Podcasts?

I've never listened to a podcast.  I think that might be surprising to some people.  I've never been one who can take much audio input for very long.  (Unless it's music.) It just seems to turn into one long blahblahblah that doesn't register.  My brain just kind of shuts down.  But I keep hearing how fabulous they are and one of these days I just might figure out how to listen to one.

Was reminded about my reluctance to listen to podcasts when I came across this (printed) snippet from sundayonmonday (a podcast that has been highly recommended).  An acronym for when days are hard.  HARD: Humbling And Refining Days.  I like that twist on things.  It helps me to feel less overwhelmed when things I'm just plain miserable.  

And this sentence (cannot find who originally said it):  "I never knew how strong I was until I had to forgive someone who wasn't sorry, and accept an apology I never received."  Forgiveness and allowing someone to feel a bit of grace from me is a constant effort.  I'm not quite that strong yet.  

And I came across this group this morning.  I've listened to a couple of their songs from their religious album; "Be Still My Soul" music video made me tear up.  This one is lovely:  Simply Three Amazing Grace  I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't know this group.  But I loved being introduced to them. 

In our efforts to clean out/ de-junk I came across several boxes of music cd's that I'm not quite sure what to do with.  We don't listen to music around the house much, it's often just quiet.  I have been known to blame the quiet on the loud, chaotic, uncomfortable surroundings of my youth.  Mom was always listening to music.  These days I listen to something and it plays over and over in my head for days, it's distracting and bothersome.  I rarely even have the radio on in the car, prefer the silence and my thinking / prayers to the music for some odd reason.

And even though things I listen to can be a challenge, I'm so grateful for the gift of music.  It truly does bless our world, our hearts and our souls.