I miss my family...

my friends... my cat... knowing that I can drive 15 minutes and feel real sand under my toes... being in a place where I know people love me... feeling an overwhelming sense of support instead of an expectancy of failure...

Will you play?

I started reading this new book by Max Lucado called When God Whispers Your Name a couple weeks ago. I was drawn in by the book's intro and ended up sharing it in a devotional with my youth ensemble, Resound, as a devotional before singing in church. So I thought I'd share it with all of you today :) The intro begins with Lucado telling a story of being in an antique store with his family. He sits down to read a book and starts to hear some beautiful piano music being played...

I turned to see who was playing, but couldn't see anyone. I stood and walked closer. A small group of listeners had gathered at the old upright piano. Between the furniture I could see the small back of the pianist. Why, it's only a child! With a few more steps I could see her hair. Short, blonde, and cute like... My heart, it's Andrea!

Our seven-year-old was at the piano, her hands racing up and down the keyboard. I was stunned. What gift of heaven is this that she can play in such a way? Must be a time-released gene she got from my side of the family. But as I drew closer, I saw the real reason. Andrea was "playing" a player piano. She wasn't making the music; she was following it. She wasn't commanding the keyboard; she was trying to keep up with it. Thought it appeared she was playing the song, in reality, she was only trying to keep up with one already written. When a key would dip, her hands would dash.

Oh, but if you could have seen her little face, delighted with laughter! Eyes dancing as would her feet had she been able to stand and play at the same time.

I could see why she was so happy. She sat down to attempt "Chopsticks" but instead played "The Sound of Music." What's more, she couldn't fail. One greater than she was dictating the sound. Andrea was free to play as much as she wanted, knowing the music would never suffer.

It's no wonder she rejoiced. She had every reason to. And so do we.

Hasn't God promised the same to us? We sit at the keyboard, willing to play the only song we know, only to discover a new song. A sublime song. And nobody is more surprised than we are when our meager efforts are converted into melodious moments.

You have one, you know, a song all your own. Each of us does. The only question is, will you play it?

By the way, as I watched Andrea "play" that day in the antique store I observed a couple things.

I noticed the piano got all the credit. The gathered crowd appreciated Andrea's efforts, but they knew the real source of the music. When God works, the same is true. We may applaud the disciple, but no one knows better than the disciple who really deserves the praise.

But that doesn't keep the disciple from sitting at the bench. It sure didn't keep Andrea from sitting at the bench. Why? Because she knew she couldn't fail. Even though she didn't understand how it worked, she knew it did. Even though you may not understand how God works, you know he does. So go ahead. Pull up a bench, take your seat at the piano, and play.

Highlights from a great weekend in San Diego

I love long weekends. This past weekend involved my sister (Tiffany), her boyfriend (Mike), my cousin (Brooke), Auntie Susan, and me visiting my cousin (Jessica) and her husband (Steve) down in San Diego. We went last fall to visit Jessica, minus Tiff, M

ike, and Steve. We arrived on Friday afternoon, went out to dinner and my sis, Jess, and I went to a free Pete Yorn concert. I admit, I had never heard of Pete Yorn, but he was good and the concert was really fun.

The next day consisted of sitting by the pool and relaxing

while the boys barbecued steaks and other yummy foods.

We also went to a bunch of craft/bead stores. The next

morning we went to service at Steve and Jessica's church, which was awesome. We then spent the rest of the day at the beach in Oceanside - reading, going in the water, napping, eating, all those good things. That night we went to Benihana's for Jessica's bday dinner - yummy!

The next morning (Monday), Tiff and Mike left to go home, and the rest of us went to the San Diego Zoo. I hadn't been there since I was little and it was so much fun! We saw every animal you could imagine, plus some that I could never

name! I even got to feed a camel :) So fun! That pretty much sums up my weekend! Doesn't get much better than that!

School starts on Thursday... Eeeeeek!!

Well, I'm back in Riverside...

I've been here since Sunday afternoon and I am already exhausted. It's Tuesday night and we just finished our second day of rehearsal camp... meaning two days of 12 hour rehearsals (minus lunch/dinner breaks). Even though classes haven't started yet, rehearsal camp signifies the beginning of the school year and end of the summer for me. And I'm already missing summer! Please come back!

I didn't have any specific purpose for this blog, but just wanted to post a little update :) There sure are a lot of things going on my head right now... thinking about this year, my classes, lessons, graduation, everything. Scary to think about, but I'm just trying to take everything one day at a time.

If you want to write to me, I love snail mail and care packages! ;) My address is still the same at school... love and miss you all!