Music

I added a playlist to my blog the other night!! Probably will change the songs from time to time, but for a while I will keep them to go with this post. If you have a sec, please take the time to listen and be sure to hear the lyrics. I love music, I love lyrics and I love songs that speak my heart. The first three songs (If you want me to, There will be a Day and Give me Your eyes) have been really precious to me this year. The last one (Warm Whispers) is just hot!




Ginny Owens
"If You want me to"








Jeremy Camp
"There will be a day"








Brandon Heath
"Give me Your eyes"








Missy Higgins
"Warm Whispers"





I try not to be pushy about my faith. I am close to many, many people who don't share my spiritual beliefs and who don't have a relationship with my Savior. I truly respect everyone's right to make their own decisions and have their own beliefs. In all honesty, I do hope that my loved ones will one day enter into a relationship with God- not because I'm some righteous, bible thumping, religious zealot of a christian, but because I know how amazing He is and I want everyone to experience what I've experienced in growing to know Him. However, I do not believe that it's my job to "convince" anyone to believe what I believe. This post is not about convincing or making an argument for God. This is just me, revealing a bit of my heart :)

In the past, my relationship with God was like one separate compartment of my life...wrapped up in a pretty package for Sunday mornings, occasionally Wednesday nights and some random times of worship while driving alone in my car. I showed this package to those who seemed interested and hid it from those who might have negative thoughts about me because of it. Then I went through a several year period of bitterness - I think I still looked happy and peaceful on the surface but, underneath, I was far from the One I used to trust. I believed that He didn't care about me or my desires and that He was no longer answering my prayers. Looking back, I don't like the person I was during those years. I wonder how much of that struggle was evident in the way others saw me and how much of it I kept hidden behind a mask of "joy"...

In the last 3-4 years, God has slowly, gently, been restoring my faith in Him. He started with a rather unemotional area of my life - finances - and drew me in to talk to Him, trust Him and submit to Him. He is a WISE God :) Through our financial journey, the births of my daughters and several events of grief, He's been developing in me a steadfast faith that is no longer shaken when life seems to be unfair, hurts seem unbearable and the future is unclear. He's given me glimpses of a much broader perspective of life. He is Lovely! I DO NOT mean to sound like I've "arrived" - actually I'm such a baby in all of this. But the cool thing is that my growth, knowledge and hope are not reliant on my actions or my character - as I rest in Him, learn about Him and look for His movement in my life, He shapes and molds me into a bit more of the one He created me to be.

I normally do not use my blog as a forum for spouting spiritual talk. But I want you to know me, to know my heart, and to know that if I post God Stuff I am not intending to be preachy. The simple truth is: my God is no longer wrapped up in a package that I bring out at convenient/appropriate moments. He is the thread, intricately woven through my every experience. And if I can reveal even a tiny bit of the amazingness of Him by telling what I see happening in and around me, I will be so honored.

So if you want to know a bit more about my heart and about my passions at this time in my life, listen to these songs. If you're still with me, still reading this post, thank you for hearing my heart. Know that I love you...

Jen