Some Weeks You Just Run Around Like a Chicken with their head...well, you know

It has been one of those weeks.  Well kind of two of those weeks.  Everything has been GREAT, but it has also been a bit crazy.  President's Day came and went here with appreciation, but still a need to work.  We introduced our newest cat Miles to our cat Dizzy, we had a snow storm, and a sick teenager.  

And now we have a HUGE concert tomorrow at the US Airways Center arena in Phoenix, The Rock and Worship Roadshow, and getting set for that has been CRAZY!  I did my first Christian artist interview for my station and also learned to edit the interview.  This all had to be done pretty quick for air.  It was scary, exciting, interesting (the interview and the editing) and I am happy I have my first one under my belt. 

I interviewed Rhett from the Rhett Walker band which was beyond exciting for me.  I have really been crazy about the band since I first stumbled on a sing just before their CD release.  I proceeded to tell everyone I knew about them, and asked every label rep I speak to if they knew about them and especially one from Provident to find out if she was promoting them for our station.  She was and she kindly even sent me an album (I swear I wasn't fishing for that-but was happy for it and have since purchased several for family members) and was so excited when our program director added them to our playlist. 

The lead singer, Rhett has a voice that totally reminds me of my 90s fave Chris Cornell.  The band has a very southern rock/alternative Christian kind of vibe and lyrically, the songs speak to a place a lot of us have been.  Here's their lyric video song "When Mercy Found Me."  If you listen to nothing else, listen to this song.





Their second release from their album is "Come to the River."  Here you can learn a little bit more about Rhett and his journey.




So anyway, it has been a busy week. The Rock and Worship Roadshow is this Saturday. We are really excited about this event because it is a unique opportunity to see some wonderful Christian artists covering many genres. It is one of those events really for the whole family and neighborhood too. It is an event that just as a radio station, we count the seconds and work our tails off. What goes on with the concert end must be CRAZY. They are hoping to work on a Roadshow movie, so we will learn more about that someday.  :)  Here is the line up for tomorrow's show:
MercyMe
Jeremy Camp
Tedashi
Kutless
Family Force 5
Luminate
Rhett Walker Band
Adam Cappa
Andy Cherry (Tim Simmons in other places)



 Oh and today we are announcing a line up for an even BIGGER concert right here in our own back yard (well not literally).  So it is going to stay crazy baby!

I plan on writing quite a bit on Sunday after church and getting out everything that has been going on in my head.  For now I am just happy that God is in control, because I definitely am not.  I hope that you have a blessed and wonderful weekend.  

Isaiah 40:31  but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Let's soar!

Valentine's Day Recap

**My husband got his hair cut today.  While I waited for his hairdresser to complete his cut, I played with the camera on my phone. 


Valentine's Day has come and gone, and my friends it was awesome!!!!!!  Sorry for the excessive exclamation points, but really, it pretty much rocked.

Here's my day in a nutshell:

Day before Valentine's Day, my husband came home from work with these in his arms.

He knew that I had to work early in the morning at the station, and he wanted to make sure I had an early Valentine's Day smile.  He is seriously a sweetheart.  One of my other Valentine's gifts came in early too, and this one really made me excited.  Ever since I watched Hungry for Change, I have REALLY wanted a juicer.  Well my dearest most awesomest husband EVER got me a JUICER!!!!!!

I don't have a picture yet (I still have to set it up), but here is the linkymajig from Amazon.



Total Awesomeness right?  I can't wait to learn and get into some juicing.  No overboard stuff, but I really want to make better choices and changes.  I really think this would be a big help.

Valentine's Day itself started really early. We had a special event at our station, a Valentine's Day drive thru where listeners could drive up on their way to work to pick up a free rose to give to a friend to brighten their day, a chocolate, and coffee and a pastry for themselves.  It was wonderful!  So many people showed up to brighten up someone's day.  It was so nice being a part of it.  :)

One of the best parts of the morning was when my husband stopped by on the way to work to give me a present for Valentine's Day that I wasn't expecting.

The picture barely does it justice.  One of Scott's friends makes the most beautiful blown glass pendants and ornaments.  This was a special surprise.  I still need to get a cord for it, but for now It rests on a silver chain during the day, and in the safety of a beautiful china bowl that I picked up last weekend for jewelry.  He gives me a heart of some sort every year.  This is possibly my favorite.  :)

My gift was more difficult.  Scott's birthday is just a few days before Valentine's Day.  I had already purchased a Nano for him, but I had no idea what else to get.  I didn't want to go the old route of chocolate and cologne so I gave him a membership to the "Monthly Treats from your Sweets" club.  This month's treat:

-Trek Mix
-Roasted Almonds
-Mile Chocolate Bar (got to have a little chocolate on the day of love)
-Three types of jerky.
-Loads of pretty sparkly hearts.  

Next month...I don't know, but I am really excited about spending time every month creating a basket just for the love of my life to let him know that each day and each month, I am happy that HE is my Valentine.  :)

I hope that your day was special too!

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Music Music Music - Jeremy Camp - Reckless

 Jeremy Camp is one of my favorite Christian artists.  He has a great voice and song writing talent and his sincerity shows through each song whether you are listening to a CD (and I've got plenty) or if you see him at a live show.  He is one of my husband's faves too so way back in the day when my husband and I were still newlyweds, when Jeremy came to town with TobyMac and Matthew West, I bought surprise tickets for my love.

At the show we learned both Matthew's story (wont go into it here since this is about Jeremy) and also about Jeremy and his incredible story.  For a young man he has truly had a clear vision of his ministry and also has had some pretty intense life experience.  We can all relate to parts of Jeremy's life from having our own rebellious youth or to losing a loved one.  Jeremy shares his experience in his book "I Still Believe" which is published by Tyndale House.  Next week on February 12th Jeremy will be releasing his latest album "Reckless."  Jeremy truly is an inspirational Christian artist not just because of his music but because of his sincere love of Jesus and how that love is so easily translated into who he is.

Before we get into Reckless though I want to share with you my favorite song.  I love a lot of Jeremy's work but his song "This Man" in particular pierces my heart with its beauty and truth.



Here are the lyrics.  Honestly, I can't even read them without tearing up.

"This Man"

In only a moment truth
Was seen revealed this mystery
The crown that showed no dignity he wore
And the king was placed for all the world
To show disgrace but only beauty flowed from this place

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands

He held the weight of impurity
The father would not see
The reasons had finally come to be to
Show the depth of his grace flowed with
Every sin erased he knew that this was
Why he came

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands

And we just don't know the blood and
Water flowed and in it all
He showes just how much he cares
And the veil was torn so we could have
This open door and all these things have
Finally been complete

Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
Would you take the place of this man
Would you take the nails from his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands
From his hands 

Anyway, Jeremy has some exciting things coming up.  Like I mentioned, he has his book, new album and is on tour as part of the Rock & Worship Roadshow.  Being a part of this tour must be a huge blessing.  This is the fifth year of the tour, and this tour is something else.  For $10 at the door, you get to see several top notch music acts.  The talent is amazing and fills just about every genre and every taste.  Hey, since I am linking stuff all over the place, I might as well throw that in too.  :)


I'm sorry, I was so excited with "Reckless" and the Roadshow that I forgot to post what I really wanted to share.  The music video for Jeremy's newest song straight from the album titled "Reckless."  Enjoy!  This is the lyric video.  You can catch the official music video at God Tube. 




PS I mentioned Tyndale House before.  They have a special rewards program called Tyndale Rewards.  You get points for doing several things on their site, book reviews, quizzes, and you can turn in those points for books.  If you would like to sign up or even check it out you can get there from my referral link here.  This referral link gets you 25 points when you sign up and 10 points for me.  You can start getting books for as low as 65 points.  You don't have to sign up under me but if you are interested, I would appreciate it.  :)

National Marriage Week USA

**Me and my wonderful husband on our wedding day.


"And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make." – Paul McCartney

Ahhhh love is the best.  Every month should be full of love, but since it is February, let's enjoy it now.  February 7th through the 14th is National Marriage Week USA.  A week dedicated to strengthening marriage all culminating up to Valentine's Day!  OOOOOH how I love that day!  

National Marriage Week USA has a wonderful website that is really perfect for couples to take some time to read tips, watch videos, and find ways to truly strengthen their marriages.  And to be honest, they would be pretty awesome for the dating relationship too.  We can all use help in the relationship department, and I'm saying that when honestly I have CRAZY confidence in my own relationship.  Still I went to the National Marriage Week USA website and found not only great marriage enrichment events (they have a huge listing by state of events that have been posted by individuals and organizations all over the country).  

Now onto the tips.  With Valentine's Day coming up, I was really excited by the tip for the Memory Lane Great Date.  This date involves sharing with one another your own love story.  Imagine enjoying a quiet dinner together and sharing how much you love each other and the memories of your life together.  Talk about the first time you met, your first date, what you felt after your first date.  It is in the retelling of those simple moments that really help build on what you have and remind you of what you love about one another.  Find out more about National Marriage Week USA and take advantage of all the website has to offer by clicking here. 

Share Some Love in February

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Seeing that love is celebrated in February in a big way.  I thought it would be nice to share how we can extend some love too.  It isn't all about hugs and kisses or grand gestures.  In fact if we put our mind to it, we can show love and encouragement in all kinds of ways this month.

Today we are making a Drive Thru Difference at Radio Shine and reaching out to strangers buy picking up the tab whether it is for the morning coffee, breakfast, lunch or beyond.  You can learn more about that effort by clicking here. 

Frame and gift some cute subway art.  Amy from One Artsy Mom has a fun Love Subway Art piece here. 

Write a nice note and mail it out.  For the cost of a stamp, you can truly brighten someone's day.  You don't even need to get fancy just share something sweet or maybe an encouraging quote.

Take advantage of your cell phone's texting ability and text some love and let them know you are thinking about them.  Maybe take a silly picture of yourself and send that along.

Give compliments to the people you work with.  Point out their good qualities.  Not only will it make them feel good, trust me, you will too!

Bake or cook someone a treat.  Maybe you could do this for the big game this weekend.  Do you have a friend coming over who really likes seven-layer dip or is known for their penchant for corn dogs.  How about you surprise them with a treat just for their palate.  A great place to start is this link at All Recipes specifically dedicated to snacking.

For those special people in your life make them a love jar.  Fill the jar with some candy and notes highlighting how awesome they are.

Pay attention to your surroundings.  Is someone struggling with a handful of items at the grocery store?  Let them go before you.  Because my son is tall he is always looking to help someone shorter (often myself) reach those items at the top shelf.  If you see the same and are blessed with height, make their day and help them out.  

Show some kindness when you go out to eat.  Maybe bless that server with a little extra for a tip and include a kind message.  As a former waitress, I remember being blessed by several customers who took the time to do that for me.  It was pretty awesome.

Are you a parent of a child in school?  This would be a great month to find out how to contact their teachers and send them notes of thanks or maybe some extra school needs like tissues.  A  lot of teachers reach right out of their pockets for items like this in their classrooms.  

Speaking of that child.  How about some fun printable jokes for their lunchbox.  Alphamom has some really cute animal themed ones at this link.  Of course you can also clip some cartoons from the  news paper too.