Losing everything makes you aware of what to value.

 Losing everything makes you aware of what to value.

https://womenofchristianity.com/treasures-by-martha-snell-nicholson/

“The light that you discover in your life is proportionate to the amount of the darkness you are willing to forthrightly confront.” Jordan Peterson

https://www.fatherly.com/health/how-parents-experience-the-death-of-a-child

When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

― C.S. Lewis

 

Treasures by Martha Snell Nicholson

Published July 10, 2018 | By womenofchristianity

One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.

And I walked earth’s highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
“Lift your empty hands to Me!”

So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more.

And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God COULD not pour His riches
Into hands already full!

Foxburg, an event

 

Foxburg, an event

Recently we attended an event in Foxburg, Pa. Foxburg is a small town along the Allegheny river and is home to the oldest golf course in the United States. This excerpt is from GolfWRX December 23, 2017, “Consider the Foxburg Golf Club (Pennsylvania), and The Oakhurst Golf Club (West Virginia). Both Foxburg and Oakhurst had records of playable courses in 1884. The Foxburg, however, was a private course on private property that originally only had eight holes. In 1887, the Foxburg added nine new public holes to their course, and that course has been in continuous working existence ever since.” This isn’t a sports blog, so let’s move on.

Foxburg has a rich history, founded on land owned by the Fox family of Philadelphia. Samuel and brother George purchased the land in the 1790s comprised 6600 acres. Samuel’s son Joseph established a residence in 1826 near the confluence of the Clarion River. The residence became known as “the Mansion” where the succeeding generation of Foxes would take up season residence for 140 years. Oil development in 1870 stimulated the founding of the town with a peak population of 1000. Two railroads served the borough, with one lasting into the 1960s, but by 2008 the railroad remnants were no more, and the beds now host Rails to Trails.

The Fox family founded the Quaker religion in the 1600s in England, and the family built vast investments, business holdings and wealth in America. At one point, the hundreds of employees included a junior accountant named Benjamin Franklin. The Mansion legacy witnessed many upgrades over the years, including four powder rooms, wine cellar, conservatory, music room. 17 fireplaces and English-style pub. The entire estate grew to 26 structures, including additional homes. The grounds offer 23 ponds, hiking trails, an aviary, complete arboretum, sugar house for maple syrup, greenhouse, a one-of-a-kind carriage house and much more. Known as the River Stone Estate, it is the largest private estate in Pennsylvania.

Now you know the backstory, what is happening today, why do I offer this post? We are members of ARCA, Allegheny Riverstone Center for the Arts based in Foxburghttps://alleghenyriverstone.org › about › riverstone-estate. World-class performers come to this little town’s Lincoln Hall to perform. Names such as Barbara Nissman, https://www.barbaranissman.com, David Wickerham, https://www.manasotatheatreorgan.org/dave-wickerham/ but here is a 2024 season schedule, https://alleghenyriverstone.org/event-calendar/. On May 5, 2024, we were in attendance for the last performance on the McKissick Mighty Wurlitzer before it enters a yearlong renovation. There are only 350 organs left of the ten thousand originally built between 1910 and 1940. Only 38 remain in their original venues. The McKissick Mighty Wurlitzer has a history of its own before finding its way to Foxburg. On November 22, 1928, this instrument played during silent films and vaudeville in Cleveland’s Uptown Theater. Lincoln Hall is in the center of Foxburg with a view of the Allegheny River. The town also offers a winery, an art gallery (Red Brick Gallery), a library, hotel https://foxburginn.com/ and restaurants https://www.opentable.com/r/allegheny-grille-foxburg with balconies overlooking the river. Tickets for Lincoln Hall events sell out fast, so if you plan to attend, make your purchases and reservations early. The patrons prove friendly and easy to talk to.

My first forays into Foxburg occurred years ago, as a canoeist navigating overnight river adventures. Just below the town, on the riverbank, you’ll find free campsites to pitch a tent. In the evenings, we would walk the railroad tracks into town to watch the Steelers play football. The town also became a destination for our motorcycle rides. On any weekend of summer, you’ll find motorcycles packed in the parking lot (no outlaws) but just people enjoying their ride. Foxburg can serve a wide variety of interests. We’ve motorcycled through Europe, and the Foxburg reminds me of sleeping German village along the Mosel River. 

For additional information, www.alleghenyriverstone.org, join the concerts and RBG exhibits. Brave Knight Writers support the arts, literature, and music of the region. Visit us at braveknightwriters.com.

https://braveknightwriters.com/ 

https://youtu.be/CZKR4WLALJw?si=gnqlNyIEZbYkoO3b

A Universe of Music
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 by Brave Knight Writers

Music touches the soul.

Does it? Why does it? Do we have a soul? Does the soul connect us to something greater than the universe?

If you are inclined to follow science, you might want to indulge in the latest breakthroughs in quantum physics. If you are a believer in creation, turn to your Bible. In either case, your journey may very well lead to the same point. This blog is far too short to do much more than inspire you to do more research. Mathematics and music have a close relationship, and to please a question, the pieces must fit together in perfect symmetry, and balance.

Quantum physics proposes the universe exists as a matter of frequencies, oscillations, harmonics and vibrations. Matter is merely energy of a certain frequency. In physics the definition of frequency is:

“The increase in amplitude of oscillation of an electric or mechanical system exposed to a periodic force whose frequency is equal or very close to the natural undamped frequency of the system.”

So, ask yourself, what is music? According to Merriam-Webster, “the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity” The longest book of the Bible is Psalms, many of them written by David-a man after God’s own heart- and set to music. So I would guess music is important in Christianity? In Revelation, 5, 7 and 15 we find songs. The first musician of the Bible appears in Genesis 4:21. Why does the Bible have such a consistent thread of music in it? Where else in the Bible can you find mention of Music? Try Exodus, Numbers, Judges, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Kings, Chronicles, Samuel, Ecclesiastics, Joshua and Samuel, I rest my case. Job 38:7 While the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (CSB)

Why do we have a desire for music? Most of our desires fall into the physical realm. We desire food, drink, shelter, and physical comfort to survive in this world. Our desire for music is not derived from a physical need, it feeds our emotional desire for order and continuity, it fulfills a spiritual need. Does our very DNA, at a subcellular level, respond to harmony, frequency, and the vibrations of the music of creation? Why do sour notes turn us off? When musical continuity breaks, we are left with an uneasy feeling, just as when people indulge in distorted desires. Everyone has desires and temptations, neither of these are sins but when we act on distorted temptations, or our desires become distorted, a sour note is struck.   

Distortion alters truth. Whether authenticity fails in the natural, original state, or in physics, creating a lack of proportionality, the result is a change in wave form from the original signal. Epicureans embraced the thoughts of Epicurus, where desires are not the problem within harmony. It is false beliefs which cause a distortion of desires. Society often propagates myths, false expectations, and superstitions with an offer to fulfill desires. Such offers lead us to wrong ways to find satisfaction, the results of which disturb natural continuity. The same is true in music and mathematics. Harmony requires truth, anything less becomes chaos. Science and the Bible both point to these required conditions for a successful existence.

Is God the great maestro, whose creation is one great musical score where he uses it to hammer home, telegraph, or contradict the emotions and actions of happenings? Everything appears timed to the closest millisecond to provide cues for comedy, suspense, horror, and more. God gave us freewill; he wants us to add our dialogue, and play out our roles, his creation offering a backdrop for our stories. Harmony and frequency generate all we see and experience, God wants us to flow with his music, to prove we can sync with the angels. Since I can’t sing a note or play an instrument, this whole scenario leaves me feeling uneasy, why would God want me in his band? Well, maybe he finds it more important for me to let his music touch my heart, than to expect me to make my own music. It isn’t about my music. Creation’s music belongs to Him. By grace, he will invite me backstage if I accept Him as the master musician.

In my research I found many references to the sounds of the universe. Most refer to global warming, climate change, eastern mysticism, and philosophies other than Christianity. Even though there is a segment of the population who refuses to include the Bible and propositions of a music-based creation in these references, there is no denying the Bible’s musical threads which appeared long before any of these new-age theories. Check out Smithsonian Magazine, Dan Falk’s article of March 1, 2023, What Does the Universe Sound Like? “The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and other researchers have melded astronomy and music to offer a new oeuvre.” (Definition of oeuvre: The complete body of an artist's work.) So, I come full circle, Job 38:7, While the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (CSB) One goal the Smithsonian article says, “people who are blind or have low vision… can also become part of the scientific enterprise.” In Romans 14:1 “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.” (NIV) So, research and draw your own conclusions. May I suggest—in your research—include the Bible.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-does-the-universe-sound-like-180981715/