Molten Lava...I mean, Monday.

As I sit, typing this out, it's currently 85 degrees outside in my lovely little (read: hole-in-the-wall, everybody knows your business) Texas town, but it feels like 98.  I don't pretend to have any sort of insight into the varying degrees and what makes something somewhat tolerable like 85 feel like almost an unbearable 100, but I know that it's highly uncomfortable.

Though I don't think it ever reached true triple digits here during the day, it certainly felt like it.  Thankfully, I had a beautiful relief method: our local movie theater hosts free summer movies for the kids during the summer.  And it just so happens that, on Mondays, I babysit two of my absolute favorites.  So today, we packed up, grabbed some flavored popcorn (dill pickle for the kids, red hot cinnamon for me) from probably the one of the neatest small-town finds - a gourmet popcorn shop, then it was off to the movies to see Puss In Boots.  Now, the kids had already watched the movie before, but that didn't stop them from giggling like crazy over it all over again.  Next week, they're showing The Smurfs, but what I'm really looking forward to is later in the summer - The Little Mermaid.  Yes, I'll admit it - I'm a Disney fanatic and The Little Mermaid is one of my favorites.  Even better, the little girl I babysit?  She adores Ariel but has never gotten to see the movie.  I've tried hunting it down for her for nearly a year but haven't had much luck.  So I'm kind of excited to get to share that with her.  The Little Mermaid and I go way back (obviously), and it sticks with me.  To this day, I find myself singing "Les Poissons" pretty much every time I'm in the kitchen.  It's sort of become my cooking song, though I very seldom cook fish!

So, for Music Monday, I've been sort of going back and forth on what I want to share.  The truth is, I love music in general.  And I love music that urges me to move - to write - or to simply just feel.  And I don't discriminate.  I've got my fair share of rap, rock, country, etc, all making their dents in my musical road map.  And my personal religious struggles aside, I have nothing but the most profound respect for Christian singers, who feel that they've been called to sing praise.  In fact, one of my favorite high school English teachers is the brother of a rather incredible Christian singer (which is one that I have listed here, but that's all you're getting out of me).  So without further commentary, let me introduce you to some beautiful songs that you may or may not have heard before that have aided some of my writing:

"When The Stars Burn Down (Blessing and Honor)" by Phillips, Craig, and Dean
"You Are Everything" by Matthew West
"I Will Follow" by Chris Tomlin
"I Refuse" by Josh Wilson