J9's Property

A new baby in the family! Yay!! Another little Kent is on his/her way to join this crazy group of people we call the Hutchinson clan. Personally, I can't imagine being Les and James right now, I don't know if I could handle having 4 little ones under the age of 6! I'm very happy for them, though, and my congrats go out to them!

I was telling my Mom the other day, I used to think that other members of the family having kids would keep the pressure off of me. You know, keep them distracted with a new baby, and people would stop pestering me with the perpetual question, "so, when are you guys starting your family?..."

I've come to the conclusion, though, that this is now wishful thinking; the tactic has outgrown it's usefulness, and now may actually pinpoint our child-less status, and generate even more questions.

Questions like, "well, Les has all these kids, when are yours coming?"
"Ethan and Micaela are both in school! Isn't it time you had yours?"
"You've been married for over 4 years now! What have you been doing all this time?"

Even my mother-in-law is getting in on the action: "So, are the babies coming before or after you move?"

To all those who think it is their business as to when (and even whether!) we have children, my response is as follows:

WE'LL HAVE KIDS WHEN WE'RE DARN-WELL GOOD AND READY.

A lot of people don't realise that their idea of being friendly and conversational can actually come across as quite nosey and intrusive. Another thing they sometimes don't realise is that seemingly innocent questions like, "Aren't you pregnant yet?" can actually open painful wounds for some. Did you stop to think that there may be extenuating circumstances that are, quite frankly, none of your business? Perhaps the couple have been trying to have a family for years, and have been experiencing the oh, so painful heartache of infertility. Maybe their dream is to have a family, but there are relationship problems that need to be ironed out before a 3rd person can be added to the family unit without there being a total breakdown of the marriage.

If you feel it's your place to pester, annoy, and otherwise be nosey, to someone regarding their plans (or lack thereof) for a family, maybe you should step back and ask yourself, "is it really any of my business?" Put yourself in that couple's place. If you were them, would you want every other person asking you the same question? I know, you're probably just trying to be friendly and conversational, but please, if it's me you're talking to, find another topic to discuss!

You'll know when (and if) I'm pregnant. I'll let you know.

Until then.....

My one escape at work is to browse the net on my lunch hour. For some reason, I actually enjoy checking out different news stories, finding out what's happening in the world, and just being basically nosey about who's doing what.

I came across a little blurb on CNN about an interview done recently with Sting, where he commented about today's rock music. He said he found it boring, that it just wasn't developing any further, and he actually gets more enjoyment out of playing 16th century english folk music.

Sting, I couldn't agree more!

I will admit, Sting is one of my favorite secular rock/pop artists, for the reason that he truly is an artist. I really enjoy his experiments with mixing different music genre's, odd time signatures, and just plain being "interesting". And lets face it, he's a rarity in today's music world. How many new groups/solo artists are having the kind of creative impact that groups like The Police and The Beatles have had in the past? Could it be because their success was based on the artistry in their music, not the artistry of their public image?

I have to say, I can easily apply Sting's comment about boring rock music to today's worship music. Now, before you get your back up, remember that I'm heavily involved in the worship team at my church, and the majority of my new CD's are worship music. It's just that, well, an awful lot of new worship music, is, well, boring. For the non-musician, I guess 3-chord music and 7-11 lyrics are easy to learn and perform, but for a musician, it's actually very annoying.

(by the way, for the un-initiated, "7-11" refers to "7 words, 11 times over")

How about a bit of an analogy. (oooooh, an ANALOGY!.....) If a musical classic like, oh say, How Great Thou Art, could be a painting by a member of The Group of Seven, then a not-so-classic like Trading My Sorrows could be the cheap paint-by-numbers you see sold at a flea market. (Sorry if you like Trading My Sorrows - it's one I've gotten rather sick of!) Yuck!

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm an artist and a musician. I therefore can be very finicky about what I find to be "music", and what is just noise. Unfortunately, so many worship teams have taken the lesser quality songs and done them over and over, that I feel it's given worship music a bad rap. If more musical selections are used, with lyrics that involve some thought, there might be a little less resistance to the whole "contemporary" idea.

And there are some very good worship songs out there! I'm thinking of truly beautiful selections like "How Deep the Father's Love" by Stuart Townend. Songs written by trained, talented musicians, with lyrics that are actually lyrical, meaningful, and theologically accurate. They could add so much to a worship service! The trick is actually finding them. The popular stuff, of course, is the simple stuff that a beginner guitarist could play. Hence, the popularity. The more musical songs are more difficult to pick up if you haven't had some musical training, so they tend not to be as popular for worship teams that don't practice on a regular basis. (that's another blog for another day...)

Overall, there is an awful lot of boring music out there, and no, it's not just limited to worship music and rock music. It's in every genre. There are also a lot of people who enjoy boring music, mainly because they don't know what good music is supposed to sound like, nor do they care. For a lot of people, music is just to be played in the background, not listened to or performed for pleasure. But, for us musically-artistic-types, it just doesn't cut it.

I gotta say, Sting, I really identify with you on this one.

I love it when I get emails from my mom, telling me about the latest exploits of my niece and nephew. It's usually the very thing to brighten up my day, although it also points out just how little I get to see them, and how fast they're growing up!

I got a real laugh today, finding out about the "Birthday Present (Not-So) Secret." It's my brother's birthday today (Happy Birthday, Phil!), and they had a party for him last night. Well, I guess poor Ethan got in trouble, because he had a little trouble keeping Phil's present a surprise. (Is this really surprising for a 5-year-old??) However, the amusing thing was that it was actually Sarah's parents who truly spilled the beans!

Poor little guy....

(Ethan, not Phil...)

It really hits home, though, how long it usually is between visits with my family. It's kinda stupid, too -- I only live an hour away, and I think I saw Phil and Sarah more often when they lived in New York City! But, when you consider everyone's schedules, and factor in corps activities, full-time work schedules, social lives that really don't cross each other very often, and compound that with Toronto traffic....

It's one of the big reasons I'm wanting to move!! Stories are great, but I really wish I could experience it all first-hand. I don't want to miss out on the memories that make families like ours so close. I grew up in a family that lived within a few kilometers of each other (Grandma and Papa were right down the road, and my best-friend-cousin was 5 minutes away), so the distance from Hamilton to Scarborough just seems that much further. I know Milton isn't right next door, either, but at least the drive would be a lot easier to make.

In the mean time, I look forward to my next kidlet-update, whether it's Ethan's next choice of vocation (apparently, his current wish is to be a paleontologist) (or has that changed?), or Micaela's most recent accomplishment on piano or cornet (you should hear her, she's quite the musician!).

Keep them coming!

Yes, indeedee, my penchant for procrastination is once again rearing it's ugly head.

Still haven't gotten the computer at home taken care of.

Still haven't gotten the house ready to sell.

Still haven't done my wedding thank-you cards.
(is there really any point at this stage of the game? It's been 4 years...)

Wanna place bets on whether I actually get any Christmas cards done this year?

The truly frightening thing is that I actually married someone who is just as bad at procrastination as I am! It's a wonder we actually got married - I'm surprised we didn't just keep putting it off!

I really am trying, though. (yes, I know, I'm very trying) Seriously, I'm getting better at getting things done. The approach I'm taking these days is to focus on what needs to be done NOW, and get it done. I'm trying not to dwell on past projects, and wallow in "shoulda-coulda-woulda" misery - I don't need reminders about how negligent I've been in the past. I'm trying to focus on the here-and-now, and on what's-to-come.

So, you might still not get a "thankyou" card for your wedding gift (which was very much appreciated, despite the lack of my telling you so), but you just might get a really nice Christmas card this year...

How many times, at how many SA corps, do we have to tackle the age-old dilema of "traditional" vs. "contemporary"? As we suffer through an officer transition at our corps, the main thought that is running through my head is, "here we go again..."

OK, everybody has their own ideas about what works, and what doesn't. Some want us to be more sensitive to the older, more traditionally-minded members of the congregation, while others insist that we must be current, relevant, and therefore, contemporary. Do we cater to the older folk who have built, established, and supported the corps for many years? Or do we try to target the younger ones who will be the future of the corps?

Let's face it. There is no way, in heaven or on earth, that we can possibly please everybody.

I really feel caught in the middle on this one. As a member and co-leader of the worship team, yes, I am in favour of contemporary music and approaches. However, having grown up at an extremely traditional corps, and loving the traditional approaches to banding, songsters, camps, even timbrels, I most certainly do appreciate the traditions of the Salvation Army. My opinion has always been, and shall forever be, that the best approach is a balanced one: mix the traditional with the contemporary, and help everyone to appreciate the other generations.

You see, as one who appreciates history, antiques, and wisdom, I am of the firm opinion that, just because something is old, doesn't mean you throw it out. There's an awful lot of good stuff in those old hymns, and the Army band and uniform are extremely recogniseable. Only a couple of weeks ago, I had a complete stranger approach me at a restaurant and hand me $20, because she recognised the uniform I was wearing, and wanted to thank The Salvation Army "for all the good work you do". We have also had new people come into our corps, because our band went on a march around the neighborhood, and they followed the "parade" back to the building. It still works!

However, I do acknowledge that there are many who do not identify with the traditional Army Barmy. And that's fine! That's why we've expanded to include a more contemporary style of worship, with new music, new approaches, new community programs, and a more casual "everyday" uniform (ie. the t-shirts/golf shirts, etc.). That works, too! But, we must keep in mind: just because it's "contemporary", doesn't necessarily mean it's "relevant" to all!

Unfortunately, we're running into a situation at our corps, where a new officer is trying to bring a little more current material into a very traditional set-up. As a result, the "traditionalists" are getting their backs up, and are fighting to retain the traditional feel of the corps. Yes, the congregation is predominantly over-50. (Hmm, maybe there's a reason for that?.....) But where should our focus be? On the past, or on the future? As I stated before, we must acknowledge, appreciate, and show our respect to those who have gone before. However, we MUST NOT sacrifice the future of the church! To be extremely blunt, if you focus on keeping the older folks happy, you won't have a congregation in about 10 years, because they will all have gone on to their reward. Who would be left?....

I'm not out to ruffle feathers. (although I'm sure I have done so!) I'm just trying to say that if we hope to survive, we MUST stop fighting amongst ourselves. To win the fight, we have to come together and present a united front, or we will be doomed to failure. You-know-who is loving the in-fighting and the bickering over what kind of music to use!

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ONE OR THE OTHER! It's called "balance". A bit of this, a bit of that, and while we can never please everybody at all times, we can still reach those who need reaching, on the level where they will respond.

Am I making sense?