Fifteen Favorites (15 Albums & Songs I Loved in 2015)

Once again, even though no one asked me, I'm going to share my favorite albums from 2015. As of December 23, 2015, I have bought 40 full albums, 10 EPs, and a few singles that were released in 2015 (I have a list of other albums to buy, but time and money are running out, so it is what it is). As I said last year, I tend buy whole albums...even if there's really only one song that I love before buying. This year, thanks to one of last year's Christmas presents, I've become a fan of listening to albums on vinyl. I find that it makes me listen to a whole collection of songs an artist releases more intentionally...I can't skip the songs I don't immediately love. :) On my list of fifteen favorite albums, I own 7 on vinyl (and a few are not available on vinyl or I'd have them). Also, it seems that seeing a band live makes a difference...I have listed 15 albums and 15 songs (from albums that didn't make my favorite 15 albums list) that I have loved this year...which mean there are 30 different artists/bands on my lists. At some point, I have seen 19 of them live in concert. In 2015, I saw 7 of them live in concert and already have purchased tickets to see 4 of them live in 2016.

I think, for me, 2014 was a more meaningful year as far as music goes...while I loved a lot of albums this year, I can't tell you where I was when I first heard them like I could with so many of my favorites last year. However, that doesn't mean that it wasn't a great year for music or that I didn't connect with a lot of these songs (my list actually contains more albums this year plus I've added a list of songs from albums that didn't make my favorite albums list).

Again, I am not an expert or a music critic. I like what I like. I listen to what I like and don't bother with listening to things that I don't like. As I said last year, I'm a fan of beautiful melodies and honest and true lyrics...whether they be about love or loss, faith or fear, life's successes or struggles. I believe great artists can make music that is deeply personal to them, but because it is honest and true, fans can relate to it...even if the artist and the fan live very different lives. And yes sometimes, I don't really relate or identify...I just like the way it sounds. :)

As Drew Holcomb sings, 

Music, it makes you feel good, makes you feel understood,
like you’re not alone, you’re not a rolling stone,
not the only one on the road.

So, without further ado, here's the music that made me feel good and/or understood.

Older and Hopefully Wiser: Birthday Reflections

Once the clock strikes 5:42 PM today, I am solidly in my late 20's. And unless something just downright magical and miraculous happens between now and then, my life doesn't really look like I thought it would at 27. When I was little and dreamed of being this age, I figured there'd be a husband, kids, and lots of money. The reality is that I have a cat, I borrow kids a couple times a week (which seems to be all I can handle), and a very tight budget. I'll admit, sometimes I look at my life and I'm a little disappointed. That's the thing with dreams though, even if they had come true the reality is that with a husband comes disagreements and squabbles, kids wake up early and have dirty diapers and need to be fed and helped with homework, and spending lots of money wisely is as complicated as spending a little money wisely. When dreaming, we tend to ignore reality...but the white picket fence typically comes with a mortgage. 

27

On this day (February 1) in 1865 Abraham Lincoln signed a resolution that would become the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In case you've forgotten, that amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except for punishment of a crime) in the United States. 

It's been 150 years since slavery was ended in the U.S. and slavery is actually now illegal in every single country in the world. Yet, slavery, different types with different names, still exists.

Now I may grumble about my job, as most working adults are prone to do from time to time, but I got to choose my career and I get to choose whether I will show up to work each day. No one threatens me with torture, pain, or death to do something I don't want to do. I'm lucky enough to get paid to do something I enjoy. Far too often I take that immense blessing for granted. 

More than 27,000,000 people are not so lucky. In case you didn't count the zeroes...that's more than 27 MILLION people are still controlled, trapped, and forced to do jobs against their will, without pay. Here are a few startling statistics (found on the END IT website):

• Slavery is the 2nd largest global organized crime and generates $150.2 billion a year...which is more than the revenues of Amazon, Google, and eBay COMBINED.
• Slavery exists in 167 countries around the globe.
• Nearly 1 in 5 victims of slavery is a child. The average age of a teen that enters the sex trade in the US is 12-14 years old. 
• An estimated 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the United States. That's one incident every three minutes.

In a few short weeks, I will be 27 years old. As someone pointed out 27 years old is only 13 years away from 40, so there's that. Now, I'm not really one that feels as though my life will be over at 30, 40, or 50. I don't think I'm old. However, I am too old to bury my head in the sand and pretend like everything in the world is hunky dory, because...it's not. As nice as it sounds to live in a little bubble and not think about the world being the brutal place that it is, I can't. 

I don't have children of my own, but for several years now I've worked at churches where parents kindly share their kids with me a few times a week. They're not mine biologically, but I still love them fiercely. I love that they're innocent and bright-eyed and full of wonder and excitement. I can't prevent them from eventually discovering that the world can be a dark place, but I'm sure going to try to make it a little better. I hope that when they're 13 years away from 40, the world will be a bit brighter...and that there will not be 27 million slaves in the world. 

I recently moved and after 5 months of unpacking boxes, I realized I don't need a single, solitary thing. I have a lot of stuff. So, this year for my 27th birthday, I'd like to invite you to join me in doing something about the more than 27 million slaves. END IT has started a new campaign, 27 X 7. I have made a team (which you can join here). The goal is to recruit at least 27 family members, friends, and co-workers to join me and donate $7 (you can certainly donate more). After you donate, the hope is that you'll form a team of your own and invite your family, friends, and co-workers to join you as a freedom fighter. Then, we all get to watch the ripple effects. 

$7 is lunch at a fast food restaurant or a fancy coffee. Most of us can find a way to give $7. In some ways this is a birthday thing for me, it's a well-timed campaign considering 27 and all, but I don't want you to give because of me or in honor of my birth. I appreciate that you love me, I do. However, give because you want to make the world a better place. Give because slavery is wrong and you want it to end. Give because all people deserve to be celebrated and loved and cared for and more than 27 million people aren't. I'm old enough to know that the world can be a cruel place, but not so jaded that I don't have hope and believe that we can make it better. Join me in shining a light in a dark world. 


**If you're not familiar with the END IT, it's a coalition of organizations that are committed to fighting for freedom. These organizations, like International Justice Mission, the A21 Campaign, World Vision, and others, are doing work to bring awareness, prevention, rescue, and restoration. Each of the organizations in the coalition is focused on a different step in the journey.

My Favorite Albums of 2014

If I counted from my iTunes and Amazon order histories correctly, I have bought about 50 albums this year, most of them released in 2014. I know that the trend these days is to buy singles. However, I very rarely buy singles. Admittedly, I did buy "Shake it Off" from Taylor Swift. That's one catchy little tune. The truth is, I'm a fan of listening to the whole collection of songs an artist releases.

As I've perused all the end of the year blogs about the best albums of the year, none of them have been right...at least according to me. :) So, I decided to write my own. I realize that music is a very subjective thing. I like what I like and don't listen to what I don't like. I am not meant to be a music critic. I am simply a fan who truly listens to and loves the marriage of honest lyrics and a beautiful melody. The music on my list doesn't all sound the same, but I do think that these albums are connected in that they all contain a lot of honesty. For most of these albums, I can tell you where I was where I first heard them. Certain songs expressed exactly how I felt at a particular moment. Many of these songs are about love and loss and growing up and moving on and well, they resonated with me through the roller coaster that was my life in 2014. In an interview with Relevant John Mark McMillan said, 

"I think that music—when it’s pure, when it’s good, no matter what genre or where it falls—is basically one person trying to write lyrics or make sounds that cause another person to know they exist. People are not meant to be alone. I think that you create music for the same reason you listen to music: You really want to feel that there are other people in the world who feel the way you do, who validate who you are." 

So, here's the music that my heart and soul connected with the most in 2014.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 
- James 1:2-4, The Message

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4, NIV

[For those of you who don't like The Message ;)]

"Laughter is the evidence that we're still here, the proof that our tragedies will not define us forever. Laughter is the language of the survivor."

from Heroes and Monsters by Josh Riebock

Photo Credit: Meg Amour-Jones

30 Before 30: Another Update

I have a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. Since I just turned 26 and have crossed a few things off the list recently, I figured it was time for an update. Below you can see how I'm doing (so far I have 9/30 finished). To see my original list with lengthy explanations, look here and for my first update, look here. My cousin/best friend, Melissa, also has a list. Several things on our lists are the same, so we've been crossing things off together...which means more time with one of my favorite people in the world...which means this is even more fun. :) If I've done it, it's crossed out and the summary/explanation is written in red. If I need to get it done in the next 1435 days, it's not crossed out and the text is black.  

Why PMI?

On March 3, 2012 we went to a Needtobreathe concert in Charleston, SC to celebrate my 24th birthday. It was the first time I heard about Palmetto Medical Initiative. 

On January 25, 2014 I went back to Charleston, SC and spent the day learning about PMI and falling in love with the organization and their mission. Also, we celebrated Melissa's 26th birthday.

Charleston. PMI. Birthdays. It's a thing with us. :)

Almost 2 years to the day (March 7th) that I first heard about PMI, I will be going to Uganda with the amazing organization and I could not be more excited or honored to be a part of a PMI team.