// Joy in the Journey //

tuesday tunes - carrie underwood

2009-11-10T08:00:00.002-06:00

so it's no surprise that i love american idol.
and carrie underwood is hands-down my favorite past winner.
and it's CMA week here in nashvile {and she's co-hosting the awards tomorrow night with brad paisley}.
and she just released her third album last week, play on.
so it really just makes sense for her to be the tuesday tune this week.

although i wasn't a huge fan of the early singles from her debut album, some hearts (ie: "inside your heaven" and "jesus take the wheel"), her sophomore album, carnival ride, was one of those that i could listen all the way through over and over.

so i'm excited to see what play on brings. i'm already a fan of the first single, "cowboy casanova".

sure, carrie's albums aren't the most lyrically or instrumentally diverse...but for some fun, catchy tunes that stick in your head, they'll do just fine. and no one can deny this girl can SING. personal fav? this duet with randy travis.

kinda crazy that she's gone from this {american idol audition}...

to this {the video for her most recent single, "cowboy casanova"}...

home sweet home.

2009-11-09T09:30:00.002-06:00

i'm a part of a group of bloggers writing about this concept of home today.
to see who else is talkin' about it, go here.

to some, home may mean an address. to others, a memory. or some sort of combination of places, people, and experiences that come together to form the feeling of home in our hearts.

but honestly, for me, it feels very undefined.

sure, i've had some great addresses over the years. hermitage and howell wood trail in duluth. 1111 south milledge and 105 southview drive (still my favorite to say) in athens. i've even had summer homes -- weeks at my camp in the north georgia mountains, summer beach projects in college in clearwater, florida. but those are all just places to me. a place where i got my mail. a place where i had a key.

and then there's the memories. while i do have some sweet memories from childhood, i wouldn't call those years the most warm and fuzzy ever. and as i've moved away and become more independent, home becomes less and less the place i grew up and more and more the places i'm growing.

so that brings me to nashville.
i'm so grateful for the home that God provided for me here -- a place to call my own, to invite others into, to host parties and prayer nights. i love creating a welcoming, warm environment and making people feel "at home". {here's 100 words i wrote last year about my home in nashville}
but then there's this restlessness within me that desires to be nomadic. i don't want to be so comfortable that i can't just get up and leave. there are so many places i want to go and see and experience. i want to be both in the biggest of cities here in the US and then in the furthest parts of the rural areas overseas. i feel just as much at home in a cab in downtown chicago as i do in a hut in uganda.

{ok, so home is still unclear.}

i think something i grasped pretty early on in my walk with the Lord was the idea that this world is not my home. c.s. lewis says it this way -- "if i find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that i was made for another world."

this song by shawn mcdonald (appropriately titled "home") describes my feelings well... that no where on this earth can ever truly be home. and the brokenness and deceit that exist just make me crave better days. and, thankfully, those better days are coming. rescue is coming. and we will eternally be at rest. at peace. at home.

so in the meantime, i will fight to find meaning and a sense of belonging in each moment, each place. because for me, today, home is right where i am.

"home is not where you live, but where they understand you"
christian morgenstern

thursday tunes?

2009-11-05T12:35:00.004-06:00

i just couldn't wait til the next tuesday for this. so, sorry 'bout it, but you're getting a little "tuesday tunes" action on a thursday!

ok, so who likes FREE music? {answer: everybody}

matt wertz is giving away his new live album for FREE. all you gotta do is go here and get it! it's from the acoustic tour he did this past summer with justin rosolino and super fun.

what are you waiting for?

tuesday tunes - annie parsons.

2009-11-03T10:13:00.001-06:00

meet my friend annie parsons. (just one of a few of my favorite nashville annies) she just released her first ever ep, and it's super exciting. i got to see her play at the famous bluebird cafe a couple months ago and was really blown away with her gift for songwriting.

be sure to check out annie's blog -- she's streaming one song each day this week for your listening pleasure. but don't delay -- once the day is done, the song is gone!

and here's a video of that night at the bluebird...

need more convincing? annie does a great job here.

fear factor.

2009-10-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

in honor of today's holiday {happy halloween} and all the creepy/scary things that come with it, i decided to reflect on the idea of FEAR...

fear is such a weird thing. we all have the tendency to be consumed with it. many of us let it rule our thoughts and our actions all too often. fear is usually the precursor to anxiety and stress. when you get down to it, fear is basically a lack of control (and let's face it...we're all control freaks in our own ways) it's also the title of a horrible movie starting mark wahlburg circa 1996...do yourself a favor and do not see it.

dictionary.com defines fear as "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid." and author stephen king notes that it is the most physically debilitating of human emotions.

but the reality is we don't have to live in that. "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control" (2 timothy 1:7) "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 john 4:18). that's the bad kind of fear. in the Greek the word is deilia. it's living life not resting and trusting in that perfect love of our Father...in His plans, His purposes, His control.

but there's a good kind of fear, too. it's the Greek word eulabeia. and it's the exact opposite of deilia. it is trusting and resting in God's control. it's a reverence and awe kind of fear. a wow-i'm-afraid-because-i-realize-how-not-in-control-i-really-am kind of fear. and that type of fear...fear of the Lord...brings wisdom (psalm 111:10) and leads to life (proverbs 19:23).

so next time you're tempted to be afraid of something the world whispers...when you're scared or anxious of the unknown...when you're full of doubts and "what ifs"...stop and remember truth.
you're not alone...you're not in control. He's there...and He is.

transfer fear of the world into fear of the Lord.

"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." {isaiah 41:10}

it's in the baayeehheggg.

2009-10-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

this past weekend was another rendezvous with the girls of 105 southview drive. mk has been living in madison, wisconsin for over 2 years, so we decided it was time to pay her a little visit.

besides great girl time with 3 of my favorites, the 2 things that stick out the most are:

1. cheese. lots and lots and lots of cheese. from fried cheese curds at "the old fashioned" restaurant to buying hot spicy cheese bread off the streets to countless cheese samples at the farmers market to late-night pokey stix from gumby's...we can confidently call ourselves cheeseheads now.

2. the pronunciation of "bag". we could not stop getting a kick of out the way the midwest says "bag"...it became a goal to work it into almost every sentence.

tuesday tunes - swell season.

2009-10-27T23:30:00.004-05:00

ok, seriously one of my favorite duos of all time is the swell season. i saw them live last year and LOVED it. they've been my favorite pandora station the last couple of months, and i've been anxiously awaiting the release of their sophomore album today.
that album is called strict joy, and it is the follow-up to their self-titled debut album. i just purchased it, so i can't say with authority yet that it's amazing...but i'm so confident it will be, that i'm offering a money-back guarantee if you buy it and don't like it! they did have one song, "in these arms", as a free stream for the past couple of months and it's great!

so if you like beautiful harmonies and passionate lyrics, you'll love these guys.

wild whimsy + raw reality

2009-10-21T11:00:00.003-05:00

so we all know that i was so excited to see where the wild things are. i made sure to see it on opening weekend, before too much hype or criticism could leak out...

and the verdict? emotional. director spike jonze does an amazing job of creatively depicting the reality of human emotions. as the viewer, you can't help but want to carry the characters' burdens right along with them. we all have the ability to act out of anger and then feel ashamed. we all want to be accepted and a part of community. we all want to be unconditionally loved.
and there's no denying that the cinematography and the wild things' costumes were truly magnificent. and there were some moments of that felt whimsical and wild.

but honestly... i think i'd rather just watch the trailer again.

listening to: "wake up" by arcade fire and "all is love" by karen o. and the kids

*also check out this article at relevantmagazine.com for a look at wild things from a spiritual angle.

tuesday tunes - needtobreathe.

2009-10-20T09:30:00.004-05:00

this week's tune is the band needtobreathe.

the cd player in my old car was broken for the last 3 years i owned it (it just wasn't worth the $1000 to fix it) so i got used to only buying music on itunes & playing them on my ipod. even though i now have a new car and a working cd player, my cd collection is very limited.

...so when my roommate gave me the new needtobreathe cd, the outsiders, a month ago, it literally hasn't left my car. i love it and can't stop listening to it! and...it's the only cd i have.

seriously, though, check out this album. coincidence there's a song called "girl named tennessee"? i think not.

here's one of my favorites from the last album, the heat, called "washed by the water"...

"we need heroes...we need hope."

2009-10-19T22:00:00.001-05:00

i love this article by jon foreman.

tuesday tunes - rosie thomas.

2009-10-13T23:30:00.001-05:00

rosie thomas is one of my favorite singers, ever. give me a rainy day in a coffee shop, and rosie's playing on my iPod for sure. i got a chance to see her at next big nashville last week...she showed her new documentary all the way from michigan not mars and then played a short acoustic set afterwards. it was heavenly :)

check out this song "say hello" of hers off the latest album these friends of mine to get a feel for her soothing, flawless voice... {she's singing with sufjan stevens!}

a great cloud.

2009-10-12T09:30:00.001-05:00

Hebrews 12:1 says “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...”

what is the GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES? literally, it's the hall of faith listed in the previous chapter of hebrews. people like abel, noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, joseph, and moses. those that have lived lives of faith, who followed God and worshiped Jesus.

it has been amazing to recognize the cloud of witnesses in my own life. those that live lives of faith all around me. for the days that it's harder to fight for hope and rest in faith...they step in with enough for the both of us. i picture a literal cloud...providing a shadow of hope around me when the sun's rays feel too intense. when life gets a little too hard. their lives are a testimony of God's provision, strength, and goodness. i'm thankful for cloudy skies lately, and for my great cloud surrounding me.

tuesday tunes - katie herzig.

2009-10-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

i can't believe i haven't blogged about katie yet. she's a nashvillian. she's been on the ten out of tenn tour. she's a mocha club sponsor. she's fantastic.
{if you're familiar with mocha club, you'll recognize her song "shovel" in our "i need africa" video.}

katie's got such an original voice and is a gifted songwriter. she even had a song on the grey's anatomy season premiere! her last 2 albums - weightless and apple tree have been amazing. and she just released a new live record -- an acoustic trio. on katie's site, you can download the album for FREE during the month of october. i've had it on repeat in the office all day. go get it!!

{katie's also an artist on brite revolution and releases new music there every month!}

this is a duet with another nashville-native, matthew perryman jones, called "where the road meets the sun"... (it was actually featured on the grey's anataomy season finale from last season!)

neighbors.

2009-10-04T13:45:00.001-05:00

it's no secret that God has been building a deep connection and strong love for the people of Africa over the past couple of years into my heart. {you might remember this post back in the fall of 2007...or even when i joined mocha club back in march of 2006!}. and as i am fortunate to continue to travel over to Africa each year through work, i don't want to forget the Africans I have living in my very neighborhood.
there are 3 new families of refugees that moved-in literally 6 blocks from me -- 2 from the Congo and 1 from Burundi...with 19 members total!!

i've recently been given the green light to initiate a charge for midtown on a missional/global level - specifically for Africa. i'm working on a trip for next summer, to hopefully build a sustainable long-term partnership in Uganda {started by my team on our 2008 trip}. but a huge part of our vision is to also see how we can connect to what is already happening here in nashville, too...specifically with the large refugee population.

so when i got connected to these 3 families last week, and was asked if they could come to midtown with me, of course i just smiled at how God works all things together. so i rounded up some friends and we created a caravan and we brought 8 of them with us this morning. i can't explain what a joy it was to worship with them...and then come back and spend time with the families in their homes.

i'm so excited to see what God does with our midtown family and how we learn to love our neighbors in every sense of the word.

here's us with some of the crew after church, at their home:

eat. sweat. blog.

2009-09-30T14:30:00.001-05:00

so a few friends and i are taking up the challenge of the social workout blog for their october challenge: EAT. SWEAT. BLOG.

signing up for the challenge means you're committing to getting exercise on at least 20 days in october, AND to completing 10 of the 22 "feats" of healthy eating. {a friend and i were just talking last night how we both were wanting more discipline in our eating habits, so when brooke blogged about it this morning we agreed it was a sign!} then you track your progress by blogging about your workouts and sharing advice and inspiration! have more questions? find some answers here.

are you up for the challenge? sign-up and join us!

tuesday tunes - seth philpott.

2009-09-29T14:00:00.002-05:00

this week's tune is my friend seth philpott . i've known seth for 2 1/2 years (he was one of the first people i met in nashville) but didn't get to see him play until a month ago...and now i've seen him twice! he's got a real blues-y feel (think: marc broussard) and sings with soul.

when he's not playing his own music, you can find seth helping out friends on the road as a tour manager. or drinking coffee at crema. a real multi-talented guy.

seth's got a new album coming out next month. i actually got to go in and sing some background vocals on a track -- not sure if it made the final mix, but it was fun :) {side note: my friend andy produced it -- another talented dude!}

check out some of seth's tunes on his myspace.
and here's a video for his song "heartbreaker"...

don't worry be healthy

2009-09-23T22:00:00.002-05:00

one of the many reasons i loved living with my friend brooke for a year and a half {before she got married} was our shared passion for eating healthy and being active. we'd discover new nutritious treats together and challenge each other to diverse workouts. it was during this time that brooke decided to become a personal trainer and took her love for fitness to a whole new level.

i've loved going to her gym for 6am workouts (and she can kick my butt)...being her guinea pig for her new piloga classes (a mix of yoga + pilates)...and getting enlightened by the nutrition and diet information she is constantly learning.

so i'm super excited that she's decided to share her passion with a new health + fitness blog:

nashville health nut

she's only had it for a few weeks, and is doing a great job posting on everything from workouts to food to the latest fitness trends. and what i love about brooke is how she lives a balanced life. she doesn't freak out over eating a cookie or having a glass of wine. she knows it's about moderation, balance, staying active, and making smart choices.
so do yourself a favor and head on over to check it out...and leave a comment or two! {you can follow her on twitter, too}

{oh -- and i totally get credit for creating the tagline "don't worry be healthy" -- cute, huh?}

tuesday tunes - mark wagner

2009-09-22T12:30:00.002-05:00

i'm so excited my friend mark wagner's new album, sun's gonna rise, is out today! mark is a mocha club sponsor, and an amazing guy.

after a few years in nashville, mark moved up to seattle and has created a great following in the northwest. {he was actually our host back in may when missy and i headed to seattle.}

i got an advance copy of the cd a couple of months ago, and played it on repeat in my car for a solid month. i'm excited to break it back out again this week in honor of the official release!

i think "there is hope" has to be my favorite track -- written after mark's trip to gulu, uganda last summer to visit the project he supports with us. it's got some powerful lyrics and gets stuck in your head {in a good way}

head on over to his website to hear some of the tracks, and you can even purchase the album there.

get to know mark a little by watching a video of the making of his album.

TOT volume 3...life on the road!

2009-09-19T22:00:00.002-05:00

i keep blogging about the the ten out of tenn crew - their 2008 fall tour, the christmas tour, and the documentary.
and now...it's time for volume 3 of the nashville tour de talent! :)

this go 'round it's a whole new bunch {except for ks rhoads and founder trent dabbs} on a short 3-week run.

{my personal favs of this group are joy williams, andrew belle, and mikky ekko.}

so we were super pumped when it worked out for mocha club to team up with the tour as the official charity! each night, trent and andrew take a couple minutes to invite the crowd to join them in sponsoring one of our projects {and offering the new volume 3 compilation cd as an incentive!}

to help get things kicked-off smoothly, i headed out on the road for the first 2 dates of the tour... (knoxville and birmingham). i got to experience a small glimpse of "road life" for a couple of days...aka lots of driving and crashing on couches!

if they're not coming to your city, definitely grab the compilation off itunes -- all of these guys are super talented!!

here's a highlight from the knoxville show -- kyle andrew's song "sushi"....enjoy!

my -ing list...

2009-09-17T00:30:00.002-05:00

i did one of these earlier this year so i thought it was time to whip-up another "participle list". here's what i'm do-ING...

eating // salmon. i swore i didn't like it cooked (i've always been a fan of smoked salmon) but have recently started to love it. i broil it, grill it, you name it. yum!

drinking // coconut milk creamer in my coffee...i know, it sounds gross...but it's good!

reading // three cups of tea and proverbs

listening // to all of my tuesday tunes people of course

driving // to knoxville and birmingham over the next couple of days to help kick off the ten out of tenn tour that mocha club is partnering with!

praying // for a new home for midtown (we're losing our building) trusting God to provide

wearing // my rain jacket...every day. nashville is the new seattle.

anticipating // the weather to be cool enough for scarves and boots and layers and hoodies

watching // so you think you can dance and glee

riding // my bike all over nashville's greenways...i can't get enough of it

loving // when people say how stupid twitter is, join, and then can't stop tweeting

cheering // for the dawgs on saturdays {i'm kinda obsessed with college football}

sitting // at ugly mugs - my favorite neighborhood coffee shop

tree of life.

2009-09-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

a verse i keep revisiting lately is proverbs 13:12...

"hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

unfortunately i spend the majority of my life consumed with the first half of the verse....hope deferred. deferred = delayed, withheld, postponed. all words that equal not right now. aka...waiting. {not my favorite thing} i all too easily (and often) put my hope in an expecation, a situation, a person, a possibility. and when that thing doesn't pan out like i plan/want/desire... my heart is physically sick. it seriously affects my mood, my attitude, and my spirit. and the higher and more lofty the expecation, the more painful the delay.

but on the other hand, there is nothing more sweet or more life-giving than desires and longings fulfilled. the verse calls it a tree of life. deeply rooted in truth. standing firm in love. producing an abundance of fruit.

and God wants us to experience that.

so He is teaching me to place my hope in truth...in the promises that will be fulfilled. and when i find myself beginning to expect or dream about possibilities that aren't rooted there, i'm learning to loosen my grip of control and rethink where my hope lies.

easier said than done...for sure.

but the promise of a tree of life is so captivating {especially in contrast to a sick heart} that it's worth trying. it's worth pursuing. it's worth desiring.

tuesday tunes - the alternate routes.

2009-09-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

today's tuesday tune is the band the alternate routes. this last spring, everywhere i turned somebody was talking about how awesome these guys are. they went on a tour with matt wertz, and annie decided they were her favorite band, and then i found out melissa was tour managing them. so i had to give them a listen.

and y'all, they were right...these guys are good.

i can't wait to see them live when they come to nashville on their fall tour next month. but until then, i'll keep their music in constant rotation in my itunes.

i'm a big fan of their debut album, good and reckless, and the most recent album a sucker's dream, is a close second. here's one of my favorites, "time is a runaway"...

{you can check out their latest video for the song "the future's nothing new" on youtube}

life's a beach.

2009-09-09T08:00:00.002-05:00

my parents have owned a condo here since 2000, and i'm so grateful for the opportunity i get each year to take a weekend, grab some girls, and head south to the white sandy beaches of florida's panhandle.
sure, there's the annual trip to the red bar (seriously the best crab cakes ever) and bud and alley's and all the cute shops in seaside.
but my favorite part about these trips is doing absolutely nothing. it's really the only time i let myself not live by a schedule.

i fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore 20 floors below, and wake as the warm sun peaks through my window. i savor a cup of coffee on the porch, reading, writing, and staring out into the distant sea of blue. i spend hours reading books, perched in a chair down by the water, as the breeze blows and the tide cools my feet. i enjoy conversation about life and love and dreams and doubts with the girls in my life that i love dearly, as we drink wine and watch the sunset.

but most of all... i rest. i take time to be quiet. and i let the worries and anxieties of tomorrow fall away. because i know it is there that i find strength and sanity. my prayer is that i'll learn to incorporate that same spirit into my everyday life, no matter where i am or what things "demand" my time. but man, it'd be a whole lot easier if i lived at the beach.

step one: find that sound machine i bought in high school and fall asleep to the waves tonight...

tuesday tunes - colbie caillat.

2009-09-08T22:30:00.004-05:00

so the last 2 tuesday tunes have been ladies who released albums a couple weeks ago. and there's one more to add to that list -- colbie caillat.
this girl can sing...and her songs are just so dang catchy.
despite "bubbly" being massively overplayed on the radio, colbie's debut album, coco, was a fantastic record that constantly played in my office. (did you know myspace can actually be credited for her initial success?) well, if the single "fallin for you" has anything to do with it, this sophomore album, breakthrough, looks to be the same way. (you can see the "fallin for you" video here)

in between albums, colbie had a guest appearance with jason mraz in his song "lucky"...

tuesday tunes - ingrid michaelson

2009-09-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

not only was last tuesday the release of imogen's new album, but also a whole slew of great new music that i'll keep coming back to...

ingrid michaelson is one. does she sound familiar? i blogged about her back in march....or you maybe remember a certain old navy commercial that played circa christmas 2007...

her last 2 albums, be ok and girls and boys, have been in regular rotation in my itunes, so i have a feeling the new album, everybody, will be, too. ingrid has a unique voice and a gift of taking random lyrics and combining them into a spunky little song that can't help but stay in your head. {side note: "winter song" - ingrid's duet with sara bareilles, is my favorite christmas song that i love to play all year long!!}

i've seen ingrid perform live, too, and she's super fun (and quirky). she's on tour this fall supporting the album, so check her out if she comes to your city!

i'll leave you with the video for "the way i am" (the song that was used in that old navy commercial)