brittany's top 10 songs of 2007

as the year draws to a close, i am reflecting back on the songs that were the soundtrack of the journey to the person i have become over the past 12 months. here they are, in no particular order.

1. fly-sara groves
i just found this song on my ipod yesterday, but i have been listening to and thinking about it since. for me, i picture it as a sort of prayer to Jesus..."tell me once again why i am your bride...so i can fly"-reassurance of who i am to Christ is such a sweet thing.

2. the hug poem-bradley hathaway
not really a song, but definitely a track on this year's cd. hugs are becoming one of my favorite gestures; they can convey so much. "im just a kid with a heavy heart these passing sunrises and sunsets"-its okay to come to Jesus, honest and broken.

3. less like scars-sara groves
sara shows up again, but this was actually the first song i had ever heard of hers, and still one of my favorites. "and in your hands, the pain and hurt look less like scars and more like character"-Jesus can take our brokenness, those places we dont want anyone to know about, bring them to the light, and use them for His glory. very very cool.

4. it don't matter to the sun-rosie thomas
this song shows up for several reasons, the first being that i discovered the wonder that is rosie thomas this fall, and was blown away by her stage presence, beautiful lyrics, and great music. the reason this particular song has meandered onto my list is because i have been on both ends of this situation this year, the leaver and the left. "There will be tomorrow even if you choose to leave, cause it don't matter to the sun, no, no; it matters to me."

5. courage-superchick
this song has been on my life's soundtrack since i heard it last summer. i relate to it in a lot of ways, both obvious and less tangible. "You should know you're not on your own, these secrets are walls that keep us alone. I don't know when but what I know now: together we'll make it through somehow."-i have been learning this year (more intensely in the last few months) about relying on Jesus and His Body. we weren't made to be lone ranger christians. and the secrets we hide because they are "too dark?" everyone has them, in one way or another. nothing is too big for Jesus to handle. and trying to be open and honest with the community of believers He has placed us in is such a huge step, but can be an enormous blessing if you take that step. i am on my way to doing so.

6. i will not take my love away-matt wertz
the theme of this song is unconditional love. its what Jesus offers all of us, even if we do not always accept it. He is amazing.

7. diamond ring-pedro the lion
the first pedro song i heard, and my favorite. it is heartbreaking...God offering me so much, and so often, me pushing it back in His face. the second verse and bridge get me every time.

8. latter days-over the rhine
over the rhine could have an entire cd of their own as part of my life's soundtrack. but i think i will stick with this song. its...yeah.

9. dearly we're bought-red mountain music
one of my favorite praise songs that we sing at redeemer. "Lift up your ravished eyes, and view the glory given; all lower things despised, ye citizens of heaven."

10. Jesus, i my cross have taken-indelible grace
i heard this song for the first time this year. another one of my favorites...i cant pick my favorite verse.

so there you have it; my soundtrack to 2007. im ready to hit play on 2008.

Joy to the world; the Lord has come.

hope has entered this broken world.

amen.

entertaining thoughts...

lately, i have been feeling discouraged about the recovery process. i guess that is to be expected, because i am "better" enough to not be feeling the effects of actively living in sin, but not enough to not desire that lifestyle completely. i think it is easy to interpret Jesus' "take up your cross and follow Me" to mean everything except the deepest desires of your heart, because, hey, THOSE are "off limits" or not explicitly mentioned. but i have been learning that everyone's cross looks different, and one person's cross may change day to day. yet we are still called to die to ourselves daily, carry our cross, and look to our Savior. so what prevailing form has my cross taken lately? staying/being at a healthy weight. it is something i despise, but it could be worse, and i need to remember that. i need to nail my goal weight to the cross, and leave it there. it is partially a matter of trust; trusting that the Lord is indeed good and created my body in such a fashion that it will settle at a weight at which i can function and thrive. so i am doing it: wholly entrusting myself to my Savior; leaning into Him, and having faith that He will catch me.

another thought: there are a couple of people at furman that i have become insanely close to over the past 2 months. we're not just acquaintences; read: i cannot explain the connection i feel to these girls. i am learning so much from being in relationships with them: about honesty, about dealing with things as they come, about the meaning of truly entering into someone's life and loving them. i have to wonder to myself if this intense sense of community is a whiff of what the Lord truly intended his Body to feel.