#6 Things I Love

#6: Bucky Eye Mask



Call me a dork, but I love using an eye mask when I sleep. This one is my fave! It's all smooshy and soft. PLUS it has a little pocket up front where earplugs fit. It's perfect for flights. The strap is adjustable velcro, so it fits even the biggest craniums.

I'm on my 3rd Bucky. And I'll probably get a 4th soon. Me likey.

#7 Things I Love

#7: Rita's Italian Ice Mango Gelati

Before I lived in a town that had a Rita's, I only had the pleasure of eating there a few times a year. But Anderson has a Rita's! So I must exercise restraint. It's tough. Because the combo of mango Italian ice and vanilla custard is like a big cloud of awesome raining joy and happiness into your taste buds.

Say hello to my favorite tasty treat. It's the one in the middle.



If you decide you'd like to try it for yourself, here's a handy-dandy list of locations.

#8 Things I Love

#8: Anderson, SC

Where? It's where I live now. In case you're not up to date on TLC trivia, I moved from NYC to small town South Carolina in January. And I didn't really want to, but I knew God was calling me to do it.

Somewhere in the process, He changed my heart. I don't even know if it happened gradually or instantly. But it happened. And here's how I know:

1. I went back to NYC to visit last weekend.
2. It was exactly the same... the most glorious place on earth!!
3. Somehow, I wanted to leave the most glorious place and return to the place God has called me.

While Anderson is my home now, and NYC was my home then, what I realized on this trip is that God is my Home. And I'm okay to follow Him wherever He calls me, because it's where His peace surrounds and sustains me.

Actually, I'm better than okay to follow Him -- I'm ecstatic that I get to hear His voice at all, because even when He's not saying what I want to hear, the God of the Universe is speaking to me, directing me in His will because of His great love.

And that is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. In any city. And every city. :)

#9 Things I Love

#9: Authority

God has been humbling me lately, showing me the limits of my so-called strength and wisdom. Here's an excerpt from part of that journey.

--

I started meeting with my first mentor the month I turned 18. She was in her mid 50's. She'd been married twice -- once before she became a Christian. She'd had an abortion. She knew life in a way I hadn't (and never wanted to). She modeled what it was like to love Jesus with all my heart.

Shortly thereafter, I started my career as a full-time musician. About a year into that process, I acquired another mentor -- a man in his late 40's. He'd been a musician for over 20 years, played nearly 40 instruments, and was loaded with theological insights. He modeled what it was like to love Jesus with all my mind.

My mentors have developed my faith to degrees that I cannot quantify. So... why did I start to feel so weak? My relationship with the Lord has been intimate and fulfilling... I've been growing via church and podcast sermons and books written by dynamic women of God... but I felt like I was starving...


Then I had an epiphany:

- I am a female (read: created to be led / Eph. 5:22-23).

- I am single (no husband to lead me).

- I run my own ministry, alone (i.e. not on a church staff). This accounts for about 60 hours of my week.


It's true that we're all under God's authority, but He designed us to submit to human authority as well. And while I'm under the authority of my dad and my pastor in a very real sense, it's not a personal, daily kind of authority. My ability to handle this reached its breaking point recently -- I needed more. I needed to soak up the lives of people who know God better than me and who have walked with Him longer. So I talked to my mentor, and she agreed to increase the number of times we meet and to bring her husband occasionally (to add another dimension). I set up a meeting with another older woman that I'd like to spend time with, too.

And suddenly, I started to feel safe again, strong again. Now, I hope, I am learning how to love God with all my strength. Somehow that must begin with realizing how very weak I am and that I must rely on Him even to give me the strength to love Him with.

I need weight above me. I crave godly authority. It allows me to rest. It strengthens me.

It's taboo to say this in modern America, but... I don't want to be in charge, and I don't care about independence. The authority structure is not something that man invented or even that God invented for mankind. It's something that has existed within the Holy Trinity for all eternity (I Cor 11:3), and we get to benefit from it.

Hallelujah!

#10 Things I Love

#10: Words

You're going to hate me after this post, because it's kind of soapbox-y. But honestly, it's all in good fun. So here we go.

I have a handful of favorite words. Topping the list is "archipelago." I love a clever pun or a phrase with a flourish (like "a phrase with a flourish" for instance). I even like smashing words together to come up with new words (e.g. "friendationship").

My love for words has prompted me to keep a list of the non-words I encounter. The posers, if you will. They've been slowly creeping into our vocabulary, and I'd like to make a stab at eliminating them from our lexicon. Here we go:

- Comfortability / Uncomfortability
These two cause me great discomfort. I'd like to feel more comfort.

- Irregardless
Regardless of whether you think this is a word or not, you shouldn't use it.

- I's
Example of usage: "Come to Lisa and I's apartment."

This got really screwed up because teachers told us that we should always use "I" when referring to ourselves. But that's only part of the story. Without getting all Little, Brown Handbook on you, here's a quick way to determine whether you should use "I" or "me" in your sentence. How would you say that same sentence if Lisa weren't involved? You'd say, "Come to my apartment." Let's try another one. What about "Have dinner with Lisa and I?" Eliminate Lisa and what you're left with is, "Have dinner with I." FAIL.

Proper usage:

"Come to Lisa's and my apartment."
"Have dinner with Lisa and me."

One thing you can always bank on, though: "I's" is never a word.

I know you didn't ask for an English lesson, so feel free to send I your hate mail now. It will bring I great uncomfortability when Lisa and me read it. Teehee. :)

Irregardless,
TLC:)

#11 Things I Love

#11: Gospel For Asia

If you're looking for an organization where you can sponsor a child or help dig a well, there are lots of go-to options. Here's why I chose Gospel For Asia.

- Every penny that I contribute goes directly to the child I sponsor. None of it is taken out for administrative purposes. Every person on staff with GFA raises their own financial support so that they don't have to draw from my donations.

- GFA promises that the child I sponsor will hear the Gospel every day at school. These children are taught to read via reading The Bible, so they learn about God's love for them for the first times in their lives, and often go home and share the Good News with their entire families. While many organizations can't guarantee that the Gospel will be shared with the children, many of GFA's missionaries risk their lives daily to share God's love even when they're beaten or their homes are burned as a result.

All that to say... I'm ecstatic about the new GFA Christmas Catalog! Christmas tends to drive me bonkers because everyone goes insane about gifts and presents and... frankly, I think it's a time of year when we instill selfishness into children and we continue to thrive on that greed throughout our adult lives. So let's turn the tide, shall we?

If you're still wondering what to get friends and family this year, please give something that will make a difference in the livelihood of struggling families in India. Gospel For Asia has options in all price ranges. You can find the rest at: GFA Gifts.

Gospel Literature: $1
Asian Language Bible: $3
8 New Testaments: $4
Blanket: $5
Chicken: $11
Vocational Training: $30
BioSand Water Filter: $30
Pigs: $55
Sewing Machine: $85
Bicycle: $110
Goats: $120
Jesus Wells: $1,000
New House: $5,000

I also recommend combining your money with a friend or Bible study group to do this as an act of charity during this Christmas season!

#12 Things I Love

#12: Days when the air is the same temperature as the surface of your skin

Oh wow. It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I've been busy with lots of life-changes and such. Also, I have a hand that is swollen to the size of a SmartCar. Apparently my joints are swelling and exploding with anger toward me. So while I'm tempted to list my #12 as "My Regular-Sized Left Hand," I will refrain. After all, the doctor prescribed some meds that are supposed to reduce this business within a week. Here's hoping.

By the way, it doesn't feel good to type with most of my left hand's fingers, so I've been doing this thing where I poke around with my right hand only. TEDIOUS.

So... Fave #12. I'm in South Carolina right now, crashing here between shows. The weather at lunchtime was 74. And while I've never taken the external temperature of my skin (I know I'm supposed to be 98.6 on the inside, but who knows about the outside? I'd google it but yeah... again with the one hand thing), I'm guessing it's somewhere around 72-75. Because that feels absolutely perfect.

I could sit outside forever on days like this, staring at my giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Hand.

P.S. Yes, this does make it difficult to play concerts. I'm hoping my skillz will return to their former glory soon!