Forever Young

one of my favorite quotes :)

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:35:50 -0400

one of my favorite quotes :)

"What follows is part of the talk I will give to this year’s freshman class when I welcome them a few..."

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:53:00 -0500

“What follows is part of the talk I will give to this year’s freshman class when I welcome them a few days from now. The responsibility I will charge your sons and daughters with is this: ‘If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you’d take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you’re going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft. You’re not here to become an entertainer, and you don’t have to sell yourself. The truth is you don’t have anything to sell; being a musician isn’t about dispensing a product, like selling used Chevies. I’m not an entertainer; I’m a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You’re here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.”

- Karl Paulnack—Why Art Matters

"All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. And even then, on the rare..."

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:21:00 -0500

“All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. And even then, on the rare occasions when something opens within, and the music enters, what we mainly hear, or hear corroborated, are personal, private, vanishing evocations. But the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing order on it as it hits the air. What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible because it has no words, and triumphant, too, for that same reason. And his triumph, when he triumphs, is ours.”

- James Baldwin - “Sonny’s Blues”

A Winter Night

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:32:15 -0500

Snow-colored bulbs light the sky

For those who travel in the night

Calling to hazy blankets above

To send down soft white flakes

Come they may here below

To embrace an empty black canvas

That eagerly awaits their arrival

As though each one brings a sense of serendipity

Children enter through shop doors

Their breath no longer able to be seen

Windowsill cheeks flush with fog in embarrassment

Of the childhood hands that press against the glass of time

Winter. I just might have a slight obsession with these little...

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:28:52 -0500

Winter.

I just might have a slight obsession with these little dots that light up the sky like beautiful memories. They’re usually more of a behind the scenes appreciation, but that’s what makes them their own kind of lovely. This, my friends, is bokeh.

My Word is a love letter to your soul The sunrise is my ever renewing mercy It never leaves Each hug...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:13:02 -0400

My Word is a love letter to your soul

The sunrise is my ever renewing mercy

It never leaves

Each hug you receive is my arms wrapping around you

You sing to me and I sing over you

My love for you is never-ending

Like a black piano key never leaves a white one,

I will forever remain by your side

My love endures

_____

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:46:00 -0400

_____:

We create first impressions based on the smallest of things. A smile. A firm handshake. A friendly demeanor. But, humans are layered. We lift veil after veil, and it’s only when we slip past a smile and meander through our cortex that we find something that we can truly call human. We’re built as natural defense mechanisms. We hide our vulnerabilities and show strength with an upturned chin and a straight gait, but which of us mean it? Which of us can keep our shoulders like level weights without showing the vulnerability in our curves? We create angles in our form. We’ll choose empowerment in the form of redwoods instead of bending ourselves like boughs. We’re strong enough to hold an ocean instead of admitting that we’re fragile enough to be swallowed by the sea, and in that, I find humanity’s greatest flaw. We pretend to be someone we’re not, although fragility is what makes us all beautiful. We don suits and straighten our ties and walk around holding our breaths, knowing that once we step into the safety of our homes, we’d take off our skin and place them side-by-side next to our loafers. We are who we are when we believe that no one’s looking, and in turn we’re losing ourselves to what society is trying to mold us into. We’re told to conform to a monochrome world instead of painting our skies the colors we feel in. First impressions bother me because they’re nothing but well-dressed lies. I’m not interested in who you are at first glance. I’m not interested in the person that you claim to be. I only want to know what color your seas are. I only want to know what you bleed.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:07:20 -0400

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness”

Lamentations 3:22-23

Editing and editing and editing…but hey, at least I have...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:22:44 -0400

Editing and editing and editing…but hey, at least I have beautiful people to edit.

"Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets…"

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:29:19 -0400

“Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets…”

- Beethoven

"When the crescendos in the music match the building of the choreography, it takes you on a journey."

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:47:00 -0400

“When the crescendos in the music match the building of the choreography, it takes you on a journey.”

- Nigel Barker (SYTYCD)

Happy 4th of July!!

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:30:01 -0400

Happy 4th of July!!

Always notice your likes! I really appreciate them. You're name is Audrey, I would assume and Jesus loves you, sis! A bunch! Thankful you're following me. Be blessed today!

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:21:50 -0400

It is! And thank you, He loves you a bunch too! Your posts are always very encouraging and a pleasure to see on my tumblr dash. Be blessed as well!

"Lead my soul to quietness and trust. All I know is You will be enough."

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 23:54:15 -0400

“Lead my soul to quietness and trust. All I know is You will be enough.”

- Desperation Band - Take Me to the River

On my mind...

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:29:38 -0400

I want to make music that really gets people at the core, songs that have a brilliant revelation of truth, songs that people really catch onto, and not only catch onto, but really feel and grasp the meaning behind the lyrics. Because a song is so much more than the music or the lyrics could ever explain. It transcends all boundaries and overcomes all odds. Music is a piece of a gift from God, that has been breathed into us to pour out in notes, so that when we all come together and make these sounds, we reach the heart of God, hoping to touch it and meet Him like He meets us. Music is the gift, God is the Giver, and we have been chosen as the caretakers. This gift is meant to be shared, to touch people at their very core and help them grasp a better understanding of the One who created them, using their form of communicating, of reaching, and of worshipping Him.

This is the kind of music I long to create; the kind of anything I long to create, really. I want anything I create to reflect the Lord so much, that in itself it shows that I indeed have not created it, but the Lord has created it through me. This is true art, a true reflection of what we have been created for and a reflection of how we were created.

This is what I long to do…and a lot of it.

Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Colossians 3:2-4 “Set your mind on things above, not on...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 16:43:00 -0400

Colossians 3:2-4 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (NKJV)

It’s crazy how easy it is to get caught up in things that are so temporary…to put our primary focus and attention on them. We’ve been given this life to do something with it, something that brings glory and honor to the One who has given it to us. So let’s get out there and live, serve, love, encourage, create, explore, give, change, hold, and share. Live out the story, be thankful for the mercy, and share the grace and love with everyone around you. Go encourage some people. Live a life of worshipping the King. It’s what you were made to do. ;)

Ps. Here’s the link to the acoustic for my friends that you know…prefer acoustic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVeXOMHNgLQ

Just sharing some photos (click to enlarge) I recently found...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:26:00 -0400

Just sharing some photos (click to enlarge) I recently found that put a smile on my face. The first is a photo of Paris street performers, Jean Louis Bert and Grethe Bulow, playing leap-frog in front of the Eiffel Tower, which is perfect. The second is just a lovely travel photo, though I’m not sure where it’s from. In the third, I just love the whole composition. This is my state of mind lately.

Keys. They open doors and they close them. I’m discovering that we’re each given a set...

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:06:42 -0400

Keys. They open doors and they close them. I’m discovering that we’re each given a set of keys throughout our lifetime. All we’re able to see before each of our doors are open is the space through the keyhole, yet we can’t exactly make out what lies on the other side of the door. Each door we unlock has different opportunities that are awaiting us.

I’m still in the process of figuring out which keys to use, which doors they belong to, and exactly when they’re supposed to be used. I’ve been presented with so many different directional options since I’ve been home for the summer, and I can’t quite wrap my mind around which one I need to take.

There’s so much beauty in everything that hasn’t fully been captured yet…so many people unmet and lives untouched, pieces yet to be composed, photographs to be taken, dances to be danced, paintings to be painted, places unseen, and discoveries still unmade. I want to make those discoveries and create all of those things and at the moment I’m not quite sure how to go about making it happen. I guess I shouldn’t wonder about it quite so much, but I do want to make the right decisions and at the right time.

I’m so thankful that I’m not the One holding my keys and that I didn’t create my own doors and what’s behind them. Maybe that little space through the keyhole is all I really need to see at the moment and maybe the right doors will open and the right keys will be found for each one in their own time. It’s taking a lot of trust, but I know it’ll be worth it. For now, all I can do is use the tools I’ve been given to create for the One who created me and those keys will find their own little keyholes in due time.

Colossians 1:16

For by Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.

Awake

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:28:01 -0400

Awaken me by the sea

Amidst the drift of summer air

Where thoughts in my mind are free

A morning without care

Awaken me by the sea

With a saltwater scented breeze

Where the light of dawn

Peeks through the trees

Awaken me by the sea

Where the waves glide in

Showing life is good to me

Each time a new day begins

One in a million #destiny #purpose (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:56:44 -0400

One in a million #destiny #purpose (Taken with instagram)