The Concertmaster

The college theater was dim last Friday night, and the musicians played Brahms in andante, which means it was soft and low. I would’ve drifted to sleep it hadn’t been so beautiful. The concertmaster from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was visiting our little town, and I wasn’t about to miss watching him vibrato each … Continue reading The Concertmaster

Sehnsucht: My New Blog Playlist

April 19 I’ve spent February, March, and April getting to know C. S. Lewis through his works. From Surprised by Joy to The Magician’s Nephew to The Weight of Glory to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lewis has stirred something inside me. There’s a German word he used—sehnsucht—to describe his inconsolable ache for something … Continue reading Sehnsucht: My New Blog Playlist

Behold the Lamb of God

December 8 I’m a no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving stickler. But this year, I broke my own rule in October because Andrew Peterson released his first recorded album of Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb is a collaborative Christmas production that’s been in the works for twenty years. Every December, Christian artists join at the Ryman Auditorium … Continue reading Behold the Lamb of God

In the Morning, When I Rise

They say the songs of your childhood never really let you go— that music has a seizing, shaping power. It must be true because my Southern Baptist pastor dad still thumps the steering wheel to Journey and James Taylor. Now I’m crossing that threshold between childhood and life beyond. I’m eighteen and watching just how … Continue reading In the Morning, When I Rise

Meditation, Celebration, and a Good Friday Playlist

Two thousand years ago a sinless man set his face toward Jerusalem. He heaved a cross on his shoulders and climbed a hill outside the city gates. He let seething men drill nails through his veins. He hung against the wood, bleeding, gasping, dying, forsaken. He bore the foaming ocean of God’s wrath so we … Continue reading Meditation, Celebration, and a Good Friday Playlist