21 Things I've Learned From My Daddy

In honor of Father's Day here are 21 things* I've learned from my father.
*I say 21 not because I only have 21 things but because then it's one for every year I've been alive & seemed like a good place to stop. 
1. "You can do anything!"

2. "Put your cream in your coffee mug first. Then you won't have to stir it."

3. That history repeats itself, learn from your mistakes.

4. "Sarcasm - It's a beautiful language!"


5. That you should always dance like no one is watching. (Even when everyone is watching)

6. "We can't forget Spurgeon, now can we?"

7. That you can never tell someone you love them enough.

8. Family is ALWAYS important.


9. To never take yourself too seriously - especially when it comes to your fashion choices.

10. That complacency is the enemy of excellence.

11. The importance of music. - Can't thank you enough for this one.

12. That you can always play a mean boom box if you can't play anything else.


13. That it's not *technically* hoarding if your kids made it for you.

14. That teaching is not always fun and games. Sometimes you learn how to use ladders.

15. And sometimes you need to be reminded on how to use the ladders.

16. For reminding me that God supplies over and above what we need or deserve.

17. Tat gramrz & speallingz r inporetant tingz.


18. That you can be patriotic for both your countries but know who to really cheer for during the Olympics.


19. That countdowns can never be started too early nor can they go on too long.

20. "Don't be upset with the results you didn't get from the work you didn't do."

and number 21. Family ALWAYS comes first.



Happy Father's Day Daddy!! Love you more then you'll ever know!

❤️❤️❤️
Your curly little red head girl.
2014, fathers day, personal
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Green Smoothie & Music

Sometimes you just need a smoothie and sometimes it just needs to be green. 

Ingredients

1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Lemon or 2 Limes
Grated Ginger (To taste)
1 C. Kale
1 C. Almond Milk
1 C. Ice Cubes
Honey (I just kept tasting till it was sweet enough)

Instructions
1. Cut & core (also peel if you like) apple into 1 inch pieces.
2. Rip the kale into smaller pieces.
3. Roll and squeeze the juice from the lemon/limes.
4. Stick it all in the blender and blend it up!
5. Taste it and make adjustments till it's to your liking.

Before blending.

Halfway through the blending process.

The finished product

This smoothie is super yummy, and because of the Kale is full of Vitamins A, C, and K and iron so it's really good for you. Though kale is an acquired taste in this smoothie the honey and apple mask it's earthy taste creating a crisp, acidic, yet sweet taste.

Lately I've been listening to this playlist by my lovely friend Melodie all the time. It's upbeat without being obnoxious. It's calming without putting you to sleep but still upbeat that it can keep you focused on what you need to do.
food, music
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A (School) Year in Review

How do you continue a blog when your previous (and only) blog post was used as a sermon illustration? I'm not entirely sure, but I felt it's time to get back into the swing of this thing called blogging...

I've been really busy since I last posted (well who hasn't) but now exams over and I'm back home in Toronto! I am SO happy to be home and have a chance to relax. (Although not really, since I'm taking 16 credits over the summer)

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"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

This semester marked the end of many seasons for me. The end of living on Main Campus (Yay!), the end of rooming with my best friend Amy (Boo!), the end of undergraduate Music Theory and Conducting classes (Amen!), & the end of some friendships (Hey, it happens) just to name a few of the things that happened in my life this past semester.

So lets start with the end of living on Main Campus:
This past fall I applied to be a Resident Assistant (RA) and was made it through the second round of cuts. This was a great learning experience and I really do appreciate being able to go through that process. However, I was not accepted to the position and though I was upset at the time, it was part of God's plan. Now I am going to be a Prayer and Life Group Leader on East Campus and I'm super excited for what He has in store for me next year.

Photo: RA Training week February 2014
Photo: My new home next semester! (photo taken by Johanna Hatt)

The end of living with my best friend. No, we didn't "break up" or have a horrible experience being roommates (at least I didn't). We just reached the end of our time being roommates. Things change, life goes on and I have no regrets rooming with Amy at all. We just felt it was time to not room together. No fights, no weirdness, we parted ways well. We'll always be best friends. It was just time to not room together.

BFFS (photo taken by Johanna Hatt)

The end of my undergraduate* Music Theory and Conducting experience. This is one of the biggest accomplishments to completing my degree. 2 years of music theory and 1 year of conducting. The music theory was actually entertaining and I learned a lot from Dr. Wellman AKA Captain Counterpoint. From graphic notation to twelve-tone music, Dr. Wellman has taught it all and his way of bringing music theory to life was amazing and I'm going to miss having him as a professor.
*I say undergraduate because I'll most likely pursue a masters degree in music and will then have to take more music theory classes.

Photo: Last day of Music Theory, Spring 2014 (photo taken by selfie master Okawa Tan)

Photo: From when I conducted the LU Wind Ensemble (photo taken by Johanna Hatt)

The end of some friendships. This one is harder to talk about because the people I was friends with I considered them to be my closest friends at Liberty. But things change, and people change. These people for whatever reason felt that we should no longer be friends. I may disagree with these reasons but it is all for the best. But I know God is good, I know He is in control and I know He has better things in store for me and for those people. Sometimes you just have to pack your bags and move on.

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But with ends come beginnings and nice things so here is one of the nice things that happened this year/semester.

"The Sassy Corner." These four ladies, Amber, Leah, and Dara (who also has a blog and you should probably go follow it) helped get me through Music Theory, Elementary Music Methods, & Instrumental Conducting. They were all there when my grandmother passed away suddenly. They helped keep me sane while studying for music theory and conducting exams. I'm truly thankful for the friendship I have with these three lovely ladies and that God has placed them in my life.


Photo: Sassy Corner at La Carreta (photo taken by Leah)

Anywho, this post is already long enough, but that's the kind of year it's been.
(I am going to try to blog at least once a week over the summer. I want to make it a habit of writing more.)

2014, life, LU
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Rise Up From The Grave


One of my favourite worship songs to sing is to myself is "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher. I don't know if it is the simple chord progressions or the way it builds at the end of the song but one thing that I do know is the first line always gets me.

 Let no one caught in sin remain, inside the lie of inward shame...

It doesn't matter when I hear it. Whether when it comes up on my iPod while walking through an airport or at Liberty convocation with Justin Kintzel leading 12,000 students on a gloomy Monday morning. Almost without fail I cry, and lately I've been thinking about why I cry when I hear that line.

Short back story: I was first introduced to "Christ is Risen" in 2012 while preparing to go to Turkey on a mission trip with a few friends from my young adult group. I instantly fell in love with the song when I heard it. It's rare that I love a new worship song as much as I enjoyed this one. It was simple yet profound and full of Spiritual truth, just what a worship song should be. Not fluff but rooted in the gospel.

That one line is so powerful and has impacted me so much. So lately I've been thinking about why that line has impacted me as much as it has.

I'm a very quiet person. I don't like letting people in. It makes me feel vulnerable and I don't like that feeling. I have my box and my box is safe. I don't want to have to open up and let people in my box because it's my box. If someone I know if having a problem I am hear to listen but as soon as I'm having a problem I go into my box and try to deal with it by myself, in my box.

That being said when I mess up, and I believe me I do mess up, I don't share my problems and sins with others. I keep them to myself and dwell on them, becoming consumed with shame and self-loathing. I question Every. Single. Action. And Every. Single. Thought. that led up to me messing up and what I should have been my response. I over analyze everything that happened and everything that was said or down. And then I apologize and pray repeatedly that God would forgive me for my past failures. (I don't do this just with God, I apologize to my friends all the time. They can attest that I'm constantly apologizing. Rarely does a conversation go by without me repeatedly apologizing for the same thing.)

The thing is, I know Christ was put on the cross for my sins. For every impure thought I've ever had, for every rude sarcastic comment I've ever said (and will ever say), for every time I've blatantly ignored someone who has asked for my help. God has forgotten it all. He will not remember my sins. His Word tells me this in Isaiah 43:35.

"I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."

I think that's why that line has always hit me. Every time I hear that line I am reminded that I don't need to be living in the shame of my sins. They are forgiven. I have been forgiven for them. Now that doesn't mean I need to forget them and keep sinning. In Acts 3:19 we are called to:

 "Repent and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."

 Our sins are not remembered. They are blotted out from God's mind. All we are asked to do is repent and turn from them.

As Christians, we no longer need to be living in the shame of our sin. Yes, we may have to deal with the worldly shame that comes with our sins. And yes, the world will condemn us for our mistakes. They will always look down on us for messing up. But the thing is, we are loved by an Eternal, Sovereign, Gracious, Loving, Forgiving God who will not shame us. He is not surprised that we've failed. He sent His Son because He knew we were going to mess up.

This is why I'm thankful the song doesn't end after the first line. It continues:

But fix your eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely you bled, for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
.....
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

We no longer need to live in the shame of our sins. He has forgiven us and we are His.

Don't remain in the shame of your sins. They have been forgiven. They've been covered by Christ's blood on the cross. Rise up from the grave.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." ~ Psalm 103:12
bible, christ is risen, thoughts
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