JOY unspeakable

Now, those of you who know me can attest that my greatest worldly ambition is to be a hippie. I mean legit, awesome, chill, oozing with coolness hippie. Well, I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. The past week or so I have hit my stride with bluegrass music. I'm talking I was watching a PBS movie with the Wright family called The Songcatcher (HIGHLY recommend) and it hit me like a brick wall. I was obsessed. Now, I am not a country music fan but living in Nashville, TN for 2 months I have been exposed to it on a daily basis. I must also admit that this is partially due to Landon Byrd and the fact that he is a cowboy... or at least that is what his greatest worldly ambition is to become.

So we have had this interesting dynamic between the two of us. I have dragged him downtown to sketch-ville bar to see a techno/alternative/disco/funk/folk/electro-ish band and he BLASTS Alan Jackson everytime we are in the car. It's very interesting. However, our musical worlds have fallen into step under this mutual understanding and appreciation of folk and bluegrass music. He downloaded the Old Crow Medicine Show CD and we both sang along to Wagon Wheel as we drove to church on Saturday. Following some tweeps, I came to know a band called Mumford & Sons and I have become hooked. I watched a documentary on Netflix (another new obsession of mine) called 180 Degrees South (another HIGHLY recommended view) and have been listening via http://www.grooveshark.com to the soundtrack which makes me want to take up mountain climbing and surfing, simultaneously, but more about that later. So my world has opened up to this different kind of wailing, banjo playing, barefoot tapping music and it is beautiful.

"You can understand dependence/ when you know the Maker's hand."

This new music trend has brought on a fresh wind of life in me. God has been faithful to bring things into my day everyday that show His beauty and majesty to me. I have been challenged through conversation with girls in the youth group and through teaching and leading discussion every week, but amongst all of this God has given me an unspeakable joy the past two weeks. I can't explain it except I know it is from Him, filling my time with things to laugh at and friendships to enjoy. It's almost like I just realized how much I love it here and that I just felt the urgency that I leave in 9 days. Nolensville has hooked me in and it's wonderful.

In other news, I got to visit Shades Mountain's youth camp in Ocoee earlier this week and spent a day seeing Lesley and have her poke fun at me because for once in her life she is tanner than I. I also got to see Rachael Collins which ALWAYS makes my day. I am so blessed to have grown up with a friend who loves the Lord without abandon. I mean, Rachael dragged me along to wash this kid's clothes that were infested with roaches and she modeled a servant's heart through the entire ordeal. AH, I can't wait to be in Birmingham to have time with my core group girls.


Bah, I just feel really smiley right now, and I blame this:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your innter being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 4:16-18