Performance or Ministry

My hubby's thoughts ...

"When Savannah our youngest daughter was 6 she did something that I will never forget. She went out one summer day and got a couple of my speaker stands, cables, microphone and a couple of empty boxes. She put the empty boxes on the top of the speaker stands, hooked up the cords to them and set up her microphone. She placed some chairs on the ground because she was set up on the deck. She plugged in her CD player and put on some music (can't remember who) and then invited me and my wife to come enjoy the show. For the next few songs we sat outside in the summer heat and watched Savannah (cowboy hat and all) sing and dance all over our deck. The joy that I felt as a father as I watched my child perform for me was outstanding! Now others who may have walked by or drove by on the street may have laughed or thought that it was so amatuer and immature, but to me, I was lost in her performance (show). In fact to this day I still have pictures in my scrapbook right next to pictures of different friends of mine from the Gaither Gospel Series and awards and such to remind me of that day. The funny thing is, the picture of Savannah means more to me than all of the awards and the so called fame that I have received so far. The reason why is because she loved me so much that she performed or put on a show for me. In my concerts I take people on a musical journey, but I perform for only one and that is my Heavenly Father. I think that He has a picture in His scrapbook of all of us from concerts and it is there because He knows just how much we all love Him."

Smarts

A lot of people seem to think that intelligence is a score you get from taking tests at school. However, tests only cover little bits of your vast and complex nervous system.

Some people are quick learners. Others have great memories. Some are real good at getting answers to math problems - so long as they're not geometry.

Some people are socially smart. They can wrap anybody around their little finger, while other people are always stepping on somebody's toes.

Some people have perfect pitch. There are the mechanical geniuses who can fix anything with a screwdriver and some bubble gum.

Some people write wonderfully creative stories, and still flunk English because they have bad memories when it comes to remembering spelling and commas.

Some people have extraordinary coordination and can perform fantastic gymnastic feats. There are some who have a hard time learning to type.

Some people have great intuition, or a foolproof sense of direction, or unbreakable concentration.

The next time they pass out tests at school, ignore that sinking feeling in your stomach. Remember, you are getting tested on certain abilities - but there are a whole lot of ways to be smart.

Taken from: Blood and Guts by Linda Allison

Friends ...

I am so blessed to be surrounded by friendship! I'm not talking about the kind of friends who ask how you are, but really don't want to know. No! I'm talking about the friends who say, "I know something's wrong so let's talk!" I'm talking about friends who we can share absolutely anything with and know that they really do want to know.

Our family has friends who have stuck by us in the best of times and the worst of times and have never ever failed to rejoice with us or to sympathize with us. We've walked along beside them and wept or triumphed with them as well. I really doubt that most people in life ever are blessed with this deep of friendship ... the "drop everything to be there" kind, the "rescuing" kind, the "here's my shoulder ... go ahead and cry kind", the "I know you're facing something that scares you to death ... let me walk beside you" kind, the "don't worry about anything ... I've got it under control for you ... you just get better" kind. Ahhh ... we are blessed!!

We also have friends whom we've know for a little while ... maybe a couple years who have the same wacky sense of humour as we've got! People from coast to coast who we get together with and it feels like no time has passed since we were last together! We've created so many memories with so many incredible people ... usually over food!

And then there are friends that we've only met, even this week, whom we feel like we've known forever!

I celebrate you ... all my friends!

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."- Arabian Proverb

Ahhh ... we're Canadians!

This weekend we have had the most winter weather I remember in a long, long time! It snowed and snowed and snowed!! And then it blew and blew and blew! Now it is very, very cold. I decided it was a good time to stay indoors and read a good book, however my family disagreed with me.

We bundled up in the warmest coats, snow pants, mittens, hats, scarves and boots we could find, picked up a couple of the girls' friends on the way and headed over to the local golf course for an afternoon of tobogganing. We were freezing cold, but the laughter was contagious! There's nothing like kids with rosy cheeks laughing their heads off! What a memory we created! We only decided to leave when it was snowing so hard that we couldn't see the kids at the bottom of the hill while we stood at the top!!

Then we headed home to shovel out our driveway ... again! Ah, yes, we are Canadians!