joy has come!

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 150

Today has been filled with my favorite thing in this entire world: music.

I just got back from the Virginia Symphony and as always, i left inspired, motivated and challenged. Sometimes I really wonder if I'm in the right place. sometimes i wonder what would have happened if i had stayed with piano and my amazing Russian teacher, Galena Epleman. sometimes i wonder what would have happened had i accepted that scholarship at the  Music and Arts Academy and continued my lessons.

i just wonder.

days like today make me wish i had. what i wouldn't give to be in that stage. the spotlight, the hush over the crowd, the applause, and the music that leaks through from the heavens above. i wish it could be me. i really do.

ahhh well. we shall see i suppose.

But something ELSE happened today which encouraged me beyond words!!! for the first time in the history of Sovereign Grace Church, we had our first string section of the worship team today! Me and 8 other friends joined the band with our violins.

the Holy Spirit was there today friends. and for those who may not know, that has not been the case in our church sadly for a very long time. the devil has just snuck in like the snake that he is and stolen many of our congregation's freedoms and joy during Sunday morning worship.

BUT NOT TODAY!!!! :D

now im not saying that there was like any magic in the violins or anything. i know God works in ways we can never imagine. but today was different. today we danced. today we shouted and yelled. today we cried. and today, we praised our Savior.

Glory to God! He is moving! He is answering the cries of His children! He is revealing Himself to us!

Oh Father! I WANT TO ENCOUNTER YOU MORE!

I am so happy right now, friends. really happy. wait...correction: i am

overflowing with joy!

Webster defines joy as: The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good.

Whoa!! I'm expecting good from my Savior! I have joy in Him!

But wait....Can that be me? Hannah? The Eeyore if her family? The biggest grumpo of the morning (caffeine not accounted for hahah)? Yes! That IS me!Why?I believe it's because HE is changing me! Answering prayers once again! Leading me on this beautiful journey called life. Helping me to LIFT MY EYES!



So praise the Lord with me today, dear friends! Praise Him tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, and the rest of your life....it is just the beginning of the glorious eternity that awaits us!! :)



p.s. follow the link of the title of this post...i think this song is perfect for this season of life im in :) enjoy!