So Gather Up Your Jackets

And move it to the exits, I hope you have found a friend.

I am thankful for new years. Grateful for markers in time that signify the end of something and the start of something else. I am thankful that seasons of winter do not last forever. I am relieved that seasons of sorrow eventually and always give way to seasons of life, creativity, and beauty. This year has brought its share of sorrow and pangs of growth and change that I hope can only be followed by new life. This year has also been marked by the richness of friendships--those who have continued to walk with me, hope with me, and laugh with me.

So as Semisonic tells us....every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Whatever this next year brings face it with courage, hope, and a good amount of humor.

As one little Hobbit reflected on the darkness of his journey, he offered this outlook -"there is light and beauty up there that no shadow can touch".

And I think Sam is right.   

of peace on earth and good will to men

 I am drawn to the Christmas songs that usher me into a place of reflection, remembrance, and waiting. The songs that echo a sentiment of longings still unfullfilled seem to be the only Christmas songs that reach my soul.
Ransoming the captives

A weary waiting world

Oppression ceasing

People waiting for chains to break

Songs that acknowldge the dark realities as well as the thrill of hope crashing in to awaken us from the despair of sleep.

I also am really taken by the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the poem "Christmas Bells". Written in the midst of a flurry of national chaos and personal tragedy his words capture the paradox of this season-- of agony and triumph.

 And in despair I bowed my head;



"There is no peace on earth," I said;


"For hate is strong,


And mocks the song


Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"



Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:


"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!


The Wrong shall fail,


The Right prevail,


With peace on earth, good-will to men!"


May this season be one of reflection spurring you to hope in the midst of waiting.

Check out two artists that inspired me to connect these thoughts....

Shellee Coley

Future of Forestry

lyrics lately

I've been contemplating how my life would read if it were comprised of the lyrics that have occupied my thoughts lately. Perhaps something like this...

Can I be used to help others find truth
when I am scared that I'll find proof that its a lie


Weep for yourself
you'll never be what is in your heart


When all your fears rain down
I'll take you back a thousand times again
I would sing you songs of innocence
For you were once a child of innocence

God's moving in your bloodstream
where the cross beats aren't so slow

So there you have my life lately in lyric. A mess of Nickel Creek, Mumford and Sons, Future of Forestry and Freelance Whales.

I'm not too sure what "cross beats" are but I think it may mean that sometimes redemption sweeps over you so gradually that you don't notice the small shifts of grace and hope. Redemption moving through your bloodstream where resistance to His movements aren't as strong. At least, for my sake, that's what I'm hoping for.  

Rewriting the Plot

Listen to this

This is a song that has been playing in my head for weeks (I recently included it in the third volume of a series of songs that will wreck your soul...in a good way). Something about the honest admission of the absurdity of life intrigues me. I find myself at times growing weary of the plot of this broken life...asking God to rewrite it and come and get us.

Do you ever stop to think about the story we are caught up in? Something has been radically broken. Someone has come to restore what is broken.

These are my thoughts so far on this song. More to come.

"i don't know if reason's ever gonna see why love has come to die"

lessons shelved

Transition.

Change.

Anticipation.

These words demand to define my life as of late. Some people may associate these words with excitement ,challenge, and adventure. I tend to associate these words with instability and disharmony. A few weeks ago a friend and I were reading through the book "Understanding How Others Misunderstand You". My personality fits well with the "Steadiness" behavior style. "S" people don't like change in fact the book tells me "the basic fears of the "S" are disharmony and instability". A few pages later "the S deals with this stress by sleeping".  How does a book know me so well! This is too funny. So as I face a new semester, a new job, and a new house I am met with the anticipation of both pain and growth (and apparently a lot of sleep too).    

and here is when things get better....

Clearing off my bookshelves I discovered a paper crisply folded yet crammed between the dog-eared pages of an old planner. Forgotten notes scribbled during one of my undergrad counseling classes outlining the process of change we all go through when faced with discomfort and pain. Underneath the outline only a few sentences were written:

To the degree that we have sinned or been sinned against we can not love.

Some pain stays with us for the length of our life but we learn to no longer compensate for it.

Some people suffer and become broken bread and poured out wine.

There will be some events in life that trigger old responses of pain and hurt. There will be some events in life that appear to threaten our sense of stability and peace. It is the hope of redemption that invites us to look with new eyes as our wounds are transformed into broken bread and poured out wine.

and we will choose to live from love and not fear.

forgotten significance

A picture i took in houston one day.

I found this (piano?) leaning outside against a wall of a junk store. I was drawn to it because of its intricacy and its forgotten significance. I wonder who it belonged to once upon a time. I wonder what led its owner to abandon it. 

Abandoned but still possessing beauty.   

music for your friday

I found this guy's music on you tube. I keep coming back to this cover. Enjoy your friday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rcmS9evyN4