Mr. Rube Waddell and Old Broken Down Things

 I love a bargain, especially the kind where I find something old and make it attractive and purposeful  again.  Right around Christmas I hit the mother load when I found a baby grand piano for fifty dollars on Ebay.  While Randy and Brian were home for the holidays we loaded up in the pick-up and made the trip to San Antonio to pick up the piano.  I could tell the gentleman I bought the piano from thought we would never get the piano moved.  I had taken some 2x12s and bought some industrial size swiveling wheels, screwed them to the bottom of the support I built, and after taking the legs and the pedals off, we loaded it up with the ramps we had brought, and used ratchet straps to secure it in the truck.  We were on our way home in less than an hour.  I've always wanted a baby grand piano... and no one even needed to go to the emergency room!

 I have enjoyed playing piano all my life.  When I was a little girl my dad found an old upright piano, bought it for fifty dollars, and brought it home to me.  The old piano had ugly yellow keys, some of the tops of the "white" keys were missing.  The "black" keys were worn on the edges, and the wood peeked through.  A couple of the keys made no sound when I hit them, and one key sat a little lower than all the rest, but I was overjoyed when the piano entered my life.  I immediately began trying to play something, but the sound wasn't quite right, even just a single note didn't sound right due to the old piano being terribly out of tune.

 Mr.Rube Waddell was called to come and tune the "new" piano.  That whole process fascinated me.  Mr Waddell was born in 1900 in Sweetwater, Texas, and he passed away in 1993,  He was an amazing musician and craftsman, and a genuine gentlemen and a scholar.  For many years he tuned and restored pianos. When he arrived he took out his velvet cloth, laid out his mysterious tools, and began to work.  He used a tuning fork and soon the old piano was making beautiful mellow sounds.  Mr. Waddell was always such a dapper gentleman, cheerful, and there was always a twinkle in his eye. 


 When Mr. Waddell, or Rube as my daddy called him, left, he told my dad he would be happy to refurbish the old piano for him if he would like, and several years later when I was still taking lessons, and sticking faithfully with it, my dad called, and Rube came and picked up my piano.  When he came back, the white keys had been replaced with shiny new plastic covers, and the black keys were a dark glossy black all over, and it played like a dream...

I bought a book, it's all about refurbishing pianos.  I have experienced in my life being an old broken down thing... but  I have been refurbished too...  I keep the following poem hanging by my front door, it is one of my favorites, because I know first hand of it's truth.  Watch my blog, I will post pictures of my progress as I attempt to restore my "new" fifty dollar baby grand.

 

The Touch of the Master's Hand

by Myra Welch

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

Thought it was scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks, " he cried,  "Who'll start the 

bidding for me?"  "A dollar, a dollar," then, two!  Only two?

"Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;  Going for three..."

But no,   From the room,  far back a grey-haired man 

came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet, as a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?' and he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand  dollars, and who'll make it two?

Two thousand!  And who'll make it three?

Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice; and going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,  "We do not quite understand

What changed its worth?"  Swift came the reply:

"The Touch of a Master's Hand."

  And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine: a game - and he travels on.

He is "going" one, and "going" twice, He's going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's Hand.              

Someone Once Said, "Never Have a Meal Alone if Possible."

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."  Benjamin Franklin
"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly."  M. F. K. Fisher 
 

We eat all the time in our country, sometimes too much, sometimes the wrong thing, sometimes completely healthy, but a meal is always better when it is shared with others.  Last night at the ranch we had new friends over for a dinner and to celebrate the  birthday of one of the friends.  We met Brenda and Willie Orr at The Hill, a great little hamburger joint in Bellville, Texas where we live, while Randy was home on leave.  Janet and I will both talk to a fence post, (Janet Cook is my friend who works for me now at the ranch, another beautiful blessing sent from the Father.)  Brenda will talk to a fence post too, so all of us women took up the conversation after we sat down by the attractive couple in the next booth.  It turned out that both Willie and Randy had worked at BAE Systems, so the two of them fell into conversation as well.  Soon we were talking about the ranch, and invited them, as we nearly always do when we meet new people, out for a visit.  The day I took Randy to catch the plane back to Iraq the Orrs dropped by the ranch while I was gone, and left a business card on the door.  It was Brenda's birthday, and she mentioned that in the note on the back of the card.  When I called her back we talked and I asked them out for supper on Saturday night for a belated celebration of her birthday.

 

I love to cook for people and to set a nice table.  That human longing for connection that is one of the ways we are created in God's image,  comes out in me daily, and I love people in a very natural way from my heart.  When you are possessed by this "love" you are happiest when doing things for others in small expressions of appreciation and hospitality.  I find great satisfaction in entertaining others in our home, and in doing small things that have faded from our culture in many places.   Often when we entertain today, we tend to take the easier route of paper goods and plastic ware so that as hostesses and hosts, we have more time with our guests.  Casual entertaining is much more popular now than the formal table setting, and a lot can be said for that type of entertaining, but I love old fashioned Southern type hospitality.  So any opportunity I have to set the table with anyone of my five sets of china, I indulge my love of that expression of hospitality.  I took this picture before I had completely set the table, but as a note, after dinner coffee in those cups is indescribable when a dollop of French Vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream is added ...  

I won't say how old Brenda 
turned, but you would
never guess what birthday this 
beautiful woman celebrated last week!  When a woman loves God, it just shows in her countenance, no 
matter what her age.   I learned my 
new friend is a business consultant, and her talent and expertise in that field was evident in the conversation of the evening, as was her strong faith and the commitment of both she and Willie to living lives of integrity as they seek to honor God.

 We laughed, swapped stories and sat at the table until well after mid-night!  There are just some people whose conversation and engaging personalities I find fascinating, but when you share kinship in God's forever family, no matter how new the friendship, there is the bond of a loving family at any table that is shared.  Brenda, Janet, or Jet as we call her, and I share many interests.  Jet has always been a person who journaled, and Brenda shared a song she composed when she woke up on her birthday, and gave God thanks and praise for the life He has given her.  Of course I love writing poetry, and  I very much enjoyed the song, with its' powerful and positive message of  love.  I will post it here when she gives me the final polished product, I am sure any reader will enjoy it.

 I placed three candles on Brenda's cake, (red velvet with red roses.)  One candle was to represent who she had been, the center one to represent who she is now, and the third to represent what God will do in her life this next year to make her the woman she will grow to be.  With God in our lives we always continue to grow and become more than we have been.  We were all so reluctant for the night to end because of the sweetness of the fellowship in what felt like the sharing of a meal with long standing and cherished friends.

"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people, And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Acts2:46-47

  What blessings are mine everyday 

 at the ranch!  It is so difficult to explain to someone who has never been here the peace, warmth, and very real presence of God.  What good people the Lord brings to my life!  When we open our homes to others to share shelter or a meal and in the name of the Lord offer hospitality the Bible says we may be entertaining angels unaware.  I often wonder if that is happening to me when we receive the enchanting guests that frequent our home.  We live in such blessing, we must share all that God has made us stewards of here at Soldier's Heart Ranch!

Uncommon Men

There are men among us who walk where the rest of us can't or won't.  There are men among us who live very serious lives, engaged in work activities that often place them at risk, and they do so without fear.  They are enabled and empowered because their faith and trust lies entirely in God's will for their lives, and the work they do each day is extremely significant that day, and it will be significant in a hundred years, and it will be of great value still in a thousand years, and it will still be spoken of in a million years.  When time is no more, their daily activities in this present world will be adding to God's Kingdom, and therefore will still be of note when that Kingdom is our eternal home.  Their everyday efforts at a vocation are efforts which carry out God's plan for spending eternity with all who will choose to love and serve Him.  It is assumed by such men that any given situation they find themselves in is due to God's Divine Plan, and therefore they are by God's own promise equipped for the situation.  Their confidence lies in God, whom they love and serve.  This attribute of fearlessness is available to all of us, but few of us choose to live in this state of grace.  We may give being fearless lip service, but in truth we are fearful of the least threatening of things and situations.  Our son Brian is another of these "uncommon men" in the making, and he was home for the holidays to visit with us and Brother Andrew.  As I listened on Saturday to Brother Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, talk about the work that he leads in Baghdad at St. George's Church, and the people who worship and serve God there, I knew why he and my husband are such good friends, and once again realized one of the reasons God sent Randy to Iraq was to support this work.

You might think that the seriousness with which these kind of men pursue their life's work, would tend to make them dull and too reserved to enjoy life, but that same belief that makes them fearless also makes them full of fun.  There is scripture that mentions "joy comes from the Lord," and so it is that when you have a dinner party with such men, there is much laughter, banter, and you feel the true joy of friendship, the bond of an eternal family, and the knowledge of how important each moment of our lives are.  Every opportunity to fellowship with those who love and serve the Lord should be relished and enjoyed as the gift from God that it is, and we did when Brother Andrew White arrived at our house in Austin County, Texas last Saturday.

 When I offered Lina the opportunity to try on any of my "Texas cowgirl" hats, she wasn't particularly excited about this ridiculously large one... however Brother Andrew's eye twinkled, and he offered to help her try it on!  Turns out she makes the hat look great!

  

For a long while now Cannon Andrew White has been Randy's pastor in Iraq.  He is the chaplain for American Embassy there in Baghdad.  Over time they have formed a close friendship that stems from the two attributes they share, that fearlessness I spoke of, and the love of being happy and living life in the "fun zone," no matter how serious their work is.  Randy and I both greatly adnire the work Brother Andrew does toward peace in the Middle East, and his leadership of the ministry at St. George's Church, which is also located in Baghdad, but we are not alone in our admiration.   The following is a list of some of the international honors Brother Andrew has collected over the years of his devotion to God's purposes in the Middle East:

 - International Sternberg Prize
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Gloucester
- US Cross of Valour
- International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) Prize for Intellectual Contribution to Jewish-Christian Relations
- Three Faith’s Forum Prize for Inter-Faith Relations (2003)
- Tanenbaum Peace Prize (2005)
- Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem (2003).
- Woolf Institute Peace Prize (2007)
- Companion of the Community of Cross and Nails from Coventry Cathedral for his work on reconciliation in Israel and Iraq
- Train Foundation Civil Courage Prize
- International First Freedom Award (2011)
- Ultimate Christian Library Book Award (2012) for "Faith Under Fire"

I hear so much talk from people who believe the situation in the Middle East is hopeless, and that there will never be peace there.  Some men know that God is willing and able to bring peace to the Middle East, and that He has a heart of love for all who live there.  May God's message and hope of peace go forward, and may those who bring the message be blessed and empowered this message to bring to the world.  We feel so privileged to know Brother Andrew, to call him friend, and to support the work there in Baghdad.  Visit the page that describes the work at  www.frrme.org, and learn about how God is moving in the Middle East.

 

I Heard Such A Scary Confession

Our grand-son Tristen is one of my favorite people in all the world.  He is so many things that I admire, like fearless, possessed of a heart of gold, loyal, protective of those he loves, adventurous, artistic, and creative.  He is full of love for God, his family, and all things right and good.  Tristen loves me with his whole heart too, and would do anything for me.  I think of him as one of my best friends, and someone I can count on.  His mind and thinking fascinates me, and I can talk with him about things.  I know when I do he will be honest, wise, and really listen to what I have to say.  Tristen will value what I have to say as well... nine times out of ten.

On occasions there can be a little problem... For instance, he can fail to tell me certain things when they happen.  He will save important information for another time.  Things that are mischievous or dangerous, and that he knows will get him into trouble, are the types of things he avoids telling me in the moment.  Tristen has been in some dangerous situations before, because of his adventurous nature... like the situation he just told me about this past week.  

He has a sister, Avery, and she is just as special as he is.  I count her as much a friend as I do him.  She is such a pretty little girl, and her heart loves greatly! They are a little over a year apart in age, they are best friends, and literally would die for one another.  Their relationship is to be envied by all of us.  So when the two of them were talking in the back seat on a recent trip to town and Avery said, "should we tell Nana about that now," my ears instantly perked up!  Tristen agreed they should, and so they told me the following amazing little story. 

The children are not allowed in the back pasture where the horses are without a parent or without Randy or I.  They can pet the horses from "their" side of the fence, but not be on the same side of the fence as the horses.  Horses are powerful and dangerous creatures, just a misstep on their part, and a person, even an adult, can wind up seriously injured or killed.  There is a hard and fast rule about the fence at our house which separates horses from children, and the children know how serious I am about matters of their safety.

Evidently, once upon a time Tristen broke that rule.  The details of the story came slowly from the two of them as they rode in the back seat, and my jaw dropped, first in horror... and then in wonder.  It seems Tristen, brave lad that he is, ignored my very reasonable and necessary rule concerning going into the back pasture.  Avery, not being quite so brave, crossed the fence at Tristen's urging, but did not venture way back in the pasture where the horses were grazing.  As Tristen approached the horses, (six of them,) being the horses they are, some wild hair crossed one of their minds, one began running full speed at him.  Herd mentality then took over, and all six were soon bearing down on him.  Tristen began running as hard as he could for the fence which he was not supposed to cross, yelling to Avery, "run Avery, run!"  

Suddenly Avery said she saw Blue pick Tristen up by the back of his shirt collar while in a full-out gallop, carry him by this grasp all the rest of the way to the boundary fence, drop him, and deftly turn still in a full gallop and lead the rest of the horses back out to the back of the pasture.  Avery then remarked, "Nana, Blue tried to kill Tristen!"  

You would have to know Blue, she rules that back pasture with an iron hoof, and all the horses do what she says... or else.  At first I nodded in agreement after hearing the story of Blue picking Tristen up by the collar, but then I got to thinking about it, and it dawned on me.  Blue wasn't trying to kill Tristen, if she was, all she would have had to do was trample him down.  Blue was trying to save Tristen, and she did!  Blue is the largest and fastest horse in the pasture. and as I said, she is in charge.  When it is time to eat, she has to be monitored, or she will gobble her feed and hay down and move to the next horses' feed.  When we are giving out treats, or any kind of attention at all, she will bite at the other horses, displaying jealousy, and try and hog all the love.  

She got to Tristen first, picked him up, ran to where he was safe,dropped him still on his feet, and then led the galloping "herd" back out into the pasture.  I explained to the children, "Blue saved your life Tristen, the other horses would have likely trampled you without her action."  Both of the children turned to look at one another, and you could see the reality of the what had happened spread over their faces as they realized that was what had happened.  

Blue likes children, and loves engaging with them.  She watches them intently from the pasture whenever they are outdoors playing.  One cold winter day, she gave swinging on the swing set a try after observing the children swinging. The children had been playing in the backyard on the swing set, and Blue had watched intently from the back pasture.  They came in exhausted from the cold and the bit of sleet that had started falling.  I fed them cookies and hot chocolate, and they curled up on the sofa watching cartoons.  I was cleaning the kitchen and heard Blue begin to whinny, and I looked out the window to see the fix she had gotten herself into.  She had jumped the fence to get at the swing set and explore the art   of "swinging."
 

 

Her attempt at swinging wasn't as successful as she had hoped, but it was engaging...  She had hopelessly entangled herself, and I had to go out and work out all the "knots" she had gotten herself in.  She couldn't back out of the tangled swings, because they way she had put her head repeatedly through the swings made them tighten around her neck when she tired to pull back out.  At first I was worried as I approached to work her free, she was growing anxious by the time I dressed warmly to go help her.  Surprisingly, she remained still and calm as I freed her from the tangled swings.  As I led her back into the pasture, she muttered her "thanks," and I gave her a treat as I opened the gate.  She had clearly learned her lesson, swinging on the swing set was only for children. 

It was so easy to accept the children's account of what had happened because of their hiding the incident from me for months, fearful of my anger and discipline over the disobedience which had put them both at such risk.  As the drive to town and the errands were completed, I thought more and more about the miraculous events of that day, and God's protection of both of their lives.  Slowly an analogy of God's intervention in my own life so many times when I have found myself swept up in a terrifying power formed in my mind.  I thought of how at times I have been, because of my disregard of God's rules, running for my life.  I thought of how terror would sweep over me as I found myself picked up by a huge and powerful something I really couldn't even see as I ran from the danger I had brought on myself.  In my distress I didn't realize that the huge and powerful thing causing such panic within me, such terror, was really the saving hand of God reaching down to pick me up by my shirt collar, and set me down on safe ground.  I didn't understand until I was out of the danger zone, that He was teaching me forever the value of one of His "rules."

If you find yourself running from something huge that is bearing down on you, perhaps you should consider where you have been, and what you have been up to...  Perhaps too, you should realize your terror is a sign of God's love and grace coming to bear on your life.  Maybe you should listen for His voice, His direction, and His instruction, and when it is all over, look back and know that the fearful thing bearing down on you was His saving grace.  Sometimes God uses the terror of what our behavior has brought upon us to do some of His best "rescue work."  I thank you Lord that in my life when I have found myself in fear, and running for my life, You have lifted me up in Your protection and love, teaching me a life saving lesson.  Thanks to you too Blue,  for clearly hearing God's directions and lifting Tristen to safety.