Shine On, The Kooks

Safety pins holding up the things
That make you mine
About your hair, you needn't care,
You look beautiful all the time.

Shine, shine, shine on
Yes
Wont you shine, shine on

Your magazines, at people at the seams
But you still read I must admit, I don't believe in it
But I see how you get sucked in

Shine, shine, shine on
Yes
Wont you shine, shine on (Sha la la la)
Shine, shine, shine on
Yes
Wont you shine, shine on
Because your not done

Why do you buy the hand that feeds you
Why do you
Why do you buy the hand that feeds...you!

Shine, shine, shine on
Yes
Wont you shine, shine on (Sha la la la)
Shine, shine, shine on
Yes
Wont you shine, shine on

Safety pins holding up the things
That make you mine
About your hair, you needn't care
You look beautiful all the time

Sieze the Day

Sometimes it's really hard to force yourself to study. Like, when you know it's your life in your hands and you will regret skipping later, you still decide to watch tv or play Rock Band (that may just be me) instead of reading or writing a paper. Then, once it's too late and you have your other pre-set appointments to fulfill, you get mad at yourself for screwing around and procrastinating.

I hate that because it ruins the rest of my day. It's my fault, I know, but I still hate the feeling. I know I'll feel like crap after the fact, but I still slack off! Poop...

Maybe that's how sin works? We tell ourselves everyday that we are giving ourselves over to God to be used completely, no matter what happens. We have this idea of a perfect day when we follow Christ, but that's never been our promise. Actually, we can usually expect a day filled with attacks from Satan and his army when we are faithfully pursuing Christ. And so, when a hard time comes along; a coworker upsets us; we hurt our ankle and let out a little curse; we hit a squirrel with our car; or we get stuck in a rainstorm in standstill traffic on our way home, we get mad at ourselves and forget about our well-intentioned, utopian idea of holding onto God.

Now, I know we aren't perfect. Far from it. But we are called to pursue that perfection, and when we fall short we should try that much harder. Guilt is not something God gives us to say "you're fault, not mine! You should've tried harder." No! He embraces us for who we are: dirty, ugly, imperfect, sometimes stupid humans that are so blessed with the grace of God that it's unfathomable. Beautiful and harsh at the same time.

So, whether it be in our walks or our books, let's pursue perfection. Stop putting so much blame on yourself and instead view it as a learning experience when we mess up. No more spiritual procrastination. CARPE DIEM!

Home Away From Home

The icy cold breeze runs past my legs as I walk into the warm, inviting island of peace that is Starbucks. In search of that ether of life, the warming, bitter drink that can warm a man to the bones, I walk to the counter and a woman with an friendly smile. No one else is around as I look up at the menu. Wondering which drink would tickle my fancy, I pick cautiously because the wrong drink, as everyone knows, has the potential to ruin even the most lively of days.

I tell the friendly woman what I would like, parting sadly with my money, but looking forward to gaining so much more in return. What a great investment! I think to myself as she hands me the steaming cup of life, which I hurry over to my table to enjoy. I sit and wait for it to cool, for there is nothing worse than drinking a cup of steaming liquid, only to burn oneself and lose the taste from the rest of the cup.

Finally, I judge that the cup is ready. Holding it with two hands, almost as if the mug were my child, I brink the ether to my lips and sip. Ah! I think. As it hits my lips, I sigh in contentment. I let it linger on my tongue and swallow, warmth emanating first through my throat and then to rest of my body. Amazing! I say again to myself. How can something so small and seemingly unimportant bring with it such power and warmth?

As I continue to sip and enjoy my mug of happiness, people are coming in and out of the store. I look up occasionally, wondering if they feel the same as I do each time they drink from their cup. It doesn't matter though. I am happy, sitting at my table alone, save for the music, aroma, and taste of such a beautiful and comforting place. Lost in my cup and thoughts, I smile and lean back in my chair, looking around at my home away from home...

God, Our Personal Trainer

I did something today I had been meaning to do for a while...I went to the gym. For the past week I had been so busy with school, work, and school (yes, I meant to mention it twice), that I had no time to myself to do the things I so love doing. Working out happens to be one of those things. I love feeling my muscles tighten up as I think about the future of my washboard abs (oh wait, that was my dream). I love running on the machines and feeling all my problems and Twinkies sweat away. But most of all, I love the feeling of getting to the gym, because getting there is the hardest part. Walking into the building is a chore all its own.

Your brain is telling you to run, and I don't mean on a treadmill. It says "turn around now or else you'll regret it." And yes, sometimes you do. Your body feels fatigued and broken after a workout, but that's a good thing. It allows your body to build itself back up. I'm not sure if you know this, but when you do a physical activity, your muscles are using and "eating up" all the extra food and energy reserves you have. If you work out hard enough you begin to burn off so much that it outweighs how much you put into your body, and therein lies the beauty of weight loss.

Well, as your muscles literally break themselves down, there is more room to build them back up to a level greater than before. You take in protein, which adds strength to previously weak areas of your body. As time progresses, you usually see an outward difference in appearance and performance.

I gave you this long health lesson to portray an idea. Sometimes, in life, we go through rough spots. A lot of times these rough spots look like they are impossible to bypass or even trudge through. We see the impossibility of our circumstances, and like so many infants do, we plop onto our bums and start crying. We complain that this or that isn't fair, or this or that is too hard. We decide to stay put instead of going to the gym. The less we face our problems, just like the less we go to the gym, the less fit we get emotionally and spiritually.

God, being the loving Father he is, puts us through times in order to strengthen us, to build our spiritual muscles. Our circumstances break us down to the point that we have to go to him and say, "well, um, I kind of can't do this alone...can you help?" And again, as the loving Father, God comes in and shows us (trains us) in the ways to spiritual strength. As that happens people will see an outward change in us, not like bigger biceps and tighter glutes (although I welcome both). We will produce good fruit, a healthy relationship with Christ, and a love for others that overwhelms those who aren't saved.

It takes time, there is no doubt. And there are days when we just want to stay where we are and indulge in the delicious and fun ways of this world. But as God strengthens us spiritually, it gets a little easier. We will never be perfect (we all miss our days at the gym), but with God as our trainer, we can become great spiritual athletes and run the race well...all the way to the finish.

The Chronicles of a Student Nurse, 1.2

Today was our first big test in theory class, and man was it a doozy (sp?). I hadn't really studied much for it, which worried me a lot. I had done a few practice problems that were similar to the critical thinking ones that would be on the test, but other than that I think I had read three or four chapters out of a total of like 100 (ok, maybe it was 19. No seriously, it really was 19 chapters).

Anyways, it is needless to say that I was a little freaked and anxious. I knew that whatever score I got I was stuck with for the rest of the semester and couldn't shluff off any more. I got on campus plenty early and saw all my friends frantically cramming. Now, I need to say something here about test-day cram sessions.

Honestly, how much can it help? Say you studied 5 hours the night before, trying to cram as much information into your already crammed-full brain, drinking two or three cups of coffee, until you passed out on the couch from overload of info. You woke up and rushed to school, only to grab the exact same book with the exact same info that you had read 2 hours before (amount of sleep pending). I just don't see how looking over the stuff some more that didn't change over a night that has caused you to lose countless hours of sleep can help. Logic says it would hinder you.

I obviously didn't bring my book.

We were all uptight as could be, just wanting it to all be over. Most of us expected to fail even though we put on a happy face and told each other "I'm shooting for the A." Who knows how many people had already cried over the fact that this test , and the four or five following it, could make or break how far we made it in the program.

Now, it may seem like this whole thing is a complete over-exageration. But keep in mind that we were still in the dark. And the mind plays tricks on you in the dark, making you think things are a certain way, which they aren't, and making you see things you think are there, which they aren't. So, even though we may have had a chance to redeem ourselves on a later test, we were just seeing the current crisis and nothing more. Sound like our society at all? Maybe, maybe not...

...long story short, I passed along with the rest of my crew. We went to celebrate at Pei-Wei. The end (for now).

The Chronicles of a Student Nurse, 1.1

So, here we are, fourth week in. We had hospital orientation yesterday and all I can say is wow! Here's how it went down. I set my alarm for 4:45, allowing for a small 15-minute snooze button period. At five, I was up and out of bed, running mainly on fear and anxiety rather than the bowl of frosted flakes and glass of OJ. I donned my smurf-colored scrubs (don't even ask), and I was out the door at the earliest hour I remember ever being awake in my life.

There is an ethereal glow you can sense in those early morning hours. It might the mysterious glow of dawn about to come over the horizon, but I suspected it was from the bright moon shining through the clouds and the yellow street lights glancing off the swaying trees. As I got in my car I said a little prayer that went a little something like this: "God, don't let me fail. Please don't let me kill anyone (whether I'm doing something with the patient or not). Lord, don't let me cry in front of anyone. Give me strength. And, oh yeah, Jesus...don't let me look like an idiot. Amen."

I drove on the highway and made my exit no problem. After parking at the garage and hoping the fact that the ticket machine was out of order wouldn't stop me from getting out at the end of the day, I met two classmates and crossed the not-so-busy Harry Hines to the lobby where, miraculously, everyone made it on time. Our teacher asked us for our paperwork (which I had spent hours doing, quadruple-checking, and praying over so that I wouldn't forget anything), and I held my breath as I handed it to her. She scanned it, said "thank you"; I let out a quick whimper of thanksgiving, and that was the whole ordeal.

She gave us a quick tour of the hospital and told us we would be following around the PCAs for an hour and a half. Our group dropped off each pair one-by-one at our assigned floors and we said our goodbyes. We were dropped off second to last, and by that time the shift change was underway. Everyone was running around and, even though it looked like mass chaos, somehow everyone knew where they were going and what they had to do. My excuse and answer for the perpetual deer-in-the-headlights look these next two years is going to be, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm just a student." It sounds like a fool-proof plan to me...

After hours of conferences, a scarfed-down, yet completely savored, lunch, and 30 minutes of quick chart readings and assignments, we were done. As I left the hospital with a headache like I had never had before, blood-red eyes that I had to force to stay open due to lack of sleep, and a mind so crammed full of new information it was about to burst, I walked out with a look of triumph on my face. I smiled as I thought about how I survived my first day of many. But I'm not allowed to think of that right now. I told myself that if I wanted to survive...

...it would be one day at a time.

The Lark Ascending by George Meredith

HE rises and begins to round,

He drops the silver chain of sound

Of many links without a break,

In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake,

All intervolv’d and spreading wide,
5
Like water-dimples down a tide

Where ripple ripple overcurls

And eddy into eddy whirls;

A press of hurried notes that run

So fleet they scarce are more than one,
10
Yet changingly the trills repeat

And linger ringing while they fleet,

Sweet to the quick o’ the ear, and dear

To her beyond the handmaid ear,

Who sits beside our inner springs,
15
Too often dry for this he brings,

Which seems the very jet of earth

At sight of sun, her musci’s mirth,

As up he wings the spiral stair,

A song of light, and pierces air
20
With fountain ardor, fountain play,

To reach the shining tops of day,

And drink in everything discern’d

An ecstasy to music turn’d,

Impell’d by what his happy bill
25
Disperses; drinking, showering still,

Unthinking save that he may give

His voice the outlet, there to live

Renew’d in endless notes of glee,

So thirsty of his voice is he,
30
For all to hear and all to know

That he is joy, awake, aglow,

The tumult of the heart to hear

Through pureness filter’d crystal-clear,

And know the pleasure sprinkled bright
35
By simple singing of delight,

Shrill, irreflective, unrestrain’d,

Rapt, ringing, on the jet sustain’d

Without a break, without a fall,

Sweet-silvery, sheer lyrical,
40
Perennial, quavering up the chord

Like myriad dews of sunny sward

That trembling into fulness shine,

And sparkle dropping argentine;

Such wooing as the ear receives
45
From zephyr caught in choric leaves

Of aspens when their chattering net

Is flush’d to white with shivers wet;

And such the water-spirit’s chime

On mountain heights in morning’s prime,
50
Too freshly sweet to seem excess,

Too animate to need a stress;

But wider over many heads

The starry voice ascending spreads,

Awakening, as it waxes thin,
55
The best in us to him akin;

And every face to watch him rais’d,

Puts on the light of children prais’d,

So rich our human pleasure ripes

When sweetness on sincereness pipes,
60
Though nought be promis’d from the seas,

But only a soft-ruffling breeze

Sweep glittering on a still content,

Serenity in ravishment.


For singing till his heaven fills,
65
’T is love of earth that he instils,

And ever winging up and up,

Our valley is his golden cup,

And he the wine which overflows

To lift us with him as he goes:
70
The woods and brooks, the sheep and kine

He is, the hills, the human line,

The meadows green, the fallows brown,

The dreams of labor in the town;

He sings the sap, the quicken’d veins;
75
The wedding song of sun and rains

He is, the dance of children, thanks

Of sowers, shout of primrose-banks,

And eye of violets while they breathe;

All these the circling song will wreathe,
80
And you shall hear the herb and tree,

The better heart of men shall see,

Shall feel celestially, as long

As you crave nothing save the song.

Was never voice of ours could say
85
Our inmost in the sweetest way,

Like yonder voice aloft, and link

All hearers in the song they drink:

Our wisdom speaks from failing blood,

Our passion is too full in flood,
90
We want the key of his wild note

Of truthful in a tuneful throat,

The song seraphically free

Of taint of personality,

So pure that it salutes the suns
95
The voice of one for millions,

In whom the millions rejoice

For giving their one spirit voice.


Yet men have we, whom we revere,

Now names, and men still housing here,
100
Whose lives, by many a battle-dint

Defaced, and grinding wheels on flint,

Yield substance, though they sing not, sweet

For song our highest heaven to greet:

Whom heavenly singing gives us new,
105
Enspheres them brilliant in our blue,

From firmest base to farthest leap,

Because their love of Earth is deep,

And they are warriors in accord

With life to serve and pass reward,
110
So touching purest and so heard

In the brain’s reflex of yon bird;

Wherefore their soul in me, or mine,

Through self-forgetfulness divine,

In them, that song aloft maintains,
115
To fill the sky and thrill the plains

With showerings drawn from human stores,

As he to silence nearer soars,

Extends the world at wings and dome,

More spacious making more our home,
120
Till lost on his aërial rings

In light, and then the fancy sings.

Life 4.0

So, I've been so busy you don't understand. First was camp...amazing. So much stuff went down it's hard to remember every detail, but I'll try. A lot of things changed, our schedule got busier, and they tired us out a lot more quickly. I think I probably took like a nap everyday, like an old person. But hey, I understand why they do it now! Anyways, Kevin came back to preach and he was intense. I mean like cry every sermon, passion overflowing from every one of his veins. He hit us fast and hard and it was by far a no holds barred match up between us and God (in a good way).

The band was also amazing. It was their first time leading a camp, but they were amazing. I remember it was like the second day (maybe third) and they were playing through their set like normal. Before camp, I had been really apprehensive of letting God take a hold of me. I was convinced I didn't need help, that I had it going on...boy was I wrong.

You let your guard down at all when the Spirit is moving and BAM...it hits you hard. I can't explain it in a way to do it justice, and unless you are a Christian and have felt the Spirit moving you probably wouldn't understand, but this feeling was scary and happy and sad and exhilarating and tiring and everything you want in a personal experience with the Lord, the Creator of the universe.

As I listened to the band play on and stood in the midst of a hundred other students, all sound drowned out. It was like one of those sleeps when you are both aware and unaware of your surroundings. Even the music seemed dulled in comparison to the Lord's presence. I was performing for an audience of one, and even if everyone else sat down, I would have been standing. It was amazing to just stand in the Lord's presence, in awe of all the things He has done, is doing, and will do.

So, camp wrapped up and we all went our separate ways...that meant that Paul, JP, my dad, and I all headed out on our road trip. Again, so many things happened, but I really wanted to say one thing.

The Lord is good! Those words are really not enough (good Relient K song by the way) to explain how glorious and majestic our Father truly is. We got the chance to watch the sun set over the Grand Canyon, an oh what a sight to see! We sat on the edge as I read Job 38 and Psalm 104, fearing for the lives of my more courageous brothers, completely in awe of the Lord and His creation. I remember thinking "how could such an awesome God love such wretched creatures as us?" He doesn't need us, but He wants us. When we hate Him, He loves us. When we abandon Him, He is steadfast. There are no words to explain the magnitude and beauty of the Grand Canyon, just like there are not enough words to describe our Awesome God.

OK, so after (and even during) this major life experience, I was thinking about someone. This someone is very special to me, but I'm kind of confused about how. Is she special to me like a sister (she is one of my best friends), or is it more than that (I know that I am at least attracted to her)? We have known each other since we were semi-young, but it never really worked out to where we dated. I've liked her at points, and she's liked me at points (I think), but it just never worked out I guess.

So now, randomly I think, I have begun to wonder about my feelings for her. I know I don't want a serious relationship with her or anyone else right now because I need to focus on my nursing school, but I don't know how to go about the situation. I know we fight a lot, and I act like a complete idiot and jerk to her because I hate it when she talks about other guys and how she likes them (she has a right to, I know), and I know that jealousy has no place in a good relationship, but I don't know how to act around her. Recently I've done better, partly because we haven't seen each other, at keeping my mouth shut and letting her talk and just treating her like a friend, which she is. I don't know how to explain it all. I think she is so beautiful, she loves the Lord, she is hilarious, she has so many strong qualities, and she's kind of quirky, but I don't know if it goes past an infatuation into a liking, and if it does, how do I handle it? Girls stink...

[Deep breath] There you go. My life in a nutshell, written in a hasty 30 minutes' longing to go to bed. Whew, now I just have the rest of my life ahead of me...

For You

A picture of perfection is nowhere near perfect,
My reflection of you is so blatantly worthless,
How can I lie and say it doesn't matter...
When everytime I move, I commit murder?

It's over, I'm done, You finally won,
It's over, I'm through, I give it all to you.

My eyes are dry and I have nothing left.
These tears on my cheeks give away my distress.
How many times will it take me to realize...
Without you I'm nothing, take this weight off my chest.

It's over, I'm done, You finally won,
It's over, I'm through, I give it all to you.

My heart and my mind,
Are no longer mine.
This stone heart in my chest,
Is Yours till my last breath.
All struggle and strife,
My sad little life,
Is taken, now taken...

It's over, I'm done, You finally won,
It's over, I'm through, I give it all to you.
My Father, Your son, has finally won,
Now I know what to do...to live for You.

The Last Day, (Original)

I wrote this today in honor of no school. Summer is an easy subject to sing about because of all the emotions and memories tied to it. This is also inspired by Blink-182...

Last day of school is the very best,
Last day of school and some unrest.
We throw our papers in the sky,

Last day of school! Oh my, my, my!

It rained the start of summer, won’t
Go out to play, what a bummer, don’t
Go to the swimming pool just yet.
I can’t afford to get my hair wet.

Take a road trip with my bestest friends,
No one wants the fun to ever end.
Come home and sleep till one o’clock,
I think I might be out of clean socks.

Last day of summer really sucks,
Last day of summer with a hundred bucks.
We throw our last gigantic gig,
Last day of summer and we go out big!

Breathe, 5.19.08 (Original)

This is a much slower one. Very organic sounding. I was inspired by the soundtrack of Juno, if that helps. It is about being overwhelmed by the senses and our surroundings and just stopping to breathe...

The smell of leaves, the smell of smoke,
It gets so thick I might just choke.
The sight of ants, the sight of trees,
So natural I cannot breathe.
A gravel trail, heading back,
To the lake and railroad track.
A silver lamp, above my bed,
The fumes begin to fill my head…

…Breathe, just breathe.
Breathe, just breathe…

The wooden church, the wooden dock,
Let me in I’ll pick the lock.
The metal chair, the metal table,
If I try I might be able.
A steeple shoots, into the sky,
A lonely cloud has caught my eye.
A building looms, above the nest,
I’m getting dizzy need a rest.

…Breathe, just breathe.
Breathe, just breathe…

Moon Pies, 5.17.08 (Original)

Last night, at the party,

You came, a little tardy.

Not drunk, not high,

You had a moon pie.

Moon pies, made of chocolate,

Don't fit, in your pocket.

Moon pies, made of 'mellows,

Don't jiggle like jellow.

Monday, at the mall,

Your friend, was very tall.

He's cool, I know,

'Cuz he likes, snow cones.

Snow cones, made of ice,

Can be, very nice

Snow cones, made of juice,

My dad's name is Bruce...

I wish you could hear it sung. It's really funny! Kind of Blink-182 with a little Relient k. Oh, and by the way, my dad's name is not Bruce...

Falling or Flying, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Wake up lost again
Drove to the end of the road
And a red faced man
Taught us to do what were told

And on the 23rd night
Things ain’t bad
But things aint right

Are we falling or flying
Are we falling or flying
Are we living or dying
I guess we’ll never know

Air so heavy
It could drown a butterfly
If it flew too high

And I get the feeling
That the truck driver aint shy
Cuz he looking at me but no where near my eyes

On the 35th morning
Things aint good
But things aint boring

Striking rock or hitting gold

Sometimes its hard to tell If theres a life behind a song
But I know tomorrow
Today won’t feel so long
Alone

Cuz on the 42nd night
The room was dark
But the stage was bright

Cuz my friend this too shall pass
So play every show like its your last

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly), Sanctus Real

God, you're amazing! How you seem to know exactly what to say and when to say it! How you know what to do to make me feel like a million dollars, like I'm unstoppable in your presence! Amazing, purely amazing! Enough to completely drench me in your love, to knock me over like a waterfall. Enough to make me forget my past, and turn my future toward your design.

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see but
I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender... To...

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but
I believe You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something
Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something
Heavenly
Something
Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

10 Good Reasons, Hello Kelly; My Life's Purpose

Sitting in the cafeteria this morning between classes I had finally had it. My apathy had eaten me apart to the point of exhaustion, but more to the point of disgust with myself. I understood my predicament was merely a result of my sins, sins that had caused the death of my True Love, of my Father, and myself. I was reading Black by Ted Dekker last night and it talked about how our sins cause God to scream out in pain, not us, but God. It causes Him to feel pain every time we wrong him, every time we turn our back on him we crucify Christ on the cross again.

So, I was sick of my life as it was, as it never was meant to be. I wanted to stop killing Christ, to live a life that was holy and pleasing to him. I gave it all up and let Him take me, finally and forever.

I've heard this song before but never really understood the meaning until now, and it is verbatim what I needed to say to my Father for so long but never could. This song and this day helped me re-find my life's purpose.

This is the first thing I remember
I’ve seen black and white forever
But the mistakes I’ve made are making me afraid
That I might do something
Something that can’t be forgiven
So I’ve got this suit and tie
Something I can hide behind
And it feels like I’ve got give you

10 good reasons why
You still love me every time
10 good reasons
I deserve forgiveness every night
10 good reason why
You still love me when I
I ain't got no reason why

And I remember laying everything down
Only to turn around and sell you out
It’s like I’m laughing in your face for the sacrifice you made
But you’re breaking my defenses
And you’ll carry me when
It feels like I've got to give you

But this is everything I wanted:
To give you reasons I’m not
Everything you wanted
There’s blood on my hands
These 10 reasons I can’t give you
Is one more reason that I need you

I ain’t got no, I ain’t got no, I ain’t got no reasons why
I ain’t got no, I ain’t got no, got no reason why

Hollow, Wooden Contraptions

I can feel the vibrations of the strings under the calloused tips of my fingers. Pressing down with all my might, I try to make sure I leave no strings forgotten. Carefully tucking each away into its own special place, I treat each long, seemingly meaningless piece of metal like it's my child, equally and utterly as important as the next. It all seems so redundant, moving around the frets, going through the motions of each chord...literally. Why does it matter? Why do I continually put myself through the callousing and cramping in order to make these wretched sounds come out of this hollow, wooden contraption?

The answer, quite simply...necessity. I have a need to do this thing now, to practice and practice and practice until it bores me; to listen to a song over and over and yet hear something different each time; merely to feel the vibrations underneath my fingers. It has become a drug, and I'm not ready to go into withdrawal...nor will I ever be.

We, us, humans, are much like that hollow, wooden contraption. Without someone using us, we make no music. If we sit around and just remain hollow, we are meaningless! A guitar doesn't make sounds in and of itself...no. It projects the sounds, the music, that its master has created within it. Our master, our Father, wants to play us, to show off so to speak. He has a message through the music of our lives. A message of salvation for the world. But, until we allow ourselves as hollow, wooden contraptions, to be used for his glorious music, we are again meaningless.

So, become no longer a hollow, wooden contraption propped up against the wall. Rather, be willing to be used by the Father, to project his music, his message, to the world.

Much Ado About Nothing, 1.10.08

There was a star danced,
And you were born.
There was a star fallen,
And you were torn.

But once you came to Earth,
Carrying your enormous yoke,
I looked at my past and realized…
Without you, it was all a joke.

It all seemed like it was something,
But without you, it’s much ado about nothing.
It changes me every time I talk to you,
That’s how I know you’re the much ado.

If you were to leave,
I couldn’t even live.
If your love was gone,
I couldn’t even give.

But as long as you’re still here,
Let me tell you something…
Of all the beautiful stars in the sky,
You are by far the most stunning.

They may say I’m not a man,
They may say I’m still a youth.
But I’m a man while I’m around you,
And that’s more than the truth.

The Phantom

Take this weight off my back.
Tell me you're there, somewhere in the black.
This life is dark and cold,
Just a remnant of the days of old.

"All I need is one more day,"
At least that's what I say.
How do I keep lying to my face
When all I have left is this empty space?

This phantom comes back to haunt me,
Continuing to taunt me.
It lets me know that I can't do it on my own,
That I will always be alone.

If I continue to listen to it,
I'll be lost, I fear.
"I've got to do something,"
I think, as I let drop one tear.

Slowly I realize my only hope,
A man with scars stands there on the slope.
As he holds out his hands, battered and bruised,
I begin to sob, for I know he's been used.

He offers me a gift, something I need.
I run to his feet and fall to my knees.
I beg him for mercy, which I don't deserve.
He smiles at me and laughs to calm my wretched nerves.

Finally I rise, no longer feeling ill.
We walk hand in hand to the top of the hill.
There in the valley what I see, I'm amazed;
Countless people were lost, but now they are saved.

The phantom no longer haunts me, save in my memories,
Since that day on the hill I fell to my knees.
The man who took me is there evermore.
He stands strong and victorious, my Beloved Savior.

The Adventure, Angels and Airwaves

Yes, I understand this band is not a Christian band...but who cares. This song is a perfect description of our need for God to be in this life with us. It talks about death and regrowth and hope, many ideas that Christ himself talked about when presenting his salvation message. Life really is waiting to begin; it is our job to take the first step and invite Jesus on The Adventure with us, and then to share him with others.

[Verse]

I wanna have the same last dream again

The one where I wake up and I'm alive

Just as the four walls close me within

My eyes are open up with pure sunlight

I'm the first to know

My dearest friends

Even if your hope has burned with time

Anything that is dead shall be re-grown

And your vicious pain, your warning sign

You will be fine

[Chorus]

Hey oh here I am

And here we go

Life’s waiting to begin

[Verse]

Any type of love it will be showed

Like every single tree reach for the sky

If you're gonna fall I'll let you know

That I will pick you up

Like you for I

I felt this thing I can't replace

When everyone was working for this goal

Where all the children left without a trace

Only to come back as pure as gold

To recite this all

[Chorus]

Hey oh here I am

And here we go

Life’s waiting to begin

Tonight Hey oh here I am

And here we go

Life’s waiting to begin

Tonight

Hey oh here I am

And here we go

Life’s waiting to begin

[Bridge]

I can not live

I can’t breathe

Unless you do this with me

I can not live

I can’t breathe

Unless you do this with me

[Outro]

Hey oh, here I am (do this with me)

Here we go

Life's waiting to begin (do this with me)

Hey oh, here I am (do this with me)

Here we go

Life's waiting to begin

Life's waiting to begin