Sunday Thoughts

Jeff and a group of people from our church did a skit to this incredible song and it's one of my favorites. Every time I hear it, it makes me feel so close to God and want to worship him non-stop.

So, here it is. Happy Palm Sunday!

"In Genesis, He's the Breath of Life,

In Exodus, He's the Passover Lamb,

In Leviticus, He's our High Priest,

Numbers, the Fire by Night,

Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice,

In Joshua, He is Salvation's Choice,

Judges, law giver,

In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer,

First and Second Samuel, our trusted prophet,

In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign,

Ezra, true and faithful scribe,

Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives,

In Esther, he's Mordecai's courage,

In Job, the timeless redeemer,

In Psalms, He is our morning song.

In Proverbs, wisdom's cry,

Ecclesiastes, the time and season,

In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream.

He is, He Is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's the Prince of Peace,

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet,

In Lamentations, the cry for Israel,

Ezekial, the call from sin,

In Daniel, the stranger in the fire.

In Hosea, He is forever faithful,

In Joel, He's the Spirit's power,

In Amos, the arms that carry us,

In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior,

In Jonah, He's the Great Missionary.

In Micah, the Promise of Peace,

In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield,

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival,

In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage,

In Zechariah, our fountain,

In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings.

He is, He Is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God, Man, Messiah,

In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven,

In Romans, He is the grace of God,

In Corinthians, the power of love,

In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin.

Ephesians, our glorious treasure,

Philippians, the servant's heart,

In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity,

Thessalonians, our coming King,

In Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor.

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant,

In James, the one who heals the sick,

In first and second Peter, he is our Shepherd,

In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride,

In Revelation, He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.

He is, He Is, HE IS!

The prince of peace,

The Son of Man,

The Lamb of God,

The great I AM!

He's the Alpha and Omega,

Our God and our Savior,

He is Jesus Christ our Lord,

and when time is no more,

He is, HE IS!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttS7FH8X4n4

Easter in the South

I love this time of year!

The past few years, Easter has been very early, so Spring Break has been as well. I would much prefer Spring Break being this time of year every year. It was a long haul to get here, and both me and the students were begging for this day, but now that it's here...I plan to savor every minute.

So, here's a list of my favorite things:

Sunshine.

Walks with Lola.

Napping because I can and have time.

Reading and reading.

Travelling.

Flowers.

Sun dresses.

Family.

Good food.

Flip-flops.

Green.

Celebrating the resurrection of my Savior.

Lesson: Spring Break this late is VERY worth it.

Happy Easter y'all!

He is Risen Indeed!

Will Try (Just About) Anything!

Yes, that is me rock climbing barefoot (my TOMS weren't good for gripping)

I think I surprised some of my students on the Baltimore trip. They didn't think I would do a lot of the things at this one place....but I did. I rock climbed, I played laser tag (and led the girls against the guys), and did a ropes course.

I enjoyed the day and felt like a kid again and it reminded me that I enjoy trying new things.

Hmmmmmm....maybe this is next! After all, I do love free falling!

Lesson: Stick with the kids...they keep you young and ready to try new stuff!

Seniors

(2011 Seniors on the Baltimore Choir Trip)

Meet a very special group of students.

My senior choir members.

This group holds a very special and unique place in my heart. They are the first group of students that I have taught from their freshmen year to senior year. They are my very first students that I ever taught. The two girls on the left and the two next to me have been members of my choir for all four years as well. I try my best not to play favorites. But, I just can't help it with this group. They have each played a significant role in my development as a teacher and as a musician. They are each very special to me and I will miss them terribly next year. In fact, I have joked with them that I am going to fail them in choir so they can't graduate and have to come back next year!

When I started teaching, I wasn't much older than them. I was 23, they were 14 and 15. Only 8 or 9 years difference. That's not a big age difference when you think about it. And I still had so much maturing to do. I think about that first year and I am so thankful for the patience that they had with me and for the relationships that have come from that first year.

This year's Baltimore trip was so much fun with them. It's my tradition that I take the seniors in my "chaperone" group and we get to spend time together. It's always so much fun and so relaxed when we have those moments. Every time I yelled for the kids to find their chaperone they'd come up to Jeff and me and say "found you mom/dad!"

So, you can see why they hold a special place in my heart. They are each precious to me and I will miss them very much, but I know that God has special plans for each of them and I can't wait to see where he will lead them.

Top Five Musical Experiences.

We just returned from Baltimore Sunday night.

This was my choir's annual Spring Trip. It was quite an experience.

My favorite part was on Friday night when we went to the Naval Academy's Men's Glee Club performance. Talk about hearing incredible music!!!!

I had goosebumps....I cried.....I sighed.....I laughed......I went through a gamut of emotions.

Two of my guys got to join them for a song that I had taught them ahead of time. This is one of them (the other one's picture didn't turn out very well) in the white shirt in the middle of the other guys.

My next few blogs will probably be about different aspects of the trip. But for now, here are my top five musical experiences (not in any particular order).

1. Singing with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Brahm's Requiem and the Polovetsian Dances.

2. Performing my senior recital (Bach's Italian Concerto, a Mozart Sonata, Gottschalk's Souvenir de Puerto Rico, a Brahm's piece)

3. Seeing Les Miserables performed my sophomore year of high school

4. Seeing Harry Connick Jr. live for my 26th birthday

5. The USNA Men's Glee Club Performance

The one moment that still gives me chills was when they performed Biebl's "Ave Maria," (originally performed by Chanticleer; check it out on youtube athttp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IJSFKidqmk, it's an incredible piece). They had about 8 of their guys who would be graduating this spring and going directly into the service stand in a balcony opposite the rest of the choir and sing the second choir part back. It was a call and answer that was hauntingly beautiful and made you feel the weight of the fact that these men would soon be placing their lives on the line for their country, for us. It was a heavy moment filled with incredible beauty.

Lesson: Music will never stop changing and affecting you.