Soul Runnings

I just made it home from my gig in Salem. The pastor had four new tires for his car.  No blowout on the freeway for us! I had a present waiting for me at the church. This pastor has been blessed with a sense of humor! I had a gift basket containing a Seinfeld DVD collection, including the episode with the "Soup Nazi" and a soup spoon engrave with the words "No soup for you!" Also a package of soup, and a bowl filled with $75 in $1 coins for the service I had missed! If you recall, the last time I was scheduled to play at this church, the pastor had a blowout on the freeway. We never made it to the church. And it was a Lenten worship service and soup supper. I had been so looking forward to that soup! (Lutherans are known for their delicious soups, in case you were wondering!) But on to the service.  A profound experience.  I must say that this was one of the most moving services I have ever played. I told the pastor, (and excuse the corny ...

I just got home a few minutes ago. My heart is filled with incredible, indescribable joy! Yes, I had a good day. So good, that it is hard to really talk about it.  Nothing in particular HAPPENED. In fact, I was feeling a little outnumbered. By grumpy people. But my fruit of the spirit I was focusing on today was "gentleness". So everytime I encountered yet another grump, I just took a deep breath and thought of Jesus and the word "gentle". And love flooded my heart. Perhaps I am just still high on Prednisone. We shall see! But it occurred to me as I was walking tonight, that it feels like I am connecting the dots in my life.  I am open to experiencing God's Love and Presence more than ever. And it is this Love that I desire above all else. Even more than romantic love.  I haven't given up on it, but I no longer seemed to crave it or feel empty or left out. Speaking of which, I did ride my favorite bus driver's bus today.  He told me h...

Looking back on this day, I feel a sense of pride, balance and peace. Although I slept in, YET AGAIN, I did not overeat.  And I mostly focused in my work, and peaceful and kind and PRESENT in my work and interaction with others. I believe my fruit of the spirit today was "goodness".  (From Galatians 5:22-23). I equate this with integrity. I've talked about this with my kids when they were younger. Doing the right thing even if noone is looking. Afterall, God sees all! My son and I took taekwondo classes together for several years. Before each class, we stood at attention and recited the "Five Tenets of Taekwondo": Courtesy Integrity Perseverence Self control Indominatable Spirit.  I can still recite those from memory!  Repetition is a very effective way of learning. I can see this as a teacher and musician.  And as a student of life. I did check myself and google the "Five Tenets of Taekwondo". I was correct! And I found this defi...

 2:15 p.m. Today started out very nicely, thank you. I stepped on the scale and I am down a few pounds.  I have been weighing myself daily lately.  And using the "Weightcommander" site to graph my progress. Progress! I feel hopeful! My energy is still high.  I got on the treadmill last night for 30 minutes.  My cough is almost gone.  I had planned on getting up early this morning for a nice workout before my church secretary job, but it felt so good to just lie in bed, play Words with Friends and check email. I gave myself permission. To enjoy life without much guilt. But I talked to my housemate about weight loss this morning.  She had great success with her weight loss after limiting dairy and doing low intensity exercise for an hour at a time. I probably need to cut back on the cheese.  But more importantly, I really need to get back to my long exercise sessions. Like when I first started this blog and was going ...

Note:  Something weird is going on with the fonts for this blog. I apologize. Not sure if I can fix it! (S ometimes I think my computer is trying to kill me! )  Grrrr....So, you may have to get your magnif ying glass out to read this one! After my glorious, high energy day fueled by caffeine, Prednisone and Sudafed yesterday, I had a feeling I would crash today. I did. But it is also partially due to a "dark night of my soul" I got this expression from the book Dark Night of the Soul , by John of the Cross: "The poem of St. John of the Cross, OCD , in 8 stanzas of 5 lines each, narrates the journey of the soul to mystical union with God. The journey is called "The Dark Night" in part because darkness represents the fact that the destination, God, is unknowable...St. John writes in the first verse of the poem, which verse in its entirety is translated: [1] In an obscure night Fevered with love's anxiety (O hapless, happy pligh...