Gone too long... and the first music blog, Sara Groves

I started this blog over 2 years ago, and never came back to it since. What a pathetic read, huh? Well, it's been weighing on my mind to get back into this, so I'm giving it another shot. A lot can change in 2 years, but I wanted to start blogging about music. I thought it would be fun today to spin the iPod and see what I land on. Music means different things to each person that listens, so in giving you a glimpse of what I like, I can giving my two cents on why as well.

Today's selection is...

Sara Groves
http://www.saragroves.com/

I have a few of Sara's albums. Back in 2000 when I really started to explore Christian music, I was looking for a lot of "if you like so and so" comparisons. Although I am a big fan of pop/dance/electro music, I have nitch for chic rock. Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan are favorites to name a few. At any rate, Jacqui actually went to the Hackmann's, our local Christian Bookstore and brought me home one of Sara's cds titled All Right Here.

On the cd, is a song called "Every Minute" which spoke to me right away. The song talk about not wasting moments in life, and how important it is to realize that moments don't have to be big and dramatic, but that they can rather calm and small, and still have significant outcome. I still listen to this song regularly, especially when I struggle with those "am i doing enough" times, or the "what more could I be doing" demons that frequently visit. Of course, I am then reminded to trust God with each moment in my life, something I may not be 100% good at doing, but the gentle reminders do help to keep me from being distracted away.

Sara has many other great cds, including Add to the Beauty, which features "You Are The Sun," another personal favorite. Sara's lyrics are insightful and deep, but her tone is relatable to backyard guitar and campfire. Definitely an artist to check out if you like folk, light rock music.

The beginning...

Simply stated, this is "Notes...," a bit of a play on words that I quickly came up with in order to create my blog since it had to have a title; don't be surprised if in two weeks I'm changing it already. But I really tried to come up with something that reflected me, and the play on notes as jotting down loose, new, and interesting ideas, plus my thoughts on music and how it affects me daily, seemed like a good fit - for the time being anyway.

The last couple of months have been interesting. Lots of change ahead for us, beginning with the planning and preparation for our son to arrive in June. We are so excited! When we had Sophia, the thought of having a little girl was all we could dream of, and Heaven-blessed we are with her. Sophia is absolutely amazing - there really isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at her and just wonder how we got the privilege to be the parents of such an awesome kid. But now, we get to see the flip side with having a boy. I really wanted a boy, and was hoping from the day that Jacqui told me we were pregnant again that we would get that opportunity. Wow... a boy! I'm not even sure I've digested that yet. It will be so different, but I'm excited for him to arrive. We decided on a name, Parker James. That's the first time I wrote that, it's a nice fit:)

I've also been going through a lot personally, with my interest in music and writing. My time is just not the same as it used to be, and I find that I have less and less time to really devote to music. I'm not bowing out completely, but music seems to be taking a backseat right now, as it should with everything going on in our lives at this time. On the flip side, I've been feeling that nudge to give writing a shot. I started journaling, and through the inspiration of others blogging, decided to give this a whirl. At least it's practice, right? I've been tossing around the idea for a few children's books over the last couple of years, but lately have had those ideas spring back into my thoughts at the most random of times, and can only think that they really want to be put into action. I'd like to write a novel or two also - we'll see what develops.

As for now, with this blog, my mission is clear - and that is to write about everything I feel like writing about, important or not, interesting or possibly boring, but whatever. I do hope to inspire, as others have inspired me. I want to publish poetry here, and give glimpses into other writings and music I've been working on creating. Somedays, you might just get the ingredients on a can of chili, but that's what will keep things interesting... enjoy!
-Erik