Mother to a Nation

 A few years ago we were able to visit my nephew and his family who were living in Dubai at the time. Andy was working for a construction company, in charge of the bids for things like hotels and an airport runway. 

Andy told me about a woman who had gone to the UAE and became midwife to the Royal Family. 

Dubai was poor at that time. 

Andy explained that because of her, the Royal Family designated a huge plot of land so that Christians could build their churches. We were able to visit there and see the complex, even attending services with my nephew and his family. There are many foreign guest workers in Dubai, and many of them are Christians. The Churches serve workers from every part of the world. 

The Emirati leaders explained why. It went something like this.: You Christians loved us when we were poor, expecting nothing in return. We owe you a debt of gratitude. 

I had wondered for years who this Christian midwife was. Turns out she was a graduate of the same Bible School my husband and I attended in Canada. 

I don’t know if I have all the details correct, but there are Christians from all over the world living and working in Dubai. 

The Emiratis are all Muslim. There are anti conversion laws, but at the same time freedom for those of other religions to openly worship. 

No. Gertrude I’m sure that she wasn’t the only reason that Dubai has allowed so much freedom for Christians to worship, but maybe she was an important one. Maybe she was the main reason? It looks like the story Andy told us and the little article below support the idea that she was indeed instrumental in the country’s openness to allowing non Muslims to worship freely. Trust was built from the beginning. 

Dyck is a Russian Mennonite name. I think that her life is inspiring. 

George Macdonald poem about asthma

George Macdonald was the one writer who had the greatest impact on men like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Notice how he pictures asthma as Satan himself who is out to destroy him by taking his breath and life away. Macdonald knows that asthma is a means that God is using to make him a man truly alive. He suffers, struggles for each breath, yet he knows that even God's Angel of Death can only bring him deliverance. God’s work in him will be done and he will finally be the man he was meant to be, full of life. 

Suffering and death in Christ humanize us. 

The glory of God is man fully alive. Gloria Dei est vivens homo

- St. Irenaeus 

A good theme to contemplate during Lent. 

The Asthmatic Man To The Satan That Binds Him 

By George Macdonald 

Satan, avaunt! Nay, take thine hour, 

Thou canst not daunt, 

Thou hast no power; 

Be welcome to thy nest, 

Though it be in my breast. 

Burrow amain; 

Dig like a mole; 

Fill every vein With half-burnt coal; 

Puff the keen dust about, 

And all to choke me out. 

Fill music’s ways 

With creaking cries, 

That no loud praise 

May climb the skies; 

And on my labouring chest 

Lay mountains of unrest. 

My slumber steep In dreams of haste, 

That only sleep, 

No rest, I taste- 

With stiflings, rimes of rote, 

And fingers on my throat. 

Satan, thy might I do defy; 

Live core of night I patient lie: 

A wind comes up the gray 

Will blow thee clean away. 

Christ’s angel, Death, 

All radiant white, 

With one cold breath 

Will scare thee quite, 

And give my lungs an air 

As fresh as answered prayer. 

So, Satan, do Thy worst with me 

Until the True Shall set me free, 

And end what he began, 

By making me a man.

Source: https://pickmeuppoetry.org/the-asthmatic-man-to-the-satan-that-binds-him-by-george-macdonald/

Is the US invading itself?

Would that be a good thing? What bastard or group of bastards is in power in the US? 

It is said that FDR was the first to use the phrase “he might be a bastard, but he’s our bastard” . We have a history of using “bastards” to advance our national interests - or the interests of the military industrial complex? God knows. 

We lived in Chile during the last years of Pinochet’s rule in Chile. You might find this interesting, or not. The consensus in Chile about the Pinochet regime was that he had to act at the time - in 1973. Otherwise Chile would become just another Soviet satellite. We were told as much by many Chilenos from many walks of life and social standing.I think that was true given the number of Soviet agents involved in Allende’s government. A Communist takeover of Chile was in the works. Remember. This was during the Cold War. 

So we intervened. Did we do the right thing? God knows. 

The form of popular protest called  cacerolazo began in Chile as housewives protested the Allende administration. People were not happy with the strikes, long lines to obtain food and other necessities, and the general chaos. People also saw that members of the Communist party had all they needed, even toilet paper. 

One friend in particular told us what she experienced one day. Whenever anyone saw a line, they would get in it - just in case it was a line to buy food or some other necessity. She saw a line one day and got in it. After awhile she figured out that it was for tires. She didn’t have a car, so she had a good laugh. Others told us of their experiences living under the Allende regime. 

Our CIA helped bring down Allende and supported the coup. During Pinochet’s regime, especially after a free market economic structure was put in place - one that lifted them out of the late 70s recession - , life was good during the 80s - unless a person opposed the regime. There were lots of terrorist attacks and the unrest and oppression was wearing on everyone’s psyche. 

After 17 years, the US decided that we wanted Pinochet out of power. He had been used to set up a globalist economy, and then he had to go. Chile was part of GHW Bush’s 1,000 points of light, New World Order. Chile has been one of our satellite countries since at least the 70s if not before. 

One time a vice admiral of the Chilean navy asked me what the US wanted. First the US wanted Allende out, then we supported Pinochet. Later our bastard had to go. 

Pinochet was our bastard. 

Thankfully there was a peaceful transition of power and Chile returned to its liberal democratic roots. 

Now the same kind of unrest we are seeing worldwide is happening in Chile once again. Antifa is real and active in Chile. 

Who’s bastard is Antifa? There are lots of possibilities. Who would benefit from Chile’s collapse? 

Now we have dueling bastards in DC. A major military force has been deployed to the city. All that for the  inauguration of a man, Joe Biden who won with 81+ million votes and is obviously wildly popular? Maybe. God knows. 

We may never know. That’s how DC works. 

Seems to me DC is sitting on a huge sewer that will someday back up and...it won’t be pretty. The crimes committed are real - all of them I suppose. God knows. 

God knows, and King Jesus will come and sort it all out someday. Meanwhile, each day we do what we need to do. In my case, that’s pretty mundane at this point in my life. 

Stay home. Stay safe. Pray. Wash dishes. Cook meals. Wash clothes. We shall see. 

Thankfully, most politicians do not keep their promises, as God knows already. 

There is a lot of censorship right now. Censorship tends to be self defeating. 

Life goes on. I do wonder if we have finally invaded ourselves, though. That would be a hoot. 

My Grandfather Was an Anarchist - Part 2

If Antifa is a fake anarchist movement, then what does a real Anarchist group look like?

It looks like the Wobblies, the old Industrial Workers of the World - which is still a thing. You can Google IWW and see what their goals are. It’s pretty radical. They were radicals. They put the “a” in “anarchy”. No rulers. None at all. 

My grandfather was a Wobbly. 

What was the focus of the Wobblies? It was all about unionism. It was also anti Communist, even though many of the ideas were also found in Communism. The Wobblies were fiercely libertarian, so Communism was viewed as being too rigid and silly.  The Wobblies were pro family as well.  

Why do I define the Wobblies as being pro family and strongly libertarian? That’s how working stiffs are. A man will sacrifice everything for his family. Family is everything. 

How do I know that? I lived it growing up. I grew up in a strong working stiff, union, children of the Wobbly movement kind of household. 

The book Wildmen, Wobblies, and Whistle Punks is a collection of articles by the author, Stewart Holbrook. This quote from one of those articles entitled The Last of the Wobblies sums up how I see the Wobbly movement - and how it was lived out in my family. It is about one of the Wobbly leaders, Arthur Boose. The articles are also called Holbrook’s lowbrow Northwest. That is the Northwest I grew up in and still live in. The academic world is not my world - obviously - nor do I want it to be. Here’s the quote. 

Judges have lectured and fined him. His meetings have been broken up with fire, with water, with stinkballs, eggs, brickbats, with shouting and rioting. 

Yet Old War Horse Boose, a name applied by admiring Wobblies many years ago, is still packing the rigging, as they say of active I.W.W. organizers, and he remains a cheerful and wholly unreconstructed Wobbly. ‘I’d prefer anarchism, ‘ he told me one day recently, ‘for that is the highest and finest form of civilization possible. But we aren’t ready for it yet. We aren’t even ready for the kind of world the I.W.W. wants. It takes time.’ He considers Communists both comical and hopelessly entangled in dogma. He would as soon think of voting the Republican as the Communist ticket 

1.

  

How do I know anything about Arthur Boose personally? My aunt was a friend of his. Several of his paintings hung in our family home. I grew up with him, but never met him. He was like a part of our family, though. 

So, my observations are not meant to be academic or even accurate. Others will disagree with me. That’s fine. Live and let live. 

It seems to me that Boose - and my family of Wobblies and Unionists - were not interested in controlling the lives of others. The movement was about freedom - freedom to live a decent life and to raise a family in peace. It was also about setting working stiffs free to work without fear of dying in unsafe conditions. It was about having a decent job and earning a decent living. It was also about providing a better future for one’s children. 

The problem is that anarchy tends to open the door to totalitarianism in an organization or in a society.

Does anarchy always lead to totalitarianism? I wonder. The union movement forgot it’s anarchistic roots and opted for a more totalitarian form of unionism. Possibly? 

My grandfather was a proud member of the I.W.W. My father and 3 of his brothers became members of the very powerful ILWU. Harry Bridges was my mother’s hero. The union now may be facing bankruptcy. 

Along the way, the ILWU along with pretty much all unions have provided slush funds for Democrat Party candidates - many of whom betrayed the unions when they got the power they desired. Workers’ rights now take a backseat to the will of our rulers in Washington D.C. and even state governments. Workers become cogs in the machine once again, serving whatever dumb ass “progressive” ideas the Democrats dream up and the Republicans go along with. 

Maybe it’s inevitable. Maybe progressivism is just another form of feudalism. Feudalism in one form or another seems to be the most natural form of human government in a fallen world. The Book of Judges with its emphasis on God being King and His Law the rule is an ideal. Fallen mankind can’t live up to that ideal. 

So why is Antifa a fake anarchistic group? They are being supported by establishment Democrats who want more power over people’s lives. They are anything but libertarian and anarchistic. Democrats of today act more like the silly, dogmatic Communists that Boose found objectionable. 

Sure. The I.W.W. was involved in violence. Boose later felt that was a mistake. 

Here is a quote from the Holbrook article.:

‘For every miner killed,’ Boose went on, ‘a mine cop must die!’

This kind of talk was a great mistake, Boose says today. 

2.

1. Wildmen, Wobblies & Whistlepunks: Stewart Holbrook's Lowbrow Northwest. (Edited and introduced by Brian Booth.) Oregon State University Press, 1992. p. 303

2. Ibid. p. 300

 

 

My Grandfather was an Anarchist - Part 1

I don’t understand today’s anarchists, especially the ones who hide behind the moniker “Antifa”. There’s something fake about them. Yes, many of the young people who get caught up in the Antifa movement are sincere. They really believe that they are fighting for a better world. Some of the issues they raise are righteous causes.

So, what is the fake part?

They are actors playing a part. Some of them are paid to do so.

Here are some of the actors who seem to be involved directly or indirectly with the anarchist group that calls itself Antifa.

1. There are the young college students who are mostly privileged white kids.

2. There are the university professors who have convinced students that Antifa is about opposing fascism - whatever that is.

3. Then there are those who finance the movement.

4. The Democrat Party enables and defends Antifa. Mayor Wheeler of Portland is the most obvious example of that.

Who else?

Those are the actors that are out in the open, more or less. Those who finance Antifa are more shadowy characters. George Soros is often mentioned. Possibly.

Antifa supporters argue that Antifa isn’t really a thing. It’s more like a slogan. If a person opposes fascism, then that makes them  antifascist. Of course Antifa is more than that. For example, Rose City Antifa is an identifiable group. They have done a lot of damage in Portland. Antifa has chapters all over the country - and the world.

Do they have memberships lists? Do they issue Antifa ID cards to members? Are they non profits? Not exactly.

Does that mean Antifa isn’t a real thing? Yet Antifa is real. Its supporters play games of semantics. Equivocation is a con, and Antifa engages in equivocation quite easily. If one calls it an organization, they respond by saying it’s not. If one calls it a group, same answer. Yet it’s real.

What’s fake about today’s Anarchists?

Everything. There’s nothing real about them. Yes, some of the causes are real.

What makes them fake, then?

I say they’re fake based on the actions of real anarchists of the past. I call my grandfather and Arthur Boose as witnesses. They were real anarchists, not at all like the privileged, mostly white anarchists of today.

Today’s Antifa reminds me of counterfeit money. It looks real. In a way it is real in that it serves a purpose. It can even be passed off as real money, but it’s fake.

A Few Thoughts on the Kavanaugh “thing"

1. The Democrat Party has turned the Senate confirmation process for Supreme Court justices into a circus. This is generally a fairly simple process. Most of the time, the Senate will grant the sitting president his wishes when it comes to the approval of justices.

2. Since Democrats fear that Kavanaugh will somehow be able to overturn Roe v. Wade, they believe that any and all forms of resistance are legitimate. Actually, abortion was not illegal in many states of the US at the time of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Even if it were overturned - which is not likely - the issue would return to the states. It would not criminalize abortion or even end it in the US.

3. What the Democrats are doing in the Senate Judiciary Committee - and have been doing for the last couple of weeks - is a kind of lynching of Judge Kavanaugh. Forget due process. Forget innocent until proven guilty. The man must be destroyed by any means necessary. I'm not sure how that will play in future elections.

4. Some women are advancing the slogan "Believe Women". Of course, a woman who claims to have been assaulted should be listened to. However, a woman should not be believed just because she is a woman.

Refer to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book a black man is accused of rape and the accuser is a white woman. The book was a powerful defense of things like the rule of law and due process for all.  We should not return to a time of lynchings and mob rule, which is what Democrats seem to be championing once again.

5. Democrats seem to believe that their antics will help them win in midterm elections. I try not to make predictions, especially about the future, but I wonder if their tactic will work. We shall see.

6. What Democrats really want is to impeach Donald Trump and then Mike Pence. Then they could somehow return to power. Why not just wait until the next election? I have no answer for that. There are some theories out there as to why the Dems are so desperate. Generally one party regroups after a loss and tries to win elections in the future. Generally, demonstrations and violence undermine a party's credibility. Maybe we don't live in general times.

Why do things like rule of law and due process have to be sacrificed on the altar of political power? We will regret it. Back to mob rule. Back to lynchings. And for what?

7.  What I fear for Dr. Ford is that after the Democrats are done using her, she will be left on her own. She will have to pick up the pieces of her life and move on. She will become another Cindy Sheehan.

Dr. Ford does not remember any details about the alleged assault. From what I have heard from women who have told me about their assaults, they remember every last detail. What does Dr. Ford think she is remembering?

8. If Republicans allow the Dems to win on this, they will probably lose as well. I understand that the Dems want to win by any means necessary. What I don't get is why Republicans don't push back harder.

We are not at war with one another. The political process is dirty; it is messy. That's all.

The mainstream media is controlled by the Democrat Party. So what? Let them say what they wish. Be strong! Don't let a good man be destroyed for nothing.

9. I was thinking this morning that the chaos we are seeing in this Senate circus is somehow another proof for the existence of God. Someone besides us has to be in charge. I don't know if we are more power-hungry and crazy than ever before or if we just know more about what is going on with those who believe themselves to be in control of the world.

10. I don't know if Kavanaugh will be a good justice or not, but the way the Democrats are trying to destroy him isn't right. It is a bad precedent. Mob rule can lead to all kinds of evil and ugly things. OTOH, maybe it's all just another day in the D.C. swamp and nothing to really be concerned about at the end of the day. The Democrats are furious, but why? They are not making any sense at all.

11. Meanwhile, life is good. The sun is shining. God's in His heaven. All's right with the world - somehow.

Better yet,

Psalm 115:3
Our God is in heaven
    and does whatever he wills.

and The Lord's Prayer

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Crucible

A Few Thoughts on Our Border Crisis

What is happening at the US - Mexico border is very complex. Here are a few points to consider.

1. The way the media have reported on this is shameful. They have politicized these desperate people in order to try to harm President Trump and gain support for the Democrat Party. 

By doing so, the "press" - though our 1st Amendment means much more than just the media when it addresses the subject of freedom of the press - has discredited itself. That is a serious issue, since we the people need to be given facts, and not propaganda in order to know what is happening and make informed decisions. 

2. One huge humanitarian problem involves human trafficking. Here is an excerpt from an email I got from a friend who lives in Edinburg, TX.

Greetings from the Rio Grande Valley! Things have quieted down considerably here since all the uproar a few months ago about the immigrant children being separated from heir parents, etc. Not that the situation has changed any, but the media have lost interest for the time being. If you ask my opinion about it, I’d have to say, “It’s very complicated!” A lot of these kids did not come with their parents, but with “coyotes” who were paid by the parents to bring them up here. Many have been molested, raped, their money stolen, etc. There is a huge human trafficking problem in this area, but the media have not focused in on that.

3.  Now the media have pretty much dropped this story, and have moved on to something else. Does the crisis no longer exist, does reporting on it no longer serve their purposes, or did they get bored?

4. There are some good articles out there about this crisis, but one has to dig deep to find them. Here is the best I have found if anyone who might be reading this would care to investigate further.

Fleeing to Mexico for Safety: The Perilous Journey for Migrant Women

This article has links to many other scholarly works. Of course, as the title says, this is about migrant women coming up from Central America into Mexico and on. Children face similar perils.  Some of them are trafficked and are never seen or heard from again.

5. Central America and Mexico are at war, that is, the drug war. What can we do about it? Well, we declared war on drugs, and drugs are winning. Why not declare a truce, a cease fire of sorts? Why not reexamine the subject of the legalization of drugs?

That is not a popular subject, but our insatiable desire for illegal drugs is destroying Central America and Mexico along with the US and, yes, even Canada. The poor suffer the most even here in the US.

These desperate children & families at our border are, to a large extent, victims of our lack of self control. This did not start with Trump or Obama or Bush, and so forth. This started with us. We are responsible for our actions and the effects they have on others. Drug and human traffickers are taking advantage of the most vulnerable.

Well, that's my opinion. I could share some things I have experienced and seen in my extensive travels throughout parts of Latin America. Maybe I will.

Oboe Update - and Harp

It's been awhile since I've given an oboe update.

Well, I now feel comfortable playing my oboe d'amore. I was supposed to play twice at church on Christmas Eve, but it wasn't meant to be. I had a tooth go bad on me which produced an abscess. Then the medicine I took made me as sick as a dog.

So, that day was a write-off.

Oh, and I bought a 26-string, lever harp last summer. I love it. It's a black Rees' Fullsicle Harp. Lovely, and it weighs only 4 pounds.

Go to the Head of the Class

I was given this little bookmark with these questions and answers. These are supposed to be from real tests given by teachers to their students. Pretty funny.

Q: What is the opposite of main?
A: New Hampshire
Q: Who was Joan of Arc?
A: She was Noah’s wife.
Q: Use etiquette in a sentence.
A: “I don’t know the meaning of etiquette.”
Q: Which state is a peninsula?
A: Peninsulvania.
Q: What percentage of the European population died following the outbreak of the plague?
A: One hundred percent, eventually. 

I can’t vouch for the veracity of the above, but here is one from a teacher our daughter had in high school. 

“Magellan circumcised the earth with an 80 foot clipper.” 

Here’s one more that a friend sent me. 

What is the Oboe, anyway? - 3

Here’s what a friend of mine said about my playing. We played in an orchestra together - he on electric guitar.

“When the oboe comes in it sends chills up my spine like the 1st time I heard Lenard Skinner play Tree Bird."

Best complement ever!

What is an Oboe, Anyway? - 2

 The oboe is principally a melodic instrument; it has a rustic character, full of tenderness, I would say even of shyness.
-Hector Berlioz from his Treatise on Orchestration


Berlioz also says this about the oboe.:

The sounds of the oboe are suitable for expressing simplicity, artless grace, gentle happiness, or the grief of a weak soul. It renders these admirably in cantabile passages.

And this...:

    It can also convey a degree of agitation, but one must be careful not to intensify this to cries of passion, to vehement outbursts of anger, threats or heroism: its thin, bitter-sweet tones then become feeble and altogether grotesque.

I think that Berlioz is on the right track with this. The oboe does sound best when used in the kinds of passages he describes. Here are some examples of this. 

Berlioz was pretty cruel about the oboe in other respects. I don’t necessarily agree with him here. 

[…] Quick runs, whether chromatic or diatonic, can be played fairly easily on the oboe, but the effect they produce is merely clumsy and almost ridiculous; the same is true of arpeggios.

So, what is an oboe according to Berlioz? Well, he didn’t have it confused with a clarinet or a carrot that’s for sure! 

What is the Oboe, Anyway? - 1

In the minds of many, the oboe is just a clarinet or a carrot.

After service was over on Sunday a few weeks back, one of the men in the congregation came up and told me how much he liked my clarinet playing.

I was playing my oboe d’amore.  I just said thank you. It has been my experience through the years that trying to explain the differences between a clarinet and an oboe is just too much information for a lot of people. So, thank you is my standard answer if someone says they like my playing.

The gentleman then went on to explain how some guy made a clarinet out of a carrot.

I lost count of how many of my friends have sent me that video.

I just say thank you for sharing the video. That’s interesting. The guy in the video is a very clever man, I tell them.

Some people see the d’amore and ask me what it is. I say it’s an oboe of love. That can be a conversation stopper, which is a mercy.

So, what is an oboe?  Hmmm.

I can tell you what it is not.

It is not a clarinet.

It is not a carrot.

Oboe d’Amore and general musical Update

Well, my playing has suffered a lot in the last 3 weeks because I’ve had this winter crud that won’t let me go. My daughter finally dragged me off to the doctor, so now I am on antibiotics. I still don’t have my voice back. I still have a sore throat. I still have trouble breathing.

The breathing is better, though, so maybe tomorrow I can do some playing on my d’amore. At the doctor’s office, I could hit 200 on the breathing meter thingy. Not so good. On the third try I got to about 300 - almost normal - but it hurt my lungs. Tonight I hit 300 on the first try, so that’s a good sign.  I just hit over 350, so things are definitely looking up!

To make matters worse, I had two new crowns installed on Wednesday. It has take a few days for my mouth to settle down. So, oh, woe is me!  All of these things affect my musical progress. At least they are pretty good excuses. Maybe giving my mea culpa here on my blog will help me get off dead center musically speaking and back into doing some playing!

I have been playing it for worship team, and that is a lot of fun for me. There are no oboe d’amore parts for praise and worship music. In fact, there are no parts at all, just a lead sheet with words and chords.

I don’t really need the lead sheet anyway, or the chords since the progressions are really simple. I do need to know what key we’re in, but that’s pretty much it.

From there I just improvise. Sometimes I play parts of the melody. Other times I play a harmony part or a little counter melody. Sometimes I just play sustained tones, adding some oboe color to the ensemble.

I keep asking for a mike, since sometimes I can’t hear myself all that well. It is especially hard to hear when I am in the middle of the stage between the drums and electric guitar on my left, and the keyboard and bass on my right. I feel like I’m playing inside a paper bag!

So, I got myself moved to the end of the stage farthest from the drums. Now I can hear everyone and try to fit my part into the sound of the group. I love the drums and electric guitar, but somehow my sound just gets absorbed into their  sound if I am too close to them. Since I am not playing from music, but just by ear, I really do need to hear what I am playing!

The sound guys - and my daughter - tell me I cut through just fine and don’t really need a mike. In fact, she told me that she could hear me all the way down the hall, outside the sanctuary. Hmmm. She’s my best or worst critic!  The d’amore is pretty powerful, I grant them that.

People tell me it sounds good. Our director likes it, so that’s good. A person does not want to be on the outs with the director. He is a young guy, but has had excellent musical training and knows his stuff.

Of course, for me this is a different kind of experience - to play on a worship team. It’s fun for me, and something new and different. I’ve learned a lot about improvisation and playing by ear. I do have to think ahead some. Improvisation takes some planning and thought.

Besides that, I purchased the A Major concerto for oboe d’amore by Bach. It’s really a transposition of one of his works for  harpsichord. It’s such a nice piece of music and quite playable. It does require air, though.

I also got the Oboe I part for the Mass in b minor by Bach, so I get to play along with that. I just ordered part II as well.

Oh, and my husband confiscated one of my gig bags for his clarinet. I have one for my d’amore and HAD another one for my regular oboe. So, I purchased a new oboe case. It’s pretty sweet, with room for all my oboe junk as well as printed music.

I quit making reeds years ago. I wasn’t all that good at it in the first place, so I just gave it up when ready made reeds became more available. I can even get ones that are unfinished and finish them off to my liking.

So, I guess that’s it on the musical update.

Music is so good for the soul and for one’s health - as long as the air holds out!

An Oboe Merry Christmas!

Last Sunday I debuted the oboe d'Amore at church on worship team and for communion.

Our team was short an electric bass, an electric guitar, and vocalist because of  out of town family commitments. So, the team members included myself on d'amore, Ben on the grand piano, Janet on her bass viol, and Josh on drums. It was more acoustic sounding, except that we were miked.

We got a lot of good complements, and people even clapped several times. The songs were all traditional Christmas hymns with a more contemporary setting. I improvise - that is make up - my parts with an emphasis on sustained tones with some embellishments and a few fancy noodly stuff thrown in. Fun. I also throw in the melody at times.

Everything is recorded, so in awhile, Ben will give me a recording of everything I have played in the last couple of months. Then I will see if it really sounded as good as we all felt it sounded!  Reality check.

My daughter said it sounded good - which is high praise coming from her! She's pretty picky. She also noticed that I was having a little trouble with breathing, which no one else noticed. I was. I had to use my asthma inhaler just before we played, and my lungs hurt just a wee bit. While my breathing on the d'amore is much more comfortable than it was a couple of months ago when I started playing her, there is still some discomfort.

So, I'm going to have to finally admit that my asthma is a bigger problem for me than what I want to face up to. Off to the doc. in the new year. I'm so much better than I was even a year ago - actually Sept. of 2013 was the last time I had bronchitis. That is a long stretch for me!  Maybe I can make it to be never having bronchitis again, let alone the flu or pneumonia!  Music must have healing properties at least to the extent that playing a wind instrument makes a person want to have more air!  It motivates me to get the help I need so I can keep blowing for many more years. :-)

My husband and I also did communion music. We played Of the Father's Love Begotten and Thou Who Wast Rich. Thou... uses the French melody Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agréable.


Here's something I wrote about the hymn Thou Who Wast Rich. from last year.   When I wrote this blog post last year, I had just returned from Honduras a few weeks before. My pastor friend and his family were really trying to change the church culture in the area where he lived. The prosperity Gospel with its emphasis on giving to wealthy preachers was something he abhored. In fact, in his church, he didn't even talk about tithing!  His people were poor, so how could he ask them to give up what they themselves needed to live on?  He and his wife were the ones being generous and encouraging true generosity, not giving in order to become rich or to make others rich.

It is something I had been thinking about a lot as well. So, this hymn expresses a lot of what I believe to be who Christ is and then who we are expected to be as followers of Christ - generous and giving, not greedy and taking. I want to live that way, myself. Christmas is a good time to remember Christ's sacrifice and the sacrifices we are to give in His name.

 It is one of my favorite Christmas hymns, or maybe one of my favorite hymns of all kinds.

Oboe True Confessions

Okay, so I did a newby kind of really embarassing thing last Saturday. It was something that I have told students, even, to never do. It's sick 'em in oboe cleaning.

You see, the top of the upper joint of the oboe is quite narrow. You have to run a kind of thin silk swab that is sown onto a strong string with a weight at the end through the bore of the instrument. It's a bit tricky, since if you're not careful or if the swab is too thick, it will get stuck.

The oboe bore is conical shaped. Anyway, I've never gotten a swab stuck. Ever. Until last Saturday.

It was really stuck. I had pulled really, really hard to get it through. Oh, my!  Did I ever feel dumb.

I hadn't realized that the bore of the oboe d'Amore was even smaller at the very top than the regular oboe. The swab I use for my oboe is too large for the d'Amore. Duh!

So, on Monday I went into the local music store, and rather sheepishly confessed my transgression. The technician was in and was able to quickly get the piece of swab out. He told me that it was really jammed in there.

I knew that already. Anyway, d'Amore back in service. After Christmas, I'll take her in for a tune up. It's now broken in.  He'll check it all over to make any adjustments that may be needed.  Some of the notes aren't quite right pitch and response wise.  It can't all be me or the reeds. Honestly, it can't!

Sunday I hope to debut the instrument for communion music at our church. We shall see. I'll play my regular oboe for worship as well.

I love this.

Oboe D'Amore Update

Something very exciting arrived today. Well, I suppose not everyone would find it all that exciting, but I do. It's this!

Da L'opera Omnia Di J. S. Bach (Tuttii "Soli-duetti-trii E Passi Tecnici" Per Oboe, Oboe D'amore, Oboe Da Caccia, Taille (II Volume))

Very cool.  It's from Milan. This volume has oboe, oboe d'Amore, and English Horn parts to the Christmas Oratorio, the Easter Oratorio, and a bunch of other things. Fun. 

Bach was very kind to the oboe, all of them.

Oboe Update

Well, I did a crazy thing last month. I purchased an oboe d'Amore.

What do I want to do with it? Well, try to tame it in the first place. There's the breathing issue and the reed issue and the fingers issue and all that.

Breathing:
I suffer from asthma, so a few years ago when I purchased a new oboe, I needed one that was free blowing and reeds that were kind of soft. Reed making was never my favorite thing to do, so I talked to a fellow oboe player who was also trying to return to the instrument. She was suffering from lyme disease. Because of her physical limitations, she had started to use ready made reeds and had purchased an oboe that was easier to play than her Loree from when she was actively playing.

I thought that was a great idea, given the amount of time as well as the amount of money I had to invest in reeds. Reedmaking takes about half of an oboe players time, and I wanted to just play and not whittle so much. I still have to adjust the reeds, but that's not so bad.


The Fox 300 I purchased is an asthmatic's dream oboe. Yes, you lose some projection and richness,  but it sounds very nice. It has all the bells and whistles of any professional oboe. Also, I don't have to worry about it cracking, like my old oboe did.

Now the d'Amore is a different animal, but not too different. My asthma is much better than it was a few years ago. Our little Cocker Spaniel, Sam, has been gone about 3 years, now. Our parakeets died a year or so ago. So, we are pet free. They were our daughter's pets, but all parents know how that goes. I made some other changes in bedding and stuff like that, and it has made a huge difference.

So, I thought maybe I could fill up a larger oboe made of Grenadilla. Man, I have to work hard to build up stamina - which is a good thing. It's coming along, but that part surprised me. I never had problems with the English Horn when I played it in college, but that was how long ago, now?

This is very good for me in so many ways.

Reeds
I may have to break down and start making my own.  The reeds I purchased for the d'Amore are not very well made. I have to practically remake them anyway. We shall see.

Of course, for an oboe player, it's always the reed, the reed, the reed... :-)  What a bunch of whiners we are!


Fingers
Stubborn little things. They have to learn new positions, but not new fingerings. Old dogs always have trouble learning new tricks, but my sisu will prevail.

Sisu is what makes Finns sit in a hot sauna and then go jump in a frozen lake. So, it makes us do crazy things.

"Sisu is a Finnish word generally meaning determination, bravery, and resilience."
- Wikkipedia


My goal with all of this?  Okay, so now comes the really weird part. I want to play Gospel blues oboe. My muse is Mahalia Jackson. 

Also, I have been playing my regular oboe in the worship team at our church. I love that, since I get to improvise my own parts. It's getting so I don't really need the lead sheet, so I am slowly weaning myself away from the printed page. Of course, the worship songs are straight, so it is easier for me to get into it.

The blues are a different genre, of course. We shall see. I'm trying to record something every day on Sound Cloud. That keeps me motivated. Also, I can check my progress. 

Another thing I want to do is learn the d'Amore parts to Bach's works. A book is coming in the mail and is supposed to arrive on Christmas Eve. 

Never too late to dream new dreams and try new things. You never know where they may lead. 

Oboe

Okay, so my oboe and I have kind of an off again, on again relationship - a bit like a rocky love affair. Right now it's on.


We have a few gigs coming up - 1,) the wedding of the sister of our son-in-law; 2.) a Christmas program at a large church in the neighboring town. That involves a real orchestra my husband and I get to play in. Rehearsals start some time this month. ; 3.) some communion music for our church; 4.) and I get to play my oboe in the worship band at church - which is a bit odd, since I play along with keyboard, drum, vocalists, keyboard, and electric guitars. I call it a rock band, but my daughter reminds me it just worship music. No matter. I'm very excited - too excited, actually - about being able to play my oboe in a rock band. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Hey, if it involves drums and electric guitars, it has to be a rock band, right?


I'm also thinking of calling my old jazz teacher for some lessons. Well, actually he was our daughter's tenor sax teacher when she was in high school, and I took about a month's worth of lessons from him. He even had me play in one of his recitals. So, I learned K.C. Blues out of the Charlie Parker Omnibook and played it. Of course, his other students were all kids, but hey!  He told me it sounded hip - and then we giggled. He even wanted to learn oboe himself, since he thought it was well-suited for jazz.

I got my oboe overhauled. I got new reeds. I got my Charlie Parker Omnibook. I also got my Bach b Minor Mass and pretend that the continuo is an electric bass guitar.  I'm gonna' give Dave a call. Well, at least I'll have fun with this. It's good to try new things.

Maybe I'll get an English Horn. It might be better suited to jazz, even.

My daughter mocks me and is not impressed.  Meh.

Glory - 4

Genesis 1:1-5

Genesis 1

The Creation of the World

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Technically I guess this is not the first manifestation of God's glory, but maybe it is the first. 

God's Spirit is present, hovering over the face of the waters.

The word "kabod" or "glory" when used of God has to do with His abiding presence.  His glory has to do with His great great and weighty reputation and importance.

Light is shiny, as is the Shekinah glory of God.  Hmm.

So, since this post contains my thinking on the subject of "glory", I 'm going to say that this is the Bible's first mention of God's glory.  The problem is that the word "glory" is not in the text, but the concept is certainly there.

God's Word begins with the light of His glory shown on the face of the deep.

No, light is not God, but it is used over and over again as a symbol of God's work and presence.  Since God is spirit, having no physical body, He both creates and then uses physical things to show us what He is like.

This statement is true.:

1 John 1:5

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

In the context of 1 John 1, the Apostle is talking about God's sinless moral character.  It is about His holiness in contrast to our sinfulness.  Darkness is used as a symbol of sin, and light as a symbol of sinlessness. 

Some are tempted to turn the phrase "God is light"  around, but that is not correct grammatically in the Greek.  

Some also try to turn around the phrase "God is love", saying that "Love is God" in the same way.  That was a popular interpretation of the Hippies, as you can well imagine.  One of God's attributes is love, as in He is loving.  We dare not deify love itself, as many pagan religions do.

1 John 4:8

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The first verses of the Bible found in Genesis 1  remind me of 2 Corinthians 4:6.  This verse supports the idea that the Bible begins with a manifestation of the glory of God.

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Here is part of Matthew Henry's commentary on Genesis 1:3-5

"We have here a further account of the first day’s work, in which observe, 1. That the first of all visible beings which God created was light; not that by it he himself might see to work (for the darkness and light are both alike to him), but that by it we might see his works and his glory in them, and might work our works while it is day. "

I love this Matthew Henry quote as well.:

"This was not only the first day of the world, but the first day of the week. I observe it to the honour of that day, because the new world began on the first day of the week likewise, in the resurrection of Christ, as the light of the world, early in the morning. In him the day-spring from on high has visited the world; and happy are we, for ever happy, if that day-star arise in our hearts."

Glory - 3

Okay, this is pretty complex, since God's glory has to do with His abiding presence as well as His fame, importance, and reputation. The word "Shekinah" is added to the word "glory" when it means God's presence, or God's manifest presence.  The term "Shekinah Glory" does not appear in the Bible, but the concept does.  I'll talk about that later.

There are some groups who want to see the Shekinah Glory as it appeared in Old Testament times.  They go through  weird rituals to try to get the Shekinah to appear.  I think that is very odd, and very occultic.  Nowhere in the Bible are we told to seek such an outward manifestation of God's presence.  We are to seek Him spiritually from the heart.

So, I am not trying to encourage people to look for strange manifestations.  My idea is to try to show, in my own inadequate way, how the Shekinah Glory of the Old Testament is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us.  Also, Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit.   Therefore, we should not destroy that temple, but should glorify God with our bodies. Here is the entry from the Reformation Study Bible about that.

"3:16 God’s temple. God signified His presence in the temple by filling it with the cloud of His glory (1 Kin. 8:10,11). Now He lives in His people by filling them with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s focus here is on God’s people as a corporate whole; in 6:19 the emphasis shifts to the individual Christian’s body."

That is generally understood to mean that all we do, say, and think should be governed by God.  We are supposed to live to glorify God and show His presence in our lives by how we conduct ourselves in the world.

More later, but here are some Scriptures I'm thinking about in relation to God's abiding presence.

Matthew 1

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ[e] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwillingto put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

cf. Isaiah 7:14

I Corinthians 3:16-17

16 Do you not know that you[a] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

English Standard Version (ESV)

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin[a] a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.