An Inspired Young Woman's Daybook

Well, I've seen alot of young woman's or teen girl's daybooks floating around the "blogosphere", and I thought they'd be cool to do. But none of them quite had the questions I'd like. So to remedy that, I thought I'd start my own! This is the inspired young woman's daybook, specifically for those young women who love the Lord and enjoy doing creative things.

If you'd like to participate in this (and I'd really love it if you would!), pick a day that you can write on your blog consistently (I'll probably be doing Saturday... we'll see), and then just post on your blog, filling out the following prompts. This is a sample form (please make sure to copy and use my picture and the link):

Find out how to do An Inspired Young Woman's Daybook here

Today I…
I'm feeling...
My outfit is...
Outside my window…
A song that's stuck in my head...
Something (a book, song, movie, person...) that's inspired me recently...
A prayer of my heart this week... 
I am creating… 
I am reading...
I am thinking... 
A scripture verse or passage that's stuck out to me this week...
A spiritual lesson I'm learning...
An attribute of God I've seen this week…
A picture I’d like to share…
A creative goal for next week... 
Did I complete my goal from last week...


So here's my first entry.

Find out how to do An Inspired Young Woman's Daybook here

Today I was antisocial - I was in my room on my computer practically the whole day (bad, I know)
I'm feeling tired, but still happy.
My outfit is my favorite comfy jeans, and a sweatshirt. (pretty much my favorite attire, unless I'm going out :P)
Outside my window... Unfortunately I can't see outside because it's nightime and dark, but I did notice a gorgeous sunset earlier!
A song that's stuck in my head "Viva la Vida meets Love Story" by Jon Schmidt (it's in my music player on the sidebar)
Something (a book, song, movie, person...) that's inspired me recently is my parents. They encouraged me when I was feeling overwhelmed about my audition at Cedarville, and inspired me with their love and sacrifices they've made for me.
A prayer of my heart this week is that I would have God in the forefront of my thoughts, not myself or my desires.
I am reading too many books at once... "Emma" by Jane Austen, "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, and "The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
I am creating a novel (or working on it) called "Alphyri". Currently I'm still figuring out details, but it's set in a Medieval-type landscape, about a peasant who doesn't know she's the rightful princess, and a prince who just wants to be a peasant. And they fall in love :D
I am thinking about my book I ought to be writing. :P
A scripture verse or passage that's stuck out to me this week is John 15:4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." A spiritual lesson I'm learning is to seek God first above all else.
An attribute of God I've seen this week is His peace. He granted me an abundant measure of it for my audition, and I'm so thankful!
A picture I’d like to share from a recent trip to our grandparent's. It's an old abandoned schoolhouse.

A creative goal for next week is to write, oh, let's say 4,000 words in my novel (nothing like word count goals to motivate one's writing!)
Did I complete my goal from last week... n/a

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about me. Please feel free to participate in this on your blog as well!

God is so good

Remember singing that song in Sunday School "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me."? Well I want to shout it off the rooftops right now! I'm just overflowing with happiness!

Okay, so the reason for all this exuberant joy is that I passed my audition at Cedarville!!!!!!! Here's the story:

We drove down to Ohio last night so I would get a good night's sleep (it's about a 4 hour drive), and then had a day at Cedarville doing different things like theory testing, aural skills, meeting the professors & music faculty and stuff like that. My audition wasn't until 2:00, so I had a long time to wait and get nervous. But the professors tried to make me feel at home. One of the piano professors, Dr. C, let me use his office to practice in. There are 19 practice rooms, but he has two Steinway grands in his office! So that was really nice. For those of you who don't play piano or know much about it, playing on a grand (any grand) is much different from playing on an upright. And to the listener, the sound a grand piano makes is so much more beautiful!

Anyways, I practiced in his room for a while and got used to the feel of the grand. It was really good that I was able to practice, because I hadn't been able to practice much the two days beforehand. I had actually been pretty overwhelmed and stressed out, because I was having to teach students, pack and prepare for the audition, and also my teacher had given me many things to work on for my songs (which there was no way I could integrate in the short amount of time I had). But my parents helped me calm down and re-focus. They reminded me that I'm not playing for my teacher, or even for the professors. I'm playing for an Audience of One.

So when the time finally came for my audition at two, God granted me peace. I was able to relax and actually enjoy the pieces (instead of dreading the hard parts). I still messed up, but somehow it wasn't as important anymore. What was important instead was that I was playing for God. 

The two professors told me they were very impressed, and they also told me some things I'd need to work on. They really encouraged me to come to Cedarville (obviously), and told me how it would all work if I did decide to go there. It was really neat to be able to get the answers to a lot of my questions, and just talk with the professors. I could see it all fitting into place, and I just knew that God was opening the door. There was no question.

Isn't my God so good?

~Melody

Paper Heart

I have not been writing much poetry recently, so I thought I would share the poetry of a friend, instead. I found this beautiful, vivid poem at the blog of my good friend, Celebrilomiel. She is an awesome writer - and I think an even better poet! I highly recommend that you check out her blog http://melodyofthemiscellaneous.blogspot.com

The words of this poem drew me in - each one picked so perfectly and crafted so carefully. Savor it slowly:

Paper Heart

Pretty lacy paper
Frail pink heart
Delicate, blushing flower
Spring’s first kiss

Vivid, cheery paper
Bright pink heart
Heavy-scented, open rose
Summer’s warmth

Tattered, dirty paper
Torn pink heart
Bloodied, trampled, fallen rose
Fall’s last breath

Shredded, frozen paper
Dead pink heart
Winter’s icy, fatal touch
Death’s cold kiss
© 2010, Celebrilomiel

Sigh. Don't you love it when something is heartbreaking, yet so beautiful at the same time? 

~Melody

Amazing Love

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

(Jesus speaking) "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. " John 15:9

John Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. In it, Jesus is teaching his disciples before his death about how they are to love each other just as He loves them. Jesus is the ultimate example of love - he loved us so much that he was willing to lay down his life. And he didn't just lay it down for his friends, he laid it down for his enemies as well! No wonder we sing of His "Amazing Love."

Jesus also calls us to love each other with the same kind of amazing love. In John 13:34-35, He says, "A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." [italics mine] There it is, clear as day. We must love one another as He has loved us!

This is a tall order, for sure. How can I love others as Jesus loved me? I can't sacrifice my life for them, can I? No, we can't actually die for those around us like Jesus did, but we can sacrifice things for them such as our time. Pray today and ask God how you can show His love, His amazing love, to those around you - even if they're not particularly lovable. Who knows what God can do through you if you're willing to show His love to others?