Personal Log 7.24.22

July has always been a very busy month for me (as well as August) w/ family events like reunions, anniversaries, you know, all that fun stuff that makes up “life” so I don't really blog that much in these months but I thought I'd put one out for today.

A couple of weeks ago was my parents 64th wedding anniversary; that's a long time to be married, a few months ago my mom was sitting in the rocking chair I gave her several years ago, just staring ahead & saying, “64 years… 64 years...” It was kinda funny.

For their anniversary I made them an anniversary bench. I saw it on a Youtube video, the title was something like “make this bench in 15 minutes” & it looked incredibly easy, so I thought I'd give a try as I had just about 15 minutes of free time. From start to finish it was almost exactly… 4 hours. I had to mark the inside perimeter (top & bottom) w/ some carpenter squares, measuring 5 – 6 (more like 56) times to make sure everything was right, using wood clamps to keep everything symmetrical & then used Minwax Ebony wood stain to finish it off. I usually go with some kind of cherry wood stain but right now ebony is my favorite as it's rather masculine but lets the grain shine through. I just have to put some water seal on it & it's good to go. My folks like it & that's all that matters. I don't mind buying gifts for people but it means much more when I've made something w/ my own two hands.

My mom has been doing pretty good the last couple of weeks but I came in one night after practice & she was doubled over in pain. I've never seen her face like that, she was crying & I prayed for her. Within a few minutes of me almost calling an ambulance, the pain began to subside & soon left. I'm sure it was an attack of the enemy but it was still scary. Sometimes I hate leaving my folks alone.

My hot pepper plants didn't take this year, it's been too hot & dry, nothing came up & yes, I'm a bit disappointed but there's always next year. I'm learning to roll w/ the punches…

I've been studying about Elijah, Elisha & Jesus, when they supernaturally multiplied food & I thought, “that should work for gasoline too”. When I mow the widow neighbor's yard I use a power mower & it usually takes a full tank of gas, so this time before I mowed I filled it up & prayed, commanding it to multiply & not run out. So I mowed her entire yard & when I finished I opened the cap to the tank & you know what? It was full, it hadn't moved one bit. You could say my faith level  went up a few hundred degrees after that. 

I often wonder why sometimes our prayers are successful & sometimes they're not…. I think it has to do w/ doubt & unbelief, perhaps I'll blog on that sometime.

So my nephew & his wife were here from Germany for a couple of weeks or so. They lead worship at Hosanna Heidelberg & her sister in Canada was getting married, so it was a great time for them to visit family stateside. He & my brother were heading to Guitar Center in South Bend on Wednesday & I asked him to take my mandolin in to get it properly setup up. He happily agreed & came back later that evening w/ it in the same condition as when he picked it up. As it turns out, the mandolin tech guy has Wednesdays off. 

I have days like this… 

So I decided I would attempt to set it up myself. After watching several videos on how to properly setup a mandolin, I braved the waters. 

As the bridge is free floating (meaning the only thing holding it to the mandolin is the tension of the strings) I had to be very careful & very patient. This entails loosening the strings a bit & making micro-adjustments either toward or away from the neck, depending on the harmonics at the 12th fret when the strings are tuned again. 

Several hours later… I think I've gotten somewhat close (well, it's playable). My poor strings though, all that loosening & tightening. I may tinker w/ it some more but it does sound better & one day, if someone is heading to Guitar Center in South Bend on a day not called Wednesday, I'll give them my mandolin & have it properly done.

As I was doing this setup, I kept thinking about how similar this is to how the Holy Spirit sometimes works in our lives; we have to loosen up a little & let Him make some micro-adjustments in some areas…

Anyway, that's my blog for the month of July: I was encouraged, I was scared & I'm being micro-adjusted.