The Key to Insanity

I think I've discovered a key ingredient in the widespread brain damage of these days. Nope, it's not cell phones. It's the idiotic music in stores!! My mom and I went to the mall today to check out the sales. Every store had the most obnoxious and loud music imaginable. It was repetitive, monotonous, lousy, repetitive, unimaginative, etc.! The hoarse singers would sing the same phrase over and over and over with little variation and the exact same rhythm pattern in the background (or foreground). After a few minutes, I couldn't wait to leave most of the stores. What happens to people who work there, I wonder? Their minds must just go numb after a little while. Or their hearing is impaired. Or they go insane. Or they're hypnotized to do whatever the song suggests.

Some might argue about "taste," and yes, of course, I'm partial to the more classical flavor because that's what I'm used to. Usually, I can tolerate soft rock or jazz or oldies if necessary. But this stuff is so brainless and obnoxious! Why does anybody like it? Why is it played in stores when everything should be done to aid the shopper's thinking abilities?? At least Nordstrom's has the right idea with their live piano music.

Okay, end of rant. I feel better now.

A few more pictures

I recently gleaned a great new word from my friend Sarah: niecephews. I think that's what it was. How often I've wished I could use one word instead of saying nieces and nephews, and here it is! (Thank you, Sarah!)

You can tell from these pictures that 4 year-old Will has a fascination with powered toys and flashlights. And Grandpa's domino towers. He was SO cute with that little power screwdriver and goggles. That thing was going all evening and he was totally serious about it. I'd say he's bound to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and end up using the grown-up version of those toys sometime down the road! He's also very helpful about shining a flashlight wherever it might be useful.

Merry Christmas!

Here are a couple pictures from Christmas Eve with the Redmans and a couple from Christmas morning with just us. It was a nice low-key day with some lovely gifts and yummy food. Hope you've all had a great day!

Wrong Will Be Right

As I was listening to Revive Our Hearts today, Nancy Leigh DeMoss's words captured my attention:

As I thought about that future visitation, a passage just came to mind from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Do you remember this? It says,

Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.1

I thought of that passage as I thought about the day coming when the great Lion of the tribe of Judah will come and visit us in might and in glory. Not in a manger this time, not in humility, but in glory and in triumph and noonday bright light He will visit.

That gives hope to the darkest of days, the dinginess of the dawn between now and then. We keep that hope deep in our hearts, and we know it will happen. We don’t know when, but we know that He will one day visit us again.

I've been more acutely aware this year of all the pain and suffering that continues in spite of the joyous season. Whenever I hear a siren or see an accident or hear of some other tragedy, I just want to yell, "NO! It's Christmas time! None of this is supposed to happen right now!" Despite all our glib "Merry Christmases" and "Happy New Years," we will all still face the ugly visages of sin and suffering around us. It can be downright depressing.

But Nancy's (and C.S. Lewis's) words kind of echoed what the Holy Spirit's been reminding me all along: that these things shall pass. The Lion of the tribe of Judah IS going to return and gone will be all night, pain, cold, car accidents, cancer, loneliness, sin, abuse, hatred, war, famine, tears, and so much more! I can't even imagine the depth of joy and peace that will reign in that day. Whew, I can't imagine living this life without the hope and precious promises His Word holds! What a God!

Auntie 8 Times!

That's right! Jackson Josiah Jones was born yesterday afternoon!! I'll let Jill and Evan give more details on their blogs, but I just wanted to give them a hearty congratulations and praise the Lord for a safe delivery!

Strange Adventures

I'm trying not to feel too insulted that only one person has commented on my last two posts. I'll persevere anyway, hoping more than one person reads this mediocre blog.

The adventures started Thursday night with a huge windstorm that whipped through Western Washington, wiping out power for over a million. I think it was one of our worse storms yet. We lost power in the middle of the night -- a first in the three years we've lived in this house. I woke up thinking of my Christmas party Friday evening, optimistically hoping the power would be on by then. My mom wasn't so optimistic at first, but I insisted we proceed with plans. We did all the things we could without power. Afternoon came and there was still nothing. My dad hooked up the generator to some of the kitchen outlets plus the heater. Fortunately, our hot water is gas powered, so we could still have hot showers. We had planned an hors d'oeuvre dinner, but without the oven, we couldn't do all that we'd planned. Creativity really began kicking in! We cooked several hot things by microwave and kept them warm for dinner with chafing dishes. As darkness fell, I set up candles all over the house. I didn't know we had so many! My dad counted 84 that we'd set out!

The time for the party came and no one was here! Everyone was late, actually, because many stoplights were out, causing huge backups for miles. Half the people expected didn't show up. But the other 15 dribbled in and the party began! It was such a different atmosphere with only candles. It was calming and a little romantic (according to some). We kept warm with the gas fireplace and the million candles. The food turned out great and we were soon laughing merrily with games like the Yankee gift exchange, psychiatrist, and 4-on-a-couch. All but one left about 11:30. Ten minutes later the power came on. Go figure. ;-)

I woke up Saturday morning after a short night's sleep with a sore throat, which didn't improve throughout the day. I had to go out in the afternoon to play harp for two youth choir concerts, spending a total of 8 hours at the concert hall. Fortunately all went well, even though I didn't feel good. Sunday was really busy -- church in the morning, where I played the piano, directed choir practice, and practiced with a few musicians for the evening program. I camped out at my pastor's house for the afternoon, doing some more practicing, and then went back to the evening Christmas program. It was only the Lord's grace that took me through, as I sure wasn't up to all the activity. The Lord blessed the program presented by families, groups, and individuals.

Excuse my uncreative writing style today. Yesterday and today I've been feeling exceedingly crummy with sore throat, weakness, etc. I did manage to go to the Irish Tenors concert in Seattle with my mom, courtesy of Lori. They were fabulous. We were surprised at how much sacred music they sang.

In other news, Jill is in labor! We eagerly await news of the baby's arrival.

Bing History and Dirty Showers

Did you know that Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington? I just learned that recently, and felt a sense of hobnobbing with the famous or something like that. He has a rather interesting history that I was reading in the Wikipedia. Quite a guy. Can you imagine Christmas without hearing him sing "White Christmas"? But did you know that he was 51 when he made the movie of that title? His leading lady was probably half his age. Funny you don't notice things like age in movies.

This morning I was taking a shower, singing, I think, and happily in my own little shower world. It wasn't until I dropped the bar of soap that I saw with horror -- even without contacts in -- that the water coming down was brown! Yikes! I turned it off quickly and got out. I ran the water for awhile and it spewed out really dark brown stuff, then tapered to light brown. Sewage came to mind, but it was just dirt, I think. My shower and bath looked pretty disgusting. I don't know how long I had been showering in this stuff, because I wasn't looking at the water the whole time. So my hair was dripping brown water on my white bathrobe. Aaagh! That's about what I imagine it's like to shower in the Jordan River. It was about 4 hours before the water had cleared up and I could take another shower to remove all brownness from myself. We don't know what caused it, but hopefully it won't happen again. Fortunately I didn't have to go anywhere this morning.

It's the Most Crazy Time of the Year

Just a little perversion of a famous Christmas song title. But hey, this year isn't as bad as some years. Three years ago yesterday we moved into our new house -- the second time we've moved in December. That was probably the most stressful week of my life! Let me tell you about it: Monday, the 8th, I taught music at school and packed. Tuesday was moving day. It was a cold day, and we started early. In the afternoon I had to run off to direct a performance my homeschool choir was doing at a nursing home. I rushed back to the move and we worked all the way into the evening. My back was sore from moving boxes, of course. On Wednesday morning, I had to get up early and go teach at school, after which, my harp and I traveled in the rain to another location where I played and sang for a Christian Women's Club brunch. On the way back from that, as I looked forward to getting home and relaxing, I was sitting at a stoplight, when I heard a crash, then saw the crash, then felt the crash, as a car from the opposite direction piled into about four of us at the stop light. I was on the end, so the impact of several cars hit me. Fortunately, my Astro van was sturdy enough to withstand a lot. The driver side of the van was pretty banged up, and my back hurt, but the harp was okay.

So I went home, iced my back, and called my insurance agent and chiropractor. So much for a fun day. The next day I had a homeschool choir rehearsal to go to. In the evening I went to a Nutrcracker rehearsal. Before I left, I cried from all the stress, frustration, and pain I was feeling. There were literally no spare moments that week. Friday was the last day of school and little Christmas party. I think I finally got into the chiropractor that day, and had to go frequently over the next few weeks. My choir's Christmas concert was that night, and then I had 4 Nutcracker performances that weekend. See why that week stands out in my mind? But I survived, praise the Lord!

This December is much better! Not having school or choir performances helps. Last Saturday, the 2nd, we had a Christmas luncheon/party here for my mom's 60th birthday. A bunch of ladies came to that and properly blessed her. My parents and I went out to dinner in the evening. On Friday I drove up to B.C., where my friend Kristin and I gave a Christmas concert in the evening. It was a small church, but a pretty good turnout. I drove the 3 or 4 hours home yesterday, rested a bit, then headed out for a 3 hour restaurant gig. I wasn't feeling at my best for that, and was so glad to get home. Next weekend will be busy with a birthday party, my big Christmas party, 2 choir performances I'm playing for, my church's Christmas program, and an Irish Tenors concert. Whew! At least it's not all work. :-)