Bracelet-Making 101

These last few weeks, I have been finding myself saying a lot more phrases like "I think I need this"..or "That's definitely something that would be great for me.." and so on and so forth.

To keep it short, I've been making everything about me. A place that I seriously despise being in.

Just within the last couple of days, I've been seriously re-evaluating this attitude. And the reminder I've needed has literally been right on my wrist.

Sheesh...

This summer, during Ride:Well, myself and a few other cyclists stopped at a small, gas station turned convenience store in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico. There was an elderly woman behind the counter accompanied by 2 young girls. I'd assume they were both between 6 and 8 years old. As we were checking out with gatorade, water, and Snickers bars in hand, one of the girls asked if we would want to by a bracelet. Each one was a different color and were made out of yarn. The kind of bracelets young girls have always made (as long as I've been alive at least!). Braided yarn with frayed ends.

Simplicity that took on a new meaning after I asked her what she was selling them to save for.

Her response, "So we can go home."

My heart dropped.

She said that her mom lived in Mississippi, and she was wanting to raise money to see her mom instead of having to live with her grandmother (the elderly woman running the store).

After I bought myself and the other Ride:Well ladies one of these bracelets, her face lit up.

She had raised $8.50 and was on her way to raising the funds to get home.

We all have those moments. Those heart-wrenching, don't-even-realize-the-lesson-being-learned, put life into perspective moments.

I constantly have to remind myself of that moment and of moments like that...

Of that young girl..who just wanted to go home.

My "needs" don't seem so necessary.

I want to make a conscious effort to invest in things that will matter to others...matter to someone other than just myself. I want to appreciate time I have with friends and family. I want to always remember that while I'm complaining about my life that has so many awesome aspects to it, others are just trying to get home.

What I'm Listening to This Wednesday...Barely!

Whew, well, I barely made this blog in on Wednesday, but I MADE IT.

Even though it's late and it may seem that maybe it's because nothing's been seeping through my speakers worth writing about, that's not it at all.

There has been one artist, that has been playing quite a bit the last several days.

Ladies and Gentleman, may I introduce this week's musician that I'm loving the more and more I hear....

MAURICE DAVIS.



I actually met Maurice about a year and a half ago...probably at one of the most random places ever. It wasn't in a venue or arena. Rather, it was at a nutritional/health/supplement store. Through mutual friends, Maurice had come by to play a few songs for one of the mutual friends, and walked in with guitar case in tow. From there he pulled out a...12. STRING. ACOUSTIC. Right off the bat, I knew this guy was LEGIT.

He played a few songs, but the 2 that I remember the most vividly were "Red Dress" and "Nobody's Fool". And they were both done flawlessly. I think "smooth" may be a good word to describe the way his voice blends with the guitar chords. A co-worker said it best, "he knows exactly what to do with his voice." And an extensive vocal range does nothing but increase the talent this guy has.

These 2 songs (which you need to go and check out as soon as you're done reading this blog) are available on iTunes! The Maurice Davis Band currently has 2 albums on there:

Draw the Curtain and We Are Permanent.

(You can thank me later for introducing you!) :)

Maurice has also currently been posting videos of song covers that friends have requested. All of them have been AMAZING. Here the links for a couple of my favorites (so far!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4-4nZFwDV0 Cover of Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-9UDCmfj0 Cover of Just Friends by Gavin DeGraw

In addition to being overwhelmingly talented both vocally, and musically in general, Maurice also has taken steps personally to spread news and awareness on behalf of missing and exploited children, even going so far as to write a song titled "Missing Children." Davis has an unbelievable story in his own personal life to justify the desire to spread light on the topic.

Check out Maurice's story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpvkoGrEUZY


As stated earlier, the Maurice Davis Band (http://www.mauricedavisband.com/) has albums for sale on iTunes, Amazon, and Napster. Give them a listen. And let me know what you think!

Maurice Davis is also on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Maurice-Davis-Band/14838882997

and MySpace!:
http://www.myspace.com/mauricedavisband


Be Well and Happy Listening!

This Friday's Food for Thought...

This week I read the blog on the To Write Love On Her Arms site, and read a beautifully written piece by the founder, Jamie Tworkowski. If you have a chance to go to their page- www.twloha.com- I'd recommend it! Reading the story of their organization really opened my eyes and ears to some things that it's so easy to be ignorant about sometimes. I'm truly grateful for the hope and the stories they share.

But there was one paragraph in this blog that really gripped me. Maybe it just "hit home" for me. Maybe it will for you too. Either way, I wanted to share it regardless.

"Be loved. Be known. Love people and know people. Be so brave as to raise a hand for help when you need it. Make friends and make sure they know they matter. Be loyal to them and fight for them. Remind them what's true and invite them to do the same when you forget. If you do some losing or you walk with someone else in their defeat, live with dignity and grace. It is a middle finger to the darkness."

Be Loved. Sometimes that's the hardest part. But be intentional about it. It'll pay off.

Can Love Be...Conditional?

This morning I had a great conversation with a great friend of mine about life and love and relationships and friendships and things of the like. While we were talking about how those kinds of things change more often than we realize, it got me thinking...

Can Love Be Conditional?

Yesterday, I watched Oprah (which may be the first time I've done that in about a year, maybe a year and a half..), but Tyler Perry was the show's guest yesterday. Perry talked about his childhood which had been tampered by several series of abuse. He had experienced 4 bouts of sexual abuse with both men and women, and the main character of this pain of his childhood was his own father. Tyler sat in this chair across from Oprah with tears in his eyes as he talked about the verbal and physical abuse he'd experienced from his father.

And it really broke my heart.
People who have experienced similar things first-hand have a deep empathy for others that go through these experiences.

But something that stuck out to me was at the end of the show, Oprah asked about how his relationship is with his father now, and he proceeded to say that there wasn't really a relationship there. He had yelled and screamed and told his father how he had hurt him, and "let it go...whatever is was that was there."

He said something that was awesome. He said "Anger is ok. Bitterness is not."

(Here's the link if you'd wanna see this clip for yourself:
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Tyler-Perry-Talks-About-Forgiveness-Video/topic/oprahshow)

I'm not trying to be the Devil's advocate, and this is in no means my way of trying to encourage hate or defeat or divorce. I think that each person individually has their own opinions and perceptions on all those things. So that's not my intention. Not at all.

But I do believe that there are some relationships, friendships, etc. that are only in our lives for a short period of time. Sometimes those things are ended mutually, sometimes not, but I do believe that those situations are a part of our lives for a purpose. I believe sometimes it's to show us a personal strength that we hadn't tapped into before then. Sometimes, it's to teach us how to be broken and seek others out due to heartbreak or loss. Whatever the case, I think that we all encounter every relationship for a reason and sometimes only for a season in our lives.

Biblically, the book of Ecclesiastes talks about there's "a time to love and a time to hate." I do my best to deter from the latter, but are those moments destined to be a part of our lives? How do we handle finding the balance?

When friendships and relationships go awry, does that mean that the love has ended? Does love end? Does hate end?

If love does end, does that mean that hope ends?

What I'm Listening to This Wednesday...

As stated last week, I'm very intentional about keeping up-to-date with this blog, especially with this Wednesday Music blog feature :)

Soooooo, this week...I have been oversdosing my ears on:

Andrew Belle

I, honestly (and kinda embarrassingly), hadn't heard anything from him til about 2 months ago...

The first time I'd heard him was when a friend of mine posted up the music video of his for the song "Static Waves" which features Katie Herzig on Facebook. I'd heard, in passing, of Katie before-hand and was interested in hearing what she sounded like....

Now, to be fair, Katie Herzig is amazing, and I'll probably doing a blog on her at a later time, but Andrew's voice and music is what made the biggest impact on me personally at this first introduction.

After the video was over, I did was anyone else would do in this situation...I went to iTunes and bought his entire album, The Ladder.

As one who is partial to acoustic-driven tunes, I was blown away by how effective and amazing he is on both the guitar and the piano. Lyrically covering the different levels of a relationship with songs like: Static Waves, Oh My Stars, Make it Without You and the title track...to the heartbreak that can come with lost friendships in My Oldest Friend, the album is chock-full of lyrics and music that will bring hope, passion, grace and will relate to you in areas of heartbreak, loss, and fear.

Andrew is currently on tour w/ Tyrone Wells through the end of November. So if you are in or around a city that is hosting him, be sure to get a ticket and check him out!

Upcoming cities where you can catch Andrew Belle live are:

*Iowa City, IA (10/20)

*Minneapolis, MN (10/21)

*Evanston, IL (10/22)

*Milwuakee, WI (10/23)

*Chicago, IL (10/24)

*St. Louis (10/26)

..and heading to the West Coast!

For more information on the tour, the album, or on Andrew Belle himself, be sure to check out his website: http://www.andrewbelle.com/ or check out http://www.10outoftenn.com/.

Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter via @team_belle and @andrewbelle, and be friends on Facebook!

"On a ladder from there to here, I'll climb

All this clatter between my ears I find

Does is matter if I can't clear my mind?

There's a right and a wrong time."

-Andrew Belle, The Ladder

A Little Food for Thought...and a Simple Food Tip for you :)

Recently, a good friend of mine, Jay Williams, released a book through http://www.lulu.com/ that is a complilation of 1001 Quotes for Leaders...
and I want to share one of the good ones that I've read (so far!)
Here's what it looks like (so go ahead and head on over and buy it for yourself!)






The book is broken up into 23 categories, full of quotes on each topic. Here's one from the "Character" section:

"The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back." ~Abigail Van Buren

Feel free to comment on what that means to you! I'd love to hear!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, now for the simple food tip! We all love food, especially inexpensive, easy to prepare, and easy to clean up grub!

So next time you host or attend a get-together, how about the EASIEST (and most delicious!!) cheese-ball EVER! I learned this recipe from my Master's Commission director's wife years back, and every time I make it, folks LOVE IT!

*Soften up 1 box of cream cheese and put in large mixing bowl

*Add 1 pack of Italian seasoning (can be found in the dressing aisle at the grocery store)

*Add about 1/2-3/4 cup of sharp cheddar shredded cheese (depending on how much you love cheese) :)

*Roll it up into a ball and put on a small plate

*Let is set in the fridge for at least 15 mins.

*Enjoy with some club crackers!

Bon Apetite!

What I'm Listening To and What I Think You Should Be Hearing Too!

Hello readers!
I know what you're thinking...2 blog posts in 1 week? And yes, this is totally happening! This is "real life" like we in Ride:Well would call it over the summer. Like I said, I'm really gonna try to be more consistent!

Wednesdays, especially, are gonna be fun for me.

I want to focus every Wednesday on some music that I've been recently introduced to or just really enjoy in hopes that you may check them out too (And then maybe they'll be playing near you and you can check them out over the weekends or something!)

...I know, a little far-fetched, but hopefully, it'll catch on over time. :)

Music, as some of you know is something really near and dear to me. Both sets of my grandparents sang together in choirs and singing groups when they were young, my parents both have had their time in choirs and musical ensembles, and I have just inherited a real love of the thing.

Music speaks clearer than words can sometimes...quite a beautiful power.


And now, for my first music blog!:

I heard about this group over the summer while I was participating in Ride:Well, and to be honest, I had my reservations...not to downplay the amazingness of local music, because I'm quite the sucker for it, but sometimes what one person likes just isn't the preference of another.


But I have yet to meet one person who doesn't like the sound of this group.


May I introduce to you: AIR REVIEW



*Air Review is: Doug Hale, Richard Carpenter, Jeff Taylor, Justin Robinson, and Hank Bentley

This 5-man group from the Dallas area is definitely making some waves in the local music scene. It's obvious in every song of their album, Landmarks, that they're all experienced in what they do. These guys know what they're doing in their music/artisitic roles...and what they do, they do well.

Each song sports unbelievable vocal harmonies, amazing guitar riffs, a drum beat fit for head-bobbing, piano solos that will leave you in awe, or all of the above. This indi-rock group is one that I would classify as "the whole package". Within Landmarks, every song brings something to the table.

Every song.

(We all have those albums where we listen to 2 songs then we change the album...so I find it important to mention that this would be the exception, in my opinion!)

And just to add to the ingenuity of this group, their entire album was recorded and produced by the guys themselves.

Trust me folks. Check out the album. You will not be disappointed.

Air Review is currently back in the studio recording/producing their follow-up album, which I, for one am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO!

They have a couple live shows coming up also, which you should check out if you are in the area:

**October 28th: Concert on the Square in Ft. Worth//Air Review w/ One Eskimo//You can buy tickets at http://www.kxt.org/ and tickets are only $7.50 (So seriously, there's no reason why you shouldn't be there!)

**November 5th: Trees in Dallas//Air Review w/ The Orange// You can buy tickets at http://www.clubzone.com/events/314833/dallas/trees/air-review


Also, follow them on twitter @airreview for info on upcoming shows (and great twitpics of them working hard in the studio) :)

Check them out on MySpace: www.myspace.com/airreview

***Also, you can go ahead any buy the album on Amazon and iTunes!***

And this concludes my first music/opinion/advertising for good music blog...Comment if you'd like :)

The loss of pride at the hands of my Ride:Well experience

Well, it's been WAY too long since I've posted a blog on here. I feel super lame for waiting such a long time for a follow-up but I've also been wanting to get some thoughts in order after an experience like Ride:Well to share what I believe I learned.

As most of you know (or at least you who read this know), my summer story did not turn out at all as I had planned it.

And right now, I chuckle to myself because I don't think this summer was what any of us had planned on it being!

But, on a personal note, it was a tough, tough, tough summer. From day one...or should I say -1 (training ride day), this experience was not how I'd planned. I had prepared myself for a training ride experience that would show my fellow teammates how experienced I was on this bike, show them how much training and hard work I had put into getting ready for this summer.

Show them how awesome I was....to prove to them that I was gonna kick some butt on my bike this summer.

Interesting enough, after I took the first Ride:Well wipe-out 5 miles into this training ride, I knew that this pride I had traveled to San Diego with was officially gone.

I knew what this summer was supposed to be about. It was about those people in Marsabit, those people that I may never meet, getting clean water. But even talking about that before this summer carried some pride with me. Maybe I thought I was some super-hero..spending my summer saving the day for these people.

But that's not it. That's not it at all. It wasn't about me at all.

This summer was about team. It was about community. It was about me learning to rely on 16 other people that I didn't know before this experience. And most importantly, in my opinion,

It was about me learning what it means to REALLY serve.

That's what I feel like I really got out of this summer. That's what we're called to do. It's so easy for us to get caught up in the super-hero-ness of Christianity that sometimes we forget what our mission is.

Even if I needed to experience a broken shoulder to learn this, I am so grateful. I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to serve some of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life.

I'm grateful for the people that served us.
*For the people that opened up their doors for 17 stinky, sweaty cyclists who let us come into their churches with 17 bikes and 17 rubbermaid bins of our belongings, with smiles on their faces, meals prepared, and in some cases, cold towels.
*Thank you to the woman who let us jump into the pool at her RV park and sit in an ice chest with all of our gear on.
*Thank you to the man who pulled over on the side of the road with cold bottles of water for us.
*Thank you to the members of the church in New Mexico who wouldn't let us conclude our evening without first viewing the amazing sunset.
*To those who let us ride bikes on the stage at your church, and let us sleep in your children's beds while they slept outside in tents.
*To those who gave us cards, letters, words of encouragement, and support through prayer and monetarily for Africa.
*To those who I may have forgotten in this moment, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Those small gestures have taught me and broken me more than you know and I am eternally grateful.

Thank you for teaching me about what this was all about.

In conclusion, I don't think I can finish this blog entirely without thanking 16 people in particular. To my 2010 Ride:Well team. Each of you played such an incredible part of this summer.

Jacob
Erin
Anne
Chris
Brian
Jay
Aaron
Adam
Chase
Ian
Dustin
Karl
Ty
Crystal
Kate
Theresa

*You all are just too amazing for words. Thank you for the summer of a lifetime!!*