...sure ain't where I began.

Jewel came to Wichita! And my friend, Linds, and I got our hands on two of the 100 tickets that were available! How cool is that? We decided that it was definetely on our top 10 list of very cool things we've done. The concert was at a little club in downtown Wichita and was a very intimate setting - which was the best part. My friend and I have been big fans since we were like 11 years old. Crazy that that is almost 15 years ago!! As we waited for the concert to begin, we reflected on our memories of those years. I can still remember sitting on the bus on a youth trip, getting my hair french-braided by Joellen Muyskens, when Lindsay brought me her Discman (which I thought was SO cool), and told me I had to listen to this new CD. And there she was, singing about things I hadn't heard women sing about and doing it so purely. It was love at first listen.

Jewel is a very inspiring person, having come from poverty and worked her way to success, all while maintaing humility and a respect for life. All the proceeds from the concert went to a local homeless shelter - which was pretty cool.


While I've listened to all her music many times, hearing it live made me listen to the lyrics closer than I had in a while. And I fell in love with this song, Stevenville, all over again. This lyric really hit home for me: "I'm 31 years old - that ain't the end, sure ain't where I began."



As Linds and joked about how we're "getting old" and I wonder all the time where my life is headed, this lyric just resonated with me. Life is such a journey - and everything we do is part of that. I don't have to have all the answers right now - and that's ok.