New musical delight

I've always had a marked fondness for piano music. I first learned how to play the piano when I was 9 years old, but wanted to for years before that. I took six years of lessons before I eventually had to stop amid the demands of working part-time and finishing high school.

Unfortunately, I rarely have time to play anymore (I really need to fix that and make it more of a priority--I still love to play), but I will always have a particular love for music with strong piano elements and a noteable weakness for music arranged specifically for solo piano. I also love classic hymns. Thus, I am absolutely in love with a new album I've stumbled upon (well, actually it's been out for nine years so it is not new at all, just new to me) and it's so lovely I thought I would share my new discovery: Chris Rice's album The Living Room Sessions.

The album is absolutely beautiful! It is completely made up of instrumental hymns, arranged specifically for and played solely on the piano. The music is lovely and so peaceful. So lovely, in fact, that I bought the sheet music and I am going to learn to play some of the songs. My favorites are Rice's arrangements for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," although all the songs are beautiful and the album includes other excellent arrangements for classics like "How Great Thou Art," "Fairest Lord Jesus," and "For the Beauty of the Earth."

So if you're looking for some new instrumental music to enjoy, this album is worth checking out!

P.S. When I was just searching for an image of the CD on Amazon to use in this blog post, I discovered Rice also has a "Living Room Sessions" Christmas album. *big grin* My love of Christmas music is even greater than my love of piano music--particularly when the two go hand-in-hand--so I think I might have to wander over to iTunes and download some new music for my iPod soon. :)

Aquarium cookies and massages

Interesting title, hmm? :)

But it nicely sums up some of the simple joys I have found in my day.

There aren't many perks to working an early morning shift--especially an extended run of them--so I try to make the most of the ones that come my way.

Every few months or so, the public relations guy for the Tennessee Aquarium comes to our studio for an interview during the 6 a.m. show. He always talks about the latest news at the aquarium and usually mentions some of the best things to do in Chattanooga during a given season. He's a great interview and a genuinely nice guy. By the time he wraps up his interviews, I'm usually itching to take a trip to Chatty.

But the real reason everyone at the station awaits his interviews with anticipation is because he always brings in a box full of the *best* iced cookies. His wife owns a bakery in Signal Mountain and she always makes us the cutest, tastiest aquarium-themed cookies you'll ever see (or eat). The icing is smooth and stable, the cookies are nice and even, both taste great and she always packages them beautifully.

Someday I want to be able to make iced cookies that look and taste that amazing.

The next highlight of my day came when I realized that tomorrow is the day the massage therapist/reflexologist who comes out to the station once a month is scheduled. I don't usually work Tuesdays and when I am scheduled an extra day (such as this week) or called in, it's never on the weeks she is here.

But as I was getting ready to leave this afternoon, our newsroom administrative assistant sent out an e-mail reminder about reflexology tomorrow. And guess who has to work an extra shift tomorrow morning? Yep! I signed up for a 15-minute massage/reflexology appointment as soon as my shift ends at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I can't think of a better way to end an extended work week, particularly one with extra morning shifts. :)

Working an extended work week with extra early morning shifts is my least favorite and I'm usually utterly exhausted by the time I reach the end of it. So sometimes it's hard not to have a negative attitude about it or at the very least dread it, which obviously only makes it worse. I've approached schedules like this from both angles before, and this time I was determined not to let it get me down. So I've been tickled pink to find these little unexpected joys that have come along to brighten my day. It shouldn't have surprised me though. God's grace is sufficient to give me the rest that I need and make me smile and laugh at just the right moments to help carry me through my day. He is always looking for ways to express his love to us--even if it something as simple as a cookie to put a smile on our face.

A song I've been listening to off a new worship CD I bought recently keeps running through my head, "He loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves!"

Days like this always make me wonder how many other little blessings I fail to notice on a daily basis, simply because I'm not paying attention. God is always speaking and always showering us with his love. Maybe it doesn't always manifest itself in such a tangible way as cookies and massages, but his presence is always with us and examples of his love for us abound. His loving-kindness is new every morning.

Isn't God amazing?!?

Five years later...

My high school senior picture

I recently realized that it has been five years since I graduated high school! Wow! That anniversary kind of crept up on me.

As that thought hit me, I paused to remember what my life was like five years ago as a starry-eyed high school grad full of big hopes and dreams. Those thoughts inevitably led me to look back over the journey that has led me to where I am now.

And you know what I found? Pretty much nothing about my life now is the way I would have imagined it would be like then. But believe it or not, I'm totally OK with that. Yes, me--Miss I-Want-to-Have-All-My-Ducks-in-a-Row-and-Plan-Everything-Out. And that is all thanks to the grace of God--certainly not courtesy of my own ability to "let go and let God!" It is by his power alone that I have learned to be content with not knowing what the future holds and happy to live my life in the present.

If there's one thing I've learned with certainty over the past five years, it is that God is good and he is faithful. Even when his plans are very different from mine. I still have big hopes and dreams, but some of them simply look a little different now.

As I graduated high school, if you had asked me what I thought my life would be like in five years, I'm not really sure what I would have told you. Probably something general like, "I will have graduated college and be working full-time in my field." That much has happened. It's probably about the only thing that has, but it's taken place in a different way than what I would have imagined.

As a newly 18-year-old high school grad, I would have laughed out loud--hard--if anyone had told me that at age 23, I would be a journalist working in TV news, still living at home, still completely single, attending a different church from the rest of my family, with pretty much a completely new set of friends.

But all of those things have happened and I can't imagine my life any differently than it is now. I am very happy with where God has me.

It's been quite a journey to reach this point, but life is and should be an adventure with God. Yes, there were many uncertainities along the way that drove me absolutely crazy, and to be perfectly honest, there still are. I'm still not exactly sure why God has me where I am. But isn't that what faith is all about? Trusting when we can't see? :) I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that there will always be uncertainties as long as we're here on this Earth. But what is and always will be certain is the fact that I can rest in the joy and peace of mind that comes from knowing that I am where I am supposed to be, and that God is in control and he has a plan in mind, even if I can't see the big picture. I just have to trust Him. Easier said than done in most situations, but true nonetheless. :)

I know several graduating seniors this year and as I watch some of them stress out over deciding what to do with their lives, I can't help but smile. I remember those frustrations vividly. And if I could offer one piece of advice to them, it would be this:

Yes, you should definitely have a goal for the future in mind. Seek God intensely about what he would have you do with your life, then start walking in it. Don't waste any time in living out his plans and purposes for you. BUT... be ready for those plans to look different than what you expect. And know that is a good thing. God knows us better than we know ourselves and his plans are always for our good. What he has in mind for you will be far better than anything you could plan or work out for yourself. He is ALWAYS faithful. Follow God's leading for the next step, even if the steps beyond that aren't clear. He will see you through to the end and meet your every need, even when everything in this world would try to say otherwise. Go be a shining light for Jesus and win others for His kingdom!

My prayer is that when these seniors look back on this season five years from now, that they will have countless testimonies to share of God's faithfulness and goodness at work in and through their lives as they follow his direction.

It's amazing what can happen in five years. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next five!

Graduation Day, May 28, 2005

He was pierced for our transgressions

In my quiet time today, I took some time to reflect on Christ's death on the Cross and his resurrection. Easter is only three days away, and I enjoy taking time to revisit the events of the most pivotal moment in history in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday. The Cross is something we should be mindful of all the time, but there is something special about reflecting on Christ's incredible sacrifice in the week leading up to Easter.

Part of my meditation on Christ's death always includes the eyewitness accounts of the event written in the Gospels, but I also enjoy reading Isaiah's completely accurate prophetic account of Christ's life, death and resurrection as noted in Isaiah 53--hundreds of years before any of it came to pass.

As I re-read the familiar passages and pondered Christ's incredible sacrifice once again, tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. Jesus, the only truly innocent person to ever walk the earth, took on the sins of every person who has ever lived or ever will--and didn't even so much as utter one word in his own defense. He died a cruel, excruciatingly painful death on the Cross for me. And for you. He took on the punishment we deserved--death--so that we wouldn't have to endure it.

And the best part--the Cross wasn't the end of the story! Christ rose again on the third day and descended into heaven 40 days later to prepare for his still-to-come triumphant return to earth. And through his sacrifice, we are completely redeemed and justified through God's grace. Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 53

¹Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitted by him and afflicted.
⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
⁷He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
⁹He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
¹⁰Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
¹²Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Lovely day, lovelier bride :)

On Saturday, March 20 one of my dearest friends was married to her Prince Charming. The very skies seemed to smile their approval of the joyous occasion. It was a perfectly glorious day--sunny and 70 degrees with a slight breeze--on the first day of spring. The kind of day you simply want to step outside, stretch out your arms and inhale deeply. And maybe spin around in circles, soaking in the delightful early spring sunlight. Given how entirely unpredictable spring is in East Tennessee--especially early spring--I have no doubt our Father hand picked the weather just for Sarah (and Jonathan). It was perfect. :)



It has been a joy to watch their love story come together over the past year and it was truly a pleasure to watch the culmination of that as the two became one. I know God has great plans for them--as individuals, yes, but also as a couple. And I can't wait to see how he uses them together! I felt the presence of God strongly throughout that entire day. There was truly a tangible joy and peace present in every element of the day. I know that God was looking down from heaven, smiling.



And I have to say, Harvest receptions are the best I've ever attended. They are so much fun! My friend Wendy does such a great job of coordinating the refreshments! I've been to weddings before that featured catered meals or buffets at the reception, and if you can afford that, that's fine. The food is great and I'm sure it is much easier to handle. But honestly, I think it is more fun to pitch in and throw a reception as a church. I love to bake, so preparing baked goods for the reception is a joy to me. And I like feeling like I'm helping my friends achieve the special day of their dreams.






The entertainment also is great. The dancing is fun to watch and participate in (even if I'm not the greatest dancer). Some people at Harvest can really bust a move!




It truly was a God-kissed day. I know that God has great things planned for Jonathan and Sarah and I can't wait to see what he will do in and through them in this next chapter of their lives!

True beauty

I found this quote in a book I'm reading and it is simply too good not to pass along.

"How beautiful are the arms which have embraced Christ, the hands which have touched Christ, the eyes which have gazed upon Christ, the lips which have spoken with Christ, the feet which have followed Christ. How beautiful are the hands which have worked the works of Christ, the feet which treading in His footsteps have gone about doing good, the lips which have spread abroad His Name, the lives which have been counted loss for Him."

- Christina Rossetti

In a world full of false beauty ideals that many women blindly try to achieve, these are the "beauty routines" we should desire and implement in our lives!

Winter doesn't last forever (thank God!)

It snowed in Knoxville yesterday. Again. In early March. And while I still find the fluffy white stuff pretty, I am officially over it and have been for a few weeks now.

I have to confess that I am not a big fan of winter after the holidays. I love, love, LOVE Christmas and enjoy all the lovely wintry elements associated with it. And I even enjoy the first couple of snowfalls (as long as they don't make my job drastically more stressful). But after New Year's, winter gets old pretty quickly.

January is "the Great Letdown" month in my mind. I'm coming off a big "high"--if you will--after the holidays and after the first couple of weeks winter begins to lose its charm. February is then the month of being "in the bleak midwinter." The second month of the year is generally still cold (although not nearly as cold as this one was--February 2010 was the 11th coldest February on record in Knoxville), but I'm ready for spring. And it never seems to be in any hurry to get here at that point.

February also is usually the point during the winter months where I have to ask the Lord for help to avoid "the winter blahs." Weeks of dreary, cold weather eventually starts to get to me and almost always has. This year's cold winter has made staying cheerful and avoiding a semi-depressed state even harder.

I really am trying to find ways to stay upbeat about winter. So lest you believe this blog post is all whining, I'll share a list I recently made of the things I like about winter. It may be short, but here it is in no particular order:

• No mosquitoes, bees, wasps or other pesky bugs to annoy me or make my life miserable


• Snuggling up under a blanket near the fireplace and enjoying the occasional cup of hot cocoa
• the Winter Olympics (every four years)


• The beauty of snowfall (even if it makes my life crazier at work, I do find the snow and ice pretty)

Winter also is beneficial to nature and the lovely flowers I enjoy so much in the warmer months:

• Winter allows trees and other plants to take a break from producing leaves and flowers and focus on resting and deepening their roots


• Snow, particularly if it sits on the ground for a few days, really adds lots of extra moisture to the earth (although that's more of a problem than a benefit this year coming on the tail end of last year's crazy surplus of rainfall!)


• A really cold winter, such as the one we're experiencing, tends to kill off more pesky bugs than normal, leaving less of them to annoy me during the summer :)

In another recent effort to shed myself of the winter blues, I bought a lovely African violet and placed it on my desk at work. :) Its pretty purple blossoms have succeeded in bringing numerous smiles to my face. (My next mission: keep it alive. I don't have the greatest track record with sustaining little potted plants like African violets long term. Hopefully I can manage not to accidentally kill it this time.)

And if those positives aren't enough to cheer me up on a cold, overcast winter day, I remind myself that God made winter just like he made spring and fall, and everything he created is good.

"It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter." - Psalm 74:17

But with March comes the hope of spring. And after growing up in East Tennessee, I know I can rest assured that even if it snowed on March 2nd, by March 31st it will surely be getting warmer around here and we will probably have enjoyed at least a few mild and pleasant days.

The anticipation of spring after the long winter months is one of the many reasons why I like the season so much. I appreciate the warmth and beauty more after coming out of months of chilly gray and the world simply feels like a happier place. There are many other reasons I like spring, but I'll probably save those for a jubilant "spring is here" blog post celebrating the first warm stretch we have in late-March/early April. :)

But for now, I'll simply keep reminding myself that winter isn't really that bad--and better yet, like everything else in life, it is only temporary. Spring really is right around the corner. :)

"To everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1