Dedication

Tom Baker is a friend of mine who is extremely dedicated to his music. He is about seventy years old and he plays violin, viola and the piano. We are both involved in the Castro Valley Symphonic Band and last night we had a rehearsal at the Castro Valley Center for the Performing Arts. I arrived to rehearsal a little late and looked up to see a huge grand piano on the stage in front of me. The lady next to me whispered in my ear...."Tom had that brought from his home!" she informed me. I was overwhelmed and shocked. "You're kidding!" I softly whispered. Tom is playing piano in one of the pieced and he wanted to play on his own piano. He has also written an original piece we will perform this Sunday afternoon.

When I arrived home and mentioned to my conductor husband what Tom had done, he couldn't believe it either! He stated, "That means he paid to have it delivered, paid to have it tuned and then will do both again when he sends it home!"

Can you imagine what it would be like if we were that dedicated in our spiritual life. Willing to pay four hundred dollars for a chance to be in a concert for the Lord or some other ministry!! How awesome that would be. Our Lord is Holy. All glory, honor, and power belong to Him. He is worthy of all our praise!

The Biggest Challenge for a woman

I think it is a female tendency to analyze relationships way too much. When I feel like I am along in this, I simply walk by any table in any coffee shop where two women are meeting and invariably, I hear, "She said....he thought.....maybe she was thinking of this......maybe he meant this." We spend so much time on this that we often neglect other things. We also may work ourselves into a tizzy guessing someone's motives or thinking they don't like us, when actually, they really are not giving us much thought at all. We often compare ourselves with others and find ourselves sadly lacking. If we were raised in a home with wonderful Christian parents who loved us exactly the way we were, this is not as much of an issue. We also tend to trust what people say way too much, instead of placing our trust in the Lord alone. It is very difficult for us because we are used to second-guessing our babies' ever move and trying to please others.
When my brain is going crazy trying to figure everything out about everybody, I know I need some time with the Lord. I need to rest in Him and ask Him what His plans are for me and my family and how I can best used my words to glorify Him and serve Him. I ask Him to do what He wants with my time and talent. Since I have the gift of compassion, I always want to help people. The problem is that most people want to be independent and don't always want or need my help. I know that the Lord has His plans and that they are good and perfect, even if they are the exact opposite of my plans. I trust Him to bring exactly the right people along for me to help or who need a word of encouragement. When I do fall into hopelessness or discouragement, the Lord usually brings a friend or family member to reassure me of their love. I am thankful that at the exact moment I need Him and others, they are there.
Some things we simply will never understand and must leave those in the hands of the Lord. Some things are terribly unfair from our human perspective, but when we look at God's viewpoint, none of should be going to heaven and have all the gifts on this earth that we have, but He has blessed us with grace and we are very thankful. Only God can meet all our needs. Others can help, but His grace alone has given us all we will ever need.

God's plans for an October Weekend

I was feeling kinda bummed because everyone I knew was going away for the weekend. Actually there were two trips that I could not attend. The teacher's convention would be held on Thursday and Friday and then my church women's retreat would be held on Friday to Sunday. I was not able to go to either outing as I had some previous commitments. Next, I found out the Blue Angels would be in San Francisco and I desperately wanted to go. Something told me that would not be happening either. I prayed, "Lord, this time I seriously do not want to whine about any of this. You love me and that is always enough. I have a wonderful family and friends that I am grateful for, so let me look at this time off as You revealing to me exactly what you have in mind this weekend. My only requirement is that it brings glory to you. I have three other very dear friends who were also busy for the weekend so now I will tell you what ended up happening. I had a little pitty party on Thursday, but quickly got over it. We had rain on Wednesday and Thursday and knowing how much we needed it and how much my husband loves it, I was grateful for that. On Friday, I woke up and the sun was shining. I decided to take a solo hike in Lake Chabot and after about an hour of walking, I met a lady about my age. I asked her how far she was going and she said when all was said and done, it would be about four miles. I asked her if I could tag along and we had a wonderful conversation, finding out that her father has been in the music world all is life, as has my husband. I was able to share a little bit about our church and our music ministry with her and for that I was grateful. I also went with a friend on Saturday to Capitola and it was the most beautiful day anyone could imagine. So blue and lovely. We had a wonderful time. Sunday, for the first time in ten years, I got to sing on the worship team with about twenty choir members who had stayed in town. We had sung before, but we actually got to come on at the end and sing some more with the worship team and that was nice. After that, I went to children's church and participated in a very funny skit that cheered my soul. I then went up to my Sunday School class what has hosted only the men that day because the women were all at a retreat and took the extra donuts, cake and fruit to a group home where I know some of the blind residents. They loved it and I loved sharing it with them. That afternoon, I went by myself to the Greek Festival and ran into a lady from my Tuesday night orchestra. I was able to invite her to a concert our choir and orchestra will be having in a few weeks. Thanks Lord for you plans. Nothing and no one in this life is perfect, but every time I surrender to You, You work things out perfectly. My son and my husband also had a nice time of doing what they had in mind to do. The Lord is good and constantly shows me He can bring good out of everything.