Parents Need to Accept Their Responsibility

My friend Mary took a picture of this sign because we all thought it was so funny!

You should have seen everyone scramble when "last call" was announced! LOL I hope you know I'm only kidding!

This was posted at the food bar at a local restaurant, Barnhills, where we enjoyed a Sunday buffet.

But it is true...parents really should accept the responsibility of accompanying their kids to the bars. Have you ever stood back to watch some of these children at the food bar? Makes me wonder why I still choose to eat from them!

Glory Defined

What is God's Glory?

What does that mean? Why did Moses ask God to "Show me Your Glory?"

I've only read the introduction and the first chapter of "Hullabaloo" by Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, but have already identified something, that what I am starving for is God's glory to be revealed. Jones defines glory in a new way for me and thought it interesting.

Jones' definition of GLORY: Persistant awareness of God's availability in every moment of my life.

How glorious is it to see God in all things through all moments of life?

God, show me Your glory!

I'm NOT Dead

Barbara pointed out it has been awhile since I last posted. Well, I've been sick with a stubborn cold, my parents were here to visit from Ohio, I was working and rehearsing with the orchestra. When I had down time, I wasn't feeling like blogging. I've still been reading a lot of blogs, commenting and so forth. I've also been dealing with some personal struggles that are getting worked out.

I look forward to posting some this week now that I am starting to feel better and have some things to share.

Thanks everyone for your concerns and prayers. I'm at about 96.47% now!

I AM SICK!

I AM SICK!

I DON'T FEEL WELL AT ALL!

I FEEL WEAK!

WHY MUST COLD CAPSULES BE PACKAGED IN FULL BODY ARMOR, SEALED IN CONCRETE, AND BURIED SIX FEET UNDERGROUND?

I'm serious here...why are medicines packaged in such a way that it takes a S.W.A.T team to get them out?

GRRRRRRRRRR...I'm so frustrated at this moment!

I Mean This In Love

You gotta see this...thanks to the Reformed Chicks for Blabbing this one! LOL

Yeah, uh-huh...been there!

Blogging Without Letters

September 8th came and went virtually unnoticed, although I did mention to Katie that September 8 marked the 5th blogiversary of Sisters' Weblog: It Bloggles the Mind!

So, yay, Happy Blogday to us.

My computer is one year younger, but it is showing wear. Wonder how many blogs it takes to wear off ALL the letters on the keyboard?
















Oh, and it looks like it may be time again for another run through the dishwasher...amazing how the camera's flash finds all the crud in the keyboard. I made the pic B&W and small so as to keep the gross factor low. LOL

Your "Cross" Isn't Meant to be a Burden

Christians often assume that to "take up our cross" means simply to carry a burden. When we run into a life trouble, we will say things like "oh, this is just my cross to bear". We basically shrug it off, totally missing the significance of the cross.

Ever consider that the cross is not meant to be a burden? It is meant to cause death.

The cross is meant to kill us!

It is an instrument of death!

Oh that wonderful cross!

Ahhhh....FINALLY!

The Jackson Symphony Orchestra called to ask me to perform for their next concert an exTreme Classical Makeover with the Capital Quartet, a saxophone quartet "specializing in Innovative Orchestral Pops". I always jump at an opportunity to perform with the orchestra!

After I received my music folder, I thumbed through it to see what all I was going to be learning and performing. There's some great stuff in there! But, one piece stands out to me because of some personal history.

When I was a freshman at Highland High School, Scott Nelson, our band director at that time, challenged us to learn the 4th Movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. It was a huge undertaking and I never practiced for something so hard in my life up until that time. (Listen to the 28 second intro)

It was such a team building experience because everyone in the band was challenged to learn an extremely difficult piece of music for our level of playing, but as we rehearsed and listened to ourselves, we truly were rising to the occasion. Being a freshman, I was also very motivated to learn the part and prove myself to the upperclassmen.

After weeks of practicing on our own, and rehearsing as a group, we were on our way to raising some eyebrows and blowing the audience away with our performance. It was something every band member was looking forward to and one of those sweet moments that one anticipates after so much hard work and effort went into it.

Well, a week before the performance, tragedy struck me. I had a bike accident.

I was out riding my bike which was not unusual for me at that time, when I noticed my mom, Gram and sisters coming up the road from running Saturday morning errands. She stopped and through the passenger side window we held a short conversation, and I don't even remember the topic. Anyway, as mom started to pull away, I had a "great" idea...I was going to race her home!

Yeah! Great idea! So I stood up on the bike to really put my weight into the foot that would pump the pedal of my bike. On the third pump, my foot suddenly slipped off the pedal when the chain on my bike popped off. My foot hit the ground with great force and the frame of my bike was halted in an instant. However, I was not! I kept moving forward with the bike falling with me. I went right over the handlebars and hit the rough gravel and tar pavement chin first and then proceeded to kiss the ground.

Mom thought she had hit me because I fell out of her line of vision, to the front right of the car. She just saw me go down. A neighbor who witnessed this accident told us she thought, "Oh my God, she hit her!". But, that was not the case, nope, it was all me and a bike that malfunctioned.

When I managed to untangle myself from the bike wreckage, I stood up, and hurried somewhat frantically to the backdoor of the car to get in, but both my sisters only saw the bloody pulp that was once my face and freaked. They both slid across to the other side of the car, backing away from me, frightened of the sight they beheld. Well, the door was locked! I couldn't get in! Someone finally unlocked the door and we headed home.

I spent that afternoon in the ER of Medina County Hospital. Thankfully I did not get any stitches, but instead was "taped" up. My chin was pretty cut up, but the worst was my upper lip. My lip was split right down the middle.

I remember not being able to smile or laugh because it was open up the cut in my lip. I used to hold the tape on my lip any time I would smile and that is just no way to live! The worst part was that I was injured and would not get to play Shostakovich 5! I was so brokenhearted.

It is really a drag to work so hard on something, have it within your grasp, and then watch it drift away in an instant. I went to the concert and supported my band mates while they put on an awesome performance without me. I've always felt like I missed out on something great by not performing with the band that day.

But, now, I get another chance! 27 years later on Saturday, September 22, 2007, I will perform Shostakovich with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra! Sweet! FINALLY!

Evangelism Tracts

Yesterday while in Memphis, Katie and I ate lunch at Bob Evans. While we were waiting for our food to arrive, the couple across from us finished and got up to leave.

The woman came over to our table and introduced herself to us and said "I go to a church, just across the way, with those three big crosses. (And they are BIG! A lot taller than any nearby structure in that area! As we drove by we were remarking as to why they really needed to be THAT big? These are on the campus of the megachurch, Bellevue Baptist Church, in Memphis, TN, that Adrian Rogers once pastored.)

I said "yes, 'Fort God'" (I realized immediately maybe that was uncouth to say, and could have been offensive.)

She laughed and said "Yes! That is what it's been nicknamed by a lot of people, especially pilots flying over the campus!" She wasn't offended at all!

She then went to hand me a Bible tract and explained that "this will tell you how to know for sure you are going to Heaven".

I said "I already know I'm going to Heaven! We are sisters!" Then she asked "you are Christians?" and we said yes. After a short conversation, she turned around to the waitress and said "well, then, maybe I should just give this to you" and handed her the tract while giving her the same spiel she gave me.

After the woman left Katie made a point as to how easy it is to just go around and hand out tracts.

I responded and said "at least she is doing it. What are we doing?"

Katie said "well, we try to build relationships and tell people about what God is doing in our lives."

But then we wondered, how often do we really get to the "meat" of the story...or doing we just default to "we are building relationships".

From a previous posts on tracts:

I have a thing about tracts. I think there is a proper way to use them, and an improper way. To me, a tract should be used as a "springboard" to a conversation. It should not be left on the floor! Have you seen those tracts that are made to look like a $10 bill? A person reaches down thinking "jackpot!" and suddenly realizes they've been duped. How is that effective? It gets tossed aside, that's all.

Now, do I believe God can use that $10 fake bill, or the tracts littering my store on occasion to prick the heart of the non-believer? Yes, but is this what Jesus had in mind when he said "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation"? I think He meant what He said...he said "GO! PREACH!" Not, go leave tracts in hopes that someone will find it and get saved! I think dropping tracts all around is cowardly, and people use this way of "preaching the Good News" to ease their own conscience. Somehow it makes some people feel like they are following the command to go and preach, or to be a witness.

It just really hit me that this woman from the mega church that we jokingly refer to as "Fort God", which basically belittles it, was passing out tracts and witnessing, when we just sat there comfortable in our "building relationships" strategy.

I also wondered if it is possible that restaurant servers are evangelised more than anybody else? It's pretty easy to leave a "tip" for the server and then be on our way.