It’s been a long week for me—lots of meetings, lots of work to do, lots of looming deadlines.

It didn’t help that I was still recovering from being up all night last Friday for the youth group Lock-In (it was a lot of fun, but apparently I’m not as young as I thought I was). Then I briefly lost my credit card, the hot water stopped working in the shower, I had a wicked headache for 2 days, I didn’t realize I was out of dog food and had to give Ellie cheese for breakfast…

So. I’m happy it’s the weekend. And I’m happy to dig out some of my old standbys, the songs that always help cheer me up after a long week. Here’s 5 of them, in no particular order (and I think I’ve even managed to upload/link them correctly here):

1. Old Joe Clark by Mike Snider String Band. I ran into this guy a few times when I was living in Nashville—and now he’s a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. Naturally I think I should get some credit for this.

2. My Baby Loves A Bunch Of Authors by Moxy Früvous. My BFF in high school, Joy, gave me the CD of this independent Canadian group several years ago. I’ve never heard them anywhere else—but it always makes me laugh that the “Authors” song is my favorite and Joy is now an English teacher.

3. Gentle Arms Of Eden by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. I use this song with my college students when we talk about Goddess traditions and Earth-based religions. It refers to evolution and a female divine spirit—but don’t let that distract you from the prettiness of the song. For me, it’s a reminder that whatever name you use for God, he/she/they loves us, and we feel best when we find our way home to him/her/them.

4. Suds In The Bucket by Sara Evans. Come to think of it, there’re quite a few female country artists with great songs that help put me in a good mood.

5. No Other Love by Rush of Fools. The Christian band from last fall’s Youth Convo rocks out. And who doesn’t like a good kazoo?

So, what song makes you feel better after a long week?