The Random Life of Karen

My last Monday before starting back to work has passed....and this is my last Tuesday.  August 5th the teachers return to prepare for the students arrival on August 19th.  Frank is cutting the grass this morning.  It is very nice outside...not as hot as it has been for a while.  I actually sat outside on the carport and enjoyed my coffee this morning.  We are meeting some dear friends at Katie's Too in LaGrange for lunch today.  I won't be able to do this again for a while.  This is one of my favorite places to eat because of their cucumber, tomato, and onion salad.   It is to die for.  I have some review books to finish reading and tonight we have revival at Midway at 7.  My precious husband, Frank, will be delivering the message there tonight and I am excited.  Our Rock Mills people probably won't be there because it is choir practice night.  We have been averaging around 40 people so far and that makes me very happy.  I am going to be delivering the message in song and am excited about that too.  I love singing....and tonight I am going to sing two of Marcie's (Porch People from Rock Mills) favorite songs:  Midnight Cry and God Saw A Cross.  If I had to pick my favorite power songs it would be these two.  When I sing them I feel the electricity of God pouring through me.  It amazes me to feel the Spirit of the Lord live and in person.  Oh Happy Day(Sister Act version) and Shackles  (Mary-Mary) are two other songs that lift me up when I am singing them.  Many years ago I heard a professional woman singer from Nashville sing from the stage at the Arbor.  She was amazing and very intimidating.  I actually was going to have to sing after her.  I stood on the side of the stage and was physically ill.  One of the wives of our band asked me what was happening...and I told her I was terrified....she was a huge fan of me...and asked me..."what does she have that you don't"....."God" should have been my response....but it wasn't....I squeaked out..."shiny shoes!"  It became a big joke with the band....I usually sang barefoot....or in flip flops, tennis shoes, or loafers.   I went for comfort....still do.  After this Frank and I were at Cato's looking for a blouse I needed and guess what we found....SHINY SHOES!  They were perfect...all my favorite colors, low heels, sparkly....and Frank bought them for me.  I wore them to church that next Sunday....and you know what...singing on stage with those Shiny Shoes was really no big deal because they were not my power item....GOD was!  I kept the shiny shoes for a long time....added bling to my wardrobe for fun.....introduced jewelry to my attire.....still wore no makeup (you know it is hard to dress up without makeup).....and continued to feel alive on stage singing God's word.  Once at the first church in Roanoke for a District meeting I sang from their stage...and when I sang Oh Happy Day....my lip touched the mike and it shocked me....when that happened it felt as if there was electricity running through the floor of the stage....but you know...it was not electricity like we know electricity....it was the power of the Lord....I was plugged in....and I let it fly.  I did not even have my shiny shoes on....I was barefoot!  I feel humbled in bare feet.  I can feel God's power in bare feet.  What plugs you in?  What takes off your shackles?

A Walk to Remember - Down Memory Lane

April 15th, 1954, 56 years ago I was born.  My parents, Fred and Wilma (yep..that is really their names) were 25 and 29 on that day.  I was named Karen Leigh Sasser.  My godmother, Frances was delighted with my name after hearing some of the names my mother was debating over.  My dad had just celebrated his birthday the day before the big event.  I spent my first three years in a basement apartment owned by Ethyl Berry.  She was like my grandmother and I adored her.  We lived there until my brother Dougie was one and then we moved into the house next door to the apartment.  I was not quite four.  We lived there on Georgia Avenue, right across the street from what was then Palm Beach High School.  It was a perfect place to be a child.  There was a bakery on one end of the block and a candy store/snack bar at the other end.  My church was a block behind our house.  The bus stopped on both ends of the block.  I loved life there. 

When I was young music was very important to me. That has not changed a whole lot in the past 56 years. I got my first guitar when I was not quite 4. It was not much of one but I loved it.This picture was made in the basement apartment.  It was not much of an apartment, by today's standards...but I can assure you there was a lot of love in that tiny two bedroom, one bath apartment....a lot of love.  My dad was in apprenticeship school then and we had one car...can you believe that?  One car?  It was a 1940 something chevy...yucky green colored.  It had to be rolled down the hill to start sometimes. My dad was a great electrician...he was never much of a mechanic.  He used to say he was a jack of all trades - master of none...but that was not true...he was a Master Electrician....and Dad.

                     

From Georgia Avenue we moved to El Prado in the Vedado Park neighborhood.  It was there that I attended Belvedere Elementary School, Conniston Junior High, and Forest Hill High School.  It was there that I made my first children friends.  Dougie and I were the only kids on Georgia Avenue.  El Prado brought Carol, Susan, Kathy and a whole host of other kids into my life.  Life was good on El Prado until January 5th, 1963.  My brother died just 16 days shy of his 6th birthday.  When I look back at these old pictures I see a ragamuffin little girl.  I was such a tom boy and really hated wearing dresses.  My mom was an excellent seamstress and made the majority of my clothes.  What I would not give to have THAT mom back again.  The material was some she had bought on a visit to my grandparents in Alexander City.  It came from the Avondale Mill Store.  It was called seconds because there was a flaw somewhere in the fabric.  I remember one dress she made for me that had a foot print on the underside of the fabric.  It was amazing what she could do with a needle and some thread.  By now my dad was working for Arrow Electric.  He was a Union man....with the IBEW(International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.)  I lived and breathed for that Arrow Suburban to come down our street.

When I was in the sixth grade I was a school safety patrol and got to go to Washington, DC.  It was the biggest event of my life, at that point.  Carol also got to go.  We were roommates at the Shoreham Hotel during our stay there.  Can you believe that the two of us are only 6 months apart in age?  I was 5'5 in the 6th grade...and never grew another inch.  Carol was not even 5 foot at the time.  We looked like Mutt and Jeff don't you think?  This picture was made in front of her house.  How do I remember this?  She had a sidewalk....we didn't.  Carol and I both played guitars back in the day.  When we were in elementary school we dressed up like the Beatles one year for the Halloween parade.  We were awesome.  We also made guitars before we had real ones and would put on shows for our parents.  We sang together as teens with New Dawn and were dubbed the Hick Duet when we performed our first duet in church...the song..."Put Your Hand in the Hand."  I have never sung that song again...and blush anytime I hear it.  Larry Bergstrom, Kenny Bergstrom, and Jim Warren made so much fun of us that night.  It is a wonder I ever sang in public again....but I did.   

We graduated from Forest Hill in 1972. I drove a 1968 Plymouth Satellite (lovingly dubbed the Sasserlite).  It was fire engine red, had white leather seats, had a 383 engine in it, Krager mags and knock off spinners.  I loved the beach.  Carol King's song had just hit number one - "You've Got a Friend." I loved singing with Carol King and Karen Carpenter. I wanted to be just like them.  We went on to attend Palm Beach Junior College (dubbed Peanut Butter and Jelly College). I wanted to be like Shirley Muldowney and drive drag racers then.  My dad and I would go to the drag races on Friday nights....that is until I got a drivers license. 

Kathy Duck, Donna McAdams, Carol and I on her wedding day.  I sang at her wedding in 1975.  She has been married for 35 years.  That is astounding in today's world.  Don't you love the dresses....very 70's don't you think?  Carol was a beautiful bride. We all went our separate ways over the years.  Carol is really the only one of these four that I kept up with.  I moved to Alabama...and my life took a different road.  I have carried them in my heart though...all these years.  I have often wondered where the other two are and what they became.  I sang at most of my friends weddings.  I even sang at Chuck and Susan's wedding...but that is a story all to itself.  I will have to tell you one day.

Me, Carol and Susan at one of our high school class reunions.  I have 56 years of some of the best memories ever with these two girls.  Susan and her husband Chuck live in Knoxville, TN and we are still as thick as thieves.  When we are together...it does not matter how long it has been since we have been together...we pick up right where we left off.  She is Kat's godmother.  Carol and her husband Jeff retired this year and moved to Summerville, SC.  We have also kept in touch all these years...no matter where she lived.  She does not look any different from the day we met.  She always had the greatest smile.  I have been blessed to have them as friends all these years.

Time has marched on.  I have traveled the world.  I have earned a Masters Degree.  I have done many of the things I have wanted to do in my life, I have lived so I would have no regrets.  I have loved most everything about the 56 years I have been given on this earth.  I am blessed.  Today, on my birthday I just felt like taking a stroll down memory lane with you...those of you who know me...know most of this....those of you who have just met me....will see a side of me you have never seen.  This is Karen...unplugged...doing what I love to do most....enjoying life.

On my 55th birthday last year the group I sing with, Still Magnolias, opened for George Jones.  How cool is that.  If you don't know who he is....he is a Country Music legend....sleezy...but a legend just the same and I opened for him.  Life just keeps getting better and better.  Although this year has been a hard one...I survived.  I can't believe a whole year has passed and now I am looking at another year older...how blessed I have been.  I have such good friends and two wonderful daughters.  I am the luckiest person alive I believe.  I have not always made the best decisions and life has not always been perfect.  Heck!  It has been a far cry from a bowl of cherries....but I get out of those pits and move on quickly I can assure  you.

So here I am today....at the ripe age of 56.  What does life hold for me? Only God knows.  I am attending a retirement seminar today....that is not in my far to distant future.  I have enjoyed the first 56 years and cannot wait for what the next half brings.  In the years since I left Florida I have attended Auburn and Auburn at Montgomery, Alabama, and Whitman College in Washington state.  I married a wonderful man, Frank, who is like one of my best friends.  I became a preacher's wife and love that roll. I have made many friends whom I love dearly.  I have a wonderful job at Benjamin Russell High School where I teach.  I sing with Still Magnolias, I travel with Mary, Kat, Debo, and Amanda every chance I get. I sing in the Arbor Praise and Worship band, I bowl on two leagues....I enjoy every moment of life there is...and would not want it any other way.  Happy Birthday to me and I wish you all a wonderful Thursday!  XXOO

Wanna Be An American Idol

I was visiting one of my favorite blog sites, , and she had been window shopping at another blog site and found a challenge. I had to pick up the gauntlet and do it too...since today is Friday and so I found myself at Mama's Losing It. I had to chose number 1 for my challenge:

1. If you were starring on American Idol TONIGHT and HAD to sing, what song would you choose and why. I do sing and so I have of course always dreamed of being on something like American Idol...only the fear of rejection has always kept me from trying. I really don't like the way Simon treats the singers. I lived a life not measuring up in my mothers eyes....so I don't need anyone else to tell me I am good....or bad. I would sing "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. I love the song and do it very well. I think the message it has is so powerful. I guess I could say it is my mantra song. I want my family and friends to know that I believe the lyrics with all my heart. The first verse and chorus are so powerful:

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

The song lets ME know that I can soar with the eagles and do not have to walk on the ground with the turkeys. Happy Friday!

What Am I Here For?

If you have not read Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life,” you should. I read it three years ago….and it is still haunting me. Every day I look to see if my life has purpose….I know from my reading of this book that my life should be purpose driven but often it is not. Sometimes my life is circumstance driven and it is when it is in that mode that I do not function well. Many times I ask myself…Just why am I here? What is my purpose? What is the true meaning of life? What is the true meaning of MY life? It seems when I ask these questions that I am in the All About Me Mode…..and to be honest…I am. But let me tell you (and myself) It's not about me. It is all about God….and a person’s life cannot be truly successful unless he/she knows his/her purpose in life. Col 1:16 tells us that-“ For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him.” Hello…should that not send up a big red flag? I mean come on….it firmly states that I was made by God for God. I was made for His purposes…..because He never creates anything without a purpose. So I am back asking myself….”How do I discover said purpose?” I believe there are two ways…the hard way….without God…and the easy way….with God. Have you ever asked God…..”What on earth have you put me here for?’ I have…and I am sure he probably laughed his head off….God wove a tapestry…..and I am in it. I am not an accident…..I was planned….and I am loved….by God. Carole King (one of my favorite singers did a song in the early 70’s called “Tapestry) and it fits my thoughts so well today that I had to share the lyrics with you:

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue

An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view

A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold

A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold

Once amid the soft silver sadness in the sky

There came a man of fortune, a drifter passing by

He wore a torn and tattered cloth around his leathered hide

And a coat of many colors, yellow-green on either side

He moved with some uncertainty, as if he didn't know

Just what he was there for, or where he ought to go

Once he reached for something golden hanging from a tree

And his hand come down empty

Soon within my tapestry along the rutted road

He sat down on a river rock and turned into a toad

It seemed that he had fallen into someone's wicked spell

And I wept to see him suffer, though I didn't know him well

As I watched in sorrow, there suddenly appeared

A figure gray and ghostly beneath a flowing beard

In times of deepest darkness, I've seen him dressed in black

Now my tapestry's unraveling; he's come to take me back

He's come to take me back.

The lyrics of this song tell me that my life is a test, a trust and a temporary assignment. God test my faith , love, obedience, and character every day. One day He will come to take me back….and on that day He is going to ask me "Karen, what have you done with what I gave you?" I shiver in my boots when I think on how I will answer that question….some days I will be able to look Him in the eye and proudly tell Him what I have done….other days I am ashamed to say….I will answer Him with my head looking downward out of shame. I must remind myself daily that life is preparation for eternity. So if life is preparation….then how can I fulfill God's purposes and bring glory to God? I understand from bible studies and Sunday School, and church that if I fulfill God's purposes on earth I will share in the bounty of heaven one day. I have to remind myself daily that a life without meaning is wasted. I truly believe that I was made to bring pleasure to God in worship. From the first moment I stepped in a choir loft to sing God’s praises….whether it be a chancel choir….singing traditional music….or the Arbor singing contemporary songs….I am loving my God with every lyric, note, movement to the max. When I sing on Sunday’s….it is a case of total surrender to me….for a brief shining moment….I totally abandon myself into His arms….worship for me…..is a lifestyle. If I could only do one thing in my life…..it would be worship. When I go to church on Sunday….or Weds….or whatever day….it is my safety zone ….and a place where I can find God….when I can’t seem to find Him anywhere else. I am refreshed here….I am revived here….I am renewed here….I am alive! It is the place I can escape the trials of the world….hummm….I am missing something here….God is with me always….so I need to just relax…and trust God to be there…..You know….when I became a Christian….it happened in the blink of an eye…..but it has taken me the rest of my life to strive to be Christ-like….So….with that in mind….I am asking God to make me useable…an effective character…..that effectively serves….useable….that is what I want to be when I grow up. Happy Thursday to All!

Under the Arbor

Ten years ago, a rag tag group of musicians gathered in our churches new Arbor to discuss being part of a Praise and Worship....Contemporary Service. How fun it was....but most of us had never been part of anything like this and did not know exactly what would happen. I began playing acoustic guitar. I was not a singer in the beginning....although I do sing. They really didn't need any singers....but now...guitar players....that was another story. About 6 weeks into practices I became a singer....AND guitar player. I felt like I had arrived. Ten years ago....I found my niche. I found my calling in the church. I found my ministry. Ten years later I am still going strong. Members of the band and worship leaders have come, gone, some have come again....but every Sunday when we stand on that stage and kick off the service with music....I feel so very priviledged to be part of something so great! It does not get better than this. The picture I put in the blog...is one of the groups....like I said....people have come and gone.....the young girl in green.....Jennifer Scott...is an awesome musician....her husband Jason is a youth minister in Georgia....it was a little difficult for her to commute....The long haired young man, Richard Forehand....is now at college in Auburn and plays with another praise band. The man on the far left...Brian Bice is an awesome guitarist....he can make a guitar talk. Woman in blue t-shirt is one of the lead singers...Rhonda Kinman. She is from the Kinman family....what a set of pipes she has. She can make me weak at the knees with her voice. I feel honored to sing with her. Woman in red shirt - Rita Romine is our number one keyboardist....she plays like angels singing....me in black....I sing only now....man behind me....Steve Forehand...is our bassist, silver haired man - Robert Turner - plays trumpet....look out Doc Severinson....yellow shirted lady - Cindy Pinkston - plays flute....and adds so much to most of our songs with her lilting sounds. Guy in red shirt is David Sturdivent - "Sticks" we lovingly call him. He is our drummer. He helps keep us straight...especially when we try to run away with a song...he is the ONLY one who can slow us down. We now have Debbie Blackmon on keys....a second keyboardist....Blue Vardaman as a leader - second time around. All in all....it is such an honor to serve God in such a powerful way. I feel so alive when we are singing songs on stage....our congregation is awesome....they come as they are....share what they have or want to....and then go out into the community.....and do what they are called to do for God. Ten years....I hope I have ten more....to serve God....with music....and my heart! Happy Sunday!