Name:Carrie Pazdziora Country:United States State:Illinois Birthday:10/21/1985 Gender:Female
Interests:I love Jesus. Following Him, my dear husband Eric is tops on my Interest list. ;) Sometimes I get camera-happy. I'm always music-happy. I'm also fond of: Literature. France. Ireland. Europe, in general, I suppose. Ball-room dancing. Hope. The Carolinas. Composers with names that are difficult to pronounce. Daisies. Writing. Sister(s). Christmas lights. Coffee. Piano. Vanilla-flavored Candles. Antiques. The sweet songs of the crickets on warm summer evenings. Red roses. Grace. People. Art museums. Beauty. Babies. Green copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Expertise:Interior Decorating, perhaps. Tripping into the arms of a tall & handsome gentleman-friend. Speaking with a British or Indian accent. I can pick things up with my toes. And I'm really good at reading out-loud... but not at making my bed in the morning. Occupation:Singer-Songwriter Industry:Life
Currently Listening Awake By Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock see related
Sleeplessness
I wish I were my cat. She can sleep practically whenever she pleases, which at this very moment is a most coveted talent. Perhaps I'm anxious to hear from Eric's recent job applications. Perhaps this is simply my punishment for eating sour cream and onion potato chips before bed. Whatever the reason, I lay in bed a full six hours and... nothing. Now, it's a quarter till 6:00 and lying in bed will no longer do any good, for the sun is rising and making itself known to me through the thin curtains I insisted on buying when we moved into this new apartment with windows, very large, door-sized, unignorable windows.
(Even now, Eloise - the feline - sleeps on my lap, totally unaltered by the movement of my fingers on the keyboard and the light shining boldly from my laptop's face. What I would do to be she!)
It's not as though the night outside our gigantic windows was particularly eventful. No shouting, no fire engines, not even the irritating clatter of the el, perhaps 1000 feet away from my sleepy ears, keep me from sleep anymore. I've come to ignore these noises, and with very little bother. But the noises in my head... oh, they are endless! The wondering to myself all kinds of things. This is just too much to bear! Things that are beyond my control, sometimes even beyond my care. But I wonder them, still, just waiting for the morning before my mind may at last rest in wondering only things that are accomplishable and reasonable and perfectly boring, things like what will I make for dinner?
Oh, if only I were my cat. But I'm not. So now, just a few minutes past 6:00, I must make myself some breakfast and move on. It's too late to catch up on a few winks. The sun is rising, and my stomach is growling for nourishment, something I could easily ignore if I could only sleep for a few hours. But I can't sleep now. No, now I'm too hungry to sleep. Oh bother.
So, I just went to Barnes & Noble and met a legend.
Peter Yarrow (from the timeless trio, Peter, Paul and Mary) gave a little concert for the little boys and girls (including Eric and myself) at our local bookstore this evening. (This was followed by a book-signing for his rather new book, "Puff the Magic Dragon," resurrecting the sweet old song with enchanting illustrations, which of course was the reason for his concert.) And though most of the children there (having enjoyed themselves, I'm sure) saw an old man playing a guitar and singing some silly songs, I saw a beautiful display of love for people and hope for the future. I was truly inspired by Mr. Yarrow's words and music, and I feel a sense of gratitude toward him for the new direction I'd like to take my music ministry. I do not think Mr. Yarrow is himself a Christian, but what a sweet spirit and genuine hope for peace he has! If such love and peace can be seen in someone who does not (yet) know the love of Christ, how much more should my life be reflecting such love and peace! How much more should I hunger for social justice and call out for peace and "love between my brothers and my sisters... all over this land!"
Yeah, yeah... Call me a hippie. Really, go ahead! You can even go so far as to call me a liberal. I really don't mind, because in many ways I am. I know that people's souls matter more than their bodies, and that more than they need bread for their stomachs, they need the bread of life. But I also know that Jesus cared for the down-and-out, for the physical ailments of those who couldn't physically care for themselves. Before He fed their hearts, He fed their bodies, because He knew that their bodily needs were important to them (at least for the time-being). I'm tired of seeing Christians lobbying for silly, political agendas, thinking they're doing God's bidding, but walking right by the poor and the hungry, without even the decency to offer a smile, let alone a penny.
So, thank you, Peter Yarrow. Because of your heart, mine has been inspired to do good unto people whom otherwise would go unnoticed.
And thank you, Jesus, for putting this love of people in my heart, and for giving me the gifts to better love my neighbor (including that silly Christian who irritates me so). Help me to use my gifts for you - to share your love with others not only in what I say, but especially in what I do. May hunger of food and hunger of true life be lessened by the work of your Holy Spirit in me.
Ever,
Carrie
Peter Yarrow (and some lady whose name I've sadly forgotten). Please pardon the fuzziness... we couldn't use flash photography.
Singing with all the kids on stage. This was so great!
A little blurry, I know, but hey... who can complain?
Yes, that's "To Carrie & Eric." It's not like we have any kids to buy this for! Why not to us?!
Sorry I haven't done as promised by posting the rest of my pictures from Singapore & Malaysia. Honestly, it took more time than I have been up to spending, but if you'll just go to the links I provided for my Facebook photo albums, you'll be able to see all 400+ pictures. (Or you can find me on Facebook, add me as a friend, and then check them out!) As for the warrior princess, golly, I wish I knew the story! The mural was painted on one of the outer walls of the Buddhist temple, so I imagine it has some religious connections, but alas, I know them not.
For now, I'd like to share with you a video of one of my currently favorite songs/artists:
Inspirational, eh? How about this one, from the musical, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"...
I'm pretty sure Kristin Chenoweth is Broadway's brightest star from my generation...
I'm back!!! And very happy to say so. In case you didn't know (though obviously some of you did), I was out of the country for three weeks with the Women's Concert Choir from Moody, touring and doing ministry in Singapore and Malaysia. I had an absolutely wonderful time, but - as often come with the joys - I certainly had more than my share of struggles and sorrows. For one, I was sick practically the entire tour. I noticed my sore throat on the first day we had a performance, which progressed into a nasty head cold and then a terrible chest cold that actually lasted until about two days before we left. Of course, I was still coughing up to the very last day. Though this trip had many frustrations due to my sickness, I left feeling like I'd learned more through this experience than I ever could have, otherwise. Here's an entry I made in the choir's tour journal:
June 2, 2008
"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." (II Corinthians 4:5-7)
This has definitely been a challenging tour for me, physically, as I've been sick for a good portion of it. Though this has caused pain and frustration, God has been teaching me a valuable lesson through it. First, that He is faithful to meet me in my time of discomfort with His supernatural comfort. Second, that I am better equipped to comfort others in discomfort when I have experienced that discomfort - and God's comfort - for myself (II Corinthians 1:3-7). And third, that it often takes a painfully obvious demonstration of weakness to realize (or remember) that God uses these "earthen vessels" of our fragile and frail bodies and souls. I'm encouraged through this to remember my value in God's eyes, despite the weakness I embody. And what a wise God I serve, who uses me in my own weakness to ensure that I don't receive the glory that He deserves for the power I have only by the work of His Spirit!
Praise be to God, who not only instructs by His Word, but also gives each of us the strength to live by the instruction He gives us!
Ever,
Carrie Pazdziora
Now, I don't know whether God ordained this sickness, or if it was a tool in the hands of Satan to attempt to handicap my ministry. Either way, the Lord used it to draw me closer to Him and to the other women in choir. And, hey, it wasn't the worst possible place to be sick... I had about thirty mommies to look after me. :)
I know what you're thinking: OK, enough with the spiritual lesson; let's see some pictures!!! Alright, alright. Let's see what we can dig up for you...
And ya'll come back now, ya hear? I can't possibly upload all these pictures in one sitting. So, there'll probably be more next time you visit, not to mention explanations for each photo.
Thanks!
To see more photos from this trip, you can access all six of my photo albums with these links: Album 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051618&l=d5fb1&id=34102864 Album 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051624&l=e2421&id=34102864 Album 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051626&l=23009&id=34102864 Album 4: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051656&l=e9f89&id=34102864 Album 5: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051659&l=06220&id=34102864 Album 6: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051719&l=3a05c&id=34102864
Dreadfully sorry for my absence these past few days... weeks... months. Though this blog doesn't mean quite as much to me as it once did, I know that a very few of you are still faithful to read... and to let me know when it's been too long since I've written. It is for you I write once more.
This past semester has been a trying one for me. Not academically, though I'm not enthusiastically pleased with my work in that area. But just in terms of finding myself... my voice, really. In fact, literally. This has been my fifth semester taking voice lessons (as in, ever), and I know that, because of it, I've improved quite a bit, vocally, in the past few years. I know my tone quality and breath support, to name a few things, have developed for the (much) better. Now, I'm not trying to "toot my own horn," but I've come a long way in the area of arias. (Plenty of pun intended, and all for the worse.) In fact, if I had a few (or more) acting lessons, I could probably begin a career in opera within five more years' worth of lessons.
I know what you're thinking: Now, Carrie, I've heard your recordings and... not that they're bad, but, well... they're not exactly Renee Flemming. Well, for one, what in the world are you doing comparing me to Renee Flemming?! Quit it! But, for another, you're right. I've never recorded anything operatic or classical in nature. And, though I do enjoy listening and singing classical literature, it's not really my desire to record anything like it or even perform it for anyone on a regular basis. And I don't mean just Don Giovanni or Le Nozze di Figaro. I mean classical stylings of hymns and sacred pieces as well. It's just... not my style.
That's the part I'm having a bit of trouble with right now. You see, before I began taking voice lessons, I'd already established myself as a coffee shop troubador. I sang pieces in such a way that a sweet, sultry kind of sound filled the room, and that's the way I liked it. And that's the way everyone else seemed to like it too. Since I've been taking lessons, my voice has definitely changed, and I hope for the better (though I'm not sure everyone would agree). I still want to be that cafe troubador, but I've had a bit of difficulty finding the balance between my contemporary style and my classical training. What's worse is that my voice teacher, whom I respect in the highest, warns me constantly that contemporary music will ruin my soprano voice. I know that she knows what she's talking about. Yet, I struggle with accepting it. It is my passion to use my gifts of music to be a beacon of light in cafes around the world, and, quite honestly, most cafe-goers seem to be interested in Norah Jones, not Jessye Norman.
Do you see my delimma? I do enjoy singing classical music, but it doesn't have quite the same tug on my heart as does the jazzy, folk music I generally write. I still use quite a bit of my classical training to enhance my contemporary style, but it's obviously not comprehensibly classical. I have decided to record a few pieces (such as Give Me Jesus or Lead, Kindly Light)that have more classical elements than I normally use, just to make my music a little more diverse. (You can find them on my website, if you're interested. But I still have yet to record something that truly reflects my soprano voice, so please don't expect to find any arias you'd hear at the Met... or the school operetta.)
So, what do you think? What kind of music do you most like to listen to? What would you do if you were in my position? I don't want to lose all my potential as a soprano, but I don't really prefer classical to contemporary, so why should I care so much?
It is for you I write once more.