brooke fraser

got to go see brooke fraser last night with a couple of church friends and corey's sister. it was fun being in austin. i got to be silly for a while, which is awesome, even if i am totally insecure revealing my true self.

we ate at kerbey lane, which is like a little pancake joint/eclectic eatery/bar. pretty hip little place. i had a meditteranean salad and a mimosa. yummy!

the show was at a club on 6th called the parish. it was relatively small, with lots of dramatic features: black and white flocked wall paper framed along the brick walls, beautiful chandeliers, red velvet curtains, wooden floors in an upstairs venue. classic.

brooke was very fun. she is a good entertainer. she has a way of interacting with the crowd that makes you feel very welcome. she seemed to enjoy the rowdiness of the austin crowd. i liked it best when she gave us a web address in an american accent.

she played 'crows and locusts' off of the new album. excellent! i was very surprised, because that is such a weighty song. they played it, none the less.

all the audience sang along with a few of the older songs, but i was particularly struck by the crowd singing albertine. i also love the fact that she is still telling the world about albertine, as she promises in the song.

i was a little hurt by the fact that her husband refused to sign my shirt. it may sound silly, but i am what i am. god totally used it, however, to speak to me about idolatry and pride. my pride, that is. i always have to fall down a chunk of stairs to get to my knees. i don't like this about myself, but i am so grateful that the lord loves me enough to do what it takes to bring me to humility.

as far as idolatry goes- people are people. not one is above the next. this is a constant struggle for me. it is so easy to buy into the hype that it is what you look like, what you do, your power or position that make you worthy; that only the beautiful, elite, talented, successful people are the ones that matter. of course this is a lie. it is still easy to adopt the ideology. i have been subscribing to this deceitful philosophy all of my life. incidentally, i have struggled with self-contempt as a result.

by the end of the evening, i was blessed with the reality that i belong somewhere. being a wife and a mother isn't as prestigious as a great many other things, and i frequently feel completely insignificant, but i matter a great deal where my family is concerned. they care about me, despite my blaring imperfections. they love me anyway.

i am satisfied. that is enough. i thank the lord that i am so blessed!