it's the little things that make me a dork

There are several pairs of songs that I have either recently put next to each other on mix CDs or look forward to doing in the near future.

Jars of Clay: Ship Wreck and mewithoutYou: Messes of Men.
Because they are both about...ships.

The Khrusty Brothers: Sympathy for Jesus and The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels
I recently put these in this order and I LOVE that they first one has the Hallelujah under their breath by the door seguing beautifully into the her parents named her Hallelujah but the kids all called her Holly.

Waterdeep: The Circus Song and Dog Named David: I Ran Away With the Circus
I mean, I was in the circus, two sweet acoustic indie Christian songs about the circus???

Jars of Clay: Ship Wreck

Another "discovery" from Emily, this is a song from Jars' "Roots and Wings" EP. What a gorgeous and thoughtfully poignant song. I love it.

Ship Wreck
Jars of Clay

One two, one two

He put it in the bottle and he threw it out to sea
But the tide would not surrender and it floated to the beach
So the message of apology his love would never see
He walked around that island all shipwrecked and heavy

The scars of early childhood still showing on the skin
Necessary enemy so healing could begin
From the message of apology his heart might soon break free
For now he walks that island all shipwrecked and ready

Low beyond horizon lines, across the salty sea
A boat without a captain makes its way to some city
He prays that it would sail its course to lover or to kin
And fan a thirst for searching and finding him again
Finding him again, finding him again

theme songs

So I've spent five nights at Rocky Mountain National Park in the past 13 days, before that was catching up with friends in Florida and now am trying to catch my breath so that I can plan a month-long camping trip with Emily and pack to move to Pennsylvania. But that's not why you're here!!!

Whilst camping these last few weeks I realized an indispensable part of camping is music- on round 2 at RMNP I brought my ipod speakers and it was wonderful. I have been mentally creating a playlist for my trip with Emily but these past few days brought to mind songs that have been definitive for trips in the past

Cross Country with my mom and sister, circa 1995- ALABAMA'S GREATEST HITS (i.e. the compromise between my mom wanting to listen to Hootie and the Blowfish and my sister and I wanting to listen to Alanis Morisette, now I think I would choose EITHER over Alabama but their music is sentimental to me now, so there you go.)



Driving up to Camp Skyline with Morgan this song MUST be played up Lookout Mountain, 2001 to present- Sheryl Crow: Kiss That Girl
(ignore the anime, in fact go to a different screen and think about growing up and driving up a mountain when the air starts to smell like who you really are)



Epic Roadtrip with Claire, summer 2006- David Crowder Band: Everything Glorious


Camping trip with Claire, two weeks ago- Jars of Clay: Love Song for a Savior



Camping trip with Lola and Kat, just returned- Kansas: Carry On My Wayward Son

songs i don't get tired of

You know there are certain songs that have played a special role in your life or taught you something really true and those are the songs I never get tired of, a few of those songs for me are:

Like a Child: Jars of Clay


I don't think I've really listened to this song for years but I put it on in my car today and it was crazy to me that I used to listen to that song sitting in my same car back in 2001 and it was deeply my prayer: dear God, don't let me fall apart...

Maybe There's a Loving God: Sara Groves

Of all the songs I've "kidnapped" people to listen to this one is probably number one for forcing people to soak in. Stephanie from my freshman women's Bible study gave me this CD and this song was so transformative to me because it bravely asked questions I struggled with and had answers I was only beginning to learn to hope for: am I the chance result of a cosmic accident? ...maybe it's a selfish thought (I have never prayed a lot), but maybe there's a loving God.

Isaiah 61: Matt Maher

I tried to memorize the 61st chapter of Isaiah for a long time. It was part of reading Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" and I recognized the power of this scripture and wanted it to dwell in me richly. I wrote it down, I carried it in my pocket, I could NOT memorize more than "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me."

And then I heard Matt sing it. Forget lyrics, go look it up in your Bible!

Come and Listen: David Crowder Band

My senior year of college after a very transformative summer I heard this song and it so perfectly encapsulated what I wanted to say with everything in my life. I wanted to shout these words to sit everyone down with my earbuds and say, "this is me, this is my life, don't you want to hear what God has done?! Because it's unbelievable." I would stop in my tracks when it came on my ipod and it was hard for me to not lift my hands in praise or just weep for joy. I love the simple authenticity.

let me tell you what He has done for me, let me tell you what He has done for me, come and listen, come and listen to what He's done

Mercy Moves Me: 100 Portraits

It's the utter intensity in this song that makes it so relatable because it's desperate and so am I.

I was hiding in the dark
when they found the body

I was swearing by the truth
I was living a lie

I was holding out a hand
to take what was not mine

O You found me
could not lift my head

Love is Patient
Love is Kind
Your mercy moves me everytime