I ♥ Music

So on top of college exam week being over and making all A's, several new things musically have come up.

I really wanted to talk about this a few months ago but felt it better to wait. I'm glad I did. One of the main reasons I started going to the BCM was because of a series of emails I got from the BCM director. He was looking for a new worship leader. I was reluctant to step up because I figured there were much more talented kids (actually, I knew for certain there were much more talented kids there). But after the third email, I replied back and told him I'd be willing to play guitar, but that when it came to leading worship, I wasn't going to be able to do that. Mom and I discussed this, and in light of the fact that God has been calling me to really step out in faith lately and that that includes FULLY stepping into my calling, I emailed Damon back and said, "Hey, alright, I'll lead worship too if you still need it." So we got to talking about it. And while I'm not actually going to be leading worship here at the BCM for this semester, I will be on an outreach team that leads worship at different Baptist churches and events in the area. I can not tell you how excited I am about this... I love music, I love the idea of getting to lead worship, and I love that I get to spend my life working with music. I mean, how much better can it get? :] Needless to say, I've been playing guitar a lot more lately. My desk is quickly becoming a storage place for worship music. And I'm working on the singing and playing in front of people... but just keep praying that I relax about that. :]

There's still a bigger thing regarding music education/preparation that I'm still waiting for an answer on. I'm certain that there will be a day that I get to talk to you about it, but for now I have to wait. And this waiting sometimes discourages me... Earlier this week, I was talking with my mom and had decided that I was going to apply to a college that I had once told both my parents that I would NEVER attend because I didn't like it. I read up on it and had been praying that if God wanted me to go there that He'd make my heart soft and accepting towards the college... and as I looked at their website, I thought, "Hey, I could do this... it's a good college, full of friendly people, good academics, and I could also have fun here." So, I thought, "Okay, maybe I should just apply." I talked to Mom, and once again, she reminded me that God had asked me to step out in faith and that He had given me these dreams. So, right now, even though I get frustrated sometimes with this wait and all the uncertainty about my future and what will happen, I know I can be secure in the fact that God knows EXACTLY what He's doing, even when it doesn't make sense to me.

And to top all of this off, I found out that Tenth Avenue North is coming out with a new cd. In case you haven't listened to them, their biggest songs are "By Your Side", "Love Is Here", and "Hold My Heart". Another favorite of mine (probably my ABSOLUTE favorite from them) is "Beloved". Both the original and acoustic versions are so intricately beautiful. And the rest of their songs are fantastic worship songs... seriously amazing. I can not WAIT to get my hands on that cd. :]

So tell me, what's something in your life that you've had to wait for with a very rewarding result?

Until the next adventure,
Audra E.

The BCM

Well, hey there. I'm back, much sooner than normal! :]

Since I'm here at the BCM and have some time on my hands, I figured I'd clue you in on the BCM, which has pretty much become one of the top three places you can currently find me - 1 being home, 2 being college, and you can guess what number 3 is. :]

BCM stands for Baptist Collegiate Ministry. However, if you're like my mom, you'll probably call it the Baptist Student Union no matter how many times your 16 year old daughter tells you differently. :] I'm normally here four out of the five school days, and I'm thinking about just driving in on my off days just to hang out and have a different place to do schoolwork.

I'm going to be really sad to leave come May... I've only been here 3 or 4 weeks and already love being here. Of course, it hasn't all been smooth sailing... my first time here, I felt like a little fish in a very big pond. I knew nothing about the building, hardly anything about the BCM, and no one I knew was there. So... I became a little nerd and spent most of my time in the library for my first few visists, just listening and observing. I finally got up the nerve to wander around the building, because you know... everybody else did, so I figured I was welcome to as well. Now I feel like I have a grip on things here and feel comfortable enough with my surroundings to open up a little more. I'm excited to see what will happen here in the next few weeks.

Well, I think most of the guys are in the back playing Halo, and there are only two or three of us here in the front... so while it's quiet and there aren't kids running around, screaming, and playing ping-pong (which is QUITE HILARIOUS, I must say. I got SOO many laughs just watching my first few times here...), I'm going to go study some chemistry since I have class tonight and my first exam next Monday.

What's something new in your life that you're excited about?

Until the next adventure,
AE

Yes, I'm Alive!

I am so bad about posting on here. My apologies.

Anyway, the college semester started back. I'm taking American History II and Basic Chemistry. History is fine; chemistry... well, let's just say that I need to work on the conversion factors a little bit. Two weeks in, and I'm already preparing for the first exams of the semester. Yuck.

I've continued to work on ML, though I need to get a little more focused with it...

On the music front, things seem to be opening up left and right. However, it doesn't mean that I'll necessarily get these opportunities. As much as I'd love to, it's not guaranteed... but if they work out, I will most definitely be posting about them here. :]

I'm currently reading A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White. I haven't been able to get very far in it because of my schedule, but I'm looking forward to time to read it. I'm also finishing up Set Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy (who also co-wrote with her husband Letting God Write Your Love Story, a book that I love).

Well, now I'm off to practice piano for a few minutes before I pack up and leave the house (again!).

I'm telling you, life is crazy... but it's good. :]

Adios,
Audra E.

P.S. I've stopped the "with a chance of" post titles because they're so hard to come up with... though I may use them from time to time. But for every post, it's a little bit of a hassle.

Snowy With a Chance of Micaela

it snowed!

I just needed to announce that in big letters... :)

So anyway, on top of the fabulous snow (we actually got over an inch and it's actually stuck around for more than a day... so it's pretty spectacular), I actually got back to working on my novel tonight. Micaela is the protagonist in this aforementioned work that is often simply referred to as Micaela or ML, which stands for the book's title (which I will choose to keep disclosed at this point...)

For those of you that don't know, I started working on it when I was 13. It was October of 2006, I think. The journey in writing it has been really long. Last summer, I spent three weeks at my grandparents and would spend 8-10 hours at a time down in their basement, writing, with practically no phsyical human contact. Finishing the second draft made me supremely happy, but I came home so burnt out (and truth be told, a little depressed), I just set the book aside. My mind felt so overloaded with this story, I was just having a hard time actually writing.

So, in the past three years of writing it, I've told quite a few people, from the girl that inspired the story, to my best friends, to my mom's best friend, to my piano teacher, and so on. When I first started writing, a lot of these people asked me questions about it and I let three of my best friends read it. So, the three of them were literally harassing me about it every time I saw them, so I wrote a lot. And then... everything just got really quiet. To be honest, I was happy with this. Being asked the same question(s) over and over again got on my nerves. But lately, after a year of rest, it's like all of a sudden, people are asking questions again... and Emily, one of my best friends, came across the very first draft I had given her in her room the other day.

So, I've pretty much felt that I needed to get started on it again... Okay, seriously, I did feel that all the questions were a sign from God that I needed to get moving again and stop being so apathetic and whiny about writing it, but when Emily told me that she came across that draft... well, it also kinda scared me into action, because let me tell you... that first draft... I've read it a couple times...

It stinks.

So, I sat down at my sister's computer tonight and got to work... and it was hard at first. I usually write for 15 minutes, and then if I'm ready to quit, I quit. This way I don't overtax myself (like last summer), and I actually get something done. I spent the first hour on Facebook and chatting with (another) best friend. However, I did actually spend some time researching some ways I could plot and actually move forward with writing, and believe it or not... it actually helped. It sparked a bunch of ideas (some which I'm getting ready to work on), and within 30 minutes, I had my new and improved synopsis, as well as three or four different subplots.

So, now that I've given you the crash course on my journey in writing, what do you feel motivated to complete right now?

Over and out,

Audrey

Crisp and Clear With a Chance of a New Year...

Just a quick note to say...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am super excited about this new year and the things God has in store...

Can't wait to share the journey with you! :)

Much love,

Audrey

Clouds and Sunshine With a Chance of Jesus Calling

So, over the past several months I've gotten the opportunity to read this book:

It's taken me a little while because 1) this is a devotional book, divided up into daily sections and 2) it's really, really good, so I never wanted to move on.

Seriously, this book was amazing. I loved reading it. It seemed that just about every day I read (I would normally read anywhere from several days to a month in one sitting), there was something in there that popped out. So I'd bookmark it, maybe write it down in my diary, and then set it aside. Then when I'd come back to read it, I'd read that same page again, and it'd just hit me again.

Oh, by the way, have I mentioned that I really liked this book? :)

If you're looking for a good gift book or a book for yourself, definitely invest in this one. I just gave away the copy I got from Thomas Nelson on Saturday night at a youth Christmas party, but I will definitely be buying this again very soon... and most likely for several more people as well. :)

Chilly With a Chance of Changes

Well, hi blogworld! No, I haven't died, fallen off the edge of the earth, or been incapacitated in the last few months. Well, actually, I take that last statement back; but more on that later.

Let me just say that the primary reason I haven't been writing as faithfully is college. As unchallenging as my Comp II class can be, trying to keep up with all the different decisions my professor makes can be very, very similar to whiplash. I've managed to make it through, though - less than a month left. I am excited and sad about this at the same time. I'm glad to see this class come to an end, because as I've said, it's not as challenging as I expected college to be when I started this summer. However, I'm also sad because I've made a few pretty good friends this semester that I'm pretty certain that I'll never speak to again after the semester is over. I suppose that's part of college, though.

In the meantime, I've also managed to sustain quite an injury (thus why I took back saying that I wasn't incapacitated, because to a degree, I was). While the toe injury (simply a toe avulsion aka half of my toenail is gone due to being caught in a metal door) was completely fine after a few days, the over-compensating in my walking caused my right knee to swell up to be as large as a softball (and I'm not exagerrating!). This caused me quite a bit of trouble in walking... for days, I was hobbling around and shouldn't have even been walking. It's been a very slow recovery to be where I am now and even now, I'm hardly able to walk without a lot of pain. My knee still buckles quite a bit due to some loose cartilage in my knee and the fluid that is still on it (though the swelling is greatly reduced). I'm scheduled for an outpatient surgery on December 11 at 1 p.m. at our local hospital, so hopefully after several weeks of recovery, I'll be back to walking normally and swimming with my team. The saying "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" is highly applicable in my case. Those of you that can walk normally, let alone run, should be very, very thankful.

Also, I've had some great chances to wet my feet in photography. One trip I took with my friend Chelsea for nine hours and took over one thousand photos. The next I did for a trial client for my portfolio. And next week I am going out to take Christmas pictures for some friends of our family. I am so excited with the reaction to my photography, though it's definitely not the best on the planet. I'm pretty excited though and am looking forward to where this will take me. Be looking for a photography blog in the coming weeks... and maybe even a website... :-)

Lastly, I've been watching a BBC produced show called Merlin. It all revolves around a young Merlin as he serves a similarly aged Prince Arthur. Guinevere is a servant, and Morgana has yet to turn evil, but even though it messes with Arthurian legend, it is an amazing show. It's much cleaner than any American show I've seen in awhile, though it's not perfect... language pops up every once in awhile, but most episodes are without it.

So, in the mix of all this, I've been able to spend a lot of time praying. And in this, I've also been able to learn to listen a little bit. My mom came to me a few weeks ago with an answer to prayer that had a little twist - it required a step of faith. So, after some more praying, I took that step of faith... and it's been amazing to see all that God's done and how even when I feel like I'm going to freefall, He's right beneath me to catch me. I am constantly amazed that God even cares for the little ol' smidge that is me. But it's also very amazing to actually see that He cares for me.

So amidst all of this, I've written a few songs and worked on some music, but I've really not done much writing (save for in my diary, but that's between me, myself, and I). People keep asking me what I've been writing, though, so maybe once Comp II is done for the semester... maybe I'll get back to a certain young 15 year old named Micaela... :-)

Until then,
Audra E.