Why is it that it only took one time for my cat to associate the sound of pulling dental floss out of the container with a chance to play with string, yet after many, many repeated events he still does not associate climbing the screen door with the unpleasant effect of being squirted with the water bottle?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A daunting task
The race has officially begun. Now that the venue and dates are settled, I have 24 days to find people who will do special music, lead song service, play piano, lead prayer and read scripture, and otherwise help with assorted stagehand tasks for three entire weeks of Restoration meetings. Pray for me. No, don't just pray. Sign up.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Blue cards
Over Christmas vacation, I had the opportunity to play a solo at the church where I grew up. Things always seem to change when you've been gone for a while (like the old saying, "you can't go home again")--most of my old academy buddies have long since moved away, the church has mostly new pastoral staff, and, as many larger SDA churches, the spiritual focus seems to have shifted too, away from the old-fashioned Biblical focus towards following the current worldly marketing trends.
No matter how the trends in society change over time however, there will always be plenty of people in each church who have retained the spirit of simple, Christlike thoughtfulness. I received an envelope full of encouragement in the mail this week in the form of the good ol' "blue cards" I grew up with--made available in all of the pews and sent out by the church to other members and friends for encouragement. These are the kind of notes I always used to get whenever I played in church, starting from when I was about 13 years old. I collected a very large pile over the years; I think I still have most of them. They are among the inspirations that made me continue as a violinist. I thought that if the church members were blessed by my music, maybe there was a ministry for me in it. I was so excited to see that some of the very same people who sent me cards in the past were still sending them (I received about 8 of them this week).
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
New Year's Resolution Blog
Happy new year to all! I have returned to sunny (not really) southern California after a lovely vacation to visit my parents in Ohio. It was such a wonderful break, to be able to relax and enjoy time with my family. (To my dad, who checks my blog regularly: hi dad! Thanks for the nice Christmas!) Highlights of my vacation included going to a very nice restaurant overlooking the Cincinnati skyline for my mother's birthday; visiting some old friends and their new babies as well as seeing my old colleagues in the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra at the New Year's Eve concert; not being able to find a single parking space at the mall the day after Christmas and giving up and going to Jungle Jim's instead (as close to an amusement park as a grocery store can be--actually well worth the trip if you are ever in the Dayton/Cincinnati area); getting a chance to play at my home church again after many years, and generally curling up by the fireplace with a soft blanket, a good book, and a Somali cat (couldn't resist adding the link). And of course, a delightful Christmas, as always. When I returned, the weather tradition has continued: This is the sixth year I have gone back to Ohio for Christmas, and even before I moved here I have taken several trips with my family to visit southern California in late December-early January, and every single time the airplane lands in CA at this time of year, the weather is always the exact same in southern California as it was when I left it in Ohio. About 50 degrees and raining.
So, back to normal life, work (programming Restoration--please volunteer to do something!!!), a new year in Southern California, and the topic of my post. After a prayerful mental review of last year and previous years, here are the resolutions I wish to make for the new year:
1. Not to think about (dwell on) any tough times in the past few years.
2. Not to feel sorry for myself for any difficulties that may be going on in my life currently.
3. Not to worry about the future, but leave it in God's hands.
4. Oh yeah, and exercise more.
I hope that my friends with hold me accountable for my New Year's resolutions!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Gods incarnate
File this under "what if your god answers your prayers."
This morning, a 2-year-old girl had an extensive operation performed to remove the additional 4 limbs she was born with, due to an extremely rare condition known as isciopagus, basically a conjoined-twin type condition where one twin was never fully formed and remained attached to the sibling upside-down from the pelvis, leaving her, in this case, with an unusually symmetrical-looking set of 8 limbs.
This happened, in all places--in India.
For centuries, Hindus have worshiped various gods and goddesses of various things, and the characteristic trait of many of them, as commonly seen in beautiful Hindu art, is their multiple arms. As would be expected, most of the villagers from the girl's region worshiped her as a goddess incarnate.
The girl, named Lakshmi after the Hindu goddess of wealth, who is represented as having four arms, was not expected to live into adolescence. She had been plagued with various internal ailments from birth. The surgery took 27 hours and was done by a team of surgeons taking 8-hour shifts to not only remove the extra limbs but reconstruct her body, including transferring a kidney from her dead twin's body into hers, and completely reshaping her pelvis. The cost was $200,000, thankfully paid for by the hospital's foundation, since Lakshmi's parents are poor villagers from rural India and could not afford medical care.
As well as the obvious difficulties her parents faced in their daughter's many health issues (she had not seen a doctor until this) and simply caring for her, the family had to keep her away from people who wanted to buy her for a circus.
Satan is in the business of twisting all things beautifully designed by God and trying to make us not only believe that they are desirable but to make us worship them. But when the reality is revealed, these "gods" are shown to be as unhealthy, undesirable, dangerous, and--dare we say it--freakish as the one who mutilated them.
Take a look at your gods. If you were to really analyze their nature, what would they be? When the God of Abraham, the Creator of all things beautiful and perfect, was incarnated, what was His character?
Fortunately the girl Lakshmi is doing well after the surgery. I hope that she will be able to live a normal life from now on, learning to walk, play, grow up, and love.
And I hope that the testimony of a girl who was once a "goddess" will live to tell us what these unnatural gods are like when the cloak of mysticism is taken away.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
The Refiner's Fire
I've had the privilege of leading the Sabbath school lesson discussion group twice so far this quarter--I say privilege because whenever I teach, I learn so much. (If there's a topic you'd like to study in further detail, I'd strongly recommend you teach it, or at least work up a study as if you were going to teach it.) This quarter's topic is "The Refiner's Fire." Surely, the question of "if God is so good, why do humans have to suffer so much?" is the classic first objection to Christianity. The studies have been presenting this question in the context of the great controversy between Good and Evil, God and Satan--that God is like a Refiner, who subjects his work to extreme heat and fire in order to purge it from impurities. A beautiful illustration, and certainly one that clearly shows not only how bad sin is and how much is necessary to make us holy and fit for Heaven, but also the great lengths to which God will go to make His people holy and fit for Heaven.
The good news for us is "God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]." (1 Cor. 10:13) What a privilege to know that we have help from God Himself!
But there are still a lot of unanswered questions on our end. Certainly God's character and His ways are enough to study for the rest of our lives. We can't possibly think that we have all the answers to the questions, and as we attempt to answer some, more questions arise. This is part of the test, I think. Here's a good example, a story (which in all likelihood may have been true at some point):
A certain Brother X went to prayer meeting. During prayer and testimony time, Brother X stood up to share.
"Praise God! He has truly answered my prayer! Here is my testimony of praise. For three months now I have been searching for a good job which pays well with good benefits. I interviewed at Helen's Department Store downtown for the position of manager. The outlook looked almost impossible, as they had told me that the position had been filled for a long time now, but they said they'd see what they could do. I prayed and prayed, but I hadn't heard from them for weeks, until this past Monday, when they called and said that I got the job! Praise God!"
When all the Amens and Hallelujas died down, Brother Y stood up to speak.
"I have a prayer request for myself and my family. As you know, our little Tommy was diagnosed with diabetes last month--I thank all of you for your constant prayers and support during this difficult time. Fortunately, I have had a good job with excellent medical benefits which were able to cover all of our entire family's medical costs, including Tommy's supplies and medication. I was the manager of Helen's Department Store downtown for 15 years, but you see, on Monday I lost my job...."
The good news for us is "God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]." (1 Cor. 10:13) What a privilege to know that we have help from God Himself!
But there are still a lot of unanswered questions on our end. Certainly God's character and His ways are enough to study for the rest of our lives. We can't possibly think that we have all the answers to the questions, and as we attempt to answer some, more questions arise. This is part of the test, I think. Here's a good example, a story (which in all likelihood may have been true at some point):
A certain Brother X went to prayer meeting. During prayer and testimony time, Brother X stood up to share.
"Praise God! He has truly answered my prayer! Here is my testimony of praise. For three months now I have been searching for a good job which pays well with good benefits. I interviewed at Helen's Department Store downtown for the position of manager. The outlook looked almost impossible, as they had told me that the position had been filled for a long time now, but they said they'd see what they could do. I prayed and prayed, but I hadn't heard from them for weeks, until this past Monday, when they called and said that I got the job! Praise God!"
When all the Amens and Hallelujas died down, Brother Y stood up to speak.
"I have a prayer request for myself and my family. As you know, our little Tommy was diagnosed with diabetes last month--I thank all of you for your constant prayers and support during this difficult time. Fortunately, I have had a good job with excellent medical benefits which were able to cover all of our entire family's medical costs, including Tommy's supplies and medication. I was the manager of Helen's Department Store downtown for 15 years, but you see, on Monday I lost my job...."
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Important announcement
I have not seen any moths or flies in my kitchen for several weeks now. Praise God!
(For those of you who may have been afraid to come to my place for potluck this Sabbath for fear of insects, do not be afraid.)
(For those of you who may have been afraid to come to my place for potluck this Sabbath for fear of insects, do not be afraid.)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Introducing VideoVerse
One of my favorite websites, AudioVerse, now has a sister site of videotaped sermons, appropriately called VideoVerse. Check it out--more and more videos will be added from various sources, I'm sure (such as Southwest Youth Conference, Restoration, etc.)
Sunday, October 07, 2007
O Let Me Walk With Thee
O let me walk with Thee, my God,
As Enoch walked in days of old;
Place Thou my trembling hand in Thine,
And sweet communion with me hold;
E'en though the path I may not see,
Yet, Jesus, let me walk with Thee.
I cannot, dare not, walk alone;
The tempest rages in the sky,
A thousand snares beset my feet,
A thousand foes are lurking nigh.
Still Thou the raging of the sea,
O Master! let me walk with Thee.
If I may rest my hand in Thine,
I'll count the joys of earth but loss,
And firmly, bravely journey on;
I'll bear the banner of the cross
Till Zion's glorious gates I see;
Yet, Savior, let me walk with Thee.
L.D. Avery Stuttle
As Enoch walked in days of old;
Place Thou my trembling hand in Thine,
And sweet communion with me hold;
E'en though the path I may not see,
Yet, Jesus, let me walk with Thee.
I cannot, dare not, walk alone;
The tempest rages in the sky,
A thousand snares beset my feet,
A thousand foes are lurking nigh.
Still Thou the raging of the sea,
O Master! let me walk with Thee.
If I may rest my hand in Thine,
I'll count the joys of earth but loss,
And firmly, bravely journey on;
I'll bear the banner of the cross
Till Zion's glorious gates I see;
Yet, Savior, let me walk with Thee.
L.D. Avery Stuttle
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
"Sealed canisters"
Update on the current moth situation in the kitchen: After I took every item out of my cupboard, inspected, cleaned, and put it away (the un-infested ones, that is), I am still battling large numbers of moths every day. I thought the problem had been taken care of because of this--One of the very last things I took out to inspect was a container of whole wheat flour in a "sealed" canister. You may recognize the model of this container. If you do, do not assume that it is safe from bugs!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Expression
Just a little experience I had with a student this week...
Johnny's* mother came in early before his lesson alone, frantically gesticulating and pacing, exclaiming that Johnny wanted to quit violin, that he hated it and every practice session was a session of tears and temper tantrums. She herself is a music teacher, so she understood that there's only so much a music teacher can say to parents, especially considering that although I have over 30 students I don't have any children of my own. I asked her, "What do you usually say to parents of your students who are going through the same thing?" She gave the usual reply, that all of us have gone through this, there are phases where children, especially preteens, don't want to do what their parents want them to, etc.; things I would say as well. I did my best to encourage her, but that was all I could tell her, too. I assured her that her son was doing very well, and was just at the point where he needed the encouragement to take it to the next level. I'd hate to see him quit, because he's a very good player and I enjoy teaching him.
After a few minutes Johnny came from class into the studio for his lesson. We did not mention what his mother and I had talked about; I thought I'd save it for the end. Johnny proceeded to play a few scales, review pieces, and a Vivaldi concerto. Everything he played had a feeling of tension and anger in it. It was truly amazing to me how much this little boy could express with his violin. I kept reminding him to slow down his shifts, relax his left hand for vibrato, and loosen his right elbow to smooth the sound. Toward the end of the lesson, I gave Johnny a little talk. I pretty much just told him, "Johnny, no matter what you feel, you have to be obedient to your mother, and practice just the way she asks you to. No temper tantrums are allowed; crying does NOT count as part of your practice time!" Then I told him: "I can tell simply by the way you are playing that you are angry. You have to understand how much your violin expresses the way you feel. It's great to express your feelings through your music, but you must control your anger."
As Johnny was putting his violin in its case at the end of the lesson, he listened intently to me as I told him and his mother, "You always hear about controversies involving musicians' unions and various theater companies and films wanting to save money by using 'canned' music, synthesizers, multi-track recordings and so on, as opposed to hiring live musicians. Sometimes people have even theorized that with so much technology that can produce computer-generated music, real, live musicians will become a thing of the past. But we can see that this is why there are musicians in the world. It's truly amazing how much you can express with your instrument. I get this all the time--parents tell me something about how practice is going at home, and immediately I can see what they mean from the first piece a student plays in the lesson." Believe it or not, this applies to Twinkle as well as Vivaldi concerti.
*not his real name; names changed to comply with HIPAA policy
Johnny's* mother came in early before his lesson alone, frantically gesticulating and pacing, exclaiming that Johnny wanted to quit violin, that he hated it and every practice session was a session of tears and temper tantrums. She herself is a music teacher, so she understood that there's only so much a music teacher can say to parents, especially considering that although I have over 30 students I don't have any children of my own. I asked her, "What do you usually say to parents of your students who are going through the same thing?" She gave the usual reply, that all of us have gone through this, there are phases where children, especially preteens, don't want to do what their parents want them to, etc.; things I would say as well. I did my best to encourage her, but that was all I could tell her, too. I assured her that her son was doing very well, and was just at the point where he needed the encouragement to take it to the next level. I'd hate to see him quit, because he's a very good player and I enjoy teaching him.
After a few minutes Johnny came from class into the studio for his lesson. We did not mention what his mother and I had talked about; I thought I'd save it for the end. Johnny proceeded to play a few scales, review pieces, and a Vivaldi concerto. Everything he played had a feeling of tension and anger in it. It was truly amazing to me how much this little boy could express with his violin. I kept reminding him to slow down his shifts, relax his left hand for vibrato, and loosen his right elbow to smooth the sound. Toward the end of the lesson, I gave Johnny a little talk. I pretty much just told him, "Johnny, no matter what you feel, you have to be obedient to your mother, and practice just the way she asks you to. No temper tantrums are allowed; crying does NOT count as part of your practice time!" Then I told him: "I can tell simply by the way you are playing that you are angry. You have to understand how much your violin expresses the way you feel. It's great to express your feelings through your music, but you must control your anger."
As Johnny was putting his violin in its case at the end of the lesson, he listened intently to me as I told him and his mother, "You always hear about controversies involving musicians' unions and various theater companies and films wanting to save money by using 'canned' music, synthesizers, multi-track recordings and so on, as opposed to hiring live musicians. Sometimes people have even theorized that with so much technology that can produce computer-generated music, real, live musicians will become a thing of the past. But we can see that this is why there are musicians in the world. It's truly amazing how much you can express with your instrument. I get this all the time--parents tell me something about how practice is going at home, and immediately I can see what they mean from the first piece a student plays in the lesson." Believe it or not, this applies to Twinkle as well as Vivaldi concerti.
*not his real name; names changed to comply with HIPAA policy
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Praise du jour
Apart from insect infestations (the conclusion of the story to be revealed shortly--keep checking back), and an occasional computer crash (thanks go out to Ben M., for his kind work on my computer), my life is fairly uneventful, and my praises to God are for personal day-to-day things that may not make sense to other people in a blog. But once in a while I have to share certain experiences that were truly God's workings.
The last week Joelle and I have been frantically stuffing endless boxes and envelopes for GYC promo materials, which needed to go out this week. I think we've spent an average of 4 hours a day since Sunday on this, and along the way, have encountered numerous technical problems--computers, printers, ink, moving boxes between our houses numerous times, etc. (I've been reading a book about early Adventist history, where a quite a few of the Advent camp meetings in 1843-1844 drew 6,000+ people daily to hear William Miller preach about the soon return on Christ--and none of the organizers of these events even had cars, let alone Internet, mail merge programs, or Endicia pre-paid postage systems. But that's another blog.)
Yesterday evening Joelle, Norman and I loaded my Jetta to the brim with yet another shipment of envelopes to go out to all the SDA conferences on earth, I think, and my assignment for the day is to take them to the post office.
This morning at exactly 3 AM my car alarm went off. For a bit of background, there have been quite a few car break-ins in our neighborhood recently (the apartments in the area have carports with no garage doors). Also for clarification, although you hear endless car alarms all night and day from the kind of cars whose alarms go off at the slightest vibration or possibly affront to their feelings, my car alarm has never gone off before. I just knew that this meant someone was trying to break into my car. Granted, 500 brochures advertising "Be" are probably not the mother lode for car thieves, but I couldn't help thinking how disastrous it would be if someone decided to vandalize them for fun, or take them (or my car) away just to check if there was something more valuable in all of those boxes.
All of this was going through my head, in those odd intersomnious 3 AM moments, when everything is scarier than reality. I certainly didn't want to go out and try to chase anyone off all alone in the dark at that time, so there was nothing to do but pray. So I prayed and prayed, "Dear Jesus, this is your work and your ministry; please keep these brochures safe so they can get to the people who need them!" While I was praying, my favorite part of a hymn came to mind, "I Sing The Mighty Power of God:"
There's not a plant or flower below but makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne.
Creatures that borrow life from Thee are subject to Thy care;
There's not a place where we can flee but God is present there.
I figured if God could do all of this, He could certainly protect some brochures.
Eventually I fell asleep, and first thing in the morning I went out to see what became of my car. There it was, completely intact, nothing missing and no damage to my car.
A postscript to the story: I was so excited that I called Joelle at 7:45 and told her the story so she could thank God with me, because I didn't think I could thank Him enough. Maybe that's what praise really is.
The last week Joelle and I have been frantically stuffing endless boxes and envelopes for GYC promo materials, which needed to go out this week. I think we've spent an average of 4 hours a day since Sunday on this, and along the way, have encountered numerous technical problems--computers, printers, ink, moving boxes between our houses numerous times, etc. (I've been reading a book about early Adventist history, where a quite a few of the Advent camp meetings in 1843-1844 drew 6,000+ people daily to hear William Miller preach about the soon return on Christ--and none of the organizers of these events even had cars, let alone Internet, mail merge programs, or Endicia pre-paid postage systems. But that's another blog.)
Yesterday evening Joelle, Norman and I loaded my Jetta to the brim with yet another shipment of envelopes to go out to all the SDA conferences on earth, I think, and my assignment for the day is to take them to the post office.
This morning at exactly 3 AM my car alarm went off. For a bit of background, there have been quite a few car break-ins in our neighborhood recently (the apartments in the area have carports with no garage doors). Also for clarification, although you hear endless car alarms all night and day from the kind of cars whose alarms go off at the slightest vibration or possibly affront to their feelings, my car alarm has never gone off before. I just knew that this meant someone was trying to break into my car. Granted, 500 brochures advertising "Be" are probably not the mother lode for car thieves, but I couldn't help thinking how disastrous it would be if someone decided to vandalize them for fun, or take them (or my car) away just to check if there was something more valuable in all of those boxes.
All of this was going through my head, in those odd intersomnious 3 AM moments, when everything is scarier than reality. I certainly didn't want to go out and try to chase anyone off all alone in the dark at that time, so there was nothing to do but pray. So I prayed and prayed, "Dear Jesus, this is your work and your ministry; please keep these brochures safe so they can get to the people who need them!" While I was praying, my favorite part of a hymn came to mind, "I Sing The Mighty Power of God:"
There's not a plant or flower below but makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne.
Creatures that borrow life from Thee are subject to Thy care;
There's not a place where we can flee but God is present there.
I figured if God could do all of this, He could certainly protect some brochures.
Eventually I fell asleep, and first thing in the morning I went out to see what became of my car. There it was, completely intact, nothing missing and no damage to my car.
A postscript to the story: I was so excited that I called Joelle at 7:45 and told her the story so she could thank God with me, because I didn't think I could thank Him enough. Maybe that's what praise really is.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
What's new, second edition
There are so many exciting things happening in my life right now, I can't help but share some of them with my friends on the blogosphere. Here are a few of the highlights:
1. My landlord kindly left me an extra bag of potting soil the other day. The front of the bag proudly boasts of its contents in large letters as such: "All Natural with Added Organic Ingredients: Worm Castings, Kelp Meal, Bat Guano, and Chicken Manure." I wonder if I'll plan on wearing gloves when I'm gardening from now on.
2. The critical phase of Operation Stupid Little Mothlike Flies in the Kitchen is in full effect. I killed about 10 of them the other night. The turning point occurred, however, when I found larvae in my bag of Cheerios, which I have not had in the cupboard for more than a week. Yesterday I spent a large part of the morning taking everything out of the pantry cupboard, throwing away large amounts of suspect food, inspecting every angle of everything else, and scrubbing. Now I realize that all I have left in the cupboard is a few cans of beans, an extra veal baby food jar for the cat, cereal (well locked up in tupperware), a can of powdered "wassail" which was a gift from a student last Christmas, and an unopened very large bottle of Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce from when Monica lived here, I think (do you have any recollection of this, Monica?).
3. In other insect news, a black widow spider was found in my teaching studio at the school the other day--on the ceiling, precariously dangling above where my students usually stand. Needless to say, I moved to another room for the day and called maintenance. I know they did come the following morning looking for it, and there is now no spider in the place where it was; however, nobody told me whether or not they actually found it or not. I have an awful lot of bookcases in my studio.
4. I think it rained last night.
More exciting updates to come, I'm sure.
1. My landlord kindly left me an extra bag of potting soil the other day. The front of the bag proudly boasts of its contents in large letters as such: "All Natural with Added Organic Ingredients: Worm Castings, Kelp Meal, Bat Guano, and Chicken Manure." I wonder if I'll plan on wearing gloves when I'm gardening from now on.
2. The critical phase of Operation Stupid Little Mothlike Flies in the Kitchen is in full effect. I killed about 10 of them the other night. The turning point occurred, however, when I found larvae in my bag of Cheerios, which I have not had in the cupboard for more than a week. Yesterday I spent a large part of the morning taking everything out of the pantry cupboard, throwing away large amounts of suspect food, inspecting every angle of everything else, and scrubbing. Now I realize that all I have left in the cupboard is a few cans of beans, an extra veal baby food jar for the cat, cereal (well locked up in tupperware), a can of powdered "wassail" which was a gift from a student last Christmas, and an unopened very large bottle of Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce from when Monica lived here, I think (do you have any recollection of this, Monica?).
3. In other insect news, a black widow spider was found in my teaching studio at the school the other day--on the ceiling, precariously dangling above where my students usually stand. Needless to say, I moved to another room for the day and called maintenance. I know they did come the following morning looking for it, and there is now no spider in the place where it was; however, nobody told me whether or not they actually found it or not. I have an awful lot of bookcases in my studio.
4. I think it rained last night.
More exciting updates to come, I'm sure.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Annual Birthday Blog
This past week, I celebrated another year of life God has so graciously granted me. It's easy to take time, people, and events for granted, so a birthday is an excellent time to reflect on how God has led each of us in our lives. I was assigned by a friend the task of blogging the answer to the question, "How do I feel God has led me and blessed me in the past year?" Yesterday this same friend helped me define exactly what the answer is.
If I could sum everything up in a small statement, it would be this: Praise God that there are things in our life that we absolutely cannot control on our own. It just makes us realize how much we have to depend on God for constant guidance.
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6, 7.
If I could sum everything up in a small statement, it would be this: Praise God that there are things in our life that we absolutely cannot control on our own. It just makes us realize how much we have to depend on God for constant guidance.
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6, 7.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Lessons learned...while teaching
A few thoughts today from today's violin lessons...
Today I was thinking about how some of my students resist letting their parents help them learn. The "secret trick" we have for teaching young violin students how to make a beautiful tone right from the beginning is: to do it for them. Once they have learned how to hold the violin and bow (a good 2-3 months right there), the day finally comes when they can put the bow on the string. The next thing that happens is not to let them move the bow on their own. Instead, for a few weeks, the teacher and the parent moves it for them. I teach the parents how to reach over and move the bow on the string while the student is holding the bow and violin in play position, just relaxing, a process called "patterning." In the process, the student learns the physical feeling of how the bow moves on the string properly, and most importantly, learns to relax his elbow while Mom or teacher does the work for him. In essence, by learning submission he learns the right way to make a beautiful, relaxed tone.
This works extremely well--until the child starts refusing to let Mom help him and wants to do it on his own. Scrub, scrub, scratch, scratch. This is where the fights and tears and "I wanna quit" breaks out at home practice time. Yes, it is practically inevitable that this will happen at some point. I try to counsel the parent to take control of the situation, not to let Junior manipulate or control her. Because the alternative is that the child will learn a pattern of disobedience--not to mention a tight bow arm and a horribly scratchy, uncontrollable bow stroke which is extremely difficult to unlearn, except by Mom regaining control and our young violinist learning to submit to authority.
Lesson number 1 is that we are all children, like it or not, and we have an Authority, as well as our earthly authorities. If we submit and let the ultimate Teacher and Parent control our bow arms for us, we will be able to make the most beautiful sound possible. If we think we can do it better on our own if we just work harder, we will make a scratchy, horrible sound. That's hard to unlearn.
Lesson number 2 comes from listening. The way I teach young beginners how to play new songs is by listening to them on the CD over and over again until the tunes are stuck in their memory, like new words for an infant building its vocabulary. This not only frees up the student to concentrate on technique, but also gives him a pattern of tone, phrasing, etc. to imitate. The music will flow out of the student naturally as if a recording were played in his mind, rather than "the C# comes after the E, then two beats on the B," etc. When the student has trouble remembering how to play the notes to a piece, all I ever say is, "Go home and listen some more." If the student has learned the notes wrong, my usual line is, "This week, listen to this piece more often than you play it. If you play it three times a day, listen to it four times; if you play it ten times, listen to it eleven times."
Oddly enough, this answers a philosophical question involving what we should be studying as Christians. Sometimes I've asked the question, "Should I study other religions, what other people believe as well as the Bible, so that I can relate to them and be able to answer their questions with knowledge of where they're coming from, rather than ignorance of everyone else's worldviews except my own?" It's a tough question, because it does make sense; however, the more we study other worldly philosophies without truly grounding our own beliefs the more danger we're in to be influenced by them.
How is this idea related? If my students have not listened to the CD enough to know the correct notes, they will have their own ideas stuck in their heads, and no matter how much they practice, they will be practicing the wrong notes to perfection. Practicing is great, though. Just be sure to study the real thing more than you practice your own wrong notes. Likewise, intellectual study and philosophical thoughts are great. Just be sure to study the real thing more than you study your own ideas, otherwise, you won't have the Pattern in your head, and your own philosophies will take precedence.
This thought occured to me when I was reading from 1 Testimonies, a letter of reproof to a Brother Hull: "You will receive more strength by spending one hour each day in meditation, and in mourning over your failings and heart corruptions and pleading for God's pardoning love and the assurance of sins forgiven, than you would by spending many hours and days in studying the most able authors, and making yourself acquainted with every objection to our faith, and with the most powerful evidences in its favor." (1T 433-434)
Today I was thinking about how some of my students resist letting their parents help them learn. The "secret trick" we have for teaching young violin students how to make a beautiful tone right from the beginning is: to do it for them. Once they have learned how to hold the violin and bow (a good 2-3 months right there), the day finally comes when they can put the bow on the string. The next thing that happens is not to let them move the bow on their own. Instead, for a few weeks, the teacher and the parent moves it for them. I teach the parents how to reach over and move the bow on the string while the student is holding the bow and violin in play position, just relaxing, a process called "patterning." In the process, the student learns the physical feeling of how the bow moves on the string properly, and most importantly, learns to relax his elbow while Mom or teacher does the work for him. In essence, by learning submission he learns the right way to make a beautiful, relaxed tone.
This works extremely well--until the child starts refusing to let Mom help him and wants to do it on his own. Scrub, scrub, scratch, scratch. This is where the fights and tears and "I wanna quit" breaks out at home practice time. Yes, it is practically inevitable that this will happen at some point. I try to counsel the parent to take control of the situation, not to let Junior manipulate or control her. Because the alternative is that the child will learn a pattern of disobedience--not to mention a tight bow arm and a horribly scratchy, uncontrollable bow stroke which is extremely difficult to unlearn, except by Mom regaining control and our young violinist learning to submit to authority.
Lesson number 1 is that we are all children, like it or not, and we have an Authority, as well as our earthly authorities. If we submit and let the ultimate Teacher and Parent control our bow arms for us, we will be able to make the most beautiful sound possible. If we think we can do it better on our own if we just work harder, we will make a scratchy, horrible sound. That's hard to unlearn.
Lesson number 2 comes from listening. The way I teach young beginners how to play new songs is by listening to them on the CD over and over again until the tunes are stuck in their memory, like new words for an infant building its vocabulary. This not only frees up the student to concentrate on technique, but also gives him a pattern of tone, phrasing, etc. to imitate. The music will flow out of the student naturally as if a recording were played in his mind, rather than "the C# comes after the E, then two beats on the B," etc. When the student has trouble remembering how to play the notes to a piece, all I ever say is, "Go home and listen some more." If the student has learned the notes wrong, my usual line is, "This week, listen to this piece more often than you play it. If you play it three times a day, listen to it four times; if you play it ten times, listen to it eleven times."
Oddly enough, this answers a philosophical question involving what we should be studying as Christians. Sometimes I've asked the question, "Should I study other religions, what other people believe as well as the Bible, so that I can relate to them and be able to answer their questions with knowledge of where they're coming from, rather than ignorance of everyone else's worldviews except my own?" It's a tough question, because it does make sense; however, the more we study other worldly philosophies without truly grounding our own beliefs the more danger we're in to be influenced by them.
How is this idea related? If my students have not listened to the CD enough to know the correct notes, they will have their own ideas stuck in their heads, and no matter how much they practice, they will be practicing the wrong notes to perfection. Practicing is great, though. Just be sure to study the real thing more than you practice your own wrong notes. Likewise, intellectual study and philosophical thoughts are great. Just be sure to study the real thing more than you study your own ideas, otherwise, you won't have the Pattern in your head, and your own philosophies will take precedence.
This thought occured to me when I was reading from 1 Testimonies, a letter of reproof to a Brother Hull: "You will receive more strength by spending one hour each day in meditation, and in mourning over your failings and heart corruptions and pleading for God's pardoning love and the assurance of sins forgiven, than you would by spending many hours and days in studying the most able authors, and making yourself acquainted with every objection to our faith, and with the most powerful evidences in its favor." (1T 433-434)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
What's the bean???
The other day I had the privilege of accompanying Monica to her ultrasound appointment. It was very interesting; amazing what technology can see nowadays. I was one of the first to see the little face and toes! So...what is the bean? I won't tell, you have to click here. (I will, however, say that the little hands have great potential for a very nice bow hold.)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Photo albums
By popular demand (Tim), I have published several photo albums.
One of the albums includes pictures from various friends' weddings I've attended recently (this one from Alison and Jay's).
as well as Yosemite.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Tannhauser
For some reason, I don't know why, I've been wanting to be able to play Wagner's Overture to Tannhauser on my blog, and now I finally figured out how. Click the arrow on the blue bar to the right twice to listen to Tannhauser while reading my blog.
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