Quite a Day

Well, I suppose it would seem more believable that I had "quite a day" if I had a good story to tell, like a tale of Job or something, but I don't. But it feels like "quite a day" anyway.

Three things are driving me to have a headache.

First, I am on call since yesterday at 8 AM and will be until tomorrow until 5 PM. Oh, and another thing before I even get to number two, why do I have to be the hero and when did we decide not to live just an ordinary life?

Second, last week, my daughter's violin teacher told me it was OKAY for my daughter to quit violin if she wanted. You don't understand. My father played professional violin all over the world and in the best orchestras including the New York Philharmonic. Currently, his brother is a first violinist in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and has been, for like forty years. None of my other children play violin. This youngest daughter of mine was the one with the most potential. I almost cried as the instructor and I were talking about it. At my daughter's recital I came to terms with the fact that she is not going to be playing violin all over the world or all over the city or all over high school. Yeah, it is okay, but it is like the end of an era for me. Yeah, I shouldn't live through my kids, but, it happened. There, listening to the little violin recital last Saturday I thought that maybe I would give her my fathers huge boxes of a life time of music. But then should I save them? Should I sell them on Ebay? They are like a piece of my dad. But if I gave them to her, she may appreciate them, and at least be able to read them, and maybe even use them. What else should I do with them?

So today "we" tried out for the junior orchestra in our area, and she probably didn't make it, but she may have made it. If she didn't make it, I am going to let my daughter quit violin as early as the end of June if she wants.

Third, the church called and left a message (see yesterday’s blog entry). (he, he, did you ever hear a "church" talk?). The guy said that they're going to pass on the offer for me to advertise the Precepts Bible Study for the church to participate and not put it in the church bulletin. Immediately I thought, "I'm free," in that this is good news. I can do the Bible Study and I don't have to feel badly like I didn't offer it to them or didn't let them know, or whatever. And I followed up with them because they didn't follow up with me. I actually went to them twice. This time and then seven years ago.

The other day I told them that I thought that they should offer the study because they don't have an intensive ongoing study for women at all, which is the situation. For the past great number of years I have been going to outside "providers" that have been teaching me the word of God, in addition to the church’s Sunday services, and, if possible, this shouldn't be the case. I told them that and they said, "no thanks," so I am free. Like Paul who was free to go to the Gentiles with the gospel. God knows what He is doing, and He is not having me to do the study in association with my local church and that is okay.

Now the good news,

Zip back to the early part of the day. This morning I woke up to the music of Keith Green in my head. "Jesus commands us to go." It is about the fact that Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. It is an exception if we don't go.

Yeah. That struck me. So this morning I had been feeling good about this. I listened to the song again and again and cracked up about how Keith spoke to me again, after all these years. My, God really used and continues to use him.

The Bible says that not many should presume to be teachers. I don't think wanting to teach for like 20 years, doing about 15 years total of regular Bible Study is presuming to teach. I am not an evangelist and I want to make disciples. I don’t have the gift of evangelism, or other stuff. I have mentored one woman since 1993, and I think God has used that as like a training situation for me. Like it says in Titus, I want to be an older woman who is teaching a younger woman to love her husband and children and help to show how to be busy at home.

So Jesus said , He commanded to go and make disciples.

One other thing, even though the church passed on the option of promoting the Bible Study to their church at large, when I first spoke with the Pastor about it he was very supportive and prayed for me and prayed a very supportive prayer, that God would open a door that no one can shut.

So my plan is to go forward with the study in my neighborhood, and let others know that Precepts has come to this area. Maybe I will put a small ad or informational piece in the paper using the promotional stuff that Precepts has provided. I am not advertising me. It is the study of God's word with Christian women, in a supportive environment, a study with Precepts - a great study - that women in the area need. So I am moving on, but I am also going to sleep and getting some zzzzz's now.

There is so much that I want to do in terms of stuff around the house. Well, it will wait.

Guess what? I am going on an Alaskan cruise in less than two weeks. My goals from now and then are to keep busy with work, to get some specific paperwork done and that is about it. And to keep busy with healthy exercise and healthy eating. That is about all the time I have to do stuff – oh also to do Bible Study and prayer every morning in a concerted way, about an hour, if possible. I would also like to complete a project with the hundreds of picture that I took on this last trip, if I could just figure out how to download.....

During the trip I plan to do Bible Study and have a “exercise vacation” and do lots of exercise! And eat and study for my upcoming board re-certification exam. Then in July I go to Tennessee! I am make myself dizzy. I need to SLEEP! Good night! God bless! I feel better now. Are you familiar with the verse, “encourage yourself in the Lord” and “let each one bear his own burden.”