Life's Moments: Be Near Me, Lord Jesus

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Be Near Me, Lord Jesus

I can't speak for all in my family, but I can say that I really felt the Lord's presence this week. The beginning of the week started out a little scary with my sister having another LQT episode while driving my niece, Laura, to school. As my brother-in-law said, what could have been a terrible situation turned into only a concerning situation in the end, thanks to the defibrillator. I believe God was there keeping watch over both her and Laura during the whole ordeal.

The rest of the week was pretty low key. We spent some time cleaning and putting Christmas decorations out. Hailey had a Daisy scout meeting on Thursday evening where she earned three more patches. The next meeting is the membership pinning ceremony and the Christmas party. I know she's looking forward to it!

Hailey and I then went caroling on Saturday morning at an assisted living place to fulfill a community service project requirement for 4-H. A Hailey funny on the way there...she asked where we were going and I said, "We're going to a place where there are lots of older people." She said, "Are we going to Heaven?" :-) One of the dads in our troop coordinated the 30 minutes of caroling, making sure everyone had the song booklet, introducing each song to the residents, and getting everyone involved. He had a great voice, too, and sang harmony in some parts of the songs. At the end, the director of the assisted living place said that we were the best group they've had. It felt good to see many of the residents smiling and enjoying the music! It was a heart-warming experience for sure and you knew God's hand was in it the whole time!

Brian's parents came up on Saturday morning, arriving while we were caroling, so that Brian's dad could help him start installing the drywall in the sewing room. They got quite a bit done! After lunch on Saturday, Brian's mom, Clara, and I did a little shopping while Hailey went over to play at her cousin, Laura's, house for a little while. We picked her up when we got back. After dinner, we made candy cane cookies and reindeer noses (an idea one of Brian's mom's co-workers had given her) before singing a couple Christmas carols while Brian's mom played the piano. Two of my most favorite musical instruments (besides the voice) that I love to hear live are the piano and violin. So hearing her play so beautifully was a treat for me! I know it was for Hailey, too. She loves to sing along and have Grandma teach her how to play.

The church choir (along with a small orchestra) performed Vivaldi's "Gloria in D Major" during Sunday's church service. It was wonderful!!! I remember performing a few movements of the piece when I was in college and loving it. It fills my heart to sing to the God that came to this earth in human flesh to save all of us from our sins and promise us eternal life!