Petals of Friendship

Over the years, I have explored my art through various mediums.  Ceramics, oils, pencil, acrylics, watercolor, photography (I'm sure there are more).  I've enjoyed all of them and this weekend I was going to add one more art adventure, collage.  I signed up, not really knowing what I was going to be doing, and I am so happy I did.  It was absolutely wonderful.  More than wonderful...I was completely in the zone for two and one half days.  A classmate in the workshop talked about losing time when creating, and that's exactly what happened.   I was in my own world for two and half days and whatever else was going on out there, just didn't matter.  It's strange how a room filled with artistic energy can create a bond beyond words.  I learned a new art form from my fabulous instructor,  Laura Lein-Svencner and equally rewarding was hearing the encouraging words from my classmates.  I was excited about attending this workshop for many reasons.  The obvious was that I was

I thought I was moving along and making great progress with my lessons.  I almost felt smug.  Suddenly, though, I was staring at a giant.  My giant was a new song with new notes.  This meant that I could no longer keep my fingers on the same five keys I had been using so confidently.  Now, I had to stretch, both physically and mentally.  Physically, my fingers had to reach keys that were unfamiliar to me.  Mentally, I had to admit I wasn't as slick as I thought I was.  I had so much more to learn.  Sometimes I feel like that on a spiritual level.  I am comfortable where I am and think I've got things pretty much under control.  And then God thinks it's time to learn a new song.   That humbles me but also makes me feel the discomfort of the upcoming stretch I'll have to make.  Discomfort may seem like a bad thing, but when it involves God, it usually isn't.  It builds trust.  It makes me see that I am human, and God is way bigger than my circumstances.  He will help

My heart sank when I heard the sharp thud. I knew instantly what had happened. My accordion fell, no...crashed, to the floor. Liz asked me to look at something in another room, so we placed my accordion on a chair. Obviously, not a good idea. I rushed to pick it up, hoping my quick response would miraculously undo whatever damage might have occurred. I tried playing it, and instantly we both could tell some things were not right I left Liz's house without my accordion and as I drove home, my mind filled with a little bit of anxiety. Liz assured me that she could fix the problems and so I decided to focus on that promise. I had to trust her, and I had to stop thinking about the damage. Thankfully, she has the skills to do the repair work. I started thinking how I am damaged too, and how I've "fallen" more than once. It happens more than I like to admit, and that's when I seek the Lord to fix me. With each repair, he perfects me so that I become what he designed me

It's been two weeks now. I've missed two lessons in a row. My instructor Liz and I live very busy lives, and while I understand this, I long for my next lesson. Each lesson pushes me forward, equipping me to become better. So, for the past two weeks I have been practicing my lessons, but I am a little stuck. I am having trouble with something new she taught me. I can't progress until I see her again and I can't wait to see her so I can move forward! I want to move to the next level. This is true with anything in life, but most importantly with my time in scripture. It is during this time that I can grow in the Lord and become equipped for the next "thing". I am reminded how important it is to make the time to learn, otherwise I can become stagnant. When I miss my time with the Lord, I feel the loss. So once again,I am convicted on my need to apply my diligence to my spiritual life. "...train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of

I’ve learned three basic chords. The chords are played with the left hand, and the C chord is the anchor chord. It is easy to find, because when you touch it with your finger, it has an indentation on it to make it evident that your finger is on C. Once I have my finger on the C, I can find the other two chords I’ve learned pretty easily. Those would be the F and G chords. Sounds easy enough. That is until last week when I saw a chord I didn’t know how to reach. The new chord was D. For me, it was D as in “duh.” How in the world was I going to get my fingers over there? It was above the G, and my teacher showed me where it was located, but once I got home, I was pretty lost. It took a leap of blind faith to find it, and then I had to get the feel of it. I know you’re asking that if what I explained earlier was true, what’s the big deal, right? Well, it’s one thing to move one key over with my fingers to go to the neighboring chord, but it’s not so easy to find a chord that

I love my accordion. It’s not perfect, and it has some problems, but I really don't mind. It’s missing a strap, the case is beat up and one of the locks do not clasp properly. But, truly, I don’t care because it's mine! My accordion is starting to feel like a part of me, and I like that. That's because every day, I spend time practicing and every time I practice, I notice that I get a little bit better. Not perfect, just better. That’s how my walk with God is. In his hands, I become better. Not perfect, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, better. The musician makes the instrument eminate a beautiful sound. And so it is with us. As we meet with God every day, he becomes the musician of our lives, enabling us to make a beautiful noise for all to enjoy. Just like I love my accordion, God loves me more. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but tha

I’ve developed some bad habits. Bad accordion playing habits, that is. From the very beginning, Liz has been telling me to slow down at each lesson and to stop playing so staccato, and I try, but I’m a speedster and want to make the music happen. Now I know why slowing down is so important. In my attempt to make my brain and fingers work together, I’ve been playing in a choppy fashion, and now I have to unlearn those bad habits. Today, I tried to do that, and I wanted to scream. I had to force myself to slow down and think, think, think, even harder than I already do. It’s been grueling and challenging. When people ask me how my lessons are coming along, I chuckle and explain it as trying to chew gum, walk, and rub your stomach all at the same time. I thought about my first practice session at home, and I remember my son warning me about forming bad habits. I didn’t pay attention. Sounds like role reversal to me. It reminds me of how I don’t pay attention to God when he sen