Sunshine

It was one of those Florida days when it is hard to tell if it is going to downpour or just sprinkle off and on. Mandi was scheduled to sing at an outdoor event that afternoon. The event coordinator told me that the sound guy had almost shut it down twice because of the weather. She didn’t know if Mandi would get to sing.

I watched as the band scheduled before Mandi was setting up. The sound guy rushed from the stage to his sound equipment, saying, “It’s going to rain again.” He adjusted the vinyl tarps to protect his equipment from the misting rain. He kept watching the sky as it darkened and the wind picked up.

Mandi‘s turn came and I found my place at the side of the stage. From there I could see Mandi, the audience, and a nice view of the lake.

As Mandi began playing, the sun began shining. There was no more rain. The sun setting on the lake was beautiful. It framed the view of everything I saw. And I saw sunshine. I saw it in Mandi, a happy little girl singing, playing, and swinging her feet. I saw it on the faces of the crowd smiling, clapping, and swaying to the beat.

And I thought to myself, what a wonderful world!

Melted

Maybe it is because she is my last baby. Maybe it is because she has the cutest smile ever. Maybe it is because she has her first loose tooth, (which she is ecstatic about by the way).

But today I today I looked at her teeth and was overwhelmed my their cuteness.

You can imagine my delight and surprise when I read this today in our read aloud, Peter Pan.

"She had come to save him, to give him her nest, though there were eggs in it. I rather wonder at the bird, for though he had been nice to her, he had also sometimes tormented her. I can suppose only that, like Mrs. Darling and the rest of them, she was melted because he had all his first teeth."

How lucky Olivia is to have a mom who is sometimes "melted because (s)he has all her first teeth."

Hold Me by Jamie Grace ukulele cover by Mandi

God Girl by Jamie Grace cover by Ukulele Mandi

God's Heartbeat

It was just the two of us. The others had gone to Night of Joy. We had already bought a new outfit and eaten supper. Now we were in a quiet house, with a few hours before bedtime. As we sat on the kitchen floor, chatting, she said, "Let's play the ukulele. I know how to play a few chords."

She ran to get it, unzipped the case and said, "It might need to be tuned." I smiled as she put the tuner on the ukulele and plucked a string. Then she announced, "The A string is good."

How does she know these things? The answer to that question flooded me with emotion. As she showed me the chords that she knew, all I could think about was how beautiful this moment was.

Yes, I do enjoy watching my 6 year old play an instrument, but the movie playing in my head was so much more precious to me. I was seeing a little sister watching her big sister play the ukulele. I was seeing a big sister hand her little sister the ukulele and show her how to play. And I was thinking about how valuable that time was.

The value was not in the information learned, but in how it was learned. It was learned through a relationship. God's heartbeat. I saw God's heartbeat that day!

That Girl!

My girl, Mandi, has taken to music like a fish takes to the water. When I watch her play, I get the feeling that every mother loves to get. I get the feeling that she is doing what she was created to do. She works hard, like 9 hours in a day hard, but she wouldn't do it if she didn't love it.

In one of my many searches for songs for her to sing, I found a worship singer named, Mandi Mapes. A line in her bio got me thinking. Mandi Mapes wrote, " Now, the joy that I have in Him surpasses any short lived happiness I’ve ever experienced in this life and it is my greatest privilege to take my lips and my guitar and make His glory known in coffee shops, music venues and living rooms all over the world. "

I thought, "You know, when I hear Mandi Mapes sing, I get the feeling that she is doing what she was created to do and now she is connected to her Creator. What could be more beautiful! All the distractions, lies, and destructive behavior that the enemy would have for her are being pushed out of the way. She is living in the way that her Creator intended for her to live and it is a beautiful thing. As she grows in the Lord, it will only become more beautiful!"

This is my prayer for my Mandi, that as she does her thing, making music, people will get the feeling that she is doing what she was created to do, that she knows her creator, that she has great joy in knowing her creator, and that they want to know Him, too.

Not only that, but that they will be inspired to find something that they were created to do, work hard at becoming great in it and bring glory to God in doing it.

I want to be like That Girl!

Mandi teaching Olivia to play Zaccheus on the Piano

This makes me happy!