|
smfarnell
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Suzanne
Gender: Female
Interests: Following God and His plan for my life, Studying the Bible, Fellowship with believers, Violin, Piano, Classical music, working with animals, woodworking, backpacking, fishing, hiking, downhill skiing, caving, spending time with friends and family...
Occupation: Student, Violinist
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
4/9/2006
|
|
| Set My Soul Afire
"Set my soul afire Lord, for Thy Holy Word, Burn it deep within me, let Thy voice be heard
Millions grope in darkness in this day and hour, I will be a witness, fill me with Thy pow'rRefrain:
Set my soul afire Lord, set my soul afire.
Make my life a witness of Thy saving pow'r. Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word. Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire! Set my soul afire, Lord, for the lost in sin, Give to me a passion as I seek to win; Help me not to falter never let me fail, Fill me with Thy Spirit, let Thy will prevail. Set my soul afire, Lord, in my daily life. Far too long I've wandered in this day of strife; Nothing else will matter but to live for Thee, I will be a witness for Christ lives in me." Last Saturday morning I went out Soul Winning in Ridgefield. Fewer people slammed the door in my face than on previous outings. Is that a good thing or not? I'm not sure. Isa 53:3 "He is despised and rejected of men; ..." Perhaps it was just that I was in a section of town that was more socially established and folks were just being dutifully polite.
Three different people said they were less than 100% sure of going to heaven. But all three of them were "too busy" to look in the Bible to learn how they could be 100% sure. They have no fear for their soul, they are blinded by Satan. 2 Cor 4:4 "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." One teenage boy told me he was "busy right now and, I go to Crash sometimes." Crash is a local youth group that had a float in the parade two years ago that was not abstaining "from all appearance of evil" (I Thes 5:22) in any way. Another lady told me she attended such and such church. When I asked her if she knew how to get to heaven she replied that she works in the nursery and one of the elders or someone else would know the answer to that question. I can't share the gospel with these people if they just keep closing the door on me. God's Word will not return void (Isa 55:11) but if I don't even have a chance to share any of His Word with them, well...what good have I done? Eph 6:19-20 "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." | | |
| The mountains have snow again, the ski resorts are opening for the season. A couple weeks ago I went to the ski show in Portland to try to find a new pair of skis for myself. When I first started skiing I would rent my equipment but that gets expensive real fast. So then I started using really old equipment that I found at Goodwill stores. That's what I've been using for the past several years. It works okay but if I'm going to be skiing regularly I thought it would be worth it to invest in a nice pair of skis. And so I did. 
They're Salomon Origins, $1000 new! Of course I didn't pay anywhere near that much, I got a really good deal because these were used as demo skis. They're shaped skis (which I've only tried a couple times, hope I don't have too much trouble learning how to carve my way down the mountain.), they've got a wood core, and, yes, they're purple.  So they'll go great with my purple coat. haha. I also got a pair of Salomon ski boots which I'm hoping will work well. I'm sure I'll be thrilled with my new equipment considering my old skis were from the 70's or something and my old boots had two broken clasps and only one working clasp. I used to worry that the lift attendant might tell me I wasn't allowed on the lift with my ancient equipment. But it worked and I had fun so I was happy.
Anyhow, now I'm very excited to get up on the mountain and try out my new gear! I'm planning a trip to Mt. Hood SOON! If you want to go, let me know. Fellowship with friends is one of the best parts of skiing. It's never fun to go alone.
Last week, as I was driving to Ridgefield to teach some of my piano students, I saw this rainbow.
It was much brighter in real life, which is why I took the picture. It was one of the brightest rainbows I've ever seen. It was really cool. I thought all the clouds were pretty cool as well. I wished I didn't have to go teach those lessons, it would have been really neat to go find a place to watch the sunset and get some cool pictures. Here's another picture I took of the clouds right by my students house.
Again, it looked better in real life.
Well, I'm starting to get used to my new schedule. It is the strangest thing to be in control of so much of my time. I want to use all my time for God and the things he wants me to do. Therefore it's a huge responsibility to "be in control" of what I do with my time. I will be held accountable to God for everything I do with my time. Rom 14:12 "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Really, I don't want to "be in control". I want to hand that control to God and let him steer me in what to do with my time. Rom 6:13 "Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God." In order to yield myself like that, I must die to myself (my will, my goals) daily as Paul did (1 Cor 15:31). And I must keep my focus on Christ, not on my list of things that need to be accomplished. If I focus on a list of things that need to be done each day, I will feel like I failed if I didn't accomplish it all at the end of the day. That can get depressing real quick. Yes, goals are good, and striving to be productive is good, but if that is the focus, I am looking to myself and will quickly become discouraged and/or depressed. My purpose IS to please the Lord. Rev 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." My purpose is NOT to check off the items I decided to write down on my "To Do" list for the day. Now perhaps, as I continue to seek the Lord and his will with my whole heart (Jere 29:13, Ps 119:2), one day my "To Do" list will align with his will for me and therefore bring him pleasure if I do accomplish those things. If I let my pre-planned schedule run my life, I wouldn't be available to serve others in the moment that they needed me to take some time for them. I also wouldn't have time to stop and spend a few minutes in prayer for someone or something that the Lord brought to my attention. (1Th 5:17 "Pray without ceasing.") Nor would I have time to take a moment to look up that verse I was thinking about but couldn't remember exactly what it said. (Psa 1:2 "But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.")
My conclusion or point is that I am not to be selfish, self-centered, or self-focused. But rather, I am to be Christ-like, Christ-centered, and Christ-focused because that is what brings him pleasure and therefore fulfills my purpose in life.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Rom 12:10 [Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Matt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
| | |
| I'd really like to get my own domain name and have my own website for my violin studio and also for my blog. I already got off of Facebook for multiple reasons (which I'm willing to share if you're interested) and I would like to get off of xanga too because I don't like the adds or the way the comments are set up. Anyhow, I'm trying to think of a creative domain name...one that combines music/violin with praising God/serving God. I thought about getting suzannefarnell.com but that's just kinda lame. So, any ideas would be much appreciated.
| | |
| Since I'm not "going" to school right now, only teach a handful of students, and really don't have many obligations right now, I honestly have a lot of time on my hands. This is a huge blessing in many ways but it's also a tremendous challenge.
Eph 5:16-17 "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is]."
Pro 10:4 "He becometh poor that dealeth [with] a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich."
I haven't had time on my hands in probably 5 years. It's a blessing to be able to decide for myself what I will do with my time instead of having obligations determine that for me. All the time available to me right now has allowed me to do a lot of reading and studying, in my Bible and also other books. However, as I soak up all this information, my mind kicks into gear. Actually, I think my mind kicked into high gear sometime back in August and I haven't managed to shift down since! There have been numerous times when I felt like my mind was running out of gas and I really wished I could just take a vacation from thinking. But that's just not possible.
Proverbs 4:25-27 "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."
There was a period of time when I was getting rather frustrated by the fact that I wasn't "doing" much. But when I got to thinking about it, I realized that there are a lot of things I want to learn and study and now I have the time! WONDERFUL! So I'm reading my Bible, a whole bunch of Christian books, some books on string pedagogy and the like, and some other music books. I am also still working on finishing my BA in General Music through CLEP testing...so I have to read and study for that, which is very hard to discipline myself to do. But, I'm not about to give up on that degree after these 6 years of work I've already put into it. I want that silly piece of paper in my hands!
Ecc 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."
Phi 4:11 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content."
Isa 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint."
A couple weeks ago we did a caving trip with 28 people from God's Word Baptist Church. It was a lot of fun. Here are a couple pictures from the trip.
Gearing up to head for the cave
Matthew in the "rat hole" and Mariya getting ready to follow.
Pastor Shanks
Jennica, Rebekah, and Melissa Krohn...how cool that I got a picture with all three of them in it.
We found a spot smaller than the "rat hole" way back in one of the small passages. This was taken on the way in.
One the way back, I decided I thought it would work better to go head first through this crack. I think I may have been right but...
...My skirt didn't follow me through this crack...it got hooked up on a rock and, as you can see, I tore it very badly. Very, VERY badly.
Matthew and Mariya climbing down into the 2nd cave we went to.
I recently had a couple of days with nothing planned so I borrowed Dad's jeep and headed to the coast with my dogs. I had a really good time.
Cocoa has the red collar, Mocha has the blue collar. I had to buy their collars for them on the way out there because they're country dogs and have no need for a collar at home.
It was super windy
These tire tracks made me start thinking about the crossroads we come to in life...how does one determine which way to go? Pro 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
We probably walked about 8 miles on the beach that day. We walked from Seaview all the way down to the rocks at the south end of Long Beach. Cocoa got pretty tired, poor old girl.
"What is going on down there!?"
It's like a mirror!
I stayed in our little shack on our property out there.
This table is pretty cool. We keep boards over the windows when we're not there. This table is one of the boards that covers the window and it just folds out into a table when you want to use it.
This bed also folds up against the wall when you're not using it. Nothing like making the most of a small amount of space.
Day 2 in the morning. It was partly cloudy which made for some neat pictures.
I really was there too. 
There were tons of seagulls on this beach. I got several really neat pictures of them. This was at Ocean Park.
I think this is my favorite picture of my dogs from this trip.
| | |
| Every time I find myself in a city I feel totally uncomfortable and out of place. Last night my sister Linda, nephew Jeremiah, and I went to Portland for a lecture "Your Brain on Music" by Dr. Larry Sherman who is a neuroscientist.
The drive down there was rather intense. First of all, it was dark. Secondly, it was raining. Thirdly, Linda and I were trying to have a conversation. And fourthly, I like country roads that don't have any cars on them! On the way to Portland, due to headlights reflecting in the rain and such, we almost got smashed by a van. Once we were in Portland we got stuck in exit only lanes twice within two minutes of each other. I have no clue what's up with the roads down there! Then we headed the wrong direction on a road without even realizing we were on that road. I know, it sounds like I'm pathetic...but really it's the city that's pathetic! Honest!  And then, Portland drivers are so aggressive that it makes life really stressful if you are trying to change lanes at the last second. And then we had to deal with one way streets....thankfully I have a good memory and vaguely remembered what I'd read about those when I was getting ready for the drivers test. j/k! And road blocks, and parking meters. Country girl trying to find her way in the city...not good. I got through it though!
In spite of traffic, getting lost, and having to park 3 blocks away, we were only 15 minutes late, not bad! When we stepped in the doors of the bank we discovered there was standing room only at that point. Lovely. I found myself I nice comfy spot right by the cookies and drinks. Please, don't ask how many cookies I ate....
As the lecture got started I looked around the room at the other people who had come out for this lecture. Portland sure does produce an interesting crowd. Purple hair there, green over there, oh and there's someone with burgundy....how about teal....and I'm not even going to address the hair styles. Hmm.
I had been a little bit worried about the content of the lecture but hoped for the best and decided to go see if I could learn anything. And, it was as good as I had hoped. Afterward I commented to my sister that I wished I had brought all my students with me so that they could have heard what the guy had to say...perhaps it would have encouraged them to practice regularly. The main point was, the effort involved in learning to play an instrument uses multiple areas of our brain. And it is by using or challenging our brain that we create new "something or others" in our brains. Apparently these "something or others" die all the time and if we don't create new ones then they don't get replaced...therefore resulting in memory lose etc when we get older. I guess people who are in their 40's loose one of these every second! So, if you want to postpone Alzheimer's and other such things as long as you can, you would be wise to learn a new instrument every 10 years or so. And it doesn't make a difference if you are a beginner learning to play a scale or a trained musician playing a challenging piece for the first time. In both cases the same areas of the brain are activated. So, next time you practice your instrument, just remember the benefits of what's going on in your brain.
On the way home, we dealt with even more intense driving as we ran a few errands. Stop lights, quick lane changes, not noticing when lights turn green, etc. I only slammed my breaks on really hard one time. But I did have Linda nervous enough by the end of the night that she started telling me stuff like "That light up there is red." Was it the rain? Or the dark? Or a combination? Or am I really that bad of driver? Please don't answer those questions.
Overall it was a fun night but I sure was glad when I turned up the road to our house, turned my high beams on, slowed down to be sure the deer didn't jump out in front of me, and didn't see another car or person until about 10 minutes later when I got home.
| | |
|
