Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” Anne Lamott As a church pianist, I prepare music each week for the Sunday service. This week as I thumbed through the hymnal to find a piece to arrange, a particular song caught my eye. It is a piece that is in a minor (sad sounding) key. I had not heard it sung in quite some time. The name of the... Read more
The Gift of Your Six “It takes 6-8 pallbearers to lift you up when you’re deceased. Imagine what you can accomplish if you had 6-8 people lifting you up while you are living.” Unknown Where is Your Community? Today I was both the singer and accompanist for a funeral of a member of my church. Funerals in general are not really the most pleasant of occasions to be sure. To add to that, last weekend I also attended a funeral... Read more
“Love doesn’t sit there like a stone; it has to be made like bread, remade all the time, made new.” Ursula K. Le Guin Break bread together. A sign of peace. A slither of butter to give those taste buds sweet relief. Toast the bread, eat it warm, eat it cool with jam. What does bread represent? Bread represents every human. Bread is broken together in friendship and in strife. Bread sustains and nourishes. The bread can keep you... Read more
If you have been a believer for a long time, you can probably say The Lord’s Prayer by heart. There are other passages that come to mind, John 3:16, Genesis 1:1 and most likely Psalm 23. You have probably read those passages for years and years. Another passage that immediately comes to mind is The Beatitudes. How many times have you read them? When Christ gave his sermon on the mount he gave us this beautiful soliloquy of scripture. My... Read more
Can the Titanic and its musicians teach us a lesson 112 years later? On April 14, 1912, the Titanic sank in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This truly was a tragic event. When the “Unsinkable Ship” set sail, there were about 2200 people aboard. This was the ship’s maiden voyage. On the 4th night of the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and 1500 souls were lost to the depths of the sea. It was indeed a tragedy.... Read more
The Gift of 86,400 Seconds “Imagine this: If you had $86,400 in an account and someone stole $10 from you, would you be upset and throw all of the remaining $86,390 away in hopes of getting back at the person who took your $10? Or move on and live? Right, move on and live. See, we have 86,400 seconds each day. Don’t let someone’s negative 10 seconds ruin the remaining 86,390. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is bigger... Read more
Jesus Wept. And So Can You. This evening my husband and I had the unfortunate occurrence of having to take a trip to the hospital. Easter had come, we celebrated at church, and we thought we would have a family filled Sunday afternoon. Obviously my husband’s body had other plans. As we made our hurried trip to the hospital the tears were threatening to spill over like a sink that is overflowing with water. The thoughts began to come, keep... Read more
“Prayer should be the key of the day and lock of the night.” George Herbert The Gift of Prayer Prayer. A lot of people say, “I’m praying for you.” You hope that they mean it, and offer those prayers for you. To pray, to ask, to seek and perhaps even to find. Prayer provides a solace that in this world we simply cannot find. Prayer doesn’t have to be verbose, big or grand. Prayer can be a quiet supplication... Read more
The Gift of Darkness to Light. “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” Sir Frances Bacon Do you feel encompassed by darkness? Do you feel the weight of its might? The light just can’t permeate, you just want to give up the fight. You try to find your way, you crawl and use your hands. You feel around in the darkness. You try to stand. You are not sure you can... Read more
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton Imperfections. Cracks. Hurt. Regret. Solace, Anger, Joy, and things we just can’t forget. They make cracks and crevices in our heart and soul. Sometimes they make it hard to breathe. The pain tears at our soul. What if there was something we could do about it? Perhaps, heal the pain? By filling in the cracks with forgiveness and healing. It will... Read more
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