Summer's over

Working with children is an incredibly humbling experience. My little girls taught me how to be amazed by simplicity. They showed me what it's like to use my imagination and create beauty. Because of them I know how it feels to be admired and more importantly to admire. Those little ones don't take a second for granted. It is as though they can't stand to miss anything for fear they will miss it forever. I believe it's time I changed my outlook on life to that of a six-year old girl's.

Preparing for graduate school while pushing for graduation from undergraduate school is NOT simple. Five days of class and I feel as though I might explode. I pray I can get everything finished on time.

"Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing." Psalm 16:1-2

I can't wait to put the lonesome on the shelf

There's a lot of hurt in this world. a lot. My goal for this summer: Put a smile on someone's face every single day. If I can do that then there isn't any way I won't find myself smiling on a daily basis. I will NOT feel sad, lonely, or pitiful. It's a summer for personal growth, and personally grow I will.

Meg

Home is where the heart is...

I imagine one day I will move away, but until that day comes I will stay at home where I am most comfortable. Today is Wednesday, May 5th...that means there are 8 days until I sleep in my own bed again. I'd go now if I could.

It's sad wondering if your friends still like you, want to be around you, want to talk to you at all.

I don't feel like dealing with anything.

On to my work.

Meg

As I enjoy listening to music composed by Bartok in this music history class I reflect on the test that was returned to us. I made a 100! It's the first one I've seen in a while and I am quite proud of it. :) For a class like this even a B is happily welcomed, but an A? whoa...just whoa. In the fall, GWU is going to a +/- system for grading. I have mixed feelings on this. It'll help students to be recognized for outstanding grades, but will also hurt those who are borderline any grade. Eh, we'll see what it does to my GPA.

I'm going home this weekend because I miss my family. Sometimes you can't wait to get away and other times you just want to be in a familiar environment. When I step inside my house it's like everything else disappears and I can finally rest. I rest until I remember everything I have left to do before summer and then I pick up where I left off--the freaking out commences. I get stress breakouts just thinking about it.

I am finishing up my work with Cliffside Baptist Church soon. I did field work there in partial fulfillment of my bachelor's degree of Sacred Music. It's been an interesting situation and experience. I did a lot of observing and it's really expanded my thinking on the church service and especially liturgical styles. If anything I've become a little old fashioned. Recently, I've been playing for a very contemporary church. I hate that people have lost the importance of silence. Rarely ever is there "dead air" during a service at this contemporary church. Maybe we could entertain the idea that God would like to speak to us only He can't break through the constant noise. A time of quiet prayer is not too much to ask and in the world we live now this silence is priceless. My next bone to pick is hymn singing. Contemporary churches stick with contemporary worship music. This music is great! It's well written, well accepted, and very worshipful. But, I've developed a deep love of hymns. I believe some of the most beautiful songs ever sung are found in a hymnal. And most hymns are derived from scripture itself. Integrating these timeless songs into a contemporary worship set could bring an interesting element to worship that isn't seen very often. So, to you one word name, contemporary churches: try a hymn. :)

That is all.
Meg

What's the purpose?

Well, I spent a while thinking about what the purpose of this would be before I made it. I don't want to be that whiny girl complaining about all that is wrong in the world online. But, I think there is more to this than that. It's beneficial to have an outlet and I believe I've chosen this as mine. :)

Enjoy.
Meg