Teaching, friends, flirting ... and a little seriousness

Yesterday, I taught my first students in Carlyle.

It was a pretty amazing feeling... I have taught before but never for a living. Watching a little girl and her mother walk up the stairs to the house; greeting them at the door; feeling

uncertainty radiate from all three of us; making them smile; listening to my student (!!) playing a song for me; writing in her book what I want her to practice; watching her face when she realizes lessons might be more fun than she thought.

What an awesome responsibility a teacher has. I teach and the student practices what I teach. If I get it wrong... but on the other hand, think of all the joys I can show the student. Think about the music she or he will pass on in turn?

And now we come to friends. Actually, friends and flirting fit into the same topic here because of theater. At camp this year, there was this couple working in the kitchen: David and Shelly S. They're probably old enough to be my grandparents... or possible an uncle and aunt couple. We got to know them quite well and really enjoyed their company. So I was thrilled when David was in the theater production that Michele introduced me to. Talk about fun. ;-)

I am one of the girls who has to flirt with the sailor (David) during a song. They called me up last minute for this part and I'm desperately whispering to David, "how do I flirt?!" and he's grinning like a Cheshire Cat because the situation was so awkward. It was very funny.

So tonight, after

lessons today, I go to theater again and I will have to flirt again. But this time, I think I'll have some bows in my quiver of ideas and I won't be caught off guard. :-)

Fall is definitely here! It's chilly and rainy out. I'm so thankful to have a nice warm house to be in. Now, I must bid you adieu, eat some lunch and prepare myself for my students. Life is good.

That he would grant you, according to the

riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout

all ages, world without end. Amen.

A friend brought these scriptures to mind.. between that and some other happenings in my life, I have been thinking about the way I effect people. God knows *how* I want to effect people but whether I do is a completely different matter. ;-) Please pray for me, if you think of it.

Quotes

Some of these are for laughter's sake only. Others are of a more serious nature. I hope you will be challenged and I hope you will smile!

I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God.

Elisabeth Elliot

A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
Abraham Lincoln

I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.

Mother Teresa

The most effective way to do it, is to do it.
Amelia Earhart

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Mark Twain

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.
Mark Twain

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.
Mark Twain

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.
Winston Churchill

As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.
Helen Keller

Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.
Helen Keller

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
Helen Keller

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.
Henry David Thoreau

Be not simply good - be good for something.
Henry David Thoreau

My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.
Mitch Hedberg

check out: http://www.brainyquote.com/ where most of these came from. ;-)

Reader check! 2010

I was looking at my traffic and was startled to see where my blog visits are coming from. Thank you to all who read my blog. I really appreciate it. :-)

Now I'm wondering... I've done this before but it's been awhile! If you read this post, could you leave a comment? It doesn't have to be very long. Just "I read" is sufficient. But if you want to, I'd love to hear where you're from, how you found the blog and how long you've been reading. I'm really looking forward to seeing who responds! :-)

United States 1,396

Canada 476

Germany 22

Lithuania 16

India 13

Morocco 9

Poland 8

Australia 6

Denmark 6

Philippines 6

Dolly Parton -- Coat of Many Colours

I really appreciate this song. It is simple but vividly rich. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. :-)

My Brain

The past few days, I've been fairly sick with bronchitis. I went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics so I'm beginning to feel better. But the bad thing about these is my head. I get these headaches and extreme tiredness from them. However, they're saving me from death, so I can't complain too much. Lol.

I am trying to figure out my schedule for teaching music. Michele has been teaching for a few years now and has all these great ideas for teaching, payments, calendar, etc, etc. I am so thankful to have her to help me get started with all this. I would be completely lost without her guidance. :-)

This morning I figured out who I have lined up for lessons, called them... and got ahold of over half (which is pretty good, I think). They have all been amazingly wonderful and understanding, which is a real plus. Now I just need to figure out my days of teaching, a letter to send home with the parents and a poster to hang up downtown somewhere. I plan to begin teaching next Tuesday; teaching three days a week. I have 11 slots that could be filled up with students but that is yet to be seen. I think I'll be better starting small. :-)

So that is the biggest news for right now. :-) Last night, I actually participated in a jam session... it was a lot of fun! There was this little guy on the piano next to me and when he didn't have the chords to the music, he would ask me to holler them out so he could play them. Lol! It was so fun and so good for me. :-)

God, do you really want me to... what?!

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. (2 Cor. 1: 24)

There is always someone annoying in my life. It doesn't matter where I go or what situation I'm in, there is that person(s) that I find distinctly irritating.

All summer, there was this little girl in my life. Normally, I love little girls. But this little girl... well, let's just say that she was not enjoyable to be around. For the record, I wasn't the only one who had a hard time with her. But mine was the conscience who stung when I found myself disliking her. I knew that I did not have the attitude towards her that God wanted me to. I never treated her poorly but whenever I was kind to her, it wasn't from my heart. I was basically lying to her and to everyone I was around.

But she wouldn't leave me alone! All summer long, my path kept crossing this little girl's path. I knew God had a reason but I did not ask for help. I did not want to like this girl. She deserved to be disliked. So there.

Then, Michele came to camp. The little girl acted up, as usual and I suddenly found myself pouring out my heart to Michele. What should I do? I knew I was not letting God work through me and through my stubbornness, my relationship with Him, and others in my life, was suffering.

Michele smiled at me when I had finished my tale of woe and said, "I find that if I smother an unloving child with love, it makes all the difference in the world. Yes, our initial reaction is to not love them and to give them what they deserve. But what they need and what will change them is loving them." It was like a light bulb flash in my head. Duh. What I've missed out on this summer! I couldn't believe how blind I had been.

Of course, God had prompted me to ask for help. Of course, He hadn't forced the issue. He just let my conscience make me miserable for weeks on end. :-) I realized suddenly how unloving I had been. I was no better than this little girl.

After getting my focus back in it's proper place and asking for God to help me love this girl like He wanted me to, my life got much sweeter. My heart was finally at rest and I was able to love this girl with a true, pure love that can only come from God. I prayed for opportunities to show her that I really loved her.

Two times. Two brief encounters that made us both smile and the happiness spread like ripples from a pebble dropped into a puddle. Then, she was out of my life. I had to smile at the irony of it. As soon as my heart was in the right place, God took the irritation away. Then, he replaced her with people I absolutely love being around. Lol. I love Him.

This lesson has seen me through some difficult experiences the past few weeks. More irritating people in my life? Yep! But I am not as stubborn this time. :-) When you begin thinking 'what can I give this person' instead of 'what can I get from this person', your entire perspective of these people is so different. You see more of their qualities, instead of just their irritating habits.

I was reading in 1 Corinthians (btw, I love 1 Corinthians. It has so many gems tucked away in it.) chapter 15, verse 41: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory." Each person has their own purpose. I believe that each person needs comfort and help and love from God and other people to blossom into what they were meant to be.

I feel so overwhelmed at times. But there is no reason. I'm not the honey; with God's help, I am just the container. :-)

P.S. The girls in the picture are some of my favorites from camp. :-) Lexie and Cameron. If you think of them, please pray for them. Lexie especially needs all the prayers she can get.

Charity's Place

Have you ever wanted to read about a movie before you watched it... just to check it out? There is a place that I love to read movie reviews. It's professional in every way; the quality of this site is amazing.

Charity Bishop has been writing for years. Her reviews are written from a fairly conservative viewpoint so if there is something in a movie that might offend a viewer, she will let you know.

Note: not all of the movies Charity Bishop reviews are Christian or conservative, so beware. You can look at the movies alphabetically, so it isn't as if you can accidentally run into something... plus, if there is something in her review that she thinks is PG-13, she warns you at the beginning of the review.

I may not condone every movie or book she reviews, but this site I do highly recommend. It's a gem.

http://www.charitysplace.com/

P.S. check out her blog at the same time: http://charitys-place.blogspot.com/

Life Moves On

Three months at camp, away from my family and my old way of life, has changed me in many ways. I think they are good changes but you will have to judge for yourself over the next few months of blogging. ;-)

The first month was spent getting to know my sisters. You would think we knew each other before. Actually what we knew was the shells each of us had put up around each other. At home, we were the human beings our family had dictated we were to be. I do not mean this in a malicious way. I believe every family to a certain extent, decides who their children are and what role they must play. It took about two weeks for my sisters and I to discover that under our shell exteriors, we were different people than we thought we were. We were surprised about each other and shocked about ourselves. Our relationships with God and with each other blossomed and matured and became sweeter each day.

The second month was spent in the company of people who needed love and effort and blessings each moment of every day. They were wonderful kids but they were high maintenance. It makes me get a little sniffly sometimes when I remember how God always worked through every situation and how many people were able to experience (some for the first time) His love and joy that passes all understanding. I do not know how many... or if any... accepted the Gift at the time but the seeds were sown. We wanted their parched hearts to be filled and overflowing with something that is true and transparent and unbelievable.

The third month. What can I say? It was music day in and day out. :-) I love it. I love camp. I love the people. I love the music. I love the schedule. I love learning. I love jamming. But I love the people the most. They inspire me, comfort me, help me, shove me, lead me on to higher, headier mountaintops than I have ever dreamed of.

And that's one of the reasons I'm now living in Carlyle, Saskatchewan. Away from all the blood members of my family but with some of my family of the heart. Michele Amy and her husband Will offered me a place to stay (they, in fact, offered it to all three of us girls but other things came up for them, which I will write about later) and a way to support myself.

I am planning on teaching piano and cleaning house, so far. I have a cough (that seems to be getting better, thankfully!) so I didn't want to go to church and risk infecting anyone so I stayed home and cleaned part of the kitchen. Michele has been really sick the past month and the house suffered. But I can fix it. Cleaning gives me a lot of time to pray and think and meditate.

Music, on the other hand, has been something I am excited beyond reason about and dreading at the same time. I know when I get into it, I'll be fine and I will be able to see where I need to progress. But it's like a deep, dark hole that I am plunging into. I know I love teaching and I know I love music but it's a bit daunting! The good thing is that Michele is an awesome pianist who is willing to share her knowledge when I need it.

And another good thing is that Moses didn't think he could do it either. :-) I'll try to write more about that later.

Hannah is attending Nipawin Bible College.

Lydia is training horses and helping around the farm for John and Vicki Arcand at Windy Acres in Saskatoon.

Life goes on. (It's goings on are awfully exciting!)

Family Photograph

Enjoy the most recent family photo... Lol. Aren't we a splendid looking lot?