Category: Music

A nice arrangement

Richard took me to a Christmas choral concert and this piece was my favorite. The choir we heard was probably 5 times bigger than this one, so the effect was different, but I want to share with you this beautiful arrangement.

Just me living in the wrong century

Spotify is telling me a story I didn’t predict about myself. If you use this music app, perhaps your “Wrapped” reveals some surprises about your listening habits during the past year, too. Apparently, I went through what Spotify calls my “Coastal Grandmother Ukulele Oldies” phase in May. 😂

In the temple laundry room

A few months ago we took a shift to clean the temple from 10 pm to midnight. People are doing this all of the time, and it was not a big sacrifice. I helped clean the baptistry, and part of my job was to dust the walls of the laundry room, which were not dusty, unlike the walls of my own home.

I was regretting that I wasn’t having a spiritual experience in this temple laundry room when this song came to my mind. The Spirit reminded me that caring for this room was a way to show my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for this temple and for His goodness to me all my life. So, I finished my shift, singing this song in my mind. The Spirit showed up for me in the laundry room that night to expand my vision.

I should ask the question more often, what can I do this day to show my gratitude to God?

Just a list today

Enjoyed: an evening at Young Women’s camp with the bishopric.

Finished: 18 pages of visa application forms and instructions with Mark.

Played: a piano and violin duet on Sunday with Mark at church.

Wrote: a song for Primary Day Camp for guitar, voices, and percussion.

Struggling with: sleep while Richard has been away at Young Men’s camp.

Looking forward to: Mark’s senior piano recital.

Preparing: pepperoni rolls for dinner.

Loving: strawberry season.

Reading: The Count of Monte Cristo.

Collecting: so many screenshots of our grandson during video calls. 😍

Procrastinating: weeding the back flower bed.

A current favorite Book of Mormon phrase: “Publish peace.”

And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.

Mosiah 27:37

Luke 6:38

I will be playing my violin with a Primary choir for Mother’s Day this year. On Sunday I practiced with them for the first time. I had spent some time transposing the music for my instrument, so it was good to hear that my work was okay. My accompaniment is not difficult to play and the notes are understated and mild, but I had taken some time to get it just right.

When I stood at the front of the room full of children and saw their faces as they sang with my violin and the piano, the abundance in this reward was overwhelming. No money or praise can match the wide-eyed wonder, the heartfelt effort in their voices, and the generosity in their facial expressions. I want to remember these faces forever. I also want my giving to be more like theirs.

Primary children teach me every single week what it means to be a disciple of Christ.