Serenaded by Faith

I hope no one minds-I was creeping on the draft posts.  (Apparently people expect this of me.  When I promised NOT to Facebook creep on this girl my friend is into the other day, he texted me with this shocking comment  "There are two things I count on-the sun will come up in the morning, and Alanna Stapleton will creep."  Thanks best friend, thanks so much.)

Anyways, Danny made a comment on his draft about knowing he loved God and believed in him, so he questioned why attending church was so important.  Wasn't simply having faith enough?  Danny, you hit my feelings of the past few years right on the head.  This went hand in hand with simply not having time for God.  I was so exhausted from everything else that I was not willing to see God standing there next to me (or even carrying me at times).  I know this has been my struggle, trying to do what my mom thinks is important and convincing her to allow me to do the things that I think are important too.  (Also, notice the name of this blog.  Taylor's idea for the name, but I knew it was perfect for me)

So, how did I know that God was there that entire time?  Well, Pandora.com accompanied me on many late night homework escapades.  I let it play almost all the time, so I usually use up my free listening hours each month.  I began by adding stations like Ben Folds, or Ani DiFranco, or Regina Spektor and Lilly Allen.  I was in to quirky, ironic, raunchy music.  It was my only chance for rebellion, music that spoke of things I couldn't even imagine experiencing in dreary little Portage.  Some days I went mellow with Coldply, Gavin DeGraw, or Sara Barellies.  The weirdest days were my Justin Timberlake, O Town, and Backstreet Boy days. (you can't tell me you don't still listen to TBB, 'Nsync, or 98 degrees whenever you need a little reminder of the 90's).   I went for the current pop rock groups like All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy too.  I even added some of the angry pissed off teenage ranting that I had listened to during 8th grade, freshman, and sophomore years.  This music played over and over in the background, keeping me awake on the latest nights and keeping me focused on the ones where I just couldn't stand to think about  le chatelier's principle or the effect that adding an acid or base would have on a particular solution.  I got bored easily though, and found myself switching stations constantly, never satisfied with what Pandora was feeding me.  I was hungry for something that meant something to me.  These songs talked of wild parties and epic love stories and driving into the sunset and being generally crazy and living life.  I couldn't relate to any of this!  I spent my days doing homework, completely 4-H and Girl Scout Projects for my mom, and going to school events, like sports and band.  I was going to say that I don't know what made me add a Relient K station, but that would be a lie.  I know exactly who helped me  (The Big Man upstairs, duh).

So long story short, I added this station and realized, for the first time, that I didn't hate cheesy Christian music.  And guess what?  I no longer found it cheesy (well, most of it anyway)  The school year trudged on, and I sunk deeper and deeper into the drama and stress of everything going on.  I played this music on my laptop every night, and yet I couldn't hear what God was telling me the entire time.  I didn't bother to pay attention to the lyrics, I just wallowed in my thoughts and made myself feel so alone.

I got to camp and I felt a connection, a family, people always willing to talk and be there for me and answer my questions and be totally supportive.  Something finally clicked.  The lyrics and tunes I'd hummed all year long finally sunk in.  Jesus was ALWAYS there, serenading me.  (How awesome is that)

So, that's what the separate page is for.  Its lyrics from songs that inspire me and remind me of you guys and the stories you have told me about your struggles.  I encourage you to listen to these songs, because they've helped me so much.  I know we have all struggled to find ways to keep Jesus beside us every minute of every day, and this is what I've learned to do.  If I've got one of these songs stuck in my head all day, then I'm thinking about camp and the way it makes me feel, and all of you and your beautiful faith, and about GOD, all day long.  Feel free to add lyrics that inspire you, or add a comment about some lyrics I've posted.

Peace and God Bless

Alanna