John Mayer, A Crush And A Question From God

... Who do you love? Me? Or the thought of me?

"I Don't Trust Myself" by John Mayer, Continuum

So I was singing along in my car with John Mayer (this is a common occurrence!) when the lyrics above stood out to me.

A College Crush ...

First, I thought of a former college crush of mine. At the time anyway, he was my "on paper" perfect guy. We had the best things in common ... and enough opposites to make things interesting. He was charming and fun and could always make me smile. And at the same time, we could have these interesting real thoughtful conversations about God and life.

Don't get me wrong--he was (and is) a great guy. But in hindsight, it was the idea of him--or what a relationship with him would be like--that I was probably more interested in at the time.

Sometimes when you're getting to know somebody, you "fill in the blanks" and project onto the other person your ideas of what they are or what they "should" be. Nobody likes to be loved like that. It's not real.

... And A Question From God

So as I was singing along with John in my car, I felt like God was asking me, "Do you love Me? Or the thought of Me?"

Whoa.

It's easy for me to say or sing, "I love you" to God. But to really love Him--the real Him--is different. It means loving Him when He doesn't make sense (to me anyway) or when things aren't peachy "on paper" perfect. It means that I have to stop projecting my own (sometimes ridiculous) thoughts of who He is onto Him and start seeing and knowing the real Him.

I hope that when I say "I love you" to God that it's not flippant or out of habit. That I'm not saying, "I love you" with strings attached. That I'm just saying and meaning "I love you" for real...and forever.

Cool Song Lyrics

I love words. I love music. Put them together -- and you've got cool song lyrics. So I decided to write a quick post about song lyrics I like ... and why they inspire me, make me smile, make me laugh, etc.

What's amazing about good lyrics? They're short. They stick in your head (or in your heart). And yet they can make you think, get a new perspective or remember a moment in your life.

So here goes:

Song:

"Hosanna" By: Brooke Fraser - Hillsong United - All of the Above

Lyrics:

Break my heart for what is Yours /

Everything I am for your Kingdom's cause

Why I Love Them:

These words express a pure heart to live full-on passionately for God -- to be a person "after God's own heart." It's about seeing people, life, situations, the world -- like God sees them. All in two lines.

Song:

"83" By: John Mayer - Room for Squares

Lyrics:

Whatever happened to my lunchbox? /

When came the day that it got thrown away? /

And don't you think I should have had some say in that decision?

Why I Love Them:

These lyrics just make me smile. John Mayer has the ability to paint relatable pictures with words (it's probably why he's won several Grammys for songwriting). "83" is all about childhood and remembering that good time in his life (for Mayer, it was being 6 in '83).

Who can't relate to having a favorite lunchbox (I remember mine in the first grade was purple and had these cartoon puppies on it!)? But whatever happened to it? And why didn't I get more of a say? :)

Song:

"Love on the Rocks" By: Sara Bareilles - Careful Confessions

Lyrics:

Here’s a simplification of everything we’re going through /

You plus me is bad news /

You’re a lovely creation and I like to think that I am too /

But my friend said I look better without you.

What I Love About Them:

These lyrics are honest. I haven't personally been in this situation with a guy. But I've seen plenty of friends who have (guys with girls in their lives, too, by the way).

It's like the point where you see something you don't want to see about a relationship -- you see it, your friends see it -- but you don't want to. Sometimes, it even happens when both people are good people, but just not good together.

Song:

"Your Love Will Never Change" By: Dave Barnes - Brother, Bring the Sun

Lyrics:

So tell me there’s nothing that you can’t do /

You’ll love me though I’ve hurt you /

You’ll take my blame /

Your love will never change /

Your love will never change

Why I Love Them:

I honestly had a hard time picking my favorite lyrics from this song -- it's that good. These lyrics sound like a love song, but it's actually written to God (another part of the song talks about He created the world but "somehow knows my name" -- that's incredible in itself).

I guess they just express that sense of awe for His unconditional "no matter what" kind of love. No matter what I do that may miss the mark and break His heart, He loves me. He takes on the blame and paid the price for my stupidity, pride, weakness -- sin. But despite all of that, and all I may do to hurt His heart today or tomorrow, His love for me is unchanging.

Pretty amazing.

Summer Music Faves

It's summer. And time for some fun music. Here are some of my favorite summer CDs (no Beach Boys, I promise!):

John Mayer "Room for Squares" - You have to love "83", "Why Georgia" and all the classics on this CD.






The Afters "I Wish We All Could Win" - "Beautiful Love" is the best summer song. I also like "All that I Am" - a great prayer.





Dave Barnes "Chasing Mississippi" - This one is a little bit country (my mom and dad would be proud!). Best songs? "Everybody But You" and "Butterflies".




Switchfoot "The Beautiful Letdown" - My favorite songs on this CD are "Meant to Live", "More Than Fine" and "On Fire".






Mark Broussard "Carenco" - Gotta love "Rocksteady", "Save Me" and "Where You Are".

Dave Barnes coming to Seattle!

One of my favorite musicians is coming to the Seattle area! If you like John Mayer-style (read: good guitar, lyrics and vocals), check out Dave Barnes. Mayer himself is a fan.

The concert is Sunday, April 29 @ 8:30 PM in Renton at New Life Church. For tickets, visit their Web site.

To learn more about Dave, check out his site here.

Dear John...

Dear John,

I never thought I’d say this—but I’ve lost respect for you. I still think you’re a musical genius, gifted writer and witty conversationalist. I stood by you despite your messy hair and Kermit the Frog facial expressions. But I cannot handle who you have become—a golddigger.

Yeah, yeah—I know you’re not after Jessica’s money. But you’ve become the world’s new version of a golddigger—a man obsessed with blonde hair and shiny plastic personalities.

I thought you were above that. You’re smart. But here’s the thing—she’s not. Or if she is, she pretends to be stupid … and that’s worse.

Please avoid the Messica. Get out while you can.

Love,
Joan