CD Recommendation

Several months ago, I bought a CD from iTunes called Beginnings by Fernando Ortega. He is one of my favorite artists for a variety of reasons.

1. His technique--he sings softly and in tune with a pleasing vibrato.

2. His renditions of hymns are very straight-forward; he doesn't take too many liberties, a tactic I typically find annoying.

3. He is an excellent pianist

4. His accompaniments are amazing and quite unique (he even uses accordion in a couple of his songs)! He is a classically trained pianist as well, and I respect his musicianship!

5. He is of Hispanic descent and incorporates Spanish into some of his songs.

I believe that I love this album more than I have ever loved any album. Here are the songs it has:

1. Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

2. Nothing But The Blood

3. Praise To The Lord The Almighty

4. As For Us

5. Con Que Pagaremos

6. Softly And Tenderly

7. What Wondrous Love Is This

8. Teach Me Thy Way

9. Mi Abuelito

10. Morningstar

11. Chimayo

12. I Love To Praise Your Name

13. Night Of Your Return

14. Living Water

15. I Need Thee Every Hour * Just As I Am * Come Ye Sinners, Poor And Needy (Medley)

16. Nearer My God To Thee

17. Here Is Love

18. God Made Them All

19. My Song Is Love Unknown

20. I Remember Well

21. Road Song

22. Family

23. Now That You’re Gone

24. Creation Sings

25. Green Pastures

26. Near The Cross

27. Jesus Lover Of My Soul

28. Sacrifice Of Praise

29. It’s Your Love

30. Stricken, Smitten And Afflicted

31. Brethren, We Have Met To Worship

32. O Sacred Head Now Wounded

33. Tossed On The Wind

34. This Is My Father’s World

Here is what Amazon has to say about Ortega and this album:

About the Artist

Classically trained in piano at the University of New Mexico, Fernando comes from a family of weavers and farmers who, for eight generations, have lived in Chimayo, a small village on the western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, north of Santa Fe. His music celebrates this heritage in songs that are filled with spiritual longing and a deep reverence for His Lord.

Fernando’s music unites virtuoso piano skills with tender, authentic vocals. The rich accompaniment of cello, accordion and strings allow the songs to resonate with a simple yet sensitive quality that gently touches every listener’s heart.

Product Description

BEGINNINGS - the premiere collector’s edition of early Fernando Ortega recordings (1993 – 1996). Included in this comprehensive compilation are selections from Fernando’s first four albums produced by Randolf Productions, Inc. (RPI),

Meditations Of The Heart (1993)

Meditations Of The Heart – Encore (1994)

Hymns & Meditations (1994)

Night Of Your Return (1996)

Here is a Youtube clip so you can hear a little of this album. Let me know what you think!

Weekday Sanctuary

My car is my weekday sanctuary. I look forward to climbing in each morning, putting on one of my favorite CD's of hymns, and alternating praying and harmonizing along. This morning I was listening to Selah singing the hymn "Be Still My Soul." I was so blessed by its comforting text and soothing melody that I wanted to share it here.

Here are the lyrics for all verses of "Be Still My Soul." Verse one is especially meaningful to me at this particular time in my life, and verse three is also a blessing these days, as I am dreaming about and missing my grandma terribly.

"Be Still, My Soul"
by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-?
Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897

1. Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

A New Perspective on Entertainment

When my husband and I first moved to Southern Indiana, we located in an area where television options were scarce. Being fresh out of college with brand new careers, we had no money anyway, so we tried to be satisfied with my collections of old TV shows on video cassette. We watched the Waltons, Andy Griffith and Dick Van Dyke like nobody's business! Being from a home where the TV was on most of the time, even if just for noise, I began to become bored with our arrangement, and Seth felt the same.

We then decided to go with a satellite company after receiving a promotion in the mail. After a year of paying $30/month for our great package, the price began to climb steadily until we were paying something like $80/month. God began to convict me in the summer of 2009 not only about the expense of this but also about what we were allowing to come into our home. I would watch HGTV ALL the time and noticed that the more I watched, the more I became dissatisfied with our humble home. I was always spending money on decorations or small pieces of furniture to try and reach an impossible ideal. It wasn't until six months later that we finally got up the nerve to cut off our satellite. Let me just say that I wish we had done it sooner. The extra $80 has been an incredible help as we pay off the last of our debts. Also, I have been so much more content now that I am not bombarded by shows and advertisements that tell me I am not enough and do not have enough. It is hard for me to believe that I used to consider cable/satellite TV one of those necessary expenses, right up there with the electricity :)

While I do miss particular shows and channels sometimes, I am happier this way.

I have been learning some ways to find quality entertainment for free though antenna TV, radio, and internet. We get PBS, CBS, Fox, and sometimes NBC with our bunny ears. We also get a weird local station that broadcasts Portuguese soccer, but I'm not a fan of that channel. Yes folks, that is all. Anyway, I have discovered that PBS has great programming for adults (I hadn't watched it since I was a kid). In fact, I am looking forward to a documentary on Appalachia here in a half hour or so. I am learning to play the dulcimer and am excited to hear what they share about the music of that region. Also, there is a cool show on Monday nights called History Detectives that I really like. It seems much better written than our old History Channel programming, which at the time of our departure was mostly about aliens and conspiracies, anyway. There are a few shows on the other channels that we like, too.

The radio is another great source for entertainment. I enjoy listening to sermons and other programming on our local Christian station. NPR is another station that offers two shows I really enjoy, "Cartalk" and "A Way with Words," on Saturdays. Dave Ramsey is on a couple of times a day on the AM talk radio station. If I miss any of these programs or if reception isn't very good, I can always listen to them online whenever I want.

Speaking of the internet, we have a Netflix membership and are able to watch movies that way. Their instant viewing selection is really growing, and Seth has hooked up a computer tower to our nice TV so it's almost as good as the real thing! Also, Hulu has some shows I like on their website for FREE! The only downside is that we must wait for the movie to buffer every 12 minutes, but I figure that is a small price to pay for a free service. We like to borrow movies from the library, as well.

Sometimes, when nothing sounds good, I am even learning to enjoy some precious silence in my peaceful home. This is a huge step for me, as I have always had a hard time with silence. Silence makes me think, which makes me worry, which fills me with irrational anxieties. But with a less-cluttered life, silence is more common, and I am learning to treasure it.

101 things in 1001 days

Well folks, I have jumped on the bandwagon with a few of my other blogging friends and created my list. Thinking of 101 things was very hard but also very fun! Actually completing these tasks will be much the same, I suspect. I think I may have to do # 72, reading underneath a tree, today! I will update monthly on how my list is going. You can make your own list here.

1

Have sewing machine cleaned

2

Learn how to hem

3

Learn how to crochet

4

Learn how to use a sewing machine

5

Have a baby

6

Wax my car

7

Finish reading the Old Testament

8

Finish paying off debts

9

Re-read the Little House series

10

Move to a small single family home

11

Get a laundry drying rack

12

Learn how to can food

13

Re-start my movie log

14

Meet with a new teacher friend to practice conversational Spanish

15

Earn enough Swagbucks to purchase another season of the Andy Griffith Show

16

Watch the entire series of Lost

17

Finish the Harry Potter series

18

Visit my family in Wisconsin

19

Complete my Kodaly Certification

20

Start a community children's choir or expand the church children's choir to include children from other churches

21

Learn how to make my own yogurt

22

Create a "substitute" box for each school in case of emergency absences

23

Re-vamp our home filing system

24

Make a tree-skirt

25

Polish any brass lamps/accessories around the house

26

Have a photo shoot of just Seth and me

27

Get a fast enough internet connection that we can easily watch TV on the internet

28

Transfer all home videos to DVD

29

Find a new folk/bluegrass band I like and buy an album

30

Stop drinking diet soda

31

Finish my list of songs organized by music literacy concept

32

Get new tires for Seth's truck

33

Stop biting my nails

34

Print my favorite snapshots and place them in a small photo album

35

Back up all digital pictures

36

Find a free budget maker on the internet

37

Enter all written family tree data onto my genealogy computer program

38

Try "The Keeper"

39

Paint my recipe holder red to match my kitchen

40

Paint my kitchen memo board red to match my kitchen

41

Organize my recipes by type of meat/main dish

42

Get a small clock to keep on my keychain

43

Visit Luke and Kayla in Pennsylvania

44

Read a children's chapter book in Spanish

45

Try homemade dishwasher detergent to see if it works

46

Fast

47

Read outside under a tree

48

Submit one piece of writing to be published (in a magazine/newsletter, etc.)

49

Finish professional growth plan

50

Learn how to make homemade crackers

51

Make a new friend

52

Sing a song in Spanish at church

53

Have a flute/trumpet recital with Seth

54

Learn a new way to do my hair

55

Memorize a poem

56

Have a picnic at the park

57

Start my cute owl decor collection

58

Decoupage the matting on my picture frame in the office with pieces from a map

59

Volunteer to do a scripture reading in church

60

Invite our Sunday School class over for a game night

61

Start using cloth napkins

62

Start a prayer journal

63

Flip the matress

64

Learn how to cook a Chinese dish

65

Hide a random love note for Seth to find

66

Sell something on eBay or Craigslist

67

Get my nice Bjorn dress shoes fixed

68

Organize our storage area in the shed downstairs

69

Make a bookmark out of a favorite photo

70

Memorize an entire chapter from the Bible

71

Plan and execute an actual birthday party for someone

72

Find a pair of jeans at a thrift store that REALLY fit me

73

Clean up my front deck

74

Re-pot/prune house plants

75

Go ice-skating

76

Make a set of cloth napkins

77

Read 24 new fiction books

78

Have 24 date nights

79

Complete a crossword puzzle

80

Replace the recliner chair

81

Change the drawer pulls on my desk

82

Go through an entire day without using TV or internet

83

Make a cloth book cover for my planner

84

Get a new dentist

85

Visit Ferdinand State Forest

86

Go to a Spanish-speaking church service

87

Buy a bunch of plain washcloths and begin using them instead of paper towels

88

Learn a new word and use it in a conversation

89

Grow my favorite herbs in an indoor planter

90

Host a giveaway on my blog

91

Play recorder duets with Seth just for fun

92

Make hummus

93

Send a birthday card on time

94

Make homemade soft scrub

95

Get my laptop serviced

96

Finish my "Seth and Amy" scrapbook

97

Read 12 new non-fiction books

98

Go to an evening concert by the Evansville Philharmonic

99

Move important documents into a fire-proof safe

100

Develop a family mission statement

101

Play flute in a multi-instrument ensemble