I can not wait to hear this.

Amazing Things

So some time ago I was introduced to a website called Noise Trade. It's a wonderful free-trade site where artists upload their music and you can download it and tip them if you care to. My brother had posted on facebook linking to free music from this site. It was legal, uploaded by the artists themselves, and the album cover was pleasant and intriguing to me. I downloaded the album "Storyboard" by Sleeping At Last that day and at the time had no idea what sort of impact it would have. Since I have bought much more of their music and am enjoying every moment of it. They're sound is so true, beautiful and skillful. Lyrically challenging, vocally captivating and musically enveloping. I can relate so much with what's being communicated and the tracks have led me through many days.
Now they still have music on Noise Trade and I greatly encourage you to download it. I mean come on, who doesn't like free music? It's six of what I consider to be some of their best work yet and I can't wait for you to hear it, just click the artwork.

Thank you, Facebook.

This is just what I need!

So direct, informative and spiritual!

The end of the beginning

So this is where I am, the final semester of high school! It's such a funny place in life, like, even as a nutty homeschooler I still have felt the hierarchy of the classes and now I'm technically at the top. Woohoo. This semester is going to be fun, being at home with my family, studying, reading, playing music, watching Psych, going to fantastic conferences and just enjoying life like we're all meant to. This semester I hope to see every sunset and glory in the absolute power of my Maker.
Today is the best day because it's all you have, make it what you can. Today is the beginning of my sunset marathon. I need to acquire a camera to capture the really brilliant ones.

So music is a big part of my life and I lead worship a lot when I can but I rarely listen to worship music on my own. Today though I have been working on my old worship playlist and it's pretty cool, these songs are pretty nice. I found My Savior My God by Aaron Shust on an old WOW disc I found a few minutes ago and it's still a really good song. Woot.

[I almost started this paragraph with 'So' but noticed the first two did so I changed it.]
According to plan and speculation I'll be moving to Texas in 114 days. That's actually pretty simultaneously exciting and daunting, as many things are. [Break Me Down by Tenth Avenue North is playing, go listen to it!] I'm looking forward to getting to America and starting my life there and being sneaky and acting like I totally know what's going on in the American scene. I'll enjoy Christian radio, wide roads, driving, understanding words, (though missing the meaning) my awesomely wonderful friends there, siblings the lack of sketchy bill boards, general cleanness and just the spiritual intake. On the other hand saying goodbye to Europe is going to be so strange. I mean, Slovakia is my home of all the homes I know. Leaving Europe, the cobblestone streets, the accent dirtiness, the old downtowns, trains, public transit, friends scattered everywhere, gratify, right-angled curbs, two story houses, snow, my family, my room, travel and Kofola, best soft drink of all time.

I am content in this though, that every one has their time, you were my age once and I will be yours or perhaps I have been yours and you will be mine. We all have our time and we live our lives where we are, bloom where we're planted and dance where our feet hit the ground. Here I'll live and there I shall as well. If I let Him, God will make me an explosion of love and passion for Him and His people that will sweep from one place to the next. God's ready for everything and I am His, here I stand by His side, we're ready for the world.

And the river flows on.

It actually is hard to believe that Friday is the last day of the year 2010. Honestly, that's weird. I know that every year I hear at least one or two people who say "I can't believe it's already [month here]!" or "this year has gone by so fast!" or something of the like. Now, I have times when I feel like we should all get used to the speed of time but right now I feel like there should be a few more days left.


So 2010! What a year. One more crazy year in my crazy life. I've learned a lot, met some great people, came closer to my Savior and put two more countries under my belt. I know I was talking about how it feels like it was short but now I have a hard time thinking back to the start of the year. Oh yes, we got back from a good trip to the lovely US of A and got to work on school and a normal life again. I prepped for the SAT, took it, rode my bike, travelled to nearby countries, listened to music, went skiing, climbed a mountain, climbed on an airplane and flew to Texas for Frontier camp. (With a 20 minute detour in London.)

Oh camp, I love camp so much. You really have to be a staffer to fully understand my sentiment for FC. Through all my travel and experience I don't think I've learned so much as in my two months at Frontier Camp. I became a lifeguard, learned how to be efficient and have fun at the same time and learned a lot about myself, my Lord and my brothers and sisters in Christ. And kids, a lot of those too. I remember how every week I would be so annoyed with those 14 little tikes on the first morning and by the third day I would sigh at some moment in the craziness of the cabin and admit to myself that I love those guys.
The day after camp ended I was on a return flight to back home to Slovakia. I had grown so close to so many wonderful people but life waits for no man. The river of history flows with the current of time and your life is a bubble on the crest of a ripple and you've got to flow. I don't remember much of my five days at home and I don't know that I would remember anything if it wasn't for photos on facebook of me being tired, playing the guitar and sleeping in a pool. If it wasn't for that, I think I would have thought I flew straight from Houston to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for my mission trip there.

Ethiopia. I don't know what to say. I'd been to Africa before, the summer of 2007 I went with the same organization to Uganda so I had seen the state of things but I'd learned from Eastern Europe how different things can be across a boarder. Ethiopia is a green, rainy, beautiful country filled with broken, beautiful people. We were some thousands of somethings above the sea level so it was cold and wet. I loved it. It rained every day but about four. Yet despite the rain our ministry was hardly crippled. We showed the Jesus film, shared the gospel and played with orphans and the rain never closed down shop to my recollection.
Ethiopia was hard. There were mornings when all that got me up was duty and porridge. I loved the porridge and that was good because we had it every morning. (All but the few mornings we didn't... hated those mornings.) But despite that I loved it there, I was happy to be home when I got back but while there I was there and I did what could be done. I met a lot of people that I got to know, and hopefully, Christ's light and glory was somehow shown to Ethiopians and teammates both.

Heh, since then I've been back to America, learned to drive, visited amazing people in Prague, found great new music and made an igloo. It's hard to believe I've flown back and forth between here and Texas three times this year, that's crazy. I've really come to love it there, which is such a blessing. I'm leaving here next year and I'm going to miss people so so so very much. But history flows at the speed of time and I can't lag behind because that's physically impossible as far as we know. I'm looking forward to it a lot, it'll be fun.

Well 2010, here's to you! May you always be remembered and never frowned upon!

Psalm 148

Happy December everyone!

My pen hasn't been all too intrepid of late but hopefully with life slowing down that wont be the case for long. My traveling has finally come to a momentary end. I've been all over the past month and now I'm here at home to do school and enjoy the winter.

Snow, lots of snow. Snow is so white, beautiful and lately it has been quite bountiful. In the last three days I've cleared our large driveway twice, spending about four hours at it total. I've actually really really enjoyed it, not only because I get to listen to Mumford & Sons but I get time to pray and be in God's presence. Today I realized just being in his presence in silent worship is far from a waste of time. Watching the snow fall to the ground, listening to the silence around I worship that God who I know is there.

Another recent thought: What if we listened to God like we listen to music? Listen to the same stuff over and over, hearing all the individual elements, getting excited when you find something new, listening all day long. What if we read the Word of God like this? I wish I did.