Catching you up...

I have mixed feelings about blogging for so many reasons. I have attempted to blog and keep up with blogs, but it is difficult. I also feel presumptuous for thinking that people want to know what I am thinking or how many times I brushed my teeth that day, or my favorite dessert. However, I have decided to start recording my thoughts for a little bit because God has been so good. Whether or not it feels that way from time to time, I look at all things in my life and considering his work, I know that God is very good and that his mercy does indeed endure for ever.

Just to catch you up... Meredith and I got married in December and she finished a Master's program in flute performance at Appstate in the summer and I graduated from L-R. My plan was to go to graduate school for choral conducting. I looked at some schools and decided to apply to Emory in Atlanta and University of Arizona in Tucson. I got into both programs and we were very excited. We really wanted an adventure, to get out of the south and see what it was like in another part of the country. However, after a several months of waiting, I finally heard that the big plans for financial assistance that Arizona thought they could give me could not actually happen. We were devastated and had we gone through the move to a place that could guarantee me nothing financially, we would have been ourselves financially devastated.

Plan B. I called Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. It's close and they have a MM program in Choral Conducting. It is a small program but looked very promising. I inquired and it seems that things would work out for me to begin this fall! Exciting news. I met the choral director there and she seems to be a pistol that is all about teaching me to be the expressive artist that I am, not to mention she stresses strong score study and analytical skills. Wow, everything seems to be coming together. Many people have varying opinions about what I should do and that is okay. It wasn't until I realized that it was Meredith and I who would have to live our lives with the choices we make that I became aware of the fact that it is okay not to take every opinion so seriously...

Another thing that helped with the conflicting ideas thrown my way... God. Yes, God. Believe it or not. The Lord is my strength and my song... For so long, I grew up trying and trying to be the right person that did the right thing so that I could please God. But, I came to the realization that God is doing the work and I am part of it. I am not the whole or a big part, but I am just a couple of measures in the symphony of existence, maybe even just a couple of chords, hopefully something in G major. Through Christ, his death and resurrection, the victory has been won and I am living life victoriously. A committed life to God in Christ, through the help of the Holy Spirit allows me to remember that there is nothing that I can do that will inhibit the plans God has for me. I am so excited about the work that God is bringing about in my life and my life with Meredith.

This is another experience of resurrection joy... I don't know how to continue this blog, but I'll try. Other posts might not be so heavy. Like, Meredith has a job interview tomorrow... so you might hear about that. I have to study for some diagnostic exams and you might hear about that. By the way, for the music listeners out there... Brahms Symphony 3 is the bomb! Keep up with the blog and I'll try too. Be happy with me in these experiences of resurrection joy.

The Lord is truly risen!