Why Miss Scarlet, I Do Declare.

Now Playing: Hands by The Almost :)

Reading: Jane Eyre (still) by Emily Bronte

Appreciating: the sound of thunder, flashes of lightening, and the rain being blown against my room window...feeling at home.

Today we were talking about patterns, in art, socially, and throughout the rest of the world. And I could not stop thinking about literature. Findings patterns, finding meaning, finding relevance this is why I read and study literature. And music is so similar.

It's my firm belief that the easiest way to find out what someone's heart to look at is to what music is on their "go-to" list and what book they are in the middle of or have just finished. Because the special thing about books and music is that they get stuck in your head, and consequentially in your heart. I love this, I think it's so neat how God has designed us that way, but I've also learned (with way too much experience) that we have to be careful about what we put into our heads.

In our conversation today I was reminded about a couple of books that I read my junior year in high school that I really regret reading. I know, who knew that an English Lit major would ever regret reading certain books. But they put so many images and philosophies into my head that will never leave now. And quite honestly, they didn't help me out of the state of darkness I was living in at the time that I was reading them.

The same goes for music, and that's something that the Holy Spirit often uses in my life as a compass to my heart. I can tell that when I start choosing to listen to secular music more and more that I should probably take a look at where my heart is focused because it means that I'm choosing something catchy with lyrics that oppose what I believe over worshiping my one and only Jesus Christ.

I know that's pretty blunt, but it's true. And I forget that a lot of times.

And as an avid lover of both books and music I'm often tempted by somethings that may be brilliantly crafted artistically but are created with a message that denies or curses my God (maybe not straight up but the message doesn't line up with what Jesus says) and I have to be careful. And I'll survive, there's still plenty of great works out there. :)