Spring '12 Recital

Here are the results of my work this quarter at school. God's been so good to me in so many ways and I've enjoyed learning all these new things!

Communing with God

I've just embarked on a challenge to read through God's Word in 90-days and thus far it's been so rewarding! To dive into the very wisdom of God will always be rewarding.

This week, one of the books I'm reading is Genesis (obviously, since I just started!). It still amazes me how the Almighty Creator would desire to have a relationship with a creature who consistently fails and falters. One of my favorite people to read about is Abraham, a man chosen by the Lord to bring up a great nation through his seed. Along Abraham's journey we can see times that he had a serious lack of faith. It's easy for me to sit here and think, "Abraham....haven't you been through this before? Why haven't you learned to just trust God?" But how many times have I done exactly that? I can say that God's Word is truly a mirror!

We come to Chapter 18 where Abraham is interceding on behalf of Lot and the city which he dwelt, Sodom. When God revealed to Abraham that he would be destroying Sodom, vs. 23 says, "And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" He didn't retreat and fret about how he could possibly save Lot himself. He drew closer to his Saviour. After Abraham's prayer and God's reply, vs. 33 says, "And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place."

Wow.....God communed with Abraham. According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, to commune means "To converse; to talk together familiarly; to impart sentiments mutually, in private or familiar discourse". To have that kind of familiarity with the Lord, where HE communes with US, is truly an amazing thing. Is HE your best friend? Is HE the first one you talk to as soon as a worry or a fear enters your mind? Is HE the one with whom you share all your joys and sorrows? I was certainly challenged by this as I considered my walk with the Lord.

Are you communing with God?

The End.....Almost!

The quarter is coming to an end. That means that the school year is coming to an end! *insert huge smile here* It's neat to look back throughout the year and see what I've learned! I praise God for allowing me to go to school and get an education in something that I love dearly, in something that can be used to glorify Him. I hope He'll continue to show me ways I can do just that.

Next week: Recital, Choir Concert, preparing for finals and.....
The next week: FINALS!

Piano lab at school.

Sage wisdom from Dove.... :-)

Many a cup of Starbucks have accompanied me to school this quarter. :-)

I'll be so happy when I can settle back into my "free from school" routine: House work, church print shop, baking, etc. AND when I can actually think about all my summer plans and let myself get excited about them. :-) I'm looking forward to all the different events and how the Lord might use them in my life to grow me closer to Him.

What do YOU have planned for the summer?

It's Tuesday!

What's so special about Tuesday? Well, not much.  This morning as I was evaluating the day at hand, I realized that I love Tuesdays! For several reasons: It's not Monday.  It's a short(er) day at school. I haven't been going to school all week so I'm not as exhausted.  I get to teach piano.

School tends to take up a good portion of my time and makes me quite weary even just thinking about it. It's so easy for me to fall into the trap of complaining and displaying a lack of joy. That shouldn't be! I have SO much to be joyful about. The greatest thing that I can rejoice about is my salvation.  Even if I had nothing else to be joyful about (which I DO), my salvation would be enough to cause me to rejoice every waking moment.

Psalm 27:6- And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.


Today, Tuesday, is the 15th so before I ran to class this morning I sat in my car and read Proverbs 15 aloud to my friend. What a blessing!  Over and over again I read about joy in the believer's life and my heart was affected as I realized that I have not been displaying joy on purpose like I should be!

4a- A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:


13- A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.


15- All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.


23- A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!


My day hasn't been without frustrations and disappointments, but purposing to have joy has made all the difference. How can I hand someone a tract and expect them to read it if I am so consumed with my own valleys and trials? How else will they see the joy of the Lord unless they see it from ME?!

The Weekend

I'm just now getting around to writing about last weekend due to a pretty crazy week, but it was so great that I couldn't just leave it unsaid!

First, let's start with Saturday.  It was mostly sunny and just plain beautiful. I love how the Lord has been blessing us with beautiful weekends. The morning started off with outreach and I had the privilege of partnering up with one of the teen girls. I love our teens so much and I am excited to get to know them even better as we prepare to go to Mexico together at the end of the summer.

In the afternoon I played wallyball with some friends. It's been so long! First, a little background. Bro. Benjamin Hall is here from Lehigh Valley Baptist Church to do some training in our church for the month of May.  We got a group together and headed off to the gym to play a game (or four) of wallyball and I hope we haven't scared him off! :-) But it was great fun. Wouldn't you know, at the start I was the only one who knew how to play but by the end I was the only one who hadn't won a game!! Haha.....I think round two is on the way so that can change. :-)

Sunday morning arrived, and with it, the ordination of a new pastor.  BBC Oak Harbor now has the privilege of calling two men "Pastor".  The Lord has blessed us tremendously with wise leaders who take their responsibility before God seriously.  Men who consult the Word above any of man's opinions and are not afraid to stand strong for its doctrines and teachings.  I hope we'll never take it for granted!  Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was SUCH a joyous time for the entire church. One of those sink-into-the-chair-with-a-huge-smile-on-your-face moments. :-D  After the afternoon service we headed to Rebecca's recital.  Video coming soon......

(Pictures by Linnea Rawls)

New Things

Life would be boring if it always stayed the same, if we were never challenged with changes or introduced to new things, no matter how little.

I'll start small and work into things....

I've discovered this new tea that's just amazing!  It sounds like a weird combination......Peach and Ginger.....but it's a delicious mix of fruit and spice.  I have to admit that I've been a little overloaded on the coffee as of late so in my efforts to diminish that intake I've turned to drinking tea (other than morning.....coffee is still nice then!).   Are there any teas that YOU could recommend??

ADJUDICATIONS!  This was a VERY growing experience for me as a teacher.  I've never participated in Adjudications as a student, let alone as a teacher putting in my students.  Everyone worked SO hard to prepare their pieces and it really paid off! I was encouraged by their efforts and their SUCCESS!

For those who are unfamiliar with Adjudications, let me explain.  I am part of the Washington State Music Teacher Association (which is under the MTNA) and I have the opportunity to put my students into adjudications. Each of the students prepare two pieces from memory to play for the Adjudicator (a professional pianist and teacher). The adjudicator evaluates the good points and the points that need some help. She encourages the students and kindly shows them ways they could improve their pieces.  Because I'm a student teacher, my teacher came to listen as well.  At the end, I played and was evaluated the same way.  Then I was able to have a conference with the Adjudicator to get input based on what she heard from my students. In all it was a lot of work but WORTH it in so many ways.














And last but NOT least......




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Someone kindly donated a beautiful grand piano to our church!!  I have been praying for this for some time (along with many others in our church). I don't know why I was so surprised when God gave it so us so simply!  Worshiping the Lord today with the rich sound of that piano was just incredible. God is SO good!

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.

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. :-)

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

What A Year!

2011 has truly been a year to remember.  In all honestly, I feel like I was just sitting here recapping 2010!  This year has flown by, but has not been without event.  I have to say that it has been one of the most growing years for me spiritually.  God has grown me through the valleys as well as on top of the many mountains of 2011.  Looking back, I had no idea that this year would hold so much for me.  We never do predict these things well. :-) 

~Major Events of 2011~

**Started school at Skagit Valley College.  Big change for me after taking several years off after highschool.  I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge musically and academically. 

**Began new ministries, primarily that of working in our church print shop.  I absolutely LOVE this ministry! 

**Embarked on my first missions trip.  Staying in Thailand for three months was an experience I'll never forget.  I learned so much in that little amount of time. God opened my eyes to so many needs!  It didn't take long after being there for me to fall in love with the people and the culture.

**Saw a dear friend married and another close friend join the military.  Miss you guys!!! :-)  Meanwhile, God has provided given me new friends throughout the year and I'm so grateful for them. God is so good to me.

This really just scratches the surface.  Knowing what I do now about this past year makes me so curious about 2012.  What changes will ensue?  I know that whatever happens, God's plan is perfect. 

May your 2012 be filled with God's blessings!

Blessings ~ Friends

Can I just say that God is so good to me?! As I said in my last post, I've been a little lean with my blogging.  Part of it is just not feeling inspired to write.  But the truth is, I've been blessed with SO much!  I really do have a lot to write about. 

God has really blessed me in the area of friends.  Lately I've had several friends leave for various reasons (moving away, military, etc.) yet I still find myself surrounded by a group of Godly people with the same desire to serve Him.  There is nothing like a friendship that is grounded in God's Word and service to Him.  I feel abundantly blessed in this area with those who are close and those who are thousands of miles away. 

It's very easy to get our eyes focused on what we have lost or what we don't have.  Why not open our eyes to what's right in front of us?!  How has God blessed you today?

A Day of Thanks

Today is one of my favorite days out of the year.  Not because school is on break.  Not because we can stuff ourselves in addition to the turkey and eat shameful amounts of pie. I L.O.V.E. this day because it is a time that is dedicated to giving thanks to our God.  And what an amazing God He is!  Granted, giving thanks is to be done daily.  But I love having it as a main focus. 

Now, can I just tell you that I serve a God who deserves more thanks than we give Him?!  How many of us sit down on a regular basis and give thanks to God for creating us. For even giving us existance.  And how often do we thank Him for giving us spiritual existance?  The opportunity to have a relationship with Him.  When I think of all that God is and what He does, it still baffles my mind that He would want to have a relationship with me.  I am soo grateful for it.

Because we don't have extended family living anywhere close by, we chose to spend Thanksgiving with our church family.  The house was packed and we had way more food than we knew what to do with.  The time was spent laughing and encouraging each other.  I love my church family SO much and nothing beats that bond we have in Christ.  Giving of thanks is not over.  It will continue through the rest of the night and throughout the rest of my days.


Food preparations last night started out right with Whidbey Coffeeeeeeeee :-)

Getting started on the pies. Pumpkin Pies...YES!

Dad was the Turkey Guardian

Awaiting guests

Trying to squeeze in for a group picture

I love these crazy girls. :-D

Food lined the whole kitchen!!

A Beautiful Day

Today I had the honor of playing the piano and singing at the wedding of my two friends.  What a blessing to see the Lord work in their lives over the last few years and to finally see them united in marriage.  We certainly serve a mighty God who knows just what He's doing when he chooses life partners.  The weatherman forcasted a typical Whidbey day.  Rainy and gray.  But, praise God, the sun was out and it was even slightly warm.  You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fall day for a wedding!  As far as the ceremony goes, it went smooth as silk. I love things that are simple and stress-free.  This fit the bill for sure!  While I am sad to see my good friend Anna move away, I am SO happy for the new stage of her life that she is moving into.  Now I have an excuse to go to the midwest. :-)

If you wish to see more pictures, let me know and I will email them to you.

The Strength of My Heart

I'm still here. Glad to have a moment to breathe and share with you some things that have been going on.  When I reflect back on the past month (ok....five weeks) I realize that I've pretty much been doing the same thing each week day: Go to school, come home, piano practice, teach piano (a couple days a week), do homework, go to bed.  Each day is a new start to this vicious cycle.  To say it's been stressful would be an understatement.

But I'm not writing this to tell you how crazy my life has been or how stressful things are.  I want to let you know that God has proven to me over and over again that He's in control of every situation in my life.  When I feel like my seams are coming loose and I'm about to fall apart, He shows me through his Word and through others in my life that it's ONLY with Him that I can accomplish all that's necessary.  There is NO way that I could make it through each day without Him holding me up to keep me from falling flat on my face.  Whoever says that God is not active in the lives of His children has never experienced what I have these past few weeks.

Psalm 73:26  My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Psalm 18:1,2  I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Blessings and Lessons

Being here in Chiang Mai I have learned so much.  Not only about what it's like to live in another culture so different from ours, but to depend on God MORE for all of my needs.  I had a tremendous blessing yesterday that I want to share. 

I think I mentioned before that school starts three days after I return home.  That means that I have to purchase my books while still here in Thailand.  Now, if you've taken any college classes you're aware of how expensive that can be.  Seems like my textbooks this quarter are more expensive too. It appeared at first glance that this money would have to come out of my Thailand fund and that would be cutting things pretty close. Granted, I know that there are those who would have helped me if I needed it, but I just prayed about it.  A few hours later I went to check my bank account and I saw a pending deposit for around the same amount that I need for my textbooks! I was expecting that money to come but had completely forgotten about it. Praise the Lord! I L.O.V.E. when he answers prayers like that.  So immediate and so direct.  It was a practical lesson for me in God's provision. 

Since being here I've often asked myself, why didn't I do this sooner? I feel like I've wasted so much time when I could have been doing SO much more!  I really want to encourage each of you to consider where you're at in your life right now.  The Lord has different plans for different people, the important matter is whether or not you are wasting precious time or if you are USING it!  Especially for us single people. I think this is the time of our lives that the Lord can really use us in ways that he cannot use married people.  So I ask you to please ponder this question: in five years time will I have regrets? Or will I feel like I filled every single moment that the Lord gave me with service for Him?  Recently I've asked myself these questions and it's really eye-opening. Especially as I look on the past several years of my life. I don't want to look back in five years and be wondering what I COULD have done. I would love to look back and say "Look at everything that the Lord allowed me to do because I was willing to be used."

Just sharing my heart today. Any comments?