This robin is building a nest.

Every time I open the door,

it flies to the branches of this nearby tree...

reminding me of MY "branch"...

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God;

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God;

A place where we our Savior meet,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,

Neart to the heart of God;

A place where all is joy and peace

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God;

Hold us, who wait before Thee,

Near to the heart of God.

(Cleland B. McAfee)

Listen

 What an unexpected privilege!

A quintet from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic playing at a 

local retirement home.

 The audience was most appreciative!

I had gone to visit a friend

when I learned of this opportunity. 

I happily attended.

(I don't believe that it was 

a coincidence that my word-of-the-

day was "listen"...)

Bridged

 Traveling home from Alabama,

I took photos from a moving car

 of two parallel bridges

while crossing a third!

I've never been comfortable

crossing bridges, and this time 

was no exception.

It DID bring back memories

of the early 70's song,

Bridge Over Troubled Water...

My husband won my heart

when we were dating and I was going through what at that time

seemed like "troubled waters".

He hand delivered the album to me

without any words, as I recall now.

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all (all)
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
♥️

Spa Day today.  Not in the usual sense of pampering, but satisfaction of time well spent, invested, productive, varied, and intentional.

My men are away for a couple of days freeing me to use my time differently than normal.

The balance of time spent with friends, a bit of music therapy (as I called it), tackling a large typing project, finishing a book I'd started, and eating healthy meals makes me smile as I reflect on the full day I've enjoyed.

Thanks be to God.

I Still Can--#5

#5

I still can sing!

Well, sing along anyway...

So thankful for a heritage of music.

And I still can read (#6)!

Where would I be without books?

I Still Can....

Several weeks ago, while retreating in the beautiful hills of Kentucky, 

I memorized these lyrics.

Getting the stanzas in proper order was the hardest part.

Today I begin work on

"May Jesus Christ Be Praised".

I still can memorize!

Sheep May Safely Graze

 I know.

I've turned quite rural on you!

Pastoral, even...

Definition:  adj.(especially of land or a farm) 
used for or related to the keeping or grazing of sheep or cattle.

"scattered pastoral farms"

 Even in music I enjoy "Sheep May Safely Graze" (Bach)

when playing weekly duets with Donna

and "The 23rd Psalm" on my ukulele.

 Actually, we DO have a few fields of sheep around our small town,

but they are quite a ways off the road which makes it difficult

to get a good photo.

Meanwhile...

Sheep may safely graze and pasture

Where a shepherd guards them well

So the nation ruled in wisdom

Knows and shares the many blessings

Which both peace and plenty brings.

El Shaddai

 We were the blessed recipients of tickets for an Amy Grant concert Saturday night

She appeared at the Fort Wayne Embassy Theater and was accompanied

on several songs by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra.

 Our friend had received the tickets as a Christmas gift

but was unable to use them since she had a knee replacement 

earlier in the week.

My favorite was Ms. Grant's classic, El Shaddai, 

sung toward the end of the evening.

We will praise and lift you high,
El Shaddai.

One of the stanzas of this song refers to our God's provision

for His people, Israel, as He brought them out of Egypt.

Coincidentally (?) this coincides with the Exodus passages I'm currently reading

as a part of my read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year plan! 

Music once again ministered to me at many levels,

refreshing me emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Thankful!

Try a Little Kindness

♪ If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he's sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say "You're going the wrong way"...

Don't walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way

You got to try a little kindness, yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness, then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets ♪

I heard it today.  I'd forgotten about this song...

Glen Campbell made it famous, I believe.

Just another reminder that KINDNESS is "my word" for 2018.
***
Charles Spurgeon is credited with this quote: 

"Of all afflictions, an unkind heart is the worst."

Duets with Donna

Thanks to our friend, Dorcas, for this photo.

For several months now

on most Mondays,

I've met with a friend to play duets on her grand piano.

The experience has challenged both of us musically

and blessed us in so many ways.

Today, our practices culminated in and informal afternoon concert

for nine special friends.

We served refreshments (including an Amish-baked pumpkin roll)
and enjoyed each other's company.

I hope it encouraged our guests to revive a latent talent or two

and share the results with others. 

Donna and I hope to work on a few Christmas duets 

between now and Christmas for our own pleasure.

We both agree that music is good for the body AND soul!

I "Do" Music

I "do" music....

I enjoy writing simple music - often both words and tunes.

Recently I set a poem a friend wrote to music.  I was pleased to hear it sung 

by our Sunday School class last Sunday

Most Mondays, a friend and I meet and play piano duets

on her grand piano.

In addition to enjoying each other's company,

this has helped keep my piano playing skills sharpened.

 I've also enjoying brushing up my ukulele skills 

on an instrument recently purchased.

I take it along occasionally when I visit shut-ins with my husband.

It's another way I "do" music...

I'm thankful for ALL the music in my life,

seeds of which were planted in me -- 

at least from birth (and maybe before).

"speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord"  Ephesians 5:19

While the Clothes Dried

Inspired by two fellow bloggers this morning,

I decided to take the plunge while the clothes dried in the laundry closet.

The 20 minute soak passed quickly.  

I was reading the final pages in New Harmony Indiana: Like a River, Not a Lake,

a memoir of Jane Blaffer Owen.

But my thoughts kept interrupting--
going to the time when the Apostle Peter objected to Jesus

who, towel in hand, set about to wash the feet of His disciples.

After objecting, Peter submitted with the words:

"Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!"

(John 13:9)

YES, LORD!

Take MY life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take MY feet  

and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

(Frances Ridley Havergal)

Led Astray

Last Wednesday evening, I led a half-hour "singspiration" from the piano

at our weekly prayer meeting gathering at church.

During the afternoon, I'd jotted down some numbers and titles,

having grabbed the first writing surface I could find  beside my chair--

an old greeting card.

That evening I began with (what I thought was) the first one on my list.

To my surprise, number 5 was NOT "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
as I'd expected!

I puzzled my way through the rest of the evening
finding NONE of my numbers corresponding with the hymns I'd selected!

When I got home, I went straight to the hymnal I thought was the same

as the one we use on Wednesday evenings.  It WAS!

What then was the explanation?

I was quite perplexed.

Finally, I turned the card over and then realized my error.
To my chagrin, I realized the list that wasn't working

contained the numbers of pages in the book I'd been reading.

(I do this frequently, returning when I reach the end of the book
to copy significant lines into my journal.)

I had been led astray by referring to the wrong side. 
Do you do that (make notes while reading on random pieces of paper)?
I chuckled at myself in relief at having solved the situation.
I also made note of the potential to be led astray by inadequate, false,
and faulty information on subjects with far more serious consequences
than the one I'd just experienced!

Don't be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; 

for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, 

since those involved in them have not benefited.

Hebrews 13:9
 

Living with a Missing Piece

We finished this puzzle (purchased used, which may account for the missing piece) yesterday.

Only after I composed the title did I realize that it was finished

on my mother's birthday - February 2.

This was her first birthday to pass since she died a few months ago.

She IS a missing piece in our lives.

But life DOES go on, and we don't wish her back.

The past week has left us with a few more "missing pieces".

The dear gentleman whose position my husband recently inherited died earlier this week,

and last night another sweet friend finished her earthly course.

Last night as we sipped our hot chocolate and played dominoes,

we had music playing in the background.

One of the songs seemed to fit mother's birthday quite perfectly....

 ♪ I have heard of a land on the faraway strand,
’Tis a beautiful home of the soul;
Built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die,
’Tis a land where we never grow old.

Never grow old, never grow old,

In a land where we’ll never grow old;

Never grow old, never grow old,

In a land where we’ll never grow old. ♪

Heaven is sounding sweeter all the time!

In Every Change...

This afternoon I thumbed through our hymn book to select songs 

for the ♪Singspiration♪ I'll be leading at church this evening.

I sang through the verses of Be Still, My Soul

and jotted down the page number for reference tonight.

These words stood out to me:

 Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

 There's no denying the changes that surround me--

at home, in my family, in our church, in our country.

How reassuring to know that "in every change, He faithful will remain".

Speaking of changes....

My husband is changing the old door that had been propped up in our shed.

He has removed the inside panel,

sanded down the exterior for a good painting,

and purchased a mirror to place in the opening.

I'm expecting a "joyful end" to this project and have a place in mind for it already!

Minutes after posting this, I changed my mind.
No paint.  Dark stain instead.
(It will match a few dark wood pieces housed in the same room.)

Ready and Waiting

 It started as an old blue shelf relegated to a place in the shed

where it housed garden tools and other miscellaneous items.

While looking for something the right size to hold my father's

small television in the dining area of our kitchen,

we remembered it.

My husband fashioned legs to make it stand a little taller.

 Then he painted it white to match the trim in the room.

And here it stands...

ready and waiting.

Completely "reborn" for a specific purpose and time--

to provide a place for the small television

so Dad can watch a favorite show in the morning as he eats his breakfast.

The other shelves will be used to house the games 

we frequently play at the table

and music books I use at the keyboard 

that fits snugly beside the shelf unit.

Sometimes I feel a bit like the shelf--

Reborn for a specific purpose and time.

Ready and waiting.

♪ Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. ♪

My Sane, Simple and Sacred Corner

Among the joys of our current remodeling project

is the creation of this corner--

an actual designated Music Corner--

just for me!

With the addition of the stool (a gift from my sister),

I don't need to stand at my keyboard for long periods of time.

By raising the keyboard to the height it is,
I can accommodate the stand beside itwhich stores my music.

If any one area of my house could be summarized

by the words "Sane, Simple and Sacred",

this is it!

Living, Singing, Seeing, Loving

We four siblings gathered from the four winds on Sunday.

Our father made sure we were all on the same page as we readied ourselves

to participate in the chapel service at the nursing home where our mother resides.

 

We ladies sang two songs;  Beyond Today and There's Something About that Name (Jesus) 

 Our father (retired pastor) delivered the sermon.

Brother Dave led some group songs.

After dinner, we gathered around Mother's bed for a sweet, sweet time of singing...

and then the long-distance siblings began their journeys home.

Later, my husband and I returned to OUR home,

under the canopy of a beautiful sunset.

I am so blessed to be living this life,

singing these songs,

seeing these sights,

loving these people...

If We Could See Beyond Today

After a run to the grocery store this morning for salad fixings,

I returned home to alter some nightgowns for Mother.

 This involves sewing up the fronts of some and splitting the backs of all.

I rarely get my trusty little sewing machine out these days...

As I scheme and sew, I find myself wishing Mother was here with me

(and that I'd paid more attention when I was younger).

She would know just how to do this, 

and it would be finished so much nicer than I can do with my humble attempt

to make these gowns serviceable and appropriate to her condition.

 I'm also working to write in the third part in one of the songs I may be singing

with my two sisters this Sunday.

Its words have taken on a whole new layer of meaning for me

in the past two years.

 If we could see, if we could know,
We often say.
But God in love a veil doth throw
Across our way.
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more
He leads us till this life is o'er,
Trust and obey.

(3rd verse)

So Much More!

 

This morning I posted my eighth "triplet" of character traits 

I want to see increasingly a part of my 67 year old life.

H - Happy/Humble/Holy 

Within 30 minutes, the above meme appeared on my Facebook page.

Forget for a moment that "to" in "to short" should be "too",

but don't forget there is so much more to being happy

than being silly, fun, different and crazy!

Words of an old gospel song came to my mind:

Trust and obey, 

For there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey.

Incidentally, the Bible verse I posted this morning

supported the "holy" part of the triplet--

 Obey God because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways

—doing evil because you knew no better.  But be holy now in everything you do, 

just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child. 

(I Peter 1:14-15) 

I don't "believe" in fortune cookies,

but it was pretty unusual to get this in my cookie 

only about 24 hours after posting my "happy/humble/holy" triplet!