From Inmates to Playdates

Posts Tagged ‘Christ’

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

As I sang along with Selah in my van yesterday, (without kids, mind you!) I found myself singing this song. A song that I have sang hundreds of time in church. Yesterday though, the words struck a chord with me. I stopped singing and really listened to the words. After the song was over, I was still thinking about its words. I’ve had something on my heart for the past ten days or so and I’ve prayed and cried out to Jesus, but feel like my prayers are not being heard.

Or answered for that mattered.

I replayed the song and as I listened to the words of this song, I asked myself do I REALLY? Surrender All?

I mean, I DO pray.

And I DO try not to worry. (I’ve made huge strides here with Jesus’ help, but I’ve got a ways to go!)

And I DO want to surrender it all.

Sometimes I feel like Jesus needs my help in solving a problem or answering a prayer. You know, because HE IS so busy and all.

Sound familiar? Or, am I standing alone in this line?

Ten years ago, I worried myself silly over stupid things that I had absolutely zero control over. I’ve really come a long, long way, but sometimes I feel like I’m standing back there on that road again, all alone worrying myself about some of those same things I worried about before Jesus got a hold of me and shook me real hard and reminded of the scripture in Matthew 6:27 that says, Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Worry is not from the Lord.

It is, in fact, sin.

Worry creeps up and it creeps in and before you know it, your mind and your thoughts are no longer centered on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). They are centered on what you can do to take care of the problem, fix the situation, or change the way people think. Instead, we need to look toward Christ.

Matthew 6:34 says, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Man, that is so true.

Both of the verses in Matthew really speak to me. Especially at a time in my life when I shouldn’t concern myself or worry about things that I cannot change. I am 36 years old, and still, I worry.

I need to make some obvious changed. I need to pray a little longer and work a little harder to eliminate the worry from my life. In other words, I need to SURRENDER ALL OF IT. 

ALL of the worry and ALL of the strife.

And that’s my fresh start for this year.

All to thee, my blessed Savior!

I really DO surrender all!

—–

If you’d like to read more posts from those participating in the Fresh Year, Fresh Start series, you can visit Kristi at Run the Earth, Watch the Sky.

2009 was a tough year for me.

Ten days into the year, a good friend of mine lost his life in a head-on collision. Three weeks later, the McFamily embarked on a six-month journey that would test my emotional stability limits.

So yeah, it started out rough. In fact, just thinking about it is making me tired. (Brace yourselves people, this could get lengthy!)

*************

After a three-hour ski lesson during our annual McFamily ski trip, Stevie hit the slopes with McDaddy.

NBA hopeful, Stevie learned a few things on the court this year. (he is the one with his arms up in the air and his eyes closed!)

Instead of eating M&Ms, our boys were counting them. 185 M&Ms in each of three bowls. The boys (and their daddy) would eat one everyday signifying that another day of deployment was OVER.

On a cold, snowy January morning in Charleston, WV, the WV Air National Guard Engineering Squadron headed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a six-month sentence deployment.

After six years of supporting the Huggies Empire with two boys (and a really long run at potty training with the youngest), the McFamily is finally finished with diapers.

Hallelujah. And Amen.

The McFamily is thankful for SKYPE and the web-cam which allowed them to be in contact almost daily with Daddy.

Truly, a blessed girl! Mother’s Day – 2009 

After a failed attempt at visiting McDaddy, finally, the boys and I boarded a military rotator plane in Baltimore in route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Pictured here at the Baltimore Airport, the local time was 4:10 am.

After 108 days (and a search by some pretty alert drug dogs), the McBoys are reunited with McDaddy at the GTMO airport.

U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay is the oldest U.S. base overseas and the only one in a Communist country. Located on the southeast corner of Cuba, the base is about 400 air miles from Miami, Florida. The terrain and climate of Guantanamo Bay make it a haven for iguanas and banana rats.

Thanks to a cheap flight, the boys and I headed North to visit McDaddy’s sister and her family. The boys enjoyed two weeks with their cousins.

After months of whining and begging, I screamed with delight as I opened my anniversary gift from McDaddy.

Hello, My Precious!

After a very l-o-n-g six-months, our boys made welcome home posters for McDaddy’s return.

While in church one evening, Stevie began to cry as he asked questions about salvation. An hour or so later, while talking to McDaddy on the web-cam, he made the decision to ask Jesus into his heart. His daddy and I were so proud and so happy that he made the decision to worship and live for Jesus.

With tears in my eyes, I watched as McDaddy’s plane arrived from Cuba.

Shortly after, The McFamily headed out in their Summer home camper and did not return for two weeks.

And if by some chance, y’all are still reading, bless your souls.

After seven years of constant mothering and homemaking, I found myself wondering what in the heck I would do with myself 2.5 hours a day, three days each week, while my sweet Alex attends Pre-School.

My favorite Superheroes!

Alex turns 1,460 days (give or take a day because y’all know that my math skills stink!)

The newest Jimmie Johnson fan celebrates his seventh birthday vowing that seven will make him stronger and faster.

And finally, (after this extremely long post) the McFamily celebrates Christmas.

Head over (if you haven’t abandoned this post) to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more You Capture – Favorite Picture posts.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  

1 Peter 2:9 

Who am I?

That the Lord of all the Earth

Would care to know my name,

Would care to feel my hurt.

Who am I?

That the bright and morning star,

Would choose to light the way,

For my ever wandering heart, Not because of who I am,

But because of what you’ve done,

Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow,

A wave tossed in the ocean,

A vapor in the wind,

Still you hear me when I’m calling, Lord you catch me when I’m falling,

And you’ve told me who I am.

I am yours. I am yours.

Who am I?

That the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love

And watch me rise again.

Who am I?

That the voice that calmed the sea,

Would call out through the rain,

And calm the storm in me.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
‘Cause I am yours.
I am yours.

 To hear Casting Crowns sing their song, click here.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9

On Sunday, we learned that a little boy in Stevie’s first grade class most likely had leukemia.

Heartbroken at the news that a little boy who has been a part of my son’s life for the past four years was seriously ill, I prayed that God would heal his body and be with his family as they started down a lengthy, heartbreaking road. In a split second, (or in the time it took to render a diagnosis) the course of this little boy’s life was changed.

The next day, we learned that it most likely was not leukemia, but a problem with his body absorbing sodium. Whatever the case may be with this little guy, I have carried a heavy heart for them since I heard the news. I will continue to pray that the Doctor’s can locate the cause of the problem and that it can be corrected.

I will also continue to count my blessings for two healthy children. In a split second, that could change.

A while ago, our family attended a program in the auditorium of our local high school. Before the program began, our two-year-old-spit-fire, Alex was playing on the bleachers in the auditorium. In a split second, he toppled head first down the bleachers and landed in the next row on his head. As he fell, I noticed his neck was bent and it appeared as though it might have snapped.

For a split second, my heart stopped. Fortunately, this particular spit-fire is one tough cookie and so he was fine after about five seconds of top-of-his-lungs-wailing. I was sitting just a few feet from him, but, I was completely helpless to stop the fall. A fall that happened in a split second.

That incident happened just days after Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter, Maria was struck in her driveway.

The day before that incident, while we were excitedly preparing for a fun day with our family, I received a call from my friend asking me to send a prayer request out to our church. A little boy, Davin, who was almost two years old, fell from an upstairs bedroom window. He was bleeding from his mouth and he was believed to have broken his neck. My family went on with our sweet, peaceful day. We enjoyed time with our families and the children enjoyed playing with each other. My children, who have never known war, or trauma, or distress, continued to play and enjoy their day.

In a split second, Davin’s life changed.

I simply can’t imagine what the Chapman’s went through after the death of their five-year old. Or, what Davin’s family faced after his fall (he recovered completely by the way!)  Their hearts are most likely filled with regret, desperation and terror. My heart hurts when I hear about children in tragic, life-threatening circumstances.

By the grace of God, we have not endured any of these tragedies. I am typically on edge when it comes to the safety of my children, yet, in a split second their lives can change. And, as was the case at the high school, I was right there. Within feet of the fall. So very often, we as parents, make mistakes. Most of those mistakes only result in close calls. At any given time, however, those incidents can leave us drastically changed. As a parent, charged with the safety and well-being of  my sweet boys, I try to be on guard every minute of the day. An error in judgement or brief distraction can result in tragedy.

Scripture tells us we will have trouble and heartache in this world. Some will have more trouble and heartache than others. Still, I believe in the Sovereignty of God and believe in His word. While I can hardly wrap my mind around the heartache and despair faced by the Chapman’s,  I take a deep breath and trust in my God. I am so very thankful that they are His and that He watches over them daily. 

A split second can change your life.

Recently, my URL friend, Darcie (Such The Spot), wrote a post about how a few seconds changed her life. Thankfully, her sweet son Jayce is okay, but we could all learn something from her post about aquatic awareness.

Today, I am thankful that the God of the wind and the sea watches over my fellas and me!

So, it’s time for another thirteen of something.

McDaddy is home this evening and we’re watching Grey’s Anatomy. Did I mention that Grey’s Anatomy is a great show? Because it is. It really is.

Today, I thought we’d consult Google for some help with today’s Thursday Thirteen.

So, in the words of Simon Cowell, off we go! (Grrr, I can’t make the blue or the underline go away! Sorry!)

1. Southfield, Michigan arrived from google.com on “Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things Stevie learned in Kindergarten” by searching for Ten Things you learned in Kindergarten.

• Hello, Southfield. The good news is that I’m sure I learned more than 10 things in Kindergarten. The bad news is that I can’t remember one thing I learned in Kindergarten except that I enjoyed talking. I know that because my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Richardson reminded me of it every. single. day. of my kindergarten career.

2. Hobbs, New Mexico arrived from search.yahoo.com on “Longaberger” by searching for wife +swarping.

• Welcome Hobbs! I thought I was the only red-neck in the world that used the world swarping. Not sure what context you meant by searching for wife swarping, but in our house it means that I’m more than likely in an agitated state and I’m cleaning. When swarping, I am probably doing the “sigh thing” to let the male members of this household know that I’d appreciate some help. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Swarping!

3. Pleasant Grove, Alabama arrived from bing.com on “Deployment” by searching for sample counseling letter floors not swept, vacumned and mopped.

• Howdy, Pleasant Grove, Alabama, I’m so glad you are here. If you are counseling people on their floors not being swept, vacuumed and mopped, I’m afraid you’d stay pretty busy around the McResidence. I’m pretty sure my floors could use all of the above at this very minute. Only instead of spreading my fabulosity doing my floors, I’m sitting on my sorry behind blogging like made to get this post cranked out before bedtime. The good news is that the floors aren’t going anywhere so there is always tomorrow!

4. Maryland Heights, Missouri arrived from ask.com on “What I Learned At The Funeral Home” by searching for Embalming a Human Body.

• Wow Maryland Heights, I thought I was the only one interested in watching an embalming. Can I just say that it was quite an experience to watch. And if you get all freaked out by blood and guts then you probably shouldn’t plan on watching an embalming any time soon. However, if you are a freak little different like me, watching an embalming will be quite the experience. Let me know how that goes for you, would ya?

5. Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “The Stupid Deployment – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for irobot roomba erratic behavior.

• Hello Beaver Falls, welcome to From Inmates To Playdates! If you are still experiencing erratic behavior, you might try taking the bottom compartments off, cleaning the dust, hair and debris from the wheels and such and then try running it again. If that doesn’t help, it’s possible you might have a feather or small object stuck in the wheel well. If the roomba is still acting crazy, you’ll have to visit google again. Hope that helps!

6. Madrid arrived from google.com on “Letters To Crazy People – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for letters from crazy people.

• What ‘s up Madrid? How are things in your neck of the woods? Can I just say that there is plenty of crazy to go around. To crazy people and any other person you can think of. Shoot, for all I know, you’re crazy! And if you are, I say welcome! Come in and have a seat!!! I suspect you and I will get along fabulously!

7. Portland, Oregon arrived from google.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for wet t shirt contests.

• Howdy Portland! Um, I have no idea why you are searching for wet t shirt contests, but I say party on!

8. Flossmoor, Illinois arrived from google.com on “What I Learned At The Funeral Home” by searching for tell me about the first time you watched someone be embalmed.

• Oh Flossmoor, I could tell you all kinds of stuff. I didn’t get into a whole lot of detail, but I will say that it was something that stuck in my head for weeks after watching the embalming.

9. Fort George G Meade, Maryland arrived from google.com on “Christ” by searching for Youtube Standing On The Promises-Medley By Selah .

• Welcome Fort Meade! I am so glad you are here! And Selah is one of my favorite groups! I hope you will take a second to listen to Selah’s Precious Lord and Just a Closer Walk With Me medly. It is fabulous!

10. Birmingham, Alabama arrived from bing.com on “What I Learned In Prison” by searching for how to make christmas ornaments out of fishing bobbers.

• What’s up? Birmingham? Um, I’m pretty sure that I did not learn how to make Christmas ornaments out of fishing bobbers when I was in prison, but hopefully you found something here at Inmates To Playdates that helped you out. And by the way, I would love to see a picture of your fishing bobber Christmas ornaments. We have some friends who would adore them! Oh, and if you’re new here, you should know that I wasn’t really in prison, I toured a prison gift-shop and bought a Christmas ornament which explains how you got here by searching for prison and christmas ornament.

11. Ames, Iowa arrived from google.com on “The Love Dare” by searching for does anyone think the love dare has helped their marriage.

• Hello Ames, Iowa, I’m glad you’re here! If you are thinking of doing the Love Dare, I would encourage you to DO IT! Whether you are experiencing trouble in your marriage or not, I think it can be helpful. It is a great book and I am learning more about myself than I am about McDaddy.

12. Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen arrived from google.de on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for wet shirt contest “*.jpg”.

• Hello, Koln, Nordrhien-Westfalen or should I just say Germany? I’m happy that you’ve happened upon From Inmates To Playdates, however, I suspect if you’re looking for a wet shirt contest jpg, you didn’t stick around very long. I had to admit that I chuckled when I was your Google Search happen through my feedjit window. I get about eight or ten hits a day on my wet t-shirt post, however, you are the first that added the jpg tag in your search! This post is proof that a good blog title can send some bloggy traffic your way!

13. Bradford, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for what would you think if your wife entered a wet tee shirt contest.

• W0w, Bradford PA, what is it with you folks searching for wet t-shirt contest stuff? Um, I can’t speak for others but McDaddy would probably welcome me in a wet t-shirt. He probably wouldn’t take too kindly to me entering a contest (ahem!) but I’m guessing he might think it was pretty cool. No worries though. Me and the girls like to stay dry and warm, so a wet t-shirt is probably out of the question.

Okay, that’s a wrap for another week of Thursday Thirteen. Sadly, I COULD HAVE shared 13 people who found me by searching for the wet t-shirt. There’s a lot of them out there, folks! 

And chances are they aren’t playing a game at a Ladies Retreat.

Thanks to all of you who stop by here daily and those of you who come through the front door courtesy of Google!

When I read that this week’s You Capture Challenge was Sunrise/Sunsets, I chuckled.

I chuckled because I try not to make it a habit of being awake early enough to watch the sun rise.

So, with one strike against me because of my inability to function at O Dark Thirty, I would do my best to shoot the sun as it set.

Here’s what I came up with this week….

I shot this picture as I was dropping Alex off at pre-school one morning. I don’t think it was a sunrise because it was almost 9am, but I knew my chances of capturing the sun this week would be slim, so I captured it!

I shot this one from my back deck one evening. I was thrilled with the colors. Around 5pm every evening, this is the scene that we see. God’s handiwork is amazing. [McDaddy, I know you hate the arbitrary use of the word amazing, but in this case, I think it is fitting!]

I took this picture in May when McDaddy was deployed at Guantanamo Bay. Since I didn’t have very many sun pictures this week, I wanted to include this one. It is one of my favorite pictures from our time in Cuba. It was as if God smiled down on us as we stood on Glass Beach.

Kinda makes me wish I was at the beach.

Enjoy your Thursday, y’all!

Be sure to visit I Should Be Folding Laundry for more sunrise/sunset pictures.

You may or may not have seen this movie with Kirk Cameron.

Remember Kirk Cameron? From Growing Pains?

Well, Mike Seaver is all grown up and now and he starred in the movie Fireproof as Caleb Holt. A married fireman in Albany, Georgia, Holt firmly keeps the cardinal rule of all firemen, “Never leave your partner behind.” But Caleb’s home life is an altogether different story; his seven-year marriage to his wife, Catherine is on the verge of implosion. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces. Throughout the movie, Caleb leans on his dad for advice and ultimately accepts a challenge from his dad before giving up on his marriage completely. The Challenge is The [40 day] Love Dare.

Through the guidance of The Love Dare, and as a result of his new commitment to Christ, Caleb begins to understand the importance of marriage and sacrifice. Each day for 40 days, Caleb is challenged to recommit and reconnect with his wife even though his efforts are rejected, rejected and rejected some more. Throughout the dare, Catherine’s heart is opened to his efforts and she begins to slowly reconnect with Caleb.

Ultimately, Catherine begins to understand that Caleb really wants to save their marriage and is truly committed to her and the movie ends with the two of them recommitting their lives to one another within the bounds of a Christian marriage.

Three weeks ago, our Sunday School Class began The Love Dare.

Currently, we are on Day 16 which says….

Begin praying today for your spouse’s heart. Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your spouse’s life and in your marriage.

Thankfully, McDaddy and I are not experiencing trouble in our marriage. Still, it has proven to be a valuable resource for me. Often, I am selfish and needy. I also can be ungrateful and selfish.

Selfish?

Yes, I said it twice.

I’m just keeping it real.

The Love Dare has caused me to think about my motives, my thoughts, my actions and the things I say. It also makes me think about how I say them.

Am I at 100%

Nope.

But, I’m in a better place than I was 16 days ago.

I appreciate our Sunday School teacher for leading us on this journey. It has been thought provoking and has helped me gain a better understanding of the way McDaddy thinks. It has also reminded me how blessed I am to have a Christian marriage with a loving, Godly husband.

There are some tough lessons along the way.

Day 7- For today’s dare, get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a postive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

Day 5 – Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.

AHEM!

I thought it would be difficult for McDaddy to narrow this one down to just three things. Surprisingly, they were three minor things (a couple of which I already knew would be an aggravation!) As I made my list, I was almost ashamed to write my three things down. They seemed so trivial, I hated to even mention them to him. Still, we did the assignment and now I try to keep my van clear of clutter and debris. Notice I said, TRY!

Day 13 - Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of engagement. If your mate is not ready for this, then write out your own personal rules to “fight” by. Resolve to abide by them when the next disagreement occurs.

This one was tough, because McDaddy doesn’t necessarily fight. Still, I made some rules of my own and hopefully, I’ll abide by them when the time comes.

It’s not always been easy, but The Love Dare is working for us!

—–

This post is linked to Kristen’s Work For Me Wednesday Carnival over at We Are THAT Family!

Well, if that title doesn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what will.

I’ll let y’all know how many visitors stop by Inmates via Google for searching for something to do with a wet t-shirt. I suspect there will be plenty. More on the wet t-shirt contest in a bit.

Last week, I mentioned I was attending a ladies retreat. Fifteen women from my church (and one visitor) enjoyed a weekend of food, fun, and fellowship. Oh, and did I mention food?

It is interesting to note that the retreat started at 5:00 pm on Friday and ended at 5:00 pm on Saturday.

Did I mention there was fun, fellowship and FOOD?

Oh internets.

We ate and laughed and ate some more. We talked into the wee hours of the night about fashion, shoes, our kids, the new cherry Dr. Pepper, and Deb’s yummy no-bake cookies.

The theme was “Garden of Friends” and everything was centered around flowers. Our retreat was based on this book by Penny Pierce Rose. Basically, each presenter was assigned a flower and we presented the flower based on its characteristics and related them to friends in our “garden of friends.”

I was assigned the sunflower. I love sunflowers. I have them all over my kitchen. I love sunflowers both for their size and their color. There are three characteristics of a sunflower. They stand strong, they seek the sun (Son), and they sow seed. In my garden of friends, I have several sunflowers. McDaddy is a sunflower.

As each flower was presented, we were to think about the qualities of the flower and write the names of friends in our “garden” that had the same qualities of the flower being presented. After each presentation we placed the post-it notes bearing the names of our friends on the flower that they represented.

As you can see, we have lots of Violet friends. Characteristics of the violet are humble, unselfish, go out of their way for others and often work behind the scenes. McDaddy is also a violet. (He is a great friend to have!) 

We also made these cute candle holders / coaster / whatever you want to use them for things.

We also made a picture frame, but for some reason I didn’t get a picture of those.

Anytime we have a shin-dig, I am in charge of games and entertainment.

I could just sit and read my blog to them, but I’m guessin’ that would get old. So, I try to real hard to come up with some great games and some great prizes.

The first ice-breaker we played involved those a snack pack of M&Ms. Each lady opened their snack pack and had to answer a number of questions based on the color of M&Ms that were in their pack.

Red = tell 1 fact about your childhood per red candy

Green = tell 1 fact about one of your hobbies

Blue = tell 1 fact about one of your job

Yellow = tell 1 fact about your dreams and aspirations

Brown = tell 1 fact about your last vacation

Orange = tell about something you like to do

It was a fun way to learn about each girl and as you can see from my snack pack, there were 18 M&Ms in the pack. It took a sweet forever for fifteen girls to get through 18 or so M&Ms.

After we went back to the “lodge” for the evening, we played a couple more games and then I made a grand announcement.

We were having a wet t-shirt contest.

Instructions – fold a t-shirt and place it in a ziplock bag. Fill the ziplock bag full of water smoothing the air out as you go. Repeat with a different t-shirt in a different ziplock bag. Freeze both ziplock bags. Remove the ziplock bags and announce that you are having a wet t-shirt contest. The first team to thaw their shirt and wear it wins.

First, you can try running warm water over it. 

 Just for fun, you might try cracking the ice on the side-walk.

Next, pull like crazy! 

Finally, wear it!

It was loads of cold fun!

Like I said, there was food, fellowship and lots of fun!

 My Favorite Song.

I’d Need A Savior – by Among The Thirsty

Have a great Sunday, y’all!

Welcome to another edition of Thursday Thirteen.

This week, I thought it might be fun to share some of the songs on my beloved iPod. (I just realized I use the word beloved a LOT here on the blog. I’ll try to watch that in the future.) If you have the time to waste, you should totally go check out these songs on iTunes, You Tube or any other method you can think of.

For those of you who don’t know about the awesomeness of the iPhone, can I just say that it. is awesome. I knew it was awesome the second I took it out of the box and swiped my finger across the screen. Then, I found the TOOBZ app, the tip app and the iPod. Folks, I had no idea it was also an iPod. After I played with it for about 19 days, I figured out that yes, indeed, I could probably figure this thing out and yes indeed, it is even more awesome than what I first thought.

I say all that to say, the title up there should say “Random songs on my iPhone.”

I didn’t mean to go and get all technical on you. I just thought I needed to keep it real. Not to mention I like saying ‘keep it real!’

I’ve often compared my blog to a bag of trial mix. You never know if you’ll get the big, nasty, oblong nut or the few and far between M&M.

My iPod is pretty similar to that, although I do like all the songs on the playlist, there are some I enjoy more than others. It’s a pretty eclectic mix.

Okay, off we go.

I’m am shuffling the 287 songs as I type this….

1. AMAZING GRACE by Selah- First can I just say if you have never listened to Selah, by all means you go out on the world wide web and find a song by them right this very second. I’ll wait right here on ya. They actually have a blog where you can find a sample of their new album, You Deliver Me which happens to be where I am right now. (BTW – I love Standing On The Promises!)

I first heard Selah at a funeral for a dear friend of mine. They played Just a Closer Walk With Thee by Selah and I was immediately moved by their version. It quickly became one of my favorite songs. I downloaded Amazing Grace shortly after that. Love, love, love this song.

2. NASTY by Janet Jackson- Flashback from the 80′s. This song reminds me of my years in Junior High. I twirled a baton many a time to Nasty. Those Jacksons sure know how to do some music.

3. TAKE YOU BACK by Jeremy Camp – My absolute favorite song (maybe of all time) from Jeremy Camp is There Will Be A Day. My 2nd favorite song of his is Take You Back. It is a wonderful reminder that no matter what He will always TAKE US BACK.

4. EMOTIONS by Mariah Carey- I love anything by Mariah Carey. Her range is unmatched by most and the 107 hits she had in the 90′s could be best described as the bomb. (Am I too old to say ‘the bomb?’) She has an amazing set of pipes.

5. I’LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU by Boyz II Men – Those boys can sang. I still love them even after all these years. Remember the way those 4 Philly boys wore matching clothes and that one guy wore the sunglasses and they sometimes wore hats. I think they made a come-back but I heard something about one of them being ill, so they cameback as a trio instead of a quartet. I spent a many a night on the phone with McDaddy with BoyzII Men singing soulfully in the background reminding me of why I loved being in love.

6. YOUR EYES DON’T LIE  by David Archuleta- I’m not sure if this song has ever been released (I typically listen to KLOVE in my van) but I LOVE this song. It has such a great beat and it makes me dance. Oh, and did I mention that I loved David Archuleta. I still say he got cheated on American Idol. It’s not that I didn’t like David Cook. I did like him and I thought he was very talented, its just that I voted for cutie David Archuleta from the beginning. This song makes me happy.

7. I’LL BE MISSING YOU  by Puff Daddy (Tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.)  - Wow. This song brings back some memories too. Not because I was a big fan of Notorious B.I.G. but because I just really liked this song. It now reminds me of  someone else I miss a whole lot.

8. REDEEMER – Nicole C. Mullen – Two words. Power. House. This song is so moving. I actually saw Nicole perform this song in person at a Women of Faith conference. I guess the whole ’I actually saw Nicole’ makes it seem as if we go to Starbucks together before hitting the mall. The truth is, I was one woman in a group of about 12,000, so yeah, me and Nicole are pretty tight. Anyway, I was so moved by the lyrics. This song makes me want to praise Him right where I am.

9. LOVE SONG – Sara Barelilles – Such a cute song with a great beat. A great be-bop song for cleaning or trudging through some mundane task.

10. CALL MY NAME – Third Day – The lead singer from Third Day has a raspy voice that I love. You can’t go wrong with a Third Day song.

11. I CAN LOVE YOU LIKE THAT – All-4-One- Awww, I remember this song. It brings back so many memories of my college days. Me and McDaddy were madly in love at that time and so this song reminds me of him.

12. OH HAPPY DAY - BeBe Winans - This song starts out kinda slow but if you give it about 28 seconds it will break into an all out party. This song makes me dance like a crazy person. It’s a great song with a great message with a great beat. I wish this blog had some audio on it.

13. REMEMBER THE TIME – Kris Allen – (Not to be confused with Remember The Time by Michael Jackson). Sweet mercy, I have missed Kris Allen. This was one of his best American Idol songs. I cannot wait until his album comes out. And, I also can’t wait for the next season of AI. Is it January yet? Seriously, this cat is super talented and this is one of my favorite Idol songs to come out of last season.

Wow, this was so much fun. Let’s shake it up and do one more.

14. (I’ve Had) THE TIME OF MY LIFE – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner – Seriously, what are the chances of this song coming up on thisday? Dirty Dancing is my all-time favorite movie. I have watched that final scene about 4,732 times and am pretty sure I could pull it off if asked to. Triple love this song. R.I.P. Patrick Swayze – thanks for the memories, man.

It is interesting to note that Mariah Carey came up on four different occasions. Open Arms, I’ve Been Thinking About You, and Forever were skipped over because I had a one-song-per-artist-limit. And yes, that rule is perfectly allowable because this is my blog andmy rules. I just found it odd that out of 287 songs, Mariah Carey came up that many times. It is also interesting to note that somehow every single Casting Crowns song on my iPod somehow got removed. Sadly, I removed them from iTunes, so that means I need to track down McDaddy’s collection of CDs and put them back on the iPod. Sheesh, I can be dangerous with a gadget.

Enjoy your Thursday, y’all.