PERSPECTIVE

This has become such a huge, important word in my life. My husband, Tom, likes to use the word “awareness” right alongside the word “perspective”. Sometimes things we do and say and think are absolutely incorrect because we don’t have perspective.  I’ve been guilty of this. Perhaps you have been as well. 

Here is a well- known “perspective” story:  (a version of it is in Covey's “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”)

There was a businessman coming home from a very hectic day at the office. He lived in NYC and was taking his daily subway train ride from work to home.  As he boarded the train he was ready to sit and chill and maybe read a few of his notes from the last meeting of the day.  He sat down and comfortably settled into his seat and began to search for his notes. About this same time a father and his two children boarded the train and sat on the seat across from him. The father sat quietly as his children proceeded to misbehave - badly. The children were loud and quite obnoxious. The businessman was very irritated at this disruption to his subway ride. At first he just gave the children some disapproving glares and glanced at the father as if to say, “Do something about your kids”! The businessman noticed several other passengers looking annoyed and heard a few comments and loud sighs. After about 10 minutes of the children’s bad behavior the businessman could contain himself no longer and he blurted out to the father, “Sir, can you please do something about your children? They are being very disruptive.” The father, as if waking from a trance, replied, “Oh, I am so terribly sorry sir. I really hadn’t even noticed. You see, we just left the hospital where we all just said our final goodbyes to their mother. She passed away earlier this afternoon. I’m not sure how to handle this situation and I don’t think the kids know how to handle it either. I do apologize for disturbing you.”

The businessman immediately felt horrible and every bad feeling he had about the father and the children lifted. His tolerance for the children's bad behavior reached new heights and he gave the man his condolences and deepest sympathies. Every person in ear shot of the conversation and the kids changed their demeanor and mood immediately.

This story illustrates that PERSPECTIVE is incredibly important.  

Sometimes stories can help us gain perspective. Jesus used this method all the time with anyone he encountered.  He was the ultimate teller of parables or stories to make his points. 

I hope to write more stories more often on this blog. I apologize for not living up to my 2014 resolution to write daily. However, I’m not beating myself up about that. The resolution still stands. Life is a journey. Progress comes in little steps. Today I am a step closer to my goal of blogging regularly. 

Here is my PERSPECTIVE today….share your feelings of love and thankfulness with those that mean the most to you and show love and appreciation for all  those you come in contact with today. If they look or act differently than you, you should still show love and care filled courtesy and kindness. This is God’s way as I understand it from reading His book. Don’t try to guess what someone else is thinking or what their motives might be….quite honestly, you don’t have enough information! Stop gossip and slander. These are hateful things. Check out Ephesians 4:29 and Proverbs 16:28. 

And please remember the businessman, the father, his unruly children and the subway ride. You probably don't have enough information to make a harsh judgment on someone else. Be careful  (what a GREAT word –careful – full of care) with your words and pray for more PERSPECTIVE and quite frankly friends, pray for more LOVE! I'm not seeing as much of it among His people as I'm sure He desires. Also, some of us need to realize there is only ONE GOD, and that means there is only ONE Holy Spirit. And guess what? You and I are not it.

I sure do love Jesus and I’m glad He first loved me and I really believe He calls me to show His love to everyone I meet. Soli Deo Gloria  

PAM

 
Proverbs 21:23 – “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble”.

HEAVEN

Several years ago I was teaching my middle school general music class. Once a semester I would assign students the responsibility of coming up with something to perform for one another. This is a day that most of the students enjoy and I like to call it "talent day". Someone always surprises me on talent day. A student who has never indicated to me that they can dance might perform a wonderful ballet for the class, or a student might whip out a violin and play the heck out of a Texas fiddle tune. Someone who never let on to me, might be an excellent singer, a comic, a yo yo-ing genius or a soccer ball dribbler extraordinaire. And then there is always the class clown who is just double jointed and can contort like no other! I always enjoy talent day and my students do too.

This one particular talent day I was in for a unique surprise and an unexpected life lesson from one of my special needs students. Brittney wanted to perform that day. She was confined to a wheel chair with very little arm and hand mobility and no leg mobility and she had a very limited vocabulary. She did have beautiful shining eyes and a smile that seemed to never leave her face. She had chosen to sing for us. Now I must report that my public school music class and choir students are the most polite people when it comes to these special needs kids. They encourage them, help them and cheer them on to success. In my 13 years of public school teaching this has happened in every class without exception. I knew that this sweet girl, Brittney, would not be able to articulate the words of whatever song she had chosen, but that the students would smile and cheer her on. It would be a fun experience for her. Little did I know it would be a lesson for me and everyone in the room.

Brittney handed me her burned cd and I put it into the cd player. Together, she and I moved her wheel chair in front of the microphone at the center of the room. I went over and adjusted it. I knew she really couldn't sing the words, but I wanted her to feel like she was singing with a microphone just like the other singers who had gone before her. I went over to the cd player and clicked play.

The song began and I thought to myself, "oh, I know this song...we have sung it in church many times". So, Brittney started to kind of mumble along. As the song progressed the smile on her face got bigger and bigger and she mumbled just a little louder as the chorus started to play. The words were...

"Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine"

As we watched that smiling, wheel chair bound young girl singing, "will I dance?" "to my knees will I fall?", "will I stand in your presence?" there was not one child who did not understand the profundity of that moment. There was not a dry eye in the room.

As the song came to a close I had to collect myself. I think I understood, if only slightly, a little bit of what Brittney was saying to all of us. She was telling us of her hopes and dreams to dance and to stand and to sing and to drop to her knees. She was also communicating to us that she was confident this was going to happen one day. She was confident that in heaven she would be whole.

Now, I am not a theologian. I don't claim to understand the mysteries of life. Why was Brittney born to be a loving, smiling child confined to a wheel chair and in constant dependence to those around her? I have no idea. I cannot begin to understand that. I just have this child like faith that I cling to and it carries me through the good and the bad of my life. I am a Christian.

I have friends who don't believe in God at all. They are nice, intelligent people. Faith seems strange, maybe even stupid to them. I think it might be because someone who said they were Christian hurt them or didn't live up to their expectations of what a Christian should be. I certainly understand that! Maybe they look at folks like Brittney and wonder, "if God is a loving God how could He possibly allow an innocent child to have such dreadful limitations?" We've all wondered such things. I respect my friends who have chosen to believe God can't exist, but in my heart I know they are wrong.

Brittney strengthened my faith in God and in Heaven that day. You see, I don't believe she was put on this earth to be taught. She was put here to teach. And she taught me a great lesson that day. She taught me to believe in Heaven. All the things that are wrong with me, the weaknesses and the imperfections will one day be made whole. As I walk through this life I should do so with joyful expectancy like my friend and former student, Brittney.

I don't know where you stand on the subject of God and heaven. I'd like to encourage you to believe with child like faith. It works for me and it really works for Brittney. I'd also like to invite you to read the beautiful poem I've put at the end of today's blog. It was written by Morris West.

Might I encourage you to explore a little child like faith in the new year? My little bit of child like faith tells me that one day Brittney and I will be dancing together in Heaven! Happy New Year!

CLOWNS OF GOD

I know what are you thinking.
You need a sign.
What better one could I give
than to make this little one whole and new?
I could do it; but I will not.
I am the Lord and not a conjurer.
I gave this mite a gift I denied to all of you
ETERNAL INNOCENCE
To you she looks imperfect
but to me she is flawless,
like the bud that dies unopened,
or the fledglings
that fall from the nest to be devoured by ants.
She never offended me,
as all of you have done.
She never perverted the work of My Father hands.
She is necessary to you.
She will evoke the kindness that will prompt you to
gratitude for your own good fortune....more.....
she will remind you every day that I am who I am,
that My ways are not yours,
and the smallest dust mite whirled in darkest
space does not fall out of my hand.
I have chosen you.
you have not chosen me.
this little one is my sign to you.
TREASURE HER.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! 2014 is a new story to be told! There are three hundred and sixty five pages in the book of 2014. Let's write something beautiful on each one!

Beginnings are awesome. Beginnings are scary. I like beginnings. This new year I am planning on doing the whole resolution thing. Why not? I want things to be better and it seems like a good time to start the work towards that. Embarking on a new year reminds me of other "beginnings" in my life.

One beginning that I remember well is when my husband, Tom and I started out on our adventure to move from South Dakota to Texas. It was the summer of 1981. Tom and I were high school sweethearts. We got married shortly after high school and we went to college together. We graduated from college in 1980 and had worked in Sioux Falls, SD for the year after that, saving our money to move somewhere for graduate school. We had thought of going to Boston or Miami, but the school it looked like we could probably afford was UNT in Denton, Texas. It had a nationally recognized music school and jazz studies program and Tom had his heart set on studying Jazz Guitar at a reputable jazz school. I had my heart set on trying to help Tom make his dreams come true.

We had saved a grand total of $1000.00. That doesn't sound like much, but back then it seemed like a lot to us. We borrowed a trailer and hooked it up to our old Oldsmobile. We put every belonging we had in that trailer including all of Tom's guitars and our P.A. system. (It was very important that we had these items as this is the way we made our living...playing music).  It wasn't a very big trailer, but that didn't matter because aside from our musical equipment, we didn't have much stuff.  We headed on our way with a light hearted, positive outlook. We were "looking for adventure"and heading out on the highway. Little did we know, it was going to be a wild ride!

About 200 miles down the road, somewhere in Iowa the hot light went on. Tom pulled the car to the side of the road and as I got out on the passenger side, for some odd reason I bent over and looked under the car. It was on fire! We truly didn't know what to do. Being the genius that I am, I ran out into the corn field and panicked. Tom joined me. There were no real valuables in the car, so it seemed much more important to me to get away from the burning car so that we would not to be blown up on the side of the highway in the middle of a corn field in Iowa. Then, in what seemed like a few seconds a man in a truck pulled over, jumped out of his truck and put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. As quickly as he had done that he hopped back in the truck and drove off. Seriously, we didn't even have time to run over to him to thank him.

Staring at each other with a "what do we do now" look we see a vehicle pull up with a couple, about the age of my parents, in it. They got out of their car and said, "you two look like you need a little help". They proceeded to ask us to get in their car. Ok, now a days...after seeing lots of crime shows, and episodes of "I shouldn't be alive".... I would have never gotten in the car with these strangers, but we were young and foolish and didn't know any better.

If you are expecting a harrowing tale of horror, you will be disappointed. These were the nicest people! They allowed us to stay in the their home that evening, provided us with a tow (apparently, in this little town they knew everyone!) The next day their friend (the local mechanic) repaired the car and it only took a little over $300 of the $1000 that we had saved. We offered to take the couple out for lunch the following day, but they refused to let us pay saying that we better save our money if we were going to continue on to Texas.

And continue on to Texas we did. We were not deterred by this setback. We were young, in love, excited about the future and blessed by witnessing and experiencing the kindness of strangers when we needed help. My mom believes the truck driver who appeared and disappeared was an angel sent by God to protect us. My mom is right about a lot of things, so I'm not going to argue with her. Whether angel or mortal, he was an awesome guy for sure.

It has been 33 years so I don't remember the name of the couple that helped us. I remember the lady on her hands and knees scrubbing her kitchen floor that night after dinner. I got down on my knees to help her. She told me that they had a daughter about my age and they wanted to help because they would hate it if their daughter was out on the rode and had such a problem. The couple lived in a very simple little house. The room we stayed in was more like a storage room with a little bed in the corner. The kindness they showed will never be forgotten. They didn't have much, but they gave of what they had to us. They gave time, shared a meal, opened their home (we could have been drug crazed serial killers for all they knew) and offered many kind words and sage advice. I may not remember their name, but I will never forget the kindness shown by a sweet couple from a little farming town in Iowa.

We made it to Texas! There were a few more adventures on the way that I'll share another day here on my blog.  Much like our trip from South Dakota to Texas there have been a number of setbacks and days when we have stared at each other with a "what do we do now" look. But there have been other kind people we've met, we may not be young any more but we are still in love and excited about the future.

I hope you are too. Please know that beginnings are exciting, but they also can be quite hard. So, as you start 2014....go ahead and head out on the highway and look for your adventure! There will be setbacks, there will be times when you don't know what to do. But forge ahead. Keep trying. Know that God sends His angels in the most interesting ways into our lives.

Happy New Year! Enjoy your wild ride!

Oh..by the way, one of my resolutions is to blog every day...so keep me accountable and follow my blog. I promise to only be positive and encouraging.

PAM

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