Sitting

Who knew how often we use all those muscles that make up our behind?   I guess I didn't realize until I fell at Cameron's soccer game today.  My tailbone is bruised and it hurts!!  It hurts to sit.  It hurts to find a comfortable position. There is not a comfortable position to be found.  And it hurts to stand up.  It hurts going up stairs.

So what a blessing it is just to be able to sit down without thinking about it.  I didn't even realize what a blessing that was.

And to use this event as a teaching moment, Camron is able to watch my reaction to pain and how I handle it.  He can see me continuing on even when in a lot of pain.

Piano

Cameron plays for the nursing home, 2011

Cameron has been taking lessons for a few years now.  We use a "modified Suzuki" method.  I liked the Suzuki method for the first moment I heard about it.  Although my father-in-law teases me that I should have gone with Kawasaki. (eye roll)

The Suzuki method was a good fit for us because it was not heavy on reading, an area in which Cameron struggles.  He also needed an early payoff to encourage him further. We are to train his ear to listen to music so that when he begins to play, he already has a frame of reference.  There is a lot of review of previously learned pieces.

Another aspect about Suzuki was encouragement to publicly preform when possible.  This is supposed to help the child become comfortable with playing.  Cameron has many opportunities to do this.  He plays occasionally for church offertories as well as at a nursing home.  He plays for his great-grandmother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and anyone who will listen.  Most of his pieces become memorized and therefore he doesn't need to tote along music to be able to do this.

The "modified" part of his lessons is that she also teaches sight reading from the start.  This means he is learning traditional piano music along side the Suzuki classical pieces.  He plays hymns and folk songs as well as Beethoven, Mozart and Bach.

Memorial Day

This is my grandpa.  Grandpa Sarge.  He was in the army for 20 years and served both in Korea and Vietnam.  He was a POW for a few months until a little old village lady let him go.  He was part of the Green Barrets as well as a paratropper. Everyone, even his wife and children, called him Sarge. 

Even though he did not die in service to his country I'm still thankful to him for his service and always remember him on Memorial Day.  Thank you Grandpa Sarge.




Grandpa Sarge, Uncle Doug, Grammie, Aunt Bessie
 and Dad while stationed in Italy

Validating Feelings or a Soft Answer

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1

I heard an interview on the radio the other about validating your child's feelings.  As I listened and thought about what this mom and author had to say. I think there may be a little something to what she had to say. I also thought that her point was valid for not only children but any relationship.  We all want to be heard and understood.

I've told both my son and brother-in-law that the secret to talking to girls or women are feelings.  I know that I don't always make logical sense which sometimes drives my husband crazy.  But once he got the idea that I didn't have to make sense for him to care about my feelings.  I didn't always need problems solved or solved right away, I needed my voice to be heard.  I needed my feelings to validated.  That usually does wonders. 

So this author's point about children needing the same thing made some sense to me.  Especially when they are struggling even understanding their own feelings.  

I've already started trying this with Cameron. When he had a frustrated outburst over piano practice, instead of responding in annoyance I tried listening to him.  It seemed that taking just a little bit of extra time defused what normally would have been a rough practice session.  In times past I would relly just want him to put aside his feelings and jsut get his practice done.  In my mind the sooner he buckled down and stopped complaining or whining the sooner we would be done.

Is validating my sons feelings really giving him a soft answer as Proverbs tells us.  As my Pastor says, "It's hard to fight with a whisperer."

 

Everyday Blessings

Do you struggle like I do at times to find something for which to be thankful?  Sometimes it seems hard to see the blessings in our every day life. Just living life can sometimes bog me down. 

I was challenged recently to look for every day blessings.  I find when I know I'm to look for blessings that I see them more clearly.

Today's Everyday Blessing would be time in the car with Cameorn.  Lately we have been having some great conversations in the car.  There has been some serious talks where we were each able to communicate needs, dislikes, and solutions for some problems.  We've also have had some rip roaring, laugh out loud, goofy conversations that left us both in stitches.  These sweet times of fellowship are definitely an Everyday Blessing.

Sunday Sermon Review

Review the Sunday sermon that helped you the most.  What did you learn about God, His Word, or the Christian life.  How can you apply these truths to your own life.

I really appreciate our church's Wednesday night children's ministry Master Clubs. At the back of their Amassador book for 4th-6th graders there are a total of 90 weeks of devotions. Every week starts with this Sunday Sermon Review.  This has really been helpful not only for Cameron but m as well.  If we aren't learning something what are we doing this for?  If we aren't allowing the Word of God to change our behavior, our thoughts, our lives, what are we doing this for?

There have been weeks when this has been quite a challenge.  Cameron is a very literal person.  Once he knew how to tell time he would argue with me about time.  I would say it was 3:30.  He would argue that it was 3:28.  So when I try to help him with this part of his weekly devotions he just wants to tell me what his Sunday School lesson was about.

Application, I'm finding, is hard to teach.  I need to practice what I want him to do.

Today's sermon was on communication with a focus on communication in marriage.  I was encouraged that my husband and I are pretty much on track with our communication.  We have not had any major bumps in awhile and we have really worked hard to get where we are.  There is always room for improvement, but over all I was encouraged.

My conviction though came in my communication with Cameron.  I do not always communicate with him in a godly manor and the Lord used this sermon to speak to my heart about that.

"Let the words of my moth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and, my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14 

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Mother's Day

Mother's Day has always been special for me.  I always looked forward to the day I would become a mother. I remember Mother's day 2000.  We had been married for a few years and frankly I was feeling very sorry for myself.  All the mothers were standing up saying how many children they had. From my seat at the piano, I had an excellent view of the congregation.  I saw an older couple who was childless.  the man was a little teary eyed.  I don't know if it was from memories of his own mother or sadness over his wife not having children.  I quickly looked away.  But across the isle was another older couple, also childless.  He was in the same state.  Ugh!


The Lord dealt with me right then and there.  Here I was wallowing in self pity and I was young with lots of time yet. My heart attitude changed.  And little did I know that I was already pregnant.


This year for Mother's Day, Cameron surprised me with a bird feeder! 

Perfect view from the kitchen window!