American Idol 6 Top 6 - Jordin Sparks

Another goose bump performance by Jordin Sparks. I think she has a real shot of winning this season and I will probably purchase her albums. Amazing at only 17 years old.

Mario Lanza Because

Here is a clip of my favorite tenor of all time. I have wanted to sing like him since I first heard him sing. I think I was 9 years old the first time I heard him. My dad loved his singing too and was the one who introduced him to me. Mario Lanza was his stage name and he was truly brilliant.

What Lies Ahead

I have been thinking often about my life recently and what path I have been on. It seems that things rarely go the way we plan them. I have wanted to obtain a degree in Music since I was young. Things occurred that I never expected and here I am 42 years old, divorced with a 13 year old son that sees me every other weekend and still working toward a degree in Music Education. I went to a community college when I was still married and did very well. Then I had to stop attending college due to our financial situation. It was in that period of time that my marriage problems began to really surface. I decided to return to pursuing my degree in Music Education last year and moved here to attend Stephen F. Austin State University.

If I were to stay here and continue my education, it would be another year and a half at least before I would be able to graduate (maybe longer). Now I have been talking to a psychiatrist trying to deal with many things that seem to have me unable to perform well in school. After much consideration, I have decided to at least temporarily end my pursuit of a degree and will move to North Dallas and seek employment. After I get into a more stable situation, I plan attend night classes and obtain a Liberal Arts degree. I am not sure what the future holds for me and each day is a blessing from God. I know that if it is God's will, things will get better and my plans for the future will only come to fruition if they are in His plans for me.

I have wanted to return to the Dallas area for quite a while and so although I am again ending my pursuit for a college degree, I believe this is a necessary change. I pray that it will be best for me and my son as well. Yet, all this has caused me to recall certain passages of scripture that I think we all should remember as we make plans for our future.

Pro 4:25-27
25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Pro 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

Pro 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

Pro 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Pro 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

Pro 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

Philippians 3:13-16
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

God's holy word is always so important to look to for wisdom in this life. All these that I have shared are extremely important for me in this moment of my life and I hope it will benefit you all as well.