Snippets from Proverbs 3

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

"Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding . . . Her [Wisdom's] ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

"Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

"Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous."

Bernhardt Family Happenings

I shall begin by giving reasons for my blogospherial silence over the last several weeks.

1. A violin recital extracted much practice and preparation from various Bernhardts.

2. Our family hi-tailed it out of Illinois for a week.

3. Plans and auditions have been under way for this "very exciting" development.

4. A violin-piano concert in early June is being prepared for.

I shall now expound and explanify on Reason #2.

Last fall, we received the happy news that our cousin was engaged to be married! He and his fiancee had planned their wedding for Memorial Day weekend 2009. To make a long story shorter, when the Georgia Bernhardts visited the Illinois Bernhardts a few years ago, Stephanie "fell in love" with Josiah and Joy, and later requested them to be ringbearer and flowergirl in their wedding. So, Memorial Day weekend found us celebrating, visiting, talking, laughing, playing games, eating a lot, and just enjoying being together with Dad's entire immediate family. There were 15 people staying in the same house, all with the last name Bernhardt! As you can imagine, that only happens once in a blue moon! We had a wonderful time on the road and with family, and simply relaxing and enjoying a vacation.

The happy couple at the rehearsal dinner.

Our other cousin and his fiancee.

Joy did very well at the wedding, and succeeded in charming the entire wedding party!

Together.

The night before we left, we enjoyed some singing with Brian on the guitar.

On the way home, we swung by the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky. What a spectacular presentation of the gospel! The pictures we took inside didn't turn out very well, so you'll just have to visit the museum to see what it looks like. :)

The grounds are absolutely beautiful.

This picture reminded me of a verse of Scripture:

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." Amos 5:24

Attention, Christian Home-Educated Musicians!

There is a very exciting development for Christian home-schooling musicians in the Northern Illinois area.

This development will:

• Especially benefit the Christian home-educating families of Northern Illinois.
• Provide an opportunity for students to grow musically, while nurturing friendships and relationships.
• Be available for not only children, but also adults who would like to participate.
• Give students the satisfaction of being presented with a challenge, working to overcome it, and experiencing the fruits of their labors.

Any guesses yet? This exciting new development is a Christian Home-school Orchestra! With approximately eight rehearsals culminating in an end-of-the-summer concert in mid-August, this is something you should consider if you would like to join other believing home-schoolers in an enterprise with the specific goal of honoring God alone with your music. Placement auditions are scheduled for Friday, May 29th. Contact me (Jacob Bernhardt, jtbernhardt2 [AT] gmail [DOT] com) or the Caswell family (vb.academy [AT] hughes [DOT] net) for more details regarding the orchestra or the auditions.

Our Dear Mother

We love you, Mom!

Happy May!

May Day - May 1: as a traditional spring festival, often celebrated by dancing, crowning a May queen, etc.; as an international labor holiday, observed in many countries by parades, demonstrations, etc. [Webster's New World Dictionary]

But for the Bernhardt family, the first day of May this year provided an opportunity for some outside work, including a much-needed mowing of the lawn that had thrived on the torrential April rains of the last few weeks. The barn stalls were cleaned, in preparation for some interested goat buyers who will visit within the next few days.

Yours truly is continuing to take delight in organ music. I am now working on Johann S. Bach's Organ Sonata No. 1 in E-flat Major. Within the last week, I found THIS video of Paul Jacobs playing the Crystal Cathedral organ. He is not playing the piece I am working on, but it is a movement from a J. S. Bach cantata. Enjoy!

"Always bearing about in the body

the dying of the Lord Jesus,

that the life also of Jesus

might be made manifest in our body."

II Corinthians 4:10

The Pipe Organ at Faith Christian

My good friend Daniel and I are preparing for a concert in Elmhurst. The church at which we are performing - Faith Christian Reformed Church - has a magnificent pipe organ. Therefore, Daniel excitedly wrote organ transcriptions for two of our pieces: Largo from the New World Symphony ("Goin' Home") by Antonin Dvorak; and The Lord's Prayer by Albert Hay Malotte.

Needless to explain to any of you organ enthusiasts reading this, we had so much fun yesterday getting ready for the concert. I will be playing J. S. Bach's choral prelude In dir ist Freude ("In Thee is Gladness"), which is beautifully represented on this organ.

Some of the swell pipes.

The big 16' vibraters. : )


Pipes along the sanctuary wall.

Reed pipes.

Where I spent most of yesterday. : )