Confession: I love having my picture taken.
As ridiculous as this statistic is, I’m going to give it to you anyways: I am currently tagged in 512 pictures on facebook. FIVE HUNDRED AND TWELVE. That’s a lot of “say cheese.”
Including this picture- I’m the second from the left in the blue dress. With eight of my beautiful friends.
Seriously. How cute are these girls?
There’s a lot more to this story, over at my bloggy vacation home….. check it out!
This is gonna be easy for you today.
Just two places to click.
Cause see, I don’t believe in making you work hard on Fridays. So.
First of all, check out HELP-PORTRAIT’s new website. It is really amazing. I mean, wowsa kind of amazing. If you are looking for a good way to give back this holiday season, even if you aren’t a photographer, I bet Help-Portrait is happening in your town.
Remember when we did a practice Help-Portrait event here in Nashville? My friend Barry made a cool video [severe understatement] from that day that I think you are going to love [minus the part at the end where I need to stop crying and brush my hair].
[Hey you crazy subscribers- there's a video here. Click over if you can't see it in your reader.]
I know, right? So amazing. You know, someday soon, I’m going to write an entire blog post about the fact that giving within your gifting is deeply beautiful. Until then, just think on that.
Secondly [and I think you are going to like this] I have free music for you.
And by “I”, I mean “my friend Matt.”
Because Matt has just launched a KILLA new website as well and part of the excitement is that he is giving away a live album. FULL. LENGTH. ALBUM.
I know. It’s crazy talk. But it’s true. A full live album for zero American dollars. I personally think he’s lost his mind, but who am I to judge? I go to parties for dogs.
Either way, for a limited time, you can have it for free. [If you're reading this in 2012, I bet it's not free anymore. Just guessing.] So if it’s 2009, go get that album.
To recap: Help-Portrait = you give. Matt Wertz = you take.
Fancy, huh?
Also, gotta give a shout out to my bud Jason and his web design company Otterball- they did both sites and I’m tellin’ y’all, they. are. good.
Amen. You’re welcome. Have a great weekend.
Here’s another installment of YouBlog- where I introduce you to one of your fellow blogmies. Remember the goal is to get to know each other! Many of you readers/commenters were born to be friends- I just know it. And I’m out to prove it!
Marijke is one of my most long standing blog friends. I feel like she and I have been crossing internet paths for a long time. Not only is she a great blogger, Marijke is also an amazing singer- here’s the link to her myspace page. Let that puppy play in the background as you read today. Sets quite the appropriate mood.
The post I want you to read is short, but HILARIOUS. And remember, I love the guys of Third Day a ton, but I just thought this Letter to the Editor was too cute to pass over.
I absolutely love the part about Testify To Love. Funny stuff.
Hope y’all enjoy her words and her tunes. Tell Marijke that I said hi, and maybe she should bring that sweet folk americana voice to Nashville!
Hope you have enjoyed YouBlogs! We are booked up here until the end of 2009. So if you wanna be featured, hang on and another chance will come around in 2010!
Annie Parsons is a super important friend of mine in Nashville.
And this week is super important for her. Here’s a quote from her blog:
I moved to Nashville because I am a songwriter. But truth be told, at the time that I moved, I could count the number of songs I had actually written on one hand. More “brooding” than “brilliant,” I was never one of those children who composed music at age 6. The decision to write was just that: a decision… that I made when I was 23. But here I am – a completed EP in hand. Words and music by… me. Songs that, I believe, stand on their own – and brought to life by my dear friend and producer Joshua Stevens. They’re a small offering, but they’re mine – and I can’t wait for you to hear them.
That’s right, friends. Our own Annie Parsons has an EP out!!
The songs are beautiful. The cover art is BEAUTIFUL. I absolutely love the EP. So you should buy it for that reason. Because it’s great music written by one of our friends.
But more importantly. You should buy it because it’s our turn to step into Annie’s dream. Trust me- I watched this EP get made- from Annie eating at home for months to afford studio time, working a full time job and recording on nights and weekends, she has put her heart and soul and finances into seeing this EP become a reality.
This is what it looks like, y’all. To move to Nashville and make it happen.
Annie did it. And I couldn’t be more proud to call her my friend.
If you’re interested [and I bet you are], Annie is doing a series this week over at her blog, writing about each song on the EP. So pretty much, it’s “Annie Parsons: Behind The Music”- which is just. plain. cool.
I’m broken. For the last few weeks, some small part in me has not been working right. I can’t pinpoint it. But I can tell you that I haven’t felt like myself.
Because this is my blog and not my journal, I’m keeping the details of this to myself. I think I know how I got here. Maybe not. Regardless, its been less-than-fun on the inside.
But here’s the beautiful thing about this whole process: I found ways to get fixed. Solutions that didn’t involve a lot of Christianese and a lot of formulas- “do this and you’ll be fine”, “do these three things and God will make things all better”, etc.
Sometimes I always think that if I work hard enough, I can work my way out of any hurt and pain. If I just do the good things enough, the broken will fix itself. You know what I did instead? I quit caring about what I thought was the *right* thing to do, and I did what my heart wanted to do.
I went to see my family.
I spent time with my best friends.
I read a book that wasn’t bossy.
I listened to five episodes of “This American Life”.
I talked to God. In fact, He fixed me. It wasn’t my doing. But He fixed me by letting me live. Really live.
There’s a lot too this, more details that I am keeping to myself. So maybe all of this doesn’t even make any sense to you. Sorry if that’s the case.
But I guess I just wanted you to know- if you feel like you are the only one who is broken, you aren’t.
These verses have become very important to me in the last 2 days. And I’m grateful that a friend sent it to me at just the right moment.
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Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)
Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.
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There’s nothing like a positive, uplifting, lighthearted post for your Monday morning.
[And that was NOTHING like a positive, uplifting, lighthearted post.]
[That joke was so predictable.]
