Look How They Shine For You.

Yellow is a funny word. One of those words that if you say it over and over, you really start to think it might not even be a word...or it begins to sound like a mispronunciation of an actual word. But I like it. I like yellow kitchens. I like lemons and bananas. I like yellow cake batter. Lots o' yellow. Now, Old Yeller made me cry. I don't like that one so much, but I think you get the general idea. The color yellow is often associated with joy, happiness, hope, and is sometimes even used to describe a cowardly disposition (which doesn't bother me...all humans are cowards at times and cowards need hope). God's response? He demonstrates love.

Chris Martin wrote a song called Yellow. He said once in an interview that he still doesn't really know what that song is about. Funny. I've always loved that song - the lyric, the melody, the phrasing. Funny thing happened the other day. (Side Note - there are 2 things you should know before continuing this: 1) I love that songs and poems can be interpreted many different ways by many different people and 2) I believe that God can use any thing at any time to get any point across to any person. So, that being said, let's get back to the point here.

God always demonstrates His love toward us. Always. And it's in countless ways: through His creation, forgiveness, salvation, deliverance, redemption, favor, correction, discipline (again, the list is never-ending). He has been teaching me to find His presence and His truth in life's little details - in the familiar and the unfamiliar, in the things that challenge me and in the things that I love and naturally embrace. This week it was through a song. I've been thinking about how beautiful God's creation is lately...the sky, the trees, the stars. I was standing there marveling at the stars one night and all of a sudden started singing "Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you." And I thought...I love you Chris Martin, but that's not your voice I'm hearing in my head right now. God made those stars. He made them for Himself AND for us! For us to enjoy. For us to catch a tiny glimpse of His greatness and magnificence. (And I'm sure there a few practical purposes to throw in there as well). Then the rest of the song just came rushing through my mind, and all of sudden it was no longer a love song from a man to a woman but a love song from God to us. Every line. And quite frankly, I didn't even realize I

knew all the lyrics to that song. As I was standing there, it was like God was there whispering each line to me. I won't go through every lyric here...do that for yourself. I think you'll get it.

Now, I'm not one of those people who likes to draw some sort of spiritual parallel from every little thing I see or hear. I mean, let's be real. Some things just are what the are. This song may very well fall in to that category, but not this week. Not for me. So maybe from now on, or at least for the next week, you'll listen to this one a bit differently too.

YELLOW by Coldplay

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah they were all yellow

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow

So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
You know, you know I love you so
You know I love you so

I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do
Cause you were all yellow

I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
You know for you I'd bleed myself dry

For you I'd bleed myself dry

It's true look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine
Look at the stars look how they shine for you

And all the things that you do

Summer Likes.

While I was pulling those pics of Libby's bday, I realized Jen had captured a few more of my favorite things about summer. See below in no particular order:



YUM! I would like to add that we shucked that corn before it was placed on the grill.


Hot dogs and hamburgers. Now I'm hungry.


Lonely floatie.

Liberty Belle Turns 1!

So I'm about month late in reporting it, but Liberty Belle Harvey has indeed turned ONE! We took some birthday pics, and boy was she a little poser. When I say "we," I mean Jen. Jen worked her magic, and Libby...she just worked it. Get down girl, go 'head get down. She got a very a special birthday cookie from her brother, Dexter. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first!

staring...


figuring it out...

mamasaymamasamamakusa

Wanna be startin' somethin'...got to be startin' somethin'...

Well he definitely started something and I think we're all ultimately grateful for what he started. He gave us something we could dance to. Even if we were six.



When I was six, we lived with my grandmother. Every day after kindergarten I would come home, grab my older brother's (Jason's) Thriller cap and MJ glove and my microphone and sing and dance to the entire Thriller album top to bottom. Then I would eat dinner. Every night. I practiced and practiced mamasaymamasamamakusa...mamasaymamasamamakusa...until I got it down...until I could do it in my sleep. Now, there's only one thing that comes to mind when I look at this picture:

Just exactly how high was I wanting those pants to be?