commute

An Unexpected Detour

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Im-Lost-Ive-Gone-To-Look-Inspirational-Life-Quotes

I have my homeward trek fairly down pat by now. At least you’d think I had it down after all the times I’ve made the afternoon commute.

Today, for some reason known only to God, I took I-40 East instead of I-40 West. Immediately, I knew I’d messed up.

Still, I looked for anything familiar and found the exit for Stewarts Ferry Pike and the Tennessee School for the Blind, which I pass every morning on my morning commute to work.

It was probably a bit out of the way, but I got back to where I started (almost) and made it home from there. All it took was finding something familiar.

I think all of us get lost on our spiritual journeys. We get to where nothing looks familiar and wonder how we got to the place where we find ourselves. We wonder how to get back to what we know.

I truly believe God will give familiar signposts to those who have lost the way and seek to find their way back. He will send an old friend or a familiar Scripture or a song from the past.

Many times, we find that Jesus will show us that He Himself is the way back. For those who are lost, the best way back is to return to the trust and obedience we knew before we got off-track.

I know that for those who get lost when driving, nothing is more comforting than finding that familiar landmark. Suddenly, you know where you are and you can navigate from there.

I believe that just as much as His lost children long to return to places they know, the Father longs to get them there. The Father longs to see them running down the dirt road into His arms, just as that prodigal son did all those years ago.

If there are people in your life who have lost the way, maybe you’re the signpost that will get them finally headed in the right direction again.

PS I survived day one of my Lent fast from social media. I resisted the urge to check my Facebook page several times throughout the day. So far, so good.

More Music I Like

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I’ve been listening to a lot of music in my car lately. When you have a long commute to and from work like I do, music is what makes the miles pass by without the monotony.

To say that my musical tastes are eclectic is like saying that the Pope is a little Catholic or that Kanye West is slightly fond of himself. I think I’ve reached the level of “they should make pills for this” in terms of my musical diversity and range.

So, here’s a sample of what I’ve listened to in my car on the way home from work:

  1. Toad the Wet Sprocket – Bread and Circus. It’s a definitive 90’s album that was recorded in 1988. This kind of music makes me want to go to the kind of coffeehouses that used to exist before Starbucks made them so very mainstream.
  2. Neil Young- Chrome Dreams II. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it. Besides, you don’t really hear too many 18-minute songs these days.
  3. Coldplay- Ghost Stories. It’s not my absolute favorite of theirs and isn’t nearly as good as Viva La Vida, but it’s still Coldplay, and that makes it entirely listenable.
  4. The Violent Femmes- The Violent Femmes. It’s from the early 80’s but sounds as fresh as anything being played on Lightning 100. It’s very punk in attitude if not in sound. Whatever it is, it’s classic.
  5. XTC-Oranges and Lemons. This is pre-grunge alternative music at its finest.
  6. Geoff Mann-In One Era. This is some very interesting (and sometimes odd) British Christian music from the early 80’s. I believe this is obscure even for hipsters.

I think that gives you a good idea of the variety of what I’m listening to, if not to the full extent of my eclecticism. I don’t really categorize my music anymore. It’s either music I like or music that bores me.

As always, I’m continually looking for new music that explores the road less travelled. In other words, I’m not all that interested in what’s trendy or what’s on the pop charts. The more obscure, the better.

The end.

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away: The Sequel

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I am officially over the rain. I liked it for a bit, then it got old. Then it continued to rain.

I spent more than double my usual commute time from work to the Starbucks on Franklin Road in Brentwood where my friend and I meet weekly to walk and talk.

Thankfully, I had classic 90’s tunes in the form of the fantastic album, Surfacing, by Sarah McLachlan. I do believe that 90’s music by and large is better than the current pop music playing on most radio stations.

Still, I got stuck in traffic. At times, I’m fairly certain I could have gotten out of my car and walked faster than I was driving.

I don’t know what it is, but being in extended traffic makes me weary. I suppose it’s from being constantly hyper-aware of all those drivers around me (including those numbskulls who STILL don’t have their lights on in the rain EVEN after my last blog specifically on that topic).

Ultimately, being stuck in traffic means that I have a job to drive to and from, a car to drive in, and a me that is healthy and able to drive said car to said workplace. That in itself outweighs and inconveniences caused by traffic delays and the snail’s pace.

It’s still all about perspective. Before you complain about your life, remember that you still have it better than most of the world’s population. In fact, most people would give anything to have your problems versus the ones that they are facing.

Before you whine about being the 99%, remember that if you have a roof over your head, more clothes than the ones on your back, more than one meal a day, running water, transportation, and cash in your pocket, globally speaking, you are the 1%.

Plus, I had a very good chestnut praline latte at Starbucks to reward myself for not losing my everloving mind over being in the car so long.

All in all, I’d call it a good day.

 

Back to the Random

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I haven’t really done a completely random, stream-of-consciousness blog in a while, so here it is. Ta-da!

I pride myself on being musically diverse. I drove home listening to the Greatest Hits of Procol Harum and got home to find a package from Amazon containing Adele’s latest album, 25.

Speaking of commutes, you know it’s a long one when you can listen to an entire Greatest Hits CD in the time it takes to get from work to home.

I don’t really mind. I look at it this way. I have a job to commute to and from, a car to commute in, and another day to be alive and driving. The upside is way better than any slow traffic.

Social media is a funny beast. Some posts that you think are completely awesome go seemingly unnoticed and some random picture of a dog taking a bubble bath get all kinds of likes and comments. I don’t get it. Still.

But life doesn’t begin and end with social media. In fact, it’s probably good to put down the smart phone every now and then and experience your life in person. Those kids will only be small for so long. Those parents and grand parents will only be around for so long.

You probably won’t regret not checking your Instagram or Pinterest account for a couple of days, but you will regret one day realizing that you lost precious time to spend with those you love who are now gone.

One of the experiences you’ll miss with your head buried in your phone is the amazing fall weather we had today. If I could bottle up the weather, the sky, and the smells, I completely would. And maybe make it into a Yankee Candle.

Being up since 5:30 am, or as I call it, the Ungodliest Hour of the Day Before The Sun is Even Out, I will call it a night. I’m still completely overwhelmed by and grateful for every single one of my readers, whether they read all my posts or only check in occasionally.  I’m also very thankful for the spelling nazi on my laptop that caught that I had misspelled occasionally (as well as misspelled, which is awkward).

Good night and may the peace of Christ be with you and keep you till morning.

It’s That Camel Back Day Again

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Do you miss those Geico commercials about the camel who gets all excited about it being Wednesday? Neither do I.

I’d like to update you on what I’ve been listening to lately. Most of it has been in my car commuting to and from work, but some of it has been on those nights when I’m not as sleepy as I thought I was when my head hit the pillow.

1) Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon: I used to fall asleep to this album every night. It’s good for when you’re up at 1 am in your dark bedroom (if you’re me). It could probably also be used on Halloween to scare the neighbors.

2) The Wailing Jennys- Firecracker: this music takes me to a happy place in my soul. Plus, it fulfills my quota for pitch-perfect three-part harmonies for the week.

3) Willie Nelson- One Hell of a Ride: I used to think I didn’t like country music, but I discovered that it’s the newer stuff that I (mostly) don’t really like. I love the old-school classics.

4) The Bill Evans Trio- Since We Met: It may not be a 5-star classic album, but it sooths the savage beast within. I think both my uncles would be proud that I’ve broadened my musical horizons so much.

5) The Spin Doctors – Pocket Full of Kryptonite

6) April Wine – The Nature of the Beast: I don’t know much about this band, but I like their sound. I do think a new CD with remastered sound would sound a lot better.

7) Joni Mitchell- The Studio Albums 1968-1979: this will very shortly be in my car and keeping me sane on those sllllloooooowwww drives home after work. Especially the song “Both Sides Now.”

That’s not everything, but it’s everything I could think of at the moment. I seem to have gone in a retro direction with my music. I like new music and new artists, but I find myself going back in time (as in before my time) more as I get older. But my tastes still haven’t mellowed all that much.

More to come at a later date.