You Are the Best Thing

I discovered this song around July 4th. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ray LaMontagne's voice. I would love to see this guy in concert. Thanks to Wikipedia, here's the story on this guy. He's 36 years old and he lives in Maine with his wife and his two kids. One day he heard a Stephen Stills' song "Hilltop Flyer" on the radio. He bought the album and decided he wanted to be a singer-songwriter. He quit his job at a shoe factory and in 1999 went on tour, keeping a side job as a carpenter. Now he has three albums. He has such a classic kind of voice. I think I might have to download some more of his music on iTunes. So far I only have this one, but everything I've heard him sing is great. So my tip for the day, download some Ray LaMontagne, sit back with a glass of wine, take it easy, and soak in the relaxing, mellowness of it all.

A Little Pain Makes a Big Difference

Yesterday was a big day! I conquered my fear of needles and blood. I decided to VOLUNTEER to get poked with a big needle and give blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive at my church. Unless you're deathly afraid of blood and needles, donating blood is a pretty simple way to give back to the world. It only takes 10 minutes to pump out the blood and within 20-30 minutes you could be in and out and on with your day. If you're afraid of needles and blood and pain, like I am, then donating blood is a bit more of a big deal. I really had to psych myself up for this one. I knew I was going to volunteer about a week ago. So every day I pictured myself walking in and laying down and giving the blood like it was no big deal. I think my strategy worked! When I walked in yesterday I was a little nervous, but not too bad. The lady who helped me, Tammy, was the NICEST woman in the world. She knew it was my first time, so I think she was extra careful with me. There was also another very nice volunteer named Joleen who stayed with me the whole time and they both talked to me while I donated. I told Tammy that I didn't want to see the needle or the blood and I did NOT want her to tell me what she was doing or when she was going to poke me. I will say that it really hurt when she stuck me, but it didn't last long. And I didn't cry and I didn't even wince. She had to remind me to keep breathing, but other than that I was a pro. She said she wouldn't have known it was my first time if I hadn't told her. (I think she was just being kind.) All in all, I would say it was a successful experience and I would do it again. I won't be a regular, every 8 week kind of donor, but I would donate again sometime. It was very rewarding to know that just for enduring a little anxiety and a little pinch of pain, I helped save three lives!

Make it so today is not like yesterday and tomorrow will be different forever.

- Tony Robbins

I HEART JOURNEY!

Matt and I went to the Heart/Journey concert last night at the fair. We had the best time! It was my first time seeing Heart in concert. They were awesome! The lead singer might be the greatest singer I've ever heard. She was belting the songs out! It was my 3rd time seeing Journey and they never disappoint. My favorite part was towards the end when they sang "Faithfully" and "Don't Stop Believin'" back to back. I would say 99% of the crowd was singing as loud as they could. I know I was:)

It was the official end to the 2009 Iowa State Fair. I have to say, it was my favorite ending ever. Let's see if they can top it next year.

Speaking Louder than Before

I got to see Jeremy Camp LIVE at the Iowa State Fair last night and it was all that and MORE! I've been a fan for quite awhile and have a lot of his music on iPod, so I was really looking forward to the concert. He did not disappoint! He shared a lot of his personal story and testimony throughout the concert. It was really cool to hear where he was coming from when he wrote his songs. It gave me a new perspective on some of them. My favorite song that he sang last night was "Speaking Louder than Before".

Here are some of the lyrics that really speak to me...

We are the hope that's been forgotten
We have the love that will be brought and
We are speaking louder than before

Take every chance that you can
Move together taking a stand
Never losing heart, we'll speak as one

We need to be the image of Christ
Show love and serve at all times
We can make a difference in these lands

This song gives me a lot of inspiration. I'm working really hard to find as many opportunities as I can for our small groups at Point of Grace to get out into the community and show people what following Jesus is all about. It's not just about going to church on Sunday, it's about showing people who are hungry, who are lonely, who are struggling with addictions or depression, who feel like something is missing in their life that we care and that more importantly God cares. He cares so much that He sent His one and only Son to pay the penalty for our screw ups and through faith in Jesus Christ we are able to live our lives with the hope and love that only Jesus can provide. For me it's not about preaching or trying to save people, it's about showing another person that I hear their struggles and I see their needs and I'm here to help them. I truly think that if we each dug down deep and looked around, we could find someone who needs us and make a difference in their life. In South Africa, I experienced unbelievable joy from helping others. It's that joy that has lit this fire in me and I so want to see everyone I know experience the same joy in their lives. God can do and will do, amazing things through us.

Love this song. Love the Muppets.

I love Elton John's music and I'd love to see him in concert sometime. But something tells me that seeing him now and having seen him back in the days of this video would be two totally different experiences. I would love to see a concert like the one in this video where completely unexpected things happen with crazy costumes and crazy characters. And just as a side note, I really miss the muppets.

Meeting Rockstars

Ed Rolland from Collective Soul is an amazing musician and he seems like a really great guy. We got to see him perform live accoustically at Flemings Steakhouse over the lunch hour a few weeks ago. The radio station I used to work for was hosting a special event and they invited us to come. Gotta love the perks of working in the entertainment business:)

We got to meet Gavin Degraw that same day. He was sooooo great! I have loved Gavin Degraw for a long time so it was cool to finally see him live and get a chance to meet him.

Top Ten: Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair starts this Thursday! Here's the top ten things I'm most excited about seeing/doing/eating...

1. Definitely gotta have a corndog.
2. Homemade, freshly shaken lemonade (to wash down the corndog)
3. Jeremy Camp concert
4. Matt Nathanson on the free stage
5. Journey/Heart concert
6. The butter cow
7. Seeing the GIANT vegetables that win blue ribbons
8. The BIGGEST bull and the HUGEST hog (I know technically that's two)
9. People watching
10. Seeing almost everyone I know on the First Friday

Greatest Movie Scene of ALL TIME

Sixteen Candles - Final Scene - Movie Ending - Click here for another funny movie.

I found this March 20th last year...

THE SPECTRUM
Dean Ornish M.D.
What Matters Most?
That simple question can play a powerful role in healing our lives.
Feb 27, 2008 | Updated: 6:25 p.m. ET Feb 27, 2008

An Exerpt from the article in Newsweek…

What matters most is love. And the things that matter are very simple—they're very old—and they're very, very important. These things that can't be measured are the foundation of our lives. There is meaning in everything we do. Most of us live far more meaningful lives than we know.

How so?

Recognizing that we are all connected and, because of that, we have the power to make a real difference in the life of a total stranger without even knowing their name. We often feel powerless in today's society--that you have to be wealthy, or educated or somehow more than you are in order to make any kind of significant difference in the world. And the reality is that we've already made a far greater difference than we know, we have changed the lives of many more people than we realize because there is a web of connection between us.

We have a culture that values celebrity over compassion; that values notoriety over caring. What can we learn from all of this? The entire advertising industry is based on the idea that if only you buy more, get more, do more—then you'll be happy.

Well, it's never enough because it will never fill the emptiness that only a sense of meaning can satisfy. At the end of life, when people look back to see what mattered for them and brought meaning, it's not about what they bought and what they owned. It's about what they did to help other people to live and how they related to other people and grew in wisdom. It's all about the love they gave and received, not anything else. One heart at a time.

Here's a link to the full article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/116684

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I don't remember finding this article, but I was checking an old email address today and I found that I had emailed it to myself with the subject line "blogworthy". How weird that I saved it and how weird that it directly applies to something I've been struggling with lately. I'm not sure why, but I've been feeling like I'm working and working and doing more and more, but I'm not making a difference anywhere. This article was just the reassurance that I need to remember that only God can see the whole picture of how we're all connected. My only job is to keep working to serve others and God will take care of making sure He uses me to make a difference "one heart at a time".

A Few Fun Pictures from the Family Reunion