A good morning

I watched the world wake up this morning. There is something breathtaking about mornings - the stillness, the quiet, the raw beauty, the freshness of a new day.

I think I need to start partaking of mornings more. Not the rushed glance out the window as I maneuver through traffic trying to get to work. But the quiet stillness of watching the world wake up. Somehow I feel closest to Him in the mornings - before the distractions of the day set in.

I found a gem of a Psalm this morning - Ps. 145 (NASB). Here are some of my favorites:

"The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down" v. 14

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds." v. 17

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." v. 18

"He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them." v. 19

"The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy." v. 20

"My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever." v. 21

My heart sings with creation this morning.

Flowers and Butterflies

I've worked 25 hours this week and will work 5 more tomorrow. Wohoo! Paycheck is coming!

I made buscuits and gravy the other morning, and I think I put too much flour in them. Lol. Live and learn. Andrew ate almost all of them. Love his little heart.

I made goulash for supper last night. I'm feeling like quite the little homemaker. ;)

Ok. Has anyone noticed the abundance of wild flowers in the tall grass along the roads? I certainly have. It reminds me of Ireland. I thought the grass and wildflowers were so pretty there, and lo and behold, I come back home and the wildflowers seem to pop up out of nowhere. I just had to stop and pick some; I even went out of my way. It made me very happy! I heard of a girl who used wildflowers in her wedding and I think I might just do that too!

Our family went to WV for a wedding and we stayed with our extended family. We have entirely too much fun together which is evidenced in these crazy pictures!

Ah...I love them! :)

Well...another day of work tomorrow. We're celebrating my coworker's 30th bday tomorrow which means O'Charley's for lunch! And then I think I'll go to LBA's kindergarten graduation. Each kindergarter will let a butterfly fly free in honor of one of their teachers, Mrs. Brown, who passed away two weeks ago. I'm sure I'll cry.

I miss all of my buddies. Let me know if you want to grab a coffee somewhere or walk in the park. :)

P.S. Tomorrow is Friday!

Late Night Thoughts

It's getting late, but wanted to share some thoughts.

A couple nights ago, I was listening to Alistair Begg on the radio on my way home. He was preaching about parenting and gave an acronym about teaching our kids to be respectful. I thought it was good:

R - Reverance to God and His truth
E - Enthusiastic about duties
S - Sympathetic to needs of others
P - Prompt in all aspects of life
E - Economical
C - Courageous for standing for what is right
T - Truthful in all aspects of life

This is definitely a place to start!

Today, I went to a funeral for one of the Kindergarten teachers at LBA who went to be with Jesus on Saturday. She had been battling with cancer for 8 years. She had over 100 chemo treatments, three surgeries...and I guess the last treatments were too much for her, or perhaps Jesus wanted to heal her completely. I know now she is in a place of perfect peace with the Giver of Peace. No more pain. No more cancer. No more disappointments. No more setbacks. She is now with Jesus. I tell you, heaven gets sweeter with each passing day.

The pastor asked us four questions in his message.
1) What am I here for?
2) Whom am I here for?
3) Have I done enough?
4) Will it last?

Oh and he added a last one:
5) What am I doing in my life right now that is preventing my answering the first four questions?

Good questions - I know I need some quiet time to mull over these questions. To think about things of eternal value, heavenly things. To make sure what I'm doing will last. And perhaps you'll do some reflecting yourself.

Blessings!

I actually have some time to post...

I'm sitting at home. It feels weird. Seems like I should be doing something other than being at home. I counted up last night that I haven't been home during the evening for over three weeks straight. I don't even want to list out everything that's been going on. I'm just glad that life should be slowing down soon.

I've been spending a lot of time at Eden Park recently. I wish it wasn't 30 miles from my house. Even though I usually just sit in my car at the overlook, it's become my little haven. I'm going to miss it this summer.

I've been spending WAY too much time on FB. I think I'm going to make a clean break - or just get on weekly. It's a bit annoying. I want real relationships: parties, barbecues, coffee shops, walks in the park, conversation, face-to-face, etc.

Life is truly bittersweet. I'll be attending a funeral on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. I'm realizing more and more how beautiful heaven is/will be.

I have so many things that I want to accomplish this summer. In two shorts years, life as I know it will drastically change. I need to get a lot of things in order before that happens.

This cloudy weather is making me especially melancholy. Or perhaps it's the fact that I've been chronically running short of sleep. Or because my room is a mess.

I think I need to pray and then tune up some Adventures and Odyssey and start tackling the room.

Soon...

With each passing day, the stress is subsiding and the excitement is rising. Soon, my academic responsibilities will be done for this semester, and the fun will start! I'm really looking forward to seeing my Grand Camanian friend and my Mexican amigo! It was so good to talk with both of them today!

Persevere for 2 more days!!!

Just one of those days!

I have a love/hate relationship with my flute; well, with my ability to play the flute. Today was definitely not a love day. Does this ever happen to you when you are speaking? You stutter, forget words, your voice squeaks, and you cough and sputter about? Well that summed up my flute playing in choir rehearsal today. It was absolutely horrendous. I wanted to throw my flute off the guy's dorm *ahem* I mean kindly turn it in to the music office and go play "Chopsticks" on the piano.

But alas, I did not do any of the three. May the 4th looms in my mind and scares me spitless, so I have resorted to the discipline of any good musician (except for those crazy natural types): PRACTICE!

I really hope tomorrow will be a love day with me and the flute. But if by any chance you hear "Chopsticks" coming from the music studio, please go pick up the flute that is laying in a thousand pieces outside before Mr. Wolf sees it, and tells God I died.

Thank you.

Moment by moment...

Have you ever wiped your brow saying, "Whew, I made it through this week," then look at the calendar and cry, "No, not another one!" And the one after that doesn't look any less busy.

My sentiments equal that of dear Bob Wiley:

"Baby steps...Baby steps down the hallway...Baby steps into the elevator...Aaaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhhhhh!!!!

Looking forward to Summer!

I've been at IHC Wednesday night and most of the day Thursday and here I am watching the archived videos of stuff that I missed. Tonight's service was such a special time of seeking God - doing eternal business. I'm so thankful to be serving the one true God who hears every heart that calls upon Him. I feel encouraged in my soul, even though it's been an exhausting couple of days. VIP Day is tomorrow - always an interesting day!

I can hardly comprehend this thought, but I have a week and a day of classes left!!! And yes I'm ready for summer! Speaking of summer, I have several exciting things that I will be involved with: VBS, Camp Hope, and Band Camp in Mexico! :) Another thing I am excited about is reading for fun - not that the books I read during the school aren't fun - well, you know what I mean! Here are a few of books on my "to read" list (not in any particular order):

- Robinson Crusoe by Defoe

- New Horizons by Leppard

- Helping our Children Grow in Faith by Keely

- Fresh-Brewed Life by Johnson

- Life is Mostly Edges by Miller

- Lovedecisions by Harvey

- Something by Jane Austen

- And something by Dickens - it's tradition!

Can you all suggest a good book you've read recently, or not so recently? :)

P.S. If I ever have kids, I hope they can sing harmony when they are like 6 years old like this sweet little kid at Convention. ;)

SPRING BREAK

Tomorrow is my last day of Spring Break (*sob*). I have definitely taken a break these last few days. As I look back now, I think that I could have gotten A LOT accomplished, but alas, no use crying over spilt milk or lost time.

Band Tour was wonderful as usual. As Mr. Wolf reminds us, band is a picture of life. There are so many little lessons to learn. I still am mulling over many things in my mind from band tour - things that I can learn to help me grow and mature and become more like Christ.

I'm excited about what God is doing in my life...as the kids song goes: "He's still workin' on me...to make me what I ought to be..."

Father, may I always submit to your guidance and course corrections. Help me to never become complacent in my walk with You. Grow me. Increase my passion for You and for Your kingdom work. I place myself into Your hands.

Pictures!

Well, well. Where has the time gone? These weeks have been very busy and full with classes, school work, practicing, my job, and other responsibilities. And the weeks ahead seem equally full with choir tour and a short excursion to NC for a wedding. Even with the busyness of my life, I'm happy in Jesus, thankful for my family and friends, and excited about the future. The following are some pictures from the past few months.

New Year's Weekend

Spent the weekend with family and friends in Kansas. We had a delightful bonfire and fireworks on New Year's Eve. Enjoyed playing the Wii! I love being with my family!

While in Kansas we were able to meet up with the Pecks, dear friends of ours who went to our church in Oklahoma. The second picture is Roger and his wife Elissa, and the third picture is Andrew and I with Janette. She and her husband Imir are missionaries in Kosovo. It was wonderful catching up with old friends!

Valentine's Fundraiser Gala Dinner

Dana Honerlaw, Lisa Robison, Angie Burton, and I helped plan a fundraiser dinner for our alma mater Liberty Bible Academy. I was able to play some background music on the piano and flute, which was really fun! We worked hard, but had a great time together, and made some money for our school!

This year my little brother turned 16. *sniff* He's growing up!

SWSE

Last Sunday we had a band Sunday. For me, the Spring semester is marked by these special times ministering with all my friends!

Snow

We've had so much snow this year! I love it and the snow days! ;)

Angela's Birthday

This past Wednesday, we celebrated little Angela's birthday. She's our little miracle baby. :)

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!