An Announcement

A Mom's Weekend Out

Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the True Woman 2014 National Women's Conference: Finding Freedom, Fullness, and Fruitfulness in Christ. As you can see from the picture above, I made the trip to Indianapolis with 7 terrific women from my church.

Why was I so interested in this particular conference? About 2 years ago, our women's group from church studied the book True Woman 101: Divine Design by Mary A. Kassian and Nancy Leigh Demoss. It was an excellent book that helped me to finally put the puzzle pieces together of what it means to be a woman from a biblical perspective. When some of the church women announced their plans to attend a conference in which the authors of this book were main speakers, I desperately wanted to go. Ben surprised me last Christmas with a ticket to the conference, and I was so excited!

This weekend was the first time that I had ever been separated from Weston, my 13 month-old, for longer than a few hours. My mother-in-law Kandy flew here to be Weston's main caregiver for the weekend (3 days and 2 nights total). She did an amazing job taking care of him, and I am so thankful. The night before I left on the conference, Kandy showed me the recent movie Moms' Night Out. It was great! I recommend it. It was full of good acting, good laughs, and some good encouragement for moms, especially stay-at-home moms like me. Watching Moms' Night Out was the perfect prelude to my "mom's weekend out!"

The conference was uplifting. My favorite message was by Mary Kassian, on being a woman of the Word instead of a "wimpy woman." My favorite testimony was by Naghmeh Abedini, wife of imprisoned Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini, on God's grace during a horrific situation. And my favorite aspect of the conference was the music! I was so thrilled that Keith and Kristyn Getty were the musicians for the conference.

I think that God spoke to my heart more through the songs than through the "sermons." I loved "My Worth is Not in What I Own" and "O for a Closer Walk with God" from the Gettys' CD The Greengrass Session. Through the lyrics of these beautiful songs, God encouraged me that even though I am an imperfect woman who never has it all together, God still loves me and accepts me in Christ. My worth is based on who I am in Christ rather than on how I perform in any given area. God encouraged me that even though long devotions are not an option during this season of my life, He still wants me to press forward in pursuing a closer walk with Him. No matter how busy I am chasing my toddler son, I can still afford to spend at least 5 minutes per day meditating on the Bible and talk to God in prayer as I go about my day. I think that recently I have been feeling like a robot--going through the motions of changing diapers, washing dishes, and trying to tackle my to-do list, but letting guilt and stress keep me from a vibrant, joyful relationship with God.

I also loved hearing the song "A Mother's Prayer." It so gorgeously expresses what my heart feels for Weston. (Of course my favorite Getty songs would be the slow and reflective ones, because I am a slow and reflective person, ha.)

I found YouTube links to 2 of these songs.

My Worth is Not in What I Own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfFrJHuptUQ

A Mother's Prayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoy74orJu10

So yes...the content of the conference was a blessing. But then another "blessing" was that getting away made me want to come back! My mother-in-law texted me adorable photos of my son, which made me miss him so much! After a little while I started preferring my husband's more logical conversation to the women's more emotional conversation, my own simple little house to the luxurious Hilton, and the school of daily experience to the school of conference session after session! Ha.

And so I had a happy reunion with my husband and son on Saturday night. And now I am back to real life, after a refreshing mom's weekend out!

Weston is One Year Old!

Okay, I know that I am rather late in writing this blog post. But better late than never, right?

A few weeks ago, we celebrated our son's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

We love our little boy! As I reflect upon the miracle of his birth (and, by the way, I think that EVERY birth is a miracle), I will never forget staring into his beautiful eyes right after he was born. He stared back at me with such intelligence and personality, such thoughtfulness and curiosity. It has been so awesome to watch this little boy grow and watch that little personality develop during his first year of life. Parenting is 10 times more difficult than I ever imagined, yet 100 times more satisfying and wonderful than I ever imagined. Despite all of our inadequacies, God has been gracious to us and Weston is alive and thriving! Hurray. And now instead of a baby, we suddenly realize that we have a TODDLER!

At his one-year doctor appointment, Weston weighed 23 pounds 10 ounces and measured 30.5 inches long. Important updates include that he started walking at 10 1/2 months; he can say "Da-da" and "Ma-ma;" he is still toothless; and he is absolutely infatuated with electronics and technology!

We enjoyed our summer with Weston because he was finally old enough that we could DO things with him! Weston and Daddy enjoyed going to swimming lessons together, and Weston and Mommy enjoyed going to Kindermusik classes together. Weston also participated in a special summer reading program for babies and toddlers at our local library.

Below you will see some photos of Weston from age 9 months to 1 year. At the very end, you will see several photos from his birthday party, which was a simple cookout with hot dogs and s'mores. We were privileged to have out-of-state relatives Uncle Matt, Grandpa Carl, Grandma Kandy, and even Great-Grandma Violet come to join us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Kauflin's Helpful Hints for the Contemporary Church Pianist



 

So...I am one of the worst procrastinators ever. Over a year ago, my church's music director e-mailed all of the church pianists and recommended that we watch these videos on "The Piano in Contemporary Worship" by Bob Kauflin, director of Sovereign Grace Music. When I read the e-mail, I was about to go on "maternity leave" from the pianist rotation, and all that my brain could handle thinking about was childbirth, baby names, and developing the perfect robot-themed baby nursery. Haha. When did I finally watch the videos? Not until this past weekend!!! Anyway, I am glad that I finally watched them. The videos were great, and I wanted to share what I learned.

Bob Kauflin's talks helped me understand some of the differences of being a church pianist in a more traditional musical context versus a more contemporary one. Musically speaking, I grew up in very traditional churches--an independent fundamental Baptist church and then a few Presbyterian Church in America churches. The congregations sang mostly traditional hymns, accompanied usually only by piano. When I studied hymn-playing for a couple of semesters at Bob Jones University with Faye Lopez and Ruth Coleman, I learned the traditional style of hymn-playing (you know: play the soprano, alto, and tenor parts with your right hand in a three-note chord and then play the bass part with your left hand in octaves, etc., etc.). More recently, I have been in a non-denominational evangelical church and (currently) a Southern Baptist church, both with more contemporary music. For example, we have sung many songs by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Sovereign Grace (think "In Christ Alone" and "Jesus Thank You"). Instead of only a piano to accompany the singing, we have had guitars, and sometimes several other instruments, on our worship teams. I thought that to succeed as a contemporary church pianist, all that I needed to know was how to play from a lead sheet. But after watching these videos, I realize that I have more to learn!

Bob Kauflin shares some helpful hints for playing piano in a more contemporary style, especially with a worship team. Here are a few suggestions that I found interesting:

• Play like a donut--with a hole in the middle. Because the guitar plays in what you would call the middle register of the piano, play in the low and high registers of the piano to balance the overall sound.

• Give the music some space. Try playing just harmony (no melody) once in a while. One idea is to try playing whole notes that establish the important chords without necessarily playing all of the chords. 

• Create "distinct and memorable" fills--short, repeated melodic/rhythmic phrases that you can use to fill some of the space and add cohesiveness to the song.

• Listen to the other players on your worship team. Back off when they are doing something "distinct and memorable."

• Add color to your chords, using open 5ths and added 2nds.

• Instead of always playing the last line of the chorus for the introduction, try using a chord pattern that is repeated throughout the song for an introduction.

Here are the links to the videos if anybody wants to watch them. Oh, and may I say that Bob Kauflin has quite the personality!

http://www.worshipmatters.com/2011/11/30/the-piano-in-contemporary-worship-part-1/

http://www.worshipmatters.com/2011/12/01/the-piano-in-contemporary-worship-part-2/

http://www.worshipmatters.com/2012/01/07/the-piano-in-contemporary-worship-part-3/

 



Weston is 9 Months Old!

So...this blog post is a few weeks late, as Weston turned 9 months old near the beginning of this month. But still--I want to take the opportunity to sing my son's praises and post a few pictures! We are so blessed to be his parents!

Weston now weighs 22.5 pounds and measures 29.5 inches long. He is Mr. Active and Mr. Explorer these days! Ben bought him a little blue wooden cart from Ikea, and Weston can walk by himself while pushing the cart! Looking back, it was at 8 months old that things seemed to click for him. It was at 8 months old when he finally began to sleep through the night consistently. (Now sometimes he will sleep for 11 hours without waking--what a pampered mommy I am!) And it was at 8 months old when he finally mastered crawling and pulling himself up to standing. Besides exploring every nook and cranny of our house, Weston loves playing peekaboo, reading books, banging on the piano, grocery-shopping, swimming, and swinging on the swing at the local park.

Our "Mr. Explorer" went on two vacations during the last few months. In April he spent a week in Florida with the Barnett side of the family. And in May he spent a few days in Georgia at Uncle Matt's house and then a few days in Ohio celebrating Uncle Joe's high school graduation!

It is so hard to believe, but Weston will be a year old in 2 1/2 months! (Hopefully he will have at least one tooth by then!) Below are some of our favorite photos from ages 6 to 9 months.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Couch to 5K and a Song for the Way

I did it! Yay! This morning--on the last official day of spring--I finally accomplished my spring fitness goal, which was to complete the Couch to 5K running plan! I woke up at 5:45 AM and ran before my husband left for work so that he could watch the baby. It was a beautiful morning and a wonderful run! I feel so empowered to be able to run 3 miles again after having a baby!

I recommend the Couch to 5K running plan as an ideal way to ease into a running regimen. It is a 9 week plan that combines running with walking, gradually transforming the couch-sitter into a 5K-runner. I love it.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I would not be able to run without my friend Sarah. We did the Couch to 5K plan for the first time 3 years ago, and we had a blast together! Now she has gone on to bigger and better things (like running half marathons), but I think that I am content with the 5K distance!

I would not be able to run without the music on my iPod. Thanks to my friend Hye-Won for giving me that iPod--one of the best gifts ever--a few years ago! I created a special playlist that I enjoyed listening to this spring. Here were some of my favorite songs to listen to while running (mostly Christian and country):

The Only Name - Big Daddy Weave
Give Me Jesus - Galkin Evangelistic Team
Every Promise of Your Word - Keith and Kristyn Getty
Good Morning - Mandisa
The One Thing I Know - Sara Groves
O the Deep Deep Love - Sovereign Grace Music
Get Back Up - tobyMac
Oh How the Years Go By - Vanessa Williams
She's Everything - Brad Paisley
Quitter - Carrie Underwood
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me - Keith Urban
Pioneer - The Band Perry

And I would not be able to run without God's grace in my life! I have always been the girl who likes to sit and read, or sit and play the piano, or sit and talk, or sit and drink tea, or sit and eat chocolate (key word=SIT!). In college I struggled with emotional eating and was about 20 pounds overweight. Running 3 miles may not mean much to some people, but it means something to me. It reminds me that in the strength of Christ, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13)!





 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Weston is 6 Months Old!

Last Tuesday Weston turned 6 months old! I marvel that he is already halfway through the first year of his life! Weston is a big boy. He now weighs 20 pounds 3.5 ounces and measures 28 inches long! He enjoys eating baby food. Squash and applesauce are two of his favorites so far. He is an accomplished backward-scooter, and we predict that he will be a forward-crawler before long! He still loves bathtime (his splashes and kicks have become increasingly violent), and last week he enjoyed his first trip to an indoor public swimming pool. Oh, and Grandma Kandy gave him his first haircut last week! Below are some of our favorite pictures from the last three months (special thanks to Grammy Sandy for being Weston's most faithful photographer!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Crunch: Another Reason to Shop at Aldi

We like doing most of our grocery-shopping at Aldi.

 

My husband likes Aldi because of the low prices on staples like milk and eggs.

I like it because of the occasional exotic find, like this seasonal item in stock for Valentine's Day.

Love Crunch.

Premium organic granola with dark chocolate and red berries, made with organic cocoa, flax, and coconut.

THOROUGHLY amazing.

Satisfies your chocolate cravings and even gives you a significant serving of whole grains.

I think that I could start a daily habit of waking up at 5:30 AM to eat breakfast with my husband, if I knew that Love Crunch was waiting for me.

You know, if you need a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for a chocolate lover, consider stopping at your local Aldi for some Love Crunch! (Hopefully your Aldi carries it.) It is more nutritious--and much more interesting--than a Russell Stover box of chocolates.

I know that even if my husband would forget about Valentine's Day (which of course he would never do), I would still have a wonderful day.

Because I have Love Crunch in my kitchen cupboard.

Thank you, Aldi. 

Free Scripture Story Sets

After a six-month break from teaching Sunday School, I am looking forward to once again working with the adorable 4 and 5 year-olds at my church.

And I just want to say that I love the Internet!

Because..

I made an incredible discovery a couple of days ago.

http://keepinglifecreative.com/ 

Anyone interested in teaching the Bible to children needs to see this woman's blog. Her digitized felt scripture story sets are amazing, and what is even more amazing is that you can download several of them for free. I downloaded her story set on Joseph to use in my Sunday School class next week. You can download it as well if you follow this link.

http://keepinglifecreative.com/fabric-and-felt/scripture-story-felts/bible-story-props-joseph-and-the-colored-coat/