There is Hope

What a wonderful hope we have to share with people!! I love this song and the truth of its message.

A Must Read

Earlier this month my dad was given a book by a visiting preacher, "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven" by Mark Cahill.  My dad is not a big reader but he was raving about this book so I thought, well, I'll give it a try.  I've also heard many other people at church say what a good book it is! 

Last night I finished another book I have been reading (A Woman's Walk With God) so I decided to take up this new book. I am SO glad I did! I cannot recommend this book enough.  It's not a difficult read (I finished in less than a day) but it's packed with Biblical truths concerning witnessing. 

By now you might have guessed what the one thing is you can't do in heaven.  Yes....you can't witness to the lost! This book will fire you up to do what most of us neglect to do on a daily basis.  The author discusses the many excuses Christians use for not witnessing and blows them all out of the water. But then, he doesn't leave you there! He equips you with some tools and strategies for sharing your faith with those you encounter daily. 

As with any book, remember that it's not God's Word, although he does use plenty of scripture. It is meant to encourage and exhort us to do as God's Word says.  I think it would be beneficial for every believer to read this book! Don't just read it.  Put it into action as you come to recognize God's truths!

Song Writing

For some time now I've been interested in writing music, primarily church music.  Up until now I've felt completely inadequate to do so (actually....I still do) but now I have a little music theory under my belt to help me get under way! So excited! Being only halfway done with my second quarter of Music Theory I know there is still SOO much to learn! But what I have learned so far should give me some direction in writing simple music.

A few years ago I purchased Finale! Songwriter for $50. I wasn't a huge fan of spending the money on it but I knew it would come in handy and that it was a more professional program (although not nearly as extensive as the version at school. Whew! Talk about confusing!).  Let me just say, Finale has a learning curve! There are still so many things I need to figure out. But the finished product does look very professional!

 Last month a friend told me about Noteflight. Ah-HA! Free....online....just sign up! Perfect! I haven't had a chance to explore it extensively but it appears to be a great program! I am sure there are so many things I have yet to learn about it.

I think my favorite of all the three programs is Musescore.  I just started using this program tonight and so far I love it!! It's pretty simple to use and that really appeals to me.  Spending less time having to figure out a program gives me more time to actually write the music!


For other musicians out there, have you tried these? What program do you like to use?

Day by Day.....Moment by Moment

Today was not a normal day.....not by any stretch of the imagination.  I won't go into a lot of details, but I can honestly say looking back, God had a reason for EVERY single trial in my life today.  And the great thing was, I could see the fruit of it right away. (Wonder if that means I passed. :-)  It's by God's grace that I was able to overcome some of these trials and temptations. I really do wonder how people do without Him! How they survive. As I was driving the long drive home from school this evening I couldn't help but sing to my constant Companion of the day. This song was on my heart and I don't know of a better song to apply to today than this!

Day by Day

by Carolina S. Berg

Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,

I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what He deems best--

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,

He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, 

Till I reach the promised land.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith's sweet consolation

Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E'er to take, as from a father's hand,

One by one, the days the moments fleeting, 

Till I reach the promised land.

SAD?

Singles Awareness Day.....throughout the course of today (Valentine's Day) I've seen this mentioned numerous times, whose acronym is SAD.  (?!?!?)  I know most of the time this is said in jest as we single folk reflect on yet another Valentine's Day with no valentine.  :-)  But is it really SO sad? As I look back to my mid-teens I remember thinking often that I would love to be married right out of high school. Why not?! But now that I'm a little older (wiser?) I can see the importance of my single years.  I can honestly say that God has done things in my life and used me in ways that He could not have if I had been married right away.  Now don't get me wrong, those who ARE married so young, you are truly blessed. :-)  But as I continue to dwell on my "singleness" I get excited at the prospect of what else God has in store.  How else is He going to use me during my availability as a single woman?

We, as the finite beings we are, are not able to see the next step God has for us in our lives.  Often we try to guess and even plan according to those guesses. But, as I've discovered, so many times God has something different planned!

So, to my single friends. Rejoice! God can use you in ways right now that He may never be able to do in the future! Cherish those moments and before we know it, God will plop that "valentine" right in front of us. :-) I, for one, know it will be worth the wait!


Happy Valentine's Day!  My gift to my family.....:-)

LBF

Every month I look forward to the Ladies Bible Fellowship at church. It's a wonderful time spent encouraging each other with fellowship and God's word.  Oh, and of course, there's always delicious food. :-) 

I guess you could say, I go for the food.  But not the snacks, coffee, veggies, etc. The best part about the meeting is the spiritual food we gain from God's Word.  Every time I leave with a heart full and encouraged by what God gave the speaker.  Tonight Mrs. S continued speaking to us about a Life Well Lived.  The focus was on the church and the importance of it. What a huge blessing it is to me to have a church that I can call home.  A church that I can not only be fed the meat of the Word, but a place that I can go to have Christian fellowship with other believers.

God's Word says in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."  How can we be that source of encouragement and exhortation to one another in the faith if we are not faithful to God's house? And a thought that challenged me was this: How are we "provoking" one another? Is it to love and good works? That's my prayer.

Another blessing of the church is the opportunity we as women have to serve. God gives us SO many examples in the Bible of women who served faithfully in the ministry.  In Romans 16 Paul speaks of Phebe, a woman dedicated to serving the Lord in her church at Cenchrea.

Lastly, a blessing of the Ladies Bible Fellowship is the Secret Prayer Sister ministry, which I believe I've mentioned before.  It is sooo encouraging to know that I have a dedicated sister praying for me daily.  And on the other side of the coin, I enjoy so much lifting another sister to my Father who cares so much about our daily struggles and heartaches. And, of course, it's always fun to shower her with blessings anonymously throughout the month. :-)

For this, and many other reasons, I feel very blessed today.  It's amazing how the Lord gives you exactly what you need WHEN you need it. How have you been blessed so far this week?

Miniature Roses from my Secret Prayer Sister. :-)

Music Room

I mentioned in my last post about my dream music room.  No...I still haven't found it.  But I did find some pictures of neat music rooms.  What does your dream room look like?

Repurposing Beauty

I love my sheet music. I love the way it looks, especially old vintage sheet music. One of my favorite places to find old sheet music is the thrift store because it's super cheap. Now, as much as I love to play music, I wouldn't necessarily use everything I find.  Inspired by some of my "blog friends" and some of my "real life friends", I began to research different uses for this beautiful sheet music, specifically in decorating.

I wouldn't say that my room has a theme right now.  It's a hodgepodge of several bookshelves, a beautiful painted fan from Thailand, some picture frames, and a desk purposed for school.  None of these things really comes together at this moment, but I have often thought that I would LOVE to have a room (not necessarily my bedroom) that is a library/music room. For several years I have thought about what my dream music room would look like.  Just last week I saw it on a magazine! Exactly how I have pictured it.  But after searching the internet I cannot find a picture remotely close to what my mind sees.

Anyway, I say all that to say that I've thought about different ways to decorate with sheet music and I've come across these neat ideas. 

Found these beautiful ideas from Tip Junkie.

I really like this idea of a paper wreath from Mitzismiscellany.  I would do a different center and it would also be beautiful with sheet music!

I love this idea for the Christmas tree! Found at Thrifty Decorating.  I'll certainly be trying this come Christmas time. :-)

These candles are also on my "to do" list!! Found at Confessions of a Plate Addict, they look super easy to make and they are beautiful!

Have you ever thought about repurposing something like this?

A Beauty To Behold

This afternoon was spent with friends at Deception Pass with Whidbey Coffee in hand. That's the way to go! Although...it makes climbing on rocks rather difficult when you only have one hand free. I only nearly fell to my death once....Not too bad. ;-)

It was absolutely spectacular!  Words cannot even express the beauty. I praise God for allowing me to behold His wondrous creation this afternoon.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Worship In Song!

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Once I began to reach the point with my piano abilities that I could produce beautiful (tolerable?) music I would be immediately drawn to the piano as a sort of comfort in times of trial.  The music blessed my soul and gave me a certain peace.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for the gift of music.  God created music to give us a way that we could worship Him! I know He delights in listening to His children sing praise to Him.

To study classical music at school gives me much pleasure and is certainly challenging.  However, at the end of the day, I will choose a hymn in worship to my Saviour over any Chopin or Bach piece.  Earlier today I did my normal routine of going down to the church for a few hours to practice piano and voice.  My heart and mind has been very full and heavy these past few weeks and as I sat down to warm up my voice I pulled the hymnal down from the top of the piano and began to lift my voice in praise. It then ceased to be a warmup and turned into my own private time of worship with my Lord. Practice time turned into praise time and Beethoven was left behind. As I left to walk back to my house my heart was overflowing with joy.  No longer was it heavy and feeling like it dragged as I walked. In fact, I felt like skipping home! :-) God is so good like that.

So I encourage you to take a look at your hymnal a little closer. If you don't own one....get one!  Who says worship in song should be restricted to Sundays and Wednesdays?!? :-) I think you'll find that with a song in your heart and a tune on your lips you'll have a lighter heart and you'll bless those around you.

Psalm 7:17- I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.

 Psalm 150:6-  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD