WOW! What a crazy whirlwind the past few weeks have brought! I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long - things have really just been ridiculous, but in a good way. :)
Let's see... where to begin? Well! Not too much has been going on school work wise - just the same old, same old. We had our first huge Voice Ped 2 test a few weeks ago, and by the grace of the Lord, I got an A!! I was not expecting that at all... but what a blessing! And I'm slowly but surely starting to vaguely understand what's going on in our Singing in Russian class. hahaha! Scott's been helping me with my Contemporary Trends theory class, which is all post-tonal theory, and geez louise I really don't know what I would do without him! Makes me miss Mack Hall... and our theory study parties! lol!!! My voice lessons have been going well. Nothing too much going on there, just learning things about my voice I never knew before!
A lot of big life events have happened since I last got to update! First of all, thank you all for your prayers for Grammy! She's doing extremely well! (And yes... still as sassy as ever! hahaha!) She just went to visit her dr this week, and he said her EKG and everything didn't just look good... everything looked GREAT! :) Thank you, Lord!!! So Grammy's all put together again, :) hehehe!
A few weekends ago I was blessed with the opportunity to go home on a whim decision and I got to spend time with my brother, who we haven't seen in over 10 years! What an amazing time! We got to meet his wife and daughters, my precious little nieces! I'll tell you what - I love those girls more than words can express! They're the most darling children! We spent Friday night playing in the house, and talking, gabbing, and catching up, and then got to go out to lunch Saturday! (the weekend I was home) It was simply divine, getting to spend that time with them. What a totally amazing and awesome time the Lord granted us together! Now if only our sister Amelia would have been able to join! I guess that just means Katie and I will have to make a trip to Kentucky to visit them all... ;)
Here are a few pics from our visit with Bubby and his family!
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| Sis, Bubby, and I! |
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| Us with our nieces!! Arianna, Katie, Me, and Alexis :) |
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| Favorite. Love my siblings <3 |
That weekend was also special because we got to spend time with Josh, Karen, and Zay on Sunday! They were home for that weekend as well, and so it was overall one of the most precious times I've had this whole new year of 2012! And we got to go to the Credit Union Banquet! So much fun cram-packed into one weekend. It was amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing! Here are a few more snapshots from that amazing weekend...
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| My bestest friends in the whole world <3 |
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| Sissy lub <3 |
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| This is what happens at the Credit Union Banquet... :) :) hehehe! |
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| Monkey man and Momma! What a kid! |
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| Puzzle time with Jessa! :) |
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| I love her so much! One of the most beautiful women I know in the whole wide world. |
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| Goofball :) |
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| I am so blessed! My family is amazing. The end. <3 |
The other really super awesome exciting thing that has happened since last I blogged was that last weekend I got to sing with the Berlin Philharmonic at CARNEGIE HALL!!! Talk about an amazing experience!! It was one of the most incredible moments of my life - one that I will never, ever forget. We sang Mahler's Second Symphony, the "Resurrection Symphony," and 3 Wolf pieces. There's a link online to listen to the concert from its live broadcast here: Carnegie Hall Live Broadcast
It was simply a remarkable experience. I came home that night and updated my facebook status with the following: "6 years ago this very month I stepped on stage at Carnegie Hall for the first time to perform with the ACDA All-Eastern Honors Choir, and the minute I stepped on stage I knew music was everything I wanted to do, and that more than anything I wanted to be back on that stage someday. Tonight, the Lord brought me right back to that wonderful place where He made known His plans for me, and tonight I performed again on that precious stage at Carnegie Hall - only this time singing three Wolf pieces and Mahler's 2nd Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic. The Berlin Philharmonic!!! Wow oh wow oh wow. What an amazing and absolutely breathtaking experience!! God is SO good! ♥" I am still in awe at the entire awesomeness of the whole thing! It doesn't seem real at ALL! I am still just completely overwhelmed by the entire experience. Here are a few photos from that experience!
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| Look. This is how close the HORNS I was! AMAZING! |
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| Sir Simon Rattle himself! :) |
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| SOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Why yes, I am an artist performing at Carnegie Hall... Awesome! |
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| The amazing place itself! |
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| SOLD OUT CONCERT! Love it! |
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| Some of my best friends here! Other first year grad girls, who are simply wonderful! :) |
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| Simply breathtaking! |
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| I get goosebumps every time I look at this picture... |
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| You can see me on stage there! If you look to the left, right behind the orchestra in the first row, I'm the first one from the left! |
In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
There's a song in ev'ry silence, seeking word and melody.
There's a dawn in ev'ry darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
What a living truth this text has literally been in my life, especially with regards to school! I've been so drained and just exhausted from everything going on, constantly going in the back of my mind "you know Jessica, you have a degree... you have two degrees already, one of which allows you to hold a full-time job in the public school system teaching music, which you love to do... why in the world are you putting yourself through this misery of grad school and going into more school debt?" ... The answer? I'm trusting the Lord. And I'm waiting on Him by serving Him and trusting where He's put me! I don't know why yet, and I don't know what will come of my time here, but I know without a doubt that He loves me, that I am His cherished daughter, and that His plans for me are good. "There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody." And I am waiting, in the silence, to find the words and melody to my time here in Princeton! It makes me think of how everyone who's not Christian thinks that being Christian and once you are Christian, life is so easy. Ha! They're so silly. Life still has its challenges, all of which God uses for His good, but it's not some magic recipe to make all the bills and the miseries of life go away. It simply makes life have meaning, and go from being lonely to being filled with Christ! I love being able to choose to stand firm on God's Word, trusting that He will meet me exactly where I need Him, without a shadow of a doubt, every single time. I have just been completely overwhelmed at how much I have seen the Lord bless me and meet me these past few weeks! What I've learned thus far, as February has come to a close, is that He is BIGGER than everything and anything else that, in the moment, may seem like a huge obstacle. I am His cherished and precious daughter who He loves more than words could ever express and He will carry me through everything! Just like the hymn says, "In our doubt there is believing ... unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see." While we may not exactly know what the Lord has for us in this current season of our life, we do know that through our believing, it is going to be something miraculous and good. And that He alone knows what He has planned for us, and if we just put to death our fear and doubts and worries, and put all our strength into trusting the Most High, He will reveal to us what He has for us exactly at the right time, when we need to know. Because as He's shown me time and time again, He will most assuredly meet us exactly where we need it, every single time. What a truth! I love Him so very much. :)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (TNIV)
Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
- Proverbs 16:3 (Amplified)
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to tread on the heights.
- Habakkuk 3:17-19 (Amplified)
Here's a video of me singing in Studio from earlier this semester! Sorry it's blurry!
"Allerseelen" by Richard Strauss
