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smfarnell
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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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| I've been spending an awful lot of time thinking lately. In a way, it's really nice to be able to do that. But in another way, I kinda wish I could send my mind off on vacation for a while. Anyhow, I'd appreciate your prayers in regards to the multiple things I've been thinking through lately.
I remember when I was at school I was too busy to have any time to think. That's not a good situation because decisions have to be made, whether you get time to think them through or not. So I didn't like that. And now that I'm not at school, I have a lot of time for thinking. Especially since many of the things that occupy my time lately can be done while thinking. It's been a blessing to have so much time available to me. And to be able to decide myself what it is that I'm going to do with that time. But it's also been a challenge. It's much easier to stay busy when someone else is setting deadlines for you to meet and keeping you accountable to do things. With all this time on my hands, I discovered that I had a serious addiction to Facebook. And all the time available to me, fed my addiction. So, now I am putting a stop to that. I had been wondering why I couldn't be productive and why I wasn't doing a lot of the things I used to do (journaling, letter writing, spending time outside, spending time with my family etc.). Now that I've back WAAAY off of Facebook, I've noticed that I've started enjoying some of those simple things in life again and that's a blessing. And, my days are much more productive and I'm actually starting to make some progress with my goals for this fall.
Speaking of goals, many of you know that I'm planning to finish my BA degree in General Music through CLEP testing. It was going to take me another 2 years to finish my degree at the University of Puget Sound but it SHOULD only take me about 6 months to finish it through CLEP testing. But, I do need to get started or that 6 months of testing could take me 2 years to accomplish. :-/ So, today I scheduled a CLEP test for Wednesday. Yes, day after tomorrow. SCARY! But, now that it is scheduled, I will be motivated to study. I would appreciate your prayers as I study for and take that test. I'm not a good test taker, never have been.
I've been trying to figure out where I'm going with playing violin and with my violin studio. As of right now, I'm trying to plan a solo violin recital for January. I've been wanting to do a solo recital for several years, now I finally have the time available to me to prepare for something like that. This morning, I contacted several schools in the area. I want to take my private students into the schools to perform for the kids in the classrooms. This will give my students an opportunity to give the gift of music through performance and hopefully it will also inspire some of those kids to learn to play an instrument themselves.
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"My Life is Like a Violin...
My life is like a violin
I choose who holds the bow;
The bow controls the tone and sound
And whether the volume is high or low.
If I let Jesus take my bow
He can make me sing
A beautiful song, pleasing to the ear
A perfect gift for the King.
There's scratches and scars from Satan's reign-
Ooh, they are ugly and bad;
But Jesus has covered them with His deep red stain;
Now it's hard to tell that I had!
I can put a little rosin on that bow
By spending time with God-
Praying, reading His precious letter,
Giving Him praise and laud.
Then I will play a beautiful song
Giving my Maker glory.
A piece is composed 'specially for me
Telling my life's story.
It cannot be made of only sharps
The flats add special grace;
The naturals seem boring, plain,
But they all have a needful place.
Only when great pressure from the bow
Is applied to the violin string
Can the most beautiful music be made
Giving glory to the King.
So I give You, Jesus, my life to play
Take complete control of my bow.
I yield myself completely to You
Let the music You designed flow."
-Marissa Whitney
"The Touch of the Master's Hand
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it 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; twice; Going for three--' But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-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 a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage" - a glass of wine,
A game-and he travels on:
He is going once-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."
-Myra Brooks Welch | | |
| I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. In conversations with people, I've come across some great truths that I thought I'd share with those of you who might be interested.
God created us for His pleasure. Rev 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Therefore, everything we do should be for His pleasure, His honor, His glory, according to His will. This leaves no room for our own will. We should say as Christ said, "not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:42 Now, how do we know if we are doing what God would want us to do?
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will
guide thee with mine eye."- Psalm 32:8
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
We need to be sure our heart is trusting in the Lord. We also need to be going down "a path". If we aren't going anywhere, God can't direct us where He wants us to be going. If our heart is right (trusting in Him and being willing to do or give up anything for Him), He will open the door to the path He wants us on and close the door to the path He does not want us on.
Where is my heart?
Do I truly seek God's will for my life? Or am I doing things for my will, my pleasure?
"God's will is what man's will would be if man knew all the details." - Anonymous
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23
If we are willing to do or give up anything for God then our heart is where it should be. And then as our car of life goes down the road, we are letting God steer it and He will. But we have to hand him the keys and let go of the steering wheel too.
Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." If we delight ourselves in him, then our desires will be his desires.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
If we let God search our hearts, He's going to show us things in our character that need to be changed. Someone said to me, "Changing your own character is one of the hardest things you will ever try to do."
During a violin lesson, my teacher asked me to explain what I was thinking about as I worked on an exercise. I started listing off all the things I was focusing on NOT doing as I played. She interrupted me and told me I was giving her a bunch of negative things, that I needed to think positively. I needed to focus on what I WAS trying to do, not on what I was trying NOT to do. If we focus on the positive things in life, focus on learning how to do what we DO want to do, the things we don't want to do will disappear as they are replaced by the things we do want to do.
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Phil 4:8-9
We may not see the point in what God has us doing at the present time. But he does have a purpose. In 1 Samuel 17 we can read the story of David and Goliath. David was a shepherd boy, small, and young. He was the last person man would have chosen to go up against Goliath. Goliath was "a man of war from his youth" (1 Sam 17:33) but David, in the keeping of his father's sheep, said "The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." (1 Sam 17:37) God had prepared David for this battle through the seemingly menial task of keeping his father's sheep. God is preparing you for the things He has for you to do in life. Your job right now: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might;" (Ecc 9:10)
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Col 3:23)
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