That Time of Year...

If you know me at all you would know that I am not a Christmas music guy.  The fact that they start playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving and that they play 24 hours of Classic Christmas songs on Christmas day drives me crazy.  But for some reason, this year I decided to try something a little different.

Last Christmas I spent the holidays listening to Seabird's Over the Hills and Everywhere - Christmas EP and this take on the classic Christmas songs was refreshing.  Therefore I was optimistic when it came to listening to some Christmas music this year.  I went ahead and downloaded the She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas CD and if I could say I am impressed.  These slow melodies and wonderful harmonies between Zooey Deschanel and whoever the "him" are soothing.  I first heard She & Him sing on the Elf movie (Zooey sang with Will Ferrell in the Bathroom, Baby its' cold outside).  They also had a major role in (500) Days of Summer's soundtrack, which if my readers don't know that is the hipster anthem.  This duo soon became one of my favorite bands.  Therefore, when I found out they would be putting together a Christmas CD, I was ecstatic.

This CD has inspired me to get back into the Christmas music by dusting off those old tracks in my iTunes library, subscribing to Bing Crosby and She & Him Holiday Radio on Pandora, with the hopes of falling in love with the soothing sounds of the Holidays once again.

Although I am not a regular old who from who-ville, I am getting there.  My skin is turning from its' Grinchy green back to normal and the love for Christmas is beginning to creep back into my heart.

Happy Christmas



till another Day,



normallyINDIE

My Reading List

As many of you know one of my goals this summer is to read 50 pages a day everyday.  Although I have not exactly kept up with the goal to a T it has been great to go through my once unknown library of books and read through much of it.  Right now I have about 30 books that are still unread in my library and I look to finish all of these books by the end of the year.  Lofty goal, but I feel if I stay dedicated I can do it.  Here are some of the books I have read since my internship began 7 weeks ago: 


Love Wins - Rob Bell 
Poems - Emily Dickinson 
Jesus for President - Shane Claiborne 
Communicating for a Change - Andy Stanley 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling 
A Grief Observed - C.S. Lewis 
The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis 
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis 


Each of these books have given me different nuggets of knowledge and truth that I have begun to try to include in my daily life, scripture reading, and sermons on a regular basis. 


I was given the privilege to purchase the Signature Classics by C.S. Lewis which includes the much heralded Mere Christianity.  But as well as this Christian Masterpiece, it includes eight other books that I have been dying to jump into:  Screwtape Letters (read), Grief Observed (read), Abolition of Man (read), Great Divorce (read), Problem of Pain, Weight of Glory, Miracles, and George MacDonald.  All of these books give the reader a deeper insight into the thoughts of C.S. Lewis not only as a writer, but as a person.  Int he book Grief Observed, Lewis tackles his feelings about his recently deceased wife.  You can just feel in the words that he is unable to handle this tragedy and is uncertain how or why a God who loves him would do something like this.  This truth just simply bleeds through his writings and you can truly feel the emotions he is feeling.  Each of the Signature Classics have this feeling of emotion and power to them unlike any other writer I have come across.  


That being said, I have committed to reading all nine of his Classics in hopes that after reading them I will have gained a new insight into the God that he and I both serve.  


If you may hear anything in this post hear this, Lewis' writings will give you a new and profound look at the God you serve and will open your eyes to an entirely new being you otherwise did not know existed.  His passion, emotion, and dedication for the living God is unparalleled and these same feelings will surely be a product of your reading these Classics.  


Till Another Day, 


Alec