When in doubt, write about country music

For those of you who somehow missed the news, Sugarland – pretty much my all-time fave country band but whose summer tour I will torturously miss – won two American Country Music Awards this past week for “Stay.” I’m ecstatic. No, no, that doesn’t even cover it: I’m like a proud parent.

But the song I want to talk about in this here blog post isn’t “Stay.” It’s “Settlin’.” This song is basically my new life mantra. Why settle, in relationships or in life?

I don’t have a particular Bible verse to reference, but the gist of today's thought is this: God has plans for each of us. Those plans probably involve feats and duties of which we think ourselves incapable. Thing is, what significant Biblical figure ever feels ready for what God calls them to do? I think – and I’m talking from experience here – a lot of us tend to settle for our comfortable little world instead of obeying what God wants for us to do. Kinda communicates a lack of faith, don’t you think? As my friend Jennifer Nettles reminds us, we shouldn’t settle for “just getting by”; instead, let’s listen to God, “raise the bar high”, stop settling for comfort and make a difference in this world.