Merry Christmas...

"For unto is a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! May the peace and love of Jesus Christ fill your hearts and spill out of your life to others. I pray that the new year you face will be the best year of your life.

My Obsession...

I will admit it....I am obsessed with musical instruments. And you see in the picture my latest obsession...it is a 1970's Fender Rhodes 88-key suitcase piano. This will be the fifth Fender Rhodes I have owned in my lifetime. I bought my first one in 1975 when I started playing in a band. I have always loved the sound, and even though I have the same sounds in my laptop there is nothing like the real thing.

I guess the older I get, the more nostalgic I become. You know I love technology, but sometimes I long for life to be like it was when I was younger...more simple, with less things battling for my time. That is why music is so appealing...I can sit down at this piano and lose myself in old songs or compose new ones and the world seems to fade.

I guess I should stop...I am starting to sound like an old guy.....

A View from the backyard....

I am definitely enjoying relaxing during this Thanksgiving break. My wife, Cindy, and I always spend the time with her sister and husband in San Antonio, and I get to sit in this backyard and enjoy the view. No swimming, though; just a little cool this time of year.

I also get a chance to catch up on some of the hobbies I enjoy but have to postpone during the busy fall season. I spend some time on my music...well, actually I am still trying to learn how to use the software I have. I also get the camera out and take photos; one of these days I will learn how to use Photoshop, too.

I really have a hard time slowing down, but I know that this is important. You have to recharge or you will burn out. You also have to control your own use of your time or it will be decided for you. That is why I enjoy just relaxing, not doing much of anything, trying not to think about the next event coming up, or that I still need to plan for this or that.

I hope you have a blessed, relaxing, and enjoyable Thanksgiving break.

Patience....

I don't know that I would be characterized as a patient person, and that is very evident at this point in time. All the inconvenience caused by my recovery from shoulder surgery is pushing me over the edge. Here I am, at 2:00 in the morning, sitting at the computer because I can't sleep and I am uncomfortable, writing about my struggles in hopes that it will somehow cause me to find the patience to endure what seems to be an endless trek back to normalcy. (Speaking of endless, how about that previous sentence....)

Perhaps I am looking at this in the wrong way. It seems we are always waiting for something in our lives...waiting to finish school, waiting to retire, waiting for the weekend, on and on. Perhaps too often we forget that life is a journey and not a destination. As I am patiently working through daily life, I need to pay attention to what I can learn about myself and others each step of the way.

The Last Week...

This is the last week of school, and as it goes I really look forward to the break of summer. It gives me time to regroup, to evaluate, to make plans for the future. But, being the last week of school, it also means that I have to say goodbye to some people who have shared seven years of my life. I still remember sixth grade band...practicing on a stage in an old soon to be shut down school, or in the hallway of an old soon to be shut down school. I have watched them change and grow, attempt and accomplish, move forward and excel. I have been impressed with them, all of them, whether they finished out band in junior high and high school or not. So I just want to say to those who will walk across that stage this Saturday and out into the world...thank you for walking into my life and making it richer. I wish you all the success and happiness that is possible, even more than you can imagine. Congratulations!

The Beginning

Blogs....I have read those by my friends and others, so I thought I would try my hand at it. I always seem to have something to say, but often I just ramble on and on to whoever will listen. Perhaps this way I will better organize what I have to say, and therefore say it better.

While I am gathering my thoughts and coming up with topics this first entry will have to do. I know that I want to talk about things I observed at Disney, and there are always aspects of music to discuss, as well as spiritual topics. We will just see what happens...