Catching the Moment

Participating in

Planet Shannon and Jamie Ridler Studio's Blog-a-thon for December. 

Come on and join the fun!

1.  What am I reading?

Laughing out loud at the antics of Stephanie Plum in the series by Janet Evanovich.  Stephanie simply cannot seem to keep a car, no matter new, old, or in between.  It's always a chuckle to see just what happens to her vehicles. 
Ka-boom!

 

2.  What am I watching?

These days my mother's movie of choice is a Hallmark Christmas movie.  So there is sure to be one playing for some part of the afternoon or evening.

 

3.  What am I listening to?

My choir is hard at work learning and perfecting the Christmas Cantata.  We are performing The Father's Night of Love in a couple of weeks and are working out the tough parts now.  So that is what is in the cd player all of the time!

 

4.  What am I loving?

Just put up the Christmas tree and pulled out a selection of Santas for decorating the house.  My favorite part of the holidays.

 

5.  What am I wearing?

Staying as comfortable as possible with jeans and t-shirts most of the time.  I usually top that off with my fuzzy-lined slippers.  Ahhh.  Comfort.

 

6.  What am I creating?

Have written two new arrangements for the choir for this month.  Also, working on finishing a counted cross-stitch piece that should have been finished weeks ago!

 

7.  What am I looking forward to?

All of my children and their spouses and their children will be with us for Christmas.  It is always a houseful, but so much fun. 
I am also looking forward to re-aligning my goals and beginning some
new routines to start the new year. 


Compared to all of you creative folks out there, I sound like the little
old grandma from down the street.  Hoping to recognize my
creative soul in there somewhere!

 

 

 

Selfie

This is my first 'selfie' ever!  The picture shows me as I am, no doubt about it.  Older than I like to admit, with more pounds and wrinkles than I need, but mostly happy with my life at the moment.

I love my work at Bedon Baptist Church, where I have been the Director of Music for 18 years.  Writing and arranging music for my choirs has become a passion for me.  We are currently preparing music for Advent and Christmas, and I come home humming tunes and wake in the night with the music running through my head. 

I retired from teaching four years ago, when my mother needed a full-time caregiver.  So I spend my days with her, balancing her needs with my own.

I am a grandmother, three little ones so far, and I try to be available for them whenever they need me.  Caring for the youngest in the family and the oldest at the same time is an interesting juxtaposition! 

So, hope you'll pop on by for a visit now and then.  See you soon.

An Evening of Southern Gospel

Today is the day after.  This is the day of reflection that follows the BIG EVENT.  And today I can't stop rejoicing!  I can't stop lifting my mind and heart to God to say thank you for filling the sanctuary with people, seated shoulder to shoulder filling every pew.  I can't stop thanking God for the rain that fell during the performance, and for covering our church with His hands and keeping the power on while the lightning flashed outside our windows and the thunder rumbled a mighty addition to the bass lines in the music.

As we sang "Light Up the Sky" God did just that with flashes of lightning making the music so much more thrilling.  God's accompaniment; God's sure and certain participation in the joy that filled the air within.

I thank God for the musical gifts He has given me, and the people he has led me to sing with.  I thank Him for providing the opportunity to share those gifts with so many people.  I thank God for letting each and every voice be heard and the overwhelming satisfaction that comes from raising a joyful noise to the Lord.

Like the Grinch, today I feel that my heart has grown three sizes and I am overwhelmed with the joy of the Holy Spirit still moving within.

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

                                                                                                 Psalm 30:11-12



Breathing

Focus on the breathing.  Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

Notice the deep breaths that are followed by shorter shallower breaths, each sending oxygen through the lungs and into the blood stream and up into the skull which holds the brain, the magnum opus of the human body.  Breathing out the carbon dioxide that is the waste product of respiration and of the surging blood supply.

Breathe in and fill the lungs with the stale air of the room;
breathe out and contribute to the still solid feel of the air in the room.

Go outside into the stifling heat and humidity and breathe in and out for a short time, until your body craves the coolness and the darkened room which is the place where you live and work and eat and sleep and dream of the future, whatever that may be.

Breathe in and breathe out and repeat this action as often as your brain sends the signal to your lungs to expand and contract.

Breathe in, breathe out, repeat as often as God gives you on this earth to decipher His plan for you.  Do you know it already?  Probably not. 

Breathe in.

He is only going to show you the plan one step at a time.

Breathe out.

So pay attention, step forward as He directs, and keep breathing.


And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
                                                                                          Genesis  2:7

Squirrel

Fat squirrel

with fluffy, twitching tail

hangs upside down

on the trunk of the tree.

A River of Stones

I'm participating in the July writing challenge called 'A River of Stones'.  Join me - Take a moment to observe something small, and write a little gem about it.

Feet in the sand,

Warm ocean waves lap at my toes,

Taking away with them all my cares.

Home Again - Already!

We're back. Unbelievable. It is so out of wack that I have been counting off the days for 90 some days now, and all of a sudden it is over and we're back to the 4 walls and the street outside the window and the blasted tv shouting at us all of the time. How did that happen?


In great excitement we went to the beach for a week. We planned all of the things we would need to take along, going to a house we had never been to before and hoping for the best there was to have. Looking for the absolute opportunity to let go of everything that corrupts the soul and let God work in your mind and your body, pulling out all of those wretched thoughts and complaints and worries and simply learning to let your body relax and take in the wonder of God's world; of His creation, so amazing and so complete. And all of a sudden, 7 days are gone. Seven days of sitting in a low slung chair with my feet in the rolling tide and my fingers in the sand. Seven days of not worrying what I would eat or where I had to be tomorrow. Seven days of wearing the same clothes over and over and nobody caring. Seven days of laughing and sleeping and baking in the sun and spraying sunscreen on every conceivable part of our bodies. Seven days of glorious weather and watching the waves roll up on the beach and deposit new treasures brought from the deep. Seven days of breathing in and breathing out and not worrying about where the next breath was coming from, or if I could exhale deeply enough to keep going. Seven days of sitting still and waiting for God to reach into my heart and mind and make me whole again.

Seven days.

And now they are gone, and we are home again, relaxed and happy to be back home, but still a little sad that the seven days have come and gone and now we have to start counting down again, until the next opportunity presents itself to let go of everything in our lives and step into a different reality.

Those opportunities don't seem to come very often for me. Maybe they are really there, hidden in the humdrum of my daily life and routine, but I don't recognize them.

Maybe they are there, hidden in the laundry and the grocery store and the morning prayers. Maybe they are there, hidden in the songs sung and the stories written.

Maybe they are there, hidden in the smiles of strangers and the phone calls from my children.

But whether they are there or not, I can find that moment on the beach just by closing my eyes. I can smell the salt air and feel the grit of the sand between my toes.

I can see the starfish on the beach and hear my grandson's contagious laughter. I can remember it all by just closing my eyes and taking a deep breath and there I am once again.

So until next time...