TCATS #256 - In the Moment

I've never been very good at living in the moment. Either I'm looking ahead at the next thing planned or the next event to happen, or I'm looking at the past often wishing I had done things differently. Ironically, some of those past regrets have to do with not taking advantage of the present!

To add to these "living in the moment" thoughts, I'm reminded of what my wife brought up the other day about happiness. Happiness is not the absence of hard things. It's not being free from trials. But rather it's recognizing who you are, who you're trying to become, and recognizing the many, many blessings you have that you can enjoy along the way--and that give you strength to follow the perfect and unique path that a loving Heavenly Father has put you on.

Putting these two thoughts together--living in the moment and recognizing all of your blessings--go hand in hand I believe. After all, how can you recognize blessings and who you are becoming if you aren't taking the opportunity to see and experience what's going on right now? 

With all those things in my head and in my heart, I wanted to live in the moment today, starting with my service in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. I enjoyed the conversations in my carpool as we traveled to Salt Lake, and, though not a big fan of snow, noticed how beautiful it was coming down from the sky and frosting over the trees and ground. I looked at each of my carpool friends and was thankful for each of their friendly smiles, their testimonies, and how they, and other choice friends, make this experience so much fun each week. Once in the conference center, I looked around and was thankful for all those who had decorated the place. Noticing the hundreds of little lights on the trees, I thought about how each one of those lights represents not only blessings in my life--but the many people in my life too. As we sang the songs for today's program, instead of thinking of what song was coming next, or our performance later that day, or past mistakes I had made in singing them, I focused on the fact that these were beautiful songs with lyrics that helped me feel the Christmas spirit--now. I looked around at the good brethren beside me, putting my arm around one and being thankful for friendship and for voices that keep my on track. Later at church, with my arm around my beautiful wife and the other arm around my youngest son, I tried to savor that very moment of being next to them and thinking about all they meant to me. Before hurrying out of the church to get back to the Conference Center, I lingered at the door taking in the scene of the people around me, grateful for my congregational family.

As I continued my "in the moment" quest for the rest of the day, it truly made all the difference. And as we sang songs for the world tonight at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, singing in the moment (instead of looking ahead to what was next in my life) and treasuring the lyrics and the feelings was joyous. A lyric from a song we had sung earlier today came to mind: "Tune your heart to hear His music". I thought how perfectly that fit in with the theme of taking advantage of the moment. THE MUSIC OF GOD IS GOING ON, NOW, ALL AROUND US. As we tune our hearts, we can capture, utilize, and recognize the immediate blessings and opportunities that are ours.

While learning from the past, and preparing for the future are certainly important, I invite you to also enjoy the now. It's a pretty cool place to be.

Until next time, God be with you. 

PS: Was grateful for the "revised" format of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Not only was there nearly double the music than in years past, but several of the talks themselves referenced the songs we sang. A perfect tapestry! And President Nelson himself was the one who requested we end with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.  

Singing For Unto Us a Child is Born, on today's MSW broadcast

First Presidency Devotional tonight

 

TCATS #255 - Agnosco

So this past Monday, I woke up with barely a voice that was even worse by Tuesday. So I texted my carpool friends (since Tuesday night was our weekly rehearsal due to the holiday on Thursday) and told them the news and that I'd be driving in separately so as to not infect them with whatever had hijacked my vocal abilities. Once at the Tabernacle, I quickly grabbed my folders and made it up to the balcony to do my observing from. As I've mentioned before, choir members can get observing credit (vs participation credit) which won't count as an absence (though observing is worth 1 point, while full participation is worth 2 points). 

A few of my friends waved from the loft--which I appreciated. Sitting on the benches in the balcony is rather lonely, in my opinion. I've heard some say they actually enjoy the "break" from participating and enjoy just spreading out and taking in the listening experience. But...that's not me. I'd rather sing any day, any time.

Thankfully, the voice came back on Saturday and by Sunday, I was ready to go again. While I wasn't able to do the broadcast, I was able to do the extra rehearsal afterwards for Christmas music. And today, for those 90 minutes, we used the time to do a recording of many Christmas pieces we need to memorize for the upcoming concert. The recordings will definitely be useful in the days ahead as we learn and master the notes to those songs. 

My smile moment of the day came when I was watching people come into the Tabernacle. A mom and her two sons made their way up to the balcony section that was right next to the one I was sitting in. It was fun to see their faces. Their eyes were big, and they had this awe in their countenances while looking around and hearing the orchestra and choir. The mom was pointing at the large organ pipes and the domed ceiling and whispering to her sons a bunch of other information related to the building and/or event they were being a part of. I don't think the mom stopped smiling during the whole 2-3 minutes that I sat there watching the scene. It all reinforced to me (yet again) that I should do my best not to take any of this weekly experience for granted. 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #254 - Of Being Thankful

It was our special Thanksgiving Day broadcast this morning and the six songs we sang were a near perfect fit for the occasion:

Saints Bound for Heaven: thanking God for delivering faithful followers of him, through the ages
For the Beauty of the Earth: giving thanks for this beautiful world we live in. Yes, it's filled will lots of people who don't do very good things, and in some cases, do terribly awful things. But, it's also filled with really good people who build, encourage, and uplift.
Now Thank We All Our God: Praising God for all He's given us
Over the River & Through the Woods: lighthearted, yes. But Thanksgiving is largely centered on getting together with family and loved ones (and in some cases, going to "grandmother's house"). Is there any better company to be in when you're expressing thanks? Nope.
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep: what could give us a better sense of gratitude than to actually think about all the blessings we have?
Thou Gracious God Whose Mercy Lends: I'll let the lyrics speak for themselves. "We thank thee, Father; let thy grace our loving circle still embrace, thy mercy shed its heavenly store, thy peace be with us evermore."

I'm thankful for being a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. I look forward to singing with my fellow brothers and sisters every week. I'm thankful for the songs we sing, for the people I have befriended and love, for the directors and staff who work so hard, and for the many millions of people who listen to the Choir and support them. I'm also thankful for my wife and family who, week in, and week out, continue to support me in this calling & opportunity. I'm often asked the question how long I'll stay in the Choir. My reply is always the same: I don't know. :)  But God willing, I'll stay as long as He will have me. Like so much in our lives, it's in His hands.

Until next time, God be with you.

PS: It was pretty cool to see the smile on Ryan Murphy's face today after he conducted the entire program and realized it went as well as he had hoped. 

TCATS #253 - Semper Paratus

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, along with the Bells on Temple Square, presented a special Music and the Spoken Word today to honor veterans everywhere. It turned out to be a very nice and inspirational program filled with patriotic music, a really great organ number, a touching piece by the bells, and a message about the history of Veterans Day. Did you know that today marked the 100th anniversary of the inception of Veterans Day (or Armistice Day as it was called originally)?  From the spoken word today: "In recognition of this day of peace and hope, United States President Woodrow Wilson designated November 11 as Armistice Day, which would later be renamed Veterans Day. 'To us in America,' he declared, 'the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in their country’s service and with gratitude for the victory.'”

To be clear, I'm very grateful for all who have served, and are serving in the military, who protect and watch over our country. They often spend A LOT of time away from their families, and many pay a great cost both physically and mentally. That said, I found myself struggling today to be as enthusiastic as I felt I should be. I felt conflicted. What kind of country, which has been protected by our armed forces, do we now live in? Is "the United States of America" even accurate anymore? I feel like we're more divided now than we've ever been. Our constitution remains in force, but is it honored, respected, and followed as originally intended?

This is not a blog about government or politics or even our country, so I won't remain on those topics. Suffice it to say, I've become very discouraged when it comes to anything related to such topics. And each time I sing about our great country, that discouragement--in some form or another--surfaces.

So, today as I sang and participated, I tried to focus on just being thankful for people who have sacrificed much. And to optimistically hope for more unification rather than division.

An extra rehearsal followed the broadcast and we continued marching forward in learning Christmas songs for the upcoming concert. As I was walking to the parking garage afterwards, I heard some choir members behind me wondering what kind of voice Kristin Chenowith will bring with her to the concerts. It made me smile because I just can't picture her singing "Angels from the Realms of Glory" with the singing style she used for songs like "Popular" from Wicked! But I guess we'll see, won't we.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #252 - Love Rules

Two things I wanted to mention for today's post...

First, most Spoken Word messages, which are a part of Music & the Spoken Word each week, are prepared weeks in advance. Bro. Lloyd Newell usually pre-records them weeks in advance, as well. Music is chosen to help enhance the theme of the spoken word message--though not all of the music selected is for that purpose. Today, however, given the terrible tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue this past week, it was decided that the spoken word be partially rewritten just a few days ago, both out of respect and out of love for the families and friends of the victims. Of course, the message is not just for them, but for everyone--a message of working harder to come together as brothers and sisters and of showing more love and respect. 

Hate crimes are terrible, in and of themselves. But the way this country is so bitterly divided, on just about everything, is a tragedy as well. The music and spoken word today was presented in an effort to remind all of us that we're all in this journey of life together and love will always prevail. Here are a few excerpts from today's message:

But there’s something else that happens in the wake of horrible events, something that sparks hope: In the process of mourning with those who mourn, we remember that we share a common humanity, a brotherhood, sisterhood. We realize that although we look, believe, and think differently, we share this small space in the universe, and we need each other. When one group or individual suffers, we all do. So we help one another through difficulties and trials, because that’s the only way we can move forward in the face of suffering.

We’re truly in this together. We need voices of peace. We need hearts of love. We need souls that respect our shared humanity—who generate light instead of heat. In other words, we need each other. In the end, hate will not win; goodness will. Ultimately, evil does not rule the day; love does—and always will. Voices of peace and hearts of love are never alone.  

I certainly have days when I think love won't prevail. But my hope and my faith demand better thinking of me. And when I truly look at the bigger picture, there are so many good people doing so man good things. That reality keeps the other, more dismal reality, at bay.

Second, while I enjoyed singing several songs today, one in particular was The Impossible Dream. Not only are the words inspiring ("...march into hell for a heavenly cause!"), but a good friend of mine who just joined the choir this year has had it on his bucket list to sing this song with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. And today his bucket list was fulfilled! It was fun to feed off of his excitement and to see how happy he was.

That's about it. Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #251 - Settled Rest

As you know, life can just be really hard sometimes. And this past week was one of those weeks. Even some aspects of choir were hard. But through it all, I'm grateful for the people who care about me and I'm always thankful for edifying and uplifting music because it does have a significant effect on healing from hardships and feeling spiritually fed. 

My favorite hymn we sang today was "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need".The lyrics that touched me the most are bolded.

My Shepherd will supply my need;
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed
Beside the living stream.

He brings my wand’ring spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace. 

There would I find a settled rest
While others go and come,
No more a stranger or a guest,
But like a child at home. 

I'm thankful for a kind Heavenly Father and a merciful Savior who are extremely patient and who are anxious to bless and help. Even when there's a particular blessing I want that doesn't seem to come, there are plenty of other blessings in my life that testify of God's love and grace. 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #250 - Using Gifts

My deepest sympathies for all of you who tried to get tickets for the Christmas Concert this year, but were met with all sorts of roadblocks and frustrations. Once again, the servers handling the ticket requests were unable to process all of those requests efficiently and effectively, leaving many of you with a most unpleasant experience. The word is that the Church will be fixing that problem for next year's ticket distribution experience. But I know that doesn't help with the fact that you didn't get any this year. I hope that you'll consider going early to get in the stand-by line because in all of my years doing Christmas concerts (5 now), MANY of those in that line actually do get in.

Today I was in an observer seat since I wasn't able to make it to Thursday night's rehearsal. Our family has a foreign exchange student living with us for three weeks and since she's a soccer fan, I took her and my other kids to a REAL soccer game at Rio Tinto stadium Thursday evening. A good time was had by all and I'm glad we were able to go. But, I do always miss choir when I don't go, and miss the people I've become good friends with there.

After a great broadcast, we launched into extra rehearsal #1 of 8, for the Christmas concert. We worked on three or four pieces, as well as a couple of songs for next week's broadcast. I don't want to give away all of the songs we'll be singing at this year's concert because everyone loves a surprise, right? But I do want to mention just one...Carol of the Drum. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs. I just love the narrative of this young man who doesn't feel like he has any gift to give to baby Jesus--only to to discover that the talent he has of playing the drums is a perfectly acceptable gift. Arguably the best gift. I tear up every time! I always think about the gifts I have and if I recognize them--and use them for the benefit of others. 

How are you using YOUR gifts?

Until next time, God be with you.