This is an excellent post! I always wanted to teach music and participate in ensembles, but I had my degree in El Ed, not music. I also had a family to care for. Yet God gave me opportunities like church orchestra and a few students at our church studio. The kids are grown now and I have a full schedule of lessons and now find myself teaching music theory and sight singing to adults. It is ALL God and it followed years of just being present where He had called me. Each experience gave me more tools for the next stage. I'm so glad God is continuing to meet you daily in experiencing the moments you're in.
There's a neat book I read last year by Drew Dyck, Just Show Up. This post reminded me of that book. ☺️
That’s really encouraging to hear, Mary! And thank you for sharing that personal glimpse into the way God has been teaching you to wait on Him over the years, infusing you with gifts that don’t always have outlets, and pure desires that don’t always find immediate platforms. I often think of Caleb, who stood with Joshua before an unbelieving horde, and effectively said, “Let’s go, people—God will help us beat these giants!” But God asked Caleb to wait forty years before letting him journey through that hill country to fulfill the vision.
Good, honest work with your hands always pays dividends. Physical toil is good for us, as is expression (through art, writing, building).
After working to plant those trees you likely felt good in many ways. Ache, sweat, thought & movement are wonderful parts of life. Those trees will provide homes & food for God's creatures, will likely outlive you and provide shade & beauty for generations.
I come from generations of homebuilders, including my father & brother. My father has been in Jesus's presence for a few years, but sometimes when I drive by homes he built, I think, "my Daddy did that." [I'm a 55-year-old man, and he will never be "Dad", or "Father", but will always be "Daddy"]. I remind my son, "your Pawpaw built that house." Your wife will long appreciate the shiplap, and your children will enjoy the trees too.
We can all express ourselves in God glorifying ways that are unique. I make furniture or artistic wood/metal things. My bride cooks delicious morsels daily. My son is studying programming @ Liberty University Online has been a classical guitar student for 16 years. When I hear a piece of music that he has composed, I sometimes cry a bit with joy & thanksgiving - just so thankful for what has developed in him - both through the "fearfully & wonderfully made" stage but also through the gifts God has bestowed to him through the work of others (My wife's parents paid for his first 12 years of lessons - money they earned by the sweat of their brows).
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Col. 3:17
Such a special heritage, Travis, and I'm edified by your fatherly pride in your son's work! I know those tears you shed over his songs will speak volumes to him. I had a special bond with my grandfather, Papa, who died when I was only one; in fact, my earliest memory is of him tossing me up in the air. He worked as a cog in the wheel at a Ford plant in Atlanta, Georgia. Poor, but blessed by the LORD. In his spare time, he'd carve and paint beautiful wooden trinkets, as well as furniture pieces for his family, and he also taught himself how to play piano on an upright piano he picked up at a yard sale (that's the piano I now have on display in our living room, the one I've written most of my songs on), and he taught himself how to paint as well. Often, whenever I write a song or build something wood or paint a picture, I think of him. And I think of the days before Substack and social media and internet, simpler times when a man could just lose himself in a shop of tools or paintbrushes or musical equipment and toil for his own soul before the LORD, doing something valuable with his hands without trying to be something in the sight of others. I want to be more like my papa--more like my Savior. A man with calloused hands from physical labor, leaving behind treasures for my loved ones that they can pass on for generations.
This is an excellent post! I always wanted to teach music and participate in ensembles, but I had my degree in El Ed, not music. I also had a family to care for. Yet God gave me opportunities like church orchestra and a few students at our church studio. The kids are grown now and I have a full schedule of lessons and now find myself teaching music theory and sight singing to adults. It is ALL God and it followed years of just being present where He had called me. Each experience gave me more tools for the next stage. I'm so glad God is continuing to meet you daily in experiencing the moments you're in.
There's a neat book I read last year by Drew Dyck, Just Show Up. This post reminded me of that book. ☺️
That’s really encouraging to hear, Mary! And thank you for sharing that personal glimpse into the way God has been teaching you to wait on Him over the years, infusing you with gifts that don’t always have outlets, and pure desires that don’t always find immediate platforms. I often think of Caleb, who stood with Joshua before an unbelieving horde, and effectively said, “Let’s go, people—God will help us beat these giants!” But God asked Caleb to wait forty years before letting him journey through that hill country to fulfill the vision.
Great insights . . . and wonderful photo!
Thank you!
Good, honest work with your hands always pays dividends. Physical toil is good for us, as is expression (through art, writing, building).
After working to plant those trees you likely felt good in many ways. Ache, sweat, thought & movement are wonderful parts of life. Those trees will provide homes & food for God's creatures, will likely outlive you and provide shade & beauty for generations.
I come from generations of homebuilders, including my father & brother. My father has been in Jesus's presence for a few years, but sometimes when I drive by homes he built, I think, "my Daddy did that." [I'm a 55-year-old man, and he will never be "Dad", or "Father", but will always be "Daddy"]. I remind my son, "your Pawpaw built that house." Your wife will long appreciate the shiplap, and your children will enjoy the trees too.
We can all express ourselves in God glorifying ways that are unique. I make furniture or artistic wood/metal things. My bride cooks delicious morsels daily. My son is studying programming @ Liberty University Online has been a classical guitar student for 16 years. When I hear a piece of music that he has composed, I sometimes cry a bit with joy & thanksgiving - just so thankful for what has developed in him - both through the "fearfully & wonderfully made" stage but also through the gifts God has bestowed to him through the work of others (My wife's parents paid for his first 12 years of lessons - money they earned by the sweat of their brows).
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Col. 3:17
Such a special heritage, Travis, and I'm edified by your fatherly pride in your son's work! I know those tears you shed over his songs will speak volumes to him. I had a special bond with my grandfather, Papa, who died when I was only one; in fact, my earliest memory is of him tossing me up in the air. He worked as a cog in the wheel at a Ford plant in Atlanta, Georgia. Poor, but blessed by the LORD. In his spare time, he'd carve and paint beautiful wooden trinkets, as well as furniture pieces for his family, and he also taught himself how to play piano on an upright piano he picked up at a yard sale (that's the piano I now have on display in our living room, the one I've written most of my songs on), and he taught himself how to paint as well. Often, whenever I write a song or build something wood or paint a picture, I think of him. And I think of the days before Substack and social media and internet, simpler times when a man could just lose himself in a shop of tools or paintbrushes or musical equipment and toil for his own soul before the LORD, doing something valuable with his hands without trying to be something in the sight of others. I want to be more like my papa--more like my Savior. A man with calloused hands from physical labor, leaving behind treasures for my loved ones that they can pass on for generations.