Hymns have a way of moving me like almost no other worship song can.  This one in particular.  It's another one that should belong on the soundtrack of my life, another one that should be on my heart as I wake each day.  Take my life Lord, which is really YOUR life, and set me apart for YOU each day.  Let everything about my life, my being, my materials, my will, all that makes up me and let it be for the Lord and only for him.  Let my life be a throne for the King of the Universe.  Selah. Take My Life and Let It Be (Chris Tomlin) Take My Life and Let It Be (Christ for the Nations Worship with Kari Jobe)

I have never heard of Tom T Hall or this song so when I pulled it up I was surprised to find it was an old song!  Thanks Tracy for passing this one my way!  I like this song because it inspires me to compose my own list of what I love.  Sometimes the simplest sentiments are the best ones, the most sincere ones, the ones that best convey the heart.  So what do I love?  I love the air after a rainstorm, I love brightly colored flowers, I love coffee in a cup, I love the tea kettle whistling, I love baking, I love the smell of jasmine, I love ice cream, and I love a whole bunch of people, and this list could go on and on!  What do you love?  :)  I love

I use songs to define my life.  Sometimes they define a short season, sometimes a year, sometimes longer.  Sometimes the songs come and go at different times in my life.  This song is especially meaningful to me.  Jordin Sparks won American Idol the year I went to Kenya for the first time.  And for me going to Kenya was all about grabbing the now moment and stepping outside of fear, doubt, etc.  It was all about learning to live out of courage instead of fear.  In 2007 when I traveled to Kenya God did some really amazing things that apparently he could have only done by taking me halfway across the world.  I came home from that trip empowered, certain fears banished, with a new family, loving the now that God had given me and ushered me into.  The song faded away as I was living out of new found courage but it's kind of popped back up recently as I face head on some other fears and need to make a choice to grab the now moment.  It's a process but there's grace in it.  :

In today's culture we are encouraged to hide who we are, what we believe, any weaknesses.  Disagree?  Take a closer look, rather take a closer listen, to the messages we are sent daily by the media, by television programs, by various publications, by celebrities, and yes, by the Church.  People say "just be yourself" but when someone dares to actually try it they are shot down, judged, harassed, or name your own adjective.   I love this song because from the first words you know what the message is.  You know that Chris & Conrad are giving us encouragement to swim upstream, to defy the message of the world and live out the message of Christ.  To allow freedom to define us rather than the bondage of definitions that the world, the Church, and yes, we ourselves have said we are.   Do you know who you are?  Do you want to find freedom from what holds you back from who you know you are?  Then LET IT OUT, lay it at the cross of Christ, and let the embrace of Christ ush

For years now I have started a lot of my days with this song, whether I'm just humming it or I actually cue it up in my itunes.  I love the energy of this song, I think it is a great way to start the day!  But really why I like to start my day with it is it serves as a reminder of my mission for that day.  To live every minute of that day for Christ.  To take his word and apply it to my actions, words, and thoughts.  To set aside myself and live solely for him.  Following in the footsteps of Jesus has never led me down a stray path but has always led me in the path he has marked out for me.  When I succeed and make my day all about him I never have any regrets at the end of the day, I never feel frustrated about decisions that had to be made, and I have peace that the day belonged to the One who made it.  Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Everyday

I love Fall.  It's my favorite season.  The smell, the feel in the air, the colors, the tastes, and the sports - specifically High School and Collegiate Levels.  I have some really good memories where Fall is concerned.  I got married in the Fall because I loved it so much!  I have this mostly love relationship with Kenny Chesney.  Almost every song he's released I have loved but something about him bugs me!! :)  But dang it if he don't sing some good stuff (good redneck impression? :) )!  Once again Kenny Chesney manages to tell a great story through song, he again manages to make me want to pack up and move to a small town and dive in to that small community where things are a little simpler, including football.  Where community means something, where Coaches care even if they are yelling.  I love the idea of Friday night football games and knowing every single person in the stands.  I love the idea of a community sitting around on Saturday morning debating the calls of

I was so uninspired today, I guess because it's Monday, that I was at a loss as to what song to do when viola!  My friend Crystal posted a status on her Facebook that provided the very inspiration AND excuse I needed for the song for today!  So a huge thanks to Crystal for unintentionally providing me with today's song!  Crystal said this, " Looking back at prayers that were not answered...I am truly glad that God said No!"  Boy do I ditto Crystal! I am SO glad God knows better than I and therefore acts in my life accordingly.  Isaiah 55:8-9 is all the proof I need that God knows better.  He says that his ways and his thoughts are higher than mine.  That equals BETTER than mine also!  See, God sees the whole picture while all we can see is the corner piece and we pray according to what we see but God works in our life according to what he can see.  And I have discovered that when God doesn't answer my prayer (usually prayed out of ignorance) it is because of his

There are some songs that just take me right back to my early church years.  This is one of them.  And as I have gotten older I have come into a deep appreciation for the message and the meaning behind the lyrics.  "This is my story, this is my song..."  And it is my story and my song, I hope it is yours too.  The assurance of Jesus and his presence in my life is what gets me through life.  I know some people may look at my life, or their own lives, and think that the presence of Jesus doesn't help it much or at all BUT I know what I know and I know his presence is the only thing that has gotten me through the darkest moments of life.  Were it not for him, were it not for the assurance of him, the confidence in his presence I am not sure that I would be upright!   Blessed assurance indeed...  Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine (sung by Third Day)

Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary to Ken and Toni Fontaine!  Toni asked me to do this song today on their day.  28 years ~ full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, and everything else in between!  But through it all I have watched my friends continue to walk the road of life together.  Ken and Toni have been through some STUFF but have come out on the other side still committed to one another.  It has been a pleasure to witness a couple who is committed to making marriage work no matter what comes against them.  They have lots of "Remember when..." moments and here's to many more!  The test of a marriage is surviving the "remember when..." moments that you'd rather NOT remember! :)  Remember When Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary Ken and Toni!  Their own Remember When video!  :)

One of my besties, Judy, loves the Indigo Girls.  So it was no surprise to me when she shot this song my way!  She also loves the Grateful Dead and because she's a bestie I offered to include the Dead in my little experiment as well.  :)  She hasn't taken me up on it...yet!  I confess that I am not sure I have ever listened to the Indigo Girls all the way through one song (and right now Judy is wondering why and how we are friends!).  So this is my first and I have to say, I likey!  First off, they are incredibly talented and their voices blend so well together that to listen to them is like sitting in shade on a hot day, very relaxing!  I get why Judy likes them so much.  But I'm willing to bet she also likes them for their lyrical content and this song is great lyrically. I think we ALL have a ghost that we are in love with.  Someone from our past that we loved and then lost through whatever set of circumstances drove us apart.  I know I do.  And I find the ghost that

I love this song!  Thanks to Beth who shot it my way!  I hadn't heard it before but as soon as I did I connected with it.  Immediately so many things came to mind as I read the lyrics and listened to it.  Interestingly enough one of my first thoughts was a contrast song that comes from Simon & Garfunkel.  "I Am A Rock" is a similar theme but with a very different response and outcome.  I also thought of Matthew 7:25-27 in which we are given a visual of what kind of house will withstand the storms of life.  With a sure and solid foundation we can withstand life.  Our walls may get knocked down, maybe they need to, but our foundation is what keeps us upright.  I understand wall building for the purposes of making myself secure and safe.  Problem is those walls are usually poorly constructed and are built with shabby materials that I have gathered hastily and usually once they get knocked down mold and other bacteria is exposed.  Yuck.  What is the cause of hastily con

I had to do something yesterday that was brave.  I was told it was a brave thing but I felt like a coward.  Since I am really hard on myself I'll go with what others told me!  I've been on a journey of becoming brave for quite a while now.  Actually it seems that my 30's have been devoted to making me brave.  First I had to begin to confront some deep wounds from my past, if you have ever needed to do that you know it takes bravery.  Then I had to go to Africa in 2007.  For me that took major bravery!  I have had to stay connected to a community that I was wounded by, again more bravery required.  I was asked to teach a workshop at our Women's Retreat a few years back and God had me talk about fear, so as I was shaking in my "boots" I had to talk about bravery!*  Then I had to go back to Africa, which was the easy part, but I had to lead the team.  That took A LOT of bravery!  I have continued to confront wounds in my heart which always takes a certain amount

AHAHAHAHAHAHA! My friend, Tracy, who introduced me to this song says this is every parents song.  She is SO right!  I love this and I still remember the toddler years well enough to remember this particular phase!  :)  They Might Be Giants are so kooky.  They always have been.  I mean whoever names themselves what they did indicates they are kooky!  They make me laugh.  I see absolutely no purpose in this song and I think that is what makes it so fun and likable!  It's just good for a laugh!  Happy Tuesday everyone! No

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Oh that Johnny Cash.  Only he could come up with this song and make it a hit!  I love Johnny Cash, what a voice, what a personality!  This song is perfect for a Monday because not much makes sense on Mondays and this song doesn't make a whole lot of sense! :)  There is a lesson weaved within the lyrics and music and basically the lesson is "Man Up!"  Happy Monday everyone! A boy named Sue (Song submitted by Patti Moore - thanks girl!)

This is another favorite from my growing up days.  I would catch myself singing this one and Amazing Grace back and forth at different times.  In fact, I still do that today!  :)  Sometimes there are not words for me to adequately express my love and gratefulness to my Creator.  He is great indeed.  All I can say is he is great and all I can do is say it over and over again.  What I love about the hymns is that they are anointed.  We dismiss them far too easily these days in favor of "contemporary" worship but if we stop and listen to the words we would see that they are much more in tune to worshipping God and giving due adoration to him than a lot of the songs we sing in a church service today.  Just try this.  Next time you are in church singing worship try to take note of how many times the songs you are singing talk about us.  The songs we sing should talk about HIM.  The point of worship is to minister to God, to give him honor.  The point of worship is not to see wha

Love this song!  Thanks to Stephanie Fibbs for shooting me this one!  I love the music, the sound, and yes, even the lyrics!  :)  First off, it mentions October and I LOVE October.  I love October so much that I got married in October!  So I love that this song is about love and romance in October.  It makes me think of Lanny and I.  :)  Yeah I had to get mushy gushy there for a minute.  But I'll tell you I also love this song for the way that this man is romancing his woman.  For how he is pursuing her.  Men are made to pursue and women to be pursued.  When we as women take that away from men we take away a integral part of romance.  So learn from Van Morrison and let your man pursue you!  And men?  Pursue your woman in ways that are right, noble, and speak value!  Moondance

I had completely forgotten all about The Imperials.  My Dad listened to them all of the time when I was growing up.  Seems to me I should remember some of their songs but I'm drawing a huge blank AND I really don't think I have ever heard this particular song!  My Dad really likes Phillips, Craig & Dean and listening to The Imperials gives me insight as to why.  Very similar in harmonies and song styles, etc.   Turns out that this song seems to be a fave of a good friend, Lisa.  And since I haven't heard it before I looked it up on YouTube and Google for the lyrics.  I love the overall message of this song.  If you confess with your mouth AND heart that Jesus is Lord then you are living life to a different tune.  You march to a different drumbeat than the rest of the world.  You see life through different lenses.  Your perspective isn't as important as God's.  This happens more and more to me.  The older I get the more I settle myself into the ways of God ra

Who or what owns you that shouldn't?  You know what I'm talking about.  What shame from your past do you let own you?  What rage do you let control you?  What pain do you hold on to and allow to color your interactions with life?  I heard a interesting fact the other day about our brains.  We have "old" brain and "new" brain.  The "old" brain is located in the back and it is where all of our emotions and feelings are stored.  Our "new" brain is in the middle and it is the processing center for events, situations, circumstances, etc that we have happen on a daily basis.  When something happens that triggers an emotion or memory from our past our "old" brain comes in to our "new" brain and takes over.  Here's the REALLY interesting thing about our "old" brain.  It has NO sense of time.  None.  Zilch.  Zip.  Nada.  Whatever the emotion or feeling is about an event in your past is as fresh as it was now as

Okay so Wicked is A-MAZING.  And I mean just amazing!  I haven't even gotten the pleasure of seeing performed yet but I have the soundtrack memorized and this past summer my redheads got to go see it FRONT ROW and go backstage to meet some of the cast!  Just by following the soundtrack I have been able to piece together the main story and I love the perspective!  I have the actual book on my "to do reading list" because I know I would love it.  I have a lot of fave songs from the show.  And Defying Gravity is one of them.  I admit I feel uninspired today so I asked my good friend Stephanie, the one who suggested I do a song a day, for her most recent fave song and she said it was Defying Gravity sung by the cast of Glee.  So for your listening pleasure I have included both the cast of Glee and the cast of Wicked singing the song.  I love this song because of, well you guessed it, the lyrics! :)  This song is a turning point and a defining moment for Elphaba (who beco

My first steps out of oldies music that I listened to until 6th grade included Tears for Fears who hit it big in the U.S. with "Shout".  Of course back then we all just thought the music sounded good and the way Tears for Fears sang the words were so different from anything I had ever heard before.  I mean you really can't compare Beach Boys and Tears for Fears!  But as I listen to it as an adult I hear all the political undertones in the song!  Guess it's true that with age comes wisdom.  :)  It isn't surprising that the members of Tears for Fears, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, sang about the politically charged times.  Musicians have often used their music as an outlet or as a voice to let others know their opinions and thoughts on current issues and politics.  Regardless of what the song is about all I think of when I hear it is 6th grade and the wonder of all this "new" music that I was beginning to listen to!  :)  And truthfully nobody I know,

Every year of my life seems to have a song attached to it.  Kinda like my theme song for the year.  If I complied them all they would make up a soundtrack for my life.  Many of those songs will probably show up in the next few days we spend together.  This song has been a theme song for loosely 2 years or so.  Seems this one extended past a year!  First time I heard it I felt empowered by it.  I let fear take over way too often in my life.  I let people steal my courage way too much.  And in the past I have let people's accusations of me define me.  NO MORE.  This song encourages me, empowers me to say NO MORE.  I am who God says I am not who others say I am according to their baggage and issues that they have tried to project on me.  God says I am unbreakable and so I am. Now I just need to get the courage to live within his definition of me.  What about you?  Who do you let define you?  Your Creator or others?  Your Creator formed you and knows every fiber of your being, knows

The first time I heard Bon Jovi I was entering into 7th grade.  From the moment I heard them I LOVED them!  Still do.  Again, they are one of those bands that maybe I should apologize for but can't!  :) Sarah LOVED Bon Jovi.  And so today's song of the day is in her honor.  Sarah is my lifelong bestie.  Our parents were best friends, in each other's weddings, and we were born 6 weeks apart.  Despite living several states apart for the majority of our lives we remained close.  In November 2008 Sarah was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and on December 23, 2008, just 6 weeks after she was diagnosed, she passed away barely into her 34th year of life leaving behind a husband, 3 daughters, and family and friends.  Today, October 10, is her birthday.  She would have been 36 today.  Next to my parents she was the person in my life I knew the longest and the best.  I miss her everyday.  Not one day goes by that I don't think of her at least once.  Her email address is still i

I know, I know.  It's Friday.  But can you all pretend with me it is Saturday?  See, I won't be around a computer this weekend until Sunday night and I wanted to make sure I kept true to a song a day, I figured two for today would cover me for tomorrow!  :)  Part of the reason I won't be around this weekend is because my youngest redheaded wonder is auditioning for America's Got Talent in Denver!  She's got this amazing gift, her voice.  She sings beautifully and I'm not just being one of "those" parents, we've been told that by more people than I can count.  She is very gifted musically.  When she was about 4-5 years old she discovered The Phantom of the Opera and has been, and I don't use this word lightly, OBSESSED with it ever since.  You have no idea.  It can become painful, this obsession she has.  One day when I wasn't paying much attention she watched the movie 4 times in a row!!  I was Phantomed out by the end of the day.  She

Faith.  It's an interesting topic.  It's a controversial topic.  I've been thinking about it lately in the context of terms I have heard people use when referring to faith.  "Crutch", "For those who are weak", "Ignorant", "Religious", "Pious", etc.  HUH.  I think about my circle of friends who claim faith and none of those terms come to mind.  Quite the opposite in fact.  See I think it takes a strong person to have faith.  To claim they can believe in someone whom they have never seen nor talked to.  I know it takes strength for ME to believe, to choose to trust in a God whose ways I don't always understand.  I'm glad that when challenges come up in my life I have God to look at to get me through.  Some might think I am weak by doing that, I say who is it hurting?  If I get through the challenge with peace then who is it really hurting?  I find it interesting that people are threatened by people who have faith in Go

15 years ago today I married Lanny.  I was young, he wasn't so much (haha!) and when we got to the part in our vows about "richer or poorer" we snickered because we knew it would always be the poorer!  HA!!  And, well, it has been but that's beside the point.  :)   Before we started dating I had heard this song and I knew that whoever I married this was the song that would describe me and my intended perfectly...and it does.  When Lanny and I started dating we decided things quickly.  2 weeks after our first date we decided to get married.  By the time he proposed officially to me on May 6, 1995 we already had the wedding completely planned!  I mean dress bought, bridesmaids dresses bought, photographer booked, venue booked, etc!  We had bought our rings less than one month after our first date.  Lanny and I had the privilege of knowing each other for a couple of years prior to dating so we already knew where this was headed when we finally got brave enough to take

I'm willing to bet that we all have at least one person in our life that we wish we could go find and say, "Hey, I'm not who I was!"  To have an honest conversation with about the pain between you and them, the unresolved conflicts, the lack of love, or whatever has come between you and that person.  I know I have a few people I'd love to sit down with and say, "I'm not who I was" to.  :)  And should God release me to do that with anyone I am ready.  I'm ready to extend God's grace and love to whomever he may have me sit with in the hopes of reconciliation.  This song is such a powerful story of forgiveness setting us free.  When we make the choice to forgive we make the choice to set ourselves free and to release ourselves from a life of self-imposed bondage.  See, our lack of unforgiveness hurts us the most.  The person we are holding out on could care less, they have gone on about their life while we are sitting behind bars in a prison

Yesterday I posted a whole bunch of pics from mostly High School and it has been so fun to get everyone's response to them!  We've been having a good time "talking" about our school days.  And since then I have been humming this song.  It just seems kind of fitting.  Now I could have picked Michael W Smith's "Friends" but this song seems to fit us much better as we are beginning to stare down our 20th reunion!  :) In addition to my classmates reminding me of this song I have a confession to make.  I like Friends.  A LOT!  I know, I know.  Horrible, so horrible but I can't help it I love that show!  I've had a lot of people question my faith because of my love for the show.  And I just need to say "REALLY?"  Anyone who knows me well knows that I am mature enough in faith and life to not watch the show and think that sleeping around with a bunch of people is okay, etc.  I mean c'mon.  And if you see that the way I behave in life se

I grew up on The Beach Boys.  And before you start doing the math between my age, 36 btw, and when the Beach Boys were hitting it big let me explain!  :)  Until I was in 6th grade all I ever heard was The Beach Boys, The Temptations, etc, etc.  It was all my parents listened to and therefore all I listened to.  In 6th grade I somehow got a copy of Tears For Fears and The Beach Boys and the like fell to the wayside but until then I knew every word to every "oldie" song there was.  So my childhood memories revolve around a lot of the "oldies".  I LOVE The Beach Boys!  When I hear a song by them a few specific memories hit me.  One is listening to their Christmas album while helping my Dad in our new addition to our house in Michigan.  Another is driving with my Dad to his job site in Ft. Collins and listening to my Dad harmonize with their songs and whistle along.  My Dad LOVES The Beach Boys.  And I guess whenever I hear a Beach Boys song I immediately think of my

Just as I am.  Perhaps some of the most freeing words ever uttered.  There are not many people who would take us just as we are.  But God does.  He takes us from the gutter of our life and cleans us up.  He doesn't ask that we clean up first, he takes us...just as we are.  But we don't take us just as we are.  We allow a myriad of things to keep us from being accepted by God and even by others.  I heard a good analogy the other day.  It's like when we are taking our cars to get cleaned and we clean them first!  Or we are having a house cleaner come in but we clean the house first!  But with God we don't have to do that.  In fact it would be better if we didn't clean up - or attempt to - first because he is the greatest and bestest (yes, I said bestest) cleaner upper EVER!  He takes us, GLADLY, just the way we are.  What a gift, if we will accept it. What a gift, if we will actually just come to him from the place we are at.  Just as I am BONUS!  Just as I am/I

I was first introduced to Brooke Fraser by my sweet friend Aimee.  We met, Aimee and I, via a business relationship and discovered we had similar heart interests!  She shared this song, and the artist, with me shortly after my first trip to Kenya (and to Africa).  So you can imagine that my heart was already in a very softened (okay it was complete mush) state and when I watched this video I bawled and bawled and bawled.  But here I am three years later, with a second trip to Kenya listed on my passport, and still my heart echoes this song and the message it is meant to convey.  It doesn't hurt that Brooke Fraser is A-MAZING.  I mean her voice just stirs my soul.  Albertine is based on Brooke's own journey to Rwanda, Africa and the things and people she was allowed to interact with through God's design and grace.  Who you interact with on a daily basis is by God's design.  Stop and think about that.  It's true.  Sometimes those interactions are tough but they can

Ah, good ole' Frank!  At my favorite Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs they have a whole room dedicated to Frank Sinatra ~ tons of his pictures.  I love it!  And my brother, Paul, loves Frank so the next time he's here for a visit I want to go to this restaurant so we can eat good food and sit surrounded by photos of one of the most talented singers ever!  The first time I heard this song was actually in the movie "Father of the Bride" and I think of the scene in the movie every time I hear it.  Now that I'm older I get what Steve Martin was looking at while this song played in the background.  To look at the people I love laughing, enjoying life, fulfilled, and succeeding has become a memory for me that I return to when things don't always look or feel so great.  The Way You Look Tonight