Sunday, September 8, 2013 5:30AM

It still feels like summer here in Texas today. But September's promise is the cooling of the temperatures and I'm sure it will happen by month's end. It is definitely not a lazy day for the Burchill clan. Up at 5AM my sweet husband has already gone to work. He wants to make sure each detail of his portion of Sunday morning services is as organized and ready as it possibly can be so that it is easy for the volunteers and smooth sailing when the music starts to play. God shaped Tom like that.... concerned with musical excellence and serving others. We've already spoken to our son on the phone who is also up this early getting his Sunday morning ready for his volunteers and his church family too. I guess it is just part of the family business. This is the unique way God has wired us.

Tom will be playing with the symphony at Bass Hall today. They are doing an all American music concert and he is playing guitar and banjo. I've enjoyed hearing him practice the Gershwin melodies all week. What beautiful music! Then, this evening he'll be at TCU at a rehearsal for Joe Eckert's faculty recital which is tomorrow evening. I marvel that he does all that he does. And I am truly thankful for such a hard working, kind and talented husband. God made Tom Burchill uniquely and wonderfully.

He made you uniquely and wonderfully too.

I seem to hear an echo lately. Do you know what I mean? Margaret Feinberg calls them SACRED ECHOS in her book by the same title. I like that. A Sacred Echo is when you read something and it rings true in your heart and seems to spur you on to a change. Then, a day or two later a friend says something similar and you think, "wow, I've been thinking about that too". And then, a day later you listen to a podcast or hear a sermon and the same idea is spoken about. When this happens in my life I start to pay attention believing that I am experiencing a sacred echo. Maybe God is whispering something into my life.

The "echo" lately has been something so very simple. It is about being content being me. This is going to sound so Mr. Rogers, but maybe we all need a little Mr. Rogers from time to time.  God created each one of us to be a unique and special individual (do you hear Fred in his sweater?) And once we become  children of God He continues the work in us to conform us into Christ's image. Sometimes people seem to believe that means every thing you think should conform to a cultural idea of what a Christian looks like;  even down to details about how one dresses. Certainly, we all know that there are those who believe you have to be in a certain political party to be a Christian and there are those that think you have to worship a certain way and honestly, sometimes I think with some Christian crowds they actually believe you have to wear skinny jeans and have black glasses and shave your head and you can't know anymore than 4 chords on your guitar. Sorry, I digress.

 God is so creative. He created a camel and a blowfish and a zebra and a lion and all those crazy fish in the sea and insects and birds and on and on I could go! He created each of us with a unique face and unique body type, unique hopes and dreams, unique gifts and talents. We have specific DNA and unique fingerprints. He is obviously concerned with lots of details, isn't He?

No two people are the same. I really believe as Christians we need to be embracing our uniqueness.  God made you as He made you so He could express Christ's love uniquely through you. There are people you can reach that I could never reach. There are people I can share with that you won't be able to share with. There are things in this life that only you can accomplish.

I think sometimes we are so busy working on the future version of ourselves that we forget how much God loves us right now this very moment. And how much He longs to do and accomplish in our life - right now! His unique expression of creativity that is you is loved more than you can hope, think or imagine and He wants you to be you. He loves you, as the song says, "just the way you are". Sure, He is shaping you and molding you and bringing circumstances and people into your life to draw you closer to Him and bring you closer to sanctification, but friend, He really does love you right now. Even with all of your mess and your questions and your worries. He loves you. He created you and He wants to express His love through you. He wants to express His love to you.

This is a wonderful gift. His unending, grace-filled love can be expressed through unique me and unique you. I think that is pretty amazing. And God...I thank you for the sacred echo!

Praise Him! Soli Deo Gloria

2nd day of school....

I'm on a search for joy in life. The following thoughts have brought me a great deal of joy lately. Let me explain....

I truly believe that everything is God's so everything is at its most essential level, sacred. I think we humans like to divide things into categories. There is secular music and then there is sacred music. There are vocational Christians and then there are Christians who work in the secular world. But if I am a Christian and dedicating my life to follow Jesus and bring God glory, then wouldn't any music I create, at its core, be sacred? By the same reasoning I would say that anything work related that I do or any career I have is sacred, because I am a Christian, filled with the holy spirit doing it.

So yeah, I'm a musician/singer/songwriter who writes "Christian" songs, but I also write and perform songs that are about life and love and people and things that are just part of everyday life. Again, my life has been given to God for His purposes and His glory, so wouldn't my everyday life experiences and pursuits in some way be sacred? If my reasoning is correct, then I've experienced some lovely sacred moments this week.

On Sunday evening I headed to a little restaurant/club in Denton, Texas called the Greenhouse. I was to meet up with my son so we could sit together while we watched his dad (my husband) play guitar in the latin band, Brazuka. The music was uplifting and upbeat and just downright fun to hear! Tom was playing beautiful rhythm guitar (I was quite proud) and the tables were packed with people who were enjoying the sway of the latin rhythms and the beautiful vocal duet of the two female singers, Rosana Eckert and Jennifer Barnes. About 2 songs into their first set, it happened....the once empty dance floor came alive with stomping feet and swaying hips. Little boys were dancing with their sisters and moms. Little girls were swirling around the floor in their daddy's arms. Several senior citizen couples were enjoying a nice dinner at the restaurant/club and when those latin tunes began to play they could not escape the pull of the intoxicating rhythms and the lilting melodies. They were joining the families who had already filled the dance floor. Everyone was smiling, everyone was happy when stranger or friend came and joined them in their dance. I was an observer instead of a dancer on this particular evening; but, as I watched the thought entered my mind, "this is a sacred moment".  There is joy in this room and I am a witness. I believe God rested on that room and allowed us mere mortals to see a tiny speck of the joy that is found in this life with which God has blessed us. It was not a spectacular event. There was no blatently "Christian" theme in the music, but God was there smiling in the gentle rhythms and the sea of swaying hips and arms. At least this is what I believe.

And God is there in my public school classroom. He is there when I say a kind word to a student who looks defeated and sad. He is there when I give direction to a child making poor choices. He is there during our moment of silence each morning when I confess to Him that I don't have what it takes inside of me to get through a day of teaching children without the help of His Spirit in my heart. I ask His Spirit to cover the room. I believe the room is sacred. Oh yes, the laws of the land tell me that I cannot lead my children in prayer or talk about God, but there is no earthly law that can keep me from the dialogue I have with my heavenly father at the beginning of each new school day. "Be with me, empower me to love these children - even the unlovable ones. Give me wisdom to know how to get through to the closed off child and to teach so that my students will hear, comprehend and understand what I'm trying to teach in the lesson of the day. " I pray this everyday. Somedays it is just a short inner scream that goes something like this..."God, HELP"!

God is definitely everywhere and everything is His. So, on this second day of my "new year" I just want to say that everything of mine is His and I believe everything is His and under His control.  So, everything (including my public school job) is sacred.

Praise Him! Soli Do Gloria!

1st Day of School

Since I was five years old this day has been my own personal new year's day. The first day of school is always a new beginning. This is when I choose to make my resolutions and my determinations to make this year better than the last.

On that first day of kindergarten many years ago, I was a young girl concerned that my new dress and my new hair cut looked just right for that first impression I would be making on my new teacher and my new friends. My mind was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was super excited to be beginning the great unknown (to me) journey of being a kindergartner, on the other, there was a part of me that just wanted to stay home, tightly clinging to my mom's skirt!

My wise mom had prepared me for this day during the weeks preceding the first day of school by reading to me a story called, "Peter Goes to School". I still remember the pictures in that little children's book. Peter was so nervous but when he arrived at school the teacher made him feel at ease so he could muster up the courage to hug mom and wave goodbye to her. By lunch time Peter not only got a cool little carton of milk that fit perfectly on his school lunch tray, but he also had friends to sit with in the cafeteria.  Peter loved school and I couldn't wait to experience this great unknown! I knew mine would be just like Peter's experience. And you know what? It was! My teacher made me feel welcome. She complimented me on my cute dress and beautiful hair. I beamed! She showed me to my seat and I waved goodbye to my mom. By lunch I had a little carton of milk that fit perfectly on my school lunch tray and I had new friends to talk with and sit with in the cafeteria. That first day of kindergarten so many years ago began my love affair with school and with learning.

So today, I begin another new year. As an intermediate music and choir teacher at McAnally Intermediate School in Aledo, Texas I was filled with mixed emotions this morning as I left the house! A part of me was excited to begin again, but another part wished I could stay at home, walk my dog and watch The View! But, I knew that what was best was to experience my new beginning, with new faces and new little friends. My new beginning began today.

Now I am the one who must do my best to make each of my students feel at ease. I spend quite a bit of time preparing my lessons so the day will run smoothly. I am concerned about the dress I am wearing and wonder if my hair looks nice enough to make a good first impression. I also worry that it takes me too long to learn the students names. I get a kick out of the fact that the one student whose name I already have learned and etched in my memory is Cooper. Why do I remember Cooper? Cooper was a little toot today in class. After calling him down 3 times he finally decided to stop talking when I was talking. It will be interesting to see how Cooper progresses in my class over the next few weeks.

As I begin this new beginning, in my family there is a sad juxtaposition! Tom's dad, Connie, is in a nursing home in Luverne, Minnesota and he is not expected to live past the week's end. I drove Tom to the airport after school today so that he could make the trip to see his father for one last time.

The juxtaposition of excitement for the new and sadness of saying goodbye to the old seem to be a part of the regular rhythm of life. All of us will lose loved ones one day. I hurt for Tom. He lost his mother in '83 and now his dad is about to pass away. When he says bye to Connie, it will be for the last time. This kind of ending is final.

So it is with a new desire for brighter days and happy moments that I approach this year in school.  The time we have here on the planet goes by so quickly...Connie's inevitable passing this week reminds me of that. So, I am going to BLOG. I'm going to talk about this school year and all the many activities with which I am involved. I'm going to blog about friends I make, friends who have betrayed me, faith lessons that God is teaching me and family stories of music, laughter, good food and the best company possible!

It is going to be a great "new year". Today's lesson learned? Take care to enjoy each moment and to live intentionally because the time we have here on the planet is limited. It passes so quickly. I'm going to love and be loved and teach and be taught, sing and play and walk with God each step of the way.

Here's to a great 2013-2014 school year!

Pam Burchill