mix tape

This post should probably be called mix cd or imix, lets be honest  mix tape flows better. 

I was cleaning out my cd case on Sunday…yes apparently I still actually own some. While doing that I found that I have a wide array of mix cds that have been made for me or by me. My friend Ainsley loves to put together a good mix cd, she’s a bit like Zach Braff in that way.What I quickly found was that I have a mix cd from every year I’ve lived in DC, each one a little different from the other. It’s funny though almost all six, have one common song, “Have a little faith in me”

That got me thinking about how life sometimes is a bit like a mix tape.  Sometimes its a “kick butt, new life” mix or a dark and twisty, or one that commemorates an event. It could even be an honest testament to where we are in our faith.  Like our lives, each “tape” we make changes with time, infused with what God has taught us, joys, heartaches and etc..

So if you could make a mix tape right now what would be the first song on it? Would there be a common theme?

snapshots

In our ministry team meeting Justin asked an ice breaker question,”Say your name, where you serve and your favorite Halloween memory”  We go around the room and everyone has a fun story from when they were kids or something like that. In my head, I’m thinking..name..check, where i serve..check..favorite halloween memory..um quick think of something cute, funny or sarcastic. ( yes my internal thought process is a little random)

You’d think I’d be more prepared, years of similar scenarios like this. Where I am asked ” what is your favorite _____ memory?” or “did you ever do _____ as a kid?”  I tend to say something funny or sarcastic to move off topic. Because as hard as I try, childhood memories escape me. I have to rely on my younger sister to fill in the blanks. I look at pictures and just see a picture no back story or understanding. There are flashes sometimes, triggered by a smell or place , but in my head I remember being 16, not 10, not 5. I dont remember dressing up like a princess or dance recitals or middle school graduation.

It’s ironic because I am a rememberer(is that a word?). I will remember that you love M & M’s or that you drink tea not coffee, or when your birthday is, or a sad day that you’ll need to be cheered up. And I watch our kids at work, and I find myself  praying that they get to keep those memories of dressing up like superheros and surprise birthday parties.

Ok, so this post is a little sad. I’ve learned here is that despite my lack of remembering is that through the good and the bad of the last 14 years, God has blessed me with so many amazing memories, lessons learned and pictures taken.  And above all, He hasn’t forgotten me.

So I think the snapshots I have are pretty great and I have a feeling there are some really great ones still in store.

-B

“Remember these things, O Jacob, 
for you are my servant, O Israel. 
I have made you, you are my servant; 
O Israel, I will not forget you.” Isaiah 44:21

song to share

This song by Starfield, is one of my new favorite worship songs…so I wanted to share it.

eyes

“Miss Bindu, your eyes are really big.” Its always so funny to hear that mostly because it is not something I think about often. Well and it sort of reminds me of the story of little red riding hood.

I had a friend in college that swore I could see right into people when I was talking to them. That it was what made me easy to talk to and that it helped me be compassionate. But I realized something in the last week, I don’t make that kind of eye contact anymore.  I am always darting across rooms and watching the world around me often without really looking.

Then this week, I was totally convicted after reading an article written by Max Lucado in the World Vision magazine. “We both saw the man. I saw right through him. Stanley saw deep into him.”,Lucado writes.  What I learned about myself doesn’t exactly relate to the story in the magazine. But God used it to show me that I stopped looking because part of me didn’t want to know or be known. To do that, would mean to trust people, to trust that God puts people in my path for reasons that do not always make sense. Let’s face it, it’s just easier to be mysterious it hurts less. ( You know I’m right) 

God has different plans though, so I am going to do my best to really look with these “big eyes” of mine and really see. Those of you that live in the area, might need to hold me accountable and call me out when I need it.

What keeps you from really looking?