Joyful Noise

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is music.  Music speaks to our soul.  Have you ever noticed how the right music or song can transport you into a place of tranquility, or comfort, or encouragement.  Like many I've wished I could sing well or knew how to play the piano.  I'm going to play the saxaphone in Heaven. I believe a lot of music and singing goes on there, and maybe the really talented ones get to have their own lounge act and you can go from room to room to listen to your favorite artist.  It's just a thought.                

Once I was at a women's bible study and a very unusual thing happened.  We all stood up and joined together to sing a beautiful worship song.  I was imagining that I was singing to the Lord,  when suddenly --- I could hear Angels singing along with us.  No really, I could hear them - they were singing the same song that we were.  Well, I wasn't going to be outdone by them, so with my eyes still closed I began to sing as loud as I could.  By golly, I wanted to make sure the Lord could hear me singing along with all those Angels!  When the song was over and I'd finally stopped,  I opened my eyes and.....well you can guess it.  Everyone else in the group, who of course hadn't heard any Angels singing, was staring at the nut in the room that had been screaming out the song at the top of her lungs.

For years afterward, one lady would come up to me at church and touch me gently on the arm and say, "Every time I see you I think of that time...".  And every time I think of it, I laugh out loud.  What delight I must have given Heaven that day.

A joyful heart is good medicine.  Proverbs 17:22         

Thank You Thank You

To:

All the beautiful ladies that have been kind enough to drop in, and to those that took time to leave a comment...

A heartfelt THANK YOU!  In turn I've visited every one of your blogsites and enjoyed them immensely. Every night, while hubby is snoring, I sit with my pillows plumped behind me and my iPad on my lap (and okay a snack on the nightstand) and journey into Bloggerville.  What an adventure!

NOTE:  I'm having a little challenge finding the comment buttons on some of the pages, so I haven't been able to let some of you know I stopped by. And the  enter-to-win process and share days has me totally confused. And in my enthusiasm I inadvertently deleted a program necessary for emailing return comments to you - so I haven't been able to reply individually.  I also dumped iTunes.  Yeah, I know.  But the good news is I figured out how to get my Tweets to show up on Facebook.  Whuhuu!

And yes I'm hooked.  And grateful for your encouragement, and the opportunity to share life with the sweetest bunch of ladies I've ever met.  Please stop by again.

  

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.  Proverbs 24:10

Morning Light

As young children, we were taught a prayer by our mother that we said every night while being tucked into bed; my sister CJ and I also taught it to our children.  When I wrote the title for these pictures, it gently rose to the surface as a sweet memory.

Dear Lord, we thank Thee for the night, and for the pleasant morning light; for rest and food and loving care and all that makes this world so faire.  Help us to do the things we should, to be to others kind and good; in all we do at work or play, to grow more loving every day.   Amen.

I believe this little bird is McCoy.  It's notched, and was made to sit on flower pots.

It's currently perched on a piece of Roseville pottery in my kitchen window.  I have it secured with Quakehold.  Wonder what they used 'back when'

Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain on it. Proverbs 22:6

Brothers

Recently we were treated to a play at the Ahmanson Theatre by my husband's older brother, Paul.  Paul is the patriarch of the DeLucca clan -- what's left of it.  Sadly, there was a rift amongst the siblings a few years back and the tribe split.  We landed on the side of brother Paul.  He's a happy guy, whose eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs, which is often, especially at himself.  He always greets me with a smooch on the cheek and a compliment.  He makes easy conversation, looks for ways to put you at ease, and never misses an opportunity to be a gentleman.  He's a lovable schmoozer and a skilled diplomat - his years in the film industry have made him that way.  I think I've always known this about him but our night out was just a reminder of what a great guy he is, and I wanted to say so.

The reason I mention him here, is because there was another brother, Donald, that didn't get talked about much, until it was too late.  Donald was a lost soul, and one who never was able to pull his life together.  Eventually he became homeless and died a young man, without benefit of family or friends as far as I know.  I think he was helped by the Rescue Mission at some point, but I haven't been able to confirm it.

It was a dream I had about Donald that was part of the reason my heart began to turn toward the homeless.  In it he appeared in our courtyard calling out my husband's name.  I was in the house and could see him from the french doors that were open to the air.  I waited for my husband to come around from the back and greet Donald; then I went out too.  As I approached him, I heard a small voice inside me say "call him brother".  So I did just that; greeted him with a hug and said, "Hello brother, what are you doing?"  While he was still holding me by my arms, he looked me straight in the eye and replied profoundly, "I'm turning night into day."

Several things sprang out of that dream.  One, I believe that Donald is my "brother in the Lord"; that somewhere along the line he heard the good news and surrendered his life, just as it was, to God.  Secondly, I know what he meant when he said "I'm turning night in to day"; but that I'll save for another time.  Third, I realized that the homeless were not someone else's family member, they were mine. Was it just a dream?  Maybe, maybe not.  But, it was one of the many pebbles being added to the scale that was eventually going to dip in the direction of serving the homeless.

So here's to Donald, who's watching from french windows in heaven, and to Paul, who lives life beautifully here on planet Earth, and to all the others in my sphere who are making a difference, big and small, each in their own way.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:17



Photo courtesy of picture-newsletter.com