Waiting and Security

Psalm 62:1-2
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, where I will never be shaken. (NLT)

Waiting quietly before God is something I think a lot of people struggle with - myself included. If any of you've seen Prince Caspian (Disney version), you've seen a pretty good example of what happens when you don't wait on God and do things His way. The point is that we need to wait on God, because THAT's where are victory comes from. Him - not ourselves. It's so hard for me because sometimes I think that there are pressing decisions that I can't wait long enough to take time to hear from God. Sometimes I'm scared I won't be able to hear Him speak to me when I need to hear Him... but that's where the waiting quietly part comes in, huh?

It's times like these I'm reminded that in ALL of my ways - not just the ones I feel uncomfortable with - I need to acknowledge Him, and then He will direct my path. It's a promise. So I wanted to encourage you today that God is ever faithful, and will keep His promises. Step out in faith, and He will do the rest. :-)

Verse 2. "He alone is my rock and my salvation..." do we truly believe that? That God and ONLY God is our rock and salvation? That we turn to Him and Him only for safety and deliverance? Sure, God often uses people and things to bring us through difficult times, but is our confidence and hope - all of it - in Him? Or do we put more confidence in things and people than we do the One who created them? That's another thing I've dealt with... it can seem scary to put ALL of our trust in God - in Someone we've never seen - when we've got people surrounding us that seem to be capable of helping us with our problems. And God can use people to help us - don't get me wrong. But before we turn to people or things, we need to turn to God, who holds all the answers and is always faithful.

So those are my thoughts for the day - things that I've been learning in my prayer life. Thanks for reading - I pray you have a blessed week!

NaNoWriMo

Well, I started NaNoWriMo today. I am so far at over 1600 words, a number with which I am fairly happy. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and ones goal is to write a story from the beginning and reach 50,000 words by the end of November. One month, basically. This is my first year doing it, so I'm pretty excited. I kind of know where I want to go with this story, because it's been one that I've been working on for a lonnngg time. Not many people may know about it because I don't talk about it much. Which might be because I started reworking the beginning of the story and never got to a place where I was happy with it. So I'm starting over from scratch, and I really like what I've got so far.

Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo? If so, what is your story about? Or, if you're not doing NaNoWriMo, do you have a book that you're working on anyway? I'd love to hear about it!

Blessings!
V4C

Strength - Psalm 28:6-8

Psalm 28:6-8
Praise the Lord!
For He has heard my cry for mercy.
7The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust Him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8The Lord gives his people strength.
He is a safe fortress for His anointed king. (NLT)

One of the things we humans seem to do a lot is try to rely on our own strength. After all, to do something "all by ourselves" brings a feeling of accomplishment... and pride. To feel like you no longer have to rely on someone else to help you.

But the reality is, apart from Jesus we can do nothing. It is He who put the world in motion, and He who continues to make it possible for us to move and do things. Yes, without God, nothing would be possible.

The last couple of days I've been lacking strength. I'm not sure why, but I was just really out of it. This was especially annoying because yesterday I was scheduled to volunteer in the 5 year old class at church, and today I had to work for a few hours at my job.

Just a few minutes before it was time to leave for church, all of the sudden I felt really tired... weak. I laid down for a few minutes, but it didn't help much. I felt better once we arrived, however, during the lesson I felt tired again. I kept saying under my breath, "The joy of the Lord is my strength!" But I couldn't really tell a difference. Then, I got called to the 2 and 3 year old class for a few minutes while one of the teachers was away. I greeted the children, who were playing happily. One 2 year old stopped what he was doing and just looked at me and smiled. He made some car noises, which I imitated, which made him laugh. He was so cute! We continued playing for a little while, and then the teacher came back, so I went go back to the 5 year old class.
As I walked back, I realized that I was not near as tired as I was before. After class was over, I was even able to drive back home! (With my mom in the passenger seat, of course.) But the point is that once I forgot about myself - played with this precious two-year-old even though I'm sure I looked silly - strength came.

This morning I slept in almost an hour without realizing it. Around 9:30 AM that tired, weak feeling came over me again. But this morning I had looked up Scriptures with the word, "shield" in them. I came across Psalm 28:6-8. I spoke it aloud as a prayer, and claimed the promise for myself. I started work with renewed vigor, and all fatigue was gone. Hallelujah!!

So my encouragement to you today is this: God's strength is made perfect in your weakness. (2 Cor 12:9) Next to God, your strength looks like weakness. Instead of relying on your own strength today, even if you "feel" like you can handle it "all by yourself," allow God to work through you. And if you feel like I did - weak and tired - ask Him to be your strength today. He is the One who gives His people strength, and He won't disappoint.


-V4C

P.S. - Sorry again about not posting so long! This wasn't what I was planning on posting about when I wrote the last post. But this just seemed like the right thing to post about today. Oh, and just so you know, I might not have much time to write during November because I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the first time. :)

Been Awhile

Hey all! Just a quick note to say that I'm still here, and I really have been meaning to post more. Really sorry for letting a whole month slip by without a word!

God's been showing me a LOT in His Word lately, that I really want to share with you, but as it is nearing 10 PM, I don't have time to get into it now. Hopefully I'll have time in the next couple days to blog about it!

So did anyone take a Fall break last week? Do anything special?

Blessings!!

Violinist4Christ

Classical Music and other things...

Greetings!

Well, I thought I'd post about what I've been doing lately. Last week I played violin with my youth group's worship band at church for the first time! At first I wasn't sure how it would work out... we don't normally have a violin player in the band, and it would be my first time playing with a band. But it was great. It felt... right. Like I was supposed to be there. It was kind of hard to be heard above all the electric guitars, but I wasn't completely drowned out. Basically I just had the chord charts to go by, so I was mostly just playing whatever sounded good.
The rehearsal went well. I got to meet the band members, and fellowship with them before service started. Our drummer actually plays the timpani in the orchestra I'm apart of! How cool is that?
Then when the actual service started, it was amazing. I could feel God's presence so strongly. God is so good! The songs we played were "I'm Not Ashamed," "Devotion," "Draw Me Closer," and the bridge of "Ready Now." I'm so thankful for the chance to help lead others in praise to our King!

Yesterday I went to an orchestra concert. They played the Farewell Symphony by Haydn. That has got to be one of my favorite classical pieces. Look up the last movement to see why. The musicians do something very unique in mid-song. *is mysterious* :) It was fun to watch them do it live!

Do any of you have any favorite classical music composers? If so, do you have a favorite song by them? I think my favorite composer would have to be Bach, and then Vivaldi. Dvorak is good too, though. His New World Symphony is awesome!

I hope you all have a blessed week!

Happy Labor Day

Happy (early) Labor Day!

So what's everyone doing on the third day of their three day weekend? Anyone traveling out of town, seeing family, spending time with immediate family? Anybody just relaxing at home, enjoying an extra day off? :)

My family and I are going to drive about an hour and a half away to visit my mom's sister's family. It'll be great to see them again! They live out in the country, so the scenery around their house is beautiful. Sometimes I wished I lived out that way - for my backyard to be woods, and to have a road leading up to my house surrounded by woods. It's so much fun to take walks there with them. I always have an opportunity to take pictures. :)

Speaking of which, I have several pictures from past times we've visited if anyone's interested. I was just going through my photobucket and getting rid of a whole bunch of pictures because they changed their photo limit to 500 mb. *sigh* Oh well. BUT, I am saving the ones that I still like onto my computer, and trying to find another image hosting website to put these on. Anyway, some of the pictures are from around their house, and they're really neat. :)

Well, I hope you have a great Labor Day! God bless!

Violinist4Christ

Happy September 1st!

Hi everyone!

First off, many thanks to Araken for making my new banner!! Isn't it awesome? It goes perfect with the layout. :-)

It's hard to grasp that it's already September! Amazing how fast summer went by, isn't it? I'm already into my fourth week of school and am slowly getting used to my new schedule. It's not too bad, though, since I'm home schooled and my schedule is a little more flexible than most. It's been fun so far, as fun as school can be, anyway. :) Physics and Advanced Math are mainly the ones that take up the most time, but Physics has been interesting and Math is... well... math. Lol.
So how is school going for all of you? What kind of school do you go to? (No specific names, please - just public school, private, etc.) Do you like it so far?

Right now, I think i need to start setting some goals for the year - timing all my subjects, getting Physics experiments and English assignments done in a timely manner, setting a time to practice violin every day, etc. This is probably going to be one of the busiest years I've had yet, because I have so many activities I'm involved in! But it's going to be good. God is with me, and I'll make it through. :-)

So how about you? Have you thought of any goals for the school year?

"Proverbs 4:13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life."

Burger King - Divine Appointment

Greetings, all!

Sorry for not posting for so long!! Has it really been a whole month already? Yikes.

Anyway, if you're checking this blog still, thanks for your patience! What with school starting, me getting a job (Did I fail to mention that earlier? It HAS been too long!), and other activities going on, it's been hard to find time to get online, much less keep up a blog. But I'll try to do better as I get into the swing of things.

Oh, and yes, I did get a job at the library I've been volunteering at, so I'm really excited about that. It's just a part time job, two days a week. It's been really fun so far, getting to check books out to people, answer people's questions, help people find books, shelve, etc. AND, I'm getting paid, so it won't be very long before I have enough money for the new used violin I'm saving up for!!

Okay, well, you're probably wondering what this has to do with the title. I'm getting to that. Lol. Another reason it's been so long since I've posted is because my family and I went on a road trip to the state of Washington a few weeks ago to visit family. Approx. 2,000 miles there, 2,000 miles back. Yeah. Long road trip. But it was fun. God showed us a lot of things on that trip, which was really great especially since our trip was during the church camp I really wanted to go to.

Anyway, back to the subject of this post. Being on a road trip means finding places to eat on the way that the whole family agrees on, which isn't always the easiest thing. One person wants to eat here, another there, and *gasp* was that a Subway sign we just passed? Let's exit here and go to Subway! ;) But one particular evening, we couldn't decide where to eat. One person wanted to go to this restaurant, while another wanted to go to Burger King. Well, after a lot of discussion, some of it rather frustrated, we decided on Burger King. Now, let me say here that one particular member of my family does NOT like fast food restaurants at all, least of all Burger King. So right there it was worth noting that that family member agreed to eat there. Well, we went in, ordered our food, and as Dad was getting our water, he started talking to a man standing nearby. Well, it turns out that the man was blind, AND was a Christian. He, his friend, and my dad talked almost the entire time we were there, and at the end of the meal, he and the friend prayed for us. It was kind of amazing - he prayed for exactly what we needed then. Then we prayed for them - right there in the middle of Burger King. It was really amazing how God worked. I don't think it was by accident that we stopped at Burger King that night, at that exact time those people were there. The steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord. (Psalm 37.) God ordered our steps so that we would meet those people then, so we could both be ministered to. Praise God, who directs the paths of those who trust in Him!

A final note, I'd like to hear some feedback from you all! What would you like to see on this blog in the future? I don't always know what to blog about, so any and all ideas are welcome. :)

Blessings!
Violinist4Christ

Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus

Yesterday I remembered a time a few years ago when I was listening to a CD of beautiful Christian Folk music. I was with my sister at home while my parents were out. I enjoyed the CD so much, that I wanted my parents to hear it when they got home. So I planned to play it for them as soon as they walked in the door, so they could be blessed by it as well. I wanted to share the music with them.

As I was thinking about that, I thought of how much it seems that children want to please their parents. Then I thought, "Well, God is our eternal Father. Shouldn't we strive to do things with the goal to please Him?" When doing homework, we should do it as if God were our teacher and was going to grade it. We should do it at such a high quality, that God would be pleased with it. Write neatly, study, do all your work. Hand it in on time.
When playing an instruments, play it well and joyfully to the Father! Lift it up to Him as a beautiful offering to Him. If you have an audience, also ask Him to use it to bless others, and bring Him glory.
When doing chores at home, do them at excellent as you would if you saw Jesus standing next to you.
When giving in the offering at church, worship Him with your giving! Do it joyfully, out of a thankful heart.
When your parents ask you to do (or not to do) something, obey them. Honor them. Cheerfully!

No, salvation is not based on works. But we should be so in love with God that we want to do things to please Him. Even in the small, every day things, He wants us to do them to Him. To commit our way to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:31
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Philippians 2:14
"Do all things without complaining and disputing"
Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
(NKJV)

My challenge to you is to follow those commands today. And not just today, but every day of your life. As long as you are alive, those verses still stand.

-Violinist4Christ

Free Audio Book

Okay, so I know most of you who read my blog also read Camden's, so you probably already know this, but I thought I'd post about this anyway. A website, Christianaudio.com, is giving away a free book every month. This month they're giving away an audio book called, "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan. I've listened to part one, and it is absolutely amazing. I can't describe it well enough here. But if you want to know more about how amazing God is, and about His love for us and our response to His love, definitely check it out. Just go to the website, and on the right side bar you'll see a thing for the free audio book. Click that. Then on the next page, click on, "Add to Cart." Then go to Check out. It will ask you to set up an account if you haven't already. It's a safe, secure website, and I haven't had any problems with it. On the next page, when it asks for a coupon, type in, JUL2009. Make sure you type that in!!! It's what will make the book free. Click on Checkout, and then follow the instructions. Make sure you download all four parts of the book. :)

Also, please note that the author touches some rather controversial topics. If any questions about Christianity rise from listening to this book, be sure to talk to your parents about it, and, most importantly, talk to God about it. See what the Bible says about the subject.
I hope you enjoy the audio book!

Blessings,
V4C

New Template

Well, I finally got around to changing my blog template. I really enjoyed the last one, but I thought it would be nice to have a template that went with my username.

I've actually been looking for a new template for awhile, but it's hard to find violin templates! I really wanted one with a Scripture verse on it, but this was all I found. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to make my own blogger background, and do something like that. Someday. :)

Anyway, what do you think of the new template? Do you like it better than the last template?

Dry Branches

Yesterday marked the end of probably the busiest two weeks of my life! Every weekday morning I went to an orchestra day camp, which started at 8:30, and lasted until noon. The first week we worked on five songs and performed them on Friday, and the second week we did 4 songs and performed them on Thursday. In addition to spending all morning at the day camp, I had to practice on my own in the afternoons - sometimes for almost two hours. All that plus my daily schedules equals two very busy weeks. The goal was high - to perfect four to five difficult songs by the end of the week for the concert. And we did it. I was also challenged to step outside my comfort zone and make new friends. I also was challenged to talk about God more, and to make it clear what I believed about music by putting a quote by Bach on the front of my music folder in big, bold, letters. ("Music's only purpose should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit.") I really think God wanted me to go to this day camp, and I'm glad I went.

But during the day camp I had to get up earlier than usual so I could have enough time to read my Bible and pray. This was especially important to me because I knew I'd be surrounded by high schoolers who might not all be Christians, and I wanted to renew my mind so that my words and conduct reflected Christ. So during those two weeks, I put more emphasis than usual on spending time with God each morning. I relied more on Him, and would look up Scriptures about Christian conduct, and such. But on Friday after the camp ended, I didn't really feel the need to read my Bible as much. I mean, of course I still read it, but not with the same "God, I need You today!" mentality. But then later that day I started feeling very... inadequate for reasons I don't have room to get into here. I saw my weaknesses up close, and started dwelling on them, getting distressed about it.

Last night we had a prayer/worship meeting at our house. As my dad led us in worship, playing songs I knew almost as well as my own name, I sang them like they were songs I'd never heard before. And as I sang, I focused more on God, and less on my own weaknesses. I felt His presence, for the first time in a while. It struck me how that when it's when I feel inadequate and distressed, that it's easier to enter into God's presence. During the meeting, my dad mentioned John 15, and how we need to continually abide in Jesus. Later that night, I looked up the chapter.

John 15:1-6 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ²Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. ³You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." (NASB)

I began to realize that we are branches in the true vine - Jesus. In order to live and prosper, we need Him abiding in us! And we need to abide in Him. If one day we decide we don't really need Him, we are blocking the supply of nutrients and life that comes from the vine. Eventually, we'll dry up and not produce fruit anymore. God can't use us when we're not abiding in Him. We need to give God more and more room so He can work through us. As we decrease, He increases, and therefore His strength works where our weaknesses would have been. And fruit is produced.
I love it where it says that apart from Jesus, we can do NOTHING!! It's so... wrong that we, who are so inadequate and filled with weakness sometimes think that God doesn't know what He's doing. That we know the situation better than He does, and if we can't hear Him say anything, then we're just going to do my own thing. NO!!!! Apart from Jesus, we are nothing!! All our plans will fail if they aren't from God and if we're not doing them for Him.

John 15:8-11 ""My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. ⁹Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." (NASB)

If you want to glorify God, then abide in Jesus and bear much fruit. There are times when we need to be pruned. When we get prideful, and try to do things on our own. When a certain sin arises in our lives - we need to let God prune it. It hurts, but when we let Him, we produce even more fruit, and therefore bring more glory to God, which needs to be our ultimate goal. Abide in His love by keeping His commandments. When we do this, our joy is made full!
Don't be a dry branch.

Back from Vacation

So I know I didn't really announce that I was going anywhere, but I have been gone for about a week. We sort of had a family reunion on my mother's side in Indiana, and got back yesterday afternoon. I thought I'd share some of the details of our trip with you. :)

On Monday night we got together with one of my mom's childhood friends. She now has a family with five children, with whom my sister and I became fast friends. The whole family is musical; some play piano, others violin, and the whole family sings. I found out that one of the daughters who plays violin took the same lesson books as I did, and we played part of a duet together. That was a lot of fun!

Tuesday we went to a resort with my grandparents and uncle and aunt. It was really neat there! They had horseback riding, boats, bicycle trails, hiking trails, a game room, and a lounge with lots of Thomas Kinkade puzzles. There was also a restaurant downstairs, which we ate at once a day. For the other meals we all got together and shared our food; my grandparents supplied the bread, we supplied peanut butter and jelly, and my aunt and uncle the chips. It was kind of fun to do that.

We didn't end up horseback riding or riding a bike, but we did go boating! On our boat ride we saw a family of swans. My dad, being a photographer, naturally took a lot of pictures of them. However, we didn't enjoy the boat ride to the fullest because it was cloudy, rainy, and cold. But it was still fun.

One day we all took a hike on one of the trails. Scratch that. Several of the trails. They didn't have the trails marked out very well, so when there was a fork in the path, we didn't always know which way to go. Thankfully, my grandparents had been hiking there several times before and were able to lead us back to the inn. It took a while, but we eventually got back. It was kind of fun, being "lost" in the woods like that. It kind of felt like the part in Prince Caspian where Peter is leading his siblings and Trumpkin through the woods to where Caspian is, but they end up going the wrong way because they wouldn't listen to Lucy. Lol. I know, I know. I've read the book too many times.

On the way back we went to Lake Michigan. It was the first time my sister and I had seen the lake, so it was a neat experience. It was raining off and on, though, and rather foggy. We did our best to enjoy it, though. Mom was telling us about how she used to run down the sand dunes when they visited the lake. So she and I ran down one just for fun. I got sand in my shoes, but it was still fun. Later we fed the seagulls on the beach and a rather large flock gathered. I don't know how many pictures my dad took, but I'm sure it was a lot. :-) Then we had a picnic in the car, and started the drive home.

So those were the highlights of our vacation. Hopefully you weren't too bored reading them! :)

Insecurities

(Warning: long post ahead! Only read if you have time to finish it.)
So lately I've been feeling insecure, and I really haven't dealt with it until yesterday. Like, I've been doing almost everything to win people's approval. I've been so scared to face rejection from people. What will they think of me? I don't want them to think I'm not as good as them.

We all face insecurities at one time or another. Whether it's standing up for your faith, or even just mustering up enough courage to try out for a band, or sports team, or whatever, we all face the fear. Most of the time it's fear of failure or rejection.

What if I fail? What if people laugh at me? What if all I've been hiding inside goes on display for all to see? What if *gasp* people see I'm not perfect?

These questions were going through my head yesterday, and early this morning. But now... it's different. I've prayed about it, and started reading my Bible, which was already open to 1 John 3.

3:1 "See what kind of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."

God has loved us so much despite our insecurities. Despite the fact we were once sinners. He loved us so much that He wanted to save us from sin and destruction. And the only way to do that was to sin His Son to die for us!! WHILE we were still sinners. God saw ALL our sin. Every imperfection. Yet He still gave His best. The Almighty God who created the universe, gave His very best, knowing He would die at the hands of His creation: man. Even though He knew all that would happen, He still created us.

He could have chosen not to.

He could have looked and seen all the sins "So and so" would do. He could have said, "Let's just not create "So and so". Look at all the sins "So and so" will do!!!"

But He created you. He created the entire human race and loved us. He has called us, those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, His children. And now we are His children.

Not only that, Jesus has taken away our sins! Not just covered them up. They are removed. When God looks at us, His repentant children, He sees pure, righteous children.

So how does this help us not feel insecure anymore? Well, just the fact that God loves us and did all that for us should humble us and realize that pleasing God is really all that matters. But there's so much more that God's shown me this morning. The following are verses in the New Living Translation, with my notes and possible reactions to the verses underneath each verse:

1 John 5:1-5 "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too."
Oh wow! I believe that Jesus is the Christ, so I'm a child of God!
"2 We know we love God's children if we love God and obey His commandments."
Well, I love God but obeying His commandments is kind of hard. Obeying His commandments means I have to love my enemies! It means I have to be slow to anger and not speak evil about anyone. It means I can't be prideful or look down on anyone.
"3 Loving God means keeping His commandments, and really, that isn't difficult."
It... isn't difficult?
No, not when we apply verse four:

"4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. 5 And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God."

So all I have to do is trust Christ for the victory?
Yes! Trust Him to give you victory over sin the same way You would trust Him for safety while you travel on a family vacation. Just as you would for anything else in life.
But what does it mean by defeating the "evil world", exactly?
Rewind to 1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."
That pretty much sums up each way we're tempted, huh? Lust of physical pleasures, lust of the eyes... and the big one for me is the boastful pride of life. What is behind our fear of rejection?

Pride. We want to look perfect. We want to be accepted. We want people to look up at us and think good things about us.

Whenever we're tempted to be in pride, or tempted in any other way for that matter, we need to trust God to give us victory over it!

Then concerning fear...
1 John 4:16 "We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in Him. God is love, and all who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear because perfect love expels ALL fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that His love has not been perfected in us. 19 We love each other as a result of His loving us first." (NLT)
Wow. Every day as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. And perfect love expels all fear!! So if we're afraid of other people's opinions, we're not walking in love.
When we're afraid of what people think of us, our focus is on ourselves. "What's best for ME. What makes ME look good." Instead of, "God has loved me so much and called me His child!! Now I love Him and others as a result. What does God want me to do? What does His Word say about this situation? What can I do that would best benefit the other person, even if it has the potential to make me look silly?"

Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves. Every word, every action, all we are, needs to be out of overflowing love for God. Love that, as we walk with God, grows more and more perfect every day. Sure it takes effort to remember to trust God for victory over sin. It takes effort to seek God every day, and do everything out of love.
But it is certainly well worth the effort.

Pictures!

First off, I apologize for not posting much in the past couple weeks. Been really busy lately, and from the looks of my calendar, things really aren't going to slow down much. Maybe we'll have some free time in July, if we don't end up scheduling something then too. Lol!

Anyway... I decided to post some pictures of our day trip on Memorial Day. We got together with my aunt's family and went hiking to some water falls. We didn't go very far, because it was raining off and on and we didn't want to get stuck in the rain, but it was still fun and VERY pretty.

So, without further delay...



















Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

Recital & Summer

The music recital went well last night. Some of my teacher's students weren't able to attend, so it was a rather short program. But everyone did great. Even those who had only been taking lessons for a couple of years sounded really good.

My performances went fairly well... The first song I played on violin was a Celtic piece called "The Butterfly." I didn't really make mistakes, necessarily, but I didn't play it as well as I did when practicing at home. Oh well. The next song I did was a hymn, "Come Thou Fount," which was accompanied by my teacher on the piano. It's one of my favorite hymns, and I knew it well, so it wasn't too difficult. Though, since I was doing it by memory I was kind of hesitant on some of the notes so they came out shaky.
I played guitar on the last song, and my sister played the melody with her flute. It's a worship song called, "No Sweeter Name." (An awesome song - you should look it up if you're not familiar with it.) My sister did great, despite the fact that my strumming wasn't always in perfect rhythm, and I accidentally played the wrong chord at one point. Oh well. :-) It happens.

Anyway, now that both orchestra and the music recital are over, I can start working on other things... like learning different styles of vibrato and working on my bowing, etc. I'll also have an opportunity to learn new songs just for fun. So I'm looking forward to doing that this summer.

What are you all doing this summer?

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
May 18th, 2009

Outside my window…
Sun is shining! A very welcome change from all the rain we've been getting.

I am thinking…
of my music recital tonight!

I am thankful for…
my violin/guitar/piano teacher. :-)

I am wearing…
Jeans, a white long sleeve top with a dark blue short sleeve shirt layered on top.

I am reading…
Matthew, Proverbs. Inside Prince Caspian, by Devin Brown

I am creating…
I've been taking photographs with my new camera.

One of my favorite things…
...my new camera. :-)

For education this week…
Home Ec, English, Spanish

A keeper at home skill I am using …
Sweeping the floor.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To be flexible and not have to do things my own way all the time; to seek God and follow the plan HE has for me.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Agape love

Scripture I of the day…
Matthew 18:4-6 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in my name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. (NASB)

I am praying for…
That everyone in the music recital tonight will perform wonderfully and not be nervous.

For the rest of the week…
Hopefully I'll find time to blog. I'm working in the 5 year old class at church this Wednesday, if I remember correctly. The last day of P.E. on Thursday, music lessons, volunteering at the library... Next Monday I may not get to blogging because we're going out of town for Memorial day to visit family. :-)

A picture I’d like to share…

A picture of honeysuckle I took in the woods near my aunt and uncle's house. It isn't the best picture because we were walking in the middle of the day there, but I still like it. :)

A Young maiden's Daybook

Today…
May 11th, 2009

Outside my window…
It's cloudy, wet, but nice out.

I am thinking…
of how faithful God's promises are.

I am thankful for…
My wonderful mom!

I am wearing…
A white sweater (yes, it got cold here again!), jeans, and socks.

I am reading…
Inside Prince Caspian, Isaiah, Matthew, Joel.

I am creating…
Um... just a blog post at this point in time.

One of my favorite things…
Giving my sister birthday presents... actually, keeping the gifts a secret until her birthday is also rather fun. :-)

For education this week…
Spanish, finishing up English, Home Ec.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Cleaning even when I don't feel like it.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
to obey God's voice even when it doesn't seem reasonable.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
"Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand." - Phil 4:5

Scripture I am memorizing…
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord.

I am praying for…
Healing

For the rest of the week…
Dentist appointment, P.E., celebrating my sister's birthday.

A picture I’d like to share…

Devotional Thoughts

I've been reading through 1 Thessalonians and I thought I'd post some thoughts on what I read today.

5:5 "for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness"
I didn't post the first four verses because I didn't go over those today in my study time. But by all means, feel free to read them so you understand the context in which these verses were written.

"For you are all sons of light and sons of day." What does it mean to be a son of light and of day? Well, first off, what is light and day? In the physical, it is the time in which we are awake and active. Light is what helps us see so we can be active without hurting ourselves like we would in the dark. In the spiritual sense, God is light. (1 John 1:5) He shows us who we are when we look into His Word. When we accept Jesus into our lives, we become the adopted son or daughter of God and are transferred from darkness into God's marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9) Now what? We need to act like a son or daughter of light so that unbelievers can see a difference in us! So that they can see what God is like, and therefore desire to become a Christian as well (and hopefully become one!). Since we are sons and daughters of light, we are not of night or darkness anymore. What is night and darkness? Read on.


5:6 "so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober (self controlled)."
Because we are now of the light and day, we need to be alert and sober, or self controlled as the footnotes in my Bible say. In other words, we need to be alert and not caught off guard when we are tempted. We need to be self controlled when we are tempted, and do what God wants us to do instead of what seems good. We need to be alert as to what God is saying to us through His Word and His Spirit. And we need to be self controlled enough so that we obey Him instead of doing what our flesh wants.


5:7 "For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night"
And here it tells us what people of the night and darkness do. Sure, we should get physical sleep at night. But this is talking about spiritual sleep. As stated in verse 6, we need to be alert and sober. I heard a preacher once say that drunkeness in the Bible could also refer to being drunk with the flesh. What does that mean? Giving into what your flesh wants to do. Each time you disobey God, it becomes easier and easier to disobey Him. It prevents you from being alert to what God wants you to do. It influences you to sin and keeps you from being self-controlled, like being drunk in the physical sense would. Instead of continuing in sin, repent and get right with God! Sin is a road to destruction, and if you continue in it too long, it could end in your destruction, or someone else's.

5:8 "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation."

How can we stay self-controlled? We need to put on the breastplate of faith and love! The two work together. The greek word of "love" is agape. It is unconditional love, unending love. The love God has for us, and the love we need to have for God and all mankind. (See Camden's posts on love for more info about what it is!) Why is it called a breastplate? I believe that when we "put on" this faith and love and keep it on, it is a protection against the enemy. For instance, when we have faith in God, we trust in Him and that He will keep His promises. When we combine this with love, every action taken in faith is not for ourselves, but for others. When we do things for ourself, it's easy to not step out in faith. We think, "Oh, I don't think I should talk to that person about God. I'm not brave enough. And I'm not a great speaker. They'd laugh at me." But when you obey God out of love for Him and others, then you see that this isn't about you, but about others. About showing them God's love. When we do this, we overcome temptation to not do what God's told us to do. When we walk in love, we are walking in obedience to God, and therefore are under His "umbrella" of protection.

5:^{9 "}For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

The greek word for "wrath" is orge (pronounced "or-gay' "). It means impulse; passion or any violent commotion of mind; indignation, anger, wrath, desire for vengeance, punishment. God has not destined us for this!! Realize 1. God is not waiting to pour out his wrath on you! You are his child! He doesn't want to hurt you! Every good and perfect gift comes from God, who is good. Nothing bad comes from Him. Everything bad comes from the devil, who comes to kill, steel and destroy. (John 10:10.) Point 2. We need to not have this attitude toward people, either. Show others the same mercy and love God has shown you! If you boil up with anger against other people, wanting to give them "what they deserve," this is NOT love. This is acting as a child of darkness, not of light. It doesn't matter what they did to you, or what they're doing. Forgive them. Pray for them. Don't harbor bitterness or unforgiveness in your heart. 3. God has destined us for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ! Salvation means wholeness; lacking nothing. God has done so much for us to bring us salvation. Let's do our part and really act as the children of God we are.

5:10 ^"who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him."

Jesus died to bring us salvation. He gave His all. He sacrificed everything so we could have fellowship with Him. We should not treat this lightly, but always be in awe of what He has done for us!

5:11-13 "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. ¹²But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, ¹³and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another."

Encourage each other with what you learn from God! And keep excelling in it. Don't ever think you've reached a point in the Christian life where you can stop excelling.

Be sure to give honor where honor is due. Be respectful to those who "have charge over you" - which includes your parents and pastor. Appreciate them, thank God for them, and do things to show your appreciation. Respect them, and obey them! Even if you don't always agree with them, keep esteeming them very highly in love! Don't be at war with them. God has placed them in your life for your protection. To help you grow. You'll never be in a place in your life where you can quit growing in the Lord. Part of maturity is showing respect for those God has placed in authority in your life. Anything less is immature.

5:14-15 "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

I think these last verses are self explanatory, so I won't say anything more about them.

Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
April 27th, 2009

Outside my window…
Birds are chirping happily, the trees are decorated with bright greens, and the sky is covered in cloud.

I am thinking…
of how blessed we are!


I am thankful for…
Friends and family.

I am wearing…
Jeans, flip-flops, and a short sleeve top.

I am reading…
Inside Prince Caspian by Devin Brown I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians 13, Matthew, and Romans.

I am creating…
A blog post. Need to make more of these! :-)

One of my favorite things…
My camera.

For education this week…
Rosetta Stone Spanish, Home Ec, and English. Oh, and Driver's Ed too.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Washing dishes

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
Love is patient (slow to anger), love is kind.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Boldness to speak up about my faith.

Scripture of the day…
1 Thess 4:1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more.

I am praying for…
Wisdom and understanding.

For the rest of the week…
Church, practicing violin and guitar, violin and guitar lessons

A picture I’d like to share…








I'm trying to paint this flower... It's coming along nicely, but slowly.

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
April 20th, 2009

Outside my window…
It's 70º F!! :)

I am thinking…
Of how my birthday is only two days away. :)

I am thankful for…
God's grace.

I am wearing…
Jeans, and a green short sleeve top.

I am reading…
1 Thessalonians, Matthew; "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris

I am creating…
Paintings! :)

One of my favorite things…
My Bible

For education this week…
Driver's Ed, Home Ec, Spanish, and English! I am done with Chemistry and Algebra! (except I do have a few Chemistry experiments left. I need to get that done.)

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Ironing

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To be a blessing, even when it means stepping out of my comfort zone.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Humility

Scripture I am memorizing…
1 Thess 2:6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.

I am praying for…
God's wisdom.

For the rest of the week…
On Wednesday we're going out for lunch for my birthday, and also on Wednesday I get to volunteer at my church in the five year old class. Thursday I have music lessons, Friday I volunteer at the library, and Saturday we're playing at another home concert.

A picture I’d like to share…
The red but in our backyard when it snowed last month. :)

In Comparison

When we see another's work, it is often tempting to compare our work with theirs. For example, say you are writing... a poem. You like how the poem is turning out, but it's still a little rough around the edges. Then you read another person's poem. It is the most beautiful, touching poem you have ever read. You read your poem again. It hardly begins to compare. It can be easy to get discouraged. To look at how short your work falls in comparison to another's. Some times you might even want to crumple your poem up and throw it away because it could never be as good as so-and-so's.

But here's the catch: Your poem isn't going to look like so-and-so's poem. It's not supposed to look like so-and-so's poem. God has created special talents and gifts in you - even if He gives two people the talent to write poems, their poems are going to be different. One might write about nature -the other about music. But EVEN if they write about the same subject, it will be different. Person #1 might have just finished editing their poem when they read Person #2's poem. Person #1 might like Person #2's work a lot better than theirs, but it doesn't mean Person #1's work isn't good. God has a purpose for Person #1's work, just as much as He has a purpose for Person #2's work - and that purpose is NOT to discourage Person #1 or even Person #3 from writing poems - if writing poems is part of God's calling for those people.

Certainly we can learn from studying other's work, though. We shouldn't just just say that our work is going to be different from others and therefore we don't need to learn from their work. No. Say you like to paint. Studying painters at work can help you paint better. Not so you can copy all their paintings exactly, but so you can see the different techniques they use and figure out which techniques you want to use.

But most importantly, and frequently, we need to study Jesus. We should study His life and be more like Him every day. "But He was PERFECT!" You might say. "We could never be like Him." But by reading and applying God's Word to your life daily you will become more like Jesus every day. In Philippians 3:12, Paul says, "I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." (NLT) Every day we need to "press on" to possess the above mentioned perfection. Ask God to help you become more like Him every day. It's a life long process, but each day He is faithful to help you reach the mark.

I have been tagged!

...by Araken. :)

1. What's your favorite school subject? English, but Chemistry falls close behind.

2. What's your favorite movie? The Fellowship of the Ring.

3. What's your favorite Bible verse and why? I can't choose a favorite, but I REALLY like Romans 12:1-3, because it gives instructions on what to do each day to please God.

4. What's your favorite day of the week and why? I have two: Saturdays, because of the luxury of sleeping in, and Sundays because of church and orchestra practice.

5. What's your favorite color? Blue!!

6. What's your favorite band? Right now, BarlowGirl, but it changes with time. :P

7. What's your favorite kind of music? Christian Worship, and Celtic.

8. What's your favorite book? The Last Battle, by C. S. Lewis.

9. What're you planning to do after this? Practice new orchestra music, and edit photographs I've taken.

10. Who're you tagging? I've no idea who to tag, so if you want to be tagged... you're tagged! :)

Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
April 6th, 2009

Outside my window…
Sun is shining, trees are growing leaves... spring is here!

I am thinking…
Of how quickly April arrived, and how well the orchestra play-a-thon at the mall went yesterday. :)

I am thankful for…
God's faithfulness.

I am wearing…
Jeans, a long-sleeved white shirt with a green sweater over it, and socks. (It got cold again!)


I am reading…
1 Peter, Proverbs, Psalms, and "I Kissed Dating Good-bye" by Joshua Harris.

I am creating…
Pictures to put on my photobucket.

One of my favorite things…
A clean house.

For education this week…
I'm finishing Algebra 2 and Chemistry! *celebrates* I'll still have all my other normal subjects to do, though.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Um... well, I swept floors and watered plants today.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To not be a "lazy" Christian.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Brotherly kindness.

Scripture of the day…
Psalm 9:10 Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for You.

I am praying for…
Healing for my family and I.

For the rest of the week…
I plan to get rid of this cold so by Easter I won't be blowing my nose. I'll also be practicing new orchestra pieces, including the Finale from Hayden's Farewell Symphony.

A picture I’d like to share…


Horses are so beautiful... (click on the picture to see the whole thing.)

Home Concert

*Brief note so my readers don't get lost: My dad has a music ministry and plays piano in various places places for home concerts, church, home churches... things like that. Sometimes he brings my sister and I along to play with him. My sister plays flute.*

Yesterday we drove a little less than an hour to a home in the country to do a home concert. Which, in itself, seems fairly simple until you take into account what happened before we started driving.

I awoke with a sore throat. Several things happened in the morning and early afternoon that prevented us from leaving on time. Long story short, after packing all my dad's music equipment in the car and driving the distance to the house, we weren't exactly on time. But neither was the audience. We were originally going to have it outside, but it was too windy, so we brought all the equipment inside (consisting of a keyboard, speakers, cords, things like that) the house. Once we finally got set up, the 20 people that said they were going to be there... weren't there. We probably had like half of that. But the few who came were praying for the right people to come. And I believe the right people came.

The concert started smoothly; late, but smoothly. I was amazed at how relaxed my dad seemed. It was amazing how God worked through him, song after song. I'm ashamed to admit that after the first hour, I was hoping we'd end the concert soon so we could go home and get a good night's sleep. (We had church in the morning, and a long afternoon playing with my orchestra in the mall to look forward to.) Granted, I was tired. Dad hadn't called me up to play violin yet, and the sun was setting. Finally, I just gave my thoughts to God and committed to surrender the evening to Him. Once that happened... wow. I wish I had done that a lot sooner! I could feel God's presence so tangibly in that room; it was amazing. I could tell the other people felt Him too. After talking a little bit, Dad called me up to play. He asked me to play a fiddle song... I felt so awkward playing a fast paced, fun song right after he had played a beautiful soft piece he had written. But the crowd seemed to enjoy it... (You should know that Dad doesn't always plan a schedule ahead... so I don't always know what I'm going to play.) Then he suggested I play a hymn. I picked "Be Thou My Vision," mainly because it sounds gorgeous on the violin. This time I played each note to God... I gave it to Him to use to bless. I found out afterward that it was someone's favorite hymn. Praise God! Then last I played an accompaniment to a song my dad wrote. I'm still not quite used to playing with him, but I think I did pretty well. I sat back down on the couch, and Dad played some more. My sister played flute later. I'm still amazed at how quickly she's picked it up! She's already written a song on it. :)

At the end of the concert, one by one people began to pray for us. I was in absolute awe at how... blessed they were that night. A few people said they shed tears of joy when we played. It was incredible beyond words to think that God used us to touch lives that night. God used us to bless them, and turned around and blessed us back more than we could ask! We used our talents for Him and I got to see Him work through us.

So what's the point of this post? What has God given you to work with? What talents do you have? It doesn't have to be musical for God to use. You don't have to have a dad who plays piano in order to bless people. There are people all around you that God is giving you the opportunity to bless - by encouraging them, witnessing to them, volunteering your time and efforts, even maybe giving some money to them, etc. But don't just bless so you can receive back in return! Certainly God will give back to you more than enough, but our goal should be to impact others' lives for Jesus. Pray about what God would have you do, and do it. What will you do with the blessings God has given you?

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
March 30th, 2009

Outside my window…
The last bit of snow we got on the weekend is melting, and the red bud is blooming.

I am thinking…
Of how well the concert went on Saturday.

I am thankful for…
My church home.

I am wearing…
A white top with a sweater over it, jeans, and socks.

I am reading…
Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Psalms, Matthew.

I am creating…
A forest painting and a blog post about worship. (No, I haven't forgotten about it. :) )

One of my favorite things…
Orchestra practice. :)

For education this week…
Preparing for the orchestra concert next week, driver's Ed, Algebra, Chemistry... the usual.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Time management.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
Choosing to obey God in all my actions.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Agape love.

Scripture of the day…
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. (NASB)

I am praying for…
God to use me.

For the rest of the week…
I'm going to my cousin's birthday party tonight, working in the five year old class at church on Wednesday, and lots of practicing for the orchestra concert next week.

A picture I’d like to share…

Red buds!! :)

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
March 23rd, 2009

Outside my window…
The sun has just set.

I am thinking…
of how much God's blessed me with the ability to play violin.

I am thankful for…
The talent spoken of above.

I am wearing…
Jeans, socks, and a green short sleeve top.

I am reading…
1 and 2 Timothy, Proverbs, Matthew, Psalms.

I am creating…
Desktop wallpapers and a short story.

One of my favorite things…
My laptop

For education this week…
Algebra, Spanish, Driver's Ed, Chemistry, Writing, and Home Ec.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Keeping the plants watered.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
Speaking gently to my sister.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Patience

Scripture of the day…
Prov 16:2-3 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.

I am praying for…
God to mold me into who He wants me to be.

For the rest of the week…
Getting ready for a concert on Saturday, and orchestra rehearsal on Sunday.

A picture I’d like to share…



Sunset picture I took a year or two ago...

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
March 16, 2009

Outside my window…
Sun is shining brightly, leaves are emerging from bare trees, and birds are singing. :)

I am thinking…
Of how good God is!

I am thankful for…
Spring and warm weather.

I am wearing…
Beige capris and a dark blue short sleeve top.

I am reading…
Fellowship of the Ring, Deuteronomy, Psalm 5, Proverbs, and Matthew.

I am creating…
Poems and songs to the ultimate Creator!

One of my favorite things…
My new shoulder rest for my violin. :-)

For education this week…
Finish writing my short story, home ec, Algebra, Chemistry... the usual.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Cleaning up before and after meals. :-)

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
Putting others first.

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Self control.

Scripture of the day…
Deut. 26:16-17 This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.

I am praying for…
God's peace in all that I do.

For the rest of the week…
Enjoying the beautiful weather, doing schoolwork, and spending time with family.

A picture I’d like to share…

Worship pt. 1

Hello everyone!

Well, I've decided to do some posts on worship. If everything goes as planned, this will be the first post in a series of blog entries discussing the subject of Worship. Seeing as this is the first time I've really done anything like this, please bear with me. These might not be the most well written blog entries you've ever read.

So today I want to talk about what worship IS. You might say, "It's the slow songs we sing at church," or, "It's the point in the service where we sing songs." Well, sort of. But I think it goes much deeper than singing a song.

I'm in the middle of doing a study on worship, so I recently looked up Scriptures on the subject, most of which were in the Old Testament. No, I'm not going to bore you on the history of Old Testament musical instruments or anything like that. But I hope you don't mind me pointing out one or two Hebrew words and meanings.

1 Chronicles 6:31-32a "David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the Lord after the Ark was placed there. ³² They ministered with music at the Tabernacle..."
The Hebrew word for ministered (according to my notes) is sharath. It means "Service before the Lord." You don't have to be up on stage singing or playing an instrument at church to be ministering before the Lord. You can minister to God first of all by singing the songs to Him - not just singing them because it's what's expected of you. But when you really take time to think about the words and sing it to Him, that's ministering to the Lord.
Next, you can minister to God and others by volunteering at church. Whether it be helping out with children's church, passing out church bullitens, greeting people at the door, or even holding a door open for someone, you're ministering to others. You are "serving them before the Lord." This not only is serving others, but it is also serving the Lord because it is obeying His commands to serve.
You can also minister by serving outside of church - in your home, school (for some cases, your home may be your school :) ), where you work, volunteer, etc. You can minister to your family by doing chores around the house without complaining and before you're asked to do them. You can be an extra blessing by doing extra chores. You can also minister by lending a listening ear to a friend, family member, co-worker, etc. The list goes on and on.

But you can do all these things and still not worship God with them if you're not doing them "as unto the Lord." What does this mean? Well, think about it. If you could see Jesus physically, and He was standing right in front of you and asked you to say... wash the dishes, wouldn't you wash the dishes the best you can? When you do something as unto the Lord, you are doing it to Him, giving Him your best out of love for Him. Cain's offering was not accepted by God because it was not his best. 1 Corinthians 13 says that even if you gave all you had to the poor, and didn't have love, that it would be meaningless. Nothing. So we need to have love in all we do - not just love for God, but love for people. True, God doesn't NEED worship, but He still requires it of us. We may get into that in a later post.

So to summarize, worship is giving yourself to God out of love for Him. It is the giving of our time, talents, money (such as tithes, offerings, etc.), our desires, etc., to Him. So today, just ask God to help you surrender your all to Him. Tell Him that you want to serve Him in all you do, and ask Him to give you the strength to do so, and that He would remind you to.

Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." (NIV)

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
March 9th, 2009

Outside my window…
Birds are singing! Leaves are sprouting on the once-bare trees. Flowers are popping up.

I am thinking…
of how good my sister is playing her flute. :)

I am thankful for…
My new shoulder rest, rosin, and mute for the violin!

I am wearing…
Jeans, socks, and a white top.

I am reading…
Psalms, Matthew, "Spiritual Lives..." still, and "The Power of a Praying Teen" by Stormie Omartian.

I am creating…
A painting of a stream in the woods... we'll see how that goes.

One of my favorite things…
The 70ºF weather we've been having... It's been so lovely!

For education this week…
Home Ec, Algebra, Driver's Ed, P.E., Chemistry, and English

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Sweeping.

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To not worry, but "cast my care upon the Lord."

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Love

Scripture of the day…
Matthew 6:25 "Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?"

I am praying for…
A closer walk with the Lord

For the rest of the week…
Resting in the Lord and not fretting about anything. :)

A picture I’d like to share…


Sorry it's a little blurry... it's the cross painting I did. :)

Orchestra

So I thought I'd explain my Video converter's post. See, at first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to even get the concert on my computer, much less online! So after my dad made a DVD of it, at first it looked like I wasn't going to be able to get it online, which made me sad because I had a lot of friends and family that weren't able to make it to the concert, and I wanted to share it with them. Plus, the DVD seemed to get scratches on it easily, so I wasn't sure how long it would last.
So I saved the files to my computer, but none of my programs were able to open it. Then I did a search and found a video converter program that converted the file type to something more compatible! Yay!! After fiddling with it for a bit, I figured out how to convert it to a Windows Media Player format. Then I edited it a bit, and was able to post it online! So that's why I was so excited.

And now... for the first song we played in the orchestra:



Enjoy! By the way, you aren't able to really see me in the video. You can see my hand and part of the top of my head, but the rest of me is hidden behind another violinist.

A Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
March 2nd, 2009
Outside my window…
The sky is filled with clouds, but the birds are still chirping - a sound I've missed over the winter.
I am thinking…
about starting a salad for dinner.
I am thankful for…
My mom, who's shown me that fruits and vegetables really are the best foods in the world.
I am wearing…
Comfortable jeans, socks, a long sleeve top with a short sleeve shirt on top of it.
I am reading…
Proverbs, Matthew, Deuteronomy, and The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers.
I am creating…
Videos of my orchestra concert. :)
One of my favorite things…
My quiet time with the Lord in the mornings.
For education this week…
Home ec, Drivers Ed (yes!), Algebra, Chemistry, and English. I finished Geography for the year. :)
A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Making dinner... or at least part of it.
A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To guard the words I say.
A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Grace.
Scripture (of the day)…
Proverbs 16:1 The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the wise answer of the tongue.
I am praying for…
God to continue to prune me... to mold me and take out anything in me that doesn't please Him.
For the rest of the week…
Practicing, delighting myself in the Lord, enjoying the warm weather we're supposed to get, and spending time with family.
A picture I’d like to share…



Psalm 121:1-2 "I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!" (NLT)

YAY for video converters!!!!

I'm really really excited - I figured out how to get video from my most recent orchestra concert on the computer and converted so that I can put it online!!! Because at first it was in this really weird format that I'd never heard of. So then I googled how to convert it and I found a free video converter. YES!!! I was literally jumping up and down. LOL. I might put the video up here if I can figure out how to split the video so it's short enough to upload.

So yeah... this isn't a very deep, insightful post. I just felt like sharing that with you all.

But about my last concert - it went really well! I was a lot less nervous than the last concert, but I was less satisfied with my performance this time than the last. I did fine until the last song where I lost my place and had to wait 'till half the intro was over before I could play it correctly. LOL. Oh well. But it was still really neat. It's just so cool to be a part of something so large and produce such full, pretty music.

So... if anyone's reading this (which I hope there are a few at least!), I have a question for you. Do any of you play an instrument? If so, which one(s)? How long have you been playing? Have you been a part of any ensemble, band, or orchestra?

Young Maiden's Daybook

Today…
February 23rd, 2009
Outside my window…
A blanket of gray blocks my view of the sun, but the sun still shines beyond it.
I am thinking…
of how many things I need to do today.
I am thankful for…
my family.
I am wearing…
Warm, fuzzy socks, jeans, and a long-sleeve top.
I am reading…
The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh, and Romans.
I am creating…
Photographs.
One of my favorite things…
My computer.
For education this week…
Home Economics, LOTS of practicing violin, Chemistry, Algebra, and English
A keeper at home skill I am using/learning…
Keeping the kitchen clean.
A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To value others as more important than myself.
A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Generosity.
Scripture I am memorizing…
Again, not memorizing, but my verse of the day is Romans 6:13: And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
I am praying for…
God's guidance.
For the rest of the week…
School, and spending time with my family.
A picture I’d like to share…



-My violin on top of a LOT of violin music. :)

A Young Maiden's Daybook

I recently found HsKubes' Girl's blog and saw that she started something called "A Young Maiden's Daybook." So I decided to participate. I'll be doing this every Monday, so hopefully I'll be posting more often now. :-)

Today…
February 16th, 2009

Outside my window…
The sun is shining, the trees are bare, and the grass is brown.

I am thinking…
of the orchestra concert I will be a part of tonight!

I am thankful for…
God's unfailing faithfulness to me.


I am wearing…
Jeans, a plain, white longsleeve top, and a warm white sweater. But in a few hours I'll be changing into a white blouse, floor length black skirt, hoes, and black dress shoes for the orchestra concert. :-)

I am reading…
Proverbs, Scriptures about music and worship, and Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

I am creating…
A painting of a cross. Actually, I'm pretty much done with it. There are just a few more touches I should add.

One of my favorite things…
My violin

For education this week…
Algebra, Chemistry, Geography, Spanish, Writing and Grammar, and Music as always.

A keeper at home skill I am using/learning …
Doing dishes

A spiritual lesson I’m learning…
To rely on God and learn to hear His voice

A godly character trait I plan to work on…
Love

Scripture I am memorizing…
I'm not memorizing a Scripture at the moment, but my verse of the day is Proverbs 3:3: "Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with God and man." (NLT)

I am praying for…
Continued health for my family and me.

For the rest of the week…
Schoolwork, practicing, and hopefully finishing Pilgrim's Progress. :-)

A picture I’d like to share…
Spring is on it's way! :-)

Fireproof

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry about that! Sorry if this one's short - I don't have much time to write.

A few weeks ago, we went to see Fireproof at the dollar theater. (We'd been waiting for it to get to the dollar theater, and we were really excited when we saw it there.) It's a really really awesome movie and I encourage you all to go see it. And if you've already seen it, watch it again! :-)

I think it's amazing that they really defined love in this movie - not love as in a feeling, but how it's described in 1 Corinthians 13. It was really neat to see that chapter in action. Fireproof is a movie about a husband and wife that are having marriage problems. Then the husband is given something called the "love dare" where he is supposed to do something special for his wife each day for a certain period of time. At first he does this half-heartedly, and his efforts are rejected, which makes him more frustrated. But with the help of his father, he is persistent and eventually his marriage gets back together.

I thought this was a very realistic movie - their problems didn't just get solved immediately or automatically. It takes patience... longsuffering. In one part of the movie, the song "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller is played. (Awesome song - I encourage you to look it up sometime). It's about waiting on God's timing - but not just sitting back and doing nothing. We are to serve God continually - to worship Him. To obey His commands daily. It was a song I needed to hear that day, and I thought it fit the movie well.

There's a lot more I could say about the movie, but I don't want to spoil it. Hope you get a chance to see it soon!