Good News and Bad News

The good news is: they filled in the pot holes on the road leading to our house.

The bad news is: they did it today...and it's raining...a lot.

What a Choir!!

Today I was reading Nehemiah 12. There is an entire list of Levites who were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. Verse 29 says that "the singers had built their own settlements around Jerusalem." It talks about how they divided into 2 choirs and walked around the top of the wall. Then they sang in response to each other and there were trumpet players and other musicians, as well.

Verse 43 says "and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away."

I can just imagine what it sounded like.

Old Friends

Yesterday was a great day.

It had nothing to do with the rain or the lack of phone service and intermittent internet service. Not even with the Saints winning!

It was all about re-establishing connections the old fashioned way: face to face.

The last time we saw Harvey and Tina, our eldest was about 2 months old. She turned 21 in November. That's 2 decades! We have exchanged Christmas cards, but not much more than that.

Yesterday, they were at our house, eating at our table. (Well actually, eating in our living room, because we were watching the Saints win!!) And it was like we had never been apart. Some friendships are like that.

In this case, even though the Lord saw fit to separate us for a while, He was drawing us closer to Him. So when we came back together, we were closer to each other than we could have imagined.

Cold

Mr. H is suiting up to ride his bike in to work today. It's been over a week and he is not one to let the cold daunt him for long. Since it's been sitting on the front porch for a week, he's got some things to check: tires, oil, that kind of stuff. He is such a thorough guy.

He checks the weather EVERY day. This morning, he told me that there is a cold front coming through. How will we be able to tell?

Certified!

The past 2 days have been an incredible experience. Before Saturday morning, I had never been on a motorcycle (other than as a passenger). Today, I was able to drive a Buell Blast in a figure 8 inside a 4o x 60 rectangle, then swerve around an obstacle and come to a controlled stop without dropping the bike. (I learned a very valuable lesson about that yesterday!) I can weave through cones spaced at 30 feet and at 20 feet. I can do something with some proficiency today that I would never have dreamed of doing last week.

And I'm not alone in this. There were 5 others in my class: 3 gentlemen and 2 other ladies. Our ages range from 20-something to 50-something (unless someone is older than I imagine!) Two Coast Guard guys, 2 realtors, a doctor and a church lady! (FYI: Did you know that the Coast Guard does LOTS more than rescue boaters in coastal waters? The USCG deploys to the Middle East - and other locations - along with the other branches of our military.)

The men were way ahead of the ladies in experience coming into the class, but the ladies all feel the pride of having mastered absolutely NEW skills this weekend. And the guys are better riders now than they were before. A great deal of the credit for our success goes to Larry Cooper, the instructor. What an encourager!

And along with my new skills, I have a new appreciation for the abilities of my husband. Now that I can (just barely) manage myself on a bike, I am even more impressed with his ability to manage a bike with me and a ton of baggage added to the mix. He's AWESOME!

What's next? Practice!
If only I had 8 hours everyday to work on these skills......

Something New

Today was the day that I rode a motorcycle for the first time. All those other times I've been on a bike, I was a passenger.

Today, I was in control...
Well, control is probably an optimistic term for what was really happening, but I was the only one on my bike. And it isn't really my bike: it belongs to Eastern Shore Harley Davidson, where the Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers a class called Rider's Edge. Mr. H signed me up as a Christmas present. It's aimed at new riders (like me and the other 2 ladies) but one guy is there to brush up on his skills while his wife learns to ride her Christmas present, and a couple of Coast Guard guys who are required to take it so they can ride their bikes on base.

We are riding Buell Blasts, like the picture. The one I'm riding is blue. Mine is the only blue one, but I could tell mine from the other 5 just by the seat position: LOW!

I'm amazed at the progress I've made. I can actually DO the things we're supposed to be doing: starting, changing gears, turning, weaving through cones. (Being able to weave through the cones on my first try really surprised me.) Okay, so I did dump the bike.... Okay, so I dumped it twice.... I didn't know why it happened the first time. After the second time, I understood the physics of what was going on: NEVER TRY TO STOP THE BIKE UNTIL THE HANDLEBARS ARE AIMED STRAIGHT AHEAD. EVER! If you do, the bike will want to lay down on you. The second time I caught it so that it was just leaning against my left leg, but I couldn't get it back upright. I really did try, but I didn't have enough leverage. It wasn't coming up, so there was no place to go but down.

Tomorrow, we have to finish up the classroom portion from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. Then we'll be back out on the bikes from about 9:30. until 5 p.m. As cold as it has been this week, I was really worried about freezing. Actually, after the first bike session this morning, I was sweating. I had to peel off one layer of shirt. And my feet didn't get cold, either. All in all, it was an amazing day for me. I have sore muscles in hands and legs, but those are nothing compared to the sense of accomplishment I feel. This is truly the best Christmas present I've ever gotten.

Your Place

This morning, Dr. T made a brief appearance at church. This is the first time that many in our church have seen him since his bypass surgery on December 22. He came up on the platform and stood behind the pulpit.

I have heard him say that he considers that spot behind the pulpit to be "home." I don't believe I understood what that meant until this morning. It was comforting to me to see him in "his place" this morning. If seeing him there did that for me, I can imagine what being there did for him. It was an "all is right with the world" moment. I'm glad I was there to experience it.