More About Terri

Tell us about your family, your children, and the daily life of your home.           

I am a wife to Steve Moon and we’ve just celebrated our 35th Anniversary. Together we raised and home educated four children, Ruth, Esther, Jeremiah, and Rebecca, all of whom are grown and on their own now. Two of our children are married, the oldest and the youngest, and we are praying that we will have the honor of being grandparents someday! Each of our children plays a musical instrument, and Jeremiah is in the process of writing his first album of original music for the cello. All of them enjoy the arts and both Esther and Jeremiah draw and paint. Rebecca designs clothing and owns her own shop in Colorado Springs. Two are teachers at the college level, Ruth in the Communications department a LSU and Esther teaches while working on a PhD in English Literature at University of Dallas. Steve is now retired so we are spending more time volunteering in our church and in the community, and most days I am busy teaching private violin students of all ages. We both serve on the leadership team of the Anselm Society in Colorado Springs and enjoy walking our dog, Chesterton.

Tell us when you started to follow Jesus, and about your journey with Him.

 I became a believer in Jesus when I was 15 years old, though I was raised attending church. It was the influence of some friends who introduced me to Jesus personally and I made a commitment to serve Him with my life. I attended many different denominations during college and learned to appreciate the different styles of worship. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was a big influence on my life during college and helped train me in leadership; I started a new chapter at my college which is still in existence today. After I earned a master’s degree in music I was invited to study in Amsterdam for a year. I was actually engaged to Steve before I left, and spent a long time searching for God’s will for my life. Was I supposed to get married and become a wife, or continue my pursuit of a career in music? It was then that I heard God’s voice speaking to me through Ephesians 5:1-2, which says, “Therefore now live a life of love, just as Christ has given himself for you as a fragrant sacrifice to God.” That gave me the courage to choose a life focused on loving my family, and has become my life verse. 

What ministry or work in your community gives you personal fulfillment? 

I really enjoy teaching music to others, and am hoping that my influence will lead some (or many!) young person to become a worship leader in their own church someday. I also love playing for worship each week and finding creative ways to add beauty to my local church through leading a small choir. I feel that music is a gift from God that we are to give back to Him, and I want to see the church everywhere appreciate and love the heritage we have in beautiful music for God’s glory. My work in the Anselm Society is connected to this and encourages me. The goal of the Anselm Society is to help start a Renaissance of the Christian Imagination and reconnect the arts and the church.

What hobbies or activities do you most enjoy pursuing in your free time? 

I love playing music with others and have a several friends that I formed a trio with consisting of a violin (me), a viola, and a harp. We call ourselves the Loch Lomond Trio. I have a backyard garden that I love to work in — getting my hands dirty and being in the sunshine has become a lot of fun and teaches me about God’s creation. I also love reading, calligraphy, art, and studying Scripture. I am part of a team at my church that works with our sister church in Rwanda. I have traveled there twice and also loved hiking the pilgrimage trail to Canterbury several years ago. I hope to return to England and Scotland someday.

Thinking of books you’ve read, which authors have influenced you most? 

I have been influenced a lot by G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Makoto Fujimura, especially their writings about art and faith. I’m currently reading Joel Clarkson’s new book, “Sensing God” and of course, have loved all of Sally’s books! I also really enjoy classics like “The Scent of Water” by Elizabeth Goudge, “Circle of Quiet” by Madeleine L’Engle, and “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens.

When it’s just you, what music or musicians do you most enjoy listening to?

 I love a lot of different styles of music, including new music that is being written today by song writer Matthew Clark and Andrew Peterson. Arvo Pärt is a living classical composer that fascinates me. When I’m by myself I usually will gravitate to my all-time favorite composer, J.S. Bach. His music is timeless and always speaks to me in deep places, both for its beauty and its spiritual meaning. All of the composers that I shared about in the Great Composer series are special to me, and I enjoy listening to their music and playing it whenever I get the chance.

What books of the Bible, and what specific passages, mean the most to you?

In addition to the special verses from Ephesians that have become my life verse, I am always drawn to the Psalms, which contain every feeling and emotion a human can experience and is also the songbook of the church. In the last few years I have been reading the whole Bible using the Immerse Bible. This is a reader’s version of the Bible so that you can read it like a book, without the chapter and verse divisions. I find that reading the Bible in big chunks is like feasting on the Bible instead of snacking! It has given me a chance to see connections and themes that I otherwise wouldn’t have noticed. It’s my goal to read through the entire Bible this way at least every other year.

What are you passionate about, and who inspires you to be even more so? 

I am passionate about loving God with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. I feel that I have so much more to learn about Him and want to draw closer in my relationship to Him every day. I also love my family and it’s my heart’s desire to see each of my children pursue God with their whole heart too. Saints in the Bible and in history have given me so much inspiration to follow Christ.

How did you first connect with Sally Clarkson and Whole Heart Ministries?

When Steve and I married we lived first in Texas, and I heard about Sally when I was searching for inspiration as a young mother. I wanted to disciple our children but didn’t know where to start. I bought the book “Educating the Whole Hearted Child” at a book convention and found that it really resonated with my heart! Several years later we moved to Colorado and I got a newsletter in the mail from Whole Heart that mentioned Sally’s new home in Colorado. I got really brave and called on the phone, expecting to be answered by a secretary who would tell me that Sally was much to busy to talk with me. To my surprise, Sally answered and invited me to come to a tea at her home with other home schooling mothers! I was delighted to begin my friendship with Sally which before long included my whole family and my children who became friends with Sarah, Joel, Nathan, and Joy. I even taught violin lessons to Nathan for a while! We kept in contact over the years and I have really enjoyed watching her family grow and seeing the fruit of their lives and books and the influence these have had on so many people. Sally Clarkson and her family are my inspirers!

Contributions

Personal Links:

https://www.facebook.com/musicalmoons

https://www.anselmsociety.org

https://thecultivatingproject.com