Magnificent Obsession

As I reach the end of my second week of married life, I thought you might want a peek into my wedding day. It was wonderful! As I was returning to my work day commute the last couple mornings, I was listening again to the song that was played during our ceremony while we took communion. Our good friend Josh gave of his time and talent to play Magnificent Obsession by Steven Curtis Chapman. One of my favorite worship songs by SCC, I wanted to share with you what it means to me and our marriage.

Lord, You know how much
I want to know so much
In the way of answers and explanations
I have cried and prayed
And still I seem to stay
In the middle of life’s complications
All this pursuing leaves me feeling like I’m chasing down the wind
But now it’s brought me back to You
And I can see again

This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession

These lyrics mirror the season of life I had been in prior to my first date with The Husband. God had brought me. God's grace is to always draw us back to Himself. For the wedding day, I had Josh skip this first verse and start in with the part of the song that was my hearts cry of the day.

So capture my heart again
Take me to depths I’ve never been
Into the riches of Your grace and Your mercy
Return me to the cross
And let me be completely lost
In the wonder of the love
That You’ve shown me
Cut through these chains that tie me down to so many lesser things
Let all my dreams fall to the ground
Until this one remains

You are everything I want
You are everything I need
I want You to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You
I want it all to be for You

You are everything I want
And You are everything I need
Lord, You are all my heart desires
You are everything to me

Wedding days and marriages overall are a mirror of our relationship with Christ. They are meant to teach us more about how He feels towards us, how He cares for us, how He gave His life for His beloved. With the lyrics above my heart was crying out that He would take us both as His. That our main focus would be Him even as we enter a very exciting new relationship and season of life. I am fully in love with my husband. But my magnificent obsession is Jesus. And I am beyond thrilled that He has appointed this time of my life to enter into this earthly covenant to mirror how He loves us. 
I want it all to be for You

ALSO!!!  My wonderful photographer posted a sneak peek of our wedding photos!

http://www.ginnyfilerphotography.com/2013/07/elizabeth-and-josue-are-married/

Deck the Halls!

I am typically very adamant that Christmas not start before Thanksgiving. This year though, I've been feeling like throwing caution to the wind and embracing Christmas early.  I'm actually putting my tree up tomorrow!

This is partially to blame on all the amazing new Christmas music that had been released this year! Of particular interest has been David Crowder*Band, Mathew West and TobyMac.

My favorite right now is Oh For Joy by David Crowder*Band. Very classic Crowder.  Meaning it's amazing. Have you ever heard a banjo on Angels We Have Heard on High?  No? Then you are missing out. (Plus, I love the cover. I want to know what I'd look like as a nutcracker.)

And though it came out back in 2008, Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer by Relient K is one of my favorite Christmas albums of all time and now on rotation on my iPod. Best rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas ever.

If your Christmas music collection is feeling a little stale, a little same ol' same ol', then maybe it's time to spice it up a bit with a few new albums!

Fill me in on your old favorite or new discovery.

Remind Me

(Yes, it's been too long since the last post. I think the earthquake scrambled my brain. And the hurricane was distracting. And there are always excuses. And natural "disasters" are my favorite ones to use. So hard to argue with for the most part!)

In the last few years, I've forgotten so much. My zeal, faith and hope have slipped away. This year, God has been restoring me. Remind Me Who I Am by Jason Gray has been my prayer since I first heard it.

When I lose my way,
And I forget my name
Remind me who I am
In the mirror all I see
Is who I don't wanna be
Remind me who I am

If I'm Your beloved can You help me believe it

Tell me, once again
Who I am to you, who I am to You
Tell me, lest I forget
Who I am to you, that I belong to You
To You 

The truth can be so simple and so easy to forget. We go looking for something more complex. Who are you? You are the beloved of God. It's WHO YOU ARE.

As well as having lyrics that touch my soul, Jason's music sounds great. Give him a listen. If the song pricks your heart, try to find quiet time later today to listen again and make it your prayer as well.

Jason also recorded a three minute video talking about the song and why he wrote it. It's well worth the listen.

RMWIA (what, you don't make acronyms out of song titles?) is the first single off of an album releasing a week from today. This week you can listen to the WHOLE THING streaming as a preview right HERE. (yes, you have to register, but it's worth it) I very much enjoyed his last album and I'm looking forward to downloading this one.

And it was good!

DC Fest was AMAZING!  The meet & greet before hand was very quick with no pictures, but I had a chance to say hello to, and get autographs from, 18 amazing christian men. I didn't say anything life changing to SCC, but it was still great. Every one of them were so kind and gracious as I made meaningless smalltalk while moving along the line of artists.

And then it was on to the concert! My seat was dead center, 2nd row. It's an amazing way to see a concert. From 3pm until 10:30pm we worked our way through seven amazing sets of music. Though I didn't know all the songs, there wasn't any part I wanted to skip. I had fun. I worshiped. I pondered. I laughed. I got tired and wished I wore better shoes for standing on concrete all day. But I loved every minute of it. Right down to the last moment when I got SCCs guitar pick that he tossed into the crowd.

I hope none of the wonderful preachers and teachers I know and love take this the wrong way, but that day of music fed me as much as a month of Sunday sermons. Lyrics pierced my soul. They illuminated dark places. They brought joy and healing. I'll be sorting through all the mini-sermons my soul and spirit heard for the next few weeks.

One thought I wanted to share with you. (press play above if you can)

Oh God let this be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

I don't know about you, but I haven't prayed any prayers about "my generation" in almost ten years. It's a phrase that somehow only applies to youth, teens, the ones up and coming. I'm 30 now. My generation is just...a normal part of the world. But I felt God stirring my heart. We are not forgotten or left behind. We have not missed God's call on our generation.

IS 62:12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

HighCalling, revisit the zeal of our youth. Revisit the prayers you prayed. It's not over yet.

I wholeheartedly recommend this worship album : http://www.amazon.com/It-Is-Well-Expanded-Edition/dp/B0045QKQGI/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314068918&sr=301-2

Thanks for coming on this blog journey with me!

Concert Extravaganza!

Do you love concerts? Me too! Let me share a few tid-bits with you.

First, this one is local to the DC area. This Saturday is DC Fest! Hours and hours of amazing live music starting at 3pm at the Patriot Center. Last year I got tickets at the door and sat in the nosebleeds for $15 but this time I'm going all out with a 2nd row ticket that lets me meet the artists before the show. This is when I plan to stutter at Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W Smith, Matthew West and more all at once. You should come too!

Other awesome tours:

• Hillsong United is hitting a few cities. I'm bummed because the MD show is the same night as DC Fest.
• You also NEED to be at a show during the LAST TOUR EVER for the David Crowder Band. They are also taking Gungor, Chris August, and John Mark McMillan on the road with them so it will be a spectacular night. They have a whole list of cities that start the end of next month and I heard a rumor that a couple are already sold out. So don't wait.
• Chris Tomlin has been on tour for a while now and I was sad I missed him in Baltimore. Thankfully, he has a whole 2nd set of dates coming up INCLUDING the Patriot Center! Most of the cities are already on sale, so go get them now. My show goes on sale Aug 26th and I plan on snatching up some of those first 10 row tickets I see for only $36. I'm really hoping I can get some friends to go with me (hint hint hint). Christy Nockels is the special guest and I'm excited to hear her. Though I haven't keep up with her newer stuff, I loved her when she and her husband were Watermark.
• WinterJam is hitting the west cost for the first time ever. HUGE traveling indoor music fest. I had a blast at one of the VA stops earlier this year. Super cheap too. Newsboys, RED, Kutless, NewSong, Matthew West, Fireflight, and more. 

And that is today's Music Monday Concert Extravaganza update!  Let me know what shows you plan to attend this summer/fall!
(want to know my secret? I check itickets.com alllllll the time.)

Songwriters are my favorite

One of my musical heroes is Steven Curtis Chapman. His song writing style is perfect for my brain/heart to absorb. He uses so many original analogies that I just love.

In reference to accepting God's grace:

I'm playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean

Free song download!

Love this band, love this song.  Download it free!

Funky Friday

I'm not sure what it is about blog posts, days of the week and alliteration, but it seems to be running rampant in the blogdom. Why fight it?  It's hard to find a good use of the word funky otherwise. But since we did work it in, let's start today's music post with some TobyMac!  Hit play over there -->

Introducing... Themes and Anthem Lights!

How can I made my internet presence more RICH & FOCUSED? I'm going to try out some theme posting!  Right now my topics might be: Entertaining (hospitality, food, etc), Music (albums to buy and concerts to attend) and God Stuff (more like the stuff that has already been on this blog). This list is open to change right now, but once it's a little more settled down, you might even see more scheduled posts for your regular reading pleasure.

Today you get... MUSIC!