A little sunshine...

In Waco, we are all longing for some sunshine. I dont' think we've seen any since the early part of last week. I could be wrong about that because sunshine is one of those things that you don't particularly pay attention to, but you just miss it when it's not there. (It kind of reminds me of the time on Grey's Anatomy when Meredith couldn't remember the last time she kissed McDreamy.)

So this week, I've been trying to find my sunshine in other places. I went to Baylor chapel today to hear Andrew Peterson. He was my favorite Christian artist in college, and I really love his music. I had lunch with him and some friends today, and I promise you he's the nicest guy you will ever meet. Pure sunshine.

You can check out his music at www.andrew-peterson.com. When I heard him in concert for the first time, I seriously cried like a baby. It used to be so rare for me to come across an artist who was a complete stranger yet at the same time spoke words your heart longed to say but could never adequately express. Andrew is definitely one of those people for me. I've been a fan for about seven years now. I've left a lot of the music of my legalistic years behind me, but Andrew will always be hanging around in my cd collection right next to Rich Mullins. Other than Crowder, he's the only Christian artist whose cd's I eagerly anticipate. His music speaks too me and for me (kind of like a certain preacher's sermons that I was privileged to listen to almost every Sunday for two years).

I only cried once this time around, and it was when I heard a song from the latest cd, Far Country. The song is called "Lay Me Down". He said it is a happy song about death. If anybody else said that, I would want to slap them, but I trust Andrew. It is kind of happy. It makes me think about the joy there is in death, and recently I've been bogged down in all my own sorrow. Here are a few of the lyrics:

So when you lay me down to die

I’ll miss my boys, I’ll miss my girls

Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world

You can lay me anywhere

But just remember this

When you lay me down to die

You lay me down to live

I’ll open up my eyes on the skies I’ve never known

In the place where I belong

And I’ll realize His love is just another word for Home

I believe in the holy shores of uncreated light

I believe there is power in the blood

And all of the death that ever was,

If you set it next to life I believe it would barely fill a cup

Thanks Andy. I hope we always have the opportunity to hear you share your heart through music.