Summer Mix

Do people still make mixed cd's and play them over and over again in their cars or is that just me?

I haven't switched over to the fancy plug in your mp3 player to your stereo and have unlimited favorites at hand. I prefer old school for now. Only thing is my cd burner broke months ago! What's a girl to do? I pulled out old, I mean high school old mixed favorites. Thankfully my friends Bu and Lauren were nice enough to send me some burnt cd's and give me some relief. Btw Bu is who I steal most of my songs from, you can always find a great assortment of music on his blog. And Lauren sent me She & Him and a couple other great ones. Thanks friends!

But now we are into July and I've been listening to the same 3 cds for over a month now. ha! So this is a call for help. If you are a mixed cd maker like me and feel like sending me a cd of your summer favorites I will be your new best friend. :) I listen to just about everything. Right now I'm kind of obsessed with all the artists your hear on the playlist.

What are your favorite songs this summer?

* here's to hoping blogger fixes the problems with comments soon! I'm still getting your comments in my email just not on here. :(

A new favorite

The Fullness by Lovelite

I saw them Saturday night and instantly loved. Have a listen.
You can download their album
FREE here for the next 5 days.

mmmusic

Hi friends. Tonight I heard an old song from my teenage years and it immediately made me feel that warm tingle in my tummy. You know the one. Don't you love that old familiar feeling you get when you listen to a song from a really good time in your life?

The song was by The Early November just in case you were wondering.

So I was in the music mood so I finally updated the playlist on my sidebar. Here are some artists I'm loving right now-Mutemath, phoenix, angus &julia stone and more. Enjoy!

Another cool thing I discovered today was this site where you can do all sorts of fun effects to your pictures.
What do you think?
This is a picture of me and the husband in Maui.
pretty cool huh?

Just a quick hello. goodnight!

heal & inspire

“It's a rare thing for me to use the words "good", "Christian" and "music" in the same sentence.”

I read this somewhere and it was so true for me. I went through a very looonnnggg period of not listening to any Christian music. I just became really bored with it and felt like it was just the same songs being played over and over again. And then several months ago I decided to “clean house”  and in doing that I felt like my soul was longing for deeper things. Music included. In the past few months I’ve been introduced to some really cool artists and reintroduced to a few past favorites. I really believe that music can inspire and can heal. Here are some of the artists that have done both those things in my life recently…

Sandra McCracken-Justice



Here are songs with amazing lyrics that have touched my life. Songs for messy people who are madly in love with a God who takes them flaws n all and loves them endlessly. These are songs about a different kind of love.

Where did all the good music go?

Today I turned the radio in the car to the "HIT" station. It's been awhile since I've listened to the radio and I admit I'm way behind on what's cool right now. But after about ten minutes of listening, I felt really dumb down. Seriously is this what music has become?

Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger

But we kick ‘em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

I’m talking about - everybody getting crunk, crunk

Boys trying to touch my junk, junk

Ok if you happen to like this song I will say that it does have a fun beat. But seriously the lyrics- ???! My favorite decade of music was early 90’s to early 2000’s. Seems like most everything that has come out in the last 5 or so years has been seriously lacking in the lyrically inspired department. I’m talking about “Hit” genre because I think there have been some pretty great indie and other genre songs that have come out recently. Does anyone else feel this way? Where did all the good music go? Dear teenagers, please stop making brainless music so popular and acceptable. And I'm not a pop music hater, I admit I like a britney song or two. I'm off to listen to some good ol 90's classics.

What are you listening to right now? Anything I would like?  I'm always welcome to new music ideas. :)

(photo found here)

My New Friends

"Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment."

Listened to an old song that I haven't heard in years and forgot how much I missed it. It took me back to right after I had Micah and was a very young mommy. Good beginnings, great memories. The song is called My New Friends by Zachary James Dodds. Click on the name and check it out.

(photo from here)

I believe

Today I was listening to a lot of my old favorite songs and this song is probably one of my top ten favorites. The lyrics so perfectly describe how it feels to be in the presence of God. No other feeling can surpass it. My mind cannot comprehend how someone can live without Him.

All Around Me by Flyleaf

My hands are searching for you

My arms are outstretched towards you

I feel you on my fingertips

My tongue dances behind my lips for you

This fire rising through my being

Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

I'm alive

I'm alive

I can feel you all around me

Thickening the air I'm breathing

Holding on to what I'm feeling

Savoring this heart that's healing

My hands float up above me

And you whisper you love me

And I begin to fade

Into our secret place

The music makes me sway

The angels singing say we are alone with you

I am alone and they are too with you

I'm alive

I'm alive

And so I cry

The light is white

And I see you
 Take my hand, I give it to you

Now you own me, all I am

You said you would never leave me

I believe you, I believe

( photo from here)

Lullaby

Yesterday I heard two dj's talking on the radio about the different songs that their mom's used to sing to them before they went to bed every night. They brought up rock-a-bye baby and of course Jesus loves me. So this made me think about what my mom used to sing to me.

Whenever I was scared or sick she would lay in bed with me and sing me the Lord's prayer or some other Bible song. She would also read me scriptures from the Bible and everytime I remember being instantly filled with peace.

This is a version of Psalm 23 by Jon Foreman. Everytime I hear it it still brings me peace. Pause my other music and have a listen. 

The more I seek you, the more I find you

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me." Isaiah 30:15 Message Bible

So I’m kind of laughing at myself right now. I asked God for something and expected that He would answer me in time. I was definitely thinking He would provide opportunity for this thing later down the road, when I was more equipped you could say, or when the time was right for me. But it doesn’t work like that. I don’t know why I was surprised to find out that He was going to answer me now. It looks like God thinks now is the right time for that opportunity I asked for. Enter fear, doubt, sick in my tummy feeling. Now where is that dagger list I was talking about in my last post? Definitely time to pull that sucker out!

So immediately when this opportunity arose I was scared and kind of ran away from the idea for a bit. But I knew deep inside that this was Him answering me. I knew that this was a step that I needed to take in my faith. It’s time for me to exit comfort zone and step out. It’s time to get my butt in that quiet place so that He can give me strength and courage. I feel like Moses when he was like "but God what am I going to say!"

I keep hearing this verse in my head- “faith without works is dead.” It just keeps coming back to me. And so finally I just sat down and really thought about what that really means. I think it means that there are two different types of faith. One is being faith that doesn’t have any fruit. Like for instance someone who believes, but doesn’t have any evidence in their life that would prove it. The second would be someone who believes and that belief results in a changed life that shows the proof of faith in the actions, the transformed lifestyle. The first being dead faith, the second living faith because its producing something.

So I know that was quite a detour I just went on but I have a point. God did this thing for me a few weeks ago and now He wants me to do this other thing that is a little scary for me but I’m going to step out and put my faith to work. I believe that He answered my prayer and now it’s my turn to share the testimony of His greatness in my life. But before I step out I need to settle down and be still so that I can figure out exactly what it is that He wants me to say. And so the journey continues…the more I seek Him, the more I find Him.

My song of the moment…

Brooke Fraser
None But Jesus

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord Forevermore

(photo from here)

Awaken

Beautiful - by Phil Wickham

I see Your face in every sunrise

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes

The world awakens in the light of the day

I look up to the sky and say

You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night

Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright

We are amazed in the light of the stars

It's all proclaiming who you are

You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree

You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me

Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne

Soon we will be coming home

You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore

Where death is just a memory and tears are no more

We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring

Your bride will come together and we'll sing

You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face, I see Your face

I hear this song and it really makes me think of just how incredible God is. He is the utmost creator. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, and before the heavens were designed, he was thinking of us. We were the motive behind it all; the universe, the earth, everything was created to uniquely suit our existence. But we weren’t just made to live in this world just because. Ultimately we were made because of love. He IS love and He made us so that he can express it to us. We were made for Him.

I think that’s a pretty exceptional thing. Every day you see so much heartache and pain in this world, so to know that the one who made it, He only desires to show us love and give us an abundant life here on earth and an eternal one, if we make the decision to believe in Jesus and live for Him. Why would anyone want to live for anything else? Everything else is so temporary and constantly changing. Cultures are always changing. People are constantly changing, even some religions adjust their beliefs to go with the times. Thankfully Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Whether you believe it or not, we all need saving and there’s only one way that leads to life and that's through Him.  


“For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.” -Colossians 1:16 Message Bible


I don’t want my life to just be about finding fulfillment for the things that please me, instead of caring about what pleases Him. I don’t want to live to try to find happiness in my own ambitions or material things.  If I want to discover my true purpose I have to keep seeking Him. I don’t have the ability to save myself so I trust Him.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

–Jim Elliot

(photo from here)