a music corner

A music corner - something I always imagined I'd have in my own home.  Though in my days of imagining I assumed I would have ALWAYS had one.  In my college days, I would never have imagined days of not playing my flute or singing in a choir.  Even in my early adult and working days, I would never have thought I would pick up my beloved instrument only once or twice a year.

Being a musician defined my early life.  Lessons, rehearsals, ensembles, solos, concerts, church services...this is what I recall of my youth.  I excelled and knew competence.  I failed and knew defeat.  I worked hard and showed talent.  Music was part of my fiber and I knew it would always be.

So, to find that the early part of parenthood for me would be defined by many other things than music surprised me greatly.  My flute has been largely packed away.  Performances few and far between.  No solos, no ensembles, no concerts.  There is a piece of me packed away in those things hoping someday to find its way back out.  But such is the life of a parent.  The makings of a life for three little people have taken center stage.

When they were little, I dreamed of piano players and vocalists...watching them learn and master instruments.  I delighted in any sign of innate rhythm and talent.  And then I watched them show interest in soccer, t-ball, basketball, video games, gymnastics, cheerleading, art.  I love to see them each explore new things and even to shine now and then.  But I have to admit, my heart grew heavy with each non-musical interest.

But this summer, it happened.  One, then another, and still another, expressed interest in piano.  Now the sounds of simple tunes, melodies, and harmonies, wrong notes and wrong rhythms fill my home.  More so, they fill my heart.  To hear the sweet exercises in treble and bass, to help them learn their notes, to count and sing along.  This is the stuff of my dreams.  I am thrilled!  We've added viola to the offering and I've been able to play my flute along with them.  It's truly delightful!

Among all the pieces of furniture that make our house home, we've now added a music corner.  I'm not one to function well in clutter, but I welcome this clutter with open arms and a joyous voice.  Singing along and making music!

this moment

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

impromptu performance

Manamana!  Have you seen the new Muppets movie?  Alright it's not so new.  We saw it just after Thanksgiving last year.  But, the music.  Oh, the music has stuck to our brains.

Just like my childhood, music is an everyday thing in our home.  The music of my youth was classical and it is still my preferred genre.  My kids, though.  They like to dance.  Putumayo Kids have put out some of our favorites with music from every culture and every beat.  Of course, they are Disney fans too.  Sigh!

But the Muppets have introduced music that connects the old and the new.  Rainbow Connection, Manamana, and We Built This City are songs that remind me and Papa Bear of Saturday night television and rock and roll.  Life's a Happy Song and Man or Muppet are two new favorites that sink deep into our brains and come blurting out to fill any silent space.  We are hooked.

So last week as we were finishing up baths, the beat starting tapping, we starting singing, and then a show ensued.  All the while, the freshly bathed babes stared at their selves singing and dancing in the mirror.  It was funny, laughable, and amazing all at once.

See for yourself...

Yes, I was standing on the bathtub taking the pictures in the mirror (while laughing and singing along).

Yes, Mr. Man was perfecting his hairdo periodically during the performance.

Yes, Manamana...

"the church"

Reredos

On my mind today is another of those big questions.  At the risk of being too brief, I'll start with some thoughts today and likely revisit this topic again...

"The church" is a concept I've been struggling with for a while now.  I grew up in "the church" because my parents raised me in the church.  But I've continued with "the church" as an adult because I'm seeking a spiritual foundation for myself and for my children.  I am involved in "the church."  I've served on committees, conducted children's choirs, directed hand bell choirs, played flute for countless worship services at many different churches, and I've occasionally sung in choirs.  I've read Scripture readings during worship, assisted with Sunday school and have taught vacation Bible school.  I'm definitely connected with "the church."

There is much about "the church" that I love, that sustains me, that fuels me.  I love liturgy and worship.  I can recall many Sunday mornings where I've seen the thread that runs through the music, scripture, the prayers, and the sermon and I've walked away from worship renewed. 

I love ritual - communion, the order of worship, baptism, stations of the cross at Lent, church seasons, colors of church seasons - particularly when I understand and learn about the significance of each ritual.  For example, baptism means something different to many Christians, but for those of us who believe that we are saved by grace alone, baptism is a ritual in which God welcomes us as a child of God.  It doesn't matter who we are, who are family is, where we come from, or who we will grow up to be, God says, "You are mine."

Pipe organ: St. Paul's Cathedral

I LOVE music.  More than once in my life, I've been blessed with amazing music directors and music programs (the sign of a true Lutheran!).  I know, first-hand, the transformation that music can make in a worship experience.  I know how music can lift me up and carry me to places beyond my human experience - festival Sundays, holidays, anniversary and ordination celebration, Lenten mid-week services, weekly worship.  

Worship music has made me weep, glow, shiver, shine, smile, and fly.  It has always been that I've felt closest to God through music - listening, singing, playing, practicing; traditional hymns, classical, contemporary, African, instrumental or vocal.  I've often felt that music is the language that can transcend cultural difference, religious difference, generational difference - any difference for that matter.

But, lately "the church" seems cold, stuck, lost, dying.  

The empty pews and lack of energy in worship, as well as the physically cold temperatures leave my weekly visit feeling incomplete, unbalanced.  

The resistance to change our worship style or to try new styles of music within worship makes me frustrated.  

Our emphasis on tradition and ritual in a geographic area that seems much more inclined to discard tradition and ritual to be replaced with fundamental and conservative ideals combined with contemporary, activity-filled worship makes me wonder if we are sustainable.  Quite frankly, my weekly worship experience makes me wonder if I can be sustained by "the church."

Of course this is why I'm turning to meditation, prayer, and reflection for spiritual sustenance.  I'm not finding it from with out, so I'm looking within.  As for "the church," I'm not going anywhere.  

I will pray that I can look beyond what I want worship to be.

I will pray that I can be part of a solution for "the church."

I will pray that I can merge the parts of "the church" that I love with my own personal journey so that they are symbiotic rather than separate and distinct.

I will pray and meditate and reflect.