I should tell you,
I should tell you
I have always loved you.
You can see it in my eyes.

I think God created music b/c sometimes words alone can't convey what He's created us to feel. This is the thought that kept running through my head last night after watching RENT. I wish that I could somehow find words that would explain just what it is about this show that has actually changed the way that I love people. I was watching a video clip from some of the actors the other day and Jesse L. Martin, the guy who plays Tom Collins said that the essence of RENT is simply that it's about the family you choose. Maybe it's because in my life God has blessed me with the most incredible chosen family I could ever have imagined. Last night I watched the show with one of those friends, and I wondered how many people in their lives ever get to experience that sort of a connection. Neither of us said a word through the entire show, but it didn't matter. I knew simply by the presence of him breathing beside me that he was feeling what I was feeling. And somehow that made me feel it that much deeper. Every time I've seen this show- (8 times on stage) I've been changed. Last night, seeing it for the first time in film changed me again. That is why God created music. I've listened to these songs probably 1000's of times over the last 9 years. Some days it was like I'd never heard the song before. And in those 9 years, I've loved and I've lost. I've laughed and I've cried. I've been restless and I've found peace. And that music never stopped touching me. I think it's so much more than music. It's more than words and notes. It's love and passion and connection on a level that I pray never stops changing me. I've hesitated to write just what I thought on my blog about RENT, b/c if you've never seen it, or for that matter never gotten it then what I have to say just sounds like some cheesy review of a play or a movie that you don't have any intention of seeing. And it's so much more than that to me. It's real to me. The characters are real to me. The songs are real to me and most importantly the love and the passion are real to me. That's how I want to live my life. Living each day for what it is- a gift from a God that loves me more than I can ever begin to fathom. No day but today.

I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves
And though I'm empty, I still warn the sailors on their way.

So Thursday night I made the trip down to Louisville for a Nickel Creek concert. And I have to say that I think it was the best concert I've ever been to in my life. I'm not sure what it was that made it different from the other 12 times I've seen them, (yes 12 times) but it blew me away. The show was at the Brown Theatre in Louisville which is this great little place that only goes back to row T on the main floor and a balcony level above. My seats were in Row A- which b/c they sat the pit was actually the 4th row, right in the center. It was completely full, and the crowd was great. I just have to say that any band that can somehow cover Britney Spears, Radiohead, and Randy Newman in one evening is incredible. Yes, Britney Spears. You've never heard Toxic until you've heard it on mandolin and fiddle. It actually made it worth listening to. You'll note the wonderful picture above is of one Mr. Chris Thile, the mandolin player of Nickel Creek, with none other than of course me. Any man who can play anything from Bach to Nirvana on the mandolin, deserves some serious props. Outside of that though, he plays with this passion unlike anything I've ever seen before. If I could just travel to wherever they are, every time my head is swimming with thought like it was Thursday, I'd be a much happier person. I think I'm going to have to start driving a little more to wherever they're playing.
I know I haven't done a very good job of updating lately. I've had an awful lot running through my mind and haven't really been up to trying to give it words. I'll try to be a little more regular though. I suppose if I'd write what I'm thinking a little more, I might not be quite so incredibly pensive all the time. We'll see.

Hundred~ The Fray

The how I can't recall
But I'm staring at what once was the wall
Separating east and west
Now they meet amidst the broad daylight

So this is where you are, and this is where I am
Somewhere between unsure and a hundred

It's hard I must confess
I'm banking on the rest to clear away
Cause we have spoken everything
Everything short of I love you
You right where you are, from right where I am
Somewhere between unsure and a hundred

And who's to say it's wrong
And who's to say that it's not right
Where we should be for now

So this is where you are, and this is where I am
So this is where you are, and this is where I've been
Somewhere between unsure and a hundred

Taken from Ems that she took from Meagan

FOUR THINGS YOU USE EVERYDAY:
Mark (my Ipod) “Mark, I’m Mark!”
Phone
Car
Toothbrush

FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
Performance Manager
Worship Ministry Assistant
Classified Advertising Rep
IU Telefund caller (for donors and alumni of IU-I’m not sure I could find a worse job) (And yes, Target employee with my Ems, but I thought Telefund just has that nausea when you go to work every day factor going for it.)

FOUR STORES YOU SHOP AT MOST:
Target
Gap
Goodwill
Wal-Mart

FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
Newsies
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
While You Were Sleeping
Empire Records

FOUR THINGS YOU WANT TO DO IN LIFE:
Figure out whatever it is God wants me to do, and succeed at that.
Get Married
See Europe
Lose Weight

FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
Mexico
California
Florida
New York City

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
yahoo mail
Blogger
Nickel Creek.com
Rent website

FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
Trojan Horse
The Cheesecake Factory
Pizza King
Papa Joe's

FOUR COSTUMES YOU'VE WORN ON HALLOWEEN:
Oscar the Grouch
A Witch (with make-up so scary, I looked in the mirror and cried. Thanks Mom)
Pippi Longstocking
The Energizer Bunny

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU ATTENDED:
Easter Hancock Elementary
Eastern Hancock High School
Indiana University (I’ve only got 3, they built the middle school after I graduated.)

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPINGS:
Pepperoni
Mushroom
Onion
Green Pepper

FOUR MOST DIALED NUMBERS:
Mom
Abby
Jenny
Ems

And now I'm going to add one more...

FOUR SONGS I CAN'T SEEM TO STOP LISTENING TO:
Reasons Why- Nickel Creek
Hundred- The Fray
Know Better Now- Ellery
Psalm 145- Shane and Shane