You Are - Colton Dixon

"If I had no voice, if I had no tongue I would dance for you like the rising sun. And when that day comes and I see your face I will shout your endless glorious praise!"

Colton Dixon You Are Lyrics

Songwriters: RHYAN SHIRLEY, JARED MARTIN, COLTON DIXON, MIKE BUSBEE

When I can't find the words to say how much it hurts
You are the healing in my heart
When all that I can see are broken memories
You are the light that's in the dark

Chorus:
You are the song,
You are the song I'm singing.
You are the air,
You are the air I'm breathing
You are the hope,
You are the hope I needed.
Ohhooohh

You are

And when my circumstance leaves me with empty hands.
You are the provider of my needs.
When all my dirtiness has left me helpless.
You are the rain that washes me.

Chorus: (2x)
You are the song
You are the song I'm singing.
You are the air,
You are the air I'm breathing
You are the hope,
You are the hope I needed.
Ohhhhooohh

(X2) If I had no voice,
If I had no tongue,
I would dance for you like the rising sun.
And when that day comes and I see your face.
I will shout your endless glorious praise.

Chorus: (2x)
You are the song I'm singing.
You are the air,
You are the air I'm breathing
You are the hope,
You are the hope I needed.
Ohhhhoohhh

Whom Shall I Fear - Chris Tomlin

"Whom Shall I Fear (God Of Angel Armies)"

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light

Whom shall I fear

You crush the enemy
Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield
Though troubles linger still

Whom shall I fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind me

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

My strength is in Your name
For You alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind me

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hands
I'm holding on to Your promises

You are faithful
You are faithful
You are faithful

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind me

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The God of angel armies
is always by my side

Worn - Tenth Avenue North

I'm tired, I'm worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes
To keep on breathing
I've made mistakes
I've let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I'm tired, I'm worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes
To keep on breathing
I've made mistakes
I've let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
‘Cause I'm worn

I know I need
To lift my eyes up
But I'm too weak
Life just won't let up
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I'm tired, I'm worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes
To keep on breathing
I've made mistakes
I've let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
‘Cause I'm worn

I'm tired, I'm worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes
To keep on breathing
I've made mistakes
I've let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
‘Cause I'm worn

I know I need
To lift my eyes up
But I'm too weak
Life just won't let up
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

My prayers are wearing thin
I'm worn
Even before the day begins
I'm worn
I've lost my will to fight
I'm worn
So Heaven come and flood my eyes

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
‘Cause I'm worn

Yes, all that's dead inside will be reborn
Though, I'm worn
I'm worn

soldier on!

Source: media-cache8.pinterest.com via Leilani on Pinterest

Happy birthday, #23!

"The Truth About My iProblem" from Blogs Like A Girl

Well, well, well. This post surely hits the nail on the head for me! 

From here: http://blogslikeagirl.tumblr.com/post/43493569937/the-truth-about-my-iproblem

Growing up my mom love, love, loved to tell my sister and I that people do not hear what we say. They listen to what we do. 
Words matter, she’d say. Actions matter more.
This is an awkward thing for me, a self-catalogued “writer” from my very earliest memory, to type. I believe in the power of words. My absolute favorite quote of all time comes from author Margaret Atwood. “A word after a word after a word is power”. Whenever I speak to students at schools, I make them say it with me. I make them yell it. I want them to  understand the truth in there, that their power ultimately comes from their ability to speak their truth. What my mom was trying to say, all those years ago, is it is not just enough to speak your truth. You have to live it.
As it is written in 1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”  
I have been thinking about all of this almost nonstop since reading this blog on iPhones and parenting Monday. Anybody who knows me knows I love my iPhone. Even if you do not know me, you would know because you would see me at a stoplight, at lunch with a friend, in line at a bookstore, at the park with Vivian furtively and not-so-furtively scrolling through Twitter/Gmail/Facebook/texts/FOXSports.com almost constantly. Nor is mine simply an iPhone issue. I have an iProblem. I have a tendency to walk into my house, my iPhone in my hand and proceed to open my Macbook Air. I am embarrassed to admit that this, and my iPhone, have been at my dinner table with my husband and daughter. Both often go with me into my favorite chair after my daughter has gone to sleep, a constant checking part of my time with my husband.
A quick aside: It is a damn lie to say truth always feels good. Re-reading those sentences makes me want to hurl, or crawl into a hole, or judge myself. I need to write it, though, because I know I am not alone.  
There is an easy out for me, of course. This is my job, to constantly know what is happening, what needs to be written on, where Jets quarterback Tim Tebow may be headed, what NFL players were salary cap casualties and on and on. My profession is opinions and every opinion absolutely needs to start with information. What I never stopped to ask myself was what I missed when I was making sure I was not missing anything.
This line from The 4littleFegusons blog I linked to especially struck me: “Play time at the park will be over before you know it. The childhood of your children will be gone before you know it. They won’t always want to come to the park with you, Mommy. They won’t always spin and twirl to make their new dress swish, they won’t always call out, “WATCH ME!” There will come a point when they stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time. Because they know … you’ve shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime …”
I cried when I read this, not teared up but actual big fat tears rolling down my face crying. This is me. As much as I do not want this to be me, this is me. And it just slaps another layer onto my working-mom guilt complex already in overdrive from being gone to cover The Olympics in London, from missing a parent-teacher conference at my daughter’s school because I was in New Orleans for The Super Bowl, because I can not always be there.
What this was was a reminder that even when I am here I am not always here.
This is not to say I am never fully present or engaged. I am. A lot. We do flash cards almost daily. Every night we snuggle in her bed and read three books. We do “The Pray” nightly where we thank God for what we consider our blessings. My smart little girl never varies her first line “Dear God, I am thankful for everything …” What she was thankful for Monday was her family. I know she knows I love her. I know, on The Toni Morrison scale of maternal love, do your eyes light up each time your child enters the room, I pass with flying colors. I have so many good pictures and memories and moments with her and my husband, Mac, in this first four years.
What I have been thinking about almost nonstop since reading that blog is what I have missed with my face buried in my iPhone, and for what? To discover that email pinging my inbox was just JCrew inviting me to save 40 percent on already marked down items? Because I absolutely have to see if any of my Facebook friends have answered “I ran for 30 minutes” in response to Facebook’s “What’s happening?” prompt? To read a 140-character opinion of a Wonderlic score, however delightfully snarky?    
I felt a little like Denzel Washington’s character in Flight when he swipes that vodka bottle even though everything in his being says “no, no, no” as I attempted to follow through on staying off of my iPhone after grabbing Vivian from school on Monday. I told myself I am not going to pick it up. I am going to be where I am. I repeated every yoga mantra I have ever heard about presence and yet I checked my phone a couple of times. It was not as much as normal. It was actually way, way less. It still felt like too much.
And once you have started speeding down this information rabbit hole, how do you reverse course? This is what I am trying to answer for myself, how not only to tell my family they are the most important things in my life but back that up with my actions. My goals, for right now, are:
1) Phone goes on counter when I walk in with Vivian, and stays there until the next morning.
2) Do an hourly check of Gmail and Twitter, just to stay up to date.
3) Practice this iDiet not only with Vivian but with my husband and my friends as well.
4) Be gentle with myself. 
In the words of my new favorite band, Fun, and their best song:
When you’re lost and alone, or sinking like a stone, carry on on on on on,
Jengel

I am not Lucky, I am Blessed

Source: falalalovely.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Don't Carpe Diem - from Momastery

I discovered a blog last year called Momastery, which is, as you might have suspected, is mainly applicable to moms, with a tagline of "Stepping Back, Slowing Down, and Focusing Up." I became aware of the blog through a share on Facebook of this post: 2011 Lesson #2 : Don’t Carpe Diem.

AMAZING Post.

I found myself nodding, yes, yes, EXACTLY! as I read. I've read several of Glennon's other posts since then - I've laughed (especially about the Yes, This Really Happened post), I've cried, I've read them aloud to my husband and he's laughed with me. The On Gifts and Talents was particularly applicable as we're adjusting to having 'school agers'.

It's true, as a mom, I can hardly go a day without somebody telling me 'how fast these days go', 'treasure every moment', etc.  One of my kids came home with a prize from the treasure box that was a disguise kit from Chick Fil A. The kit actually included a "Parent Guide" with these words on the top "Inspiring You to Make Every Moment with Your Child Count". Yes, you even hear it from kid's meal toys. It can be tiring if you lose perspective!

How about less pressure to do, be, give the appearance of. More fun with the family! Maybe it's time for a trip to the beach!