In the Blink of an Eye

It just seemed like yesterday when I held her in my arms, so little, so tiny. How did she grow up so fast?

Myah is 8 and a half now, and not only has she physically gotten bigger, she is changing in all kinds of ways. She no longer watches "Dora the explorer" but has graduated to "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody". She squeals in the store when she sees a poster of Hannah Montana (who I'm learning is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus...) then squeals some more when she sees a picture of Zac Efron. She runs around the house all day squeaking out songs from High School Musical. (I was hoping we raised her to be cooler than that but...)

She gets on the phone with all her little friends from school and I just have to tune her out or I will go bezerk listening to the "like oh my God's" and "nuh uh's".

I knew this day in time was coming when she began to care less and less about barbies and lullabies, and much more about boys and lip gloss.

I want so bad to teach her not to be boy crazy. I want to teach her not to date until she is out of high school. I want her to know how meaningless it is to even date until you find the one that God has planned for you. I want her to not have all the drama and heartache that I experienced.

I sit here and pray, and wonder. How do I teach her all this while not suppressing who she is? Did my parents go as crazy as we are now when I started putting posters of Kirk Cameron, Luke Perry, and many many more on my wall? Did they just grin and bear it while I recorded every episode of the Mickey Mouse Club (yes I'm a dork) just so I could watch them over and over again to see the cute boys?

I guess the most that I can do is instill in her the proper values, and a love for Christ. She still may drool when she sees a poster of Zac Effron, but in her heart I can trust that she has her priorities straight.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

The Soundtrack to my Life

I was watching music videos yesterday and I started to think about all the wonderful music that is out there, and about all the songs that have impacted me (lyrically). So, I thought it would be interesting to write about these songs and what each one of them means to me. I'm going to try and go back as far as I can remember and start there, and work up until present day. If there was a soundtrack to my life, this is what it would be (the year is the year the song effected me, not the actual year it was written).

1996 - Newsboys "Lost the Plot"

lies. Let's be blunt. We're a little unfaithful. What do you want? Are you still listening? 'Cause we're obviously not. We've forgotten our first love. We have lost the plot. And why are you still calling? You forgave, we forgot. We're such experts at stalling, that we've lost the plot.

I get such a vivid mental picture when I hear this song. I see flashes of images in my head of all the horrible awful things in this world, if I was to ever make a music video this would be the one I would do because this song brings such vivid imagery to my head.

1997 - Third Day "Who I Am"

But do you know who I am? Have you seen the things I've done?

This was a time in my life where I was doing everything wrong, and this song spoke to the innermost part of my soul. This was my cry to God.

2002 - Pink "Just Like A Pill"

Your just like a pill, instead of making me better, you're making me ill

For those of you who knew what was going on in my life at this time, you totally understand this one.

2003 - Dave Matthews Band "Grey Street"

Theres an emptiness inside her and she'd do anything to fill it in and though it's red blood bleeding from her now it's more like cold blue ice in her heart. She feels like kicking out all the windows and setting fire to this life. She could change everything about her using colors bold and bright, but all the colors mix together to grey and it breaks her heart to grey.

This song maybe hit me at the most horrible time in my life. I so deeply related to this song and this particular lyric I just could sit there and cry. It was like this song was written for me. But I did just that, I sat fire to my life and painted it bold and bright colors.

2004 - Bush "Letting the Cables Sleep"

You in a sea, on a decline, breaking the waves, watching the lights go down letting the cables sleep...Whatever you say it's allright, whatever you do it's all good

This spoke to me at a time when I was in love, actually it spoke to both Jamin and I. This was a proclamation of how we were going to live our lives, let the lights go down, turn off the TV, and just talk about everything. This song basically explains intimacy.

2004 - Alanis Morisette "Everything"

You see everything, you see every part, you see all my light and you love my dark. You dig everything of which time change, theres not anything to that you cannot relate, and you're still here

I heard this song about a month before I met Jamin, and I listened and I said to myself, if I ever fall in love again, if I ever get married, this is how the man I marry will feel about me. He will love everything about me, the good and the bad, and it was just so, when I met Jamin I knew he was it. I knew this was the song that I would walk down to in our wedding.

2005 - Sia "Breathe Me"

Be my friend hold me, wrap me up, unfold me, I am small and needy. Warm me up and breathe me

I love this song. I never get sick of hearing it. The music and the lyrics flow together so beautifully. The very first time I heard it (on the show Six Feet Under) I can't explain completely what this song means to me and how it deeply effects me, I can just say that it does. To go into any more detail would be far too personal.

2005 - Newsboys "Kissing Your Cares Goodbye"

And they all fall like a million rain drops falling from the blue sky kissing your cares goodbye

I wouldn't say this one deeply effected me, this is my happy song. Whenever I'm feeling down I can play this and it makes me smile for some reason.

2006 - Casting Crowns "Praise You In This Storm"

And I'll praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands, for you are who you are, no matter where I am, and every tear I've cried you hold in your hands, you've never left my side and though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm

The first time I heard this song we were coming back from Shawnee and we just found out that I had a miscarriage. Everything in our lives seemed so turned upside down at this point, but this song spoke great things to me, that God was with us, and had not left our side.

Ok, that's about it. I'm sure there are a zillion more songs, and much "cooler" songs, but these are the ones that I can think about right now.