Currently Listening Me and My Gang By Rascal Flatts My Wish see related

Lately I have struggled with doubt. You know, the doubt that makes you look to the heavens and say, "God, what on earth are you thinking?" Quite frustrating--just a lot going on that makes me wonder (sometimes) if God knows what he's doing. I mean, He's God, so I know He knows what He's doing, but sometimes I wonder what He has in store for my life. In his Sunday School lesson on Sunday, my pastor said, "Is it OK to ask God 'Why?' Yes, it is. Is it OK to demand an answer from Him? No..." It's kind of a weird feeling--one minute I trust God completely, and the next minute doubt starts creeping in again. I have had to learn to trust God in every circumstance, even when I may find it difficult. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -- Proverbs 3:5-6

Hope Found Me

© By Rachel Morton

Hope stands beside me,

It looks as I pass;

Gently it calls me,

But bounces off glass.

That’s my wall of protection,

To keep me from harm;

Though sometimes it hurts me,

Blocking out life’s great charm.

No one can see it,

Though I know it’s there;

I like to feel safe,

Without worry or care.

Still, Hope keeps on calling,

Through wind and through rain;

Reaching out a strong arm,

Trying to save me from pain.

I turn and I run,

For I cannot trust;

God’s promise of Hope,

While I try to adjust.

I do not like change,

Though I know there’s a plan;

In vain I keep trying,

To avoid Hope’s strong hand.

Will I come around,

And take down that wall;

Will I ever stop fretting,

And trust God through it all?

Yes, I guess I could change,

Though it will take work;

God is just testing me,

It’s His little perk.

I reach out my hand,

For Hope’s now in sight;

I cling to it tightly,

Through doubt and through fright.

Hope finally found me,

It has set me free;

It saw through my fear,

And then rescued me.

I’ll always remember,

For the rest of my life,

The day that Hope found me

And ended my strife.

Currently Reading The Taming of the Shrew (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) By William Shakespeare see related

Well, since I haven't updated in three months. . .

My life as of right now--hectic, but I can't complain. My classes went well for the first semester, and I haven't died yet. I actually had my last Research Paper Writing class today (it was just one semester). Though I feel relieved at having one less class to worry about, I honestly LOVED that class, and I almost cried when it ended. I know, pathetic, but what can I say? I like learning, and I love my classes. My grades haven't plummeted or given my parents heart attacks; they have actually stayed pretty good!  So yes, I feel content with my academic life right now. Though I have all of my semester finals this month, so keep me in your prayers! Piano lessons have also kept me busy, but I still love them. I don't have as much time to practice anymore with my school schedule, but I try to make some time for it every day. I still accompany the choir and love it just as much as ever!

We had an uneventful Thanksgiving this year. My Aunt Pam, Uncle Rodney, and cousin Emily came to our house for the day. We cooked, ate, and watched the Cowboys play. Carrie Underwood didn't do a great job with the half-time, but other than that, we all enjoyed the day.

I stayed very busy over Christmas (and yes, I got sick again--some things never change). I played piano and organ for several church services, and even sang a solo on Christmas Eve. I also played "harpsichord" for the church dinner theater (set in medieval times), and helped my mom and my choir director cook for all of the people; we cooked stew, bread pudding, wassail, salad, and bread for almost 500 people!  Somehow or another, I got talked into peeling the potatoes again this year, and consequently peeled 100lbs. Never again will I want to look at a potato. Oh well. For Christmas this year my parents got me a palm organizer, which will REALLY help me with my scheduling. I can keep my addresses in it, upload Word documents to it to skim through, set alarms for my meetings, appointments, and homework deadlines (it sounds so "old," but hey--I like to stay organized!), I can access the Internet (as soon as we get that set up), download some music to it, and even play solitaire!  All in all, I had a good Christmas.

My New Year's resolution--to give God complete control over my life. I have not had as much trouble with that this year as I did last year, though I have had my moments. Sometimes I doubt His will, but I have come to realize that if I intend to live a happy life, I have to start by letting God have control. Sometimes I don't understand the things He does, but I know He always has a plan. I know that all of my friends know me as the "chronic worrier" (and some know me as the "perfectionist"), but I have made it my goal to set all of that aside, and live my life completely for God. The time has come for me to take my faith to the next level, and to grow in my walk with the Lord.

I hope God blesses all of you, and that you find new and exciting ways to worship Him this year. I will definitely try to update more often, though I hope you will forgive me when I fall short (and I know I will. . .)!

Talk to y'all later!

Rachel

Currently Reading The Scarlet Letter (Penguin Classics) By Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thomas E. Connolly see related

OK, now that it's been two months since I've updated. . .

The summer really flew by. As you probably guessed from my last post, LSM was AWESOME! I loved it there! Then I came home, started school (just the normal stuff I do every summer). My dad had his surprise 50th birthday party (which was a lot of fun...he had a great time!), and our family went on vacation to Oklahoma. We went swimming in the lake, tubing, hiking, and Dad, Sam, Caroline, and I went kayaking and canoeing. Caroline and I also helped teach the kids how to swim. They were afraid of the lake at first, but they LOVED it after they got in. When we went kayaking and canoeing, Dad and Sam used a canoe, and Caroline and I got kayaks. Let's just say I was the first one to tump over...I went over four times! I learned that the water was cold, the water was kind of rough, and the rocks were slippery and sharp! We paddled 3 1/2 hours for four miles....SO much fun! I think the highlight of the trip was having Caroline tump her kayak over, then me wedging kayak against some rocks to catch her kayak as it floated down river. Caroline caught her oar, and then swam over to me. I held her oar so she could try to get into her kayak. We were right next to a small waterfall, and when she tried to turn her kayak over it started going down river. So she just jumped on it (while it was upside down!) and rode it over the water fall. The look on her face was priceless! I was still wedged between the rocks and trying to juggle my oar and Caroline's oar. I tried to wiggle myself free, and ended up heading to the waterfall backwards. I couldn't steer the kayak with two oars, and I ended up flipping over, getting caught under the kayak, and consequently going down the waterfall UNDER the kayak. Needless to say, I got pretty bruised up, and I was not happy. When I made it away from the waterfall over to where Caroline, Dad, and Sam were waiting, they were laughing, but I was so mad I threw Caroline's oar at her and told her that next time I wasn't rescuing it!! Fun times...

Then we came home, and I've been doing school ever since. I've got 10 online classes, and while they're all alot of fun, it's really hard to keep up. So far I've been doing a good job, but it's only the end of week 4. Ugg! My teachers are really nice though, and I love them to death. They've been really helpful when I've run into a problem, and I couldn't ask God for a nicer group of people to teach me. I'm still counting down the days until Thanksgiving break!

Well, I've got to go. I have a business test to take, and then Caroline and I are having a movie/girls only night. Sam's going to a Halo party; Mom, Dad, Hannah, Bekah, Grace, Ben, and Emma are going to the movies to see Barn Yard Animals, and I'm putting John to bed in an hour. So Caroline and I are just going to hang out, which is cool, because we don't get to do that very often anymore with our wacky schedules. Hope y'all had great summers, and I'll try to post more often!

<3 Rach

"Hope is the ability to hear the melody of the future, Faith is the ability to dance to that melody now!" - Chaplain Wayne

I'm back!!! LOL.

Camp was AMAZING...definitely the most fun I've ever had in my entire life! There was a TON of music involved (obviously... ) I had a piano lesson twice a week, a theory class every other day, small ensemble practice every other day (I did two piano duets), I had hand bell practice every other day, conducting lessons every other day, Concert Choir practice for an hour and a half every day, Chapel Choir practice for 45 minutes every day, Concert Choir sectionals for an hour twice a week (were we split the voices up to work on parts...I was an Alto), a faculty recital every evening, church every evening, and church every Sunday. It was SOOOO much fun. I also played in two piano master classes, and performed six songs in five recitals. The hand bells performed for the service of healing, the Festival of Hymns, and the closing worship service. Chapel Choir sang almost every night for evening prayer (in the VERY hot balcony... ), the Festival of Hymns, and in three of the four Sunday services. Concert Choir sang once for evening prayer, and then for the Concert Choir concert....we performed fifteen songs.

When I went to sing in the first Concert Choir practice, they had left my name off of the roster, so I stated at 2nd soprano. Then they asked for volunteers because they didn't have enough altos, so I moved to 1st alto. Then they decided that they didn't have enough 2nd altos, so I moved again. I though that would be all of the moving, but then they picked five 2nd altos to sing tenor for one of the pieces because the tenors weren't loud enough....Yes, yours truly sang 1st tenor!! Hahaha!!

My piano duet went well....we were nominated to perform for the Student Chamber recital, which is supposed to be an honor. That went well. My other performances also went well....though there was a typo in one of the programs. They forgot to list my name as accompanist for one song, and then listed me as singing bass!! I was like, "Good Lord...I'm a girl!!" Oh well.

Outside of music, I went to my first dance (two, actually), I went to a science museum, an art museum, a symphony orchestra, a fireworks show, a parade, a talent show, and to the movies to see POTC 2. It was fun!! I rode on my first school bus.... There were also some pretty cute guys there....schnip schnip!!

Well, I think that's all for now....if you want longer stories, give me a call!

Highlights of the week:

Me: Heather never makes us go to bed on time! | Heather *throwing open the door*: Rachel Morton, get your rear end in bed!! *chases me around the room*

David: James Groerich froze my puff!!

Me, Loie, and Abby: Schnip schnip! *laughing* | Shannon: You must be Heather's Girls.

Zeb: This is the one time our choir can sound southern....say "Muh [for My] sheep"...round your sound.

Dr. Cock: Women....say "Tak-a-tak-a-HEAVEN!"

Lori: *laughing loudly* | John: The pterodactyl is swooping in for the kill!

Heather: You know you can get high off of a sharpie marker?

Me, Abby, Loie, Vanessa, Sara, Katie, and Christina: *running around like crazy 20 minutes after lights are supposed to be out* | Heather: *out of breath from chasing us down the halls* PLEASE GO TO BED!! | Us: NEVER! | Heather: Every one sit in a circle...we're smoking a peace pipe now. | Abby: We're minors...is that legal at LSM? | Sara: *walking in* What are you doing. | Heather: *jumping and stammering* Uuuuhhhh....trying to put them to bed..... | Us: No, we're smoking the peace pipe! | Heather: I'm having to negotiate with them....

Vanessa: Run!!! | Heather: *grabbing Vanessa by the shirt collar and a leg, picking her up, and walking towards our room* PLEASE GO TO BED!!

Heather: Please don't pass out, Rachel!! BREATHE!

John: I want a teddy bear!

Danya: The chicken dance!

Morgan: *walks out of bathroom in a towel* | Heather: You know, every night I come to tuck you in, you are in nothing but a towel....

Mari: *looking around our room* Oh my goodness....

Me, Christina, and Mo: Aww Shutz....

Vanessa: My echo coughed!

Currently Listening The Best of Three Dog Night By Three Dog Night Joy to the World see related

Hi Y'all!

Well, I'm leaving tomorrow!! WOOHOO!! I'll be back by around 9:30pm on July 23rd, and hopefully back in church by the 30th. I'm SOOOO excited!! I have to be at the airport by 5:30am tomorrow (Uggg!), but it will be well worth it. I sent out an email with my address for the month and my cell number...if you didn't get it, call my house and ask my mom for the address. If you don't know my home number (for TPS people) it should be on my YBP, if not, email my sister (Caroline) from her YBP and she'll get the address to you. 

I hope you all have WONDERFUL summers, and I'll update again when I get home! God bless!

<3 Rachel

1 My heart is steadfast, O God;
       I will sing and make music with all my soul.

 2 Awake, harp and lyre!
       I will awaken the dawn.

 3 I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
       I will sing of you among the peoples.

 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
       your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

-Psalm 108:1-4