"Why Do We Take It All For Granted Until It's Gone?.."

I am sure most have you have probably seen on the news or heard the story about Lauren Spierer, the 20 year old Indiana University student that went missing. It has been a week since Lauren Spierer was last seen. I never knew Lauren, but the fact that she went missing in my home town hits very close to my heart. It's interesting to me how people seem to think things like this will never happen to them until it actually does happen to you. Either you end up being the one missing and you're in the middle of something you wish was a nightmare, but it's not, or you wake-up one day and find someone you dearly loved has vanished and your world gets turned upside down trying to put clues together to figure out what might have happened to that person. My heart and prayers go out to this girl and her family and friends, but after a week of not being able to find her I know the outcome will probably not be pretty.

When something like this happens it makes me want to spend time with those who are the most important to me and remind everyone I love how much I love them and how much they mean to me. I know I try to do that every now and then. I will randomly send them a note or text or card to let them know how special they are to me, but every now and then may not be enough. It's sad that something like a missing person can remind us all that we need to not take family and friends for granted....

It's "My Kinda Party"

Sorry for my lack of posting this past week. It was my birthday on Saturday and I went like an energizer bunny all week-end long. One of my VERY favorite parts of my birthday was attending the Jason Aldean concert up in Indy. I happen to be a huge fan of his music and the fact that I was able to see him on my birthday was a very exciting way to spend my birthday. One of the people that opened for him, Eric Church, is also someone I enjoy listening to and it was a nice surprise to be able to hear him as well. :) It was an insane crazy concert as it was completely sold-out. There were 25,000 Jason Aldean fans which is a whole lot of people for a concert. It was a party.... :) The two girls below are very good friends of mine who went along with me to see this concert. I have known these girls since I was ten years old and it was a lot of fun to hang-out with them for the week-end... :)

"You Were On The Cross"

"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
~St. John of the Cross~

This is such a masterpiece of lyrics and music. Take a moment today to reflect on it.....

You Were On The Cross
Written by Matt Maher/Kenny Butler/Audrey Assad; Performed by Matt Maher

Lost, everything is lost
And everything I've loved before is gone
Alone like the coming of the frost
And a cold winter's chill in my stony heart

And where were You when all that I've hoped for?
Where were You when all that I've dreamed
Came crashing down in shambles around me?
You were on the cross

Pain, could you take away the pain?
If I find someone to blame, would it make my life seem easier?
Alone, all my friends are asleep
And I can't find anyone to stay awake with me

Where were You when sin stole my innocence?
Where were You when I was ashamed?
Hiding in a life, I wish, I never made

You were on the cross, my God, my God, alone, alone
You were on the cross, You died for us, alone, alone
You were on the cross, victorious, alone, alone

You were there in all of my suffering
And You were there in doubt and in fear
I'm waiting on the dawn to reappear

Feeling The Love

In my last post I mentioned how yesterday I was home sick with strep throat. I received phone calls and texts and facebook messages from those who heard I was sick to let me know they were all praying I would feel better. All those messages from friends each did make me feel better and cared for. There was one instance yesterday though, that made me feel touched the most.

I know I have mentioned in past posts, mostly in my earlier ones, that the song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" has a special meaning to my family. The reason why it is special I know I have written about before and you can read it if you click here.

Last night as I was cuddled up on the couch I was channel surfing and what movie did I end up finding without knowing it would be on, but "The Wizard of Oz." I turned it on and it was just starting. It hit me as I was listening to Judy garland sing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" that my brother, David, was trying to let me know he was there. What was even more cool about this was that I was the only person in the room during the song. My mom had just gone to bed, my dad was gone to pick-up my little brother, and Crista was downstairs in her room. I felt so much more relaxed in that moment. This morning I told my mother about it and she laughed and said how of all the members in my family, David would be the one who understands feeling pain more than anyone else. She was not too surprised by that at all. I am happy to have my big brother up there looking after me. :)

"Grenade"

Holy Week is coming up, and I must say that I am looking forward to it. Holy Week happens to be my very favorite week in the liturgical year. Tonight as I was listening to this song, "Grenade" by Bruno Mars, my mind-set was totally different than how it normally is while listening to this song. If I was not thinking about Holy Week I probably would not have even taken this song in the direction I am about too. The fact is this song, if looked at with the right perspective, is so symbolic. I am sure Bruno Mars was not meaning for it to be interpreted this way, but the fact is I have for the first time thought of this as being turned into a Christian song.... A lenten type song. Like maybe how Jesus was thinking while hanging on the cross and looking down and realizing the the majority of his closest friends had deserted him.... For example "Should of known you was trouble from the first kiss " could be about Judas and how he hands Jesus over with a kiss on the cheek. "Black, black, black and blue beat me till I'm numb" could obviously be about him while being scourged.... Some may think I am silly for thinking this way while listening to this song tonight, but sometimes that is how my mind works.



Grenade
By Bruno Mars

Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all,
But you never give
Should of known you was trouble from the first kiss,
Had your eyes wide open. Why were they open?

Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked,
Cause what you don't understand is

I’d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh

I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same

No, no, no, no
Black, black, black and blue beat me till I'm numb
Tell the devil I said “hey” when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman,
That's just what you are, yeah,
You’ll smile in my face then rip the breaks out my car

Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, yes you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked
Cause what you don't understand is

I’d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh

I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same

If my body was on fire, ooh
You’ d watch me burn down in flames
You said you loved me you're a liar
Cause you never, ever, ever did baby...

But darling I’ll still catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh

I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same.
No, you won’t do the same,
You wouldn’t do the same,
Ooh, you’ll never do the same,
No, no, no, no

"To Love Another Person Is To See The Face Of God..."

.... That is the final line to the musical "Les Mes" right before the finale song. I have been a fan of the musical "Les Mes" since I was in high school. I have to say that if it were not for an old high school crush of mine who played the lead in a local high school play I never would have thought twice about watching it. I fell in love with this musical from the first night I saw it on the stage at that high school. The cast that year did such an amazing job for a group of high schoolers that I felt a bit spoiled. Anyway, the reason why I am even talking about this is because a few weeks ago I finally talked my mom into watching it with me.

For those of you who have never heard of this musical, it is based of the book by Victor Hugo; "Les Meserables." The setting of this book is during the time of the French Revolution and basically follows the storyline of the different classes of people who lived during that crazy time in France. This musical also happens to have a bit of Catholicism in it as well as a Catholic Bishop challenges the main character to live his life as a gift for God. What really captures my attention about this musical in particular is the lyrics of the music. I have watched this numerous times and each time I watch it I end up bawling like a baby because of the beauty of the storyline and the music and the lyrics. Because of the musical I ended up picking Victor's book to read for a huge English project my senior year of high school and now it is one of my personal favorites to go back and read every so often.

The song that I chose to share on here is called "Bring Him Home." It is a prayer in which the leading role, Jean Valjean, is sending out a prayer to help save the life of one of the men, Marius, who was injured in battle. This happens to have the four most popular men who played Valjean singing together as a quartet and to hear these four voices blend together is truly heavenly....

Audrey Assad "For Love Of You"

Since in my last post I spoke about Audrey Assad I thought I would share a song of hers which I truly love... It is called "For Love of You." :) I hope you enjoy it.

"You Called And You Shouted! Broke Through My Deafness. Now I'm Breathing In And Breathing Out. I'm Alive Again!"

I feel like I must explain my long absence from my blog. I have been completely busy with long meetings and work and so many other things that have kept me pretty occupied and left me without any blogging time. I have been lucky to get any sleep with the crazyiness of my life.

You see one of the parishes in my home town was blessed with the opportunity to bring Matt Maher in concert here. I was even more blessed to be asked to be part of the team that was in charge if putting everything together. I knew about this concert since October, but it has been talked about for much longer. As soon as my friend asked me if I would be interested in taking part with a Matt Maher concert I quickly said I would without any hesitation. I have been a fan of his music now for a few years and to see him in concert for free and in the front row was a huge deal to me. It definitely was earned though. Our team put in a lot of hours of planning... My main task was to help with making sure Chic-fil-a would do a Spirit Day for St. Paul's to help raise money for the concert along with making sure that they would be able to be able to sell their food outside of the church before the concert started. Along with that I spent hours helping to sell tickets, first
after Masses at St. Paul's then I spent
hours at my own parish helping sell tickets after two of the Masses... It was frustrating and boring at times, but well worth it in the end.

This past week was a whirlwind of activity as it was the week of the concert. We had meetings both Monday night and Tuesday night that went pretty late as we were going through everything to make sure the whole evening would go smoothly and on time. I took off of work Wednesday, the day of the concert, early to help get everything set-up and last minute details worked-out. It was tiring and I did not get to sit-down hardly that night, except for during the concert when Matt asked everyone to take a seat.

We were an excited bunch as the clock ticked closer and closer to the time that the doors would be opened. We were mentally preparing ourselves for the six hundred people who were going to walk in and kind of take-over the building. We had people come in as far as Cincinnati, Ohio to see this concert. It was crazy to think that everything we had worked for was about to happen.

We were also blessed with this concert because Matt had Audrey Assad open for him. I had never heard of this person before this concert, so I was not sure how I felt about her. Audrey is a convert to Catholicism and I quickly became a fan of hers as soon as I heard her voice. She truly has a voice of an angel, and the lyrics to her songs are so beautiful. I was also blessed to have the chance to talk with her. My friend and I kind of snuck into the meet-and-greet group as both of our tasks were pretty much finished at that point and so we figured, why not? She was down-to-earth and really did not mind answering our stream of never-ending questions about life on the road for an artist. The way our conversation went felt like I was talking to a good friend and I was not quite ready to say good-bye.

That is a night I know I will remember for a long time. It was a blessing to know that I played a role to bring two amazing artists to my hometown.

So after the concert, Thursday night was taken up by Latin Mass at another parish near Bloomington which was beautiful. Last night was my parish's fish-fry fundraiser and so I did not get home till somewhat late, and once I did get home I was beat. So if anyone has been wondering where I have been I hope this post has answered that question for you.

That's Music To My Ears

A little after I started my blog I made a post of my all-time favorite songs. Well I have to say that as much as I still have those songs as some of my very favorites, my choices for those songs have changed. It is interesting how after a few years go by the things I once considered my favorites can change. Friends I thought I would never grow apart from somehow end up with a phone call every so often or an e-mail here or there to catch-up. Favorite foods of mine I had a few years ago I got burnt-out on. Television shows I happened to be completely hook-ed on either ended or are no longer as interesting to me as before... Life is like this though. It is filled with different phases and chapters and it never stays the same for long. So for fun I thought I would update my favorite songs list and put it up here... Enjoy. :)




My favorite all-time "love" song: "Here" by Rascal Flatts; "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith; "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars

Favorite "get up and dance" song: "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias; "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson; "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz

Favorite "loving life/ blast in the car with the windows down and music blaring" song: "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry; "Tick-Tock" by Ke$ha; "Fast Cars And Freedom" by Rascal Flatts

Favorite "when I'm feeling down" song: "Sweeping The Ashes" by Serena Ryder; "Standing Still" by Jewel; "Crash & Burn" by Savage Garden

Favorite "When I'm angry with the world" song: "Not Ready To Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks; "King Of Anything" by Sara Barielles; "Don't Waste My Time" by Kelly Clarkson

Favorite "oldies" song: Most definitely "My Girl" by the Temptations. (Yeah, that one hasn't changed, probably won't either.)

Favorite "sweet" song: A tie between "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle and "I Loved Her First" by Heartland.

Songs that always make me cry: "On Eagle's Wings," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland, and "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, " "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban

Favorite "Friendship" songs: "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts and "I Will Remember You" by Ryan Cabrera, "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by Taylor Swift.

Favorite "Take on the World" song: "Firework" by Katy Perry; "Unstoppable" by Rascal Flatts; "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi

Favorite "break-up" song: "You Were Meant For Me" by Jewel; "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis; "Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem

Favorite "Patriotic" songs: This is a tie between "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood and "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" by Toby Keith; "If You're Reading This" by Tim McGraw

Favorite "Crush" song: This is a three-way-tie between "Sparks Fly" by Taylor Swift; "Take Me There" by Rascal Flatts and "I Wanna Kiss A Girl" by Keith Urban

Favorite "How I Feel About Relationships" song: A tie between"I Do Not Hook Up" by Kelly Clarkson and "Single" by Natasha Beddingfield

Favorite "Praise and Worship song: A tie between "Draw Me Close," "Here I Am to Worship," "The Heart Of Worship"

Favorite "Christian" song: A tie between "Empty and Beautiful" by Matt Maher and "Beloved" by Tenth Avenue North

God Is My Hero

I have been wanting to blog all week, but when I have actually sat down to blog I have had no idea what to blog about. They say writer's block is not real, it is only an excuse people use. That may be true, but I still have had times, like this past week, where nothing comes to mind at all.
Tonight, however, something has come to mind....

I was listening to pandora this evening when the song, "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias came on. Now, I must admit back in high school I LOVED this song. I still really like it, but I am not so sure how I feel about a guy being a girl's hero. It is a romantic thought. Every girl has dreamed about the knight in shining armor coming in to rescue the princess, which in every girl's fantasy the princess is always herself. I myself have thought about it many times. It is fun to think about, but it is not really how it works....

The problem with this picture is that the girl always seems weak. It is okay to need help sometimes and to have someone there to help, but us girls should first lean on God and the strength we receive from Him. I came by this little story that explains all about why God made us women the way he did...:)

"Mom, why are you crying?" he asked his mom.

"Because I'm a woman" she told him.

"I don't understand," he said.

His mom just hugged him and said, "and you never will." Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason" was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to GOD. When GOD got on the phone the man said, "GOD, why do women cry so easily?"

GOD said:

"When I made women she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world; yet, gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. This same sensitivity helps her to make a child's boo-boo feel better and shares in her teenagers anxieties and fears.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

I gave her a tear to shed, it's hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed. It's her only weakness; it's a tear for mankind."

"Someone's Watching Over Me"

While being sick this week-end I have spent a lot of time sleeping and watching tv and listening to music. This is the first time I have really sat down for a lengthy period of time. I have "re-discovered" this Hilary Duff song. I am not a huge Hilary Duff fan, but I do have to say the lyrics to this song are very beautiful. It is very easy to see how christian this song really is. I personally like the lyrics in bold the best. I will keep on praying that I won't be afraid to follow wherever God is calling me.....

"Someone's Watching Over Me"
by Hilary Duff

I found myself today
Oh I found myself and ran away
But something pulled me back
A voice of reason I forgot I had
All I know is you're not here to say
What you always used to say
But it's written in the sky tonight

Chorus:

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it

seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me


I've seen that ray of light
And it's shining on my destiny
shining all the time
And I won't be afraid
To follow everywhere it's taking me
All I know is yesterday is gone
And right now I belong
To this moment
To my dreams


Chorus:

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

It doesn't matter what people say
And it doesn't matter how long it takes
Believe in yourself and you'll fly high
It only matters how true you are
Be true to yourself and follow your heart

Chorus:

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

I Am A "Lyric" Person

"You know I've got this theory, there are two kinds of people in the world. There are lyric people and music people. You know, the lyric people tend to be analytical. You know, all about the meaning of the song. They're the ones you see with the CD insert out like 5 minutes after buying it, pouring over the lyrics, interpreting the hell out of everything. Um, then there’s the music people, like Brooke. Who could care less for the lyrics as long as its just got like a good beat and you could dance to it. I don’t know, sometimes it might be easier to be a music girl and not a lyric girl. But since I’m not, let me just say this. Sometimes things find you when you need them to find you, I believe that. And for me its usually song lyrics."

-One Tree Hill (Peyton Sawyer's character)-

I read this quote for the first time today, and I can totally 100% understand where this quote is coming from. If you are new to this blog and have not yet seen a post where I talk about the lyrics of a song, then just wait it out a little bit and sure enough I will post one. Better yet, you can read them by clicking the music link on my side-bar. I am obsessed with songs which have emotional and memorable lyrics. Lyrics are poetry and if they touch me without hearing the song then I know the song has got to be a piece of art. There are definitely certain song lyrics that have truly changed my life. That usually happens when it is spot on to what I need to hear or what emotion I am feeling. Lyrics can be beautiful... they can also be harmful depending on what the writer is trying to convey. Just another thing I am careful about.

"Legacy"

While I was playing Euchre online today I also happened to have pandora on when this song was played. I have never heard it before and was about to press skip when the lyrics caught my eye. My favorite lyrics from this song happen to come from the bridge. "And will the world see Christ when they look at my life? Oh, will the world see?" I hope that when I die people did see Christ

Legacy
by: Sanctus Real

What will they say when I'm gone,
In words that are written in stone?
Under my name, what will they claim about me?

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered.
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, we only get one life

Free me, my hands are tied
I'm so tired of wasting time
These endless inventions
Steal my attention from real life
And when its done, when its over

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, we only get one life


And will the world see Christ
When they look at my life?
Oh, will the world see?

Mmm, come on, give me, give me, give me real life
And no more, no more, no more wasting time
Because we only, we only get one life (Just one Life)

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, (Get one shot, at this one life) We only (One moment in time)
Because we only, we only get one life

"My Grown Up Christmas List

This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs.... Especially now as I am no longer a kid anymore. Even though today is the day after Christmas I did not have a chance to get on here and post it earlier with the all the hustle and bustle of my own Christmas celebrations with my family... I hope you enjoy this song too. :)

My Grown Up Christmas List

Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies

Well, I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
and wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree

Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
(there'd be)

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, oh
This is my grown up christmas list
This is my only life long wish
This is my grown up christmas list

Did I Mention I Am A "Retreat Junkie?" Well I Am. :)

As I mentioned in my last post I have had a busy day. After confirmation classes a portion of us college students who are helping out with the youth group this year got together to brainstorm ideas on a retreat we will be holding for the kids. It will be a three-day week-end retreat that will be held in February. I have a feeling that there will be some good things that will come out of this, that is if we get kids to actually come. We are planning on sending fliers home with the parents as well as the kids in hopes that with the parents knowing about it then they will be more apt to send encourage their children to go. Hopefully with their help we will have a nice sized group. I am not sure exactly what will all be going on in this retreat except for the important things... Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and confession. I know a lot of community building will be happening on this retreat as well.

After this meeting I came home and began working on the talk that I will be giving on another retreat which will happen on the first week-end of Dec. My talk is all about confession. I know what I will talk about in my head. It is the actual organization of it all that I am struggling with at the moment... That and knowing that what I will talk about is not going to be easy at all for me to tell. It will be incredibly personal, but I hope that it will help change some of the kids and bring them closer to God.

I have had a hard time deciding on which two songs I will be using for my talk. In fact just now four different ones have gone through my head. I feel that the two below are going to be the most effective...most meaningful

Empty And Beautiful
Matt Maher

My past won't stop haunting me
In this prison there's a fight between
Who I am and who I used to be

This thorn in my side is a grace
For because of it the flesh and blood of God
Was offered in my place, my place

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

Where did my best friends go?
In my defense they disappeared
Just like Your friends did to You, oh Lord

But You were there, You gave me strength
So this little one might come to know
The glory of Your name, Your name

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

Awaiting, set apart like incense to Your heart
A libation I'm pouring out
Empty and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me
Jesus You kept the faith in me
Savior, You kept the faith in me


Unstoppable
Rascal Flatts

Yeah yeah yeah..
Hey

So, so you made a lot of mistakes
Walked down the road a little sideways
Cracked a brick when you hit the wall
Yeah, you've had a pocket full of regrets
Pull you down faster than a sunset
Hey, it happens to us all

When the cold hard rain just won't quit
And you can't see your way out of it

CHORUS
You find your faith has been lost and shaken
You take back what's been taken
Get on your knees and dig down deep
You can do what you think is impossible
Keep on believing, don't give in
It'll come and make you whole again
It always will, it always does
Love is unstoppable

Love, it can weather any storm
Bring you back to being born again
oh, it's a helping hand when you need it most
A lighthouse shinning on the coast
That never goes dim

When your heart is full of doubt
And you think that there's no way out

CHORUS
You find your faith has been lost and shaken
You take back what's been taken
Get on your knees and dig down deep
You can do what you think is impossible
Keep on believing, don't give in
It'll come and make you whole again
It always will, it always does
Love is unstoppable

Like a river keeps on rolling
Like the north wind blowing
Don't it feel good knowing
Yeah

CHORUS
You find your faith has been lost and shaken
You take back what's been taken
Get on your knees and dig down deep
You can do what you think is impossible
Keep on believing, don't give in
It'll come and make you whole again
It always will, it always does
Love is unstoppable

Love is unstoppable
So you made a lot of mistakes
Walked down the road a little sideways
Love, love is unstoppable

"Speak Now!"

"Speak now or forever hold your peace,' the words said by preachers at the end of wedding ceremonies all over the world, right before the vows. It's a last chance for protest, a moment that makes everyone's heart race, and a moment I've always been strangely fascinated by. So many fantasize about bursting into a church, saying what they'd kept inside for years like in the movies. In real life, it rarely ever happens.
Real life is a funny thing, you know. In real life, saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. So crucial in fact, that most of us start to hesitate for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But lately what I've begun to fear more than that is letting the moment pass without saying anything.
I think most of us fear reaching the end of our life, and looking back regretting the moments we didn't speak up. When we didn't say 'I love you.' When we should've said 'I'm sorry.' When we didn't stand up for ourselves or someone who needed help.
Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. I hope you use your words for good, because the only words you'll regret more than the ones left unsaid are the ones you use to intentionally hurt someone.
What you say might be too much for some people. Maybe it will come out all wrong and you'll stutter and you'll walk away embarassed, wincing as you play it all back in you head. But I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest.
So say it to them. Or say it to yourself in the mirror. Say it in a letter you'll never send or in a book millions might read someday. I think you deserve to look back on your life without a chorus of resounding voices saying 'I could've, but it's loo late now.'
There is a time for silence. There is a time waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you'll know it.
I don't think you should wait. I think you should speak now."

~Taylor Swift~

This past weekend I was very happy to finally buy the new Taylor Swift cd. I must say I am pleased with the new music she has put out. I still am impressed with how easily she can write such great songs. The above quote is from the booklet inside the cd. Those who own her cd cannot miss the first two pages this was written on. There is a lot of truth that comes through that long quote... Enjoy!

Something Extraordinary

If you were a bystander on third street in my hometown, you would have witnessed something extraordinary... A Eucharistic Procession. It is not something that happens everyday and I am sure it was a sight to see for those people who had no idea was was coming at them.

It was a gorgeous fall evening for this beautiful and sacred procession. The night sky was clear and the whether was perfect. The air smelled of incense around us as the altar servers carried it with us. It was simply perfect.

I was part of the ninety or so people who made up our group. We prayed the rosary and the divine mercy chaplet. We also sang church hymns in between each decade of the prayers. It is a special connection between a group when we all know that what we are doing is important. It is bringing Christ out to others. It is about bringing the heart of our faith and putting it out there for all to see. Yes, there were a few who yelled out some not so nice things to us, but the majority of the people we crossed paths with were very respectful of us. We passed a few fraternity houses and the frat boys would come out and just stand and stare. When they were handed a card about what they were they would take it with interest. It was a memorable evening.

I do not have pictures right now of this event, but you can expect me to put some up as soon as I possibly can.

"If I Die Young"

If I Die Young
by The Band Perry

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, Ill shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, well I've had, just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little, cold finger, I've
Never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand, there is a
Boy here in town says he'll, love my forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when your dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save them for a time when your really gonna need them, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls

The above song happens to be one which really makes me ponder a lot of different things.... "The sharp knife of a short life." I know that in general people around my age do not think about dying very often. We tend to think that we have all the time in the world to figure our lives out. 25 is so young to die...When we do hear about someone around our age dying people tend to have a harder time dealing with it. It seems more tragic in a way, than an older person because most of the time it is unexpected. Not always, but usually.

The fact of the matter is we never know when God will say our time is through on this world. For all I know, I could die tomorrow. We put things off that really should not be put off... confession, for example, happens to be one of the more important things. It is something that people will think about doing, but then put off for the next week, or even longer. It is important to keep our souls ready for whatever comes.

This song made me think about how I want people to remember me today if I do happen to die at a young age. Hopefully not so much in a bad way. Hopefully I do not die too soon though. My family has already had to deal with giving one son/brother back to God. I would hope they would not have to go through the same type of thing happening again.

I put this on my play list for the blog so if you are interested in hearing it you will find it easily there.

"What About Now?"

This past Sunday was an eventful one for me. I was even more excited because it was the day of the first meeting for another retreat leadership team I am on... Surprise, surprise. Me helping lead another retreat. It is another Antioch retreat, which is a week-end long retreat for high schoolers. Right now our leadership team is rather small, which makes me somewhat worried, but even with that small amount I feel as though somehow it will all come together. I am praying for a few more people to volunteer to help-out so as to take the load off of all of us having to give two talks each.

This year I volunteered to give probably the most challenging talk I have personally ever given. It is the confession talk. I will be getting into some interesting things in this talk, some very personal things. It will be difficult because I try to avoid talking about these things just because I am not like the person I once was in a lot of ways. It is also intimidating because I have to make confession seem not so awkward to go to... I personally like going to confession now, but I do remember a time when I hated it. I am sure a few of the retreatants will feel that same way, so I have to kind of do a "promo" talk about confession. I think I am up to this challenge.



This year's theme song will be,
"What About Now?"
by Daughtry...

Shadows fill an empty heart
As love is fading,
From all the things that we are
But are not saying.
Can we see beyond the scars
And make it to the dawn?

Change the colors of the sky.
And open up to
The ways you made me feel alive,
The ways I loved you.
For all the things that never died,
To make it through the night,
Love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

The sun is breaking in your eyes
To start a new day.
This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace.
Shadows fade into the light.
I am by your side,
Where love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love, it never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

Now that we're here,
Now that we've come this far,
Just hold on.
There is nothing to fear,
For I am right beside you.
For all my life,
I am yours.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

Send "What About Now" Ringtone to your Cell

"Honesty Is Honestly The Hardest Thing"

"Tryin' to be perfect, tryin' not to let you down. Honesty is honestly the hardest thing for me right now.yeah While the floors underneath our feet are crumblin' the walls we built together tumblin' I still stand here holdin' up the roof cause it's easier than telling the truth."
~Kris Allan~

The above quote hits me pretty hard tonight. I like to pride myself on telling the truth. I do not like lying. It is not something I find very tolerable. However, I have to admit to myself tonight that I am awful about being completely honest with my own self. In fact, if I am honest with myself right now I have to say I have been lying for the past year or so. I thought that if I pretended I was ok with some things that I have had to deal with for over a year, than eventually I would actually be ok with it. I fooled myself for a good while the past couple of months by thinking I really am doing ok. Then a few words are spoken and I fall right back to where I was before.

The only person at fault for the moment over this is myself. I kept my mouth shut probably when I should have been outspoken about the things that were going on in my head. Maybe if I had told a certain person everything I was feeling last Summer I would not be in the predicament I am. I did not do that because I did not want to be selfish. Now I am regretting that decision.

I feel as though I need to let this person know the complete truth, but am I just feeling this way because I am feeling like being selfish now? Or is it because the longer I have kept it in the more I have ended up hurting myself? If I do end up being extremely open and completely honest with this person I am afraid our relationship will not be the same, and I am scared to death of that. This is going to take a lot of thought before I actually put myself out there; put everything out on the line basically.

Love is sacrificing one's personal wants and needs for the wants and needs of the other person. I have to keep this in mind as I make my decision to tell my friend some things I have kept hidden. Really I have to pray about it and bring this to God and hopefully in the near future He will let me know which way is the right way to go. Prayer is what always puts things into the right perspective for me. Here it goes.