Goodness and grace

More times than I can count, Brad and I have come to the end of our ability and the bottom of our savings and have found blessings instead.

Each other.

A home.

Food on the table.

Our loving family and friends.

Our church.

The clothing on our backs.

And so much more.


This time, we also found freedom from our medical debts and a large financial gift from our church family, who knew how hard it had become for us to make ends meet.

I hesitated to write about this, because I felt a little guilty enjoying these undeserved, unearned blessings! This post reminded me that God delights in giving good gifts to His children, and that it's alright, it's encouraged, that we enjoy them!

So with a thankful, beyond grateful, joyful heart, I ask you to celebrate with me, friends!

One of our small group leaders approached us a couple weeks ago with a financial gift from our church. A large gift. Because they knew how hard it was for us to make ends meet lately. The size that will allow us to replace the broken windshield on our car, put food on our table, buy a few gifts for our family, fill an Operation Christmas Child box, and put something in our savings account. We are so grateful and floored with the generosity of our church family to us.

I recently humbled myself and applied for charity care for our medical bills. Paying pennies on thousands owed each month was squeezing our already tight budget, and I found myself deciding between a $2 box of cereal and a box of Kleenex. Deciding whether or not to buy cheese, or a bag of apples. Telling myself that I could make sandwich bread instead of buying a $1.50 loaf. Feeding our child from our plates instead of buying pureed and pouch-packaged baby food. Cutting every corner I thriftily could.

And then, all four of our medical bills were either reduced or forgiven, and we were able to pay the remaining balance this month.

Hallelujah!

So, we bought some meat for our freezer. Fresh veggies and fruits for the fridge. Sandwich bread and Kleenex. (Because the baby has a cold, and the hubby needs sandwiches when he packs his lunch for work). We feel abundantly blessed, and look forward to this new freedom to bless others. And to save! And to share our joy with you.

Joshua's baby dedication

Joshua was dedicated in our church today! That means that we, as his parents, promised to live our lives in a way that helps him to see the difference that Jesus makes to us, and that we'll consistently teach him about Jesus. It also means that our church family promised to help us as we walk this journey as parents, and as Joshua grows up.

Here is the letter I wrote for Joshua to read someday, when he's old enough to understand:

5/19/13, 5 months and two weeks

Dear Joshua,

This morning was your dedication to the Lord! We are so thankful for you, our son. We brought you to the 9:00am service at Grace Road Church in Rochester, where we’ve been attending for the past year. You always seem to love the music and the many faces we see each time. Your Grandma and Grandpa Burr and your Nana and Grandpa Landin were able to be there, and they were so excited to see you! 

You snuggled with Grandma Burr for much of the service, and you enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa Landin and Nana when you woke up. Pastor Kevin preached from Mark 12:35-44, and reminded us that following Jesus means to lay down our whole lives and to trust his leadership. You wore an adorable outfit that Nana Landin made for you, complete with a cute little hat. 

 

You were so well behaved, smiling and cooing as we arrived, falling asleep during the sermon (in Grandma Burr’s arms), and waking up happily, just in time for your dedication and the final songs. 

 

We sang “How Great Thou Art,” “All the Poor and Powerless,” “Oh, Our Lord,” (both by the group All Sons and Daughters) and “In Christ Alone.” (Getty & Townend) We had delicious cake after church, too! Your Daddy read this in church this morning as we dedicated you:

"Since we found out about you, we've prayed that God would make you a strong leader for his kingdom, like your biblical namesake. We pray that you'll always follow God's leading and trust Him completely. We love your frequent smiles and your boundless energy; may you use both to encourage and strengthen those in need. 

We hope that you'll see in us not just how much we love you, but that we love Jesus. We pray that as we teach and guide you that we will give you grace, just as we have been given boundless grace through Christ Jesus. May our words and actions clearly show you how to live for Him. 

We hope that our marriage displays love, faithfulness, forgiveness and integrity as we seek to honor God with our commitment to each other and to our family. "

We love you, baby Joshua!

hymn: final draft.

Here it is: my final draft of the hymn I've been writing for my History of Church Music class. I made some subtle changes to verses 1 and 4, a little change to verse 3, and some major changes to verse 2. Take a look at my second draft and first draft, if you'd like!

When We Have No Sufficient Answer

When we have no sufficient answer,
Father, we come on bended knee.
When acts of hatred, violence, terror,
Threaten to break our unity,
In faith, to You, we lift our gaze.
King of Peace, You hold all our days.

When darkness comes, our minds oppressing,
Spirit of Wisdom, we cry out.
We fall before you, mouths confessing,
We need your help, remove our doubt.
Come with your fire; on us alight.
Burn in our hearts; make darkness bright.

When in our grief we cry in sadness,
Jesus, you promise perfect peace.
You will restore our hearts to gladness
O Living One, our chains release!
Comfort our souls, wipe tears away,
As in the promised heav’nly Day.

When we are faced with fear and sorrow,
We reaffirm the Trinity.
Strength for each day, hope for tomorrow!
Unchanging Lord, Divinity.
Yours is the victory, battles won.
Praise to You, Father, Spirit, Son.

greetings from grad school

I've been bogged down in grad school for the past few weeks, hence the lack of activity. Here, though, is the second draft of a hymn I've been working on for a history of church music class. You can read the first draft here. What do you think of the revision? I'm working on a third draft, now, and hoping it will be the final result. Enjoy!

When We Have No Sufficient Answer

When we have no sufficient answer,
Father, we come on bended knee.
When acts of hatred, violence, terror,
Threaten to break our unity,
In faith, to You, we lift our gaze.
Mighty King, You hold all our days.

When darkness comes, our hearts oppressing,
Spirit, You are the strength we need.
We come in weakness, mouths confessing,
“You are True Light, our souls to lead.”
Come with your fire; on us alight.
Burn in our hearts; make darkness bright.

When in our grief we cry in sadness,
Jesus, you promise perfect peace.
You will restore our hearts to gladness
O Living One, our chains release!
Comfort our hearts, wipe tears away,
As in the promised heav’nly Day.

When we are faced with fear and sorrow,
We reaffirm the Trinity.
Strength for each day, hope for tomorrow!
Unchanging Lord, Divinity.
Yours is the victory, battles won.
We rejoice, Father, Spirit, Son.

synthesis

Most teachers will tell you that one of the marks of real learning is that the learner is able to integrate information gained in one context in another context: this is synthesis. Drawing connections between concepts is an important developmental step. Without it, we wouldn't tell stories, write convincing speeches, or be able to do all the steps necessary to drive a car. Some connections are easier to make than others, and some take a significant amount of time to discover, and then to motivate to implementation. We can relate these connections to the actual synapses, or pathways, formed between neurons the brain when new concepts are learned. Cool!

All this to say: I am so thankful for the coursework here at the grad school I'm attending. I've had the opportunity to study music from a Christian perspective over the course of two semesters, and now I'm studying the history of church music. I am having the greatest time! In my Choral Literature Seminar, we're studying Mass from its beginnings to present day use, and I've been researching Josquin des Prez, a 15th c. composer. I am finding so many connections between my church music history class and this one, and it's delightful.

Back to my studies. Presentation on Friday morning!

and today, I am a poet

I am taking a really interesting class about music of the early Christian church, and I love it! One of our assignments is to either 1. write new music for an existing hymn texts or 2. to take an existing hymn tune and write new poetry. I chose the second option, and I want to share my first draft with you. For those of you that want to see/sing/play the tune it goes with, here are the links to both my text and the music. Musicians, please ignore the not-perfect Finale document. First draft, my friends, first draft.

Here's the text I've written so far. My teacher assigned some edits for me to make - let me know what you think so far!

When We Have No Sufficient Answer

When we have no sufficient answer,
Father, we come, on bended knee.
When acts of violence, terror, hatred
Threaten to break our unity,
We will still praise your holy Name!
We will place all our trust in You.

When we are facing persecution,
Spirit, You are the strength we need.
When we are tempted, struck, abandoned,
and face the evil Enemy,
We will repeat your promises:
Ours is the final victory.

When we are crying for dear loved ones,
Jesus, You promise peace to us.
Comfort our hearts through every trial,
Fill us with hope; in You we trust.
We will still praise your holy Name!
We will place all our trust in You.

When in this world, we face affliction,
We reaffirm the Trinity.
God, in three Persons, holy Mystery,
You have heard all our desperate pleas.
We will repeat your promises:
Yours is the final victory.


2011 Linnea L. Burr

pretty memories

During choir tour, we were in Florida. In February. Awesome.

We got to see real green grass, trees with green leaves, flowering trees, daffodils, sand, surf, and seagulls - all while there was a major snowstorm back home. Pretty sweet, if you ask me. Here are a few pictures of the fun that I managed to grab in the middle of my tour managing duties:

...at Cocoa Beach, FL with my friend, Nicki

...and a rather ruffled seagull. It was very windy!

Here's a pink hibiscus in the gardens at the church below:
This is First Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's so beautiful!

sunday minus the sun

it was a long day for me - up early to do both services at church, and not only to be there, but to actually plan and participate in all the music for both services (which are completely different musical formats). herculean, if i do say so myself. things went pretty well...

lunch was less than spectacular, though my husband may beg to differ. i made omelettes that definitely were not photo-worthy, but tasted okay. i wish that i had taken the time to make a real Sunday dinner for him like i did all of last year. it was just too much to fit in today.

quarterly church meeting was tonight, and i was waaaay tired. had a tough time concentrating, and some disturbing acid reflux to complete the discomfort of being there. it's emotional to be there right now, knowing that we'll be leaving soon for a new town/school/church/home. transition isn't my favorite.

on positive notes, many people enjoyed the music this morning. i had specific compliments on my piano playing, which was extra nice. i got to burn my lilac-scented candle today - a spring-only sort of thing. my flowers outside look lovely. i got to wear a cute skirt this morning and enjoyed my preppy pink raincoat and argyle print umbrella. my husband loves and supports me. and I get to go to sleep now, knowing that tomorrow is a full day in which i will earn money at four different jobs, see a dress rehearsal for a friend's recital, and finally see my husband at 7:30pm.

a new member of our household

Introducing: Oscar the Cat.

he's a five-pound ball of soft tabby fur, cuddly as can be, and hardly ever stops purring. my husband surprised me with him just a couple weeks ago! it has been fun to have "someone" at home with me while Brad is off at school and work all day.


it has been a long summer without having a job on the horizon. admittedly, i did have five good interviews, the most recent being last friday. however, none of them have turned out to be a job for me. it's disappointing, not to mention trying. i know many many people in our country have been jobless for much longer than me. i feel your pain. it's hard to admit that i'm on unemployment, that i'm going to try to get food stamps. it's hard to realize that this week, there's only $XXX in your bank account, and that rent is due next week. it's not enough.

nevertheless, i know that God will continue to provide for us. my husband has a part-time job in addition to his grad studies. that's pulling some in for us. i have a possibility of being the part-time worship music coordinator for our church, and that would be helpful, too.

we will see.

and on a completely different note, i made a glove. it's a fair first-attempt, i think. check it out! i used self-striping sock yarn...a fun choice, i think! the "trim" at the wrist is a k2tog, yo repetition.