You may recall that when the autumn colors come out, so does my November Playlist. (I've pretty much made all of autumn my peaceful, reflective, especially grateful time of year.) I wanted to share this year's additions to this personal playlist.
First is an entire album: David Tolk's Impressions. With pieces titled "Grateful," "October," and "Autumn Sky" you can't go wrong. I consider myself a tough critic, though, of musical selections purporting to represent ideas or, as the title suggests, impressions, as each of us has our own experiences and perspectives. I actually put this music in, closed my eyes, and tried to see if the music conjured images and feelings synonymous with the titles and, for me, they did. I have listened to these songs over and over this fall. I especially love "Old North Bridge" and "Evening on the Seine." And "Nothing Like the Sun" expertly calls to mind beams of light as they flash, flit, filter, and flare on an autumn day.
Here is the album in its entirety:
Now, if you want to experience, truly, a little bit of what Heaven must be; if you want to hear musical perfection; if you want to feel your soul weep and soar at the same time, listen to this. I cannot get enough of Karl Jenkins' Benedictus, performed by 2 Cellos.
The Benedictus, or Song of Zechariah, is a song of thanksgiving and praise in Luke 1:68-79 sung by Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist. It is called Benedictus because the opening line in Latin is, Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel."
Here is a 2 Cellos performance of Benedictus. Theirs is my favorite.
Even though I have scores of other posts started in draft form (or in my head) I'm announcing a new "series" of posts that coincide with a new page on this blog you may have noticed: Soundtrack.
Music is one of the greatest delights of life. It builds, lifts, comforts, motivates, inspires, thrills, moves, and more. As both a musician and a poet I have a great appreciation for (and critique of) all sorts of music. Many songs have been blessed companions throughout my life and have served as great mentors. Music is a great teacher! This series of posts is my way to share my delight in music as well as the lessons I've learned from great songs, hoping to give everyone out there some everyday inspiration.
I was introduced to the song "I Can Only Imagine," written by Bart Millard and sung by Mercy Me at the closing keynote address of a homeschool conference several years ago. I don't remember a whole lot about the rest of the address, but the following video was shown and it had a TREMENDOUS impact on me. I was in tears.
At first it was the story and Dick Hoyt's incredible example that inspired me. Not only did I want to be a better mother, I wanted to be a better person in general. I also felt that if Dick could do what he did, I could do more, too, and get in better physical shape; not just for me but for my family so I could do things with them without physical limitations. I wanted to be strong. I downloaded "I Can Only Imagine" to my iPod for some motivation and it was the first song I ever ran to in its entirety.
As I ran to this song day after day, the lyrics engraved themselves on my heart. I believe in a living Father in Heaven and a living, resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ. What will it be like when I see them again? What will I feel? What will I say? What will I do?
The Resurrection is going to be glorious and wonderful. Not just for people like Rick Hoyt, who will no longer be handicapped, but for everyone. Running to this song makes me feel a little lighter, a little stronger, and a lot hopeful for that future day when my scars and pains and limitations are no more and when I'll see the Resurrected Lord. I can only imagine!
If you know me at all, you're aware that I like to kick off each new year with a special lesson that has elements of discovery, discussion, meditation, and expression. I love to try to inspire myself and my family to stand a little taller and try a little harder. I also love to understand my children's reflections of the past year and their hopes for the new year.
This year I used a song, "One Minute More," that has been on my mind a lot for well over a year. I listen to it almost every day as I exercise (it's great for moving to!) and I really like it for the music. More than the music, though, it has come to mean a lot to me. I've actually worked up an entire application for missionaries, complete with scriptures, as well as gospel applications for every day life and people. But I didn't want to just hand all that to my children, I wanted them to find it for themselves. So, I printed off the lyrics, we listened to the song together, and then we talked and I asked them what gospel applications they saw and heard and asked them to find scriptures to back it up.
Here are just a couple of the scriptures that were shared and discussed:
"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."
(D&C 58:26-28)
"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." (Alma 34:32)
After this I handed everyone a manila file folder to use as a base for their 2015/2016 project. The assignment was to somehow express
2 great memories from 2015 0 accomplishment, meaning a 2015 goal not reached, and why 1 scripture that had personal meaning in 2015 5 lessons learned in 2015
They were to create a list of 16 hopes/dreams/goals for 2016 that they could personally effect, then choose a line from "One Minute More" that stood out to them and write how it can influence them this year.
Below is a video link to the song and the lyrics. Personally, I don't usually like watching music videos because they often ruin a song for me. This video is the lyric video version, but it's really here so that you can listen to the song. The lyrics are written out below in a less distracting way.
