Ludwig van Beethoven's Genius

Playing the first few notes of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is like an amateur chef putting the first ingredients of a complicated recipe that her mother had made since her childhood, into her favorite dish. It's like an amateur software engineer writing code for his favorite game company. It's like a young lawyer finding himself in a Federal court. It's like a young artist, finding himself able to paint the first few strokes of the Mona Lisa.
 It's simple, 'cause it's just a few tablespoons, a few typed keys, an argument, a few strokes of a brush-it's really just a handful of piano keys played slowly. A four year old could play them correctly.
 And yet, they are so incredible-so beautiful-so precious to me. I've listened to the Moonlight Sonata since childhood (without knowing what it was). I played it at night when I couldn't sleep in my early teens. My ear buds digging into the inside of my ears. I've imagined playing it for years now. I've closed my eyes and moved my head along to the notes.
 Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata for one of his students whom he had fallen in love with-it's a love-song. It's soft, beautiful, captivating. Light, happy, carefree, loud, passionate, deep, amazing.
 It was what I played when God's love over-spilled into my heart, into my ears, my emotions, my soul.
 Any of you who play the piano could play the first few notes-the whole first movement; and if you're really good, the whole third, perfectly, and not be moved, or think once about it. You could just be playing and wondering to yourself what you'll have for dinner. But to me, to me, it's so dang beautiful, and amazing.
 And someday, I will play Beethoven's best work (in my opinion, which is saying something, his ninth Symphony is pretty incredible), all the way through, and I will play it superbly.

 xoxo

The Winter Girl...

Fingernails

 I bet you are thinking that this is an odd subject for a blog post.
 Yesterday I read a friends blog post about abortion. And it got me thinking that I wanted to do something-even if it is small.
 I believe that God will forgive those who have been involved in abortion.
 I do not believe that abortion is right.

 In the movie Juno, when she goes to the clinic, there's a protester outside. Her protest isn't, persuasive, but she tells Juno that her baby has fingernails. When Juno goes inside, she notices everyone's fingernails.
 Last night I cut my fingernails the shortest they've been in a really long time. I will not cut them again until after Febuary 14th.

 "May the tears fall down
Let them soften this ground
May our hearts be found
God forgive us now."
  -Tears Fall, BarlowGirl