Crowns

I don’t even know how to begin this post or even where to start in my train of thought, so please bear with me.

One of the stupid things about growing up in a Christian community and hearing about God all the time is that you never really learn anything new about God or being a Christian. The other stupid thing is that you constantly forget everything you already learned about God or being a Christian. And it turns out that almost 100% of the lessons God gives you are lessons that He’s given you over and over and over again.

I was, once again, reminded this week of a lesson God impressed upon me almost two years ago. It was the lesson behind We Fall Down & All In-Betweens. We Fall Down still is one of my favourite worship songs, ever. I honestly don’t even really know where this train of thought is going, because it’s kind of late and my mind is pretty jumbled right now due to a decent amount of coffee and copious amounts of unnecessary stress.

In that post two years ago, I shared an insight that I had about the lyrics of that song. I shared about what I thought it meant to “lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus”. This past Sunday, this song was included among the songs we sang for worship at the church service and I was struck by those lyrics again. And it got me thinking… what crowns have I laid down at the feet of Jesus? What crowns am I afraid to lay down?

As I mentioned before, a crown is a symbol of royalty. Of superiority. A symbol of pride. And that’s exactly what I need to lay down at the feet of Jesus; my pride. I am an incredibly proud person. It bothers me sometimes. Actually, to be truthful, it doesn’t bother me at all… and that’s what bothers me. (If that makes any sense at all.) Pride is toxic, it can permeate everything you do. I’m actually concerned that my pride is starting to shine brighter than Jesus in me. I am the very person I hate. I seem to be quite passionate about not judging other people or other Christians and witnessing using love as opposed to doctrine. But the truth is, I’m the worst judge of people. I judge people who judge people. How messed up is that? I’m so eager to point out the speck in somebody else’s eye, but I don’t even deal with the plank in my own. I’ve always known it’s there, but I’ve always refused to acknowledge it.

I’m too proud to forgive (which you’ll find out in a later post I’m sure, once I get the courage up to actually share with you about that). And that’s dangerous. I’m too proud to own up to the mistakes I’ve made.

Please don’t even take this post as a sudden burst of humility. I’m the farthest thing from humble. I’m not even close to where I should to be in terms of being humble. Humility is honestly something I wish I had, but I don’t. I’m a proud person. This isn’t humility, this is a confession.

Now I challenge you: take a look at your life. Acknowledge the crowns you’ve refused to let go of, the crowns that you are grasping tighter than you’re grasping Christ, and the crowns you just simply are too scared to lay down at the feet of Jesus. Pride is only one of the many crowns that I need to lay down. What are yours?

Taste Some Jams

So I follow this YouTuber. His name is Mitchell Davis. He has a segment on his channel called "Taste Some Jams". Basically, it's where he shows us some music that he's been listening to and really enjoying lately. I kinda thought it would be fun to do a "Taste Some Jams" things every once and a while because I really enjoy all kinds of music and thought that I'd share some music I've been enjoying a lot lately. (For the record, Mitchell Davis is incredibly hipster and half the music he posts I've never heard of in my life. You've probably heard of most of the stuff I'm gonna post.)


Album: +
Artist: Ed Sheeran
Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Don't mean to sound hipster or anything, but I discovered this dude before his duet with Taylor Swift that seemed to launch his fame. This is among my favourite albums probably ever. He has the voice of the angel and plus, he's a ginger and that adds some bonus points with me. I love that all his songs have a story behind them, a real meaning, which is a breath of fresh air from the total crap that's been famous lately. My favourite song on the album would probably have to be "Drunk". I know, I know... but it's totally catchy! Love this guy!

Album: The 20/20 Experience
Artist: Justin Timberlake
Genre: R&B/Hip-Hop
I have a special soft spot for JT. I don't normally like this kind of music, but I absolutely love JT. He makes extremely catchy music, he's a really good actor as well, and he's really pretty. I like that his music has lots of orchestral stuff added to it, which makes it different than other popular music. Honestly, when I found out that JT was making another album after about seven years of focusing on his acting and other stuff, I screamed. Like, literally. SCREAMED. I was beyond excited. The vote for my favourite song on the album is tied between two: "Mirrors" and "Spaceship Coupe". Both songs are incredibly catchy and even though Mirrors is played on the radio a lot, I could never get tired of it. 

Album: Enjoy Yourself
Artist: Billy Currington
Genre: Country
This particular album is about three years old already, but it's an album that is constantly on repeat in my car. The reason I love Billy Currington so much (especially this album) is because his music life motto is "just relax and enjoy yourself". Caution: this album will make you wanna lounge in the sun, drink a couple ice cold beers, and fish. (Even if you don't like fishing... or beer.) My favourite song on this album is "Bad Day of Fishin'". Incredibly catchy song.  


Album: One Cell in the Sea
Artist: A Fine Frenzy
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative
This album is from 2008, but it's my favourite from A Fine Frenzy. She's got such a unique voice, I love it so much. Some would define her music as pretty weird, but it's weirdly awesome. My favourite song off the album is "The Minnow & the Trout". It's essentially a love song between two people that are really different, but their love for each other make them not-so-different. If you're into singer/songwriters who write interesting songs, you won't be disappointed with A Fine Frenzy. P.S. "Whisper" is really good as well! So pretty.  

Album: My Head is an Animal
Artist: Of Monsters and Men
Genre: Alternative, Rock
Apparently OMaM are more popular than I thought because I'm encountering more and more people that know about them. Their music is really catchy (notice a theme here, I like catchy music). Both the male voice and female voice are quite unique and both very pretty. My favourite song on the album is "Love Love Love", with "King and the Lionheart" as a close second. I love the song "Love Love Love" because I can very much relate to the lyrics, which is an important thing when it comes to music, for me. Catchy melody and relatable lyrics.


Album: Pioneer
Artist: The Band Perry
Genre: Country
The Band Perry is definitely in my top 5 favourite country artists. I was totally in love with their self-titled debut album, and once again, I'm totally in love with their second. Their lyrics are relatable and their music is awesome. The Perry family is good at what they do! My favourite song on this album is "Don't Let Me Be Lonely". I simply love this song because the lyrics speak to me in a way that not a lot of other songs do. When you're young, you can fly. But we trip on clouds 'cause we get too high. Then we grow up and it's gone. The lyrics are relatable to the stage of life I'm in right now.

So there it is. The first edition of "Taste Some Jams". Check some of this music out.