Monday Nights

It was a cold Monday evening in December. A little girl, only six years old, and her mother walked along the narrow stone path which led from a square driveway to a little cottage in the woods. The little girl clutched a white three-ring binder and followed close behind her mother. The woman who greeted them brightly at the door had gray hair and tired eyes. She welcomed the two into her home, then started the girl’s first piano lesson...
...I do not have a desire, nor the skill, to be an accomplished pianist, or even musician of any type. I do not plan on continuing piano after high school regularly. I do know that if anyone ever asks me how I ended up doing missions work on the other side of the world, my answer will be that I started piano lessons in first grade. I do not know how the rest of my life will play out, but I do know that my Monday night piano lessons will have a huge impact on me.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others. 

           Marianne Williamson

Memory Challenge

I'm working with Psalm 34 for the month of January.  I'm hoping my sisters will join me and we can hold each other accountable.