Day 10: Something at which you've been a champion or the best.

I've always been good at drawing. As early as kindergarten, I was known as "the artist." In fact, while I was still in kindergarten, I won an "award" for one of my drawings. What did I draw? Of course, being the kind of kid I was, I drew the first thing that came to mind, which was an event that had taken place a few days prior to drawing this picture. I drew my neighbor's dog chasing my cat up a tree. Nobody was more surprised than me that I got recognized for that drawing. But I get a chuckle out of it even to this day.

The odd thing is, I knew I was good at drawing, but I never wanted to make it a career. Everyone always told me I should "be an artist one day" but I didn't want to. I wanted to sing, I wanted to be recognized for my musical abilities instead. So I joined choir classes in

middle school and even tried out for some solo parts. I had been writing songs since 6th grade. I still used art as a way to express myself, but I didn't show it off. In 8th grade, my friend and I signed up for an after school program called Music Technology. We had the opportunity to actually record music, which is something I had always wanted to do. I recorded a song that I had written for my current fiancee, and it was the coolest experience. I showed the teacher (who was also my band teacher) and he said it was one of the best songs that had been recorded in the class.

I still write songs and plan to use them in ministry as soon as next year. I've learned to let God give me the inspiration because He's the one that gave me the talent. I do however still draw often and I actually entered one of my drawings into the Carver County Fair this year and won first place in Pencil Sketching. That felt pretty amazing, but God ultimately gets the ribbon because I wouldn't be able to do it without Him.