Tag: Music

Smiles and Snow

If someone could truly see inside my mind and tell me what’s going on with all of the feelings and thoughts that I have, it would be a miracle.  God can see it, I know.  Why He chooses to let some of us have minds that are so intricately intwined with relentless, racing thoughts and yet others seem to be able to think about nothing is beyond me. So much of me wishes to share my inner, deepest secrets or at least my journals that follow the paths of my thoughts through the years.  And yet, if I did, what would the outcome be?  Would anyone notice? Would anyone care?  Would it matter if they did or didn’t?

Somehow I know that I’m not the only one to have ever pondered this.  Here’s one of the things I just wrote in my journal,

So much of me wishes to just sell all that I have, get a camper (no matter how small), and travel North America. But, I find the idea daunting and overwhelming… despite the excitement and exhilaration of it.  So, I revert to “hiding” behind a mask or screen… or fake smiles.

And then, I googled “hiding behind a smile,” and (to me) it’s amazing all of the memes, articles, and even songs that have been written about this.

One song’s lyrics stood out (mainly due to Google… how much money do they get for this, anyway?!).

And then a contrasting song which is utterly the complete opposite (and yet not).  (How redundant is that?!)

(Does anyone else see the irony in the fact that the Snow Globe video uses a camper as the main setting?)

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A New Year With MANY Thoughts

What escapes me is how and why a whole year has passed since I created a new blog post.  I have 16 drafts… the most recent one was saved seven months ago according to WordPress.  As I’ve mentioned before, I tend to psychoanalyze myself quite often.

I’ve read and heard several different things just in the past couple of weeks that I feel have been somewhat helpful and insightful, but also somewhat overwhelming.  As a high school friend of mine said, “Being overwhelmed doesn’t mean you get a free pass…” He was referring to discipling our children, but I believe that statement applies to all areas of our lives.

As for an insightful instance, this quote from one of the articles I read recently jumped out at me as I went back to re-read the article to find what I wanted to share with you…

If a doctor uses a treatment with a clinically verified high rate of success but presents it in a negative light, the probability of a negative outcome increases.

That caused my thoughts to jump to an episode of M*A*S*H when they ran out of pain medication and used placebos to tide them over.  One of the doctors was skeptical, and the senior ranking officer ordered him to present it with a positive attitude or it would never work.  After the placebos were administered, most of the patients respond very well, much to the surprise of the one who was skeptical.  So, our attitude toward things (our expectations, as this same article points out), obviously has a great impact on the outcome of events/circumstances.

Honestly, I’m not even sure why I’m writing a blogpost now.  I felt the need to post something.  But why?  More self-analysis?  That leads me to something else I recently read, “The Hyper-Examined Life Isn’t Worth Living.”  There are many good things that the author shared.  Here is one (of many) that I found interesting…

An obsessive preoccupation with what others will think and a paralyzing fear of failure go hand in hand, and both are symptoms of a hyper-examined life.

The fear of failure and the obsession of what others will think is not just a trait of Millennials, as he suggests.  I think anyone with a tendency toward introspection could easily be drawn into what he calls a hyper-examined life.  (Just the fact that I’m bringing this up could prove that point.)

So, what is MY point?  Good question.  I know that I am striving to daily re-submit my life over to Jesus.  The past is gone, and there is absolutely NO WAY to change any of it.  The future is not yet here, and ultimately God is the only One who controls it.  We have the joy, privilege, and responsibility to seek out the best way to join God not only in the future, but in the here and now.   Will we trust?


Continue reading “A New Year With MANY Thoughts”

A New Year

Happy New Year!

Can it possibly be 2012 is already more than a week gone!?  We’ll be into 2013 before we know it… even with having an extra day this year.  (It’s Leap Year! 😉 )

I still have the same work schedule as I did when I last posted on my blog.  It’s become almost a way of life… I guess it IS a way of life… for me.  I love the people I ‘serve’ in my job.  If it weren’t for them, I most likely wouldn’t continue doing what I do.  They each hold a special place in my heart.

I still listen to the CD I mentioned in my previous post on a regular basis, and it continues to minister to me.  Thank you, Selah, for listening to the Lord when you produced that album.

Summer’s End Brings Healing

I’m not really in the mood to blog, but I feel like I’ve neglected my blog long enough that I need to blog.

Where did the Summer go?!  That’s what I’d like to know!  I’ve been working 12 hour shifts… One week, I work Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Then, the next week, I work Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Then, it just keeps repeating.  So, I get a three day weekend off every other week… and I work a three day weekend every other week.  Whew!  Makes me tired just thinking about it!

Just recently, I went to a concert at a church.  The group who performed is one of my all-time favorites… Selah.  Here’s the video of the title cut for their newest album which was just released on Tuesday (Aug. 23).  This album, Hope of the Broken World, has already been very healing for me.  Thank you, Selah, for allowing the Lord to minister to me through you.

And now… I’m off to try and catch a bit of a nap before my long three-day weekend of work.  🙂

I won a CD!

No, not a certificate of deposit but a compact disc!  🙂  I recently won and received Shannon Wexelberg‘s newest CD, I Have a Song, from Angie at My Four Monkeys.  (And, I even entered on the last day she was accepting entries!)

This is an awesome worship CD!  I really enjoyed listening to all of the songs.  To me, the songs are slow and mellow, but sometimes that can be just what the doctor ordered, ya know?

Here’s a list of all the song titles…

  • Praise to the Lord, The Almighty
  • This is the Day
  • I Have a Song
  • Nothing Can Separate Us
  • How Holy
  • Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
  • Jehovah Shalom
  • Becoming
  • Boundless
  • Cling
  • Psalm 23

“This is the Day” isn’t what you might typically think.  It has a different melody than this “This is the Day.”  Of course, it uses words from Psalm 118:24…

This is the day the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

“Nothing Can Separate Us” includes the chorus from the hymn “I Stand Amazed in the Presence.”

Most of the songs have sort of a hymn feel to them.  It’s a CD that you could listen to while sharing some quiet conversation with a friend or while winding down after a long day (or week).

If you’re in need of a healing, soothing touch from the Lord, I encourage you to check out Shannon Wexelberg’s website and music.

God loves us even though we don’t understand His love

I feel like Trisha must might have felt when she wrote her post about nothing.  This post may or may not be re-visited, revised, edited, deleted, back-spaced, etc.  I don’t know.

However, one thing I do know:  God loves us.  We cannot ever comprehend how much or to what degree because we are human and He isn’t.  Please listen to the words of this song from the David Crowder Band.  As I “compose” write this post, I’m looking around the band’s website and finding out information I didn’t know.  The song “How He Loves” was originally written and recorded by John Mark McMillan.  I’ve not really done much research on McMillan, but I was awed to discover that he apparently wrote it after a friend died in a car accident.

When I read that, my mind immediately started racing.  I thought back to when I can first remember hearing this song… which was only yesterday.   (I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the song prior to yesterday, but yesterday is the first I can remember hearing it.)  And, what some may see as coincidental, I see as providential.  Why do I say that?  I heard it on Angelica Grace Designs’ blog.  I discovered (from looking around Twitter) that Angie, the author of the AGD blog, knew Karissa when they were children.  In fact, Angie has a picture of the two of them (and presumably a brother or other friend) on her Wordful Wednesday post.  (It’s really precious! You ought to go check it out.)

So, where am I going with all of this?  Oh yes… providential.  I see this as providential because (as most of you reading this know) Karissa’s life recently ended prematurely.  While her death was (apparently) not accidental like McMillan’s friend’s death, it was very much a shock (as I’m sure the friend’s death was).  And, since I believe that God is all-knowing, He knew that this song would reach out and touch my soul.  By hearing that song, I was able to receive a bit of peace in the midst of the heartache.  God truly loves us.

Thank you, Angie.  Thank you, John Mark McMillan.  Thank you, David Crowder Band.  Thank you, God.

Win Michael Bublé CD

UPDATE! I’m bumping this up to the top of my blog since I’ve added some new giveaways.

See my Frustrations with WordPress post to see why I “exed” that out.

I’ll be honest — I had never heard of Michael Bublé until I read about him in a blogger’s review.  (And, I can’t remember which blog it was.)  Anyway, I really like his vocal talent, and here are just a few bloggers who are giving away his latest CD…