So Much To Catch Up On! Did You Know I Received The Grade Of An "A" In Training @ Work? Did You Know I Attended The Michael W. Smith "35 Years Of Friends Celebrating His Music?" I Did. Did You Know My Baby Boy Turns 30 Today, Yes This Very Day Today 5/4/2019? Did You Know There Is A Beautiful Bird That Sings Through The Night Where I Reside? It Does.

I have been a bit busy the last few days. I so wanted to sit and write but then I either fell asleep or just did not get that unction to write so I didn't. I know how it works for me...the thoughts are out there but there is always more for me to experience before it all comes together in the writing. Is that how it works for you? They are there and one thing builds upon another and then another until Holy Spirit says to me it is time to release now and I say ok. I am a pretty diligent student I find out in my later years than my high school, college years per say. Why is this so? I like the challenge of achieving a good grade I really do. I just completed a little over 2 weeks of training for my current position @ work. See, I work for an organization that when you accept a new position you go through a national training course. I actually like it and I do have a great sense of humor. Twice now I have trained with instructors I met in previous courses that taught this training session. At the end of this training I inquired if they will be training any other courses in the event I should accept another position within this organization. Unfortunately, they do not teach other training courses outside of the ones I already took. I was a bit sad to hear that for these instructors are top notch and make training a pleasant experience. Everyday they would put up an encouraging quote for us to read along with an inspirational or sometimes funny picture too. I loved that they also put up the weather statistics from around the country also. See, this is national training so those in training are from around the USA. This is all done via computer like a WebEx with calling in on the phone also.
So, I like to challenge myself and this training is a great opportunity for me to accept my own challenge. You can sort of control the grade you attain in this course. If there are tests you take and you want to achieve the full amount of points to receive you can by just asking the instructor to reset the test for you to take over. You cannot do this for the final test though. I think there were a few times I requested that I may have been off by a question or two and then I did the test again and achieved the grade I wanted. There is a manual that you have the option of either viewing online or you could print it off. I choose to print it so I could then take notes while reading it or then going over it in class. All in all, I attained an "A" for the class. Yay for an "A," hey that rhymes. Now the flip side of being a student ok. When I was in high school I was driven to get what I needed to get grade wise to attend college and then to pass college to earn my degree. Do you know what my BA degree is in?  If you guessed Communications you guessed right. My father wanted me to get a degree from the School of Business (probably because he had his own business that he built and ran.) The college I went to was known for their School of Business, I have a story to tell about me taking a business course there. I always felt inside me a drawing to the degree in which I attained. Who would have ever thought that years later I would write via a blog. Holy Spirit knew all along. Amazing isn't that?
So I believe it was my senior year in college and my friend convinces me to take a business course with her. It was a tough course and it might have been on business and the law or something like that. Well, I am preparing to graduate and planning my wedding at the same time. Of course, my mind was already set on wedding plans. So I am not doing so well in this tough course and I begin to get a bit anxious thinking to myself...if I do not pass then I do not graduate and then do I not get married that following November? There was a lot riding on me passing this course. What would I do in this situation? This is exactly what I did. I went to the professor and was honest with him...my life will be put on hold if I do not pass and graduate for I am planning on getting married on campus mind you that very Fall. It all worked out and I passed and graduated also.
I was pretty good at problem solving and still am now. See, I knew I needed a game plan to attain passing the course and once the plan of action was there I followed through. There was another time also  @ college when I was in a situation that I needed to seek out help. Who do you go to, the experts of course. It was a requirement to take a course in Debate. I am enrolled in this class and I have to now figure out what topic and the plan of action I would take to actually get up and debate the topic. So I get this brilliant idea, go to the experts to see if they could help me with this. Where did I go? Our school was known for having a great debate team, yep I went to them for assistance. They were brilliant with their thinking and plan of action. Yes, I passed the course. Want to hear another college story? I needed at one point 1 semester grade point so what does the university offer that is  a semester grade point? Riflery yep I took a course in riflery with the ROTC. I passed and told my sister about it and she then told her sorority sisters about this course. Oddly enough I still remember the instructors name, he was a Sargent. Then there was the time my friend and I took racquetball too. We passed that also. Now, I did have to take courses with substance also. Attending a Jesuit University you know that the Jesuits are all about philosophy don't you? Well, back then you had to take several philosophy courses. Yes you did. Also known as deep thinking type of courses.The university I attended was actually at one time just for men. It then became co-ed years later. My father actually attended this university but did not finish to earn his degree though. He had many courses completed but just did not go all the way through to graduate. When I attended this university I lived in the all girls dormitory, I think at the time they were building a dorm for housing men and women together. That was too progressive for me and I was very comfortable living in an all girls dorm.
One of my friends blessed me with a ticket to the celebration concert for Michael W. Smith recently. This is amazing, her mother is I believe 87 years young and just flies in from being out of town that very day and she attends this concert with us. What a trooper with much energy at her age. I admire this. She is fun also. So 4 of us attend this most generous gift given to us. Well it was a great tribute to Michael W. Smith with some of the finest artists in attendance. It was a bit long though and you definitely got your money's worth that night for all of the great artists performing his songs. Listen to how Holy Spirit speaks to me ok. Several times he would draw my eyes to the section where the drummer sat on stage and I would look. He then begins to speak to my heart about the rain stick and the part it will play in my life. This was not once or twice it was several times throughout the course of the evening. He wants me to play the rain stick at events of this size or greater in size then this arena during worship. I guess He showed me the location of the drummer because they mainly deal with percussion instruments. I see this over and over again, adding a rain stick to worship. I say ok to Holy Spirit yes I will do it just show me how and when. He speaks to your heart when it deals with prophetic in your life. He puts the desire in your heart and then gives you dreams/visions and direction in reference to the call in your life. See, I do not have a musical background other than being a member of a folk group, The Zagreb Junior Tamburitzans in grade/high school. I do have a love/passion for worship and I hear Holy Spirit when He shows me exactly how to worship with the percussion instruments in my hands. All I have to offer is a willing/obedient heart to Him. He speaks to me that this will be international? Well, that lines up with years ago when He placed upon my heart to intercede for 3 continents: Africa, Asia & South America. I created a banner with these very continents in the center. I showed a picture of this in one of my blog entries. I also shared with you all an open vision one day I had of a teenaged girl running towards me with open arms and a smile on her face. She was barefoot and I could see the dust from the ground as she was running towards me to greet me in Africa that is. This is what I have to offer a willing/open/obedient heart. Then at church the next evening Holy Spirit showed me a different way to worship with the rain stick. Just by holding it in another position it now became a beautiful shaker type of instrument. Thank you Holy Spirit for Your great creativity and guidance. A few years ago Holy Spirit nudged me to renew my expired passport and I did. I am telling you He has a plan of action for my very life. Let's now see it unfold ok.
My youngest of 2 children is now 30 years old. This C-section for his birth went much smoother than my daughter's C-section. This was planned. My Dr. knew I wanted to try for natural child birth so we set a plan of action...if I did not go into labor by a certain date I would then have a C-section. The date came and went so I had the C-section. Much more rested for this one then when our daughter was born. I was well overdue past the due date and they brought me in to induce me. That really did nothing more than cause my water to break and then the baby had to be delivered within so many hours of that and I was tired. See, it is always a caution when you develop toxemia while being pregnant. I did not have that but I did get it after the birth. Apparently my mother was very concerned because my legs became swollen after the surgery. The swelling did dissipate and they didn't seem to be too concerned about getting it after the pregnancy.
Christopher is the perfect name for this child. Christ bearer. He has his father's middle name also. When he was a child he had a Stretch Armstrong. Do you remember that? Cracker Barrel recently carried a miniature version of Stretch Armstrong and I talked to his sister about the idea of getting one for him as a nostalgia part of his birthday gift. She said get it mom he will laugh when he sees it. This was a pretty popular items at Cracker Barrel I had to go to more than 1 store to seek this one out. I must admit I did try it out and even though it is smaller in size it really does stretch when you pull the arms. Isn't that funny. I got a few other small gifts too but the main gift will be cash, who doesn't like cash? I remember when he turned 13 years old we were at a family wedding in Jamaica staying at the Ritz Carlton. I had them make a small birthday cake for him so we could sing Happy Birthday to him. It was a beautiful cake with a I think a water scene. So he is with friends this weekend celebrating in FL. No matter how old then get they are still and will always be your babies right?
Ok back to the main story now...….
Mockingbird is the correct answer if that is what you guessed. The other night I began to hear this most beautiful song coming forth from a bird at night. It is pleasant and refreshing to hear at night time. I thought briefly for a moment is that a mockingbird? I just dismissed that thought and shared it with my mother. When I began writing this blog early today it was still dark outside. I opened the patio door to hear this bird singing in the dark, beautiful, simply beautiful. I did a google search in regard to the bird singing in the night hours in my region. Sure enough Mockingbird comes up. This is what Google says about it, "The common mockingbird is a superb songbird and mimic. Its own song has a pleasant lilt, varied and repetitive. Often it will sing all night long, especially in bright springtime moonlight. Unmated male mockingbirds sing more than mated ones."
So it is daylight now and the mockingbird song is now replaced with the gentle cooing sounds of the Mourning dove. All is well with the sound of birds singing in the air. Word of caution if you should have a hummingbird feeder. My hair stylist told me about the Praying Mantis. Did you know they prey upon hummingbirds? He told me to take caution if you should see one attached to your hummingbird feeder. They actually kill the hummingbird and eat their brains. Oh my goodness that was a bit too much info for me to take in. So if you should see a Praying Mantis, sort of looks like a stick figure, hanging onto your hummingbird feeder shoo it off ok. I love the hummingbirds and I do believe they are back for the season. How do I know? The nectar is going down in my feeder and my hair stylist shared with me that he has a family of 6 hummingbirds already appearing at his home. Yay for the hummingbirds, I see them as majestic in their own right.
                                                             

Pregnant with Christopher.

13th birthday cake The Ritz Carlton made for my son while in Jamaica for a family wedding. You can't see it that clear but it says happy birthday, they wrote on the rim of the plate. It was decadent tasting.

1st day of school

At a college event.

   

Top picture I am first row first person. Smaller picture I am seated next tot he female music instructor 3rd row. Last picture I am standing with my sister I believe I was 10 years old.