Not Picked

Some thrill-seekers watch scary movies or drive fast on the highway.

I go to auditions.

I walked in, having just heard through the brick wall the two other contestants before me. I placed my trembling music on the stand and made insensible small talk with the four judges. We determined my range (three octaves), and then the accompanist began the songs on the piano. After awkwardly belting my lungs out in the closet-sized room, with all four faces staring stoically at me (one with a video camera for later scrutiny), it was mercifully over.

And I was still alive!  Oh the thrill!

I went home with a huge grin on my face, and may even have laughed out loud, having just done something so terrifying as this and surviving. 

My odds of getting picked were not good--I have an okay voice, but no real talent or style--but I offered my services nevertheless, and I felt that had been the right thing to do. 

We should all do hard things.  Even if we do not get picked, we have stretched our faith and courage in a way many people shudder to even imagine.   Stretch your Not Picked muscles today!

SeptemberTime Journal, a week in my life

Time journal 2013

Monday, September 9, 2013

Went to bed at 11:00

Woke at 5:00, tossed and turned until 6:30

Woke at 8:35

Shower/makeup/haircut/dressed/coffee by 8:50 (wash hair, flat iron bangs)

Started time journal 8:53

Worked on Excel worksheet for the Edge project until 9:11

Clean cat hairball off the floor 9:12

Get school assignments out 9:12

Check email/facebook until 9:31

Quick clean wesley’s room (too messy to live with) till 10

School devotions, etc until 10:45 (protein bar for breakfast)

Writing workshop till 12

Lunch (made by Sophia) and history/hammock time till 12:30

Outdoor time: bugs, weeds, arranging furniture for birthday party on Thurs till 1:20

Work on emails and calendar till 1:25

Studio work until 2:25 (protein bar for lunch)

French until 3:04

Get supplies and head over to the Edge to paint third coat on wall/trim—Biblegateway on the way

3:45 arrive back home, start dinner (sambar with rice & chapati bread)—finish Biblegateway daily reading

6:15 finish cleaning dishes, head to KCC Wyoming campus for meeting (snack on carrots and dip)

Get back home at 8:50, put Sophia to bed by 9:20

Jammies, read until 10:30 (snack on white chocolate chips)

Jeopardy till 11

Read till sleep, about 11:10

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Wake 8:00

Run/Biblegateway till 8:25 (1.5 miles)

Help Sophia with breakfast, chit chat

Shower/get dressed/makeup etc 8:45 till 9

9:00 write this journal, check mail/facebook etc

9:20 create new school blog

10:00 help kids with school, eat breakfast (egg & ham slaw)

10:20-11 devotions: Passport to India

11-12 writing workshop

12-1 lunch, history read-aloud (ancient romans)

1-2:30 design school and personal blog at new website

2:30-2:45 French online

3:00 rest

3:30 take Sophia to viola lesson

3:45 grocery shopping at Aldi, shopping at Goodwill

4:30 pick up Sophia, bring home groceries, put away

5:00 pick up averys and bring to movies (protein bar for dinner, popcorn and gummy bears @ movie)

7:30 movie ends, go to the field by KCC and look for mug, goof around

7:50 come back to our house for goofing around; I work in the garage a little

8:00 show the girls the clothes I bought today, goof around

8:05 bring averys home, chit chat a while

8:25 come home, play Fruit Ninja

8:55 Sophia gets ready for bed, I finish processing mail, clothes from store

9:00 call Mom back

9:15 put Sophia to bed, chit chat with Tim a while

9:30 work on this journal a bit

9:40 facebook, emails

10:00 read until Jeopardy

10:30 Jeopardy—I won!!

11:00 read until sleep, about 11:10

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Wake up at 7:50, shower (wash hair)

8:10 facebook—wish Wyatt a happy birthday, emails, cry more than I expected

8:15 biblegateway

8:30 get ready for

Steelcase Appt. (blow dry hair, flat iron bangs)

9:15 head to Steelcase. Carte blanche, baby! Couches, soft seating, etc, for the Edge!

Pick out furnishings, head home by 12:00

Read history to the kids—The Ancient Americas—till 12:30

Clean up, small break till 12:45

Devotions till 1:30 (breakfast protein bar)

French till 1:45

Small break till 2—work on banners for next Paris Picnic show on Vistaprint

Writing workshop till 3

Write thank you note, mail order for KCC craft show, fix Vistaprint order with customer service till 3:20 (lunch protein bar)

Price items from garage sale for Allegan till 4:05

Bring Wesley to karate till 4:20

Make jewelry with Sophia till 6:05

Bring Sophia to Impact till 6:25

Go to Mom’s, bring furniture for booth till 7

Go to Carabbas for dinner till 8:15

Go to menards for pear picker, etc; then Meijer for Sophia’s bday cake till 8:40

Pick up all the kids, bring friends home, till 9:25

Sophie to bed till 9:40

Tidy house till 10:30

Jeopardy till 11:00

Read till sleep, about 11:10

 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Wake 8:10

Tidy house for party tonight, wrap sophia’s presents till 8:25

get ready and run 2 mi. till 9:10 (biblegateway during)

shower (don’t wash hair), flat iron hair, get ready till 9:40

tidy house some more until devotions with kids at 10

devotions, read Jillann’s blog till 11

French till 11:15

Tidy more while kids finish computer work, till 11:40

Work on pendant jewelry designs till 12

Cook soupe du jour (from yesterday’s French lesson) & chop/freeze overripe pears till 12:15

Tidy yard, sit in the sun till 12:30

Read history (Native Americas) during lunch till 1:15

Make parfaits to go with today’s French lesson till 1:30

Tidy lunch, bring Sophia to ballet till 2:05

Shop Goodwill outlet, Ken’s fruit market for party food and flowers till 3:40

Arrange plants, stock drinks, begin cooking till 5:30

Party! Till 8:30

Clean up till 9:30

Put Sophia to bed by 9:50

Hang out and watch random tv till Jeopardy, then bed at 11:00

Read till 11:05

 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Wake 8:15

Run/bible gateway 8:40 (2 mi.)

Get dressed, makeup (no shower)

Go to Krispy Kreme/read Harry Potter till 11

Eat lunch, put chicken in crockpot, sort emails, facebook till 11:45

Make portable lunches for kids, field trip at Garfield Park till 3:30 Make a phone call for the first 10 minutes of field trip

Get ready to go to the edge for painting pews for coffee shop

3:45 leave, find out the pews aren’t ready yet; unload 4 lamps and 3 bolt of fabric into a spare office, tour the newly finished areas of construction, go home

4:00 kids do screentime; I take a nap

4:50 warm up side dishes, make a sauce to go with noodles

5:15 eat dinner (meatballs & veggies for me)

5:45 get ready to go to Horrocks, leave

7:30 get home, get a game of Settlers started, play till 7:55

Go to Toni’s sweet 16 birthday till 10:30 (1/2 sandwich, chips & guacamole, ice cream parfait)

Get home at 10:35, watch remaining Jeopardy till 11, go to bed without reading

Sleep all the way thru night till 5:30, toss and turn, then relent and just get up

 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

6:00 get up, make coffee, record receipts, check email and facebook, research Science videos for school

8:08 go for run/Biblegateway

8:45 take shower, dry and straighten hair (read the Last Lecture during this), makeup, jewelry etc

 tidy bedroom and kitchen till 9:50

Artprize installation at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, downtown, till 11 (eat a protein bar)

Farmers Market downtown till 12:30 (eat ½ a Honeycrisp apple)

Work in studio on jewelry designs till 1:00

Work outside on painted pieces till 2

Go to Meijer and Goodwill outlet with kids till 4:50

Eat dinner, heated up by Tim (garden green beans & beef pie from Farmers Market for us, macaroni and sausage for kids) till 6

Rest while Tim and kids play

Go to mary’s house for game night until 11:30 (no snacks)

Bed by 12

Wake up at 3 and don’t get back to sleep until around 5:30

Wake up again at 8

 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Wake at 8

Tidy bedroom, bath, kitchen till 8:15 (protein bar)

Makeup, get dressed, re-straighten hair till 8:45, leave for church

Baptism class for Sophia till 10:30

Chat in hall till 10:55

Church service till 12ish

Home for lunch until almost 2 (chicken noodle soup, 2 bowls)

Nap till about 3:30

Read a magazine till almost 4

Get ready, leave for Artprize Artist party at the BOB

Get home around 9:30

Hang out with fam till bedtime, 11:00

You're My Son!

Most nights I wake up at 2 or 3 o’clock and can’t get back to sleep for two hours, sometimes more.  This morning, however, I awoke at the glorious hour of 5:30, having slept all the way through the night.  I was grateful, yet still wanted to sleep more, being a Saturday, when I heard loud shouting outside my bedroom window.  At first it sounded like a man and woman having an argument, and it was getting closer.  I jumped irritably out of bed and listened at the open window, where soon moving figures came into view of our street lights. I was shocked to see a young man and a small boy, no older than nine or ten.  I clearly heard the phrases, “You’re my son!” and “I’m exhausted” and “Wrong path” repeated several times as the apparent father and son made their way down the street toward whatever lay at home.  I had to imagine that this boy had been roaming the streets all night while his worried father, perhaps fearing his son is involved in gangs or crime--or the victim of them—stayed up all night searching for him.  I prayed for them both, wishing I had the gumption to run outside and offer them the powerful, loving arms of  a Savior who can change lives from wrong paths.  This father, in his rage, was clearly terrified for his beloved boy. My heart breaks for these people I don’t know, yet I am so glad this boy has a father, however young and imperfect himself with his f-bombs in a sleeping neighborhood at ultra-loud volume at 5:30am, who loves him enough to search him out and bring him back home safely. The indignant words, “You’re my son!,” still haunt me, reminding me of the power of a loving father who would do anything to keep a child from harm, whether from without or from within due to sin.  Thanks to our Father, for providing us Jesus to save us from our waywardness, for seeking us out when we, too, have strayed.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb. 13:5