Here and Now!

We didn't really do too much for the 4th of July this year. I got to hang out with some friends (more like over 30 people!) at a spontaneous brunch gathering while Jake worked a half day. After Jake got home we created a little assembly line to finish stuffing envelopes for our support letter and then went to a friends to watch fire works and of course slack line.

 My patriotic-ly dressed husband :)

 Slacking with a sparkler in each hand

The moon stole the show

2 random points about music. First of all, Josh Garrels, probably Jake and my favorite musician, just released an EP that he had been secretly working on. It's funky, fresh, and flavorful, everything that Josh Garrels does best. We love his music and it has played a huge role in my life over the last 5 years. Jake was the first one to show him to me, back in July 2007, and I was instantly hooked. Every album that he has come out with since then has some how perfectly aligned with what I'm going through spiritually. He boldly testifies to Jesus in a creative, heartfelt, and genuine way. His musical talent is not easily matched and he does all his producing himself. Anyways, there was my little plug for our favorite singer/songwriter/beatboxer JG. 

Second music thought, a few posts back I mentioned that I'm really into bluegrass lately. I just wanted to expound a bit on that statement. Bluegrass is beautiful. A few fiddles, a banjo or two, a deep standing bass, maybe an accordion, raspy vocals, and a plain old jug. What a lovely blend! One day I was in the mood to listen to the Carolina Chocolate drops, a band with a modern take on bluegrass, and decided to plug them into pandora. Of course with Pandora you get a little bit of everything from that genre and boy oh boy have I heard a mix! The music itself stays pretty similar, but the content is as varied as can be. We've got your 'whiskey, cornbread, and the pretty little lady that broke my heart', songs contrasted to the soulful spiritual songs about God and the Promised Land, and the just plain silly songs about "shaky pudding." I'm not an advocate of all of those messages, but still enjoy the bluesy jigs that carry them. The ones about Jesus are so refreshing and a treat to hear. So there, that's my two cents about music, in case anyone wondered at all. :)