Thursday, October 29, 2009

Music, the fabric of our Lives

Music, the fabric of our lives. Have you ever thought about how true that statement is? Whether you consider yourself a music lover or not there is no denying the fact that music holds a special place in our hearts and memories. I let my itunes play on random tonight and with each new song came a memory or experience from the past. For me, most significant events in my life have music or a certain song tied to them. While you may not even realize it's happening at the time, when you hear the song later on it triggers a trip down memory lane. How dull would life be without music to provide a soundtrack to it? Movies wouldn't be the same, or how about a first dance? That wouldn't even exist. Just sitting her thinking about it several memories and the songs that go with them spring to mind. Every time I hear Bruce Hornsby or Bob Seeger I think of long van rides to Arkansas, Texas, and even California with my family. When I hear "Now to HIm" by Acappella I think of church banquets of so long ago. When I hear Stephen Speaks I think of the summer before I went to College and when I hear "Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe I think of the summer of '97 when my sister was an intern in St. Louis, that song played on the radio all the time that summer. When I hear "Out of my head" by Fastball I think of riding in the van on a mission trip, I requested that song so much I think Isaac Waters was ready to kill me. When I hear Cartel I think of Spring Break senior year and when I hear "This Love" I think of my roommate and sophomore year. When I hear "I have and always will" I think of one of my dearest friends. Of course the list could go on and on. So for anyone out there reading this, I am curious about your experiences, what music brings back memories for you? Do tell......

Friday, October 23, 2009

Dracula, Edward Cullen and the Like

Its been a month since my last post, an eternity in blogger world. What little readership I had has almost certainly dissipated in that amount of time, but never the less I push on. I am going to blame my long hiatus on the adjustment period of my new job and the hours it requires. But now Im all settled in and out of excuses. I'll start off with this question, have you ever wondered what its like to be a vampire? Well, if you'd like to know I can answer as far as the no sunlight coming out at night thing. You'll have to ask someone else about the bloodsucking/immortal part of it. As of yet that is beyond my experience. But seriously I really feel that I can now empathize with vampires, why they're always sneaking into people's houses, forcing themselves upon people. It can be a lonely existence, coming out only at night. If I am lucky on my days off, one or two of my friends will stay up somewhat late and hang out with me, before they succumb to weariness and head for bed, leaving me with several hours to kill alone, whether I want to be or not. It has been humbling at times, realizing how much I depend upon other people, for support, companionship, comfort and entertainment. When everyone you know is asleep the world can become a small place. While that can be the case, you'd be surprised to know there are advantages to being a creature of the night. I have learned to take advantage of the quiet hours of the night, to reflect and be quiet, to listen to what the Lord has to say. I have talked with God more these past few weeks than I had in a long time. There is not nearly as much to distract a person at night, nobody trying to get a hold of you, no place you just have to be, and sleep not a problem because hell, you just woke up. Another thing I've learned to love are sunrises. I never had an appreciation for them in the past as they usually came long before I was ready to be awake. But that's not the case these days and there is something incredible about the sunrise. The gradual lightening of the sky just before the sun breaks the horizon is the part I love most. I recommend experiencing a sunrise like this, after being awake for a while, they are much better when you're not having to wipe the sleep out of your eyes first.