From My Harp

By Kipper Edens Ackerman

Kipper's stories of peace and healing will touch your heart in ways you cannot imagine. Her stories will quickly move you to tears, while at other times, they will make you cry out in laughter. It is believed that harps are used in heaven by the angels, but here on earth, Kipper shows us how the Lord uses sinners to share a special peace that can only be delivered through the strings of this angelic instrument. The stories in this book are testimonies of such peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512767667

Kipper Edens Ackerman

Kipper Edens Ackerman, a graduate of Presbyterian College, has always enjoyed an audience. After teaching an audience of middle and high school chorus students for thirteen years, she has taken on a new role in her home town of Sumter, South Carolina. But, this time her audience is different. She has now made a career as a professional harpist, storyteller, and inspirational speaker traveling all over the state while sharing the message of “peace and healing through music”. She is the founder and director of The Sounds of Grace, a 501(c)3, non-profit organization, whose mission is to bring peace and healing by providing music to patients in healthcare and hospice facilities and in classrooms for children with special needs. But, her first and most important job is being a wife to her husband, Curt, and mother to her three children, Eliza, Laura Ruth, and Sam.

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Copyright © 2017 Kipper Edens Ackerman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,

1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-6765-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-6766-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016920644

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/06/2017

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In loving memory of

my Dandi.

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Henry Curtis Edens, Jr. (Curt)

May 4, 1924 - November 6, 2013

To my husband who loves me as Christ loves the church.

To my children who love me anyways.

To my parents who have demonstrated unconditional love.

To my family and friends who continue to listen to my grace stories over and over again.

The face of Jesus never looked so beautiful.

Contents

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Foreword

In the beginning when things were being made new…

Jesus Loves Me

The Volunteer

Ave Maria

Once in a Lullaby

I Hear You, Lord…

Just Show Up

Surely, the Presence of the Lord is in this Place

Room 353

On the Road Again….

A Pocket Full of Crosses

He Smiled at Me

O’er the Mountain Side

Welcome to Holland

For All the Saints…

My Cheerleader, My Support, My Friend

Bob and the Harp Babe

A Tale of Two Redheads

What Can I Give Him?

The View Through My Harp Strings

Just Smile…

When Irish Eyes are Smiling

My Harp Will Go On

Super Man

The Whatevers…

An Empty Bucket

Camp Magic (An Empty Bucket cont.)

The Top of the Puzzle Box

Foreword

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I once read a blog titled, Jesus’ Donkey, by Pastor Al Hughes and he commented:

Corrie ten Boom, holocaust survivor, was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble. She replied, When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of the donkey that any of that was for him? She continued, If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides…I give Him the praise and all the honor.

After years of sharing her story with the world, I am sure that the amount of applause received had to become overwhelming for such a humble individual. However, ten Boom managed to maintain a sense of humility and always remained aware that she was the vessel through which God did His work. She was the donkey!

For performers, life can easily become a stage. There are months and months of preparation, rehearsals, and sacrifice that goes into a single performance. Man is geared to demand an applause for such work. But, what is the message that we are seeking to deliver to our audience? For years, I searched for that applause and desired the glorification of my own works. In fact, I can even remember sharing with my Sunday school class that we all desired a pat on the back and how frustrated I would become if it was not received. Unfortunately, it took traveling through a dark and broken time in my own life, to realize that the applause was never mine to keep. I was using the applause to glorify myself and my own ability and strengths instead of returning the applause to glorify the One who gifted me with special talents that had entertained so many.

I am living proof that God uses broken vessels. The stories you are about to read are a testimony that what man intended for evil, God meant for good. For you see, the opportunity for me to play for these patients only came after God began to pick up the pieces of my own broken vessel. A vessel that Satan tried to destroy with greed and selfishness. However, the same God who has overcome the world, rescued me from destruction and has begun a new work within me. This redemption road has not been easy, but I know that I do not travel alone and my Savior has a plan for me that is already bringing a tremendous amount of applause. But, this time, the applause is His and I am just the donkey.

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In the beginning when things were being made new…

He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

Revelation 21:5

Jesus Loves Me

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I can remember my first day with my harp at the hospital as if only moments have passed. I felt confirmation that this was the Lord’s will because of the amount of fear that was gripping my throat. Satan has a way of doing that to me when I am moving in the will of God. After arriving at the Chaplaincy, I found myself surrounded by a room of believers who truly were excited about having me and my harp in their office. No one knew what was to come of this journey, but they knew who they served and were expecting miracles. I was sent out onto the floors with Steve, a volunteer chaplain. We decided to visit the oncology unit first. I can still feel the knots that quickly developed in the pit of my stomach. I was most concerned with the reaction of the nurses. Would I be in their way? Could I possibly upset a patient? What if I disrupted their routine? Would they even allow me to play for a patient? We spend so much time worrying about things that the Lord has already handled. The first nurse we approached was the mother of a former chorus student of mine and her face seemed like that of an angel. She knew exactly which patient to send us to see. The doctor had just left Ms. Peggy’s room and we were informed that she only had a couple of weeks to live. The nurse knew that I would be able to lift her spirits. Really?

What did she think I could do on my harp? Dying? In just a couple weeks? The fear began to take a hold of me once again. But, within seconds, I was pushing my harp into Ms. Peggy’s room and the Lord’s work was about to begin.

I was not prepared for what I experienced when I entered her room. I truly thought I would be in the presence of someone who was scared, afraid of dying; someone who would be terrified of the unknown. And, just maybe, someone who wanted to be left alone. But, what I experienced was far from my expectations. I was face to face with a beautiful lady who knew where she was going. With her facial expressions, she was able to minister to me more than I could ever minister to her with my music. On that day, death took on new meaning to me. Ms. Peggy knew who she was going to meet and the anticipation in her voice was overflowing with joy.

She was so excited to see a harp being wheeled into her room and at first, she wasn’t sure of what to say. So, I asked her if she would like to hear a few old hymns. A precious smile came to her face and I very quickly began to play It Is Well. At first, I was concerned that this might not have been a great choice, because in my mind all was not well. But, the Lord knew what He was doing and I was to be His vessel.

I played several more selections for Ms. Peggy and once I was finished she asked me the strangest of questions. What’s your favorite color? I was surprised by her request, but being the