Advent 1 - Anticipation!

Each year, during this busy season of Advent and Christmas, I try to attend one event where I can sit, listen, and sing unencumbered by the responsibilities of playing. You, my reader, can appreciate that as a church musician, I don't get such an opportunity all that often. For many years I attended the Advent Lessons and Carols service at All Saints Anglican here in Winnipeg. They had (it was said) the best men and boys choir in all of western Canada. Don Hadfield was the organist then, and I looked forward each year to hearing him play. His prelude was always the same: various settings of "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Come, Saviour of the heathen), each one building in intensity. This was followed by Brahms' setting of "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" (Lo, how a rose e'er blooming). The postlude was Bach's great Toccata in F major (still on my learn-it-someday list). Those days sadly came to an end but several of those choir members are still very active and involved in Winnipeg's music scene in different ways.

One of these is Blair Anderson who is now the Organist/Choir Director at St. Luke's Anglican and yesterday I went to the Advent and Lessons there. It would have been easy to stay home. I'd already been out Friday and Saturday nights. I like to nap Sunday afternoons. It was Grey Cup Sunday and I'd probably miss the first part of the game on TV. In spite of all that, I felt compelled to go. Parking in the older part of town is often a challenge; yesterday was no exception. Two churches in two blocks, both with something going on - you get the picture. I finally got a spot, close to the church, parked the car, and got out. As I scurried across the street, I realized how excited I felt to go to worship! The anticipation of God's presence through music and scripture was almost overwhelming. I have found before that when I begin worship by anticipating that I will hear from God, it almost always happens. I was not disappointed:

Haggai 2:6-7
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
"In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come,
and I will fill this house with glory, "
says the Lord Almighty.

In the service of the King

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday in the church year. I heard a very good, thought provoking sermon titled "Active in the service of the King". This title, as well as thoughts brought out in the message made me think of an old song I haven't heard for years. Of course, I had to look it up. Here are the words of verse and the refrain:

I am happy in the service of the King.
I am happy, O so happy!
I have peace and joy that nothing else can bring,
In the service of the King.

Refrain

In the service of the King
Every talent I will bring.
I have peace and joy and blessing
In the service of the King.

Cyberhymnal indicates that these words were written in 1912 by Alfred H. Ackley and there are days when I quite agree with Ackley: I have peace and joy and blessing as I serve my heavenly King to the best of my ability.

But I also think there are days when serving doesn't bring that much joy. Rather it brings headaches, planning nightmares, logistical diplomacy to the nth degree. Maybe we have to work through those parts to get to the blessings.

Thoughts my faithful readers?

A long absence explained

Anyone who is a regular visitor to my blog will have noticed the very lengthy gap between my post in June and the previous post in October. Last spring, it was my intention to record a second CD in July and I did, in fact, have studio time booked to do just that. But in mid-June plans suddenly changed. My family had been living in a side by side (duplex) home for over 12 years and through most of that time, we had really good neighbours. We got along well, respected each other's noise tolerance levels and had a friendly relationship. Two years ago that changed and the noise level became a point of unresolvable tension. My breaking point came with a confrontation that made me realize 'compromise' was not in their vocabulary.

We had planned to move in 2012 and had been keeping an eye on the housing market for awhile, just to know what was out there. Suddenly, our efforts were put into high gear and within 10 weeks we looked, bought, sold and moved. (A note to readers not in my part of the world: it is a seller's market where we live. We bought 1st knowing we would have no trouble selling afterwards; we lived near the U of Manitoba and affordable housing is hard to find.)

Right from the day of our decision, I began to pray that God would lead us to the right home for us. The song that kept coming to me was Don Moen's "God will make a way where there seems to be no way." It became a litany of sorts to get me through a process I knew would be stressful and tedious. The first day we looked at homes, we saw one we really liked. We made an offer and knew we were not the only ones offering so were not really surprised when we didn't get the house. Two days after closing, our agent called us. "You won't believe what happened! The buyer's financing fell through. The house is yours if you want it." Yes! We matched the previously accepted offer and that house is now our home. The amazing thing is that we were not the second offer in line - we were the fifth! God made a way where there seemed to be no way!

Some of the lovely walking paths in the park directly behind our new home.