Life Lessons - Taking Responsibility

I've had three different blogs in the queue this week and have wavered on which one I wanted to focus on.  I've decided to go in the direction of the life lesson this week. When I think of my motivations for why I am passionate about these life lessons, I have been reminded that there was a very influential book for me as a young parent.  Boundaries with Kids, by Dr. John Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud, colored the way I have parented since my oldest was a toddler.  The description on Amazon for the latest edition is exactly how I would describe this book - a parenting approach that sees beyond the moment to the adults their children will become.  The advice was all about not just parenting for today, but parenting for our children's future selves as responsible adults and citizens. I think that having these ideas and working with mostly children in my music studio these many years, have brought me lots of opportunities to see "more than a piano lesson."

This week I have been reminded of the lesson that is best learned when consequences are minimal.  Here I mean, when children still have the safety net of their parents to protect them with a milder consequence of taking responsibility for their actions versus waiting until they are adults to experience much harsher realities.

Let me be specific - this week my son was tasked with getting the mowing done in our yard.  In the past, he will sometimes come inside and say something like "the mower won't start."  To which my instant reply is usually - "does it need gas?"  He has learned my response now and has learned to go ahead and make sure it is NOT gas before he tells me he is having trouble.  So this week, he came in and said "it won't start" and I proceeded to head out with him, asking him about the gas on the way.  He said, "I filled it up", and so I had him show me what it was doing.  He tried to crank it a few times, and big black and blue puffs of smoke came out of it. After a minute, I had a thought, and so I asked "what gas can did you use?"  he said "the yellow one."  OH NO - well that explained it - it was the diesel can and the lawn mower is a gas engine.

To make a long story short, he had to mow the yard this week with a push mower.  It's twice as long to do and a whole lot more physical labor, but I guarantee he will never use the wrong color gas can again.  He now knows through experience that there are consequences for our actions, even if they were not malicious, only accidental.

It's important for him to learn now to shoulder the blame in a situation.  It doesn't feel good, and no one likes it, but perhaps it will prevent something much worse in the future.  The consequence for putting gas in a diesel motor, for instance, could be much more expensive!

The headlines this week have brought a certain amount of frustration to many of us regarding the young woman who was raped by the Stanford swimmer.  His sentence in the case and the letters from dad and son are all appalling.  A young woman's life was permanently altered, and she must live with this now forever.  I have no doubt, she will rehash her decisions that night, and wonder if she should have done something differently.  Regardless of her actions, she should have never been treated with such disregard and disrespect.

He also must live with the consequences of his behavior. Of course, the problem is that both dad and son want to shift blame.  The son actually blames the drinking culture of Stanford for his choice of actions that night.  That's just ludicrous.  I understand his deserve to avoid jail, and I can't imagine being faced with that when you are a young person just starting college, but he chose to behave the way he did.  In this instance also this was certainly not accidental, he made a definitive choice to behave this way toward this young woman.  His malicious choice should bear the heavy consequence.

I can't help but wonder if there had been any opportunities before this for him to have learned to shoulder some responsibility before the stakes were this high.  Learning to take responsibility for each choice, and each decision is so important for our children to learn.  This lesson, in turn, brings them true freedom as future adults, as they have an understanding of just how those decisions and choices can affect their futures.

Memorial Day Remembrance

This memorial story details just one day, of one tour of duty, of one in the Vietnam War.  He came home, but so many others didn't.  Over 58,000 men didn't return, and this is to honor their sacrifice.  If you have never been able to see the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in person, thanks to the internet you can see the virtual wall.  It is a very sobering project. This particular story is my dad's.  He is 1st Lieutenant Glen Bradley Weeks, Army Ranger and Vietnam Veteran, honorably discharged in 1969.  In memory of the ultimate sacrifice of two friends, Artie Comstock Jr, and Vic Mika.

Screaming missiles with white hot trails flew through the sky. One landed in the helicopter with us before exploding.  No time to think or understand.  No yell of “Incoming” - just the impact itself.

The concussive blast knocked out my hearing, mercifully perhaps, because my friends and brothers in arms were screaming in pain all around me.  The bird to my left took a rocket hit and crashed and exploded in the earth below us.  The air smelled of fire, seared flesh, and fear.

It was a horrible nightmare come to life in the steamy, pre-dawn, April morning as we arrived that day at Dinh Tuong Province otherwise known as “Fish Hook.”  My heart pounded hard in my chest, in tune with the whirring chopper blades.  The adrenaline surged from knowing that we were now landing in enemy territory. What had started as a routine mission, was quickly becoming anything but that.

The reality, though, of the Vietnam War, was that danger lurked everywhere, and we were trained to be ready to face it no matter what.  The enemy could be directly in front of us, or they had just left after hiding the mines that blew up our friends.

No one could be trusted, not even the women or children.  Too many times, other soldiers had made that mistake believing an innocent just needed help only to be blown up with them.  It was an extreme sort of torture for the soul to view everyone with suspicion.

1st and 2nd platoon of Charlie Company came in with about 60 men that morning.   Ambushed as we were landing, some birds were being brought down from the sky having taken on heavy machine gun fire, and being hit by rockets. Those birds not hit by artillery fire dropped soldiers and got out as fast as possible.

Our routine mission had just landed me regretfully in charge.  My Commanding Officer was wounded and needed pickup by the MedEvac personnel, otherwise known as the Dustoff, and the 1st platoon leader, Vic Mika, from Fords, New Jersey, only a couple weeks shy of his 24th birthday was now dead beside me.  Time slowed for just an instant, and I had a chance to think about how I had gotten to this place.

Having joined the Army after failing out of my college classes at the ripe old age of 18,  I headed off to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for basic training.  Soon I advanced to Fort Dix in New Jersey where I specialized in advanced Infantry training.

I relished the physical labor and the discovery of what I could push my body to do. I had finally found a place to excel.  Officer Candidate School was the next logical move, and so off to Ft. Benning, Georgia I went.  After graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant, I headed to Ranger School.  Rangers were the elite, and I knew I had what it took.  Just reading the Ranger Creed inspired me.

RANGER CREED

“Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger regiment.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier, who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger, my country expects me to move further, faster, and fight harder than any other soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight, and I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress, and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.

RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!”

(source www.goarmy.com - read more about the elite force Rangers here also)

After completing my training, I headed home to visit my family.  When my parents came to pick me up at the airport, though, I could tell they had been crying.  They said we had to wait for my best friend, Artie.  But that couldn’t be right I told them since Artie had joined the Marines before I did and he had already beaten me over to the war zone.  Unfortunately, Artie was coming home - in a box.  Much to my great sorrow his flag-draped coffin arrived that night, and the next day I saw my best friend buried. That was September of 1966.

Shortly after this I was ordered to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to train the new recruits. It would not be long after until it was my turn to be called up for my tour of duty on the front lines.  I left for Vietnam in February of 1968.  I was a 1st Lieutenant with the Army Ranger force, and I was just 20 years old. I left full well knowing that I might not return.

My focus came back to the chaos unfolding around me. The rest of that day was a blur of gunfights, and battling for protection on the ground from a daunting enemy.    We had many wounded, myself included.  I was knocked down but not out, yet.  There was still life left in me and a battle to be fought - and won.  The men that were left alive dug in and returned fire for the most of the day.

We had no idea how many NVA enemies we were up against, and we had no reinforcements for most of the day.  Mercifully the 3rd platoon was airlifted in with artillery bombardment, and 30 more men for reinforcements, by late afternoon.  Later we learned that radar detected the mass retreat of at least 5,000 enemy troops.  60 men had held off 5,000 - what are the odds?

The war raged on, and there were many more stories and firefights the rest of that year.  I finished up my tour and was sent back home to New York shortly after being honorably discharged. I was awarded three purple hearts and a Bronze Star medal for valor.  In trying to get these men in my charge to safety that day, I had to stop and retrieve a wounded soldier and pull him along with me while still under fire.

As we celebrate this Memorial Day, I remember the men that didn’t come home.  They gave their lives in service to our country, and while the rest of us returned, we are forever-changed men.  Physical and emotional wounds that will live on for the rest of our lives remain with us.  We will never forget the smells, sights, and sounds from those terrible days in the bush, nor will we ever forget the loss of life of our friends and brothers.

Coming home from Vietnam was gut-wrenching since it was not a war with a definitive win, and since our nation was at such odds over being involved in the conflict, there was no celebration to be made.

War is an ugly business.  Many devoted men have sacrificed their lives in war. Maybe even in wars that you don’t agree with having been waged.  Regardless of which side of the controversy you claimed for Vietnam, the men who gave all they had should be remembered and celebrated.  They died in noble and brave service for our great nation.  This Memorial Day perhaps you don’t personally know the name of anyone who has died in war - if not remember the name of my best friend, Artie Comstock Jr., and my buddy Vic Mika with me today.

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free — Ronald Reagan

(if you also have a story to share, it would be an honor for me to read it in the comments below.)

The image used for the photo was one I found online - attributed to Horst Faas/AP

This is a short story written this weekend, compiled from notes my mom had, the rare stories my dad has shared, and research accomplished online.

Sounds all around us

The hummingbird buzzed my head this morning as I was watching the sun rise. I didn’t see it, I heard it. The distinct whir of it’s wings and my thought was “a hummingbird!” - I love hummingbirds! I turned to look in the direction of the sound, and sure enough it was a hummingbird. Just as soon as it realized I was moving, it flew off. There and gone, but unmistakable the sound of it’s wings. My mind started wandering, do I know other birds simply by the noise they make? And I for sure can tell you the pair of woodpeckers that are in the tree to the right of the deck where I like to sit and write have their own unmistakable chirp. It’s fascinating. I know when I hear it, that they are close by and I start to look for them. Usually very quickly I can find the redheaded bird in the tree from there. They are also immediately recognizable when they are pecking the tree! I recognize the call from the hawk. I’m convinced she has a nest high up at the top of one our trees. Her sound is unmistakable as well. I could go on, the pair of cardinals, have taught me their chirp and the Canadian geese on the lake - well everyone would know that one.

As my mind continued down this path, the sun shone brighter and brighter. It’s a clear morning not a cloud in the sky but distinctly cooler than it has been all week. I started thinking of our dog Daisy’s bark. We know when it’s her bark at night keeping us up. My mind travelled to my children. Like when they were younger and I heard "Mom", I knew it was my child. That alert panic that enters your soul when you hear the cry of “Mom” with a note of something desperately wrong in it, or the sweet sound of something fun and exciting - you still know when it’s your child. Today I still recognize their voice in a crowd and sometimes still sense that panic of the cry of “Mom” if something is wrong.

Just as swiftly as I thought about my children, and the fact that I can pick their voice out of a crowd, I thought of my Heavenly Father. Just as I have learned as an ordinary person to listen and hear the sounds around me and connect them with what I have seen, how much more extraordinary is it that we can “hear” what our Heavenly Father says to us. He has already told us that He knows who we are - that we were planned from the beginning of time, that he formed us in the womb. He knows the number of hairs on our heads, and the tears that we cry. He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. Our Creator God is astounding and awesome. My mind fails to understand how he can keep up with all of us, it seems so unlikely and impossible. What’s even more amazing to me is the way that if we spend time reading His words, meditating on His Scriptures, and talking with him in prayer, we can learn to hear the sound of his voice. The unmistakable leading of His hand just as clearly as the sound the wind makes when it moves the trees to bend and sway.

Unfortunately this is where I have a breakdown personally. I sense His leading, I hear his calling, and I start to walk the directions I know He’s told me to go. But I am full of doubt, and insecurity and start to wonder “did I really hear what God was telling me?”. This morning, I sensed that God just wanted me to remember that as I am faithful to walk daily with him, and hear from him, I can walk ahead confidently knowing that what He has told me and placed within my heart is His specific leading.

What a great way to start the day! It’s been a lovely morning so far, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

Building A Platform - huh?

I know most people are wondering what in the world is Vicki up to these days.   There's always something going on and things are always interesting.  But I'm in the process of learning and doing some new things and one is to finally sit down and write a book.  I've talked about it, joked about it, but never actually decided to do anything about writing, well because I'm busy doing some other stuff.  So here I am finally attempting to do the things I've talked about for so long, and finding out that there is a whole LOT more to the process than I ever dreamed!   It's not quite as simple as deciding to sit down and write a book! Actually more than one book, but that is really beside the point.  Why write one thing when you have a lot of ideas?!?! Over the next few posts, I want to take time to share what I'm working on but I don't want to throw it all out there at once.  I'm going to post some of the images I've worked on lately, and ask that you my friends and readers (hi mom!) to please follow me on Twitter, on pinterest ,and on Facebook.  (just click the word and the link should take you there)  Also if you'll go ahead and sign up on the blog, I'll send out emails from time to time sending you special content that won't be on the blog.  It may be a short story, it may be a devotional thought, or a new image.  It won't be so often you'll feel like you are being spammed, and you can always opt out at any time.

Early on in this process I have learned that platform building is hugely important.  Today's publishing world cares how many people you have access to, and can reach.  No one really cares what you have to say, if people out there aren't already following you, interacting with you and responding to you.  To this end, one board at a time, one connection here and there is what I am working on.   I'm thankful for social media connections, but I am even more thankful that there are apps now that help you schedule ahead your day, or even your week so that you don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of time on social media.  That was a huge issue for me before I discovered that in just a few short minutes a day, I could get things ready for the day ahead and get them posted automatically.  So while it may appear that all I do is sit on Facebook and Twitter, I promise I don't :)

At the end of the day, I'm just a girl asking you to follow me and see what I'm doing and where this path takes me.  I don't truly know why this is the time and place for this, but I am going to Carpe Diem and all.  I'm ready and now I need you!  I need an organic group of folks who know me and still like me to support my writings and "creatings" and will help me get to the next level and God willing get published one day.

I'd love for you to be on my team!

The Story Teller

Fascinating!  as I am working on my novel I am intrigued by the process.  As a voracious reader for my entire life, I am fascinated by being on the flip side of the coin.  The idea of creating something that I would like to read - so many fun parts to doing this! There are parts of the story that I am writing, while already knowing in advance how the story is going to end.  I know the plot, and I know the characters and how each will play their role through the story.  As I am working to write a scenario that will end up being unfinished as far as a particular relationship goes, I know it has to be unfinished because I know the end of the story.

As I sit back and think through the implications of this, I had the most impressive thought strike me that that is exactly what is going on in our own stories of our life.  We don’t see the end. We aren’t infinite.  The only point of view for our story is the moments that we are in right now and when things don’t turn out the way we expect them too we feel failure, pain, disappointment and even discouragement.

NEWSFLASH! But here’s the thing we don’t KNOW the end of our story.  We have no idea how the Divine Storyteller is currently weaving the story of our lives, and we don’t understand the plot twists.  We can’t understand because we haven’t seen the ending yet.  BUT HE HAS! And, even better, we are promised that He works all things for our good and for His glory.  Forgive me for having a moment here my friends, but I feel as if God has just given me a bit of insight into some of the things He’s working in my own story right now.

Many times I don’t understand the discouragement, the disappointment or the doubts - but I don’t know the ending.  Even better, I don’t have to know the ending, I just need to trust my StoryTeller and have faith that He is writing my story perfectly.

Keep the Main thing the Main thing

Psalm 119:165 has been circling my mind for awhile.  As I have “chewed” on it, it seems like each article I read, each Facebook post I see, and each tweet that scrolls through my feed needs to be processed in light of this verse. I love the word offend here in the KJV because we understand it – we get offended about everything currently.  Each day, more and more people of every size, shape, skin color, variation, denomination, school of thought, Christian, non-Christian and beyond have been offended by something.  Each day, I shake my head and grieve over the direction that our nation’s culture, and the cultures of the world seem to be declining right before my eyes. Yet what grieves me most is what we choose to get vocal about.  I’m not sure I really understand why we must get up in arms over every slight and wrongdoing, and let's face it there are many.  But this doesn't stop us from raising the rhetoric  and we love it when others join in with us.  I do understand that the bigger picture of this verse that's brought out in the other translations is the idea of not having something that makes us “stumble”.  Well, frankly, that works too…if I am following so closely after God, then nothing will make me stumble that people can do or say.  And in today’s world that promise is vital to my character and my comportment.

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There seems to be a generation that has missed out on some important training.  Not schooling, but disciplines of good living -how to be productive citizens and good people.  I do understand that our world apart from God will never be “good” but behaving with maturity has always been a sign of leaving adolescence behind and embracing adulthood. Something that we understood culturally was important for adolescents to embrace.  Yet there are entire groups of people who seem to have never been taught these things.

I have always expressed to my children that our number one goal is  “to love God and love others.”  That was it – nothing additional – that has been and is our theme each year.  We have worked hard to keep it simple and to keep the main thing, the main thing.  This is so hard some days.  Our family wears many hats, and stays on the go.  Having something singular to focus on helps sometimes when the good things try to crowd out the best.

The second lesson, we have worked on through the years is to believe the best about others.  When there are hurt feelings from actions or words – believing that the other person didn’t intend to hurt us almost always insulates us from bitterness.  This is certainly an ongoing lesson, because our human nature would rather not let things go.  We instantly believe that someone intended to hurt us not the other way around.

And finally, the third lesson has to be that we don’t have to be offended at everything that happens to us.  We don't have to be offended at the words people say, or the things people do.  We are all human, we are all capable of doing and saying the wrong thing at any given moment on any given day.  Instead, we have the right to choose to let it go and choose joy and happiness instead.  Loving others many times requires for us to put our needs and our desires secondary.   And certainly loving God the right way requires for us to lower ourselves – John 3:30 - "He must increase, but I must decrease."

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In our world it seems more and more difficult to decide the best way to continue to be the light that we are called to be. Do we stand quietly on the foundation of God's Word, being ready to always give an account of our changed lives to those who ask it of us or do we fight for our rights, and our beliefs and our opinions at every turn. Do we run to help those who don't look like us, act like us or think like us, so that we can demonstrate mercy and the love of Christ, or we do stand by and yell indignantly about the state of collapse around us while doing nothing about it.   While I don't believe that we should be a people who do nothing - far from it, we need to be people of action.  But I would like to see more of us demonstrating the POWER that lies within us, by working to  reach the lost world for Christ.  I would like to see us become indignant or outraged over the loss of lives each second of every minute of every day to a Christless eternity.  We seem to lose our passion and our voice when it comes to proclaiming the Good News, but we sure can argue and get irate over the current issues of the day.  Distraction seems to be the winning tool in the Devil's toolbox and we are falling for it hook, line and sinker.

Let the change start in me..will you join me - let's keep the main thing the main thing!

“ We are to praise God even for afflictions; through grace we get good from them. Those that love the world have great vexation, for it does not answer what they expect; those that love God's word have great peace, for it outdoes what they expect.”

Matthew Henry

The Gift of Encouragement

I’ve had several blog posts rolling around my head for the last couple weeks but haven’t had opportunities to work through them yet. For one reason or another, I’ve been pulled in a myriad of directions, and have faced several distractions and even some discouragement. When the pressure is on there is nothing like a little encouragement that can really bolster our confidence. A word or two timed well infuses energy and life back into what could be a mundane task. This reminds me of one of my favorite word pictures in the Bible found in Proverbs 25:11.

I learned it in the KJV and I still think how beautifully poetic those words are especially when we employ them in our lives. Think how often someone says just something little to us that adds a little spring in our step - someone commented on my shirt the other day and said it was “so cute” I walked away after I said thank you and smiled. It was amazing what a lift to my spirit it was.

Now I know that part of it is that words of affirmation speak love to me. I love the books on the Love Languages by Gary Chapman - if you have never read them - you are missing out! Mine is easy to figure - words of affirmation - you tell me that I do something well, or that I am working hard - I feel love. If you tell me I’m not very good, or I can’t do something, etc. I get very discouraged quickly.

Words…such a small thing- but so mighty in the way we wield them around us. The book of Ephesians reminds us of this truth as well in chapter 4 verse 29.

The book of James extends the conversation about the power of the tongue and it's power to either enforce good or breakdown others for evil.  There are examples in our own lives that I am sure we can each think of that have meant so much to us at the time.

Sometimes we just need a boost to take the next step in the journey.

Who can we give that gift to today?

Chronicles & David's Mighty Men

In my Bible study this week, I came across a passage in Chronicles that was something I had already read earlier in the year. I read it because of the book by Mark Batterson who told the story of Benaiah in his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. (Loved this book by the way, but that’s not the topic at hand!) I am doing a chronological read through of the Bible this year and so my two assignments were 2 Samuel 5:1-10 and I Chronicles 11:1-12:40. I struggle with certain books of the Bible I’ll just be honest. Sometimes they are just long lists of names..generations of people who did good things, but on the page - it’s still a long list of hard to pronounce names. I love reading the books of the Bible that are rich with promises, or give me deep significant Spiritual truths for how to live my life, how to think, how to behave etc. In general, Chronicles just doesn’t usually seem to help me in this regard. Reading early in the morning has it’s benefits - it’s quiet, and it’s just me and my coffee and the sunrise…but this is challenging too if I’m really tired. Some mornings I really have to work to keep my eyes open. Yesterday was like that for me and I struggled.

As I have been working over the last three weeks on the “fear nots” of the Bible, I find myself looking for them everywhere and I had some serious doubts about finding them in yesterdays study. But God had nuggets for me yesterday, and I have marinated in them for more than 24 hours now. It started in verse 9 of I Chronicles 11, which by the way is almost exactly a word for word repeat of 2 Sam. 5:10. 2 Sam says “And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.”

I Chronicles is slightly different it reads “And David became greater and greater for the LORD of hosts was with him.”

The context for this verse is that David has just finished the long season of running for his life. His very survival, his very life, depended on living in caves, and being in hiding and even living with his enemy, the Philistines, for a time. But after Saul’s death, God’s promise that he (David) would be king was finally coming to pass and David was anointed as King by the elders of Israel. Immediately, he took over Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and He lived there in Jerusalem. The next verses detail how Joab was his chief right hand man, and that he repaired the rest of the city, and “David became greater and greater for the LORD of hosts was with him.”

My first take away was that while we may never understand God’s timing, we can always trust His promises. And second, if God is with us in any task we are undertaking, for His honor and His glory, He alone will make us greater so that we can fulfill His purposes in us.

But I’m not done yet, because that’s not the end of the verses, and I was done reading yet. (Plus I’m a preacher’s kid, I can’t be done yet right?)

The next few verses are labeled “David’s Mighty Men” - here we read of these men of valor who let nothing intimidate them or sway them from their course. They were courageous and full of integrity - the most trusted of David’s men. Their stories are amazing - they read more like fiction - Abishai fighting alone killed 300 men. Benaiah killing a lion with his bare hands, then killing an Egyptian man over 7 ft tall holding a spear while having no weapon of his own and more. I mean these guys threw caution to the wind because they believed in David, in God's hand of blessing on David, and in defending him and his kingdom.

Some great friends to have around you think?

The list is long - the rest of the verses to follow are filled with names of mighty men. I stopped though when my eyes hit a familiar name in the list. vs. 41 - Uriah the Hittite. If you have studied Scripture for awhile you’ve heard the stories of David - a man after God’s own heart, but he definitely had his faults and this one that involved Uriah’s wife was a big one. I knew Uriah was a soldier in the army, but here he is listed as one of David’s Mighty Men. Here Uriah was listed along with other these other names of David's Mighty Men.  It was important to God for us to know each of their names, and then in the verses to follow the tribes they each came from and how many there were. Some are listed as being able to shoot stones from a sling with either hand, or were experienced warriors, experts with shield and spear. The Gadites themselves were officers of the army it says in vs 14 of chapter 12 - “the least was a match for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand” One man could battle a thousand? crazy odds in my mind to even think about! These men crossed the Jordan when it was overflowing its banks - another astonishing feat - and battled all enemies in the valleys both in the east and west.

So it made me sad to think that Uriah was one of these men that David so trusted and who obviously held David in such high regard - because I know how the story ends. I know that David falls in his sin, and Uriah is murdered because of it.

But God..

He already knew this part of the story too, and He continued to bless David because David is part of God’s story and was accomplishing His purpose in David for His glory. I again thought about how many times each of us mess up and we decide that there’s no use for us to continue to try. I can only imagine that David must have felt that God had made a mistake picking him for the job of King, but he continued to follow after God anyway. He confessed and forsook his sins, multiple times, and he faced his consequences. The Psalms are full of his words of repentance and praise for the everlasting love and mercy of our great God. How much more can we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, knowing that God sees us through the gift of redemption and Christ’s shed blood over our mess of sin.

I’m still not done though..God had something to tell us about unity in the body! It’s possible for large groups of men to be unified with the singular purpose of following after God and pursuing the job of accomplishing His plans!

vs 38 - "All these men of war arrayed in battle order, (there are literally tens of thousands of them - read it for yourself) came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king."

Thousands of men, warriors, came together with unity of purpose and singleness of heart to make David king. After all the days of hiding, and running David’s time of standing in the spotlight had finally come to pass. And God was in every detail - not just the promise that it would occur, but in the timing and the unity with which he was made King.

How does this passage speak to you? I would really love to hear your thoughts!

Best Laid Plans & the Moon

Sometimes the best laid plans really do go awry. 20 years ago, my husband had a perfectly orchestrated proposal planned out. He rented the convertible, planned the dinner and dessert, suggested the drive out to the beach for a walk and pre-recorded the midnight phone call for my very own cellphone.

It was all perfect, except for one small detail – me.

I’ve always kept him a little off kilter I think. I don’t think like he does, and I don’t look at things the way he does. So when he expected me to have my cellphone charged that night, I didn’t. Mistakenly, I assumed that since we would be together on our date that evening, it wouldn’t be necessary then to charge my phone since he was the only one who ever called me on it.

Of course, that threw a monkey wrench into everything.

I wasn’t really sure why he even rented a convertible on that April evening. It was still kind of cool in the evenings on those April nights in Pensacola and so while the top and windows were down, we had to blast the heat because I was so cold!

He also kept acting strange all night. He kept asking why I hadn’t charged my phone and how much battery did it have left. I had almost left it at home that night – again he was the only one that called me on it – but I kept flipping it open and telling him –it’s got 10%, it’s got 5% etc. We were out walking on the beach when it finally died. He asked if it had any battery left and I said no. So we sat down on the sand and looked out at the sky. It was a beautiful night and the moon was beautiful. He started talking about the moon and how round it was and he ended up just winging his proposal and I remember being shocked and excited all at one time. He give me the ring and I said yes -  but I had literally no idea what I had put him through.   I had no idea how I had messed up his plans by letting my phone go dead.

We sure have laughed about this through the years – the reality is I wouldn’t change a thing! 20 years later it’s still a precious memory and I have loved reminiscing about it all day today!  And as Paul Harvey used to say "and now you have the rest of the story!"

Life Lessons in Perseverance

One of the life lessons I think is so important to our youth and to many young adults today has to be perseverance. I had almost decided against actually defining the word for y'all, but I like it too much so here it is - "perseverance - steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success".  I think almost any challenge in our lives can be managed through perseverance. Yet it’s not a natural quality. We are not naturally born with the gift of perseverance.  It’s not even really encouraged in our society anymore. But in spite of this, the old adage attributed to Andrew Carnegie "anything worth having is worth working for" is true. If it was easy everyone would do it.  More and more though, I find that people aren’t willing to put in the extra effort when things get tough. Perseverance is not gained by walking down an easy road. Only when we come across some kind of adversity or obstacle can we really learn how to persevere. This lesson is never learned beforehand either, it’s always learned in the middle of the "doing". Sometimes in this regard, I think we play too much to our kids natural strengths and allow them to do those things that are easy for them because of natural ability. But there will still come a time when they discover that this thing they want to do will require work. And when that day comes, things start to get difficult and then they want to quit.

As you might imagine this happens in the music studio a lot. Students come for singing lessons because they love to sing to the radio, at church or just in general. What they don’t count on is the amount of work it takes to really work and develop their instrument - their voice.

• It takes work to breathe correctly, to enunciate words, and to communicate the words with attention to phrasing.
• It takes work to color their phrases with dynamic contrast and accents on the right words.
• It takes work to count out beats and plan their breathing for their entrances and exits.
• It takes work to learn a song in a genre they are unfamiliar with or dislike.

So naturally a little while into voice lessons, their gets to be a lag. They need persistence to push themselves to excel and to get to the next level.

This lesson was very apparent with even my own child. When she first started to play the piano, she did really well, just like most other students seem to do. Of course, the inevitable plateau occurs and she began to feel like she wasn’t good at the piano because she had to work at it. Where does this idea come from? Is our society so programmed to believe that unless it comes easily, we aren’t any good and shouldn’t work at it? Needless to see I could see she needed lessons in perseverance. She also needed a new teacher - but that’s another whole blog post of its own!

This isn’t just a problem with our children though, it’s even something we adults encounter frequently. Not too long ago, as I was working on finishing my very first book proposal, I looked at my husband and said “This is hard work!” His instant reply “Well if it was easy, I guess everybody would be doing it!” And it’s true - the things that we really want most in life, whatever they may be, will require effort, and desire, and a whole lot of perseverance. But the desire accomplished is SWEET to the soul - even Proverbs validates this. The things we appreciate the most, are the things we have worked the hardest for.

Persevere.

Don’t give up.

Don’t quit.

Stay the Course.

Enjoy the sweet taste of victory!