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Music in Church
In the church, there tends to be two kinds of music, traditional and contemporary. Both have their merits but each type tends to have its own audience within the church, but there are many exceptions. Including me, as I like both. It’s an ongoing balance because of how important music is to worship services in the church as a whole. Traditional tends to refer more to hymns and organ/piano-based music. It can be a slower paced, more stoic style of worship. It’s often simpler I guess you could say. The vast majority were written long ago. Contemporary refers to the songs written far more recently. Usually, these songs utilize full…
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Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandpa, and Grandma’s We Go
Back in the 1990s, I lived in Grand Marais, Minnesota, a small town on the north shore of Lake Superior. But since our family moved to New Brighton during the summer of 2000, we’ve gotten numerous chances to visit the north shore where my grandparents have lived since the 1980s. I still love visiting my grandparents and the city of Grand Marais. I get to see family, familiar places, and amazing spaces. Yes, small towns are remote but each time our family finds new trails and adventures to take, we’ve even driven up to Canada for fun a couple of times. It’s consistently wonderful to see the beautiful nature on…
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Doncha Know About the Minnesota State Fair?
Yeah I’m a Minnes”Oh”tan, and I’ve got a bit of the accent to match. It’s a heck of a deal, I’ve also lived up north before. There is a tradition that most of us from this great state acknowledge, the Minnesota State Fair. The “12 days of fun”, or “Great Minnesota get together” if you prefer. I grew up going nearly every year. I thought I’d go this year as I will probably be moving away soon. So here’s what my home state’s fair is about. Every Minnesotan who goes has their list of favorite things from food, to exhibit, to shows, and shops. So here we go: I love…
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A Legend and Me – Praxis Wednesday Response
During last night’s Praxis Wednesday all of us participants got the privilege of listening to and talking with Christopher Lochhead. He’s the author of Niche Down, among other titles. We got the chance to hear about some of his favorite points from the book, as well as what he was thinking it could do for our group. He talked about different legends he had met in his lifetime, and how he went about naming his famous podcast. He knew he wanted to include the word legends, and a friend thought of adding losers, Christopher was sold on the concept, and legends and losers was born. He made an interesting point…
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Here’s What I’m Listening To
I grew up listening to the Christian radio station on the radio and kid’s music, namely Veggie Tales, and Disney. As I’ve grown up my music taste has really only expanded, and I’ve come to like all lot of different genres. Though there is one artist that I’ve heard all my life that I consistently come back to, Steven Curtis Chapman. He’s unique in that he’s been in the business 1980s, but he continues to write original songs, and that some of his songs are worship, and others are more just encouraging, but almost all of them are gospel focused. He has written songs that I have found to encourage…
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It’s Virtually Here
A couple of weeks ago I tried a virtual reality (VR) system for the first time. My friend has a state of the art home system and they let me try it. I couldn’t believe how real it felt even, though it didn’t actually look completely real. VR has a lot of potentially interesting implications in the real world. After I took off the equipment my friends and I discussed the implications VR could have on the world. If businesses used this kind of tech, people wouldn’t necessarily have to come to work, they’d be able to just visit the virtual office that everyone else was connected to. This is…
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Written Art
Typography can be defined as “the style, arrangement, or appearance of typeset matter” by Merriam-Webster. I love writing this way, and not only does it keep me thinking about important phrases, I also end up being more creative, and focused when I’m writing this way. Creating typographic art is a great form of written analysis, and it’s creative. Typography is a wonderful art, it can make words look like more than just letters on a page while also acknowledging the value of the words being written. It can be challenging to write, pick fonts, layout, and design. Then there’s the actual writing out of the design, and if it’s done…
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10 Things I Learned in Europe
I went on a study abroad trip in college. It was for the majority of the month of January 2017. We went to 7 seven countries. It was amazing. The class was “the history of science in Europe” and was really interesting for me despite being a business major, plus I needed the credit to graduate. Between the content and it being my first time to the other hemisphere I learned a lot. As a kid, I was afraid to go anywhere without my family so I surprised myself when I realized I wanted to travel. When I found out my university, Bethel, offered the class and I was interested…
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Mid-Century Thoughts
I like old things especially things from the 1950s, from antiques to old movies, to old styles and furniture, even the dancing. I grew up going through antique stores with my mom and exploring estate sales, it was always a fun mother-daughter activity and it allowed for a lot of learning over the years. Old things are important to remember, enjoy, and think about. I think the 1950s is a wonderful aesthetic. I enjoy asking others to think of their favorite decade, a time that they appreciate the culture, design, or inventions from. It’s interesting to hear what an individual gleans from a different time, and how they celebrate what…
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Why You SHOULD Have a Credit Card
Nope, I’m not a credit card company I’m just a 20 something that has actually earned money, as well as genuinely benefitted from having a credit card. From the very first day I applied for my credit card I told both my parents that I planned on only spending money on it that I had in the bank anyway. So why the credit card any way you may ask? The first is short-term, you can earn a little bit of money by spending money on the card every month. No, it’s not much but it’s nothing to sneeze at either, This is the reason I actually put as many large or recurring expenses…
