all am is breath and vapor

and shadows
all i have is what i need

this i know:
that i need a new song
i need a new song

~audrey assad, new song

last week my uncle took my brother and sister and i to a tenth avenue north concert.  it was absolutely incredible…good music, good teaching, good encouragement.  it was an amazing evening.

the definite highlight for me, though, was being introduced to audrey assad’s music.  beautiful voice, beautiful lyrics…i’ve been listening to her almost nonstop lately.  i needed some new study music and hers is just the thing.  the words are so much like the echos of everything i’ve been pondering or struggling with or thinking about lately.

there’s an aching in my body, in my lungs
the web of bones around my heart is coming undone
because i, i need a new song
i need a new song

~audrey assad, new song

speaking of aching bodies…i’ve made very good friends with the frozen vegetables recently, thanks to a massive bruise on the inside of one leg (one friend thought i might have broken my fibula by the looks of it…but since i could put weight on it, i’m pretty sure i didn’t) and a sprained ankle on the other.  oh, well.  it was worth it.  my team won at both soccer and frisbee.  =)  anyway, i say all of that because hopefully that will explain the weird colors of my foot and ankle in the next picture.

this last sunday, with a mug of much-needed coffee in hand, i finished reading “give them grace” by elyse fitzpatrick and jessica thompson.  very, very good book.  i don’t think i’ve read a parenting book this gospel-centered…ever.  as opposed to a lot of books which basically boil down to “good parenting in, good kids out,” this one emphasized and reemphasized and re…well, you get the point…the inability of man and the sovereignty of God, and how that should affect the way that parents parent.   i found it encouraging not only as regards the future (obviously i don’t have kids at the moment), but…when the focus is the gospel, it’s pretty hard to not be encouraged no matter what the topic.

so i’m waiting in the night for You, Lord
burning in the sky for You, You
waiting in the night for You, You
i’m burning in the sky for You

(audrey assad, new song)

 the overcast weather must be doing something funny to me…i suddenly got the baking urge last weekend and mixed up some pumpkin bread.  with chocolate chips and pecans, of course…how could i resist?  =)

i can’t believe how big shannon is getting.  it’s weird to look at newborn-sized clothes and think, “these were too big for her four months ago.”  she’s so big and alert!  she wants to eat anything and everything…and she’s getting used to the camera being in her face.  finally caught a bit of a grin…

 and now it’s time to head back to my study hole.  back at the shakespeare books…i will admit that reading is a nice change from essay-writing, but somehow shakespearean tragedy isn’t exactly what pops into my head when i think, “nice change.”

this is life.  and right now i’m exhausted from it.  late nights and not-so-early mornings taking care of baby-shann…school and dishes…babysitting jobs and piano lessons…fighting off colds and viral infections…falling asleep over my textbooks and yet being unable to sleep at night…it’s tiring and right now i’m feeling very weary.  but i’m also feeling strangely peaceful these days.  Christ is sufficient…both all that i need and all that i have.

words are failing
my melodies falter
my voice is breaking
my heart is burning
because blessing and honor
glory and power
praise and worship
they belong to You

(audrey assad, new song)

(some flowers i bought on a whim at the grocery store.  i like roses, but i don’t generally buy them.  they’re kind of…i don’t know.  cliche, perhaps.   but i’m a sucker for flowers like these…they’re so pretty, like wildflowers almost.  and the colors were uncliche and very happy, the perfect thing to make the house a little bit brighter.)

all i am is breath and vapor

and shadows

and all i have is what i need

and this i know.

(audrey assad, new song)
Posted in Good words, Insert, Really truly adventures, Thoughts | 4 Notes