Snapshots of March

So many dreams, but only so much time and strength. God, refrain the madness of this fool. God, grant mercy to this hopeless heart. 

March. Hmm. I'm a little late to this, but honestly, for awhile, I couldn't even remember what I did last month. I struggled a lot of the month with burnout (and I'm still working through that). There's so much I want to do, and it's difficult to put limits on myself because if there's a will, there's a way, right? At least that's what I've told myself a lot, but I actually read in March the idea that your 'will' can become an idol. Some people are super strong-willed. They have a lot of doggedness, and it keeps them from truly trusting God to give them the strength and also the wisdom to know what is theirs to carry and what isn't. 

That's me, though. I've run on will for a loooonnnnggg time. Years, and honestly, I'm starting to fray. So I'm trying to take a step back. To pull my loose threads from everywhere they've become entangled. It's hard to admit you've spread yourself too thin and you've bitten off more than you can chew because pride and will. But sometimes you have the heart and not the strength. And sometimes after awhile of running on heart, your heart begins to suffer. I have a lot to work through.  

There's a church that has concerts the second Sunday of each month, except for the Summer months, and because of connections, they're able to host some pretty awesome classical musicians. In March they had a classical guitarist perform. A man originally from Great Britain but who is currently the artist in residence at the University of Washington in Seattle. 1. It's amazing what people can do on guitars. 2. Guitar music is very, very soothing (confession: I almost fell asleep). It's also inspiring to see someone who has devoted their life to their passion and become excellent in it. 

On St. Patrick's Day, we went to the Symphony for their special Irish concert. We sat on the ground floor for a change instead of being up in the rafters, but I prefer the cheaper seats because you have a fuller view of all the musicians. The first half of the concert was something Felix Mendelssohn composed after seeing Ireland. I'm not usually a fan of the Romantics (I prefer the Baroque period), but it was a beautiful piece but probably the longest I've ever listened to live. Not sure how I feel about that. (and I won't mention that I almost fell asleep here, too. Guys, this is getting bad). 

The second half was St. Brendan's Voyage, and they had a special guest who played the Uilleann  pipes. This was so worth it. I'm glad I paid the extra to go because can I just say I love pipes? (My best friend informed me that she would never come to visit if I bought pipes. And my sister said she'd kill me). St. Brendan's Voyage is a set of songs inspired by an Irish legend of a man sailing from Ireland to Newfoundland in 5th century. It's very dramatic, and I've always loved music that tells a story, especially when it's instrumentals. One song in the set of music is a reel, and I could barely keep my foot from tapping. 

The only movie I remember watching this month is 'I Can Only Imagine' which we went to see in the theaters. I'm always skeptical of Christian movies (please, no more 'God's Not Dead' movies. Just no), but I've watched all the other Erwin Brother films, and they have overall impressed me (October Baby, Moms' Night Out, and Woodlawn). And it was interesting to see them do a film about real people (and seeing the actors they got to play a young Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant). The quality is up there, and there wasn't any cringy Christian moments that we've grown accustomed to. So I'm glad it's getting the buzz it has been getting. I enjoy when a sturdy film that is considered an 'underdog' surprises everyone. 

I didn't get a lot of reading done. Mostly I ended up chugging away at the Boundary book I mentioned in last month's wrap-up and finished that. Then I worked on a 400 page, small print (I dislike small print so much) Historical Fiction novel taking place in WWII. Now I'm reading a book about gardening! I'm sure you'd just love for me to talk about that (I'm actually enjoying the read...so...go figure...).

And as far as writing goes, not as much as I wish. About 15 and a 1/2 hours of writing in the month. BUT I did sent the first 9 chapters to a friend, and she sent me this:

So the question I have to ask myself is why on earth I'm not finished getting the silly thing edited? Because life, folks, and falling asleep at random. But I hope this month (or next month. Let's be practical) I'll do an introduction for this book. So that'll be fun.

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How was your month? What was the highlight of it? Have you watched 'I Can Only Imagine'? What's your favorite Christian film? Do you have any St. Patrick's day traditions? What do you think of the cover my friend made? This is the first time I've ever gotten a cover for any of my stories, but I usually do just about the bare bones for my stories (writing them. no pictures or plotting or planning :P). Have you ever made covers for your stories? I hope you're all well!