A Year has Passed.

Wow, haven't posted in a long time! A year to be exact. :-) My choir sang our Christmas cantata this morning and it was magical. We had many suprises this morning, and answered prayers. One man who had "wandered" was back from rehab and ready to start serving the Lord, another who is new to my choir sang and narrated for us without a single rehearsal - but did great! AND - he has been completely healed of two kinds of "incurable" hepatitis. The Hispanic congregation that shares our facilities joined us for the service, as well. What a wonderful experience!

Birdies

We have lots of wildlife in the yards - birds, squirrels, raccoons - even possums.

My favorite is the blue scrub jays that come for peanuts. They squawk each morning until my husband puts a handful of peanuts on top of a storage bin. Then they come one at a time to pick out the correct ones. They are quite fussy and will shake two or three until they get the one they want!

The squirrels try to steal the peanuts, but our dog, Maggie, keeps guard.

Christmas

Our new Christmas Cantata will be presented on December 25th, at 10:30 a.m. Titled "Star of Wonder" it was inspired by Star Wars, or at least the opening credits. Using contemporary songs the cantata simply tells of God's wonderful gift to us, a gift that was announced by a wonderous star.

Flowers

I love flowers and one time sprinkled a few four-o'clock seeds around. They are now coming up everywhere! The smell is fresh, sweet and beautiful, although they do have a tendency to take over! These are close up shots of individual flowers. The size of each one is about 1 1/2 inches.

We also have roses, geraniums and various flowering vines.

This is an actual untouched photo - it was shot against the white backdrop of the house and startled even me when I saw how it came out. Variety "Double Delight".

These geraniums were already here when we moved in - just the kind my husband wanted!

These little flowers are on a vine that grows along one fence - no idea what it is but the flowers have a sweet scent and are tiny - about 1/4 of an inch!

My Choir

We have a small group, but they love the Lord and love to sing!

Left to right, Mary Eliott, Ana Maria Aguilar, Kim Woods, Richard Elliott and Lora Sotelo.

We are accompanied by John McAllister, one of the finest keyboardists in existence.

My Yard

My husband and I have a large back yard with lots of bushes and vines. One year we planted a tiny christmas tree, which died soon after. We tried two more times and now have a large, round pine tree in the middle of both our front and back yards!



We also have a lemon tree which is overgrown with very large lemons. We call the "lemonzilla".

New Songs

Been trying out some new praise songs, first on the choir, then the congregation. Seems to be working - a few more hallelujahs lately. I guess sometimes I simply pick music that toughes my soul, and hope it touches the others as well. It's hard to know what is the correct thing, so I just let the Spirit move me.

God is good.

Spirit

Once in a while the Spirit catches everyone and we just seem to fly - it is an amazing thing to witness as first one, then two, then several hands float up in praise to God. I truly enjoy singing, especially in church, and it amazes me that it doesn't matter whether I sing solo, or with a single person, or group - or the entire congregation. It is uplifting to my soul.

Leading Worship

I lead the worship at my church, First Baptist, in Lynwood, California. Sometimes it's so easy, as if I'm floating with the Spirit. Other times it's just going through the motions. Life is like that. One thing I've discovered about worship is that it lifts your spirits even when you are down as can be.

When I was in High School I was scared of everything. If there was an oral report due, I stayed home sick. No way anyone could get me to speak in public. And sing? As much as I love to, I would not sing in front of strangers. As a matter of fact, my family used to tell me to shut up. One of the threats I would use on my brother was "I'll sing" and he would always give in. Imagine his chagrin now when he hears me solo in church.

Now I not only sing in public, but I enjoy it. And speak? Give me a microphone at your own risk.

And it is all because of the Lord. My love for Jesus has changed my whole attitude. Sometimes when I lead the music it's like there is nobody else there but Him. It is in those moments that I am truly worshipping.