"Peep, peep, peep"

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend a fireside featuring acclaimed LDS pianist Marvin Goldstein and his singing partner, Vanessa Joy. Click here to see a small bio on Marvin and to access Vanessa's webpage. The fireside was AWESOME. I grew up listening to piano arrangements of LDS hymns done by Marvin Goldstein (usually played as a special musical number during the rest hymn time, you know...) and I was in COMPLETE AWE to hear him play in real life. I was almost moved to tears when he played his piano arrangement on Primary songs.

Interesting tidbit: This is Marvin's calling for life. He was set apart by Marvin J. Ashton in 1989, and has been touring the world ever since, conducting fireside and sharing the gospel through his music.

Then there was his singing partner, who has an incredible voice. She sang this song, which is my favorite Christian song of the moment:

Performed by Selah. I tried getting a demo recording of Vanessa on Youtube, but didn't like any of them. You can find some of her with Marvin Goldstein, but be warned, the videos can't compare to listening to her in real life.

However, what struck me the most wasn't the music. Instead, two things:
1) A few years ago when Marvin was still a soloist act, he stopped in Arizona to conduct a fireside. After the fireside, a husband approached him with the idea of Marvin collaborating with his wife to tour and perform. His wife was Vanessa Joy, and ta dah! The performing duo was formed.

How many husbands will do such a thing?!

WE NEED MORE SUCH HUSBANDS. Husbands who take pride in their wives' accomplishments and want to help them magnify their talents; husbands who will let their wives choose whether to be a full-time homemaker or a career woman, and then work with them to take care of the children; husbands who are not afraid to pray, discuss, work and come to a consensus with their wives.
In short, husbands who view their wives as true, equal partners. 

And you wonder why I'm not married...

2) Quails are pretty smart birds. Which is saying quite a lot since I don't like birds (except for penguins).

Quail picture taken from http://rootsandbranches-stephanie.blogspot.com/2011/09/miracle-of-quail.html

Vanessa shared this story with us: A couple years ago, her family was on vacation and driving through Arizona when they spotted a family of quails. The father quail was perched above ground, on the lookout for predators, while the mother quail was down on the ground close to her chicks looking for food. Vanessa got out of the car to take a picture, but once her foot landed on the ground, she heard this "Peep, peep, peep" call from the father, and the next thing she knew, the Mommy quail had scurried her obedient chicks away to safety.

Talk about family roles- Dad and Mom WORKING TOGETHER for the safety of their family in equal but different roles. Daddy quail high above, on the lookout and giving the signal when danger approaches. Mommy quail with her children on the ground providing nourishment, strength and protection.

Sounds familiar?

The Family Proclamation of my Church states:

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

What a great insight. Got to give these birds credit.