Sweet memory

A few weeks ago, I decided to look through our big box of old family photos, just for fun, while I was watching a TV show with my family. That's always an entertaining activity. It's amusing to look back over all the old funny pictures and crazy hairstyles of the past, exclaim over how young we all look, and smile in fond remembrance about some of my favorite memories, depicted in a picture.

This picture falls under the latter category.

I'm not sure that I've ever noticed this picture before, but I found it that night and I love it.

It's a picture of my brother Andrew, my grandmother Violet Martin (my mom's mom) and me. I'm not sure exactly when it was taken, but my guess is that it was the summer of 1991. I would have only recently turned 4 years old and Andrew would be almost 3.

I've always loved to read and before I could read on my own, I enjoyed being read to. This is one of those moments. I'm not sure what we were reading, but I do remember that I enjoyed reading with my grandmother--or Me Maw, as we called her.

Obviously, at that age she would have to read to us. Reading aloud would often make my grandmother sleepy, so a couple of years later, when I could read on my own, I came up with a plan to keep my grandmother awake and still finish the book. We would tag team it. She would read a page, and then I would read a page, and so on. It usually worked. I still remember how proud I was of my "reading plan," especially when we pulled it off.

Me Maw went to be with the Lord suddenly on the morning of January 30, 2000, when I was only 12. Unfortunately, as you can tell from this picture, her size contributed to health problems that took her from us at too young of an age (she was only 59). But even though I didn't get to make as many memories with her as I would have liked, I still cherish the ones I do have. And this picture captures many of them perfectly. :)

New musical delight

I've always had a marked fondness for piano music. I first learned how to play the piano when I was 9 years old, but wanted to for years before that. I took six years of lessons before I eventually had to stop amid the demands of working part-time and finishing high school.

Unfortunately, I rarely have time to play anymore (I really need to fix that and make it more of a priority--I still love to play), but I will always have a particular love for music with strong piano elements and a noteable weakness for music arranged specifically for solo piano. I also love classic hymns. Thus, I am absolutely in love with a new album I've stumbled upon (well, actually it's been out for nine years so it is not new at all, just new to me) and it's so lovely I thought I would share my new discovery: Chris Rice's album The Living Room Sessions.

The album is absolutely beautiful! It is completely made up of instrumental hymns, arranged specifically for and played solely on the piano. The music is lovely and so peaceful. So lovely, in fact, that I bought the sheet music and I am going to learn to play some of the songs. My favorites are Rice's arrangements for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," although all the songs are beautiful and the album includes other excellent arrangements for classics like "How Great Thou Art," "Fairest Lord Jesus," and "For the Beauty of the Earth."

So if you're looking for some new instrumental music to enjoy, this album is worth checking out!

P.S. When I was just searching for an image of the CD on Amazon to use in this blog post, I discovered Rice also has a "Living Room Sessions" Christmas album. *big grin* My love of Christmas music is even greater than my love of piano music--particularly when the two go hand-in-hand--so I think I might have to wander over to iTunes and download some new music for my iPod soon. :)

Aquarium cookies and massages

Interesting title, hmm? :)

But it nicely sums up some of the simple joys I have found in my day.

There aren't many perks to working an early morning shift--especially an extended run of them--so I try to make the most of the ones that come my way.

Every few months or so, the public relations guy for the Tennessee Aquarium comes to our studio for an interview during the 6 a.m. show. He always talks about the latest news at the aquarium and usually mentions some of the best things to do in Chattanooga during a given season. He's a great interview and a genuinely nice guy. By the time he wraps up his interviews, I'm usually itching to take a trip to Chatty.

But the real reason everyone at the station awaits his interviews with anticipation is because he always brings in a box full of the *best* iced cookies. His wife owns a bakery in Signal Mountain and she always makes us the cutest, tastiest aquarium-themed cookies you'll ever see (or eat). The icing is smooth and stable, the cookies are nice and even, both taste great and she always packages them beautifully.

Someday I want to be able to make iced cookies that look and taste that amazing.

The next highlight of my day came when I realized that tomorrow is the day the massage therapist/reflexologist who comes out to the station once a month is scheduled. I don't usually work Tuesdays and when I am scheduled an extra day (such as this week) or called in, it's never on the weeks she is here.

But as I was getting ready to leave this afternoon, our newsroom administrative assistant sent out an e-mail reminder about reflexology tomorrow. And guess who has to work an extra shift tomorrow morning? Yep! I signed up for a 15-minute massage/reflexology appointment as soon as my shift ends at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I can't think of a better way to end an extended work week, particularly one with extra morning shifts. :)

Working an extended work week with extra early morning shifts is my least favorite and I'm usually utterly exhausted by the time I reach the end of it. So sometimes it's hard not to have a negative attitude about it or at the very least dread it, which obviously only makes it worse. I've approached schedules like this from both angles before, and this time I was determined not to let it get me down. So I've been tickled pink to find these little unexpected joys that have come along to brighten my day. It shouldn't have surprised me though. God's grace is sufficient to give me the rest that I need and make me smile and laugh at just the right moments to help carry me through my day. He is always looking for ways to express his love to us--even if it something as simple as a cookie to put a smile on our face.

A song I've been listening to off a new worship CD I bought recently keeps running through my head, "He loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves!"

Days like this always make me wonder how many other little blessings I fail to notice on a daily basis, simply because I'm not paying attention. God is always speaking and always showering us with his love. Maybe it doesn't always manifest itself in such a tangible way as cookies and massages, but his presence is always with us and examples of his love for us abound. His loving-kindness is new every morning.

Isn't God amazing?!?

Five years later...

My high school senior picture

I recently realized that it has been five years since I graduated high school! Wow! That anniversary kind of crept up on me.

As that thought hit me, I paused to remember what my life was like five years ago as a starry-eyed high school grad full of big hopes and dreams. Those thoughts inevitably led me to look back over the journey that has led me to where I am now.

And you know what I found? Pretty much nothing about my life now is the way I would have imagined it would be like then. But believe it or not, I'm totally OK with that. Yes, me--Miss I-Want-to-Have-All-My-Ducks-in-a-Row-and-Plan-Everything-Out. And that is all thanks to the grace of God--certainly not courtesy of my own ability to "let go and let God!" It is by his power alone that I have learned to be content with not knowing what the future holds and happy to live my life in the present.

If there's one thing I've learned with certainty over the past five years, it is that God is good and he is faithful. Even when his plans are very different from mine. I still have big hopes and dreams, but some of them simply look a little different now.

As I graduated high school, if you had asked me what I thought my life would be like in five years, I'm not really sure what I would have told you. Probably something general like, "I will have graduated college and be working full-time in my field." That much has happened. It's probably about the only thing that has, but it's taken place in a different way than what I would have imagined.

As a newly 18-year-old high school grad, I would have laughed out loud--hard--if anyone had told me that at age 23, I would be a journalist working in TV news, still living at home, still completely single, attending a different church from the rest of my family, with pretty much a completely new set of friends.

But all of those things have happened and I can't imagine my life any differently than it is now. I am very happy with where God has me.

It's been quite a journey to reach this point, but life is and should be an adventure with God. Yes, there were many uncertainities along the way that drove me absolutely crazy, and to be perfectly honest, there still are. I'm still not exactly sure why God has me where I am. But isn't that what faith is all about? Trusting when we can't see? :) I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that there will always be uncertainties as long as we're here on this Earth. But what is and always will be certain is the fact that I can rest in the joy and peace of mind that comes from knowing that I am where I am supposed to be, and that God is in control and he has a plan in mind, even if I can't see the big picture. I just have to trust Him. Easier said than done in most situations, but true nonetheless. :)

I know several graduating seniors this year and as I watch some of them stress out over deciding what to do with their lives, I can't help but smile. I remember those frustrations vividly. And if I could offer one piece of advice to them, it would be this:

Yes, you should definitely have a goal for the future in mind. Seek God intensely about what he would have you do with your life, then start walking in it. Don't waste any time in living out his plans and purposes for you. BUT... be ready for those plans to look different than what you expect. And know that is a good thing. God knows us better than we know ourselves and his plans are always for our good. What he has in mind for you will be far better than anything you could plan or work out for yourself. He is ALWAYS faithful. Follow God's leading for the next step, even if the steps beyond that aren't clear. He will see you through to the end and meet your every need, even when everything in this world would try to say otherwise. Go be a shining light for Jesus and win others for His kingdom!

My prayer is that when these seniors look back on this season five years from now, that they will have countless testimonies to share of God's faithfulness and goodness at work in and through their lives as they follow his direction.

It's amazing what can happen in five years. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next five!

Graduation Day, May 28, 2005