"Every saved person this side of Heaven OWES the Gospel to every lost person this side of Hell."

Mayhave Monday

Down and Dirty's Mayhave Monday fun. 
I may or may not currently jam to the most ecclectic mix of music.  You can call me strange, I don't care.  Stephen isn't a fan always of my playlists, so I usually listen to them at work or while cooking.  Please enjoy.  You MAY or MAY NOT find at least one song that you really love!
These are in no particular order...
1.  Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson (what is it about J.A. that gets me hooked on his music?? Maybe bc he's just down home country... and who doesnt love Kelly??)

2.  Amos Lee... The KING of chill out, wind down, and maybe even wine down Music! Loving his new album!

3. Brendan James... if you don't know him, you should.  That is all. 

4.  Kalai... a newby to the M. Townsend Playlist, but a keeper!

5.  Bob Marley... no, i'm not a hippie.  This song just gets me in Beach mood!

6.  Say Hey, (I Love you)-- the only song by this artist that I have, but if this song doesnt get your feet moving, there's something wrong with you.

7.  Eric Hutchinson... Even Stephen loves this one!  I caught him humming it the other day. 

8.  Zac Brown Band has had my heart since 2006.  And they've teamed up with good Ole Alan on this one!!

9.  Marc Broussard... I discovered this song on my pandora station.  We all love Marc.  I mean he is from Louisiana.

10. Kings of Leon.. not a fan of all their music, but there are a few songs that i enjoy.  This being one of them.

11. Citizen Cope... For those of you who like a little rap every now and then... a little rolling the windows down bobbing your head kind of music... here it bees.

12. The City Harmonic... Great praise and worship song!

13.  JJ Heller... also a newby, but a keeper!!  This song gives me a lump in my throat every time!

14.  Christian Stanfill... this song snagged me at a time when I was living in fear.  I love how the Holy Spirit grabs hold of you so creatively.

15.  Last, but not least... a little Billy Joel to end your listening experience :D

So long dixie queens!!

Comfortable.

In July of 2010, I committed to read through the entire bible in a year.  I am a little over halfway and I have to admit that I'm getting weary.  I'm just reading words.  Reading because I said I would.  Not soaking it in, letting it seep into every corner of my thirsty soul.  Yesterday while reading words, I mustered up a "God, why am I doing this??"  I closed the bible gladly (no disrespect intended here).  And began to pray.  I then realized that I haven't really been praying.  Just saying some words every now and then.  Shooting those words somewhere in the corners of the room.  I sat on the couch at first, wrapped in a blanket, head leaning on the pillow, comfortable.  It's like that word was being shouted at me.  Then came a string of similar words... Complacent, stagnate, cozy, sedentary.  YUK!  That's not where or who I want to be, nor is it where God wants me to be.  He wants me to grow, to seek Him Daily.  I was overwhelmed with how selfish I have been and how I have been treating Christianity as only a label lately... going with the flow... doing the "Christian" thing.  Puke.  So fake.  Where did I go from there?  My knees of course!! Asking for forgiveness, accepting grace, and my prayer abruptly stopped, when I heard the car door slam... my very last words of that prayer were "Show me how to be the follower, daughter, sister, friend, and wife that you have created me to be."  Maybe the distraction was to keep my focus on that very prayer?  This morning I was again reminded of my DAILY need to ask for guidance and grace thanks to my sweet Sister, whom God uses regularly to teach me things about Himself.  So now... I have to re-focus.   Focus on asking God to show me truth in his scripture and how to apply it to my life today.  He will.  He always does.  I just havent bothered asking him lately. 

And to finish off the morning, I had a double dose of this song by Shawn McDonald: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QE1OrBNleo

Truths Collide

Fun Friend Friday (I wrote a guest post for my sister today)

Confessions

I need to get some things off my chest.  These are my confessions (singing Usher in my head)

1.  I have road rage.  Sometimes it's really bad. 

2.  I was very ugly to a sales lady on the phone last week, so when she called back this week, I gave her all the information she asked for which took approximently 30 minutes and me asking after ever question "Do what? Could you repeat that?"

3.  I love bloody mary's.

4.  I don't like Stephen's newest hobby.  Not one bit.  Mostly because it takes his attention off of me (is that selfish of me or what?!)

5.  I secretly wish I could move to Guatemala and be a photojournalist.  I guess it's not a secret anymore.

6.  I really, REALLY, REALLY want to adopt. 

7.  I am appreciating Stephen Townsend more and more everyday.

8.  I love, LOVE how God never let's me get too far from Him.

9.  I really like to hear chinese accents.

10.  I love that I am from the South, brought up in a family with such diverse members who are always making me laugh and love harder.

What are your confessions?

Down & Dirty's Mayhave Monday- [white lies]

I am scary protective of my family and the people I love.  Don't talk about them. Don't say anything negative, unless I say it's ok.  I can be negative... but you can't.  My husband, poor thing, learned this early on in our relationship.  He picks on me about it still. I think it runs in our family.  One time I was telling my sister that I was afraid of people thinking I was a loser for quitting college, and she started crying and told me no they wouldnt, because she would beat them up.  Like I said, scary protective. 

So as for Mayhave Monday.... I may or may not have told a little white lie about a family member's success level.  Do you have someone in your family that hasnt quite gotten it figured out yet?  They are still searching for something... for happiness?  In the meantime, they are sort of just butchering their way through life?  I do.  And I feel like everytime someone asks me about this person, I say the same thing.  For privacy purposes, i'll say this person's name is Pat.  How's Pat?  Oh, he's just Pat.  Or, my personal fave... "Is Pat still working for ___?"  No, that was 4 jobs ago.  So this weekend... I may or may not have said that Pat was great and that Pat has been working at his job for a while now.  I wanted to say something positive about Pat, and I wanted to protect Pat from any negative or judgemental thoughts or perceptions.  Because everyone needs to be protected every now and then. We've all been there, butchering our way through life... searching.  Did someone believe in you?  Did someone protect you?  They sure as heck did for me (refer to the above crazy line from my sister). And I truly believe in Pat.  And I want other people to believe in Pat too. So sue me. 

Say something about Pat and i'll kill you. 

Seriously.

My Thing

In college, I had a friend who had a thing for Trees.  She seemed sort of mesmorized by them.  She thought they were beautiful.  She took pictures of them.  Well, my thing is the sky.  I have a thing for the sky.  Strange? Perhaps.  I get totally swept up in it.  I could probably stare at it for hours.  I love all types.  Cloudy, clear, blue and crisp, sunsets, sunrises.  I love driving over tall bridges because I feel like i'm about to fly off into it.  The picture above, was the other day on my way to work.  I happened to have my fancy camera with me.  The picture does it no justice.  None.  I was swept away at the beauty.  Maybe it's that the sky is untouched by humans.  It's still pure.  Painted perfectly by the Master's hands.  And we get to enjoy it's purity.  We get to breathe in it's beauty and be amazed and humbled at the creativity of the Author of Life. 

Recently, Stephen killed a 10 pt. deer.  Apparently, it's kind of a big deal.  He wants it mounted.  I told him I would be glad for him to hang it in the washroom.  Anyway, I went to the Taxidermist with him, and as he was talking about a bunch of stuff i didn't care about, he said something that grabbed my attention.  He said, I think of my job as art, a skill that I have been given.  I know you are thinking "he mounds dead dear heads on a peice of wood", but bear with me.  He went on about the detail he has to put into making these Deer heads look real.  Then he said this:  "You know, We can try to make these deer look so real and perfect, and we can even succeed in showing some of their beauty, but no one, no human, can make them look as beautiful as thier creator."  Because what He created is perfect.  He is the Master Artist.  The MOST creative that ever was or will be.  He IS. And He gives.  To us.