Good to Be Alive

I really needed this video today. I truly have been given so many blessings in my life, and I am so grateful for them all!

Happy Friday, friends!

Love,
Mama Rachel

Holding on to Hope

I think most bloggers would agree with me that it is not easy to blog when we are going through tough times.

That's how I feel, anyway.

I am normally obnoxiously candid and transparent on my blog. But my candor in real life has recently really bit me. Hard. And I am still reeling from the trouble and heartache it's created.

So, even though I HATE ambiguity, I just can't be more explicit about what's going on in my life right now.

However, I DO know that Jesus loves me. And I know that joy WILL come again. And I have HOPE in happier tomorrows, all because of Christ and His all-encompassing Atonement.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me.
Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me, He was crucified.
That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled, and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

Love, Mama Rachel

Still, Still, Still

After a long, noisy day running here and there, I just need to sit for a brief moment and take a deep breath.

I'd like take time to share some of my favorite, peaceful Christmas music with you. I hope you enjoy the peace it brings. (I know I will!)

In the Bleak Midwinter

I love to listen to vocalists that have a clear, bright tone. As a singer myself, (though nowhere near the class of the vocalists here!) I really appreciate angelic-like voices! The two ladies in these following videos are my FAVORITES. Oh, I can't get enough of listening to them!

The Wexford Carol

Silent Night (Oiche Chiuin)

I adore music from "the old country." I have lots of English, Welsh, and Scottish blood in me, and whenever I hear a folk tune from "across the pond," I get chills. It just sounds so familiar!



{I know I need to do something about being an "Anglophile," but I'm pretty sure than only a visit to the U.K. will ever cure me... Someday...}

O Come, Emmanuel

And last, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite Christmas Carols played by one of my favorite musical groups, accompanying one of the most beautiful reenactments of the Christmas story I've ever seen.



Hosannah!!! I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, with a lovely moment or two of quiet and peace to ponder on the true reason we celebrate this time of year.

Love, Mama Rachel

Flashes of Inspiration-- Part 2: UPDATE

"Well, I did it! I have finally finished arranging the hymn I was working on, and it feels great! (Except for the fact that my house is mess because of all the time I've spent working on my music!) We'll see how people react when it is performed tonight at my ward's Relief Society Enrichment Night."

"It's an arrangement of 'As Sisters in Zion' using three part women's vocals, with violin and piano accompanying. I'll update this post later tonight!"

UPDATE:

I'm late. Oops...

I recieved many compliments on the song, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. However, I can also now recognize where it needs improvement, and I hope to tackle the rough spots soon. The harmony was not as straightforward as it should have been, and the vocalization did not have the levels of interest I had hoped it would. Despite the problems, I am grateful for the inspiration I feel truly came from the Lord. Someday the piece will live up to its potential!

I have been pondering lately about the tendency I have to expect things to be finished and "good enough" the first time I try something. For example, I have a cousin who once got me really excited about rubberstamping and scrapbooking. She and I would create cards and page layouts, but when I was ready to finish, she would continue on, tweaking and changing things until she felt it was "just right." I shook my head in wonder, thinking, "C'mon, it's good enough! On to the next thing!" But when she would show me her finished project, I was so impressed with the beauty her determined efforts had produced.

The past year or two, I have tried my hand at writing fiction-- something I've never been truly successful doing. I have a notebook of story ideas, but nothing finished. I've been so terrified that I might work my heart out on a story, only to have it turn out to be-- well, a complete failure. Badly conceived, badly written. I even joined an e-mail writing group, where each person shared some of their writing and then each participant gave an honest critique. THAT was discouraging! I was not an experienced enough writer to realize that their ideas were worth considering. It just hurt a whole lot! After conversing with some other writers, and stretching my efforts on my blog and my website, I'm learning that just because my first draft was "bad," does not mean that the story is not worth renewed efforts.

As a person, I am not a "finished product." I need lot of work, being refined and changed, until I reach my full potential. I may never arrive at that place in this life-- however, I am worth working on! I definitely could use a good editing session now and then! But that does not mean that my efforts should be cast aside and given up. I have a work here to do on this earth, and God can help me become the woman He knows I can be.

What better Editor can any of us have?

Flashes of Inspiration-- Part 2

Well, I did it! I have finally finished arranging the hymn I was working on, and it feels great! (Except for the fact that my house is mess because of all the time I've spent working on my music!) We'll see how people react when it is performed tonight at my ward's Relief Society Enrichment Night.

It's an arrangement of "As Sisters in Zion" using three part women's vocals, with violin and piano accompanying. I'll update this post later tonight!

Flashes of Inspiration

I LOVE music!

One of the things that brings me the most joy in this life, is to lift up my voice in song. It is really my bliss, my passion! I have worked on this talent for years and years, and used to perform quite a bit. Now I have retired from the stage in order to hum lullabies. (Hence my alias! ;) ) In my past, I also took piano for more than 10 years, but I did not work on that talent as I should have. I have always hoped to write some music, but my lack of technical skills has always held me back.

Then, last night, as I tried to drift off to sleep, I began thinking about a musical number I volunteered to organize for our Relief Society birthday party. I was asked to put together a group of ladies to sing "As Sisters in Zion," and so I thought I'd just add a couple of notes for harmony, and leave it at that. But then, last night, I couldn't sleep because a beautiful rendition of the song came clearly into my mind and spirit. I can still hear it at this moment.

SO... today I decided to sit at the piano, and give it a try. Something amazing is happening to me. For some reason, I feel that God is in this song-- that He wants me to write it, to contribute this beautiful arrangement to the world. I keep silently asking Him why He hasn't given this song to someone more talented. He just seems to smile and tells me I can do it-- it is mine to share.

I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

I will update my progress. More on this later...