The Books in My Life ~ Dale Carnegie's Lifetime Plan for Success

I love books!  I mean you could lock me away in a library and I'd be a happy person!  Here are a few I've read often mixed in with some I'll read next.

Tonight I chose to read some of "Dale Carnegie's Lifetime Plan for Success".  I can create a lot of posts from this book.  Thank you to one of my daughters for giving me this book one Christmas.  It's a really good book!

I'll give you something from Chapter 1 to think about.  I know I'm thinking about it.

Chapter 1 - "If You Want to Gather Honey, Don't Kick Over the Beehive".  Principle 1 - Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

The entire chapter is good - here's an excerpt..."Instead of condemning people, let's try to understand them.  Let's try to figure out why they do what they do.  That's a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness."

"To know all is to forgive all."

I need these words in my life right now.  The word "tolerance" hits my heart.  I need to be more tolerant.  The definition of "tolerance" is "the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with."  Yes, I need these words right now.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ I Need Thee Every Hour

How wonderful when my "work life" coincides with my personal life.  You want to learn how to play "I Need Thee Every Hour"?  Why, yes, let's do that!  I can't think of a song I sing more because..."I need Thee every hour...!"

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Enjoy this version... by Fernando Ortego  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIMDcgrF-Q&list=RDtZIMDcgrF-Q&index=1

I need Thee every hour,

Most gracious Lord.

No tender voice like thine,

Can peace afford.

I need Thee, oh I need Thee

Every hour I need Thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour,

Stay thou nearby.

Temptations lose their pow'r

When thou are nigh.

I need Thee, oh I need Thee

Every hour I need Thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour,

In joy or pain.

Come quickly and abide,

Or life is vain.

I need Thee, oh I need Thee

Every hour I need Thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee!

Thank you for visiting ~ Reia

The Beatles ~ Help, I Need Somebody!

Have y'all noticed the commercial with the Beatles singing "Help"?  So many memories rush back to me!

1 - I'm so blessed to have grown up when the Beatles were a "thing".  I've tried to relay their importance and music to my children and now to my students.

Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash

2 - They created so many songs - I can't just choose one to be my "favorite".  Some make me happy, some make me thoughtful and some evoke emotions I can't put my finger on.

3 - During the multiple hours of "Beatles" conversations I've had with my husband over our twenty-plus years together...one of the topics I found most interesting...

... the Beatles created beautiful music and the words didn't matter as much - for me the song would be "Blackbird" - the music is beautiful but the words are, well,... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kx4xVKo9z8

... or they created beautiful words and the music didn't matter as much (still looking on YouTube for an example).

... or it was just different - "Little Piggies"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upJB1XZQU0k

... or it just made you happy  "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Life Goes On" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9NpHKrKMw

and then there were the songs that were perfect in word and music - one would be - "Let It Be" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3rF4b6O3E.

I have a lot to say about the music the Beatles created so I'll stop here and write more later.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthems Rise

One thing I've learned in my 14 years of providing music for the Catholic faith - Easter arrives on Saturday night during the Easter Vigil - also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter.  It's a service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.

We begin in darkness - the readings are done with the lights out - we hear Genesis - in the dark - and it's impressive.

I've learned to appreciate and look forward to this celebration.  I've been singing our recessional song all day - "Alleluia!  Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise".  It's a song of hope, a song of rejoicing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4r1Ocb0B04

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let the holy anthem rise,

and the choirs of heaven chant it

in the temple of the skies.

Let the mountains skip with gladness

and the joyful valleys ring,

with hosannas in the highest

to our Savior and our King.

May your Paschal Vigil be filled with hope and rejoicing!  He is risen - Alleluia!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ Behold the Wood

I've discovered as I wind my way through my 14th year as a musician for the Catholic faith...Holy Week is spent walking out the Passion of Christ and I truly love it!

Last night the Altar was stripped and the church was prepared for the sacrifice Jesus offered of himself for my sins.

Tonight we enter in silence and leave in silence.  As a Music Director - I'd really love a quick run through of the songs but...we enter in silence and leave in silence.

We also venerate the cross during the Mass and will be singing this touching song - "Behold the Wood".  "Behold, behold the wood of cross, on which is hung our salvation.  O come, let us adore."

You can hear it now on YouTube (another great video) and tonight when I stream the Mass on the church's FaceBook page. 

Hope your Holy Week journey is full of meaning and meditation.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

Some of My Favorite People ~ They're Fantastic!

Holy Thursday is in the books and it was beautiful!  It was so touching to hear the congregation singing and worshiping as we worked our way through the Mass.

I was able to get some pics of the best choir a church could have!

I love these wonderful people so much!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ As I Have Done for You

I'm ready - 3 notebooks prepared.  Clues for myself because I'll be changing transpositions and we have a lot of moving pieces.  The phrase "moving pieces" has a couple of meanings because we really have moving pieces...musicians, singers and me hopefully remembering all I have to do.

As Fr. Adam humbles himself to wash the feet of 12 parishioners and Deacon Doug assists, we'll be singing..."I your Lord and Master, now become your servant.  I who made the moon and stars will kneel to wash your feet.  This is my commandment to love as I have loved you.  Kneel to wash each other's feet as I have done for you."

You can hear "As I Have Done For You" on YouTube (the video is really good also)...and "live" when I stream the Mass on the church's FaceBook page tomorrow night.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia