Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Robbie's Recital (copied)

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013

Straight Talk....!!
By Chuck Cooper, Christian Writer 
rvchuck@msn.com
Robby's Recital
Anonymous Author

 HAVE YOUR KLEENEX HANDY!!!!!

This is a true story and it will give you the chills. This is a beautiful and touching story of love and perseverance. Well worth the read.

At the prodding of my friends I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Honor and I am a former elementary
school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa . I have always supplemented my income by teaching piano
lessons - something I have done for over 30 years.

During those years I found that children have many levels of musical ability, and even though I have never had the pleasure of having a prodigy, I have taught some very talented students. However, I have also had my share of what I call 'musically challenged' pupils - one such pupil being Robby.. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson.

I prefer that students (especially boys) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him as a student.

Well, Robby began his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary piano pieces that I require all my studentsto learn. Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him.

At the end of each weekly lesson hewould always say 'My mom's going to hear me play someday'. But to me, it seemed hopeless, he just did not have any inborn ability.

I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled, but never dropped in. Then one day Robby stopped coming for his lessons. I
thought about calling him, but assumed that because of his lack of ability he had decided to pursue something else. I was also glad that he had stopped coming - he was a bad advertisement for my teaching!

Several weeks later I mailed a flyer recital to the students' homes. To my surprise, Robby (who had received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and that because he had dropped out, he really did not qualify. He told me that his mother had been sick and unable to take him to his piano lessons, but that he had been practicing. 'Please Miss Honor, I've just got to play' he insisted.

I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital - perhaps it was his insistence or maybe something inside of me saying that it would be all right.

The night of the recital came and the high school gymnasium was packedwit h parents, relatives and friends. I put Robby last in the program, just before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he might do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through
my 'curtain closer'.

Well, the recital went off without a hitch, the students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on the stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked as though he had run an egg beater through it. 'Why wasn't he dressed up like the other students?' Ithought. 'Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?'

Robby pulled out the piano bench, and I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen to play Mozart's Concerto No. 21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo, from allegro to virtuoso; his suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by anyone his age.

After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo, and everyone was on their feet in wild applause! Overcome and in tears, I ran up onstage and put my arms around Robby in joy. 'I have never heard you play* *like that Robby, how did you do it?*

 Through the microphone Robby* *explained: 'Well, Miss Honor ....remember I told you that my mom was sick? Well, she actually had cancer and died this morning. And well ...... she was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she had ever
 heard me play, and I wanted to make it special.'

There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed in to foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy. I thought to myself then how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I have never had a prodigy, but that night I became a prodigy ...... of Robby.
 He was the teacher and I was the pupil, for he had taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself, and may be even taking a chance on someone and you didn't know why.

Robby was killed years later in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P. Murray Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April, 1995.

It's On You!

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013

Straight Talk....!!
By Chuck Cooper, Christian Writer 
rvchuck@msn.com

It’s Your Choice!
(author unknown)



As Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he gathered the children of Israel together at Shechem. And there, from the lips of a man who was close to death, came an appeal that throughout the centuries has moved the hearts of many. Joshua said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” [Josh. 24:15].

This challenge, viewed in the light of the New Testament, suggests three outstanding lessons in regard to our salvation.

1.    We must make a choice between God and the devil. To refuse Christ leaves us automatically on the devil’s side. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” [Matt. 12:30].

2.    Second, this choice is a personal matter. Joshua said, “Choose for yourselves . . . whom you will serve.” Through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be born again and made a child of God. But we must do the believing for ourselves.

3.    Third, there is an urgency in this charge. “Choose for yourselves this day!” Not next month.  Not a week from today, Not tomorrow, But this day.


My Comments #1:

     a. Accepting or rejecting Christ is by far the most important, life-determining decision you will make – EVER!

     b. It is a personal choice – NO ONE can make it for you. Not your Mom, your Dad, your sibling, your other family members….not your Pastor, your coach, your BFF.  This choice is on YOU.

     c. Jesus Christ is either who He claimed to be or He lied; I have decided to believe Jesus always tells the truth. 

     d. Your choice determines whether you spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell. (Yes, those are real places! Read Revelation 21 & 22 in your Bible.)

My Comments #2:

     a. If you are over age 21 you will recognize how much our country has declined morally. You also see how much our country has fallen away from God and our dependence upon him, both personally and as a nation. Those over 40 clearly understand that our country today is not the same as the one in which we grew up. What once was sin (as defined in the Bible) has now become the new norm.

     b. The falling away from God is one of the “end times” signs that Jesus   told us to watch for.  He also told us to watch for signs in the “heavens.”; to see a dramatic increase in the persecution of those who believe and follow Him (observe how Christians around the world are now being tortured and killed for their beliefs; and others.)

     c. Much interest has developed about “heavenly occurrences” particularly the eclipses of the sun and moon – which many believe portend the imminent return of Christ to gather his true believers.

    d. The “Four Blood Moons” during 2014-15 happen for the first time  EVER occur on important Jewish feast days and in the important years of Shemitah and Jubilee. Many believe than an extremely significant event affecting Israel will occur between now and Sept. 28, perhaps the return of Christ or the end of the world as we know it.

The truth remains the truth whether you believe it or not

So, isn’t it prudent that ALL, including you, be prepared spiritually for his return?
Hesitate and you just might be too late!

Blessings