favorite song ever

"Love Song for a Savior" by Jars of Clay

In open fields of wild flowers,
She breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
In no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
And fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echoes through the walls
A great salvation through it calls to the people
Who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call us and we will come running
And fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",
Not close enough to call you "God"
So as I sit and think of words I can mention
To show my devotion

"I want to fall in love with You"

"My heart beats for You"

playlist for novel-writing

I'm trying to write my first-ever novel! It's something I've always wanted to do, but I'm really truly pursuing it for the first time.

This is my ideal playlist for novel-writing:

1. Dare You to Move - Switchfoot
2. All We Are - Matt Nathanson
3. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
4. the Dance - Rachel Portman - Emma Soundtrack
5. Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
6. Father I Adore You - Matt Brouwer
7. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
8. Falling Apart - Matt Nathanson
9. the Legend Spreads - James Horner - Braveheart soundtrack
10. Primavera Anticipada - Laura Pausini & James Blunt
11. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee - Charlie Hall
12. If I Had Words - James Cromwell - Babe soundtrack
13. End Titles - Rachel Portman - Emma Soundtrack
14. Love Song for a Savior - Jars of Clay
15. Jesus Saves - Tim Hughes
17. End Credits - James Horner - the Braveheart Soundtrack
18. Everything - Lifehouse
19. O, For A Thousand Tongues to Sing - David Crowder
20. Be Thou My Vision - 4HIM
21. Sooner Surrender - Matt Nathanson
22. Ode to Joy - Beecham Choral Society
23. the Homecoming - George Fenton - Ever After Soundtrack
24. Outlawed Tunes on Outlawed Pipes - James Horner - Braveheart Soundtrack
25. Jesus Paid it All - Kristian Stanfill
26. Paperback Writer - the Beatles
27. Love Me Do - the Beatles
28. the Holly and the Ivy - George Winston

On a different and unrelated note - if anyone knows any good websites with eighteenth-century slang, let me know! :)

hope

"Hope" is the thing with feathers --
That perches in the soul --
And sings the tune without the words --
And never stops at all --

-Emily Dickinson

Friday night

I can hear the Disneyland fireworks, as usual.
Janey is terrified of ceiling fans.
Hillary Duff can NOT act.
I get my new computer tomorrow!
G.K. Chesterton is amazing.
Should I write my paper on Ralph Nickleby, or Ebenezer Scrooge? Or both?
Falling asleep to the sound of the rain on the roof is lovely.
When was the last time I went running?
Work is good for me.
Too many books checked out from the library.
Martin doesn't like the new coffee cake muffin.
I watch movies that I know are lame, and I still enjoy them. Hm.
Chocolate frozen yogurt with almonds is my new combo.
What is the point of Twitter?
"Marius" and "Guenevere" are officially added to my favorite names list.
Isaiah. Enough said.
Writer's block really does exist.
But, most of all:

All is well.

were

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

-1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Ebenezer

"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."

words by Robert Robinson

on love

I am an unabashed consumer of "love." As I read magazines and watch chick flicks, I am buying and consuming what they are selling: "love." I've started to realize, though, that this "love" is not Love at all. I don't even know what it is, but, upon examination, this cheap imitation does not even resemble true Love. This manufactured "love," as seen on the movie screen and in the magazine article, is often selfish, superficial, and temporary. If I consume "love" in large enough quantities, I can trick myself into believing that this is the best we can hope for from el amor. But as I've spent more time in the presence of Love Himself, I find myself wanting to jump up from my padded movie theatre seat, dump my Mike 'n Ikes on the floor, point my finger like a saber at the screen and yell

"THAT

IS

NOT

LOVE!"

Now that I know more than ever what true Love is like, this "love" disgusts me even more. I'm not condemning all chick flicks and magazines -- indeed, some of them do paint beautiful picture of kind, self-sacrificial, eternal Love. But for the most part, these images that our culture is selling us -- "love," "romance," and "happiness" -- are like Sprite Zero.

The restaurant I work at started selling Sprite Zero recently, and I had the opportunity to try it for the first time.

Gross.

Absolutely disgusting.

My first thought was "Why would ANYONE ever want to drink this?".

I'm a bit addicted to real Sprite, so the contrast between the imitation sugar and the real sweetness was harsh to me. I realized, though, as I downed Hi-C fruit punch from the next spout over to cover the lingering aftertaste, that this disgusting imitation of my beloved soft drink is a lot like "love."

In fact, I think I watched a movie on a plane a few years ago (now I'm sorry if you liked this movie - I really didn't) that was actually called "A Lot Like Love." I wouldn't be so generous, but I think that this title comes the closest to an accurate representation of the contents of that movie than other titles I've seen.

As I was a little bit bored that particular day at work, I pursued my train of thought even further. If I'd never tried Sprite (well, actually, if I'd never tried sugar at all), then (maybe) Sprite Zero would actually taste okay. Or if it'd been a long time since I'd tried decent soda, I might even like the imitation flavor of Zero.

In the same way, the more time I spend away from Love, the more appealing "love" seems. This is probably a flawed metaphor, as Sprite is actually really bad for you whereas Love is the best thing there is, but it'll have to do.

I have to spend as much time as possible in the presence of Love. And I have to stop consuming "love" - I know I hate it, so why should I force myself to get used to it? I'd rather drink Sprite any day.

Now I'd love to point out some particularly sickening examples of "love" in movies and magazines, but in doing so I'd be committing one of my biggest pet peeves. It's so easy to point fingers and bash the "shallow," "materialistic" content of specific movies or books, but it doesn't really help anyone. I generally don't respect any author that spends an entire book pointing out the evils of "today's society" or "culture" without proposing a solution or even an alternative.

So I'm not going to do that.

This is more of a reminder to myself than anything else: don't listen to anyone and anything that tries to tell you that "love" is Love. If you believe them, you'll waste time and miss out.

And keep drinking Sprite.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh no! It is an ever fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to ev'ry wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

-Shakespeare