song of the day #8: the only beautiful thing.

So this evening was one of those evenings where I take too much of my time and peruse iTunes for new music.  Lately, all I've really been listening to is Christian music and so I was determined to find a new CD to add to my collection.

I found some great stuff but nothing that really jumped out to me but I ran across this song called, The Only Beautiful Thing That's In Me by Rush of Fools.  I immediately clicked on the song to preview it because I already had an idea of what it was about.

One of the topics that comes up most often in my Jesus discussions with one of my best friends is how we are absolutely nothing with Christ.  There is nothing good about me without Jesus.  I am nothing worthwhile or of value without him.  That is what this song is all about.

http://fightingtears.deviantart.com/art/Jesus-and-the-Sacred-Heart-20281737

discouraged.

Lately I've been struggling with being easily discouraged.  This morning, while I should be writing a research paper that's due in a couple hours, I found my distracted and antsy.  My heart and mind are on other things and it's keeping me from getting through my day.

I almost left my Bible at home this morning but managed to stuff it into my backpack before I walked out the door.  I was thinking, "I'm not really going to have time to sit down and read my Bible today while I'm at school, so there's no point in bringing it."  How wrong I was.  God was tugging at my heart and telling me to draw near to him this morning.  He knew I was going to be struggling with the amount of work I have today and the exhaustion I left when I woke up this morning.

http://gwarf.deviantart.com/art/Storm-76364795

song of the day #7: cielo.

Cielo means heaven.
And this song by Phil Wickham is an attempt to capture heaven with music.

I bought Phil's CD, Heaven & Earth some time ago and was transfixed on his song, Safe, which I've previously written a blog about, so much that I didn't really delve into the rest of the CD.

It wasn't until the other day when I was writing a blog about another song that Cielo came on shuffle.  I was caught off by the lyric, "I can't sing loud enough when I'm singing for you my God."

It's funny because I've always wanted to be able to write my own music but I always find that other people say so beautifully what I want to say.  This is actually what Phil Wickham does.

http://trocker.deviantart.com/art/To-the-Heaven-69988343

song of the day #6: maneater.

That's right.
Hall and Oates Maneater.

It has no significance other than I LOVE Hall and Oates and this song in particular.  And you are not allowed not to like it.  Just get up and dance.  You know you feel it.

[PS- This came up because I was "gifted" with a Pandora station specifically for Hall and Oates.  One of the best present ever?  I think so.  I can never get enough H&O.]

Check out the original music video.

The shadowy set, the curly mullet, the superb dance moves, and the occasional fades to the panther.  Grade A stuff there.  I freakin' love the 80s.

http://janebond007.altervista.org/img/Maneater.jpg

song of the day #5: made to love.

Today, I had a straight up DANCE PARTY WITH JESUS.
That's right.

As I was driving in my car to go eat Hawaiian pizza with my Pop, I thinking about what I could blog on today.  Just as I was thinking I had no material the song, Made to Love by Toby Mac came on the radio.  I've heard the song a ton but it wasn't until today that I really truly loved it.  I really began listening to the lyrics and the chorus hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was smiling and dancing in my car.  It was phenomenal.  So obviously when I got home to my apartment, I proceeded to listen to the song about three more times, each time my dance moves becoming more ridiculous and extreme.

http://himbeerkuss.deviantart.com/art/wild-hearts-125366269

ah. pictures.

So today I took one of my beautiful roommates for a little photoshoot.  Today was wonderfully warmer than it has been recently so we shot them in the arboretum, Sarah looking cute and springy.  Here are a few of my favorites.  And I apologize for the grainy quality.  The Wal-mart photo center gave me a blank picture CD so I had to improvise by scanning them.

 

song of the day #4: how he loves

Here it is!  Song of the Day part deux!

I heard/sang this song for the first time at IV on Friday night.  It hit me hard.  I've found that recently it has been so easy for me to forget Christ's love for me.  I've been struggling with the concept that he wants ME, that he desires ME, that he wants a relationship with ME.


Our God is a jealous God and he doesn't like things that distract our attention from him.  Recently, I feel like God has been showing me that he will take things out of my life if they are taking me away from him.  It's hard.  Especially when you feel like those things in your life are good things, or beneficial.  But God wants to prove to us that he has it under control and that while we think we know what we want, he truly does know.

http://helja.deviantart.com/art/Wind-38361975

song of the day #3: tunnel.

So today's your lucky day!  You get TWO songs of the day!

Yesterday, I was talking to a good friend of mine and telling him about how recently I've just been really overwhelmed with life general.  He was reassuring me that things would get better and to remember that there's light at the end of the tunnel.  I looked directly at him and said I definitely didn't see it.

Ironically, this song by Third Day came on the radio this morning as I was coming back from church and basically summed up everything he had been telling me.  And not only that, I really felt God saying, "Look, I had him tell you that for a reason.  Do you need to hear it again?"  Obviously I did.  Enjoy.

http://gilad.deviantart.com/art/Coming-Out-of-the-Tunnel-83491238

song of the day #2: let it all out

Let It All Out-  Relient K

let it all out
get it all out
rip it out, remove it
don't be alarmed
when the wound begins to bleed
cause we're so scared to find out
what this life's all about
so scared we're going to lose it
not knowing all along
that's exactly what we need

and today I will trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
but tomorrow, upon hearing what I did
I will stare at you in disbelief
oh, inconsistent me
crying out for consistency

and you said I know that this will hurt
but if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
remember the end will justify the pain it took to get us there

And I'll let it be known, at times I have shown
signs of all my weakness
but somewhere in me
there is strength
and you promise me
that you believe
in time I will defeat this
cause somewhere in me
there is strength

and today I will trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
and I'll try my best to just forget
that that man isn't me

reach out to me
make my heart brand new
every beat will be for you
for you
and I know you know
you touched my life
when you touched my heavy heart and made it light

...here is it.  my lesson and prayer for the day.

http://garglesnarfblack.deviantart.com/art/End-of-the-Tunnel-150602181

my heart crys, "hurry!"

my heart is heavy.
it's anxious.
it's asking for something.
something that's time is not now.
here is my opportunity for patience.
to give it over, to let God have it.
Lord, calm the fluttering of my heart.
let me find a peace within you.
calm this anxious heart.
your timing is perfect.
your plan is perfect.
who am i to second guess you?
allow me to fully except your plan.
let me breath you in, take this weight of my heart.

http://vi.sualize.us/view/a6146c7cfb83865633326fe05a0b6437/

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  -Jeremiah 29:11-13

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  his peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  -Philippians 4:6-7 

thinking.

I wanted to write how I've been feeling recently, but I realized I had written something similar last year.  Take a look at "hands up, giving up".

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2679823874_16c517aed2.jpg

"Blessed are those who persevere under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12

song of the day #1: astonishing.

So recently I've been thinking about doing a recital and I've been looking through old repertoire and come upon this piece.  It's from the musical Little Women, which wasn't a huge hit, but this song is fantastic.  I sang it a while back and the lyrics really hit me just as much now as they did then.  Here are some lyrics and a link to the song on YouTube.

Astonishing- from Little Women, sung by Sutton Foster

JO:
Who is he?
Who is he with his marry me?
With his ring and his marry me,
the nerve, the gull.

This is not,
Not what was meant to be.
How could he ruin it all
With those two words?

I thought I knew him
Thought that he knew me
When did it change?
What did I miss?

A kiss,
When I thought all along,
That we were meant to find frontiers,
How could I be so wrong?

And I need,
How I need my sisters here
If I can't share my dreams
What were they for?

I thought our promise
That we would never change and never part.
I thought together,
We'd amaze the world.
How can I live my dreams or even start when everything has come apart.

I thought home was all I'd ever want
My attic all I'd ever need.
Now nothing feels the way it was before
And I don't know how to proceed.
I only know I'm meant for something more
I've got to know if I can be
Astonishing

There's a life
That I am meant to lead
A life like nothing I have known
I can feel it
And it's far from here
I've got to find it on my own

Even now I feel it's heat upon my skin.
A life of passion that pulls me from within,
A life that I am aching to begin.
There must be somewhere I can be
Astonishing
Astonishing

I'll find my way
I'll find it far away
I'll find it in unexpected and unknown
I'll find my life in my own way
Today

Here I go
And there's no turning back
My great adventure has begun
I may be small
But I've got giant plans
To shine as greatly as the sun

I will blaze until I find my time and place
I will be fearless,
Surrendering modesty and grace
I will not disappear without a trace
I'll shout and start a riot
Be anything but quiet
Christopher Columbus
I'll be Astonishing
Astonishing
Astonishing at last


This song pretty much sums up how I'm feeling about life right now.  So I'll leave it there.

my desire.

Today, I finally finished reading a book called Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy.  It is an amazing book and I challenge any woman of Christ who is looking for a real wake up call on her relationship with Jesus to read it.  I plan on blogging on the book more specifically in the future.

In this book, Leslie points out God's true calling on us, women of Christ.  She talks about how we are too complacent in our lives, thinking we were made only to be mothers, raising oodles of kids and living in suburbia.  While we are called to be mothers and raise our children in the faith, God doesn't want us to remain in our comfort zones.  He is asking us to abandon our mediocre lives and live a radically abandoned one for Him, truly listening to his calling on our lives and ACCEPTING IT.  It's easy for us to say, "Oh God, I hear what you're saying but that just isn't for me.  I'm not cut out for this changing-the-world stuff."  No.  When we begin using the term, "Christian" to identify ourselves we have made the decision to get up our own lives and surrender to Christ's will.  Leslie uses Matthew 16:24, 25 countless times within Set-Apart Femininity.  It reads:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (NLT)

We are all guilty of wanting to "hang on" to our lives.  Sometimes it is hard to swallow what God is saying and what he is calling us to do.  But truly, what greater thing can we do in our lives than serve him and be apart of his bigger plan?

free rice.

Some of you may of heard of this website, but FreeRice is helping eliminate world hunger through an entertaining and somewhat addicting game.

As a player, you can pick to answer questions from subjects like art, chemistry, language learning, math, english and geography.  For every question you answer correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to World Food Programme to fight world hunger.

So if you bored and have nothing to do, rather than Facebook stalk, hit up freerice.com and help eliminate world hunger!

willards are hot.

Okay, okay so the title of this blog is a little conceited but once you see these pictures you might understand. ;)

Anyways, I had asked one of our friends Julie to take some pictures of Kienan and I for Christmas.  Due to unseen circumstances, we didn't get to take them until today and we decided to add in Pop for some family portraits as well.  Needless to say, the pictures turned out AMAZINGLY and I can't thank Julie enough for helping us out.  Here are some of my favorites.