January 13, 2013
I’m back! Sorry for the absence this last week, but I was in Guatemala working with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village. I had big plans to post every night, but the difficulty in working with the internet over there, and just being in the moment of the experience, seemed to not allow that to happen. I am happy to be back to sharing music and I hope you missed me. 😉
I love this song and just feel like it perfectly expresses the way I am feeling today. Spending a week with my daughter in Guatemala working with and loving both the people there and those on my team, and then returning home to my two boys (well one man, and a young man!) seemed to both emphasize this same sentiment. Everything that is worth anything is based on love … and that love is worth the fight. Life is good!
My experience in Guatemala opened my eyes to many things. I was amazed at the love that I felt for the people we were helping, my team, and the children … the beautiful, happy, and most loving children I have ever known. I learned – or maybe re-learned – a sense of gratitude for so many things. And when I came home, I felt an even bigger sense of gratitude – gratitude for things I definitely did not think of every day before I left; simple things like a bright, warm room, eating fresh fruits and veggies, and a breath of fresh, clean air.
Switchfoot is a band that has been around for a long time, but they just released a new album this month which is excellent! This song is from that album, called “Fading West.” Switchfoot was founded in 1996 in San Diego by two brothers (Jon and Tim Foreman) and their friend Chad Butler. Long labeled as a Christian band, they prefer being labeled as alternative because they feel that their music is for everyone and that classification eliminated half of who they are. Frontman Jon Foreman spoke to The Boston Globe in 2004 and when asked about the Christian leanings of the band said, “For us, it’s a faith, not a genre. We’ve always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us Christian rock tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that’s not what we’re trying to do. Music has always opened my mind — and that’s what we want.”
I have shared a few photos from my trip. I would highly recommend going on a Global Village trip with Habitat For Humanity. As one of the local Guatemalan Habitat committee members told us on our last day, “the blessing you give will be rewarded with a hundred blessings.” Have a great day and enjoy the song.
Not Your Mom's Playlist 