, I started listening to Christian music again. What was I drawn to? The songs that evoked a strong emotional response . In my loss, I needed to feel that at least God loved me. Believe me, there were plenty of songs to fit the bill. Here's a song that I would listen to: The more I seek you, the more I find you The more I find you, the more I love you Chorus:I wanna sit at your feet drink from the cup ...

If a seeker-sensitive mega church sent a musical invitation to encourage you to attend their service, what would it be? Here is my songwriting interpretation of that invitation set to the tune Seventy-six Trombones from The Music Man by Meredith Wilson. Hope you enjoy it.

that I would be listening to Christian rap music. Not your typical listening material for a 40-something, homeschooling mom. I also admit that rap is not a genre that I would naturally be drawn to. But I had read about a brother named Shai Linne here and here . Also, my curiosity was piqued about anyone who would write a rap about Charles Spurgeon. Well last night, a brother and sister graciously gave us a copy of Shai Linne's The Atonement . We listened to some of it and were stunned by what we heard. After we listened to Were You There , I wanted to cry and repent for my lack of love for Christ in the face of all that He has done. There are songs about the cross that express some of the horror of the event that secured our salvation. Yes, the brutality of the crucifixion is portrayed but the cruelty is greater because the spotless Son of God willing endured God's wrath to bring glory to the Father and secure my redemption. Some of these songs are not easy to listen to bec...

This post by Kim of Upward Call is so true. It's ironic in a sad way that although most Christians would agree that the worship of God is the main focus of the Sunday service, how much does 21st century Christianity downplay who He really is? Does God have a PR problem where His character needs to be soft pedaled to make Him more palatable? Does He have a bad user interface and needs to be made more user friendly? I would think the problem isn't with God but with us. Many popular Christian songs use the words awe and awesome . Do we want to be awestruck by the presence of God? Do we want to see the Lord like Isaiah did in all His holiness and at the same time be struck with our sinfulness in His presence? Don't even get me started on Esther choruses - the ones where God's name is not mentioned but only implied. This dates me, but ever since You Light Up My Life was touted as a Christian song, I've had a distinct aversion to those kind of songs. I think the Triune...

"I have confidence in confidence alone Besides which you see I have confidence in me !" and "Nothing comes from nothing Nothing ever could So somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good "