Vamos a la Playa

The beach in my place of solitude. I am leaving tomorrow for my favorite week of the year. It is isolated despite the constant ambiance of tourism. There are two important aspects of this week that I love the most:

1. It is a week of self-forgetfulness. One of my favorite quotes of all-times comes from John Piper when he states, "The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness." At the beach, there is so much beauty, so much grandeur, so much vastness that it is seemless task to become overwhelmed at my insignificance. This is worship. God is great and the maker of all the things that I find lovely. The beach is teeming with those things that I find beautiful in this life: the laughter of my little brother symphonizing with the seagulls cries, the feeling of the blazing sun evaporating the droplets of salt water from my back, the array of colors across the sky against the water as the sun begins to set, the view from the top of Jockey's Ridge with the bay to one side and the endless ocean to the other, exhaustion after a day of sun and smiles, being present with my family, noticing the little things that make them all so important to me, looking into the bleakness of the ocean at night and failing to differentiate where the sky meets the sea. There is so much beauty, driving me to worship the Giver of them all.

2. It is a week of fellowship. I feel so close to my family here because we only have each other. It forces things to go back to the way that there once were, free of the complications of suburban networks and commitments and obligations. I can revel in the good relationships that God has given me.

I love this.

This is what needs to be told. This is what kids these days should believe. Most importantly, they should be taught about Jesus. Secondly, they should also realize that it is the small things in life that matter. Watching  the sunset. Stopping to chat with a friend and see their smile. Showing kindness and patience in a time when it is costly and would be easier to just keep walking.

I also love this speech. It has good thought done justice by good words.

Take the time to watch it.

I'm all about the youtube artists

First, we have the cover of Never Gonna Leave This Bed by Justin Robinett and Michael Henry. They are phenomenal.

And their cover of If I Die Young. uhmazing. 

Also, Boyce Avenue's cover of We are Young makes me melt. His falsetto. Mmm. I will never get over it.