You Won't Believe This!

Well, things sure happen fast for me, lately. Get this.

Last week, at Parent Orientation for my daughter's Christian School, her teacher mentioned that the music teacher would no longer be doing music. And she put out a request that if anyone would like to help out--

Well, my other daughter is still at home, so of course I dismissed it. Still, I thought it a shame. She loves music and the program has been so strong.

I mentioned it Saturday to a fellow parent, with the "It's a shame" part, and she said, "You know, if you produced the cantata (last year's Easter cantata at church), you could do this." She was talking about the whole SCHOOL'S music program. And she mentioned that preschool was not yet full at the school. Unusual--they usually fill up first.

So, long story short, I called the principal yesterday, got a call today that I have the job, and my younger daughter goes to preschool--financially, it's free, in trade for my help.

Pray for me!! That's two big school programs a year, which have always been top-rated in the past. And a whole school of kids who need vocal coaching.

Today I'm scouring the internet for curriculum.

Pretty neat, huh?

-Godseeker

New Things, Old Issues

8-17

It's been way too long since I wrote anything down here. A great deal has happened, and I don't even know where to start. As I've done before, I'm making this a two-parter. First, the organic, animal-plant related incident, and second, the human experience.


* * *


Last Sunday. I really struggled through the hymns last week.
There was nothing there to sink my teeth into. Maybe someone else would have been edified by them, but this wasn't my Sunday. And it's not like I hadn't prepared my heart. It just wasn't working for me. On the other hand, the teaching was good--deep, meaty stuff, like the Selah sisters are spoiled on.

Anyway, I did wish for more inspiring music. My heart wanted to soar, to commune with God, and the best I could do was to try to create some pretty harmony.

And so I was ready to empathize with my garden visitor that evening. I was out with the dogs behind the vegetable garden, waiting for them to take care of "things," when a commotion came out of nowhere, seemingly from everywhere at once.

There were suddenly four or five robins in the mulberry tree, screaming and flying from branch to branch. At the same time, my little dog was straining against the rabbit fencing, trying to get into the garden, growling and barking. Meanwhile a fledgling robin was scurrying around the garden, trying to find a way out. He had apparently flown in, and did not know how to get enough lift to clear the top.

First of all, I put the dogs in the house. No sense riling up these angry robins (Why so many?). Next, I went and got a towel. A large, thick towel. The baby was still there, so I quickly dropped the towel onto him. This quieted him down, and the other birds quieted down, too. I reached to gently pick up the little lump, but he escaped and flew to one of the bottom rungs of the fence--behind a tomato plant. There he was, straining his way through the wiring, but getting caught at the shoulders. He tried this over and over, in different spots, making the same mistake again and again. He was straining so hard, I was afraid he would hurt himself.

I finally lunged through the twine tomato cage, breaking a steak, but I got my towel-covered hands around the little fellow. Of course, he made a lot of noise, and immediately the parents, aunts and uncles (or whoever they all were) began to scream and carry on again, but I did what I had to do. I lifted him to the point where he could clear the fence and soar--or whatever equivalent of soaring a fledgling robin is capable of.

As I said, I could empathize with this scared little bird. While I have a little mileage behind me, I didn't seem to have the "lift" I needed to soar past the fencing of unfamiliar music in an unfamiliar service. I tried every way I knew--trying to get through, around, everywhere but over, to get to God. Ironic, isn't it? Worship is supposed to be all about God, and here I was, all focused on the worship minister, the music, the organist, every direction but the right one. All I needed to do was look up, but I did not. Did I look to God? Did I pray for the hands of God to lift me up so I could soar? I wish I had. It would be a neat, triumphant blog, wouldn't it?

The good news is, a baby robin came along and taught me a simple lesson. It's the Hand of God, not my own striving, that even makes me capable of worship. So a little change of focus could make this new church experience much more meaningful.

Life is what Happens when you are busy making other plans

Funny how the time travels at such an accelerated rate in the summer. I realized it has been a while since I posted. I have read a little here and there and kept up with you all. But with vacations and family and committees and fun I just haven't posted.
On the topic of change- I have always viewed change as neither good nor bad, it just is what it is. I view all change as a metamorphosis. A coming into being, whether gradual or rapid all things change. I think the question is when do we notice the change. If I understand my mama bible teacher, each of us are in the process of santification. Where God will prune us and cut back and help us to change. Change to be more like Him. What a great thing!
In reading back over some struggles I have had this summer I know that they are God's ways of saying, "hey heiress, time to grow. Now I know this one may hurt a bit, but hang in there, I know what it'll be like when I'm done." The church I attend is changing. The people are really trying to grow. The thing I have a hard time remembering is everyone is at a different place. So it's hard to meet all of those individual needs. But I think that's where we as Christians stumble. I think how can the church possibly be everything to everyone?? The answer is so simple. All things are possible with God. It's not the church that will be the answer, but God will the do the work through the people if we are wiling and open to him.
I'm not sure if I will be joining my Selah sisters or not this fall. It hurts me to have to say those words. But I have been feeling a pushing to do something for a while. I have tried to ignore it, but I don't think God will let me. Don't count me out yet! But there are 3 or 4 different ideas floating around in my head and tugging on my heart. I keep praying to know clearly the path that uses my spiritual gifts (not entirely sure I know what all of mine are) and that I choose as the Lord would have me. That said I ask for your prayers.
I love each of you.

New Things

I have to repent.

Through those early blogs I seemed to complain so much about all the rain, and how the veggies in the garden couldn't ripen without a little sun. Seems like the rainiest summer I've ever seen.

Well, things have a way of balancing out, and the sun came back, and the veggies ripened. And because of all the RAIN I was so busy complaining about, most gardeners I know have the biggest, best quality vegetables in memory. And tons of them!! I'm harvesting about 50 little red grape tomatoes every day. We can't eat more than 15-20 in a day, so I've given away a lot, and still have pints of 'em bagged up and in the deep freeze. The full-sized tomato plants have produced not only ripe, sweet slicers, but nice, tart Celebrities to salsify, and bland but prolific Jet Stars for stewing. And the beans--bush bean. All the experts, and the seed packets, promise one good crop, then you pull the plant. Well, I didn't. And with all the rain and a little extra TLC, these little plants are into their second crops, and some of the earliest plants are putting out flowers for a third crop!!

So God lets the rains come. And these were good, steady rains, most of them. Not the violent gully-washers that strip the soil and flood the fields, leaving the farmers with nothing. These rains were strong but steady, leaving us all dreary. But with the sun came a bumper crop.


* * *

By now my Selah sisters all know that I have changed churches. This is a move I´ve made for the sake of the spiritual growth of my guy, who I love enough to change churches for. I'm not a natural church-changer. I love change in general, but a church is like a family.

In our town, and given the dynamics of our family, there were a couple of churches we looked at as being viable options. I kind of favored one church, and my guy favored the other. And because I go to such a dynamic Bible study, I gave him the final choice. I figured I could grow at either one, since I have the Bible study and the Selah sisters to teach me. So, he chose the one he favors.

It's a nice church. It's Baptist. I grew up Baptist and never thought I'd go back. The long skirts, the hymns--it had all grown kind of tedious for me when I left. My dad was a Baptist preacher, and a pretty good one, I guess, but I didn't really listen much. I spent a great deal of time daydreaming, fidgeting in itchy clothes, and all the time my stomach would rumble, reminding me of the feast of fried chicken that was my reward for enduring this tedium. To this day it's hard for me to be engaged by preaching. I was oversaturated early on. I go, these days, more for good teaching and good worship music.

So we go to the Baptist church and I wear the long skirts and sing the hymns and listen to the sermon. The Sunday school is nice. The people laugh and enjoy one another, and seem to enjoy being there to learn together. They're friendly, but they're not my people yet.

We trust the kids with their Sunday school teacher, because she's taught them for years in their Bible club. And she teaches a large, immensely popular Christian preschool class at this church's private school. Her class always has a waiting list. And kids love her with that kind of early childhood adoration that they´ll always remember.

So I think the kids are okay there. I think my guy is okay there. He's already responding to the teaching, to the church community, and I think he's going to be okay, now. And I guess eventually I´ll be okay there too.

Bible Study starts in a few weeks. I am SO-O-O ready. It's a place where I can go and be okay.