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Jazz in June, originally uploaded by acappella05.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month since I last updated. I guess I’ve been pretty consumed with graduate classes (only two weeks left!). I feel like I’ve had more homework this summer than the past four years of college combined…but of course that’s a huge exaggeration! Getting settled into the new apartment has been fun. Annie and I have made several trips over to the Mill (the local coffee house, which is only a couple blocks away) to hang out/knit/study and our place is slowly becoming populated with a hodgepodge of furniture. If you haven’t seen pictures yet, you can check them out here.

The picture above is of the Sheldon Art Museum in downtown Lincoln, where Jazz in June is held every Tuesday. The first two Tuesdays of the month were cool and rainy; luckily, the rain petered out by late afternoon and the concert went on! The Doane blankets got a pretty low turnout though. Last week, on the other hand, was a smashing success. Sunny, warm and crowded. For some excellent pics of the evening, see Mr. Todd Depue’s flickr photoset here.

On a different note, lately I’ve had to stave off some sad feelings about not going back to school next year. I didn’t get the job at Doane Lincoln that I applied for (which is alright with me) and I’m still waiting to hear back about an adviser position in Crete. I’m not sure what God has in store for me, but I hope it allows for plenty of trips back to campus. Although, there’s always the stinging realization that I’m not really that important there anymore (and never was really that important to begin with!). I’d like to think that my professors will still care about me, but obviously they have more pressing things to attend to… which reminds me a lot of how I felt after my high school graduation. Still, I don’t like to let go of things so I’ll probably find *some* way to make myself useful at Doane. Or anywhere. I’d like to at least be useful somewhere!

Another topic that has been on my mind a lot recently is witnessing. What can I do to witness to my friends and family members who are unbelievers? Recently it hit me that I’m not a very good witness at all. I blend in too easily with the world…it’s hard to tell that I’m different. John MacArthur enlightened me to the fact that it is God’s will for me to suffer (more on that later)…suffer in the sense that I will probably be teased and ostracized for my beliefs and actions. When is it time to speak out when I think something is inappropriate? Is it better just to ignore it? Should I risk losing a friendship? I feel like I should be more proactive, but I’m not always sure what to do. Plus, some of my loved ones who are unbelievers are older than me, which also makes it difficult.

I feel like this though: If I believe that there is only one way to God and to an eternity in heaven…and if you don’t take that path, you will face an eternity of torment in hell…how much would I have to hate someone not to tell them that?

Lots to think about. Anyway, I guess I should go find something useful to do…like unloading the dishwasher. I’ll update again soon!

Hello all-
I forgot to mention this in my last post, which is weird because I’m pretty excited about it. Doane Choir’s most recent CD entitled “Precious Lord” is now available on iTunes for 99 cents a track! How cool is that? Check it out here (link will open in iTunes) and the official Doane news story here. Chances are, everybody reading this already has a copy of the CD…if not, I’d recommend “The Road Home” and “My God is So High.”

*EDIT: Also, feel free to check out Doane Choir’s new and improved YouTube profile here.

Lately is has occurred to me that I’m sort of an overzealous recruiter for Doane. All of this technology stuff gets me really excited…my next task is to get “The Doane Line” folks to set up a twitterfeed so I can read the Owl via Twitter. (Perhaps my next task after that should be to check into a mental institution, lol)

In other news, I’m thinking about auditioning for the Abendmusik choir in the fall. I guess it all depends on what kind of job I get and when/how often the choir rehearses. But anyway…I guess that’s it for now!

Well, there you have it! Friends and family have come and gone, my diploma leans amongst my books and here I sit in my new apartment, wondering what will come next. I’ll post some pictures of my new digs sometime…I really like this place. It’s cozy. It’s not Doane, but it’s cozy. My motto is usually “home is where your stuff is”…but I do, in fact, feel like I left a bit of my heart in a practice room somewhere at Doane and I probably won’t be getting it back anytime soon. :\

Things I’m grateful for: My parents. God bless them, they swooped in on a tropical Florida breeze and saved the day! Amelia, too, and Todd…all helped me enormously in the whole process of packing, organizing, moving, and staying sane. Thanks to Todd also for taking tons of great pictures over the weekend, including the one above! Then of course there’s Annie, my new roommate, who I’m ever grateful for. I’m also thankful for this apartment, my recently repaired bicycle, my new Yamaha Clavinova (bought with my graduation money), the beautiful weather, my family at Cornerstone Bible Church, my MacArthur study bible and all the numerous other things I have been blessed with. It’s overwhelming, really.

Stuff that’s happened: I got a plaque for being a “Doane Scholar,” meaning I was in the top 8% of my class. My combined graduation party (with Heidi, Bailey & some other girls) was really fun (a big “thank you” to Amanda for coming down for it)! The President’s Concert was beautiful and moving and I’ll never forget what it felt like to stand up there and look out from that stage one last time. I’m going to miss it so much. Perhaps what I’ll even miss more is just spending time with my music teachers—who really became my fathers, and probably understood me a little better than most folks. There’s a little part of me that just wants to make them proud…a little part that may end up influencing the steps that I take next. We’ll see! Anyway, on Sunday I graduated magna cum laude from Doane with a BA in Music. Who woulda thought?! Me, a music major!

What’s next? Summer grad classes, until July 3rd. Also, I’m applying for a job at Doane…we’ll see what happens. All I know is that God’s will will be carried out and it will be good (as in “in my best interest”) no matter what.

Happy Mother’s Day!, originally uploaded by acappella05.

Yesterday was strange…by some chance of fate, I found myself communicating with all of my “moms” on one day: Laura, Mrs. Cornell & Mrs. Hamilton. I could easily make this Mother’s Day blog a tribute to them: my “adoptive” mothers who have always taken me in and provided for me whenever I needed anything. However, as important as they have been to me over the years, none can compare to the ultimate mom in my life: MY mom. Mom, this is for you!

My mom spoiled the heck out of me. I went through a period of time where I was mad about that, because I thought it made me turn into a selfish and somewhat dysfunctional person. I realize now, of course, that if I am selfish, it is my own fault, but if I am selfless, then I can certainly attribute that to my mother’s influence, because she’s given to me selflessly all the days of my life.

I always feel bad for people who don’t have good relationships with their parents. I talk to my mom almost every day and we talk about everything under the sun (and some things over the sun). She always knows what to say to cheer me up! Mom, I know I’ve complained and said harsh things about my childhood and how I was raised, but in all truthfulness, I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. I have no regrets, only fond memories. And is my childhood over? Not really. I will always be your kid, and will never stop learning from you. So here’s to you, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!

Relay for Life, originally uploaded by acappella05.

WOW, it’s been a busy week. We (Doane Choir) had night rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday and a morning rehearsal on Saturday for our Abendmusik First Plymouth concert. On Friday, Jazz Unlimited sang at the Crescent Moon coffee house, which is located in the Haymarket. We sang in the courtyard behind the shop. Not very many people came, but we didn’t care. We all felt really hip to be singing at a coffee shop! Right before our last song, I realized that it was my last concert with JU. I’m going to miss that group a lot!

After the concert, we headed back to Doane for Relay for Life. I stayed from 11pm to 4:30am. It was a lot of fun…I walked a few miles, ate pizza at midnight, won some autographed Alan Jackson sheet music and had fun hanging out with my friends. We raised about $47,000! When I got home I crashed for a few hours before I had to get up and go to rehearsal! Oy! We were all pretty tired. Saturday evening Todd and I went to the Olive Garden and had a really great meal (right down to the last Andes mint). Then we went to go see an original production: Jurassic Park the Musical. It was held in the backyard of the Colonel Mustard which is an old yellow house in northeast Lincoln. It was HILARIOUS. We loved it! After that we went to The Mill with Annie for some yummy coffee.

Today’s concert at First Plymouth went well…in fact, I think I’ll use a line from one of our songs as my verse-of-the-blog: Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10. In other words: Stop fretting and trust in God. He will fulfill all of his promises!