I have a 3-5 page paper due on friday for music 27. I need to write a subjective piece on four different interpretations of the song "Summertime". One of them is the original opera song, two of them are jazz, and the fourth one is a purely instrumental version... It was hard getting the paper started.

Once I got it started, it was a little easier forming my thoughts. I have about 1/3 done. I'm hoping to finish it by tomorrow night.

Three of the middle pictures show what I see when I look out my bedroom window.

Devotion time questions:

Nehemiah 11

What lessons does this passage have about leadership from the fact that the “leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem” while the “rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem”?

Leaders need to lead by example, living in accordance with what they teach. The leaders made sacrifices by moving to Jerusalem while the city was still desolate for the good of the people and in obedience to God.

What is admirable about the fact that the people who had said “We will not neglect the house of our God” (10:39) followed that up by actually leaving their homes and moving to Jerusalem?

Their words were not merely empty words but words that were backed up with action.

What is so beautiful about the people commending “all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem?” What acts of sacrifice and selflessness for the sake of God do I see around me that I need to notice and commend?

They showed love, solidarity, and a strong sense of community by supporting everyone around them who was making sacrifices.

What can I learn about God from the fact that all those “who settled in Jerusalem” are listed by their names, and remembered in the scriptures down to this day?

God wants us to be obedient to his will in all circumstances, even when what he calls us to do might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The Israelites who repopulated Jerusalem might not have seen their personal sacrifices as significant, but God honors them for what they did by naming them in this passage.