Music

I'm predicting that this blog will be very scattered. A lot has happened since I last posted, but not much to me. But thoughts are all over the place...I'll try to keep it as organized as possible.

I got out of work on Thursday morning at about 11 am. When you turn out of the parking lot at Cornerstone, you get a pretty cool view of Thunder Mountain. What was so cool about Thursday was this: Early Thursday morning, it was pouring down rain here, and about 35 degrees outside. So at 11 am the next morning, Thunder Mountain was COVERED in snow. I was so mad I didn't have my camera with me - it was so pretty! As I continued on home, I saw Mt. McGuiness and the other mountain next to it that were also covered in snow. The snow line is quite low...They're saying there's the possibility of snow in the next week. It's definitely cold enough! We'll see...I'm still not ready. Although, I did finally get a coat. It's super warm - I love it!

It's amazing to me how much music can influence a mood. Random, I know, but let me explain. Every night when I come into work, I turn on "piano" music. All night long, I listen to beautiful pieces of music. It's quiet and soothing and comforting to me. It's not fun being the only adult in charge of seven kids at night. After all, there are bears outside, and they'll eat you if you're not careful...

Then there's fun music. My new "favorite" country song is called "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. Hear me out. I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift. But this song is stinkin' cute! Youtube it...It's a song that makes me smile and gets stuck in my head at the most random times.

At church tonight, we sang "How Great You Are" or something like that. It's the song "How Great Thou Art" but more contemporary. Simply a beautiful song. I can't find it anywhere...sorry, you can't youtube that one. I wish you could hear it. It brings a smile to my face as I remember how truly great my God is. My soul sings! It's a song that has brought me comfort when I am homesick, when lousy things happen, etc. God is still great. I also realized at church tonight that one of my favorite sounds is the sound of people singing praises to God together. I'm sure I look like an idiot with my huge grin every time we all sing. I love it! Even if the person next to me is singing way off key, they are still praising the same God I am, and that is beautiful. I think it's a glimpse of heaven.

This week, I was bombarded with bad news. My car is still not working, although it is going in the shop either tomorrow or Sunday. A close college friend of mine woke up one morning to find her car was stolen (Between the two of us, we have some BAD car troubles!) Then the storm hit:

Our old pastor at my home church passed away a couple weeks ago. He was a dear man and will be missed. It came as quite a shock to me, and it makes me sad that I can't be at home right now. Then, I got news this week that a friend of mine passed away. If you live in Riverside and get the Press, there was an article about Steve W. In high school, I was involved in RYT, a theater group in Riverside. Debbie W was the director of RYT, and her husband Steve ran lights, sound, music, all of that. I was involved for about three years wit RYT, and became good friends with the W's. They went on a cruise in September, and Steve got sick about three days later. It was some sort of bacterial infection that wouldn't let up. Finally, Debbie decided to take Steve off life support, and he died shortly after. Their son is 17 and daughter is 12. It was devastating to me. I know what it's like to loose someone close to you, and it's not fun. I can't imagine loosing my dad at this age, let alone when I was 12 or 17. Be in prayers for the W family and the Anibal family.

Even with these deaths, God is still good. He is still in control. He will take care of these families. It will be hard, it's not going to be fun, but God is God. He's bigger than our sadness, our pain, our feeling of hopelessness and loss! To a grieving family, those can seem like empty words, but it's what helped me through the death of my Grandpa in November.

As I was taking a walk on Tuesday (a whole 'nother story...) the song "I Am" by Mark Schultz came on. (You can youtube that one...it's there...) Here are the lyrics:

"I AM the Maker of the Heavens; I AM the Bright and Morning Star; I AM the Breath of all Creation; Who always was; And is to come.

I AM the One who walked on water; I AM the One who calmed the seas; I AM the Miracles and Wonders; So come and see; And follow Me; You will know

chorus:
I AM the Fount of Living Water; The Risen Son of Man; The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry I AM your Savior and Redeemer; Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter; Beginning and the End
I AM

I AM the Spirit deep inside you; I AM the Word upon your heart; I AM the One who even knew you; Before your birth; Before you were

chorus

Bridge:
Before the Earth (I AM); The universe (I AM); In every heart (I AM); Oh, where you are (I AM); The Lord of Lords (I AM); The King of Kings (I AM); The Holy Lamb (I AM)
Above all things

chorus:
Yes, I AM Almighty God, your Father; The Risen Son of Man; The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry I AM Your Savior and Redeemer; Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter; Beginning and the End
I AM"

He is God, and I am not. I have to trust that He knows what he is doing. I may not get it; I may question it; I may even disagree. But He is God, and I am not. He is omniscient, I am not. As my dad would say, "We're like ants looking for food. We find a dead cricket, and think, 'yay! Dinner for a week!' What we fail to see is the cockroach up ahead that would feed us for a month." Gruesome illustration, I know. But do you see the point?

Even with all this bad stuff happening, when I listen to music like I've said above, I know I'm ok. Music is a powerful thing! It has the ability to destroy you and has the ability to bring you up. So turn on some music you enjoy, relax, and KNOW that it's going to be ok!

Blessings!