Excruciating, Exceptional, Exciting

Last week we had two snow days because of all the snow that arrived, the first day was rather excruciating for the boys and Alex as well because they really did not want to stay home. It was like they were being punished. I can't believe we homeschooled all those years and they adamently did not want to be in regular school and now they hate to be away. They drove me nuts going from screen to screen (tv, computer, video games) at first but then I finally killed all electronics and pulled out some toys that had been tucked away and they got busy being inventive with wooden blocks, lincoln logs, playmobil, and army men. Alex kept busy working on the assignment for her screenwriting class that the instructor asked them to email in by midnight to still receive credit for the day. The second day they jumped right back into their creative endeavors and did not have so much screen time in between bouts of going out and playing in the snow. Fox started out to shovel his running trail but gave up before completion, it was just too much this time. His training has slowed and he's really jonesing for a thaw so he can run regularly instead of just walking it.

At the end of the week I saw a sad post from some high school friends of mine, one of which also worked with my mother at Fraser schools. Their mother had passed away after many years battling COPD. I attended the service on Monday and was touched as I sat in the row behind the family and observed them throughout the proceedings. They have five kids in the family, four girls and the youngest a boy, all have children, and they are a very tight knit group. At one point during the service the family came and circled around the casket, Pastor said a prayer and then asked everyone to show a sign of peace to each other. It was so cute to watch the cousins, their aunts and uncles, and Grandpa intermingle with each other, hug, and joke around. What a blessing they have in each other. As I drove back home afterward a wave of sadness came over me as I realized once again the pain of how my family handled my own mother's passing. We're coming upon the one-year anniversary and although I feel that I worked through many of my emotions, I still feel some anger. The Pastor invited people at the funeral Monday to share a word or thought that described the departed, the first said was "tolerant" and he expounded on that be expaining that Mrs. S excepted everyone without exception, another word was "loving" she loved the Lord and showed that love in all she did, one of the grandchildren said "strong-hearted" and he connected this with a strong faith and conviction to reach out to people. This woman was married for 55 years, raised an amazing family, and touched many people through her personal outreaches. God bless her precious soul.

I was not able to participate in the processional or go to the luncheon because I needed to get back in time for our choir 'tech rehearsal' which although was a little harried went fairly well overall. A couple boys from the high school came over to help me get the sound issues worked out and this time we actually have a real monitor on stage which made a world of difference. My sound man dad also showed up after the kids were done to make some last minute tweaks in mic placement and settings. Although six weeks was not a lot of time to pull this one together I think it will be a good time and I'm really looking forward to presenting it publicly next Monday.
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Lately I haven't been taking a lot of sub jobs but I have been working on my editing stuff. This afternoon I have a conference call with an organization based out of San Diego, which could lead to a huge opportunity. Since I believe this to be a God-driven endeavor I know he has already gone ahead to make the way for all that needs to happen....and there is a lot that is going to need to happen. When everything comes together it will greatly expand my musical/dramatic/artful outreaches to children not only in my town but to all the neighboring communities. If you are a prayer warrior I ask you to lift this up as He directs cause even though His yoke is easy and His burdens light I will be dealing with some situations far beyond my normal realm which will require great favor so please, I'll need all the spiritual uplifting I can get. Updates will be forthcoming.

The featured mandala for this post is called 'New Promise' - don't we all need one.