Fairy Tale Part 2 - Unofficial Matchmakers

          On Black Friday, we took 4 gals from China to the mall. We took them to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and tea time at Cheesecake Factory. I was still very tired from attending the NASM Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. Interestingly, Patrick had been stationed there before. After we sent the girls back to the university (University of Central Oklahoma), we swung by Patrick's house to co-ordinate outfits for the ball we were attending the next week.
        
          Nov 27: I went to church by myself to Council Road Baptist Church since most of the students were gone for break. Patrick had been inviting me to visit his church several times but I had said no. As I sat through the sermon, I wondered how I was ever going to get involved with this church. My job required that I work on Sundays occasionally. I thought well after the service I'll give him a call and ask to visit his church.
Patrick beats me to the phone call. He called and said I must go to church with him the following Sunday, Dec 4th. He said the international Sunday School class was having a party and he already told them we would be there. I asked him whether that was an invitation because the word "must" was used, and since when did I become "we." He asked what we could bring and what I could cook for the pot luck. I said he shouldn't have said I would be at the party, and he said, "You don't have anything to do on Sunday afternoons." Wow, insistent man! He then said he must have his dance partner there. I wondered why. He promised that "we" would show off a couple steps. I'm speechless so I just laugh. Sunday Dec 4th would be the day after the ball. We meet to practice dancing and swing by the intl student ministry later that day.
        
         The story gets better. Nov 28, Monday evening I get a phone call from one of the students we took to the mall. She wanted to borrow my house and kitchen to throw a lunch party for Patrick to thank him for taking them to the mall. They were leaving for home soon so it had to be quick. How could I refuse such a request? The only available date was Dec 3rd! My house needed work and much cleaning. I had not finished unpacking since I moved. I said yes to her and immediately hired two of my students to come over to clean and decorate for Christmas, might as well. We tried to play hide and seek a lot, notice the word "tried." We covered up a hole in the wall!

          Dec 3rd - This was my day. Got up cooked, picked up the gals, cooked. Patrick came over and helped cook. It's been 8 yrs since there was a guy cooking in my kitchen! I about hyperventilated. That was quite a shock to me. We had a great lunch - fish, pork, venison and carrot cake. One Voice, my outreach team came over to sing a couple carols. It was awesome! As he sat in the living room after the party, he started counting all the things which need attention in my house. My two students were sworn to total silence were trying not to laugh out loud. It was a good first party for my home in Bethany. The party had to end so I could get to my hair appointment and get ready for the ball.

                (I was told to watch out for someone who would come to my house and see the state of disrepair it is in. This person would want to fix it. I'd get pretty flustered with this person and can't get rid of him. Well...)
As for what happens at the ball, stay tuned. To be continued ..

Fairy Tale Part 1

Some of you might not have access to Facebook but would like to read about how I met my husband. Here is the start of the story. It is a real life fairy tale.

----

Masquerade! :)

        I think this might be easier to tell everyone what's going on. October 28, 2011 is when part of the story begins. (There's more prior to this but I'll save you). My shoulder wasn't hurting anymore and my orthopedic said I could resume my normal activities. I decided to go ballroom dancing to celebrate my recovery and it was a Halloween costume dance. I decided to wear a mask instead of a costume. It was fun and I could be my outgoing self cos no one knew me anyway but they still tried to guess who I was. Got asked to dance by this guy who was a really good dancer. He introduced himself as Patrick and so did I. I hoped that he'd ask me to dance again but there are plenty ladies around.
        Someone else asked me to dance and he was getting a little creepy. By the third dance, I needed to be rescued. Patrick came just as the music ended and asked me for the next dance in which I willingly accepted. He said, "I see you have met ..." I said, "Yes, I have. Thanks for the rescue. Enough said." He asked me what I worked as and such but we didn't exchange any information. That was it. I saw him leave not too long after that but I stayed on and danced with some more people there.
       I had such a great time that night, that on Sunday, I told my good friend, James, that if any guy wanted to date me, he'd just need to ask me to go ballroom dancing. I wouldn't care who he was or what he did. Tell me the dress code, what time and where.
        Less than 24 hrs after that conversation, at 10:15 am Monday morning, while I was at school, in my classroom teaching Aural Skills III, I see someone peek in the door. I am shocked. It is Patrick. I'm a little flustered that the door wouldn't unlock. I finally get it unlocked and our whole conversation played out in front of 6 students. He didn't have my contact information so the only way he could find me was to come to my workplace. He wanted to tell me where the regular dances occur in OKC and give me a list. I had to get rid of him before my students keel over with laughter or me from embarassment, so I gave him my business cards.
        The email came and he wanted to know if I would go to a ball with him Dec 4. I had to eat my words. I checked everything I could on this person and everything he told me matched what I found out. He asked me to call if I could go to the ball so I did. I found out he's a Christian. I accepted the invitation on condition that we practice dancing and he would teach me all the etiquette needed for the event.
         At our first practice, I found out we share the same heart for ministering to international students who are here in the USA. He likes to feed them about as much as I do, so we made plans for Thanksgiving week. Black Friday shopping was very interesting - 12 hrs. What a patient man!

The pianist is silent

The title of the blog says it all, doesn't it. Yes, I have been quite silent the last year. The quick update to this blog is that I got married to my dear ballroom dance partner. We had been great friends since December and we decided to tie the knot in March. The transition is hectic and stressful, but what life change isn't. 

We had a lovely wedding at my former workplace. That about explains it all without having to go into detail. My family was able to be there along with my husband's family. We had a great time since we're both very practical. We honored both wedding traditions, bride wearing white at the church wedding and then red at the reception for the tea ceremony. My mom was able to make my bouquet for me along with the altar arrangements. One of my groomsmen's family decorated the chapel for me. Our Sunday School decorated the reception area and arranged all the tables and chairs. Without their help, we wouldn't have been able to have such a beautiful wedding.

Wedding ceremony music.. ah the pianist must be performing but she had to walk down the aisle. I solved the problem by using music recorded from several of my live recitals. Kempff/Bach's Wachet auf for the processional and the Fugue from the Capriccio served as the recessional. Prelude and postlude music were also recordings of mine. It was nice to hear some of the recordings again.

I am now a self-employed entrepreneur and home engineer of all sorts. I still teach a limited number of private students but have been crafting seriously. Below are several menu planner magnet sets which I am making for sale. They started off as an organizer for myself as the food management duties fall on me right now.

     On a more exciting note, we might have located a Kawai grand piano with a 7/8 Steinbuhler keyboard that we can afford. It might mean a very tight living space until we find our permanent home, but it will be well worth the investment. This would be in preparation of expanding my private studio here in the city and returning to performing (resume practice first, of course). This also means Glojet mobile will have to run a couple thousand miles more before we replace my trusty old chariot.

An-An the Siamese cat is doing just fine as you can see in the picture above. She is happy as she now gets a lot of real fish. :) As ornery as ever.

Debut at Southwestern Christian University

My new position at this university does not require me to play the piano daily. This has allowed me to finally seek treatment for my shoulder which has bothered me for years. The good news is that it only required physical therapy, rotator cuff tendinitis isn't fun but nothing too serious. After a few weeks of therapy, I really like how my shoulder is feeling and how that it is more stable for cross hand work at the piano.

I have not performed my classical repertoire here but did toy with some jazz chords during communion at chapel once. I took a chance to perform some of the pieces from my last recital. As usual the Gottschalk is the most challenging. I listened to the recording of my last recital and made some adjustments to it.

I sometimes feel like a fish out of water so I just have to keep practicing at home. I hope by my performance yesterday, my students have gained some understanding of why I keep telling them that there is so much more musical excellence to pursue. I played 4 pieces of different styles and technical requirements, from memory.

I continue to pursue my other hobbies like contra, English country and ballroom dancing. They provide a much needed diversion from work. All in all, I like my new job. It's stressful but it's a far cry from my last job. Recovery and rehab here in Bethany in many ways.

Suddenly September - Lana Vawser

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV)
 

 
Oh My precious people, how beautiful you are. How much I love you and My heart’s desire is for you to know Me more and more each day. I shower My love upon you in moments throughout the day, through the sun that smiles on you, to the cool breeze on a hot summers day. My people, My heart for you is to see you prosper in ALL your ways, to see you grow into My likeness and be My hands and feet in the world.

So many of you have been walking the dark night, a night that seemed to last a lifetime, a night that held many tears, the agony of unfulfilled dreams, and promises that you felt lay at the wayside and breakthroughs that just never seemed to arrive, many of you had felt like I had forgotten. But I say unto you My peo ple, I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. I have been deepening your trust in Me, moulding your character to be more like Me, and increasing your faith like you have never known before My people, even though you did not feel it, I was bringing strength to your hearts, and preparing you for what is about to come.

Many of you have been hearing Me speak to you about a greater heavenly alignment that was to come. An alignment that would see many of you released into greater positions of influence, greater areas of gifting, greater manifestations of My hand and greater encounters with My heart. Many of you have been feeling the great anticipation in the air, of great plans that I am bringing into your lives. The transitioning period has been happening for a while now My people, and now the shift is about to release.

September 1 will see this heavenly alignment begin to manifest in the natural. Many of you that have been waiting for the open doors, have been waiting for the breakth roughs, have been waiting for the release, have been waiting for the manifestation of My promises in your lives, and each time you prayed, you continued to hear Me say ‘declare for the time is now, the hour has come’ but nothing manifested in the natural.

SEPTEMBER is a new morning. September will usher forth the morning in many of your lives. What I have been speaking to many of you about for so many months, that was accomplished in the heavenlies and decreed in the heavenlies is now about to MANIFEST in September.

September will be a month of SUDDENLIES.

Sudden provision.
Sudden breakthroughs.
Sudden prophetic word fulfilments.
Sudden positioning.
Sudden release.
Sudden healing.
Sudden life change.
Sudden divine connections.
Sudden signs and wonders.
Sudden encounters with My heart.
Sudden glimpses of My Glory.
Sudden manifestations of the heavenly realm in your midsts.

September will be full of surpr ises for many of you My people. Those of you that have been holding on to My promises through the dark night that endured, NOW you shall be propelled into the September of surprises and suddenlies.

I am doing a new thing, behold, it will spring forth in many of your lives in September. This is the moment many of you have been waiting for. September will re-instill hope in many of you, September will see refreshment, restoration and renewal come to many of you. September will My Spirit do all of these things and more in your lives.

The heavenly alignment will be made manifest in the natural. The acceleration and what I have been planning behind the scenes in many of your lives will be made known. Testimonies will erupt all around the earth as My wonderous work is revealed in many of your lives.

The suddenlies that I am releasing in September, will see the world begin to take notice of My Glorious ways through many of your lives.

Stay deep in the se cret place My people, as I lead you up the mountain in this September moment, stay close to My heart, for it is knowing Me and My heart above all, following My promptings and listening to My voice that will keep you grounded in this season of release My people.

September My people, is the PLATFORM that will establish the foundation for the future. New things will GROW from the manifestations and suddenlies I will bring forth in September in many of your lives, and for many years to come will you My people and others speak of the suddenly September that I brought into many of your lives, that changed your lives and saw My Glory made manifest in My Church and people’s lives at a level that was never even dreamed of.

REJOICE!

Suddenly September has arrived.