We all get into ruts in our teaching from time to time.

With all the planning and preparation that goes into teaching week to week, choosing repertoire, dealing with the administrative responsibilities, and all the other things that come across our plate on a given day, there’s only so much time you can spend planning, crafting, and creating innovative lesson plans and teaching strategies.

The struggle is real, y’all.

A few weeks ago, I was in the midst of planning my first studio class for my piano students and searching for a fun game/musical activity that would get everyone up and moving and work for students at different grade levels.

Enter the Decide Now! app.

Copyright - everyone’s favorite topic, right?

It’s a tricky and complicated subject and it can be hard to make sense of all the information that’s out there.

What are the rules? 
What do I need to know? 
How does it impact me and my work? 
What kind of licenses do I need to cover my week-to-week activity?

If you’re in a quandary over copyright laws, you’re not alone. Read on, my friend.

Reflection is vital to learning, growing, and success. 

It works hand-in-hand with action, a constant cycle of doing followed by observing and evaluating our work, our relationships, and the choices we make.

We all know it’s true.

But so often, we get caught up in the doing part - creating, teaching, and playing (especially at this time of year) - and don’t make time to stop and reflect.

Today, I'm taking a step back to reflect on my business goals, blog content, offerings, and ways I can serve you better.

And I'd love for you to be part of that process. (Think of it like a virtual coffee chat.)

I don’t know about you, but I love taking a look behind the scenes.

Maybe it’s all the second-guessing that goes on in my head on a daily basis (Am I doing this right? Is this the best way? Is this how other people do it? etc.) or maybe it’s my curiosity for learning about other people’s processes, creative approaches, and perspectives on the everyday things that I spend some of my time doing, too.

I find there’s always something to learn from watching others work through a problem or task - their step-by-step process, their insight, their strategies - I find it fascinating and informative. Next time that I sit down to work on a similar task, I have a few different options and ideas of ways to go about it.

The church year (also known as the liturgical year and the Christian year) is made up of seasons and holy days that connect us to our faith history, the stories we read in the Bible, and Jesus’ life and ministry on earth.

The church year begins with Advent - a short season of waiting and preparation, beginning four Sundays before Christmas. After Advent, we have the season of Christmas, which begins on Christmas Eve and lasts for 12 days.

We celebrate the season of Epiphany, beginning January 6, remembering the journey of the magi and Jesus being revealed as the Savior of the world. The season of/after Epiphany is often considered Ordinary Time (based on the word “ordinal,” meaning measured or counted).

You know when you go see a movie and you get a feeling for what’s about to happen before it happens? It’s not the dialogue that does that, it’s the musical underscoring.

A musical underscore is music played underneath dialogue or acting of some kind, often to help set the scene or create a mood. (source)

In movies, it heightens our emotions and helps us connect to the story and the characters in a more personal way.

The same is true for worship.

Advent.

A time of waiting, watching, listening.
A time of remembering, anticipating.
A time of renewal and wonder.

The beginning of a new year.

Each year, we celebrate the season of Advent in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We read the words of the prophets, we tell the stories of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, the magi.

We put ourselves back in that time and place of watching and waiting for the Savior of the world, expectant and hopeful. And then, we find ourselves here, in the 21st century, watching and waiting for the return of our Savior, expectant and hopeful.

Often times, our worship services during Advent have a particular sequence to them: We begin with the prophetic words of hope and faith; then, the promise of peace in the world; the joy of God’s fulfilled promises; and the gift of love into the world.

The arts - whether it's music or dance or drama or visual - are a wonderful way to enhance the worship experience, engage the congregation, bring stories to life in new ways, and create meaningful, memorable experiences for all involved.

Related post: Integrating Visual Arts in Worship

The term "worship arts" means different things at different churches, but often times, it includes things like:

• altar decorations
• paraments
• banners (including ribbon and streamers)
• visual aids for worship
• flower arrangements, wreathes, and other decorations
• visual art
• audio and visual technology
• dance
• drama

There's been an effort at my current church to incorporate more of these things into our worship services on a regular basis, so last year, I started a worship arts team.

Transitions are a fact of life, but they can seem especially cumbersome and drawn out when working with a group of children. 

It takes time for everyone to come in and get settled.
It takes time to get everyone quiet and listening to directions.
It takes time to pass out instruments or other props.
It takes time to collect instruments or other props.
It takes time to move to another area of the room.

You get my point. And when your classes or rehearsals are only 30 minutes, the amount of time you spend transitioning from one thing to another can really add up.

Here’s a question: What if we could make these transition times musical? What if we could keep children engaged, listening, moving, and singing, even, as they transition from one activity to the next?

Today, I’m sharing 12 practical transition songs you can use in your children’s choir rehearsals.

What's in a name?

Most of us, if asked, probably have some sense of denominational affiliation, or at least partiality. Perhaps you grew up with close ties to a certain denomination. For some of you, maybe you've been able to work within that same denomination throughout your career. For others of us, our work experience is varied - based on jobs that become available, places we live, worship styles, family decisions, etc.

I know, for me, my experience includes Episcopal and United Methodist (growing up) and United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, UCC, Presbyterian, and American Baptist/United Methodist throughout my career.

If you’ve ever been in a position where you’re considering a move to a new-to-you denomination, you’ve probably found yourself asking/googling questions like:

What do Episcopalians believe?
How are Methodists different from Lutherans?
What sets PCUSA churches apart from PCA?
What does it mean to be congregational?

To delve into some answers to these questions, we need to step back in time for a little history lesson.