Thursday, May 21, 2009
Links...the key to successful marketing!
Hello all! I am adding this link to my blog because I am advised that links are the key to my brother's new website marketing plan. So, please visit his site. He is a remarkable sign-maker and can make any kind of sign, from a birthday banner to a backlit neon beauty! Thanks for playing!
Monday, May 4, 2009
This dark space of time...
I spent today at the hospital. I got a call this morning at 4:30 that my 94 year old grandfather was going to die today. I wanted to be there to see him off and to support my mommy and grandmommy. We are a pretty close family, and my grandfather is arguably one of the best people that has ever lived...a veteran of the Battle of the Pacific in World War II, a father of five, and the last surviving member of his family. We were all there (at least everyone who was in the state/country) to support each other. We cried together, and we sang to Grandpa. We sang to him the songs that he had sung to us throughout the years. We sang "Danny Boy" and I could not finish the chorus. I finally had to leave at around 3:30 this afternoon, starving and absolutely exhausted by the vigil. My grandfather is not only a wonderful man, he is as tough as nails and he has been holding on with impossible vital signs since about 2 a.m. Only Jesus knows when his body will finally give up, but it is almost assuredly going to be tonight.
This was my day. And I prayed a lot today. I prayed for my little grandmother, who will face the world tomorrow without her husband of the last 63 years. I prayed for my grandfather and the business that he is undoubtedly still doing with God as he lay on that bed struggling for every breath. I prayed that he would not have to stay a minute longer than he had to, but that he would not go even one moment too soon! I prayed for my aunts and my uncle who are losing their daddy today. I was talking like this to Jesus when it really occurred to me that I would be living on a planet without him. I cried out to God and He heard my cry and answered me!
It was not a voice that I heard..nothing like that. It was much more like having something that I had thought I understood finally make its way from my head to my heart. That this life, this dark space of time that we call "life" anyway, is the only space that will be without grandpa. Only those of us left here waiting in the half-darkness will be without him, and only for a short time. Grandpa will not be gone, he will finally be in the Light, where the Light of Life is fully revealed and is not obscured by the consequence that our sin has brought to this creation. Grandpa will be what he was always intended to be...whole and free, glorious beyond the glimpses of his greatness that we saw while he lived here with us! We will be here without him. We will not have him with us for father's day or Christmas. We will not see his sweet face or hear his voice again...at least not for now. But, when the darkness is cast away, or when we are called out of it into the light of God's presence, we will not miss him anymore and we will finally see all this rightly!
I am sad and exhausted, and I still don't really want to believe that when I wake tomorrow, my grandpa will probably not be here. But this hope I have, that God is good; that He is up to something wonderful; that He will not forget the work He began in me or my grandfather. He will see us safely to the finish line. So, tomorrow will be a time for mourning, and I will mourn. But there is a time for every purpose under heaven...as there is a time for mourning, so will be a time for rejoicing!
Bye, bye Grandpa...I love you, I miss you already, but I will see you after!
This was my day. And I prayed a lot today. I prayed for my little grandmother, who will face the world tomorrow without her husband of the last 63 years. I prayed for my grandfather and the business that he is undoubtedly still doing with God as he lay on that bed struggling for every breath. I prayed that he would not have to stay a minute longer than he had to, but that he would not go even one moment too soon! I prayed for my aunts and my uncle who are losing their daddy today. I was talking like this to Jesus when it really occurred to me that I would be living on a planet without him. I cried out to God and He heard my cry and answered me!
It was not a voice that I heard..nothing like that. It was much more like having something that I had thought I understood finally make its way from my head to my heart. That this life, this dark space of time that we call "life" anyway, is the only space that will be without grandpa. Only those of us left here waiting in the half-darkness will be without him, and only for a short time. Grandpa will not be gone, he will finally be in the Light, where the Light of Life is fully revealed and is not obscured by the consequence that our sin has brought to this creation. Grandpa will be what he was always intended to be...whole and free, glorious beyond the glimpses of his greatness that we saw while he lived here with us! We will be here without him. We will not have him with us for father's day or Christmas. We will not see his sweet face or hear his voice again...at least not for now. But, when the darkness is cast away, or when we are called out of it into the light of God's presence, we will not miss him anymore and we will finally see all this rightly!
I am sad and exhausted, and I still don't really want to believe that when I wake tomorrow, my grandpa will probably not be here. But this hope I have, that God is good; that He is up to something wonderful; that He will not forget the work He began in me or my grandfather. He will see us safely to the finish line. So, tomorrow will be a time for mourning, and I will mourn. But there is a time for every purpose under heaven...as there is a time for mourning, so will be a time for rejoicing!
Bye, bye Grandpa...I love you, I miss you already, but I will see you after!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
What I want to be when I grow up...
Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of my 27th birthday. I am not afraid to say that I am 38 years old, it is just that 27 was a very very good year for me! It was the year that I started on the road to being who I am. I started dating Jes that year and that led to becoming a mother and spending 6 years on Young Life staff...which has introduced me to the best friends I will ever have, etc. So I have decided to celebrate that year every birthday...at least for now. Perhaps 10 years from now I will be celebrating this year, the year I decided to live large...to seek that abundant life that Jesus promised me!
Part of my year of living large has been a journey to find out how to use my greatest talent; my voice. I also have a natural gift with words and an ease at being in front of large groups of people. In short, when I grow up I want to be a singer/songwriter =) Toward this end I have entered a contest in Nashville in July. If I win this contest ( a long shot at best) I will win a recording contract for a single of my song and will be on my way to becoming a full-fledged Christian recording artist. Also, if the judges like me, even if I don't win, I could be given the opportunity to perform live in Nashville, at a concert with people like Chris Tomlin, Switchfoot, Franchesca Batistelli (I think you get it =)
In preparation, I have been writing songs since last July or so and have 3 or 4 that I like. I have also been learning to play the guitar, which is a tremendous challenge for me. The most challenging part is not the actual playing but the fear of screwing up in front of people. So, in order to get over these fears I decided that I just needed to take my guitar out and play/sing some of my songs. I did that last night, in celebration of my 11th-27th birthday. I took my guitar and some of my songs (and my husband and children) and I signed up to sing them at the Reno Music Project Open Mic Night at Maytan Music. There were only about 40 people there, but I was terrified. Also, when I got there there were only 2 slots left...I either had to go first, or last. Not wanting to prolong my agony, I signed up to go first.
I must have looked like an idiot to the musicians there. I don't know how to play standing up, so I had to sit. I also don't have a guitar with any kind of amplification, so they had to set up a boom mic for that. I fumbled around with my guitar and played all kinds of terrible chords, but I did it! I sung my songs...in front of people...and they clapped. Now, I know that they did not clap for my guitar playing (my voice was in great form last night), but they also did not boo my off the stage.
After I left the stage a lovely younger lady approached me (she really is 27 =). She had that really "put-together" look of a performer who knew much more than I did. She was lovely in lots of ways, and she had some great advice for me as well. Mostly she just encouraged me, that I should use my voice, that I should do what I was made to do, and that I was right to get up there last night and sing! And you know what...she was right!
Happy 11th-27th birthday to me!
Part of my year of living large has been a journey to find out how to use my greatest talent; my voice. I also have a natural gift with words and an ease at being in front of large groups of people. In short, when I grow up I want to be a singer/songwriter =) Toward this end I have entered a contest in Nashville in July. If I win this contest ( a long shot at best) I will win a recording contract for a single of my song and will be on my way to becoming a full-fledged Christian recording artist. Also, if the judges like me, even if I don't win, I could be given the opportunity to perform live in Nashville, at a concert with people like Chris Tomlin, Switchfoot, Franchesca Batistelli (I think you get it =)
In preparation, I have been writing songs since last July or so and have 3 or 4 that I like. I have also been learning to play the guitar, which is a tremendous challenge for me. The most challenging part is not the actual playing but the fear of screwing up in front of people. So, in order to get over these fears I decided that I just needed to take my guitar out and play/sing some of my songs. I did that last night, in celebration of my 11th-27th birthday. I took my guitar and some of my songs (and my husband and children) and I signed up to sing them at the Reno Music Project Open Mic Night at Maytan Music. There were only about 40 people there, but I was terrified. Also, when I got there there were only 2 slots left...I either had to go first, or last. Not wanting to prolong my agony, I signed up to go first.
I must have looked like an idiot to the musicians there. I don't know how to play standing up, so I had to sit. I also don't have a guitar with any kind of amplification, so they had to set up a boom mic for that. I fumbled around with my guitar and played all kinds of terrible chords, but I did it! I sung my songs...in front of people...and they clapped. Now, I know that they did not clap for my guitar playing (my voice was in great form last night), but they also did not boo my off the stage.
After I left the stage a lovely younger lady approached me (she really is 27 =). She had that really "put-together" look of a performer who knew much more than I did. She was lovely in lots of ways, and she had some great advice for me as well. Mostly she just encouraged me, that I should use my voice, that I should do what I was made to do, and that I was right to get up there last night and sing! And you know what...she was right!
Happy 11th-27th birthday to me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)