In honor of Thanksgiving...

I am posting my favorite commercial of all time. Ladies and gentlemen, Geico presents the ultra-insane Little Richard:

ahaha. Love it! Yay for wonderful holidays and decorating the Christmas tree. 

Song Obsession of the Week

Not gonna lie, I love Seal!

Seal, "A Change is Gonna Come."

Thankful

It's Thanksgiving, and this year I feel like I'm more aware of what I have to be thankful for than ever before. It can almost be overwhelming, and I start to feel guilty when I think about it a lot, but tonight I'm just trying to accept the grace and truly be thankful for it all. I wish that I were explicitly thankful more often. This year I've been thinking about giving thanks and how that requires more of us than just a wistful glance upwards or a quick prayer. It's about using what we've been given to be present with others, to help, and to act in ways that are reflective of our gratitude for all that has been given to us. 

But, of course, it's always good to "count your blessings" and name them off :) Here are just a few of mine:

• Family. Parents, parents-in-law, an awesomely fun and inspiring brother, all of the cousins, grandparents, etc. who make my life better and more full.
• A husband who likes to cook, pick out Christmas decorations, and sing with me...even if it means Barry Manilow and a strange excitement at the sight of Christmas trains. 
• A husband who is not afraid or worried about putting off studying for a day or two to do all of the above.
• Friends who I can be silly with one minute and have deep, thought-provoking, and even messy conversations with the next.
• Christmas music, cookies, movies, and good memories.
• Fusion (I guess this counts as friends, too). I don't really know what Scott and I would do with our amazing little community of friends...especially those in House Church, who listen about our crazy lives every week and walk with us every step of the way.
• A car that runs, a cute and cozy house with a heater that works, and money to buy meals every day. I forget how monumental those "small" things are.
• Kids (no, we're not having any). They're precious, in all stages, in all forms, and from all walks of life.
• Wednesday night Project Runway/Top Chef/various reality show nights!
• Food. All of it. This is bad for the waistline, but I am seriously thankful for food. Especially dessert.
• Friends. Period.
• The newly-discovered group video conference option on iChat!!
• People who read my blog, even if it's only 5.
• Christmas break...two weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving...let's take a break from all the eating and holiday madness to really give thanks.

Song Obsession of the Week

Love this! Thanks Hannah, my wonderful friend and partner in new music finding!

The Weepies, "World Spins Madly On."

Omg

Thank you, Nava, I can always count on you to make me laugh hysterically! This is too funny. I'm going to draw a picture of a goat and send it to my bank...think they'll take it instead of money? Gotta love it!

Food for Thought...

We've been talking about community and what truly living in community, as Christ called us to do, actually means. I LOVED this quote, and I think it speaks to what our response should be in a world where it's all too easy to get overwhelmed with the injustice and problems we see.

"Community is a place where people can live truly as human beings, where they can be healed and strengthened in their deepest emotions, where they can walk towards unity and inner freedom. As fears and prejudices diminish, and trust in God and others grows, the community can radiate and witness to a style and quality of life which will bring solution to the troubles of our world. The response to war is to live like brothers and sisters. The response to injustice is to share. The response to despair is limitless trust and hope. The response to prejudice and hatred is forgiveness. To work for community is to work for humanity. To work for peace in community, through acceptance of others as they are, and through constant forgiveness, is to work for peace in the world and for true political solutions; it is to work for the Kingdom of God. It is to work to enable everyone to live and taste the secret joys of the human person united to the eternal.” - Jean Vanier, Community and Growth

Thoughts?

Song Obsession of the Week

This isn't a new obsession, but this version is awesome...she's amazing live!

Sara Bareilles, "Gravity,"