My Favorite Things

All my life I have been a lover of the old vinyl albums. As a teen I devoured them -studied the covers, read all the liner notes, sang along, wrote out the lyrics, tried to play them on my guitar. Totally consumed them. Now just thinking back to them releases happy endorphins in my brain. The older ones take me back to eras in my life - the good old days. The more current ones create those good old days for future rear-view mirror reminiscing.

I list them here in no particular order. I will try to refrain from commentary on them, for now at least. Some of these I don't classify as good music now but nonetheless, they touched me. Have any of these impacted your life too?
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Dan Fogelberg - Home Free

Dan Fogelberg & Tim Wiesberg - Twin Sons of Different Mothers

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits (Vol I)

Billy Joel - The Stranger

Al Green Greatest Hits

Harry Nilsson - A Little Touch of Schmillson in the Night

Nilsson - The Point

The Best of the Guess Who

Earth, Wind & Fire - That's The Way of the World

Jackson 5 - Dancing Machine

Bread - Best of Bread

Chris Sligh - Running Back To You

Bebo Norman - Ten Thousand Days

Chris Rice - Deep Enough To Dream

Chris Rice - Past The Edges

Gene Autry - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer :o)

John Stewart - The Phoenix Concert

Don Williams - 20 Greatest Hits

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life

Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence

Mandisa - True Beauty

Jars of Clay - Redemption Songs

Carole King - Tapestry

Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years

Art Garfunkel - Watermark

Amy Grant & Art Garfunkel - Animals' Christmas

Loggins & Messina - The Best of Friends

Mac Davis - Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me

John Denver's Greatest Hits

Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - Full Moon

Sarah Groves - Conversations

Sarah Groves - All Right Here

Amy Grant - My Father's Eyes

Amy Grant - A Christmas Album

Amy Grant - Legacy...Hymns & Faith

Any Grant - Rock of Ages Hymns & Faith

Value of a Friend

Proverbs 31:10 says "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels."

But what is the worth of a best friend for life??

I contemplate this question each time I look for a birthday gift or Christmas gift for my bff. Everything I consider seems to be so trinket-like. It all says "for another year of being there everytime I call, lending your shoulder for to cry upon, cheering me up w/your real-life antedotal comedies, free sage advice and counsel, prayer when I'm downtrodden (again), and being in my corner no matter what - I bestow upon you this ever so cute knick-knack". (sigh)



Well, for this years knick-knack I found this cute figurine of two happy thin chicks standing on an envelope that reads Best Friends. Hmm...an envelope?? Yep. You see we met in 6th grade. When we were thin chicks. Now our children are past that age. We grew up, got married. She got carried away to other states by her man and I stayed put. So before the days of unlimited long distance, cell phones, email and text messages, we wrote letters. Long letters. Mood letters. They tell a tale of two young wives and moms, feeling our way through these wonderful and trying years w/very little in the way of a mother figure pouring into our lives. We were necessary for each other. We were blessed to be paired up. I kept all her letters and I imagine getting together someday in our white hair days and reading through some of them. We will read of times when we were worried about how our kids would turn out. Sure that we were ruining them or that their fathers were perhaps. Wondering if our marriages would stand the test of time. We can giggle over how we obsessed over things that weren't really THAT important in the grand scheme of time. We may grieve over some severed family ties or how we miss a certain era. But in the end, it will still be she and I, reminiscing, laughing, ruminating over the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord through it all and the incredible blessing of finding a best friend while still children and the joy of riding the rapids of life together.

FROM PUBERTY TO MENOPAUSE AND BEYOND!
Tarantarantarahhhhh!!!!

What is the worth of a best friend for life???

Priceless.
Happy Birthday, KAB!