Let your world be wide open And your fears be blown apart

For those of you who didn't know... I'M OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY STUDIES AT CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY!! This was by far the best semester at Cedarville...2 good fall semesters in a row! Thank you, music industry, for livening things up for me.  :)

In other news, I just finished watching the movie, Soul Surfer. Such a good movie! I highly recommend it.

The movie really got me thinking about a lot of things.
I don't know what I'm going to do in the long run, but I know that whatever it is, I'm going to rock it. And I owe a huge thank you to everyone who has been believed me even when I didn't believe in myself...especially the following professors at Cedarville who were such a huge encouragement this semester: Dr. James Phipps, Professor Margaret Wheeler, and Dr. J. Michael Lopez.

Thank you, CMC family and JFAM, for having my back. SUCH a huge blessing!
...like I said in a previous post, I am so thankful for those people fighting for me, but if I can't fight for myself, their efforts are meaningless. But in this case...their efforts were not meaningless because I have learned to fight.

Looking ahead...
I start my internship at The Underground (concert venue) mid-January... as well as working full time at the Junction. I'm going to be able to do so many things that directly relate to my major and the classes that I've taken this semester...which I'm really stoked about!

(my) song of the year

A few weeks ago, someone asked me what God has been teaching me as of late...

The answer was simple: self worth and identity in Christ. I referenced the song by Jason Gray called "Remind Me Who I Am" and I am SO stoked to share this with you!

Someone recently did a "Behind the Song" article featuring this very song. Here are some snippets from the interview:

Jason Gray: "For the last few years my journey has circled around the idea of identity--where we find it, and why it matters....

...Genesis Chapter 3 tells us that one of the first consequences of sin entering the world is that the ground would be cursed, that we would eat by the sweat of our brow and the soil would produce weeds and thistles. This carries in it the idea of futility: that our efforts are frustrated, that no matter what we do, we feel it’s never enough--that perhaps we are never enough.

The constant, nagging fear that we don’t and never will measure up is like a pebble in our shoe that troubles every step of our journey. Surely this is the curse. We can’t live under the oppression of inadequacy long before we start looking for ways to escape the shame and loneliness of it, and things go from bad to worse as we flee from the curse by running to things we hope will make us feel loved, desirable, and worthy."

(cont.)

"We run to affairs. We surround ourselves with symbols of status that we hope will convince us of our worth... We flee to workaholism determined to prove our value--our life and vocation shaped by a fear of failing. We hide in the bottle. We turn inward and refuse to risk disappointing those we love by withholding ourselves from them. But of course all of these desperate grabs for significance leave us worse off than we were before--more empty, more ashamed, and with more regret. 

If only we could learn to run to Christ, the One who calls us His beloved, His bride, the child that He chose to welcome into His family. We would hear Him tell us that we are enough because He says so. We would hear Him call us His treasure, and we would come alive."

The song:

When I lose my way
When I forget my name
Remind me who I am
In the mirror all I see
is who I don’t wanna be
Remind me who I am
In the loneliest places
When I can’t remember what grace is

Tell me once again who I am to You
Who I am to You
Tell me
Lest I forget who I am to You
I belong to You
To You

When my heart is like a stone
and I’m running far from home
Remind me who I am
When I can’t receive Your love
Afraid I’ll never be enough
Remind me who I am
If I’m Your beloved
Can You help me believe it

Tell me once again who I am to You
Who I am to You
Tell me
Lest I forget who I am to You
I belong to You
To You

I’m the one You love
I’m the one You love
That will be enough
I’m the one You love

To read the full article, click here.

This came at such a good time; both the song (which I first heard it this summer) and the article (that I first read today)...

The end is near!

22 days until I'm done with classes...
and yesterday was the day I crashed into the ground.

I spent 5.5 hours in the car yesterday. I had my internship for a good chunk of the day and then Meredith (CMC Semester 20) and I went up to Mount Vernon Nazarene to see the CMC tour in action!  It was a good day. I can tell I'm wearing down though... and the thought of what's to come only adds more and more to my plate.

I won't say a lot, but there's a woman who is looking at doing cross-promotions with EnterTRAINment Junction....she's actually the event/concert woman for a ballpark in KY. She wants to do more Christian concerts and somehow I became her go-to person. We talked the other day and one of the things she said is, "I don't want to make any decisions without consulting you first."


...WHAT?

I've been waiting for something like this. I know it might not turn out to be anything, but it might turn out to be something.

I debated whether or not I should share this, but hey, this is a journey. There will be ups and downs. There will be successes and failures. There will be doors that open and doors that close. And for the people that are reading this blog because they're actually interested in this whole music thing should be able to travel the journey with me.

The music industry is funny in that you always feel like you're so close... i.e. you're so close to making that record deal, but it falls through... or you're so close to getting the job you want, but then it falls through. Maybe I'm close; maybe I'm not. Regardless, I will keep moving forward.

the end.

Bringing everyone up to speed...

So…a lot has happened since this summer.  I’ve decided to divide this post into 3 parts so you can skim and read whatever seems to be the most interesting. J

THE PRESENT:

It has been, by far, the best semester I’ve had at Cedarville.  I only have one or two classes a day, I have an internship 2 days a week, and plenty of concerts to keep me occupied.

First and foremost… the internship:

I’m interning with Rush Concerts this semester and it’s, by far, my favorite internship thus far. (yes, “thus far” because there’s still another one coming) **Do you see a theme?!?

Rush Concerts is a concert promoter. There are 3 guys that work there and promote about 80-100 some concerts a year.

I’ve done a lot of telemarketing since I’ve been there. AKA calling up churches and getting them to come out to the shows. I also worked a little bit with radio/tv spots and have led up some street teams for the Rock and Worship Roadshow this fall. I’ve learned a TON about the music industry, concert promoting, venues, etc.

Here are some concerts I’ve been to this semester:

LETTERS FROM WAR-Mark Schultz, 33 Miles, Finding Favour (GOA, one of my previous internships is the booking agency for these bands)
REHAB-Lecrae, Trip Lee, C-Lite (RUSH Promoted)
OUTTA SPACE LOVE TOUR-Group 1 Crew, Shonlock, Rapture Ruckus, Rachael Lampa, Ryan Stevenson  (@THE UG aka my next internship…and a couple of the bands are GOA bands)
COME TO THE WELL-Casting Crowns, Sanctus Real, The Afters, Lindsay McCaul (RUSH Promoted)

There were a few other shows as well that I didn’t make it to, but that’s besides the point. 

Basically I get free CD’s, get into shows for free, and make awesome connections. Who said the music industry doesn’t have its perks?  J

THE FUTURE:

Too bad I didn’t have a blog while I was trying to figure all of this out!  So many decisions! There was a point in time in which I was almost going to move to Nashville in January…. but that is no longer on the radar. (at least for now)

It’s funny because I have been set on Nashville for the longest time and have said that I wanted to move down there as soon as I graduated. (which will be in a little over a month!) 

... I almost thought I was sick (or that there was something wrong with me) when I felt a strange contentment about staying in Ohio. 

But here's the deal: 

I'll be interning at The Underground (UG) which is a Christian concert venue and working on more administrative stuff elsewhere. I'm actually really excited about both of these opportunities! 

The UG-I'll be the "venue management and promotions" intern... which means I'll get to deal with local band booking, venue operations, and local promotions and marketing. YAY for my music outlet! :)

Elsewhere-I'll be able to apply my major even more! For those of you who don't know, my major is organizational communication. I'm taking some awesome classes this semester that deal with organizational leadership, organizational training, etc. And I'm learning a ton. I'm stoked about focusing in more on these areas and being able to apply them to life at the junction. 

Also will be volunteering at any and all shows that come to the area and making connections wherever possible. AND I'm really hoping I can get involved with City Gospel Mission in Cincy.  :)

Excited to establish a routine and settle in somewhere for a while!

CASTING CROWNS:

Yes, they get their own section.
Fun little story: I was helping Rush with “Come to the Well” show (feat. Casting Crowns) and while I was backstage working on will call tickets. Of course I run into Juan who is one of the guitarists for Casting Crowns. Juan and I are ol’ pals. just kidding…but we first met a few years ago at Spirit Song. We got to talking again and let me just say that I am MAJORLY impressed with his memory. He was asking me about my internships and haunting…and I only see him once a year. (guess that’s why facebook comes in handy)  Anyway, all that to say… the members of Casting Crowns are legit. They’re down-to-earth. They walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  And that is why they’re one of my favorite (if not my favorite) bands of all times. Also ran into Chris (bassist) and we had a nice little chat too.  Love these guys! And today Juan, Melodee, and Ashley made it out to EnterTRAINment Junction with the kiddos….so that was pretty neat! 


Juan: "So you don't want to take up the family business?" 
Me: "Nah.... I'd rather work in the music industry and not make any money." 
...laughter ensues

Also... while I was at the Casting Crowns concert, I was hit with two things: 1. The song "Voice of Truth" has a whole new meaning to me now. 2. This is what I want to do. I want to be involved with concerts/live events. I can't imagine NOT doing this... whatever "this" is. (so either working with a promoter, working at a venue that hosts concerts, or being on the road... anything that involves show days!) 

phew... sorry for the long update. And I promise...I normally won't update this much. Just felt like there was a lot to catch up on.