CUEnotes
YouthCUE's blog on topics of youth choir ministry, leadership and professional well-being
(How Do You Get from That) … to This?
Over the past few seasons, recurring visits to the Skagit Valley in Washington have taught me a thing or two about seasons, patience, faith, and staying positive. The photos you see ... the one of the bare-looking field, and then the other with a glorious array of...
In Choral Music and Life in America, Balance Is Absolutely Critical in Order to Achieve Beauty
A healthy life balance is something most people desire. And what’s more, most of us think we have already achieved it, whether we actually have or not. I may not be perfect, but my life’s balance is at least healthier than that of my friends, right? If it becomes...
The Beauty and Destruction of Our Words
THE BEAUTY AND DESTRUCTION OF OUR WORDS Writing this piece, I am set up with a cup of tea in my den with the television currently on low volume. It’s Inauguration Day 2021. The volume will move up and down as the morning’s events unfold. Currently, as I click the...
Regardless of Your Politics, Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem Is an Inspiration for All
AMANDA GORMAN’S INAUGURAL POEM IS AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL In 2017, Amanda Gorman was named the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. She was eighteen at the time. When the now 22-year-old was chosen to recite her poem, entitled The Hill We Climb for the Presidential...
Guiding lights transform difficult days into holy futures
Guiding lights transform difficult days into holy futures In these early days of 2021, our national leaders in science, healthcare, and politics are saying essentially the same thing about the coming weeks: The darkest and most difficult days of the COVID-19...
Making a Difference in Two Worlds
A few of still have vivid memories of what a horribly difficult year 1968 was. The Vietnam War was raging, the TET offensive killed thousands, and riots were happening on university campuses across the United States. In some cases, the spring semester of 1968 was...
Fresh Air … Dan Jean
When we are thirsty, the first sip of cool water is magically good. And the first bite of food when we are really hungry? Oh yes! Is anything better? Surely our hunger and thirst tell us exactly what we need, and when we respond to that need, our whole being rejoices....
Seasons change … from age to age, You are God
On a recent trip to Montana, I discovered new angles and expanded landscapes of what I have known for decades. God is God. Psalm 46 reminds us ... God is our refuge and strength. God is a very present help in times of trouble. Though the mountains shake and...
WORDS … Dan Jean
How many words are there on the Internet? Using a ratio of 300 words to each of the estimated 100 billion pages on the Internet will yield approximately 30 trillion words. That is 30 followed by 12 zeroes. The sheer volume of information and opinion “out there” is...
Some theories for why I didn’t see it …
See this? As I recall, I first encountered a similar wood graphic in 1974 in Alvin, TX, sitting on the desk of my boss and mentor, Roy Savage, in his church study, three doors down from mine. For a full two years, during weekly staff meetings in his office, I would...
