For my friend Rick.
You are my hero.
You are not perfect.
You are not always right.
You are not always good.
You are not always happy.
You are not always level-headed.
You are not always pretty.
You are not always confident.
You are not always competent.
You are my hero because you are you with me.
You are my hero because of the way you handle your challenges.
You are my hero because in the midst of tough times, you think of others, and I have benefitted from that.
You are my hero because of your willingness to share.
You are my hero.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
"I Knew."
My eyes turned slowly to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Shame overwhelmed me
As I contemplated all He had done for me
Upon the cross
And afterwards, too.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head
But he reached out, cupped my chin in His large hand
And drew it upwards.
“Open your eyes,” He spoke gently
I slowly opened my eyes to the light that was Him.
“It has been a while,” He said.
Indeed it had.
The sadness in me poured out,
My sins, my hurts, my heart,
He took them in
And I could see my sins, my hurts and my heart
Reflected in His eyes and on His face
As He never turned away from me.
Silence, as He absorbed me.
And then He simply said,
“I knew.”
Shame overwhelmed me
As I contemplated all He had done for me
Upon the cross
And afterwards, too.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head
But he reached out, cupped my chin in His large hand
And drew it upwards.
“Open your eyes,” He spoke gently
I slowly opened my eyes to the light that was Him.
“It has been a while,” He said.
Indeed it had.
The sadness in me poured out,
My sins, my hurts, my heart,
He took them in
And I could see my sins, my hurts and my heart
Reflected in His eyes and on His face
As He never turned away from me.
Silence, as He absorbed me.
And then He simply said,
“I knew.”
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Pianissimo
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)
Dear God - Pianissimo
So, it has been a while since I have played the piano. I am not a gifted pianist by any stretch of the imagination, and the purpose of my playing tends to be for relaxation and refocusing. Today, when I first struck the keys, the realization hit me of how much I missed playing the piano lately.
My training, such as it is, is in the classical genre, and I don’t really have favorites, just favorite pieces by different composers. Today, I started with Weber, then played some pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Clementi, and Kuhlau. But one piece in particular that struck me today was one by Haydn – a little Adagio, part of a Sonatina.
Now, usually when I play the piano, and envision playing for God in Heaven, I am grateful for His grace and pray that He fixes the many wrong notes that I play. Once in a while, though, when I am playing for Him, there is a beauty that comes through that transcends my actual abilities. Tonight was one of those rare times. I played the first page of the Adagio, and let the beauty of the delicate music wash over me. Nothing I did seemed to be able to ruin this music. I began playing the final page and was astounded that the beauty of the music far surpassed the first page. Each note, chord, rhythm seemed nearly perfectly played to me and the sheer beauty of the pianissimo (i.e., very soft and quiet) music touched my heart in such a way as to cause tears to pour out from my eyes.
This was quite surprising to me, and caused me some concern, until I heard Him speak to me. “Kathy, as beautiful as this music is to you, you are to me.”
He knew that I’ve been feeling old, gray and heavy. That I’ve been reflecting on too many years wasted and feeling quite old. That I’ve been worrying too much, sleeping too little and thus seeing a grayness come into my features. That I’ve been seeing the results of too many calories in and zero calories out on my body and feeling heavy with discouragement.
I am grateful that God allowed me to hear with His ears tonight. I pray for the humility and grace that would have me see and hear others as He sees and hears me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)
Dear God - Pianissimo
So, it has been a while since I have played the piano. I am not a gifted pianist by any stretch of the imagination, and the purpose of my playing tends to be for relaxation and refocusing. Today, when I first struck the keys, the realization hit me of how much I missed playing the piano lately.
My training, such as it is, is in the classical genre, and I don’t really have favorites, just favorite pieces by different composers. Today, I started with Weber, then played some pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Clementi, and Kuhlau. But one piece in particular that struck me today was one by Haydn – a little Adagio, part of a Sonatina.
Now, usually when I play the piano, and envision playing for God in Heaven, I am grateful for His grace and pray that He fixes the many wrong notes that I play. Once in a while, though, when I am playing for Him, there is a beauty that comes through that transcends my actual abilities. Tonight was one of those rare times. I played the first page of the Adagio, and let the beauty of the delicate music wash over me. Nothing I did seemed to be able to ruin this music. I began playing the final page and was astounded that the beauty of the music far surpassed the first page. Each note, chord, rhythm seemed nearly perfectly played to me and the sheer beauty of the pianissimo (i.e., very soft and quiet) music touched my heart in such a way as to cause tears to pour out from my eyes.
This was quite surprising to me, and caused me some concern, until I heard Him speak to me. “Kathy, as beautiful as this music is to you, you are to me.”
He knew that I’ve been feeling old, gray and heavy. That I’ve been reflecting on too many years wasted and feeling quite old. That I’ve been worrying too much, sleeping too little and thus seeing a grayness come into my features. That I’ve been seeing the results of too many calories in and zero calories out on my body and feeling heavy with discouragement.
I am grateful that God allowed me to hear with His ears tonight. I pray for the humility and grace that would have me see and hear others as He sees and hears me.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Fishy
I knew a pretty little fish
In a pretty little fishbowl
Who swam around and said “I wish
That I could see the North Pole!”
I said, “Fishy, I do love you
And I wish I could agree
But I see your home is messy
And is littered with debris.
How can I give you to the sea
When your home needs such repair
I tell you what my fine finned friend
Clean up and then I’ll send you……there!”
I pointed clear across the room
And Fishy looked there with me
His eyes grew big as saucers
At what he did not before see.
A fish tank twenty times as big
As Fishy’s little fishbowl
With plants and snails and other fish
With whom to share his fish soul.
So, Fishy tidied up his bowl
With his fins he swept his home
For a week he did this every day
And I thought the time had come.
In a pretty little fishbowl
Who swam around and said “I wish
That I could see the North Pole!”
I said, “Fishy, I do love you
And I wish I could agree
But I see your home is messy
And is littered with debris.
How can I give you to the sea
When your home needs such repair
I tell you what my fine finned friend
Clean up and then I’ll send you……there!”
I pointed clear across the room
And Fishy looked there with me
His eyes grew big as saucers
At what he did not before see.
A fish tank twenty times as big
As Fishy’s little fishbowl
With plants and snails and other fish
With whom to share his fish soul.
So, Fishy tidied up his bowl
With his fins he swept his home
For a week he did this every day
And I thought the time had come.
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