Guitar Lessons Learned

It's been almost a year since I taught myself to play piano. Ever since I learned piano, I wanted to learn guitar. My mom has a guitar a friend let her borrow, so my brother could learn to play guitar. So she let me borrow it until I move out into my own place. After about 4 months of it sitting in the corner collecting dust, I picked it up and started teaching myself. It was really, really, really hard. But I kept telling myself that piano was this hard when I started playing, too. After a bunch of flipping pages from "Simple Guitar" by Steve MacKay and so much searching up tutorials on YouTube. I have finally taught myself to play guitar!!

My goal was to start this summer of 2010 and hopefully I would finish by the time I graduate in 2011. Turns out I finished much sooner than 2011. I am so happy I did not give up!!! I have not memorized any songs yet, but I know where almost all the basic chords are at. The barre chords are kind of hard for me, because I am a beginner. And I know how to use the capo.

The capo looks like this:

What is a capo?

Capos are used to change the key and pitch of the open strings of a guitar without having to adjust the strings with the tuning keys.

Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Cold days during the fall and winter can get you shivering and running for your covers. There is nothing better than Hot Cocoa to warm your insides!!!!

Hot Cocoa Mix

4 cups of nonfat dry milk powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup non-dairy coffee creamer

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 (4 ounce) package instant chocolate fudge pudding

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. If a finer consistency is desired, you can pour the mix into a blender or food processor and run it through that. Store in an airtight container. Add 1/4 to 1/2 (depending on your cocoa preference) of the mix to an 8 ounce mug of boiling water.

Wordless Wenesday: Christmas Kitty

Pray for Emily

Pray for Emily. I have been reading her blog ever since she put it up. She seems like a nice little girl. Every day I pray for here. Her mom also has a blog, http://emilycancerupdates.blogspot.com/.

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 2 Thessalonians 1:11

Life In The Country

Kid Rock

I know I haven't kept my blog active lately, but just recently I got my first comment since July. I am suddenly inspired to write on my blog again.

Life in the country? Well, I can't complain!! I actually love it here. Even though it can be stressful at times, its not that bad! The past two days have been spent reading.

I am now reading "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris. I heard of the book off of Alexandra's blog. And wrote it down for momma to get for me. She said she already has the book for my brother and I to read for school.

So excited that fall is here!!! I have been waiting for cooler weather. Now I am waiting patiently for the leaves to change colors.

As I am figuring out what to do with my life, I am constantly reminded of Jeremiah 29:11, and Proverbs 3:5. He keeps reminding me that he has a perfect plan for my life. One that I can't imagine having.

New house, New Beginning

Due to circumstances in our life, my family and I had to move in with my mom's friend Nancy. Even though the move has been difficult for me I have decided to have a good attitude and enjoy it. We spent the past weekend packing, lifting heavy furniture and boxes, and loading and unloading the truck. Nancy's family has been kind enough to split their game room into a small gameroom and two small bedrooms for my brothers and I. After having a large sized bedroom most of my life, I now have a small bedroom. Nancy's husband was kind enough to make me a loft bed due to the size of my room. We managed to squeeze my desk, keyboard, guitar, and bookshelf in my room. And stuck my dresser outside of my door. Since there is no overhead light in my room, mom is having to buy a few lamps for my room. I am hoping to get back to updating my blog.

VBS 2010-Saddle Ridge Ranch

This past week has been spent doing VBS. Our theme this year was "Saddle Ridge Ranch". It was a great experience for many children in our neighborhood. They had a great time doing crafts, music, recreation, snack, and bible study. The teachers had a wonderful time ministering to the children.

The verse this year came from James 1:5...
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." NIV

We also did a couple of contests.

Contest 1: The music teacher had a bag titled "The Good, The Unbad, and The Not Ugly" bag. Each day the children would have to behave and follow all the rules. Then the "trail bosses" would put their names in the bag. And 3 children would win a CD with this year's VBS songs.

Contest 2: The boys and girls were split up into two teams. Boys vs. Girls. Each night they would bring in as much non-perishable food (for our church's food pantry) as possible. And the last night of VBS, if the boys won, the pastor's wife would get pie in the face. If the girls won, the pastor would have pie in the face. A couple of times the boys won. But the pastor's wife and I had faith in our girls. The last night the girls brought in the most cans.

My faith in the Lord has been weak the past couple of weeks. But, the last night of VBS I felt a calling to come back to Him. The one thing I love is that, whenever our walk becomes to far, our God is waiting for us with open arms.

A chorus in a song the children had done spoke to me:

"Whatever I must face
I'll bow my head and pray
For grace to be like Jesus, like Jesus"