Dante and the Redeemer

This morning, I sat in with the music team at Church of the Redeemer for the first time.

I've still been visiting other churches here in Nashville, but over the last few months, most Sundays find me in the pews (actually, we just got chairs) of Redeemer. I loved the music from my first visit - a mix of hymns and praise choruses. They have an organist who leads most of the hymns and liturgical music, and a 5 member ensemble that leads the choruses and communion music. Sometimes, the organ plays with the group, and the mix is lovely. And, at the risk of sounding like an old woman, I also like the music because it's not too loud! So many of the churches here have these huge rock bands. I know that works for some people, but not me. I love hearing the person next to me singing, and you can't do that when the band is too loud. (Yes, I love hearing the person next to me, even if they can't sing!)

The music director, Jenna, and the organist are there all the time, but the rest of the group is made up of roster musicians. Today, our ensemble was keyboard, guitar, electric bass, flute, and me on vocals. 2 other people in the group sang too, so I did a mix of lead and harmony. We hit 3 part harmony on some of the songs, which was gorgeous!

We all arrived at 8am for our one and only rehearsal. I was a little nervous, but what else is new! I had visions of an hour of panicked sight-reading and last minute arranging, but I was completely wrong. Things were very peaceful and calm. Jenna led us in a very well paced and focused rehearsal. It was great to hear the sounds blending together so smoothly. I took the lead vocals on the communion songs, including the gorgeous "What Wondrous Love Is This". We did 2 services - 9 and 10:45 - with a short break in between.

Overall, I so happy with the whole morning! I really just wanted to give my best and contribute whatever the team needed. I think I sang well, and I had a great time getting to know everybody. I miss feeling so connected to a church home and music team, so there was a lot of comfort in the whole experience for me.

The rest of the day was filled with simple pleasures - rolling around on the rug, napping, biting - We got a new puppy!!!!

Friday night, we drove 30 minutes to Goodlettesville to check out puppies from an ad in the paper. Gerald fell in love with a little white pomchi, and yesterday morning, we were back in Goodlettesville, cash in hand.

His name is Dante. I think he's a pound and a half; Gerald thinks two. He's all white, with short hair, and his eyes are actually a dark grey-green. Sebastian is not impressed, but we're praying for a doggy-friendship to blossom.

So the rest of the day was spent on simple pleasures - eating when you're hungry, napping when you need to, kissing with abandon, and finding joy in the discovery of the world!