Student Recital!

Tonight was a big night. It was my very first time putting on a recital! I've played in many, but this was the first time I actually organized one as the teacher. For most of the students, this was their first recital. They all did SUCH a good job! I am so proud of their hard work. I couldn't stop smiling as my students got up to play their pieces. I am SO proud of them all! Not all of the pianists are my students. Three of them play the piano but aren't currently taking lessons. Therefore, they don't have opportunities to play in recitals. So I wanted to give them that opportunity. :-) I was a bit nervous that we would have a small crowd. After all, there were only 9 people playing and that includes myself. BUT the Lord blessed and we had a nice sized crowd. I think that was encouraging for the students. All in all, the night was a huge success, Praise the Lord!

Anna gave me these beautiful flowers! She knows me so well. :-)

Me with my five students.
The whole crew!

My performance of Mozart's Sonata in G, Allegro. Not my BEST time through. A few little blips here and there.

RAN/UPG

RAN/UPG........what is it? Restricted Access Nations/Unreached People Groups. The theme for our church in 2011 is Firm Foundations. Getting our church in the position that it needs to be in to really focus on a new work. Building up those foundations that are so important. Once a month, we have intercessory prayer meetings. Now, every Wednesday night we have a prayer meeting, but this one is different. We dedicate that night to lengthy prayer about a certain country that is hard to get into or a people group that isn't currently being reached with the gospel. This month, the country was North Korea. On Sunday night we were shown a documentary about the country. It's amazing how much bondage they are in!! Tonight we divided up into smaller groups and prayed in detail. It was a wonderful time of prayer. The idea is to do this once a month with our hearts and minds open to what the Lord would have us to do. Whether or not he will give US the burden and whether or not he wants US to go to these people in one of these nations. I'm excited to see what direction the Lord is going to lead our church over the next year.

My Island

Drizzly.....cloudy. It's a normal Whidbey day. Sometimes the rain falls a little heavier, then it subsides and continues its monotonous sprinkle. As I drove back onto my island today coming back from school, I soaked in this beautiful view. I realized how much I take it for granted.

As I rounded the bend by Pass Lake, my breath was taken away. The whisps of fog hovering over the water and Mt. Eerie with it's cloudy crown in the background all reminded me why I love Whidbey. Waving goodbye to the beautiful lake, I started to ascend. I drove up the hill that makes its way to Deception Pass and I looked around me. Stately, lush trees on either side as if from a fairy tale. Looking straight ahead I see more trees and the sky shining from between them as they have grown up on the side of the cliff. I've reached the top and as I curve to the left I see the most splendid view. The bridge! Driving onto the bridge I can't decide which view to look at: the endless sound on the right, or the many islands overflowing with trees on the left. So hard to choose. (I guess I should have been looking straight ahead since I was driving but that's no fun. :-p)

This is my favorite thing about my island. It's a span of about ten minutes, but as I drive it six times a week (to and from school) I am reminded of our Creator. His artistry goes beyond comprehension and I feel so minute in comparison to the beauty I see around me. I am so grateful that He has given me this opportunity to witness such beauty so frequently.

(These pictures weren't taken today....obviously since it's sunny.)

Love this!

My friend Brittany and I have been going back and forth about how much we love music. I mean, it just becomes embedded in your life and you wonder "Would it be possible to live without it?!?!"  She shared this with me and I just loved it!  It's so true...

A Day at Home

Do you ever have times where you feel like your ALWAYS gone?  Times when you barely get a moment at home before you have to run back out to run some sort of errand or make some appointment?  That's how my life's been for the past ..well...long while.  Today was not one of those days.  I did pretty well with getting my assignments done throughout the week (With the exception of one paper) and that allowed me to spend a relaxing day at home.  Got a great start this morning with going on visitation.  I was partnered up with a good friend and not only did we have a great time of fellowship, but we had a few good responses!  Although, I am still convinced that people didn't like me because I seemed to be rejected quite frequently.  C'est la vie. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying my favorite instrument (Can you guess?), watching a movie with my family and playing games with my brother while drinking coffee. I did get my paper done, but I didn't completely stress about it.  It was a nice day of rest to gain back my momentum as I jump full speed ahead into a jam packed week.

Fun Friday

So I know you are all dying to hear about Fun Friday. :-> It wasn't that bad actually!  Basically, she had us divide into smaller groups to sing the songs so we weren't hiding behind the cushion of a 50 person choir. It was a really good exercise and not scary at all.  Well, I guess it would be scary if you didn't know the part because then everyone could actually hear you mess up.  But the songs we did today were pretty easy.  After that little exercise she took us outside.  Right across from our choir building there is another building with a rather wide sidewalk inbetween and an overhang.  She took us out there to sing our songs, and it sounded SO cool with the acoustics!!  Way better than in the stuffy sound-swallowing room. It made those accapella songs so much more enjoyable!  Well, there you have it.  Fun Friday!  Which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. :-)

A Love/Hate Relationship

When you were little, did you ever say, "I hate school!"  I don't know many kids who haven't said that at some point of their childhood during a frustrating piece of homework. After taking a couple of years off after I graduated I started to really miss school. I missed the structure, the feeling of accomplishment when you've just made an A on a paper or a test. 

Well, here I am.  Week 3 of college and it's a love/hate relationship.  Frustrations occur with certain subjects (ahem....Biology.  Diagramming a cell isn't exactly thrilling.) , but others I just love! I would categorize English somewhere in the middle. :-)  Yup...you guessed it.  The music classes I love!  Although, my choir teacher mentioned that tomorrow is "Fun Friday" and everyone groaned.  I guess I'll find out why tomorrow! It's been really fun to be on the singing end of the choir.  It's taken some time to get back in the swing of things, but now I'm swinging!  Piano lessons are beyond amazing.  Not easy.  Don't get me wrong.  It's no walk in the park.  Let's just say, I piano practiced for an hour and a half today and could have practiced for another hour!  I've learned so much in just three lessons!  Current projects are:  Sonata in G by Mozart, A Nocturne by Chopin and Maid With the Flaxen Hair by Debussy.  The first two I've been "working" on for about a year but she's helping me completely revamp them.  The third one is new-ish.  I knew it before but....well you know.  That all changes when you get a good teacher. LOL 

So that's what is new.  Between giving lessons, taking lessons, and practicing, music takes up a large part of my week.  But I absolutely love it and wouldn't trade it for anything!   I am looking forward to a new opportunity presented to me.  I will be working in the church's printing ministry and learning how to run the different printing machines and such.  It will be really neat to learn and I'm excited to be able to be useful!  Getting God's Word and solid doctrinal literature out is SO important!  That's one thing I've learned since being in this church. 

Until next time...