I love how this song says "you were made to meet your maker." That's the destiny of our soul, to be united with the creator God in heaven. We see only in part now but our eyes will be opened to the full majesty of God when we reach him. My heart is so fickle, and falls for so many worldly and human infatuations. My eyes are woozy because they don't search very hard for the truth. I often settle with mediocrity. I thank God that we will have fullness of joy eternally and we will be able to sing praises to God forever, face to face with Him. God I ask that you would renew my strength and encourage me daily to thirst for you more and to act on that thirst. I'm sorry that I take you for granted. Please help us all to value you and to be awakened to your beauty and your power.

"Awake My Soul" by Mumford and Sons

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
This weakness I feel I must finally show

Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all
But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep, totally free
Har har, har har, har har, har har

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life

Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
You were made to meet your maker

     

     Years of choral singing with Mrs. Urda and the Gwinnett Young Singers has given me an appreciation for sacred and classical music. This song was on my heart this morning. 

Here are the lyrics:

"With a Voice of Singing"

With a voice of singing declare ye, and tell this; utter it even to the end of the earth. Hallelujah!
The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob. Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands.
Sing forth the honor of His Name, sing forth the honor of His Name; make His praise glorious.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

With a voice of singing declare ye, and tell this; utter it even to the end of the earth. Hallelujah!
The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob. Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands.
Sing forth the honor of His Name, sing forth the honor of His Name; make His praise, make His praise glorious.

    The new twilight soundtrack is so great! I'm so glad one of my favorite bands, Sleeping at Last, is on the album.

     I've had a wonderful week. To begin with, Thursday I slept in til around 12, went to class at 2, had coffee with Erin at 4, then found $10 Joe Brand jeans and took them to a get a $10 altering. That night there was a concert called Alla Italiana, with a guest conductor from Milan. He was precious. He thanked Berry for having him and said he's now friends with Dr. Garrido and "Georgo"- one of our senior percussionists. He apologized for his poor English-speaking, but I loved his accent! I would've loved to meet him. 

      I should probably stop being surprised by the good and fun things in life, but I'm constantly overjoyed by the depth and number of my friends. Thank you Lord for blessing me! Thanks for giving me people who encourage and understand me. Thanks for reasurring me by giving me guy friends and girl friends, I'm not used to that. Thanks for reminding me that I'm attractive, even if it is in a pesky way. Thank you for giving me patience and contentment.

Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.^[a]

 ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
      O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
 ² I long, yes, I faint with longing
      to enter the courts of the Lord.
   With my whole being, body and soul,
      I will shout joyfully to the living God.
 ³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
      and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
   at a place near your altar,
      O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
 ⁴ What joy for those who can live in your house,
      always singing your praises.
                         Interlude

 ⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
      who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 ⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,^[b]
      it will become a place of refreshing springs.
      The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
 ⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,
      and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.^[c]

 ⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
      Listen, O God of Jacob.

thanks

     Tonight I am thankful for friends. I'm blessed with acceptance and kindred spirits. It's good to know that I have multiple clusters of people that value my company. I'm glad  that God's provided that for me so early on. Friday was super fun- Spanish test (aced it!), zaxby's free meal w/coupon from mom, jamming to songs written by my friend Jake with other friends in the music building practice room, some mentally contrived relational awkwardness resolved, coffee shop+jenga+good music+deep convos, and lastly, star-gazing+prayer+sharing+worship at Frost Chapel til 1:30 am. A montage of my favorite activities and people in one night.
     I feel like God has given me a fresh breath of air this week/weekend, kind of re-fueling me to finish out the semester. It puts a smile on my face to think about what's been going on. Thank you for advice, encouragement, laughter, silliness, understanding, and similarities.
    And by the way, I'm sure this is unprofessional, but I'm really into "-"s lately. I wrote a few compositions this week and probably included unnecessary dashes...Where does this trend come from?

Crags and Clay- Gungor reflection

       
Crags and Clay- Gungor

Standing up from crags and clay
The peaks of earth
In full display
They break the lines
That break the sky
That’s full of life
Full of life

The chaos of creation’s dance
A tapestry, a symphony
Of life himself
Of love herself
It’s written in our very skin

All praises to the one who made it all
Who made it all
All praises to the one who made it all
And finds it beautiful

Soil is spilling life to life
Stars are born
To fill the night
The ocean’s score
The majesty
Of sculpted shore
Mystery

All praises…
Fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made

 This song is the one that just overwhelmed me during their concert. Jesus loves us and sees us as "good" and "beautiful." Psalm 149 says "I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." I'm overcome by God's love for me. I'm in disbelief most of the time because I don't understand how he could love me through all my sin- despite my sin. He gives me unmerited favor. We don't deserve the love he lavishes on us. When they were singing this song I felt the weight of God's presence around me and it was too much to handle. I cried uncontrollably and without tears- why? I don't know, but those are the moments when I am most enraptured by Christ- when he's more than I expect- when he surpasses my definition of love and acceptance. He fills me with unexplainable joy and peace. He fills us with life and grants us abundant life. I am constantly thinking "I don't deserve this." That's the beauty of it- we don't deserve it but he gave everthing so that we could have relationship with him. By his grace we are washed clean by the blood and in God's eyes we are once again blameless and beautiful. Christ's blood gives us access to the father's presence. Thank you Lord for showing me again how amazing you are! Thank you for surpassing my meager mindsets and limitations and for taking me to new places in my relationship with you. Please continue to wash over me with the truth of your word.

true

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltfwsvC8Qi1qjcud7o1_400.jpg

love this

I need this EP. Their worship music is so relatable and definitely my style. Take a listen!

Jason Mraz's Journal   is so poetic and fun to read. Who would've known?

I really think my husband will be a musician, because if i married a non musical person i would probably constantly be wishing he could play me a song or sing me something. or sing with me.

     Fall break was so fun! I got to meet Nevaeh, my friend Noelani's baby girl, and she's beautiful. Noni's boyfriend Robby is being supportive and has gotten a job. She's still planning to start college in January, and I hope that works out. She says her life's not over, it's just beginning. It's a different life than we all thought she'd have, but I think God will bless her family, and I pray that she'll follow him in the future.

      I had 2 sleep overs with my best friend Emma and the second one included other high school friends. It's so interesting to see the perspective we all have during the first few months of college. I love Berry and feel like it's right for me. I'm trying to find a good church and friends who can encourage me in my faith. However a lot of guys are happy to be at "party schools" and it saddens me to see the way they spend all their time, and that they are content in mediocrity. I know most of them will grow up to be great husbands, but it's such a shame that they are wasting their college years away. 

     On Sunday I got to visit the en Español service at the Bridge, where most of my close church friends are. I started attending the 3rd service ( at 1:30 pm) about two years ago and really love the community and joy that they have. I feel like I am now a part of a family, so it's hard not going there anymore because I no other churches have measured up to the greatness of that service and the friendships I made there and the atmosphere of worship. :)

     This is a photo taken by my brother Johnny at Lake Avondale. It was the night we were supposed to go to the Civil Wars concert, but when we arrived at the door there was a sign that said "postponed due to artist illness." So we called his friend James and he brought his guitar to the park and we all sang songs. It was lots of fun, and after that we went to our friends the Pregs house, so Johnny could see his girlfriend Joanna (that sounds weird to me, but they're dating) and I talked with her sister, who goes to Berry with me. I really love their family, and I'm glad we've been close all these years (we've known them since we moved to Georgia.
     The break ended with a quick shopping trip to Costco and the Salvation Army with my mom, where I found lots of fall and winter clothes, including some awesome high-waisted jeans, a curdoroy dress, and a red leather jacket. And I rode back with Allison Preg and we had great conversation.

Until later,

P.S. New favorite song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdpo52iBPzQ   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3rNbPtXt4

This is a new song by Katie Herzig, one of my favorite artists, you should have a listen!