His Best Piece

I was standing in the back of the auditorium, listening to the Grano brothers perform a piece they wrote, for Tigers Roar. I had 2 days to write a new speech, and they were my inspiration, i had to add in imagination, but i hope you like it, my new speech.

some musiians pull you in so deep
you feel intoxicated in familiarity
you wish you could share their talents and join them on stage
you watch them as i watch him in his best piece

he presses his fingers to the strings
he starts a tempo in his hands
he counts off in his head
then his magic spreads

sound fills the air
he plucks, the steel viberates
his hands strums the string
sweet music begins for me

my mind is soaring ignoring everything else
as i watch him play more and more
the melodies runing and falling
the harmonies dancing above in the air i'm breathing

his music is special
its flowing inside him like the blood in his viens
its branded in his memory
so beautiful, the music he's making

i listen to the rhythm of my pulse
follows the beat of his feet, it does
carrying his strumming hands
making it all flow smoothly

the notes that fill the air
paint pictures in my mind
dancing on a stage, sining in the rain
the guitar is leading, leading the way

the sweet polyphonic rhythms picks up tempo
a more complicated tab ours out of his soul
his fingers are flying between frets
up tuning, down tuning, still he keeps steady

the symphonic sounds of the six strings
more complex to me than it seems
i'm in awe of the music
the magic his fingertips bring

the beauty that coats the crisp air
putting glory into what was previously empty
if only i could keep this in me like the air i'm breathing
then i could fly like i had wings

i'd fly through a staff of music notes
like i'd press the piano keys
my voice would soar in perfect pitch
beauty would live in my fingertips

but i can't capture his magic
its wrapped in his heart
stronger than his mindset
which makes his music perfect

with increddible accuracy, he never misses anything
playing with intensity, unknown to many
i don't even know if he can tell i'm watching
following every graceful movement he's making

he never hesitates, keeps away from syncopation
dynamics are changing...
he lifts his head away from the guitar he's holding
eyes closed, relaxed as can be

his emotions are hidden well
but i know him, he glances out
a smile edging on his lips
pure bliss reflecting in the blue of his eyes

he looks away to his fleeting fingers
now simple strokes and easy beats
replace the overwhelmingly graceful complexity
my awe is in the honey sweet simplicity

the tempo seems to slow
it leaves my heart beating quickly
i wish i could avoid the ending
i'm so afraid to interupt but i want to ask him to keep playing

i know he'd play till his fingers start bleeding
till his muscles are raw and rigid
he'd play till every drop of passion was poured out of him
thill his guitar strings were broken and frayed

he's composing this piece

as if he were writing the story of a life
with every crooked path and uphill battle
every bittersweet loving movement his music is the life he's living

i feel its the finale
the last pulling of the strings
the sound is so quiet my ears are softly straining

to take in every ping of the strings
imprint it on my memory
let it constantly flow through me
and never have an ending

i close my eyes to keep this going
i hear the last viberation of each guitar string
he's brought the sound back to perfect tunning
and in the quiet is one more melodious strumming

what fills the silence is his slow breathing
and the sounds that echo in my memory
i open my eyes
and i know his song was for me

learning more.

i've been learning a lot of really interesting things lately my mind is soaring in information. sadly most of it is not learned in school. but i would like to share the stuff thats stuck in my thoughts.

ryah, ahava, dode.
3 greek words, all meaning some kind of love. different kind of love.
ryah. friendly love, the way you care about your teamates, friends, distant family.
ahava. a liitle deeper, they way you love your parents, your boyfriend, a connected love.
dode. passionate love, die for your lover, marraige, deep bounding love.

its pretty incredible i think, the greek language has 3 words for love, the hebrew language has 8. and english has one. to us we can love sports, love music, love books, love friends, love fiances all with one word, its up to us how to interperit it. love.

another thing is the human exodus. Exodus like the book in the bible, but also the human struggle between right and wrong. i have never thought much of God leading the isralites out of egypt to the promise land, but i learned that this happens over and over again, in egypt the isrealites were oppressed by pharoah. then when they escape that, the remember what its like to be slaves and be hurting and needing, the people helped each other, everyone was equal. David became king, and they lived well. a queen came to visit and she was amazed at the wealth of the people because there was no oppression. Later davids son became king, and thought that town needed more, bigger and better, so he gets slaves, builds a big palace, temple. and he becomes the oppressor. This pattern continues throught the history of the earth, the oppressed saved by God, become the oppressor. The human Exodus will never end, there will always be oppressers because the oppressed over time forget, they are desperate for power and military ego. Convicting. Jesus Wants to Save Christians - Rob Bell, Don Golden.

To help people, the biggest thing you can say is, "Me too." i read this story about the Navy SEALS. The seals trained for a huge rescue. they were rescuing a group of people who were captured by a war drivin country. They arrive in this helocopter. Dressed in helmets, vests, weapons, equiptment. They said to the scared captured people, huddled in a corner. "WE are americans we are here to rescue you and take you home." The captured people, were afraid they they thought the americans were their violent captureres, they wouldn't move. The seals were not prepared for that. they didn't know what to do. One of the seals takes off his helmet, sets down his weapons, takes off his amo vest, and goes to sit among the scared. he puts his arms around them, and holds them. a capturer wouldn't do that. Soon he stands, and says "who will follow me". A man stands, slowly the whole group stands, and they are rescued.
see to help the weak, you need to become weak, to help the hungry you need to know what hunger is. This is what Jesus did when he was on earth, he was vulnerable, he was weak and broken, he was what the people were, and they followed him. i never really thought of it like that. I guess i thought that i needed to be more, better, have more to give, to help other people. but weak, hungry and broken people don't relate to wealthy, happy, and confident. I realized that you need to be vulnerable. you need to, let people see who you are, that you are weak, that you can be disappointed, they need to see that, they need to see your human and struggle, then they relate, then they believe. interesting? Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

So my mind is realing, i now its a lot of God talk, and a lot of people think that christianity is some cult, because of all the wrong that has happened in the world by people who claim to be christian. I want to say i'm sorry for that. What they did was wrong, the oppression they commited was not right in God;s name. Its not right. I'm sorry for all that. forgive me.

love is waiting

oh lovely.

its in God's hands, you can't rush love, if its meant to be God will make it happen. I honestly believe that.

A friend told me, don't chase the boy, he'll come to you. So i'm ready to wait. No worries, there's someone special for me somewhere, and someday.....

i'm not to worried. i just wanted to say don't rush it.

i'll be waiting for you baby
i'll be holding back the darkest night
love is waiting till we're ready
till its right

Love is waiting.

Brooke Fraser - Love is Waiting

Grandpa... I love you

my life is easy. This week was hard.

Last sunday my grandpa had a minor stroke in church, he temporary lost movement in his right side. Church was probably the best place for in to happen, he had the whole congregation praying for him. Then He was ambulanced to the emergancy room in AL. He had an incredible recovery and he was perfectly fine, but they decided to send him to rochester, just to be safe...

When he got there they did an MRI test and discovered his left coratid artery was 95-99% blocked, wow, if they would have choose to give him a artery clearing shot in AL the clot would have been pushed into his brain and he would be brain dead now, thank God they didn't do that. Anyways they decided to have a surgery to clean out the artery ( its in his neck) and it was a simple no risk go home on the same day thing. Never would we have guessed in the 5% chance that he would have another stroke that in would happen. It did.

He had a another major stroke last monday. I visited him in Intensive Care on wednesday, I was worried he wouldn't be the same, and in a way he is. He still has his personality and he makes the greatest expressions. Even though thats a good thing, HE has no movement in his right arm, and his right side of his face, he can only say yes and no, shake his head, and mumble un understandible things. This is hard. His mind is clear and he understands us generally, but we can't understand him, and he gets so frusterated he almost cries. This breaks my heart.

My Grandpa and i are close. I grew up hanging at his house, making rootbeer floats, watching western movies and mowing the yard together. He is important to me, i love him so much and seeing him hurt, hurts.

This part of life is hard, seeing you're loved ones so hurt, and then seeing them so moved with sympathy for each other. My family is not a family to grow closer through a tradgedy like this, because we are so close already, i have the closest extended family i know of and that won't change.

My Grandpa and Grandma are in my prayers i hope they're in yours too. Even though my grandma isn;t the injured one, she's as strong as you could imagine, when the whole church was shaken, she sat there holding her husbands hand, calm and compossed giving the room grace. Everyone looked to her, and knew it will be ok. I can only hope to be like her, but i can;t even dream of being like the woman she is.

I'm shaken and i'm not as strong as i seem. Sitting here in a waiting room at Mayo Hospital, my grandpa struggleing to cough down the hall, and knowing i can't help him. Seeing the toughest man, who has a pain tolarance for so much cry, thats hard.

Most people say that will never happen to me, but if it did will you be ready?

My life is easy, my grandparents lives are hard, and i'm gratefull that God is keeping them safe. They are two amazing people, consistant on leaning on each other for hope, love and faith, i can only wish to find a love like theirs. They took the whole "in sickness and health" to a new level. I wish the best for them and for hope and a full recovery to Grandpa, and unconditional strength to my grandma.

I love them so much, they mean so much to me. They make part of who i am.

Sometimes we hit a rough patch, but we can't give up because we're going to make it through it, undoubtably.

and grandpa, no matter what, i love you.