today's blessings

Today is full of blessings.

I just finished opening up a bunch of Christmas presents. But those are not the blessings.

One of today's blessings is that even though she is 1500 miles away, we could video chat with our adopted sister, and open presents with her. It would have been better if she could have been here, but this was great. To get to see her, to get to say thank you in person, to watch her open gifts...it was great and I'm so glad it worked for us to be "together".

Another of today's blessings was spending it with family. We went to church together, we ate together, we opened presents together. Not to mention some laughing and hugging in there.

The blessing of the natural world is that the snow held off long enough for me to easily get home. I am somewhat of an old-lady-driver in the snow, so it was nice that there was just a little bit on the roads.

The most important blessing is remembering that Christ came to earth as a baby on this very night. We remember that He came so that we could be in fellowship with God. He came to take our sin on Him.
No, today's presents are very definitely NOT the blessings.

Thank you God for all of the blessings you bestow on me.
K

doing good

Today I bought a hair clip.

On the side of the road.

I had gone to target to get some really exciting things, like toilet paper, and dishwasher detergent and such. As I was headed home, there was a guy standing on the corner with a sign that said "I am not a panhandler-just doing what I can with what I have."

I was intrigued by this, so I rolled down my window and asked what he's selling.

And then came the reply: "hair accessories".

Even more intrigued.

...

So I pulled around and parked. This guy was great - he announced to me as I walked up that he loved Jesus, and that he wanted me to know that Jesus loves me. He got saved 2 years ago, and just wants to make sure people know. I shook his hand and told him I am a Christian also - I got saved when I was 7. He asked if I had been saved ever since, and I said for sure. He showed me his shirt that said "Rep the King". (For those NOT in the 'hood, Rep means "represent". Clarification: I am not in the 'hood either - in the interest of full disclosure.)

I looked at his hairbands, hair clips and what he was selling. He told me that his wife made all of them, and he was just out trying to do his best at selling them. So I bought one.

Here it is, sitting on my computer.

As I drove away, I felt really good about buying this little hair clip. I ALWAYS feel conflicted about people standing on the corner asking for handouts. I want to help, but NEVER know how I could actually help. And then I hear the statistics that some huge percentage of any money you give is used for drugs and alcohol, which makes me feel even more befuddled about what, if anything, I can actually do.

But today, I felt really good. I felt like I helped. I felt like making the decision to spend 5 dollars on a hair clip was the good one - whether I actually wear the hair clip or not. But if for nothing else, I really appreciate his creativity, and willingness to DO something besides just stand there.

No, I don't know how that money will be used. But I know that there was time spent making these, and creativity spent in coming up with something they could do. And I fell really good about rewarding that.

So, for now, I will just keep my hair clip, and pray for the hands that made it, and the family that hopefully will benefit from today's interaction.
I know I did.
K

'tis the season...

...for singing.

Last Friday I sang my little heart out at our Deck The Hall concert. It was lots of fun Christmas and holiday music, and a very festive evening with a hand bell group ringing along with us.

...for doing good.

Last Saturday we went up in the mountains and sung our concert again as a benefit for a local mental health agency. We had a fun time singing, enjoyed people's company, and had a fun dinner with some friends after.

...for *cough* *cough*

Evidently, I am destined to get some sort of bronchial ailment every December. Now I think I have bronchitis, but it could be whooping cough. Never fear - I went to the doctor today. I'm on all kinds of medicine, and hope to feel much better very soon.

...for partying.

This weekend is our school Christmas party. This is seriously one of the funnest things. There is good food, great company, music, games, dancing, winning of prizes...I can't say enough how much I am looking forward to spending time with friends that I work with.

...for buying.

I love getting Christmas presents for people, and I stretch it out from August through December. But I'm almost done with buying, so now it's time to get wrapping.

So many great things come at this time of year, it's almost hard to list them all. But I am not short on blessings. I have a wonderful job, the best boss in the world, an amazing family, and a great church. Not to mention the gift that came a long time ago, this time of year. He is the best blessing of all.
K

my life sings

Now I know that being a music teacher might make you think that I am musical all the time, every day. Some days this is true, but some days are just normal days, and music is just my job.

Not this weekend.

Thursday was concert day at school. I had 260 kids up on stage, performing music that we had worked on for the past couple months. And not to brag or anything, but all the music was in another language: Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Finnish, Maori, etc. They were great! Not because of me, but because they are great kids and we have worked hard together on this music. Definitely a great day.

Friday, I went to the local Youth Symphony concert. I had several kids from school in the performance, and it was great. 7 different groups, and many hundreds of students playing lots of different instruments. And it was hard music, too: much of it was from The Nutcracker. That means it is professional level music. And they played very well. One of my students was in the 3rd group from the top, and he sat 1st chair. I am so proud!

Saturday, I got to attend a piano recital, and see several of my current and former students perform. It was fantastic, and inspiring. I will be looking up some of that music to start working on myself! It was a beautiful setting, and a beautiful night of music played by a host of talented students.

Tomorrow evening I am going to a performance of Messiah here in town. A friend of mine is singing the soprano solo parts, and I'm so excited to see her. She has been working like crazy to be ready for this, and it will be fantastic! I've sung the Messiah several times, and twice all the way through. Granted, I have never sung the soprano solos (Lord, have mercy!) but I understand the music, and know what it takes to do that.
I can't wait!

So it occurred to me today that my life really is filled with music, and I am SO LUCKY to be in the midst of it. To participate in it. To see so many young people DO music, and do it well.
THAT is a blessing to me.
K

equality

I went bowling the other day. Actually, Mom and I took the 2 nephews bowling.

We had a great time. But the thing that struck me while I was sitting waiting for my turn to bowl: the bowling alley is a great playing-field-leveler. Unless you put a lot of time and effort into practicing, bowling is a pretty even sport.

In fact, there were several people on either side of us that were developmentally disabled, or special needs of some kind. And they were having a blast! When the guy on my right got a strike, I wanted to stand up and cheer! It made me smile, and I realized that he probably had a better bowling score than me.

The 4-year-old beat the 8-year-old, I beat everyone in our group, and the group next to us had the best score in the place. But we all had fun, and the 8-year-old learned the lesson that it's OK to not be the winner all the time in everything.

The bowling alley = an equal playing field. It made me feel good about being there.
K

friendship

I am SUCH a music nerd. As I typed that title, I started singing a little: Friendship, Friendship...

Anyway, today I had lunch. With 2 friends.

The value of a good friend is immeasurable.

I have worked with these 2 ladies for the past 8 and a half years, but I consider them friends. Not co-workers.

OK, it was just lunch. But the company was outstanding. :)

Thanks, you two, for your friendship. And everything else.
K

job love

This was a little gift outside my classroom this morning.

There are a lot of chalk drawings out there, but this particular one I took as a little love gift from one of my music students. I don't know who, but I still love it nonetheless.

I *heart* being a music teacher.

K :)

art

Today in second grade we are talking about Bach. How he played the organ, and how he wrote all this beautiful music. We are listening to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in G Minor. The whole thing.

So all my second graders are busily working on drawing organs, Bach playing the organ, halloween pumpkins sitting on top of organs, etc. I am sitting at my desk watching them work, and listening to Bach.

I get to sit here at listen to Bach. I get to bathe in the art of Bach's work. Bach put his life into creating beautiful music, and I get to enjoy it. I get to appreciate his art. I get to lead second graders in appreciating his art. I get to reveal to them to intricacies of Bach's works, and what a genius he was.

We are appreciating art. Together.

And in them, I see a hopeful glimpse of people who will be art appreciators  for the rest of the lives.
I can only hope.

But today, I get to listen to Bach.
I am so lucky.
K

rich

I am rich.

I realized this as I was writing thank you cards yesterday. I wrote a thank you card to each person that came to my birthday party. I really had a great time, and wanted to write thank yous to the people that threw the party, and the people that gave me gifts, so I thought, "What's a few more cards?"

As I was sitting there writing, I realized that I am so very rich.

Not in the conventional sense of the word - in fact in THAT sense I am pretty dang poor. As evidenced my my 11 year old beater-car. And several other things I can name that I occasionally am not happy with around my life. But in the "life" sense: I have a great life, and more specifically, I have great people in my life.

Today I went Glow Golfing. Not by myself, but with the 2 nephews. We glow golfed, and then played at the mall "playground", and then went out to lunch. And can I just say that it is amazing that I even got any food down in the midst of helping the little one with his burger, cleaning up the mess, and making repeated trips to the front for mustard and ketchup. But I realized, as I shuffled them off to the car to go home, that they make my life rich.

Last night I went to a hockey game. Now, really, I could care less about this hockey team. But it is the college here in town, they have a fairly good hockey program, and my parents have season tickets. They said they were going to take the boys, and I asked to go along. It was tons of fun - not so much for the hockey, but for having dinner and spending time with the 2 nephews and my parents. Things like this make my life rich.

Yesterday afternoon I met with a girl from Youth Group. She asked if I would "mentor" her. I said yes, but I have to confess that I feel pretty inadequate to be a good mentor. But I DO care about her a ton, and so we get together and talk about things in our life. Sometimes spiritual stuff, sometimes family stuff, sometimes other stuff. But even though I am only a so-so mentor, her friendship makes my life rich.

And I could go on and on. But I am thankful for the depth and richness that my life has because of who He has put in it. I only hope that I can honor that, and make the most of the life that I've been given.
K

I use my grandmother's dishes

I have often thought about writing a book with this title.

I look around my home, and I see the afghan she crocheted for me. I look at pictures of my Grandma Annie and Grandpa Glen and I miss them. And then I look at my dishes.

Now, really I am taking a little poetic license, because the dishes I have now are from Target. But for years, the set of Corelle dishes that I used everyday were ones that used to belong to Grandma and Grandpa. Now they are up at the cabin, so I still see them from time to time.

But when I think about any "things" that I own, the ones that are important to me are ones that came from people in my family. And not like the kindle that my sister got me for my birthday.

No, the important things are those that meant something to them. Like the doughnut cutter.

Grandpa Glen and Grandma Annie owned a coffee and doughnut shop for a long time, like maybe 30-some years. A few times, during a summer when we were visiting them, Grandpa would get me up at 4:30am and we would go in together and make the doughnuts. By the time Grandma came in at 6am, I felt like I had already worked an entire day. But it was fun, even though it was a lot of work, and I still remember it to this day.

I have that doughnut cutter.

When Mom and Dad were going through Grandma and Grandpa's stuff after they had passed away, they called me and asked what I wanted.

I asked for the doughnut cutter.

Last week, for my birthday, mom gave me a pair of diamond earrings.

Now that is lovely, and I was thrilled to get them. They truly are beautiful.

But then she told me: they were Grandma's.

At that point, they became infinitely more important to me, because they were hers. They were in her ears, and now they are in mine.

So now maybe I'll have to change the book title: I Wear My Grandmother's Earrings.
Thank you Mom.
K :)