HOUSE SHOW

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have been blessed with some incredibly talented friends.

On my last night of the semester my friend Thomas put on a house show to help fund his mission trip to San Diego this summer and also to showcase some of his new music (which is qual-uh-tee, by the way). Thomas asked a few of our friends--Brandon, Tyler and Kim--to perform as well and I am oh so glad he did! Tyler's and Kim's voices were beautiful together, lovely lovely harmonies. Brandon performed a song that he wrote about how laying down your life to know the goodness of God is always worth it. Obviously I loved that. Thomas introduced loooots of new original music, all of which was beautiful. Turns out he's not only a musical genius, but possibly a lyrical one as well. Shout out to Austin Wright, who's responsible for the fantastic stage pictured below. Also, much thanks to the talented, djembe playing Jonathan Isenberg for setting up the lighting for the night. Twas superb, my camera loved it. I love seeing people use their gifts!

There were multiple times throughout the night when I stopped and said "What is my life? Who are my friends? This is so cool!" All A good majority of my friends all in one place using their talents, supporting each others talents, and worshipping Jesus while doing it--what a perfect last night. Friends, I propose this happen more often.

ps. if you're reading this and you happened to record any part of this night, feel free to email me (megan_shipley@baylor.edu) some mp3 files and i'll try and put them up on here! ok thanks happy monday!

THINGS I'M LOVING RIGHT NOW | 04

1. all super heroes // have you seen the avengers?! what a movie. witty, action packed, & well developed characters. i laughed a lot, cried once, almost peed my pants multiple times, went into the fetal position for almost every fight scene, and may or may not have done a double glory wave directly following the climax of the movie. also, so stoked for this and this

2. this freelance illustrator from london // her stuff is too cute. i love this piece. oh and this one too.

3. these magazine subscriptions // my birthday's in a few weeks. just saying.

4. the miller quartet // Paige, Jeff, Drew, Elijah, you guys are incredible. if miller chapel time ever happens again can i please come sit in a back pew and just bask in the goodness? geez, the amount of talented friends I've been blessed with never ceases to amaze me. you like what you hear? be sure and buy their Secret Sessions: vol 2 EP and help send these guys to Uganda & China this summer!

5. this photographer // oh the joy of discovering a new quality photography blog. rachel and rico, your work is gold.

6.  this video // i'm so certain i would have loved the 80's. others must feel the same because there's been a whole lotta tribute videos going down >> 1 : 2 :  3 : 4  man, if there's anything i've learned from living with this one it's that dancing, whenever, wherever and even if you look like a total fool, is totally worth it. dance more. you're life will become 1347987x more enjoyable.

7. this incredible choreographer // anthony lee you are talented. this. and this. and this. and this. actually, just check out his whole youtube channel.

8. these little surprise boxes // When you subscribe to Lost Crates, they gather design-inspired goodies, put them in a crate and deliver them right to your front door where you, of course, are waiting with giddy anticipation to see what surprises await you. You can sign up to receive a crate monthly (slightly expensive), quarterly (still quite the commitment), or you can pay month to month ( aka cancel anytime, aka. BINGO!).  who doesnt love getting packages?!

9. these iphone cases // society 6 is chock full of these gems. a few of my recent faves include this chevron one, this tribal one, and this bad boy

10. this storage installation // i love everything about this. wooden crates, mason jars, black and white textiles. i'll have my own bathroom next year. which means this will happen. 

ALL THINGS GOOD, ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL, AND ALL THINGS TRUE | CLAIRE

this is claire. one of my dearest, most favorite friends.

claire and i were hall mates for a year and housemates the next. the fact that we both blogged was how we met as freshmen living in Collins (claire doesn't remember this. i do). that was back when my blogging looked more like a dramatic, poor me, let-me-vent-my feelings/frustrations on the world wide web type thing. and she still decided to be my friend, Praise God. 

she is an insightful and incredibly talented writer. the girl is brilliant. sometimes i compare her to c.s. lewis. i think very highly of my friends(:

she wants to spend the rest of her life loving people. whatever that might look like.

she is one of the most refreshing people to just "be" with.

she is an adventure-chaser.

she calls things out in people they can't see in themselves. i've been on the receiving end of this many a time and am so thankful.

she cant get enough of this

she's a phenomenal hostess. the girl can cook/bake like no other. glory hallelujah for sharing a kitchen with this one. 

claire i miss you dearly and absolutely positively cannot wait to see you come august. 

you are a joy to live life with and who knows maybe someday, somehow we'll end up sharing quarters again! love you sweet friend!

Things Claire is thankful for right this moment:

1. That I don't have to be perfect; Jesus did that for me

2. Professors who encourage me to think out of the box

3. Strangers who smile back

4. Sound of wind in the treetops at night

5. Chirping birds

6. Emails from long-distance friends

7. Accents

8. Walking home under the stars

9. The sound of the morning

10. People who are different from me

ALL THINGS GOOD, ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL, AND ALL THINGS TRUE | MATT

this is matt. 

matt is really cool

but he doesn't take himself too seriously, which makes him one of the easiest people in the world to be yourself around.

he'll probably call you a sunshine the first time you meet him. dont worry, its totally a compliment.

he's an incredibly loyal, caring, and compassionate friend.
he's a great question asker.

he's a heytell machine.
he honors people really well.

he used to be on the club ultimate team at Baylor. the man's really good at ultimate. reall good.
he can dance. he will dance. any time. any place. music is not always necessary.

he can show you how to survive in the wild

thankful for your friendship, matt! you are such a sunshine.

Things Matt is thankful for right this moment:

1. puppies
2. discipleship
3. cow meat
4. bodies of water
5. the lion king
6. baylor (sic em)
7. the Word
8. trees and stuff
9. sugar
10. slip and slide

DEAR EUROPE,

remember that time last summer, those lovely but fleeting 12 hours we spent together. it was a good time, right? i mean i felt like we left each other on good terms. but maybe not because...

you keep stealing all my friends.

first this one.

then these two

and now her and her.

i'm happy you guys are spending time together, really i am. that's not why i'm writing. its just that, well, i'd love to see more of you. i feel like you and i could really hit it off ya know? that being said, feel free to steal me whenever you want. you won't even have to blindfold me, i'll go without a fight. promise.

xoxo,

megan

ps. please be good to my friends. this letter is by no means meant to discourage your relationship with them. only to let you know that i really like you and i think you could feel the same for me. you and i, we could be the greatest thing since nutella and pretzels. thats all i'm saying.