May I introduce.....

Jubilee and Julius Smith!

Our babies from Ghana are officially ours! We still have some waiting to do and paper work has to go through, but in Ghana Julius and Jubilee belong to the Travis Smith family.

They are ours. The truth still hasn't sunk in....

Thank you all for your prayers.

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom power and love
our God is an awesome God

~ Michael W. Smith

Reminiscing.......

November is a beautiful month. It has me in mind of Thanksgiving, a time where we gather with our precious family and give thanks to God for all the great blessings He has given us. I love how the leaves change, the wind becomes crisp and the hickory nuts begin to fall; autumn is here!

I found some photos of last year's Thanksgiving weekend and thought I would share them. They brought back great memories; they made me smile. I hope you enjoy them as well.









Thank you God for the beautiful leaves, the amazing sunsets and the cool winds. Thank you for family and friends; laughter and good food! Please bring all of us together again this Thanksgiving. Be with those who are suffering from illness; if it is Your will please heal them and allow them to fellowship with us this year. Your blessings are amazing. Thank you God for saving me, a sinner. I love You.

Andrew Trimble: Modern Day Eric Liddell

In a magazine published by Billy Graham my sisters and I ran across an article about Andrew Trimble and his amazing testimony for Christ. See, Andrew is an very talented Rugby player for Ireland yet in the midst of all the fame and privilege that one man could hope for he declares that there is nothing more "excitin" then talking about Jesus. In the video below Trimble makes a reference to Eric Liddell, a missionary to China and an amazing Olympic runner who gave all glory to God. It is obvious that Trimble has learned from Liddell's example and is proclaiming his faith just as boldly. I was so excited to see a man who has such influence in his country shine his light for Christ without hesitation and with all sincerity. I hope you enjoy the video :)

My Sisters

Don't they look like twins? We love and miss you Noel!

Two of my best friends.

Look who just turned 15! Isn't she gorgeous?

Who are these characters I'm associating with you might ask?
Well, it seems my sisters got into the spirit of our Fall Festival which invited everyone to come dressed as their best impersonation of a hick. LJ's choice of character was Daddy!
MG chose to powder her hair, don an apron and wield a gun, impersonating none other then Granny Clampett. WF and I chose a more subtle approach :)

Thank you Dear Jesus for blessing me with five supportive, hilarious, and loving sisters. Please be with my sixth sister in Ghana; please comfort her with the knowledge that someone loves her and is waiting anxiously to hold her in their arms; let there be someone to kiss her goodnight and tell her good morning. Bless Noel as she goes about her day; give her strength and patience. Be with MG as she goes to college and lets her light shine bright; let her be an influence on a lost generation. Strengthen LJ as she works so diligently on her school work; thank you for the joy that she has brought into my life. WF is turning into a young lady of wisdom, knowledge and insight; please guide her steps and bless her hunger for learning.

Thank you God for sisters.

Freedom Isn't Free

We had a great week with Noel but alas this past Saturday we had to take her to the airport for her flight back to Jacksonville. It was hard to watch her go because we couldn't go past security with her, we just had to let her go. We waited around until she gave us a call saying she was in her terminal and everything was good. As we waited we observed that there were several small groups of men in their Army fatigues walking to different terminals. As we were leaving Mama went up to a group of three soldiers sitting in our waiting area and asked if they would mind telling her where they were headed. She was hoping they would say somewhere like Michigan or Wisconsin. She hoped they were headed home. Without flinching the (seemingly) oldest of the group said "back to Iraq Ma'am." My heart sunk. Without even thinking Mama gave them all hugs. My sisters and I shook their hands and thanked them for their service. The third man was no older than Noel. He looked frightened. Going out the door of the airport we were all speechless. All of a sudden telling my sister good bye and knowing she was headed a mere four hundred miles away to be received and welcomed by a man who loved her didn't seem so bad after all. I didn't cry when I watched my sister walk through security but after looking those three men in the eyes and seeing their courage and commitment I was brought to tears.

May we never forget the sacrifices made for us daily so that we might be free.

Tonight, three mothers are thinking about their boys. They're wondering if they are all right, worried about their safety....

God, please bless America.

Fireproof

Guess what my favorite movie is now? I saw Fireproof last night and was amazed at it's awesome message. Fireproof is produced by the makers of "Facing The Giants", which I love, but this one is significantly better. Go see it, bring your friends, your family and your Kleenex!

Noel's Visit

I know, I'm always the last one to blog about anything but better late then never right? The weekend with Noel and Darell and his family was awesome. Too short, but awesome.

He got to meet our wonderful, crazy family :)

As Noel told the news she got some interesting reactions.
This one was my favorite.

Noel got to recount the entire story to her best friend.
How beautiful they both are.

We hated to see you go Noel and we miss you very much

A goofy one for old time's sake.

Thank you God for the blessings you have poured down on my family. Thank you for Darell and his commitment to my sister. Both Noel and Darell have waited on You and because of their patience You have rewarded them with a joy that is indescribable. Thank You for their joy, thank you for their love for each other.

Blessed 17

I turned 17 on Sunday. I have never felt any different on previous birthdays but this year something has changed within me. I feel as if God is giving me new life every morning as He gave manna to the children of Israel. The sad truth is He has been trying to give it to me all along yet I am just now finally accepting it. I want this to be a year of spiritual growth. I earnestly desire for this to be the start of a new lifestyle for myself, a lifestyle of fervent love for my Saviour and Redeemer. I can't really explain how God has changed me but I know that He has. It is as if I am reading His Word with new eyes and hearing His message preached with new ears. I rejoice in this newness and I ask that you would pray for my strength because I know that Satan would love nothing more then to tear away my joy and trample my spiritual growth in the dust. I love you all and am so glad that God saw fit to heal me at age 15 so that I may be here, celebrating a very blessed 17th birthday with all of the ones whom I love so dearly.

Habakkuk 3:18,19
I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains.

They Are Found!!!

Our friends have, as Daddy said "Found their selves". They found the check point and checked in. Their mother called us with the news weeping for joy!
Thank you for praying.

Prayer for a friend

2 Corinthians 1:3,4

All praise to the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

A friend of ours, Woody, is on a hiking trip with three friends and failed to check in at the appointed time today. There was a search party called and they looked for the guys until it became dark. Our friend is lost with his friends in the dark tonight, yet we know they are not alone. Christ is with them and is comforting them. I would ask that you pray for their protection wherever they are. Please especially pray for Woody's mother, that the Lord would comfort her; I can't imagine how she must feel. I will give you an update as soon as we hear from them again. Thank you.

Do Hard Things

Hello everyone.
I have a question.
Will you please pray for me? Pray that I will hear exactly what God is trying to tell me. I feel it is something important but I'm afraid I might over look it or avoid it. I want to be different, set apart from the world, do something great for God's Kingdom, yet I feel like I'm not trying hard enough to accomplish this goal.

God has been teaching me that to do the right thing is what He expects of His followers, yet we are to go beyond the expected. We must be more then normal, we must do hard things, things that no one else wants to do. If you feel (like me) that you want to have a better idea of what this lifestyle of doing hard things looks like check out therebelution.com. It is a website/blog made by two young men (twin brothers Alex and Bret Harris, younger brothers to author Joshua Harris) who have seen the low expectations of this generation and refuse to meet them. This blog is what got me thinking; I want God to use me.
To use the slogan coined by Bret and Alex, I want to "Do Hard Things".
Please pray for my strength. I love you all.

Proverbs 4:25-27

"Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

Summer Arts Institute

God gave me an awesome two weeks at the Summer Arts Institute at Shorter College! I made great friends, I learned many new things and was able to experience so many different kinds of music! Everywhere you turned there was music in some shape or form whether it was blue grass, classical, opera, musical theater or jazz. My teacher was incredible and the staff was wonderful. God's hand was with me through the entire two weeks and He never let me stumble. I am tired now but it was worth it! Here are some pictures (I couldn't keep it down to a few!)

Me and Joanna right before the bluegrass concert. She is the sweetest Christian girl. And so talented, her piano skills are amazing!

Accompanying class!!

My Putt-Putt team: Emily S., Me, Bethany and Emily M.

Bethany and Dr. Nedvin after Putt-Putt

Bethany and I before a game of "Hunter"

My roommate Maria at bowling night

Eliza! The crazy counselor :)

Yoga class. (Surprisingly enjoyable)

Final performance!

Group photo!
My jaw was cramping by the time everyone got their picture!

Bethany and I.
God truly blessed me with her friendship. Because we share the same beliefs and morals it was very encouraging to have her there.

Dr. Nedvin and I.
Doesn't he just look crazy? He even tie dyed the shirt himself :) He really is a nice guy though and orchestrated the camp very well.

Tex, Cara and I.
Tex will be attending Shorter in the fall so hopefully we can stay in touch. Both he and Cara are awesome pianists.

My roommate Maria.
She came all the way from Puerto Rico to attend the camp!

My awesome teacher. What a wonderful, Godly woman she is.
I don't think I will ever find another teacher as talented as she is.

I will cherish my memories of this summer. Thank you Jesus for providing everything I needed so that I could attend camp and make awesome friends.

Psalm 20:4
May he grant you according to
your heart's desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.

Sunshine

Your smiling aren't you? :)

Catching Up

I know, I'm a horrible blogger! So many things have happened in May. Maybe that's why I haven't had time to post :)

Here are some pictures of the awesome times God has blessed me with during May.


A great trip to the Aquarium with new and old friends

Both are so photogenic don't you think?

A new friend who brought laughter (and new drawing skills) into our home

A beautiful (but nerve wracking) spring recital

Went to (seemingly countless) ball games....
but enjoyed them all (especially Will's first home run!)
Such a wonderful start to the summer! Thank you God for such a blessed month.
Thanks for reading.
Hope:)
(See Aunt Jenny, I did it!)

A Psalm of gratefulness

Psalm 30:11-12

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

I have just spent an entire afternoon shopping 'till I dropped with our student minister's wife (I found a skirt at Gap for $6!). I had a blast :) Yet I can't help but remember how exhausted I would become not too long ago when I tried shopping for over an hour. The Lord has returned to me my strength and I am so very thankful. I pray that I may "give thanks to You forever" as David promised the Lord. My strength has returned, praise be to God!

Jesus, the answer to the question

I was looking through pictures recently and I couldn't help but think of the countless things that God has blessed me with. The blessings are almost always unexpected and are in the Lord's perfect time. Yet even in the midst of these gifts I catch myself thinking of the future and how impossible some of my dreams seem. I seem to think that after so many blessings God cuts off the spout. My rations are spent and the Lord has nothing left to give me. How the Lord must laugh at what I think of His resources. When these doubts creep in I must ask myself a few questions:

Who has blessed me with four sweet piano students?

Who has put family in my life that make me laugh till' I cry?

Who has given me irreplaceable memories with my awesome sisters and wonderful mama?

Who gave me two brothers that tell me they love me every night?

Jesus. That is the answer to all of these questions. That one word can calm every fear, erase every doubt and dry every frustrated tear. That same Jesus can take my seemingly impossible dreams and make them a reality. The familiar words of this song come to mind and I hope it will encourage those who find themselves thinking God has cut off their blessings spout.

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely?
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
My constant Friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me

No Place Like Home

After a day of errands and music lessons it feels wonderful to be home again! A day in town makes me appreciate the hard work Mama has put into making our home a perfect haven, a sweet place of refuge from the busyness of life.

My favorite occupation. Thanks for the book Princess!

Little Man, isn't he a sweet napper?

Buddy, he even sleeps in his cap :)

Thank you Mama for making our home a welcome respite from the troubles that tend to overwhelm us. Thanks for reading!
Hope:)

Update from the schoolroom :)

I've been kind of discouraged over the past couple of days as I looked at my schedule and saw the things I hadn't accomplished yet yesterday I was able to complete everything on the list! Praise the Lord!

I am now relishing the fact that it is 10:30 and I don't have to go to bed if I don't want to; why? It's FRIDAY!!! Thank you Lord for seeing me through another week of school and please be with me through the next ten, not that I'm counting or anything :) Let us remember to praise God in everything, even seemingly endless weeks of school. The words of Casting Crowns expresses this well.

And I'll praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No Matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm

Thanks for reading. Hope.

I finally did it :)

Though novellette sounds like a mini novel it is actually "An instrumental piece free in form, bold in harmony, romantic in character and with a variety of contrasting themes." I chose this name because it reminded me of life, particularly mine. My prayer is to grow to be a young lady who is free of all regret, lives her faith boldly, never forgets to dream and lets God guide her through peace as well as conflict.

I'll use this blog as a record of my life as a daughter, sister, student and teacher of piano. I can't promise it will be exciting but maybe there will be a few laughs, and hopefully not all of them will be at my expense:) Thanks for reading, Hope.