this is going to be short and sweet. beautiful by ben rector is the free single of the week on itunes! you need to go and download this! he played this song when i saw him back in the spring. i loved it then and i love it now! he's a great musician who likes to have a good time at his shows. you can tell that in his music and by how he plays. overall he's a really down to earth guy who really loves what he's doing and is thankful for his fans. so go discover him. it's free! plus you'll enjoy his music or so i hope.


side note - if you ever see him live don't tell him you love him or else he might mention how awkward that makes him feel at a random show.

it's rather creepy how pandora magically knows the mood i'm in and caters to it. there are just some days when pandora has a huge win for me. i'm sure y'all can relate to the feeling. i thought it would be fun to share my favorite pandora stations that usually bring ultimate pandora wins in my day to day life. hope you find some time to check the stations out!

1. indie singer songwriter - this is my favorite station to listen to on rainy days or driving home late at night in the summer. when i had long papers to write at school this was the station that got me through it. it's a relaxing mix with fantastic artists. you get anyone from mumford to passenger to ben howard. it's probably my favorite pandora station. you never know what gems you'll get when you listen to it.

2. ben rector - i absolutely love ben rector's music. of course i would love his pandora station. and i do. the mix is good. there are artists like parachute, matt wertz, mat kearney and peter bradley adams. this is a good station for the longer drives in the sweet summer time. it's a station with fun music.

3. americana - this is the station i am currently listening to. oh my goodness wow. today's first song was wagon wheel by old crow medicine show. (side note - darius rucker ruined that song. sorry not sorry. okay, vent is done.) this station is for my friends who love good harmonies and the banjo. i can't get enough of it! so many new artists i'm discovering which means so many more artists to blog about one day!

4. coldplay - come on, it's coldplay. do i really need to explain how much i love their pandora station?


those are my four for today. i would keep going but my creative juices are running low. check these stations out and enjoy!

this morning i turned on my macbook for the first time in what feels like forever. spotify popped up and had some suggestions for me. greg laswell caught my attention. the fine people from spotify said because i like the1975 i would like this joker. i was expecting something similar to them. nope, not at all. i started listening to comes and goes (in waves) about 20 minutes ago. it's been on repeat. there is something about his voice that is so captivating. when he started singing i felt this comfort. i think it's the combination of lyrics and his voice that does the trick for me. i did some research and he's been writing music for a while. if only i would have found out about him sooner. looks like i'll be playing catch up now. hopefully you will too! happy listening.

all the single ladies! all the single ladies!

yes, i just started off this repost with beyonce lyrics. speaking of the queen, i get to see her in less than two weeks! AHHHH! i was joking around with one of my young life girls about how seeing beyonce is going to help get me back on the sassy independent woman track i was on before i went to camp. she is going to help. however, something i learned a few years ago is going to really do the trick for me. i wrote a post to my tumblr about being single and how awesome it is! after some searching i finally found that post and wanted to share part of it. my prayer is that we all find some encouragement and truth in there. 

Letting Go and Embracing the Good in Singleness

This is something that has been on my heart for quite some time now. I have been trying to figure out the best way to articulate what I have been thinking, feeling and learning the past few months. God has brought me to where I am at this time for the purpose to seek and serve Him wholly and to use my gift of singleness to do just that. 

David Platt said, “God has designed marriage and singleness to demonstrate His gospel and His glory. Singleness has everything to do with passing the gospel to the next generation and to all nations. God has designed singleness as a good gift for His great glory.” I just got done listening to Platt’s sermon on singleness. After listening to him break down 1 Corinthians 7 and put singleness in a prettier view, I felt really good to be single. It gives me more of an opportunity to be flexible in helping out with the advancement of the kingdom of God. But of course it’s easy to see singleness in a good way after hearing something so good about it. (Side note # 1 - it also annoys the heck out of me that it took someone else studying the Word for me to see singleness in a good view. Hello conviction. I have some things to work on for sure.) But how easy is it to look at singleness in a good way after a difficult break-up? A broken heart? Seeing all of your friends getting into relationships? A friendship you thought was going into the dating direction actually stays as friends or completely ends? 

........

(Side note # 5 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 talks about us being made in God’s image. Let’s look at this real quick - We want to be wanted. We want to be needed. We want to be loved. We want to be praised. We want to be adored. We want to be lifted up. We want to be pursued. God wants us to want Him. He wants us to need Him. He wants us to love Him. He wants to be praised. He wants us to adore Him. He wants to be lifted up. He wants us to pursue Him. It’s fun to compare some of our desires with what God desires from us. So, I’m pretty certain God can relate to the way we feel when we don’t feel needed, loved and so on and so on… The thing is we are fallen people and He is not. His love, His pursuit, His adoration, His everything is what we need to be seeking to fill us because no man and no woman on earth could ever completely satisfy us with their love, their adoration and so on…)

If we actually look at what we are seeking we can see what the problem might be. If we’re not seeking the Lord with all of our heart and have Him at the top, we have some problems. We should be actively learning more about Him and His promises. We need to be the ones pursuing Him because He pursues us. He sent Jesus to die for us and save us so we can have an intimate relationship with Him. If we are looking for that in a human we should start praying for God to change the desires of our hearts…that’s for sure. And why should we be looking at that in some human? Just get in the Word and see God’s promises and His goodness. 

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more. Psalm 16:5-11

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.Lamentations 3:19-25

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

And there are hundreds of other verses that speak on just how awesome our God is and how much He loves us! We need to put Him first and love Him with everything. Then we can see just how awesome the gift of singleness is because that hole in our little hearts will be completely filled by His love. We will have everything we need from Him. How amazing is that?!? It sounds so simple but takes effort on our part. 

But back to singleness - it’s a gift. Platt says, “Singleness is not a curse but grace; gifts are grace from God.” Well doesn’t that just change the outlook on singleness?  In his sermon, Platt gives four foundations for singleness -

1. Both singleness and marriage are good 
2. Both singleness and marriage portray the gospel 
3. Both singleness and marriage are gifts from God
4. Both singleness and marriage are used for God’s glory

“The Christian’s ultimate identity is in Christ. In Christ we are fully complete :: there is satisfaction and sufficiency that far supersedes anything any woman and man could bring to the table.” Platt could not have said it any better. How often do we look at people in relationships or married and think to ourselves that that is where all our satisfaction will come from? Or that dating someone would complete you? Newsflash, only God can complete us. So stop idolizing relationships. Put Him first then see what happens. (Side note #6 - if you're putting God "first" in hopes of getting into a relationship that's a problem. You're still idolizing the idea of that human relationship. You should be seeking Him because of how great He is!) 

In the Old Testament, singleness was viewed as something bad. In Genesis, God blesses Adam and Even with “be fruitful and multiply.” Okay, so what about the people in the Old Testament not able to have children? Isaiah 53:8-11. Check it out. It’s all about spiritual offspring, not physical offspring. Dear single friends, that is what’s up! Being a disciple is not an option when you sign up to be a Christian. It’s essential. It’s a responsibility. The Great Commission at the end of Matthew is not just some verses there for kicks and giggles - it’s what we are called to do. And friends, Jesus speaks through obedience. And guess what? You don’t have to be married or dating someone to be a disciple. Singleness has a purpose that we should not waste. Don’t squander singleness!

And I am not dissing marriage. Marriage is important. It’s a physical representation of Christ and the church. However, singleness is just as important. It is unbiblical to place marriage over singleness and singleness over marriage. Guess what? When we die, we aren’t going to be married. We are going to be single. Marriage is ultimately a temporary thing. However, singleness will be applied to all when we are united with Christ. Need proof? Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  So, we need to take this singleness and run with it because “singles in the body point us to that reality and portrays the gospel.”  

Also, when the thoughts of dating and marriage are consuming our minds, where is there room for Jesus? And I get that we are going to be thinking about that because it is the stage of life most of us are in. Clearly we are not content with our current situations. And according to Platt, “Contentment is a deep trust in the sovereignty of God.” So, it’s not about us being married or single. It comes down to this question - Am I trusting in what God has given me in this moment? 

So it’s not the end of the world if you’re a college student or recent grad or even a thirty-something not in a serious relationship that is leading into marriage. God can still use us single people and wants to use us. We bring something to the table the dating people and married people don’t bring. God has designed singleness as a good gift for His great glory. Let’s be content with where we are and fully trust that the plans He has for our lives are being played out and will continue to be played out until the day we die. 

Give yourself a wholly desire - use His good gift in singleness for His great glory. It’s time to accept our singleness and go be the best active agents of redemption that we can be for His name. Singleness is a gift. Are we really being good stewards of the gift we are given? Time to evaluate some things, don’t you think?

blessings.