Baby shark doo doo, doo doo da doo...Also I'm FINALLY seeing Inception tonight. Yagh! :)

Saw Letters to Juliet in Canton. Must practice guitar now, 'fore I lose my callouses. Then SLEEPING and sleeping in. Day off tomorrow. Grin.

Amazing vaca this week w/ fam. Mon-flee market, Tues-pontooning, Wed-waterpark, Thurs-tea room, Fri-Krispy Kremes. Rested and refreshed. :)

The Volks are coming tonight! Yaaaay! Traded a kindergartener my pink snail silly band today for a glow-in-the-dark pink polar bear. Score.

Saw a snake sunning itself on our front patio today. SO cute. Do you think the snake would be offended that I called it cute???

Received my first silly band from Maggie today. Score! Watching multiple episodes of JAG Season 1. Cheesy Goodness.

Recording tonight!! More scratch tracks so we can send them off to JP for drum prep. Heck yes!

Madly In Love With You by Sean McConnell

I see you down there everyday
Tryin' to find a different way
To build some kind of ladder to the sky
You're tryin' to find some way to see
The secrets of eternity
And they don't come all at once
And you don't know why

How do you think it feels
To hear you screamin' out my name
While all the while
I'm tryin' to open up your heart
I see you when you cry yourself to sleep
And it's tearin' Me apart

I know you wish you could see Me
But that's the way it has to be
Someday you will understand
But don't you lose your faith in Me
I know you wish you could hear Me
But sometimes it's so hard to do
But every morning's sunrise says
I'm madly in love with you.

I know that you're waitin' for
A chance to come in from the war
If only a moment, if only a day
A place where you feel safe and warm
A sanctuary from the storm
Until all of these questions fade away

But I cannot count all of the signs
You've passed away as mere coincidence
And I'm running out of ways to break through
Like a lonely lover waiting by the ocean
I'll never give up on you

I know you wish you could see Me
But that's the way it has to be
Someday you will understand
But don't you lose your faith in Me
I know you wish you could hear Me
But sometimes it's so hard to do
But every morning's sunrise says
I'm madly in love with you.

http://ping.fm/mht72

I LOVE this project and really believe in it! See what you think... http://ping.fm/z7iMA

Just watched hilarious and lame YouTube videos with my dad for like an hour. Love it! NOW, get Webfetti OFF my computer. Ugh.

Long day followed by a blessed trip to Friendly's with GREAT PEOPLE. Climbed a rock wall last night, in bear feet! Yeouch! But BOOYAH!!

Just watched "O, Brother Where Art Thou" for the first time ever. Good times. Great music. Hilarious.

Thanks to everyone who came out and listened to me play at Barnes & Noble tonight! It was great seeing your lovely faces! :)

I'm playing at Barnes & Noble in Montrose tonight at 8pm! Come on out. Books, music, coffee...what more can you ask for? :)

I just uploaded a new tune on Myspace. Have a listen and download it for free at www.mypsace.com/jenniferbaird. Enjoy!

Lee DeWyze is the new American Idol! Yay. I voted for him, yes. Three times. Snicker if you must.

Had a GREAT mixing/ mastering session with Lou tonight! "Heaven Knows" is sounding GOOOOD!

Celebrating my AMAZING Grammy's 75th birthday tonight! A little Mac Grill, and some "Invictus". SO looking forward to it.

Two favorite songs for the week. "My Future Decided" by Hillsong United, and "By the Power of Your Name" by Lincoln Brewster. SO GOOD!

Just saw "Letters to Juliet". DEF WORTH the discounted coupon price of $7. Except for the cheesy line Chris Egan delivers at the end. Snort.

Check out this beautiful video. Song is by my cousins, Ryan & Meghan Baird. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbTK-mKxrAc&feature=player_embedded.

Home sweet home. Planes-not my favorite places in the world. SOO glad to be back on the ground. Time to work on wedding music and more...

Lovin' being in Texas! Seein' my younger sis! Congrats Kristin on getting pinned today! Love and miss you! To all a good night...

If you didn't watch American Idol tonite, you should have. Lee DeWyze ROCKED it. Totally voted for him. The man can sing. Texas tomorrow!

Whew! What a weekend! I'm exhaustified. About to end the evening with a film. And P.S. "Your Love Never Fails"-my new favorite song of 2010.

About to eat some chicken lo mein for din din. Then RLG. Then American Idol Results show. WOOT! Alright, gotta go read 1 John. :)

Arts Gala was AMAZING last night, of course. Made it through my first time performing with my guitar!! Triumphant yell!!! Thank you, Lord!

Playin' the Arts Gala this week! SO STOKED. Gonna be AMAZING. Friday, April 23rd. Doors 6:30. Show 7:00. Tickets $10 at www.graceohio.org.

Just got home from "Vocal Artistry" conference! Good stuff! Fighting off a sinus headache. Uuuuugh. Next, A Minor Bird's cd release party.

Lunch with Kristin, Grammy & Papa today. YAY! Then relaxation, practice practice practice, and hopefully dinner with friends. Mmmm. :)

O' the miracle of taste! Just ate a piece of Grammy's Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. TGIFriday's ain't got NOTHIN' on Grammy's cheesecake. Mmhmm.

About to write a couple songs. One of them may be about Alice in Wonderland..." 'Twas brillig and the slithy toves..." We'll find out soon.

Had a great trip to D.C.! Nap time now, worship team later. Got my Broke* t-shirt in the mail yesterday! Check it out at www.brokedoc.com.

Loved Andrew Garcia on American Idol tonight! SOOO good! About to update my Myspace page-new pics! Then on to packing for D.C. Ugh, packing.

Long day at work, but good! Exhausted! Probably going to see "Alice In Wonderland" tonight. Woot! If not, I'll watch the trailer of "Kings".

Wrote 2 1/2 songs this week. Going to see "The Bounty Hunter" tonight. Time for more cold medicine. D.C. in 4 days. YEAAAA!!!

Wrote a new song Sunday night. Practicing with Dannie Joseph tonight and watching American Idol. Life is sweet!

Weekend church services are over. Couch time. For the rest of the day it doesn't matter if I can sing through my cold or not! Sweet relief.

Had a REALLY good guitar lesson today. I no longer feel blind on the instrument. :) Also, LOVE the song "You Hold Me Now", Hillsong United.

Did Zumba for the first time last night! What a workout! Relaxed this morning, reading "The Moon By Night". Aaaah, Madeleine L'Engle.

Exhaustion sets it. Just played guitar for almost two hours. Mostly Taylor Swift songs. I'm a sucker for easy chords and addictive melodies.

My fingers hurt from playing guitar. YAY! Watching "The Hurt Locker" tonight. It won "Best Picture" at the Oscars, among other awards.

Playing piano and singing at Renee & Chad's wedding today. Two BEAUTIFUL people. Two BEAUTIFUL families. I'm honored to be a part of it.

Played my guitar today. Sweetness. Eating pizza, carrots, peppers. About to watch "Return to Snowy River." Maybe a Creamsicle later tonight.

On a quest to find my "rock voice". Listening to Pat Benatar and Heart. I LOVE the song "What About Love". Purely amazing.

"40 Days of Water" started TODAY! I'm only drinking water for the next 40 days. Check it out at www.bloodwatermission.com. Good stuff!

got a new acoustic guitar yesterday!! sooooo awesome! thanks dad!! :)

Playing a small lunchtime show tomorrow! Very excited. Even playing a song on guitar...in public. Let's be honest; I'm a little nervous. :)

February Favorites

So far my favorite things about February 2010 are (drum roll please)...

1. Food- We've had THE BEST leftovers in the fridge and I've been chowing down on them! Cream of Chicken w/ Mash Potatoes, Fatiya w/ Leban, Pizza, Chinese Food, Chicken Cordon Bleu. Mmmm.
2. The awesome socks my mom gave me for Valentines Day. They shall make their appearance on my feet this week.
3. Going to see Leap Year at the DOLLAR theatre with Kristin.
4. I now have Dental and Vision Insurance.
5. My church's 10 year anniversary celebration.
6. Going to see Avatar in 3-D, never seen anything in 3-D before. Stellar!!
7. Sleeping- I'm trying to take back control of my schedule and it's working!!! I've gotten to catch up on sleep and am implementing rest into my schedule.
8. The 16 inches of snow we got this weekend.
9. Singing with Michelle on worship team this weekend.
10. Reading "The Fine Line" by Kary Oberbrunner.

Me passenger, Kristin driving: "Kristin we're driving in a snowstorm! Do you have to put lip gloss on while we're driving in a snowstorm?!"

Embarking on "40 Days of Water" Feb 17. Want to join me? Check out www.bloodwatermission.com/forty days, and let me know!

Embarking on "40 Days of Water" Feb 17. Check out www.bloodwatermission.com/fortydays. Let me know if you want to joing me, will register my campaign soon!

Just finished being the pianist for a bunch of kids performing with mountain dulcimers, and a choir of kids that sang! They did SO great!

Going to see "When In Rome" this afternoon with my big sis! Woot! I heart Friday's with Kristin muy mucho! :)

Trying to write songs. Nada. Zero inspiration. Oh well, talking on the phone with Sarah now. Good times. : )

TGIalmostF.

I get the feeling that comfort is my enemy. Also, how to be fully present "here" yet also striving forward to "there." A difficult thing.

Is my iBook G4 supposed to gurgle ceaselessly like a coffee maker when it's loading...anything?? Hmm.

Today I painted pottery at All Fired Up. Recorded some piano parts, and watched a Bollywood flick. "Punjab Power lighting up your life, ji."

Just learned how to change my own guitar strings. Woot! Also bought a capo and a pack of picks. Also, I heart Martin guitars.

Now I just watched the movie "Gifted Hands" about the neuro-surgeon, Ben Carson. A STUNNING story. Incredible!! A definite must watch.

Faith like...

I just watched the movie "Faith Like Potatoes" last night. It has shaken me up severely (so much so, that while I should be taking a shower right now, and getting ready to take my parents out to dinner for their anniversary, I'm sitting here typing instead). It is a true story about an ordinary farmer from South Africa named Angus Buchan. Angus has a dynamic relationship with God (as in, the God of the Bible, whose son is Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for the sins of men). Angus' faith is simple: take God at His word. When he tells you to do something, do it, even if you don't see how it will be accomplished. And let me tell you, this man has had extra ordinary things accomplished through him.
A runaway fire was threatening his livelihood, and he felt like he should pray for rain, so he prayed for rain and it rained, on a day when there were no clouds and no predictions of rain.
On a stormy night, a gaggle of Zulu women came rushing to his house to tell him that one of them had been struck by lightning and killed. He came to the house, telling them to put her in his car and he would take her to the hospital. They told him no, that they wanted to see the power of Jesus Christ at work, the power he was always preaching about. So he went into the house, and he prayed for the woman, and she was raised from the dead by God. In the movie, he looked as astonished as the woman did that she was raised from the dead! :)
During El Nino, a total drought season for South Africa, Angus felt God impress on his heart to plant crops of potatoes, the most expensive crop to plant, and very difficult to grow as he needed LOTS of water for irrigation and such (you'll have to forgive my lack of potato growing knowledge). No one thought he should risk it, but he said, "The conditions for a miracle are difficulty, but the condition for a great miracle is impossiblity." And they harvested a BUMPER crop of potatoes.
The list is endless, and it occurs to me: everything that happened with and through Angus is simply a result of his relationship with God. He simply spends time with God, hears God "speak" and responds. That's it. He doesn't put his faith in having a certain spiritual gift, or having a certain ministry, or a certain career. He simply FOLLOWS Jesus. That's it!!!!
As I look at my life stretching out before me, hopefully many many more years of it, I am filled with amazement at what COULD BE. I could have a life just as extraordinary as Angus Buchan's.
Will God heal people through me, or raise people from the dead, or send rain when there is no hope of rain?
It is not beyond anyone's reach to have a life as extraordinary as Angus Buchan.
I simply have to KNOW God and listen to Him and respond, taking Him at His word that He'll accomplish through me what He's asked me to do.
At the end of the movie, Angus is talking to the children who lived at his and his wife's orphanage (yes, they started an orphanage as well). He's holding a potato, and he says something to the effect of, "Take ahold of one of these potatoes. Feel it, smell it. Your faith in God should be like that. You can feel it and smell it. Your faith in God should be like potatoes." Faith like potatoes.
I want that kind of faith. I am giving myself to God, no holds barred, no stipulations. I will spend time with Him, getting to know him, listening to Him. And I will respond. Lord, help me to do this. You know how faithless I am sometimes, often times.
Someday, in the future, I wonder what I will say. What SOMETHING God will accomplish in my life, the way he did in Angus' life, that will make me say, "your faith in God should be like..." What will my analogy be?
Faith like...???

Just watched the movie "Faith Like Potatoes." QUALITY. It's a true story and MORE than worth watching. Ordinary man, extraordinary life.