Vandalia River

"Appalachia Waltz" enters my life the year 2006.

Whether it was duly bought on iTunes, lifted from my dad, or given by a friend, it appeared in my music library and became a soundtrack to my dorm room. At age…

Yesterday I played the last piece in one of my piano student's lesson books so she could get a glimpse of good things coming. It was Prelude in C by Johann Sebastian Bach.

You've heard it before, perhaps under the…

Life is the fruit of the vine: picked, broken, pressed, and subdued. Beauty is the wine - whose recipe requires violence and stillness. Art - art can be the vessel to bring that beauty to the mouth. It may be…

On Mother's Day, a rose in hand was laid 
For her whose years were fewer but by one 
Than all the fingers round the rose that played. 
At once she saw not rose but reed, and sun; 
And water at…

I once sat in vendor meetings as my employer evaluated proposals for a new website. One vendor had flown four or five staff members across the country to pitch their brands. They delivered a confident, eloquent, and polished presentation and…

I've been pulling together songs that are 1) tied strongly to Scripture 2) would appeal to children (nursery to 6th grade or so) and 3) wouldn't annoy parents much. Whereas the other general listening playlist had a very folk tendency…

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a…

This playlist has a decidedly folk bent. Instead of dated synth effects and dissonant children's choruses, you will hear mostly acoustic instruments with talented vocalists. The songs won't wear off after the second listen; in fact, many have lasted for…

Four weeks ago I wrote about eight things that helped me produce music. I must confess, that post sometimes feels like a joke. At the least, it would give away my inexperience to any professional looking on. So I'm comforted…

TurboTax is coming out of the box today. While money is on our mind, I want to point out that there's a place for bum-clock investing. Let me explain.  

There's an Irish folktale in which a poor widow tells son…

Few things make me fear like this fact: knowing wisdom doesn't make one wise. doing wisdom makes one wise.

We have voracious appetites for information. We consume books, podcasts, counseling sessions, blogs, Bible studies. Our kids have an abundance of…

One morning I came across a reference to a Hebrew word in Proverbs 3:3. The word is hesed, and it is powerful. Hesed unites three concepts in one quality: love, strength, and steadfastness.

Think about it. What is love…