Music Madness with Me: Christmas Edition

There are many reasons that I love Christmas. The most important reason is that we celebrate Jesus' birth and one of the best ways to celebrate Jesus' birth is to spend Christmas Eve with Water's Edge Church at the Ferguson Center. What can I say, I just couldn't resist the plug. Next to that, I love decorations and lights, especially sparkly red ones! Also, presents don't hurt but my favorite part about the season is the music. For one whole month, the Johnson family listens to 101.3 TWD. Christmas music 24 hours a days. It's the best. 

It is hard to recreate the magic of traditional carols. Every now and then a group will hit it out of the park. I think Barlow Girl did a great job at uniquely rocking out one of the best Christmas songs ever!

Boom

ESPN is a part of the Johnson household. At first, it was not by choice but sports have crept their way into this girl's life. Bryce and I have developed a theory that ESPN has some of the best commericals. There is one small, unimportant flaw with this theory, ESPN is all we watch. It is on our TV 85% of the time!  

Sticking to our theory, we love the new commerical with Greg Oden. I do not know much about him but here is what I do know. He was the NBA's number 1 draft pick for the 2007. He plays for the Portland Trailblazers. He has a slightly dull and goofy appearance. Plus, Greg looks a lot older than 20! There has been much debate about his marketability.  That is why we think this is really funny. 

Check out his face! It is simply laughable when Greg states, "I'm a chameleon". Deodorizing spray, sports drinks, nasal spray, vacuums, he can sell it all! Really, what else can you say, other than, 

"Boom"

Note:  This one goes out to our buddy, Robbie Leffel! We love it, too! 

The Things They Say

Last month my class did an art project with leaves. It is one of my favorite things to do each year. The student get a plastic bag to go outside and collect leaves. We get different sizes and shapes. After we have collected our leaves, we bring them inside, get some plain white paper and we trace the leaves with different colors. The results are always beautiful.

Yesterday while my students were doing individual activities, I had a chance to start clearing my desk. I never quite know what I will find. Incidentally, my bag of leaves were still there. Maxwell had offered to organize some papers for me. He was standing near the trash can so I handed Maxwell the bag and asked him to please throw away the leaves. It didn't seem like a big deal to me. Apparently, it was to him. He stopped, held his chest, looked at me very seriously and told me "Look, I am not a husband".

I guess I know who rakes the leaves in his family. I have to admit that it does fall into the husband job status, you know, rake the leaves, take out the trash, fix the toilets. It was so hard to not laugh and I was slightly taken back. I had never really thought about it that way but I was happy that Maxwell was starting to understand this concept.

"Your right, Maxwell," I responded simply.

I stood up and threw the leaves away myself. A few minutes passed. As if to console me with this devastating news, Maxwell walked by my desk and asked, "Are you okay?"

Music Madness with Me

For many years, I wan an only child and I had a vivid imagination. I got my nickname, Babbling Brooke, after an 18 hour road trip to Florida with my grandparents. They decided it was perfect for me. 

Most of my childhood dreams involved being a famous dancer, singer, actress or all three of the above. I was the original Brittany Spears. Cue the laughs. What can I say, I was every inch of sugar and spice that you could get. As long as I had someone or something near by, I would share my thoughts, ideas, plays, stories and emotions freely. If you weren't listening, it didn't matter. I would just shrug it off and keep going. I was not one of those kids that needed to be entertained. I could get lost for hours in my thoughts and dreams.

I'm not sure when or how that that part of my life changed but it did. I am still a dreamer, I can still get lost in my thoughts for hours but through life experiences, circumstances, friendships and relationships I have become more guarded with my words and emotions. I am not always sure whether that's a good thing or not, the verdict is still out. It may simply just have been a part of growing up. Regardless, there have been many times in my life, when my nickname did not serve me well but there was always music.

I started dancing at a very young age. It was so wonderful. You could sway, spin, show passion, and emotion without having to say a single word.  With dancing and music, there was a rhythm, a melody, a beat, a lyric to help describe what you were going through.

I developed a taste for all different types of music. You name it, I probably like it, unless, the song has a lot of bad words. Rock, alternative, hip hop, r&b, techno, country, oldies, classical, I am not a music snob. I simply love it. Music is powerful and moving. That is why I decided to start this new piece to my blog. So the journey begins:

I love Nichole Nordeman's song "Brave". It is amazing. I could not have put any of this into words better. God did not design us to settle for how things are. He designed us for so much more. "To the moon, Alice." 

Life has given us experiences. Those experiences have molded who we become but they don't define us. God does. I am not the social bee that I once was, however, I have been given the desire to make my words meaningful instead of plentiful.

"I am small and I speak when I'm spoken to. I am willing to risk it all"

I love that part of the song, it describes perfectly what I want to portray in life. I want to use my words wisely for His purpose, yet, at the same time be willing to say or do whatever God wants. It not as easy as it sounds. I slip constantly, that is why I have memorized this:

"Let the words of my heart and meditation of my heart be acceptable to thy sight, Oh Lord, My rock and my redeemer." Pslams 19:14

As you listen, is there anything that hits home to you. What moves you about this song?