Abbye West Pates

Three candles lit, how Trinitarian of me. You can take the girl out of church, but… well, you know. Music filling the house, familiar words floating through the air, found in hymnals, from the mouth of Jesus, floating through the…

Dearest One,

Good morning. Do you hear the ticking? I finally added batteries to that clock in the cubby. I find its sound comforting; weirdo, some say. 

You made it through another birthday and, boy, was that one a doozy.…

Of what will I be in awe of right now, right here, sitting against a tree in Overton Park, dusk arriving, people leaving? How can we call this blanket of leaves so beautiful; how can it be? How can what…

This idea of the difficult gift came to me while on a run at Overton Park, on one of those “false Spring” days where all your hope returns after the Very Long Winter of January. I have spent all of…

What matters now? What matters now that the future I imagined has vanished, a life married to Jeff for 40 years, while he helped keep time both in life and on stage from his drum throne? What matters now that…

We set out on a perfect and sunny November Saturday, headed toward the longest trail in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. When my friend Nathan asked me if I was interested in hiking the 8-mile, one-way trail, I was excited to…

Written during the Autumn of 2020, when it was hard for many of us to feel good about our work and our art. I'm posting now because, well, I'm always needing the reminder that I matter. The work matters. Every…

Have you ever planted a seed and forgotten about it? It took so long to grow that you thought it was a dud and wasn't going to grow at all. But then, a whole year later, a little plant pops…

Why do some of us need to come to the solitude of the forest? Time away from responsibility, away from being needed, away from accomplishing. I can let go of worry when I am here; contentment and rest find me…

If I don’t recover the act of writing for JOY,
writing for myself again,
writing because I want to,
I fear I will never again write fruitfully. 

I listen and watch other artists talk and post about the discipline of…

When I first started running about 8 or so years ago, I worked up to a place where I could run a 10k (6.2 miles) without stopping to walk. Now, though, I find that a run/walk combo on most of…

I just released a 6-song collection of hymns that I'm really proud of. Listen here. I hope you like them!

Musically speaking, I've sometimes described myself as living in two worlds: the singer-songwriter americana-ish world and the worship…

This morning I recalled a line from a hymn (one I've tried to re-work for some time now), "There's a wideness in God's mercy/like the wideness of the sea." I love that. It stirs my imagination. For me, it takes…

If you saw the acoustic iPhone video of my unreleased song, Different Like Me, over on Instagram or Facebook, you'll find the lyrics here. I don't have much to say about the song; perhaps it can speak for itself. 

…

One month ago, in June, I released a new song called Long Year. And then I wrote this poem. I hope you like them both.

Love is always becoming. What it becomes remains to be seen, depends on the work,…

A friend of mine recently experienced the deep darkness of loss, where someone died whom she loved dearly. She was young, the death was unexpected and quick. Tragic. 

My friend and I exchanged text messages as we watched…

If you're reading this, you probably know that I host a weekly Facebook Live from my living room. Or dining room. Or from the side of the road in the middle of Virginia. You can see today's live video…

I'm in a season of working to get the word out, educate and build a network of friends and fans and friends of fans (and friends of fans' friends friends... wait, what?) who are wiling to host a house concert…

In three weeks, my nephew Elijah will be 10 years old. He is a ghostbuster. Nevermind that he couldn't find a proton pack; he came up with the plans to build his own (which, actually, Uncle Jeff mostly built himself…

Yesterday was difficult. The day was sunny and crisp, just like an Autumn day should be. The sky was blue and the leaves are bursting into color. The zinnias are still blooming because they can survive in the in-between, still…

If you want to write then guess what? You have to write. You have to pick up a pencil, open your laptop, silence your cellphone, park your butt in a chair, do whatever it takes to get yourself there. And…

Over the last several days, I've not been conscious of my "no criticism" challenge. Not surprisingly this struck me last night while I was criticizing something (though Jeff told me he thought it was more of a constructive criticism conversation…