Other

So many of y’all have emailed and asked me about Olivia that I wanted to post one last update and a huge thank you for all your prayers and concerns.

If all goes well, Olivia should be able to go home on Tuesday or Wednesday. Her CT scans and hearing tests have all come back with very good results and the antibiotics have successfully fought the bacterial infection.

The biggest concern at this point is getting her strength back. She lost some muscle tone due to the illness, so they need to work on getting her strength back.

But, she’s already proved she’s a fighter. Which, if y’all knew how stubborn her daddy is, wouldn’t surprise any of y’all one bit.

Thanks again for all the prayers and know that they were answered in a mighty way.

Okay, so here’s a good way to get yourself in the swing of the season. This is limited to the first 150 people who sign up and qualify, so go. Go NOW.

If you’re a blogger living in the United States with more than 100 unique visitors a month and enjoy the music of Michael W. Smith, head over to this site or just click on the picture above and some nice folks will hook you up with a free CD. All you have to do is:

Listen to the CD while putting up your Christmas tree or decorating your house (or some other Christmas-related activity)

Write a short blog entry about your experience

Put the 150×150 banner in your sidebar

How easy is that?

And if you haven’t heard the CD yet, trust me, you will want this to be in regular rotation throughout your holiday season.

It’s like Santa has come early!

We have a winner.

Heather at Life as We Know It was lucky #16 in the comments.

Heather email me your address and I’ll get your Until June CD in the mail. You’re going to love it!

Have a great weekend.

I believe I have mentioned that I am a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy”. One of the things I love about the show, other than Patrick Dempsey’s hair, is they play great music. Phenomenal, cutting edge music.

So every week, right after the show, I head over to the “Grey’s Anatomy” site to check out the songs played on the show, and then I download them like crazy on iTunes.

And then I feel really cool because I have something on my iPod other than Run D.M.C.

I wish I were kidding.

I am a fan of 80’s rap. I’ll just own it.

Anyway, given this love of music featured on “Grey’s Anatomy”, y’all can imagine my delight when some nice people sent me Until June’s debut CD.

Who is Until June you may be asking?

Until June recorded a little song called “What I’ve Done”, and the folks from Grey’s Anatomy heard it and used it on the episode where Addison leaves Seattle Grace for L.A., otherwise known as the set up for the new spinoff called Private Practice, which premieres this Wednesday night on ABC.

Word on the street is it has even been considered for the Private Practice theme song.

How cool is that?

And here’s the coolest part. Until June is a Christian band. Their music is incredible. And modern. And uplifting.

The band consists of two brothers, Josh and Dan Ballard, and Daniel Dempsey (no relation to Patrick, as far as I know, but I will say all the band members appear to have really good hair). They left their home in Arizona 3 years ago for L.A. to see if they could find success with their music. After a long, hard road, they finally gave themselves a deadline of June 2006.

Hence, UNTIL JUNE.

Is that clever?

I think so.

One of my problems with SOME Christian music is that it doesn’t sound current enough. I love bands like Coldplay and Ben Folds Five, but it’s hard to find something in the Christian genre that sounds like that.

Until June has that sound.

Their lyrics are uplifting and encouraging. They are filled with hope even in the midst of hard times and talk about redemption and forgiveness. They talk about their faith, life and love.

They may be my new favorite band. In all seriousness, if y’all are looking for something great to listen to, you’ve got to check out Until June. This CD is phenomenal.

I can’t even pick a favorite song because I’ll end up listing every song on the CD.

The other thing I love is that although they are a Christian group, their music appeals to everyone. In fact, when you look on their website, one of the places they are currently playing is The Viper Room in L.A.

I’ve never been to The Viper Room, but I’m willing to bet it’s a far cry from the First Baptist Church of Anytown, U.S.A.

I think it’s awesome that their music is reaching a wider audience. And you know what? That’s the sign of good music. That’s the sign of talent. That’s the sign of God using them for awesome things.

Check them out for yourself. Here they are singing “What I’ve Done”.

If you like them, I have one free CD to giveaway. Leave a comment and I’ll enter you in the drawing. And even if you don’t win, head over to iTunes and download it. You’ll be glad you did.

I’ll keep the comments open until Thursday.

I just did the drawing for the Pocket of Light CD using a random number generator from the internet. It was like magic!

Anyway, the winners are:

Lisa Kay at Ellijay at Heart

Jenna at The In Between Scene

Ladies, email me with your addresses and I will get the CD in the mail on Monday. Hope y’all love it as much as I do!

This fall, I’m in a Bible study group with 5 other lovely ladies. We are doing “A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place”, because we love us some Beth Moore and the way she makes the scriptures come alive.

Anyway, this week has been our first week of the study and here’s what I read today. Beth is talking about God calling Abram to leave his home (Genesis 12:1) and begin a new chapter in his life. She says, “Have you ever noticed that God often requires us to leave our comfort zones to answer our calling? That through which God hones us is rarely within the parameters of the familiar. No amount of comfort is worth missing the greatest adventure humankind can experience”.

These words spoke to me in ways that I can’t even properly convey. Let’s just say they hit me deep in my soul and put a lot of things that have happened in my life in the past year in perspective. If, as Christians, we’re constantly comfortable and familiar, what would cause us to strive for more? To see what else God may have in store?

P and I have also watched a friend of ours be pushed out of his comfort zone over the last few years as God has called him to new challenges and led him to leave what is familiar for what is better. His name is Darrell Smith and he’s just released a new CD called “Pocket of Light”.

I’ve worshipped in many different settings and been led by many different worship leaders. Truly, I have been blessed to worship with some incredibly talented people that have such a heart for what worship is supposed to be. Darrell is one of those people.

He truly has a heart for making Christ the center and focus of every aspect of worship. Yes, the music is great, but the heart behind it is what makes it special.

When I got my copy of “Pocket of Light” about 2 weeks ago, I immediately put it in the CD player in my car and it’s been there ever since. Darrell wrote all 12 songs and the lyrics are incredible, honest, and raw. They speak to my frailty as a Christian and my desire to serve God better and know Him more.

The title song, “Pocket of Light” (which also features the incredible vocals of Ayiesha Woods) talks about how indifferent we can be to those around us who may be crying out, seeking the hope that we have found.

“Could you take the time to talk to me?
I’ll trade your gossip for some Gospel
but you’ll have to see and
Reach me.
Feel me.
Help me to grasp all that can be.
Teach me to see what He sees in me.
Won’t you please just stop and see?
Reach me”

Powerful, convicting stuff.

And my personal favorite song, in case y’all were wondering, is “Feed Your Fire”. It’s about the dangers of looking to others to build our faith, instead of focusing on God and feeding ourselves. Awesome lyrics and it’s got a great sound that causes Caroline to do a little carseat dancing. In fact, anytime we get in the car she tells me to “put on that good song, Mama!”

The girl has got to get her groove on.

This is just an awesome CD. It’s about real life. It’s about the struggles and joys we all face everyday. Darrell has this quote by Dallas Willard on his homepage, “the only thing we have to offer God at the end of our lives, is who we have become”. This music is about that journey.

If y’all want to listen to more, then head over to Darrell Smith Music. You can listen to clips of the songs and if you like what you hear, you can download them there or on iTunes. Plus, you can read more about Darrell and his ministry. It will inspire you.

For you low-tech folks, you can just order the CD at Independent Bands.

And because I always love to spread the wealth, I am giving away two free copies of “Pocket of Light”. If you’re interested, leave a comment to enter the drawing. I’ll keep comments open until Friday, September 21.

Have a great day, y’all.