Thankful

Thankful for so many things - I'm giving thanks to my God and King. I am thankful for His sovereignty and His timing. I am thankful that He guides my steps, through the closed doors as well as the opened ones. I am thankful that I didn't get that part-time job I interviewed for, as I wouldn't be working as my church's part-time music director now if I already had that other job instead. I am thankful for friendships - new, old, and restored. I am thankful that God gave us music as part of how we worship Him. I am thankful for my family, both my biological one and the larger one I have as a child of God. I am thankful for good health, a loving home, a solid roof over my head, things of beauty about me, youth group still going strong, a great choir group, girls Biblestudy, God's unfailing provision of "enough students," parents that walk with the Lord, musicians who love the Lord and write music to praise His name, the amazing love and grace of God to me. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

books!

"Until then I had thought each book spoke of the things, human or divine, that lie outside books. Now I realized that not infrequently books speak of books: it is as if they spoke among themselves. In the light of this reflection, the library seemed all the more disturbing to me. It was then the place of a long, centuries-old murmuring, an imperceptible dialogue between one parchment and another, a living thing, a receptacle of powers not to be ruled by the human mind, a treasure of secrets emanated by many minds, surviving the death of those who had produced them or had been their conveyors."

books I've been reading recently

"One day a young man hit pay dirt on Bull Hill and was offered a good price for his claim. He wrote Stratton for advice. Should he sell his claim or hang on to it as Stratton had done, hoping for millions in the end? Stratton replied:

"If you get a chance to sell your property for $100,000 do it. I one gave an option on the Independence and a thousand times I have wished that the holder had taken it up. Too much money is not good for any man. I have too much and it is not good for me. A hundred thousand dollars is as much money as the man of ordinary intelligence can take care of. Larger wealth has been the ruin of many a young man."

Winfield Scott Stratton, around the beginning of the 1900s
from The King of Cripple Creek: The Life and Times of Winfield Scott Stratton, First Millionaire from the Cripple Creek Gold Strike

untitled

This is a prayer for the dedication of tithes and offerings that has been germinating in my heart for a while. I write it here to clarify those thoughts and give them order.

Our Father and our God,

You are master of all creation, King over all, the cattle on a thousand hills are Yours. You do not need our money to "fund" Your kingdom. But You have commanded your people to give. And so we give, out of obedience and love for You, our King.

You are the One True God, jealous for Your name and for the worship of Your people. You have commanded us to have no other gods before You. And so we give, to remind ourselves that our heart's allegiance is to You, not to our money or the status, possessions, or pleasure money can temporarily buy. Wrest the chains of mammon from our hearts, that we may love You first and above all.

You are the Faithful God. You provide for Your children. Teach us to trust You for our provision, trust You to keep and care for us, trust You, not our bank accounts, savings, or plans. You provide faithfully - help us to be faithful in our giving. Help us to be wise with our money so that we may give and still live quietly, not indebted to anyone.

Father, keep us from the error of giving You only our money and not our hearts as well. Grant us changed hearts that give obediently and with joy. We give these monies prayerfully, asking and looking for You to use them in mighty ways. Please use even these tithes and offerings in ways beyond our imagination to grow Your kingdom, Lord. In all things, Lord, may You be glorified. Amen.

hier matin

Je me suis levée et j’ai bu
Un café au lait et j’ai lu
Le journal, parce que j’ai voulu
Suivre les actualités, parce que j’ai dû.



This is a poem for chapter five (we had our chapter test this morning). The poem makes me think of Global Trends class, actually. Here's my translation (ie, what I think I'm saying...)

Yesterday morning

I got up and I drank
coffee with milk and I read
the paper, because I wanted
to know the news, because I should.

Yeah, there's a reason it's in French... ;)

when one has a small vocabulary, one must work with it!

I'm taking a French class this semester - French II in fact. I wrote a little rhyme from Chapter 4 vocabulary. TX from class was asking if I ever blogged my "poems," so here you go!

Dans une maison ou un chateau,
Il y a des fenetres et des rideaux
Peut-etre il y a un lavabo
Et aussi un grand tableau.



I'm looking forward to expanding my vocabulary. :) Coming soon - Chapter 5 poem with past tense and negative expressions!!

journal entries

I pulled out my box o' old journals this morning to remember some details about something, then started browsing my entries. The transcribed conversations are hilarious, as are anecdotes of college antics, whether or not I was involved. ;) Reading old journals also reminds me that though God isn't finished with me yet, He will bring to completion the work He has begun in me. I give thanks and take hope.

Shepherd's prayer

I cried in church this morning. Not in a bad or unprecedented sense - my heart was moved by our elder's prayer for the congregation. Mr. BH put into words what I could not; lifting up the concerns of our hearts before the throne. He prayed as I wanted to pray but rarely do, but by praying along with his words today, I was blessed. Through prayer, we entered the throne room of God Almighty, known by Him in all our worried, broken, selfish smallness, known and forgiven through Christ's blood and righteousness. I am His, His, His.

boxing the gnat

I learned something new today: a contra dancing step called "boxing the gnat." It works like a balance and a California twirl combined, but it has its own intriguing name.

It's been months since I last went contra dancing. What rhythmic, graceful, foot-stomping, joyful fun! This is certainly my favorite type of social dance, and since I'm single, social dancing is the dancing I do. :) In the last year, I've started sitting out the waltzes that come at the end of the two sections of contra dances. I love waltzing, but I personally don't care much for waltzing as a social "dance it with anyone" sort of dance. Waltzing is special to me, I want to keep it special, and I can wait to dance it with someone special. Until then, my feet are tapping to the contra beat!

Sunday

Dr. J led the prayer of confession this morning - detailed and convicting. One phrase in particular sticks in my mind: "We confess that we care too much about what people think of us and not enough about what You know about us."

the bride eyes not her garment

... but her dear Bridegroom's face.


Lizo got married today. She looked so beautiful, elegant, grown-up, loving, and sure. There was a particularly special moment in the service when Emmi played the piano and R and Lizo prayed privately together. I love her. Thank you, Lord, for sisters in Christ.

Idylls of the King

"More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of."
- Tennyson

plans

I get giddy planning trips. What a blessing to have a job that runs on an academic school year! I do teach a few lessons in the summer, but it's a very flexible schedule. I think I'll go pull out my suitcase, so I can pack a week and a half in advance... (just kidding - I still have to wear the clothes I'm taking!) :) Cousin time, here I come!!!

introductions

I met Mr. Tupman this morning. He hopped out of the row of radishes I was weeding, rather frightening me by his sudden appearance. I jumped up and let out a shriek - he jumped and let out... well, you know toads. He gave me a suspicious glare and hopped with great dignity into the row of squash at the other side of the garden. Time will tell if he will continue to grace the garden with his presence.

looking

Well, I finished (nearly) my arrangement this morning, but now I've cold feet about submitting it. The publishers that already stock a cappella women's ensemble music don't take submissions and the publishers that take submissions don't seem to carry a cappella women's ensemble music. Submitting is free (if you don't count blood, sweat, and tears-of-rejection), so maybe...

Working on an old hymn arrangement of mine, hoping to submit it for consideration for publication sometime soon.

Bought a plane ticket to visit my cousins.

Practiced with Mama for our upcoming music audition (!!) to play at a local coffee shop some Saturdays. My talented mom taught herself guitar in highschool and has continued to play. I was going to play guitar with her on "Here Comes the Sun," but I can't keep up (I've only really been playing for a year and a half) so I'll probably stick to vocals and perhaps djembe. :)

Tried out a mom and pop's Middle Eastern restaurant with a few girl friends tonight. It's a favorite of RD's. I would say their sage tea (hot or iced), za'atar pitas, and seasoned fries (they had a name that I've forgotten) were my favorite. I still like chai tea better, but the sage tea was a unique experience!

RD, C, and I went to the closing evening of a Christian music conference. "Our God is God" was my favorite of what we heard. Some of the music was disappointingly fuzzy in the theology department. Crescendos and timpani and emotive phrases just don't make up for truth in music. I am grateful for music that is true and beautiful.

student quotes 1

Yesterday, towards the close of his lesson, JR turned the page to see his next piano piece. The concept reinforced there was a 4/4 time signature, with a counting exercise and an example piece to practice at the bottom of the page. Plus a colorful cartoony picture of two giraffes. (Incidentally, the name of the piece was "Two Giraffes." Handy that.) JR's comment was, "Look Miss Anna! Two Geraffics!" I love teaching.

words

Do you ever roll a word around in your head simply because you like the sound of it? (I do!) Some of my current favorites are wistful, quelquefois, and lavish. You can almost hear the costly extravagance in it. Lavish.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us. Unearned, unconditional, costly, extravagant, redeeming love.


Here's the rest of the verse, 1 John 3:1:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

no room for a sneeze

As I become well-acquainted with the warning labels and recommended application instructions for wall covering paste, the current state of my bathroom reminds me of the childrens book, "No room for a sneeze." The story is about a wise man's advice to a man who finds his house Too Small for his large family. The advice is to keep bringing more animals to live with them, until the house is practically a farm menagerie. When the man is nearly desperate with the tight conditions of his house, the wise man tells him to send all the borrowed animals back to their owners. After emptying and cleaning, the house seems enormous indeed.
My bathroom is filled with stacks of 5-gal buckets in an attempt to flatten the water-warped floorboards. Even though there will be five or more girls using it in a week and a half, hopefully it will feel big when we take out the nine bucket pyramid.

I'm looking forward to some cousin and Abbie time soon. :) Mama and Sarah are at the church for a meeting with the events coordinator. I'll be making some Wedding Week Stollen, probably tomorrow. And praying - that God would be glorified throughout this process, that He would give us good weather, and that He would richly bless this coming union of two of His children.

more news

I got that hair cut, finally. The first time I went to a salon for a cut was July of 2008 (a month after I was Maria in Sound of Music, so I was free to cut it!). Before that, Papa or Mama trimmed my hair. That first one was a great cut. Some six months later, I returned to that academy and got my worst cut yet (for my hair texture, it was AWFUL). Next, I cut my own hair while at camp, on a weekend, in the bathroom with the kiddie scissors from the craft room. That was pretty bad as well, but decent, cheap, and fast. :) Next cut back at a different salon, I had to ask her to actually cut my hair so that it'd be shorter, thank you, than when I walked in... I guess she assumed all I wanted was a fix-up of my craft-scissor cut? And finally this cut! This hair dresser was convinced my hair was NOT curly, I didn't really want it that short, and she let simply piles of hair get down the back of my shirt. And obviously a hair salon doesn't have anything more handy for removing spiky hair stubble from the elastic on your camisole than scotch tape... The cut itself took probably 40 minutes. The total experience with self-clean-up? An hour. BUT I like the cut. A lot. :)

just, ya know, a Tuesday

We had "sectionals" for choir rehearsal today - our director was working with the guys, so our accompanist rehearsed us ladies. He was hilarious while keeping us on our toes. "Life is short, so let's sing that passage again," giving a "shave-and-a-hair-cut-two-bits" intro right before we're supposed to sing... we laughed a lot and worked hard.

Speaking of hair-cuts (weren't we?), I want to cut mine into a shorter bob. It's grown out to an awkward length (if it's too long for a bob, is it a robert?) and doesn't curl/wave as I'd like. But short is scary in that I can't glue the hair back if I don't like the cut.

And his heart was true to the Lord his God

Today is Day #27 in my adventure of reading through the Bible in 90 days. I think there is a program and probably a reading list for an endeavor such as this, but I am using my ESV Bible and a calculator (for the math). My estimate is that I need to read twelve pages a day. I am a little behind at present, so I will be soaking up closer to 16 pages daily to catch up by Tuesday. I love reading large passages of scripture... it takes discipline at first ("this is sloooow going," "I'd rather read something else...") but it is God's WORD to us. As chapter 4 of the book of Hebrews reads, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

I am reading in 1 Kings today. All the kings of Israel and Judah are graded, not by their battles, building projects, foreign politics, or progeny, but according to their hearts' faithfulness to the LORD their God. "Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the LORD all his days (15:14)... [Baasha] did what was evil in the sight of the LORD (15:34) ..."

As one of my profs in college would say, "It is a matter of the heart."

convoluted ingratitude

In my quiet time last week, I was thinking about insecurity. For me, my insecurities are actually just ingratitude in disguise. For instance, when I feel insecure about my work, I'm saying what God has provided, what He has planned for me, is not enough. One of my favorite hymns puts it this way: "All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided." (emphasis mine) In Christ, I have my all in all, my identity, my satisfaction, my life.

C is for cookie!!

I made two batches of cookies this late afternoon (a little too close to dinner). First a new recipe for Ginger Oatmeal. (I love trying new recipes on other people!) I often skip details like the sugar rolling ritual at the end, but this time I did it. It gave the cookies a lovely two-tone finish, with the darker chewy inside cracking through the lighter sugared outside of the cookie. The second recipe was an old favorite, chewy chocolate chocolate chip. The bake time is crucial - too little and you might as well just eat the dough (which is not a bad option, really); too much time in the oven and all the fudgy-ness disappears. I have had both results before, but I think it came out well this time. I shall bring some to Bible study tomorrow and Sunday night. :)

and the answer is...

My students say the most creative things.

me: "How do you tell the difference between eighth notes and quarter notes?"
EC: "Well, the eighth notes are wearing those head-phone things."

At the end of her lesson, E also informed me that her latest composition is called "Peace, Love, and Ice Cream."

I love teaching.

white as...

snow.

I love the sound of footfalls on fresh snow. A muffled, almost woolly sound, it squeaks if it is cold enough.

good strums

With careful attention to song selection, I can "play" the mandolin! Just chords at the moment (and a limited number at that!), but I hope to add another instrument to our youth group music medley soon. :) Maybe we could have a few jam sessions following youth group...

a new blog

Hello everyone out there! I decided to start blogging again, but in a new locale, as hardly anyone is on Xanga anymore. The number of my friends writing on blogger is increasing, so I join you here. :) I don't have anything astute to say tonight, but before I close, it might be helpful to explain that the title is French for "His new creation." I am a Christian, bought by the blood of Christ and adopted into God's family. God's word says that if anyone is IN Christ, he (or she) is a NEW CREATION. Jesus is the Light and Love of my life.

Goodnight, all.