Only minutes after getting tucked in, a child in this house is usually completely lost to the dense interior of the Land of Nod. 

One time, after saying good night, I left her to her sleep and was cheered to…

We have an Advent tradition of reading a verse from Luke 2:1-20 throughout December. We’ve also picked a carol to go with each verse. This tradition serves a few purposes: 

1. The lyrics of these carols magnify the moment of…

“Giving a speech isn’t like performing a musical instrument; it doesn’t have to be perfect.” 

I heard this in my college speech class, and it didn’t sit right. I had been to musical performances that hadn’t been perfect, but they…

The Spirit of Jefferson and Farmer's Advocate published a story this week about the Battlescapes project. Reading it was like opening a time capsule; I had been interviewed for it four months ago. Already since then, I’ve mentally moved on…

I was nursed on light jazz and CCM, weaned on secular and Christian rock-alternative, tutored by Bach and Beethoven (and spanked by Rachmaninoff), described by Sara Groves, and charmed by samba, bluegrass, Yo-Yo Ma, and Edgar Meyer. 

In my late…

Sometimes certain songs become a kind of study. Here are a few that have my attention either because of the composition, mix, or instrumentation. 

“Siren” by Samuel Sim was the theme music to the British Home Fires series. A female…

I thought it was a dumb idea to put cameras on phones. In my defense, the first phone cameras were bad. Not in my defense, I had no imagination. "The farsighted see better things," and so many of our best…

At the end of the summer the grasses unsheathe their seedheads, spraying the field with a million points of light. It's as if they are finally acknowledging the sun's work all season long by reflecting its brilliance. 

I guess an…

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…

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…