beautiful.

this morning I spent a few hours facilitating a radio tour with 14 christian stations across the u.s. to promote veggietales new release, sweetpea beauty: a girl after god's own heart.

christian artist nichole nordeman was on the tour (along with the always-amazing mike nawrocki, voice of larry the cucumber). nichole penned and performed the end credits song for sweetpea, called beautiful for me.

watching her song and video were some of the first things I did when I started working here 2 months ago, to acquaint myself with sweetpea, our latest DVD release we were all working on.

I can't stop listening to it. the lyrics and message behind it are so powerful for girls - young and old.

if you've ever read the book captivating by stacey eldridge you've heard the adage that "all every girl wants is to be told she is beautiful" - by God, by her husband, friends, family, the world, etc. it's a strong generalization, but not without much truth.

the world says:
"is that your best? says the mirror to the mess"

god says:
"has anybody told you you're beautiful? you might agree if you could see what I see"
"long ago I made you so very beautiful. so I ought to know."

I was struck this morning by nichole on a personal level. she has been out of the "limelight" for a few years now. she has a 7 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. she decided she wanted to be a mommy rather than a famous singer. she made a good choice and god is blessing this message - something she is so passionate about, and willing to share in this way that god's called her to. I think that's admirable.

check out the video here:



and the behind the scenes with nichole here:

my own little world.

matthew west has a new single called "my own little world" available TODAY only on facebook, then releasing august 17th to christian radio. check it out here.

father break my heart for what breaks yours
give me open hands and open doors
put your light in my eyes and let me see
that my own little world is not about me

amen.

also check out his tour dates, just announced, for this fall. 

he'll be partnering with operation christmas child.

top 10 tuesday | grocery shopping & a cry for help

I'm on a bloggin' role this week. so glad to have time and thoughts and an outlet to share them. it's time for the next installment of top 10 tuesday.

I love to make lists, so top 10s are a dream come true.

making a list and sharing it with the world.

here's my dilemma and the reasoning behind today's post. I am not great at being an adult. I try. and I can certainly fool many. but I am not great at it.

I can't seem to get my finances in order. sometimes I pay bills late. ugh.
I like to shop more than I like to save for my future.
I like to change cars often.
I don't wash my sheets or clothing, for that matter, often enough.
I let dirty dishes pile up in the sink.
I can't cook a darn thing.

...

and I don't know how to grocery shop.

here are the top 10 things I ALWAYS buy at the grocery store. can you help me grow my list?

I'm looking for 10 more essentials... help me shake it up a bit.

1. rotisserie chicken
2. eggs
3. milk
4. cheese
5. hummus
6. carrots and celery
7. diet coke
8. meats - bacon, sausage, ground beef
9. low carb ice cream
10. diet bars for breakfast and snacks

so. totally. lame. help me?

jade.

today my parents celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. I think that's pretty impressive.

they got married in 1975.

this is them cutting their wedding cake...

 

the traditional anniversary gift is jade. but by dad got her this instead. sweet deal!

happy anniversary mom and dad! we love you.

love, the kids.

music monday | sons & daughters

I've been attending a church here in franklin called journey. it meets at the factory at 10 am on sundays (join me).

at some point I am going to have to move away from the 10 mile radius of my apartment, working at the factory, and going to church there, but I digress.

so a few weeks ago we had this killer worship duo leading music. my friend, who's been attending for a while and informs me of all the who's who of christian music at our church, also informs me that the guy on keys used ot be with NEEDTOBREATHE.

(I'm not excitedly saying the band name. that's just how they spell it.)

he's linked up with our lovely chick singer worship leader at church and together they have formed a duo called sons & daughters. they write and they sing and their stuff is good. they tweet under the name @sandmusic and you can get a free download of their song here: http://sonsdaughters.bandcamp.com/

this is the song you can get for free. it's called all the poor and powerless. I think it's lovely it's a good reminder of God's great holiness - all will see and know.

all will confess. we have no other choice. we want no other choice.

all the poor and powerless
and all the lost and lonely
all the thieves will come confess
and know that you are holy
will know that you are holy

all the hearts that are content
and all that feel unworthy
all who hurt with nothing left
will know that you are holy

all will sing out hallelujah
and we will cry out hallelujah

shout it
go on and scream it from the mountains
go on and tell it to the masses
that He is God

love this photo.

fedora.

question. do you like my new hat? see ---> updated profile photo to the right. I kinda thought I could rock it in barcelona in september. we'll see how the relationship with headwear goes.

july obsessions.

here are a few of my favorite things, these days.

show hope. I've been working with this adoption aid organization recently on a work project. we just completed a music video, which I will post sometime soon, featuring footage of families that show hope has helped to adopt. they raise money and give grants to families who need help financing adoption.

jacksons. this is one of my fav restaurants in hillsboro village in nashville. I love how all the servers have hot tats. I love sitting on the patio, even when its super hot, and drinking cocktails and soaking in nashville.

ripped jeans and sandals. just feels summery to me. love the look.

iced coffee. need I say more? it's about 95 degrees here everyday. and humid. sometimes this just must be done.

frozen yogurt. same reasoning as above. so into fro-yo right now. eat it for dinner a lot. love that you can customize it differently everytime. nomnom!

the pool. again. same as above reasoning. I have not spent this much time at the pool in years... and I am loving it. such a summer treat.

office decor. my office and guest room were the last things left to decorate in my new apartment. I have been obsessing over office decor design to try and find inspiration. I love this one... mix of modern and traditional - just like the rest of my house.

grey decor. I was inspired by the design of carrie's apartment in the (horrible) sex and the city 2 movie. loved the greys and blues. and again, the mix of modern and classic styles. romantic and yet clean at the same time. I went with his idea for my new bedroom. love these goodies below.

hope you enjoy also!

nate henn.

nate henn was an invisible children staffer who was killed in the bombings in uganda following the world cup final. his legacy will not soon be forgotten. this video is simply, moving.

 

compassion.

I have a little compassion international sponsored child in riobamba, ecuador named marta. she's about 13 years old now.

she just wrote me a letter and told me she wanted to be a dressmaker.

this made me so happy. like I found out a secret part of her heart - her dream, her vision for her life. 

I love anything pretty. it's true, I'm a shopoholic. I love design and decor and clothes and things that are easy on the eyes.

dresses are in this category.

so I wrote her back. all you can send to your sponsored kids are small, flat things - like stickers, coloring pages, bookmarks, etc. so I printed out some color pages of bright, colorful, beautiful dresses from anthropologie - my favorite store. I told her it was my fav and that I hope she likes them, and that they inspire her.

and I also sent her one more thing, extra special. my favorite dress design of all time. audrey hepburn's dress that she wears in the royal ball scene in one of my fav films, roman holiday. it's striking. and I have always loved it.

I hope marta does too.

mumford & sons.

this music makes me happy. it's amazing.

what's been going on.

haven't written in a while. but now I am settled and ready to get back at it. here's what's been happening. I left operation christmas child and boone, and made my way to music city - nashville. well, the burbs of nashville. there is much I can and should say about the seven years I spent in boone. I am still processing all that. still thinking about the impact it had on me, and the impact I had there, and what it all means.

I'm constantly in 2 minds.

thinking about the past, missing my friends, missing the comforts of home, trying to avoid letting it make me sad, wondering how things are going without me, wishing for cooler weather.

meeting new friends, doing new things, finding a new church, drinking lots of starbucks, decorating my new apartment, learning my new job, laying by the pool.

I suppose one day soon my 2 worlds will feel like one. for now, I will make the best of the awkwardness, the wondering, and the learning. it's very humbling.

here are the top 10 things I love about my new life:

1. work is not my life anymore.
2. nashville is super hipster. and I'm down with that.
3. there is drive thru coffee and target
4. I have my own apartment. and its fab.
5. I have met the nicest, coolest people.
6. my new church rocks. literally.
7. there is always a live show to go see.
8. people go out. and actually do stuff.
9. no one cares if I drink in public. in fact, its encouraged.
10. people here care a lot about their neighbors and the world. and do stuff about it.

wait... there's more.

11. the y has awesome classes. like belly dancing and hip hop.
12. we have summer hours at work. so, i'm not working tomorrow.
13. sitting on the patio at jacksons or having fro-yo from nati*creme.
14. people call you honey and darlin'.
15. salons here know how to do some epic blond highlights.

God is pretty awesome for letting me be here. *thankful*