{Miscellaneous Mondays} What’s Been Inspiring Me

It feels like forever ago that I wrote my last Miscellaneous Mondays. I’m so excited to be back, but it’s also a little strange getting back into the groove of things. Since it’s been a while, I thought I’d share the random, miscellaneous (it is Miscellaneous Mondays, after all!) things that have been inspiring me. Also, those of you who are reading this on the blog, and not in your Reader or inbox will notice that I’ve changed the fonts a little. Let me know what you think. (;

{music & videos}

Andrew Peterson’s entire “Light for the Lost Boy” CD. I’ve actually been using the lyrics insert for part of my daily devotional, reading all the verses he lists for each song.

• “Come Back Soon” really resonates with me, and this is so profound: “Every death is a question mark at the end of the book of a beating heart.”
• “The Cornerstone” is a unique, thought-provoking, and awe-inspiring way to look at Jesus (it makes me wish more contemporary Christian music could talk about Jesus like that).
• “Rest Easy” is just so comforting; it’s my go-to when I need a reminder of who I am in Christ.
• “The Voice of Jesus” is beautiful all around, and I like listening to it right before I go to sleep.
• “The Ballad of Jody Baxter” is, to be honest, my least favorite song on the disc, both because I’m not a huge fan of the melody, and I didn’t really like The Yearling. Those who enjoyed the book, though, will probably love it.
• “Day by Day” is one of my favorites. I love the tune—and these lines: “We just can’t get used to being here / Where the ticking clock is loud and clear / Children of eternity / On the run from entropy.”
• “Shine Your Light On Me” is one I understand more and more each time I listen. And how can I not love the Lotr reference?
• “Carry the Fire” is the first AP song I heard, and it’s still one of my all-time favorites.
• “You’ll Find Your Way” has been especially applicable to me this summer, as I feel like I’ve had to grow up a lot. 
• “Don’t You Want to Thank Someone” is perhaps my life’s theme song.

This video about a crazy talented penman (I didn’t even know that was a thing) is a must-see. 

Paul Potts was a phone salesman who admitted that confidence was a “struggle” for him. But he decided to try out for “Britain’s Got Talent” anyway … I love this so much (and besides, he sings my favorite classical song ever). 

{books & quotes} 

You’ll hear more about these this Friday, but here’s some of what I’ve been reading recently:

• Seabiscuit ~ Laura Hillenbrand
• Prophet ~ Frank E. Peretti
• The Problem of Pain ~ C. S. Lewis
• John Adams ~ David McCullough
• Once Beyond a Time ~ Ann Tatlock
• The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde

“You won’t understand the wonder and glory of my adventure unless you listen to the bad part. It wasn’t very bad, you know.”

~ Psyche in C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces (My mom and I are, sadly, nearing the end. You can expect a post of all that I learned from it and about it in September!)

The stars are “finer for the shroud,” as Andrew Peterson put it. Brokenness only enhances the beauty.

“I never delighted much in contemplating commas and colons, or in spelling or measuring syllables; but now … if I attempt to look at these little objects, I find my imagination, in spite of all my exertions, roaming in the Milky Way, among the nebulae, those mighty orbs, and stupendous orbits of suns, planets, satellites, and comets, which compose the incomprehensible universe; and if I do not sink into nothing in my own estimation, I feel an irresistible urge to fall on my knees, in adoration of the power that moves, the wisdom that directs, and the benevolence that sanctifies this wonderful whole.”

~ John Adams near the end of his life, as quoted in David McCullough’s John Adams

I love how contemplating such little and seemingly insignificant things like “commas and colons” can make him think of the rest of the universe and, ultimately, about God, who causes everything, from commas to nebulae, to exist. I love how he finds God in the smallest things.

How have you all been? And what has been inspiring you?