I’m a big Garth Brooks fan. I was 4 when “Friends in Low Places” came out and that has been my favorite song for as long as I can remember. My dad and I collected all the Garth albums and I jumped at the chance to see him live in 2007. I was absolutely beside myself – after he retired in 2000, I thought for sure that this day would never come. My friends and I dashed to the show, complete with cowboy hats and boots. I’ll never forget the anticipation of his HUGE entrance and hearing that familiar broken chord to my favorite song. We screamed and sang our hearts out – what a GLORIOUS night.

I think most people have some sort of experience like that when it comes to a music artist – they go NUTS at a show. They scream, they cry, they can’t breathe - no wonder EMTs are always on site! That’s for concerts, though. When I’m not breathing the same air as Garth Brooks, I keep the token tracks on my playlist;   I know every lyrics and key change, all the subtle vocal tricks in each verse like nobody else. Plus, Andrew and I want to ensure that Liam is brought up on good, quality music :)

I started thinking though: I love Garth Brooks’s music – his inflection and energy, the steel guitar, the fiddle! But what if I expressed that kind of enthusiasm for the Eucharist? and when I’m not at Mass, what if I maintained that steady flow of contact as if listening to an album over and over? The idea might seem cliche – I know I’ve heard people mention something to this effect before, but really, that kind of overwhelming excitement is meant for GOD. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not bad or blasphemous when I get chills crankin’ up No Fences, but knowing that I should have something more for Someone More is eye-opening. I use Garth for the sake of example, but the passion people have for not just celebrities and things like eating, material possessions, or spending hours on some iToy, is superficial. It’s all fleeting. We are absolutely meant to enjoy the things of this world, but with the perspective that none of them deserve the devotion and love meant for God. Someone infinitely bigger and better than Garth Brooks makes a physical appearance three times a day at the parish around the corner; and, I’m ashamed to say that sometimes I make it seem like a chore to get there. Thank God, that with a little perspective, nothing can size Him up.

“…All things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)

Weekly Snapshot:

• We painted our kitchen! It went from a plain, consuming WHITE to now an obnoxious Barbie Dream House blue. We’ll be painting over it within the next couple of days – still a shade of blue, but something a little softer and more subtle. I have to say, it’s pretty humbling choosing a color and slowly watching it become a mistake.
• Liam has the BEST sense of humor. Last night he was dying laughing because his feet were sliding out from under him as he was losing his grip on the side of his Pack n Play. We couldn’t get over how amused he was by himself.
• Lately I’ve been hungry for great fiction. I’m reading The Help right now and just finished Jane Eyre and The Guernsey Literary and Peeled Potato Pie Society – SO good. Finishing a good read can be depressing because I’m left wanting more and I almost never trust another author to do as well; which means I’m delightfully surprised when they do.
• We finally subscribed to the newspaper for the coupons and last week alone we saved $60 from working some serious deals on stuff that we already use! If you work it, CVS will even pay you to take their merchandise home.