Choir Director

I am grateful to have the opportunity to direct a choir. It's not a large choir, just an informal group of friends that perform every so often at church. We all enjoy singing with other people. With what experience I have, I try to make practices enjoyable for me and for the rest of the choir. I am grateful for the success I've seen so far as a choir director, and for the time I get to spend with other people who love to sing. :)

Talking Shop, Over Cheesecake

The highlight of my day was definitely getting a visit from a good friend. We spent a few minutes catching up, and then spent the rest of our time talking about my friend's creative writing, and fiction in general. Talking shop about fiction writing, as it were. It was a true pleasure for me to be with my friend and to be there as another witness to his progress in his writing so far. I enjoyed the discussion, and really appreciated the company.

I am grateful for cheesecake, and more grateful for the time I spent with a good friend tonight.

A Mountain Visit

Mountains have been used as places of meditation and enlightenment for centuries. I think it is important for each person to have a "mountain," a place or a time to step back, to think, to pray, to assess goals and current life direction. As for me, my mountain is "the mountain of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:3), which I believe is an LDS temple. It is true that I have frequent walks in which to be introspective, but the temple, even the gardens around them, is to me a place apart from the world. I was able to visit a temple today, and I left that place a better man than I was when I entered.

I am grateful to know where I can go to truly have help in pondering the truths of life, and of my life.

Opportunity to Say No

I sent an email this morning in which I politely declined an offer for student work. It was a good work opportunity, but there were other options that were closer to my goals. I am grateful for the times when it is necessary to say no in order to say yes to something more important or relevant to you.

P.S.--I ended the day by working on some new music pieces, one of which is titled, "No!" What a coincidence!

A Good Problem

Sometimes, the problem is choosing between two or more wonderful options. Having a few internship offers is a good problem to have, and I am grateful for them. I am also very grateful for the people I've talked to these past few days as I consider my options and make decisions over the next week or so.

Moorhead, MN

This city is very dear to me for many reasons, and now I have a few more. Some people decided to look at over 1,300 small cities and rate them based on certain criteria. The article, which was posted yesterday is here.

What's at the top of the list? Moorhead, MN! I am a bit biased towards the Midwest, and college cities. I've lived in college cities almost my entire life. I even served as a missionary in a college city. I am grateful for Moorhead, MN. It is a great town with great neighbors (shout-out to Fargo!), and it thrives in both the sports and the arts scene.

P.S.--For those of you who have a bias towards other parts of the country, the top 100 list in this article has cities from around the country, including a few from Utah, Arizona, New York, Alabama, and elsewhere.

Granted with Many Talents

I know a man who works as a web designer. We both work in the library, and we have seen each other in other events around campus. Very friendly guy. A good performer too! Today he approached me with an update about a large project that involved reworking a part of a website. I really appreciated his clear explanations, and for the things he left out that would have confused me about HTML and all of that. I felt I understood what he was talking about without me knowing a lot about web design or programming. I admire that about him, he is friendly, approachable, and cheerful. It is always clear that he is happy with his job and proud of his work.

I am grateful for his help today. I am grateful for the work he does. I am grateful for our friendship. He has been granted with many talents that he willingly shares with others.