I Don't Want to Play Anymore

"I Don't Want to Play the Piano Anymore!"



Did you ever watch someone doing what you are trying to learn and it just made you want to give up? That is how I felt whenever we went to family campmeeting every summer.

The Sing-a-long

I don't remember the gal's name, but she could outright play the piano. I recall being in a youth meeting one time where she was there to play the piano for us. We were having a sing-a-long. People were shouting out choruses and we would sing them.

Two girls suggested a song but the pianist had never heard the song before. So the girls got up from the chairs and began to sing the song acapella.

The girls didn't even get through the first verse before the pianist was picking out the notes on the piano. By the end of the second time through, she was playing the song like she knew it all her life.

Playing by Ear

She played by ear. I talent I have never had. I truly do wish I could do it. I have picked a tune out in my living room but I have never played a song in public by ear. I just never had the confidence to try to do it.

As a teenager, I would tell mom how amazing this lady was. Then I would say, it just makes me want to quit playing the piano.

Thankfully, my mother would not let me do that. I kept taking lessons and practicing every day. I would sit at the piano for hours playing through entire books of music. My siblings got pretty tired of hearing me play.

But it was worth it. 

Now, I can play just about anything you put in front of me.

It's been a great blessing to our ministry. 'Cause pretty much every church wants to know if the preacher's wife can play the piano.

Plus, I've been able to teach a few kids to play the piano along the way.

I still wish I could play by ear though.




This post was inspired by the gals at Five Minute Friday. Where we are given a prompt and asked to write fo 5 minutes with no editing. This was my attempt to write on the prompt: 

So, do you play an instrument? Were you ever tempted to quit playing? Let me know in the comments below.

Lessons on the Back of a Bike

I must have been in the first grade because it was the only year that my
brother, Doug, and I rode the same bus. And I must not have yet known how to ride a bike because I rode on the back of Doug's bicycle. In those days, bikes could have a flat metal piece over the rear wheel. I image it was for carrying things. We used it to carry an extra person.

Anyway, our home was situated in the middle of our farm giving us a lane about 1/4 mile long. Though it sure seemed longer than that in my memories. The point being, we rode our bikes to the end of the lane to catch the bus each morning. In the first grade, I rode on the back of Doug's bike.

On this particular day we headed off to catch the school bus, but my shoe was loose and began to fall off. So I placed my foot on the chain guard to push the shoe back on.  I'm not sure what happened next. I only know that in a moment, my shoe flew off, my sock flew off and my tiny foot found it's way into the spokes of the bicycle.

Meanwhile, Doug was pedaling feverishly as we were headed up the hill portion of the lane. He thought it was tougher because of the hill but, indeed, it was my foot causing the hold-up.

Fortunately, there was no broken bones, just some pain. The rest of the day is a blur. I don't know if or how any of us got to school. I do know that the inside of my ankle has a scar that looks much like a smallpox vaccination {ha!} and I have had a weak ankle all of my life.

But we learned a few good lessons. 

1. Keep your feet out away from the wheels and spokes. 
2. Tell the driver if you have a problem.

As we grew, Doug graduated from riding bicycles to riding motorcycles. Usually, getting a "ride' meant going around the drive. But there were a few other times I hitched a ride with Doug to a venue.

Now, I have never had a great sense of balance or equilibrium but I had to learn a lesson or two about riding a motorcycle too. You may have been on a motorcycle yourself, or maybe you have watched Motorcross racing on TV. If so, you realize that the motorcycle must lean into the curves. As it goes around the curve, it may seem that it is on its side nearly parallel to the ground.

My sense of equilibrium never really liked leaning into the curve. I was more apt to want to lean the opposite direction and make the bike stand up. However, resisting the lean only causes trouble. You will soon find yourself and the bike and the driver all flying in different directions.

It's much like this in our spiritual lives. Let's equate the bike with our lives and God as our driver. As the driver, he can see the bigger picture. As we ride along in the back, we are only seeing glimpses of what is ahead. 

Here are a few things we must do as we ride on the "cycle" of life:

1. Trust the driver (God). He sees what is coming up the road.
2. Talk to the driver. Tell him if you have a problem. He can solve it.
3. Lean into the curves. Don't resist. God knows what He is doing and He will get you through.

Trust with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 

Mishaps in the Farm Kitchen

This post is inspired by a prompt at Mama's Losin' It,

 "Mistakes in the Kitchen".

Oh, those yummy biscuits!

photo credit Pixabay

I pulled out of the oven the most delectable biscuits I had ever made. They were browned to perfection.  I couldn't wait to serve them with supper. I had made biscuits a few times before, though we were a canned biscuit family for the most part.

But on this particular day, I made from scratch these lovely baking soda powder biscuits. They looked delicious, but that turned out to be as far as it went.

We all gathered for supper. 

Hungry, I am sure since we are talking about farm folks here. So after a short blessing, we all filled our plates and began to eat.

I'm not sure who was the first to bite into a biscuit, but what a surprise! A bitter aftertaste that sucked your lips in, leaving you wondering if there might be a lemon in your biscuit.

No. Not lemons, but how about BAKING SODA.

Yes. Unfortunately, I had used BAKING SODA instead of BAKING POWDER. It really makes quite a difference.

Now I was the baker in the family and THIS was out of character for me. It will definitely go down as an unforgettable event in our family.

In My Defense

I'm not the only one who had a mishap in the kitchen.

Photo credit: Pillsbury

I recall my younger brother and sister made Easy Cheesy Lemon Bars. These never made it to the table due to the dough tasting ritual in our family. (not to name names, Alex and Marcy)

Yes, it wasn't long into the process until they realized that they had put 1/2 CUP of salt into the mixture instead of 1/2 TEASPOON!

Mom did the math to see how many times we would need to double the recipe. It was such a large number. I think we would still be eating lemon bars today!

That dough went into the trash!

Moral of the story
God gives us the recipe for a godly life, if we don't follow the recipe to the letter, we may end up with a bad taste in our mouth. Follow God's law and you will "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" Psalm 34:8

What about you?
Any kitchen mishaps on your part?