Is Home still Home?

"Home is where the heart is." Though completely overused for decorative plates, wall hangings, and welcome mats, this saying actually has some meaning behind it. As I sit in my basement at my parent's house in Maryland, on a well deserved break after a semester that almost killed me, I can't help but feel a yearning to go back to school. It's not the classes that are pulling me back (although, the organ is... and I'm really excited for Instrumental Conducting... but I digress) it's the relationships that I have made in the last 3 semesters. At school, I have found those who I can call brothers, and in some cases, the brothers I never had; I have some of the best friends that I will ever have, and I have forged relationship and made decisions for myself for the first time. What constitutes as home? I would have to say it's where you heart truly is, and recently, I must say, my home is in Houghton. How will my parents react to me saying that? They'll be disappointed I'm sure, but this is all a part of growing up, moving forward, and making a life of my own.

If I really wanted to take this too far, I could say my heart is in Heaven with my Papa (aka God), but I feel like that should be a given for all Christians. I might actually expand on this later, but not now.

Home is where you heart is, so where is your heart?

Oh dear...

Hello to all,

It has been in fact about 4 months since writing, but that is that life of a college student. (especially one who lives in the music building!) Life has been a giant rollercoaster, but for now, I myself am doing pretty well. There has been a lot of Houghton drama here, but that's typical, and right now, we're all working towards Thanksgiving break. This final push is usually the hardest, and trust me, we are all ready! I promise this time to write something with a little more depth in the next week or so, at least when I get home. Thanks to all who actually read this...

Hello to all who read this...

Hey everyone, just wanting to let you all know that unlike popular opinion, I am in fact NOT dead. I just wanted to put down some of my most recent thoughts, which would include lollipops, catfish, and clovers. Anyways, on to the real reason I am writing, is that I wanted to let you guys know to keep checking back, because I will soon have a real update that will be fantastic.

Creation 2010

Dang... that was fast... Creation is always the highlight of my summer each year. This year's big idea that really came through for me was "Is it holy?"As in, don't ask yourself if what you are about do is okay for a chrisitan to do, but is it a holy thing?? As christians, we strive to be like Christ (duh.) but in that, we have turned away from trying to be holy like Christ, to "will he be pissed if I..." This really hit home for me, because I really do need an attitude change in my walk with God, and I really want to come closer to him, so yeah... What else happened this week...

OH YEAH!!! Relevant Worship is amazing! 'nuff said. They did a private concert for us in our CAMPSITE. How often can you say that happened? It was the highlight of the weekend for us and them, and we had an amazing time worshiping with them.

The bands were great, but God was greater this week, and that's what really matters

Another week flies by...

Dang it... where is the time going? It's already been a week since I've last blogged about anything. This just shows how boring my life is right now. Nothing new is going on, just working through some prep work for Creation and the lake, and just making sure everything is ready to go. I really have nothing to say, so I'm just going to leave it at that for now, but if something comes up, I will let you know!

Hello from my back porch

So, it's summer time, which means I spend my evenings/nights on the porch, watching the stars, the moon, and whatever i can find on netflix... And tonight, it happens to be "Then She Found Me" (2007) with Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, and Colin Firth. It's the story of a New York schoolteacher who hits a midlife crisis. Her husband leaves her, her adopted mother dies, and her birth mother, an eccentric talk show host, comes to find her. The story unfolds into a comedic tale of love, relationships, and what happens in between, aka a courtship with the father of one of her students.

Wow... I should do that for a living... watch movies and write a synopsis. Okay, anyways, what else is going on right now... I have an organ gig at Frederick Pres. Church on Sunday, and I have marching band camp tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited!!! I love band... I know I'm a dork, and I love Drum Corp, aka, band on CRACK!!! One day soon I hope... I will be the conductor of Phantom Regiment. It would be AMAZING!!! Maybe I could actually work for them once I age out, or I'll get an amazing band program of my own.

That brings me to another great idea I had... I want a symphonic orchestra at whatever high school I work at. I want to be able to play pop songs, show tunes, and other amazing arrangements on top of the traditionally amazing orchestra repertoire out there. Picture, a concert of show tunes, and other pieces that require a singer, or a group, and that concert would have amazing effects that would require it to be outdoors, say on a stage on a football field... Basically, go watch a Celtic Woman dvd, especially one of the ones where they are outside, at slane castle, or at Powercourts Garden. That is something I would like to do with an amazing group of high schoolers.

Wow, this is completely random, but I'm glad to get this on paper/blog/internet/whatever.

ANYWAYS!!! Everyone have a good night/week/summer or how ever long it is until I post again!

Salt

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" -Matthew 5:13. My theory professor asked us to reflect on this verse over the semester, and it wasn't until afterwards, in the car on the way home, did I finally make the connection that this verse has in our lives today. In Jewish culture, salt was shared to seal a truce between former enemies, or as a symbol of alliance between close friends. When traveling together, they would carry salt, as it was essential to life, and they would take some salt from each of their bags, and put it in their companion's bag, and say, until you can separate my salt from yours, we will be friends. If we are the salt of the earth, we are meant to live in harmony and friendship with our Christian brothers and sisters. And here's where it all comes together, salt makes you thirsty, correct? If we are the salt of the earth, and we're friendly with other salty people, and see the love we have for each other, wouldn't that make those who aren't salty thirsty? Say, thirsty for the living water? By showing our Christian love, our saltiness, our joy in Christ, we are making others thirsty for His living water. So, go be salty with everyone, get them thirsty, and then show them the one living water.

Oh crap...

Hey guys,

Haven't written in a long, long time... Here's what's up. I just finished mayterm, working in Genesee Valley Central School in Belmont, NY working with the band teachers there. Lot's of fun, lot's of work, and I loved it! On Tuesday, I start working with the Linganore High School Marching Band (YAY!!!) I head home tomorrow, on a long trip to Maryland, but I'm really excited to see everyone again, but I will miss my friends here. Anyways, I promise to start writing more, and I'll let you know what's going on.

Crazy Week so far

So, my last full week of school has passed (of my freshman year that is). I can't believe how fast this year has gone! It seems like just yesterday, I was walking across the stage at Mount St. Mary's getting my diploma, and now I'm an experienced college student, and 3 more finals await me... crap.

I learned why I am having so much trouble playing one of my organ pieces on the church organ. It's because it's a tracker!!! ARG!!! (I mean, I knew this, but now it's really affecting how I play). Anywho... it's been a pain, my hands are always hurting because of all the weight in the stops, and my back is always in knots. Okay, enough complaining from me... 2 days until I'm home. And then back for Mayterm, I am SOOO excited!!!

Finals week (I hate processed foods...)

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long, school has been NUTS!!! Anyways, this week is finals, and I've learned how much it sucks to be a music major during finals, because you can't really study for anything.... it's all from practice in class, like theory and aural skills. (which btw, I totally rocked my theory final!)

On to another subject, I have been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on hulu.com, and it is fantastic. What I really learned is how bad processed foods are for us. It's all the left over junk from prime cuts of meat, and that stuff is just gross... Anyways, I'm just hoping that next year, the food will be better tasting, and much better for us. So, I you all look into it, and check out what you're really eating. I would write more, but I'm pretty distracted right now, but I will dive more into this subject. So, have a good week, and good luck to everyone on finals!

Power Outage at Houghton

Okay, so Allegany County when black tonight, for about 2 hours, and mass chaos broke out on the campus of Houghton College. Needless to say, it was nuts. I almost got hit by a car, WHILE ON THE QUAD!!! People were screaming, praise and worship started up on the chapel steps, and then a rave got started on the other side of the quad. Me? Well, I was trying to help some upper-admin people, because well, that's what I do all the time. It's my version of panic mode, I try to help in every way possible, and we decided the best way was just to get everyone illuminated so we (and others) could see where people were. This contributed to the rave, which I must say was an excellent idea. It kept people in one place, and kind of shut them up.

The one thing that we have learned from this experience is that Houghton needs a better emergency plan when something like this happens. Without the power, the students go wild. In this fact, it made me realize how much this campus relies on lights and electricity. Without it, the stars shine brightly for all to see, but when you look back down, you see headlights coming down the sidewalk. (the one cool thing though, was that the inside of the chapel was completely illuminated, because the emergency lights there are the side candelabras that light the entire room.) Anyways, it was nuts, and better plans need to be in effect for the future.

Relevant Worship show... TONIGHT

Okay, so I haven't written in like 3 weeks, I know, I've been busy, and tonight, everything will finally come to a close! The concert I have been planning for 4 months is TONIGHT! And I am so excited!!! Anyways, I have a lot of new ideas that I need to write about, and I will get to it soon!

Philippians 4

So, tonight I finally got to spend some time with God, something in college that is very valuable. Anyways, tonight, I turned to Philippians, and a verse in chapter 4 really spoke to me. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -- Philippians 4:6

In college, there is a lot of stress, a lot of worrying, a lot of trying to figure out exactly who you are. It's taken me quite a while to learn that through all of this, you can't loose sight of God. He loves us so much, and wants to be a part of our lives. The least we can do is give up our fears, our worries, and our stress. Trust me, this makes our lives a lot happier.

If you haven't read it recently, I encourage you to read Philippians, just reading a few lines in will make you smile; the happiness in Paul's words are contagious!

Weight Watchers, Stealing Fruit, and RA News

Okay, I know it's been a really long time since I last wrote, so here is the update of my life.

I start weight watchers this morning, and I'm really excited! Lunch was good, and very healthy, and was only 10 points! YAY! So, if you don't know how Weight Watchers works, they give everything points, and so, you can only have a certain amount of points per day based on your current weight, and height. Anyways, today was a great start.

Onto stealing fruit.... There is a huge lack of fresh fruit at this school, so when you find it, you need to stock up on it. On my way out of the dining hall, I snagged 2 bananas and a couple of oranges. I'm not saying it's an accomplishment, it's actually really easy! But, it's exciting. It makes me feel adventurous!

Okay, so I didn't get picked to be an RA, and I'm okay with that. Less responsibilities for me! Actually, this gives me more time to devote to SGA, and I can actually run for Class President without going nuts!

Anyways, I promise to write more often!

(FLY WITH CHRIST!)

It's been a while

Hello all, I know it's been a while... Just a lot of work as a music major! Anyways, we've gotten snow up here, and it's been COLD, but what do you expect for living in Western NY?

It's strange, how it seems the days take forever, but the week flies by, and it has made me realize how important and valuable our time is. If there is anything in the world we don't want to waste, it's our time, because you can only give it, you will never gain back those precious seconds and minutes in your day.

Anyways, that's my quick little statement for today, I'll write more later!

URBANA 09

I've been meaning to post this for a while, mainly because I needed to write it out for my church's newsletter, but anywho...

I was talking to my roommate the other day about our experiences at Urbana, and what we learned we were called to do as Christians in today's society. We need to move into a foreign neighborhood, go where we are uncomfortable, be with people we don't know, and shine as a light for Christ. Rev. Brenda McNeil, the final speaker of the conference, talked about Jesus, going through Samaria (a land where few Jewish people go through, they would rather go around) and stopping in a village. There he met Samantha (Rev. McNeil's name for the Samaritan woman, she described how it gave her a personality), a woman who was basically shunned from the rest of the community. Jesus, being from Israel, was completely out of his neighborhood. He extended his grace to this woman, one whom would be despised if Jesus was any other Jewish person. Basically, He loved her, like all of us should love our brothers and sisters her on Earth. Missionary work is about being the change, but what we now know, is that the greatest change is on a personal level. After a few minutes of discussion, my roommate said the most profound thing to ever come out of his mouth, "You need to be a big picture person, with a tiny paint brush." We are called to be the change in people's lives, how are you making that change?

The Equality Ride at Houghton

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, a campus wide email was sent out about Soulforce's Equality Ride (link) is coming to our humble abode called Houghton. Soulforce is an organization founded by Mel White, a gay priest who has actually taken out parts of the Bible that he feels are unimportant and really do not have anything to do with our life today. (www.melwhite.org) They are coming to our school because and I quote, "your student guidelines maintain a policy that is unwelcoming to homosexual members of your student body, and creates a disparity between treatment of heterosexual and homosexual students.”

To say the least, we are trying to prepare for something we have no clue what is going to happen. So, stay tuned for updates in what's to come, and pray for the campus as we get ready.

Church and Rain

Karl is the pastor's kid at the church I play for in Belmont. He's 2ish, I think... anyways, he likes to run around the sanctuary during the service, and today he found my cell phone and my wallet! Anyways, he continued to walk around the church, pretending to talk on my phone (in his babble talk) and he somehow knew which was my debit card... It really did make me smile, and that kid makes my day everytime.

Later, I walked down to the Wesleyan church across from school to practice, and it was locked... and it was raining... and it makes me so sad. Anyways, I'm wet, loving netflix right now, and I'm really excited about my RA INTERVIEW TOMORROW!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Nerf Wars and Friends

So, in college, if you live in the right dorm, you will get into some very intense wars consisting of various nerf guns, and very intense people (when it comes to mock warfare, otherwise, they are very shy and quiet). I have never been to such a legit event that revolved around a popular toy gun! Anyways, 45 minutes later, I was winded, killed multiple times, and just could not go on with this stuff, but it was fun while it lasted.

On to my other topic, I've come to learn that close friends are hard to come by in college. I have a lot of casual friends, but those are like a dime-a-dozen. And sometimes, these casual friends can drop the ball, when you think that you are becoming really good friends. Anyways, I'm done ranting for now...

Just a quick update

So, I'm working on a lot right now, getting my music stuff ready for this sunday at church, and working on the relevant worship concert, and praying about my RA application.

Anyways... I'll give a real update soon!

My New Blog!

Hey guys!

I have no clue who is going to read this thing, but this is my life at Houghton College!!! WOOO!!!!

So, stay tuned in, and I'll let you know what's going on!