Echoes of a Pirate Song: A Punk, a Pirate, and a Pentecostal Mom

Lauren Nixon-Matney • June 15, 2025
Echoes of a Pirate Song: A Punk, a Pirate, and a Pentecostal Mom

Relient K: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Film: Jonah A VeggieTales Movie

Dear Kids,


Before you ever shouted, “We are the pirates who don’t do anything!” at the top of your lungs, I did too.


Sort of.


Not in the way you do now barefoot, spinning in circles, your little voices echoing through the house, collapsing in giggles before pressing “play” again. No, when I first heard this song, I was sixteen, sitting in the back of my Pentecostal boyfriend’s mom’s car, trying to pretend I was too cool to care.


To be clear, I was not a pirate. And I was definitely not doing nothing.

I was a punk kid dating a Pentecostal boy with a very strict mother, sitting next to him and one of his two younger brothers, being ferried to school, church, restaurants, anywhere and everywhere by his mom. And every single time it seemed we got into that car, a cd that included this song was playing.


Not always the original VeggieTales version...no, sometimes it was the Relient K cover from the Jonah movie soundtrack. And somehow, that little detail made all the difference.


Relient K was one of those bands that existed in the strange Venn diagram of Christian music and pop-punk. They had just enough of a Warped Tour sound to feel rebellious but also enough Jesus in their lyrics that Pentecostal moms let their kids blast them at full volume. And so, every morning, there I was awkward teenage me, clad in band tees and too much eyeliner, squeezed between my boyfriend and his little brother bouncing in their seats as we sailed full-speed into yet another day of high school with “We Don’t Do Anything” as our soundtrack.


I never admitted it then, but… I kind of loved it.

Even if I acted like I was rolling my eyes, I knew every word.

I knew the harmonies.

I knew the way his little brothers shouted the lyrics with absolute joy, like it was the greatest thing they’d ever heard.

And I knew (though maybe I never said it) that his mom was a bright light in my world.


She didn’t have to drive me.

She didn’t have to make space for me in her life.

She didn’t have to take me to Church every week.

She didn’t have to let her son date some weird little punk girl from a family with a bad reputation.


But she did.


And somehow, this ridiculous pirate song became a soundtrack to it all.


Now.


The TV screen flickers. A familiar jingle starts playing.


From across the house, I hear the stampede of little feet.


Then, in perfect harmony like a VeggieTales gospel choir led by very enthusiastic small humans I hear it:


“We are the pirates who don’t do anything!”


You know every word.

Every. Single. Word.

And so do I.


I should’ve seen this coming.

I should’ve been mentally prepared for this moment.


Because I’ve been here before.


Not on this couch.

Not in this living room.

Not as a mom, watching my kids lose their minds over a song about doing nothing.


But in a different time, in a different place, hearing this song for the first time in the backseat of a car, sitting next to kids who sang it just like you do now.


I know these lyrics because they never really left.

Because music, even the silliest kind, has a way of sticking to you.

And now, here we are.


All these years later, I’m watching you belt out the same ridiculous song I once heard in that car only this time, I’m not pretending to be too cool for it.


This time, I sing along.


Because maybe that’s the real magic of songs like this.

Maybe it’s not about the lyrics or the melody, but the way they carry you through time.


Maybe it’s about the places they take you back to.

And the people who were kind to you when they didn’t have to be.

And the way music has a funny way of finding you again, just when you least expect it.


Once, I sat in the backseat, listening to boys shout this song at the top of their lungs. Now, I’m in the front seat, watching my own kids do the same thing. Life has a funny way of circling back. Maybe we really are just pirates, floating along, letting the music take us where we’re meant to go.


Jaxon: “Mom, we should be real pirates and not do anything forever.”

Me: “So… like, bedtime?”

Maggie Jo: “NO, MOM, PIRATES DON’T SLEEP!”

RESUME THE RHYTHM:

DRIFT THROUGH A CONSTELLATION OF MEMORY

Searching For Stars

By Lauren Nixon-Matney July 5, 2026
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By Lauren Nixon-Matney July 5, 2026
My favorite literary phrase of all time is spoken by Josephine March, written by Louisa May Alcott in Little Women. “I like good, strong words that mean something.” You, my dear, you say good, strong words that mean something. You put good, strong words that mean something into the world, and I thank you so very sincerely for that. You have made such an incredible impact on my life, and on my outlook on beauty and aging. ⸻ I stumbled across your incredible fashion sense on Instagram and was completely hooked on your vibe. I absolutely love fashion. I always have. I’ve definitely had my own kind of zany style over the years. So when I saw you, I was like, OK, yes, she is amazing. I love this energy. ⸻ The way you put things together, the confidence, the energy, it makes you wanna get up, go into your closet, and actually enjoy getting dressed again. And for a woman approaching 40, who’s had three children and has had many of her own struggles with who am I, what’s my fashion, what’s my energy, or what’s my style, You just felt so damn refreshing and inspiring. So I hung around, but what really hooked me wasn’t just the style, it was you, the essence of you. The way you talk, the honesty, the fact that you just say things straight, no fluff, no sugarcoating, no trying to be anything other than exactly who you are.. and somehow that makes everything you say sound even more profound. ⸻ The impact your message was having in my life became undeniable. It wasn’t just something I watched for enjoyment anymore, it was something I actually began feeling, and carrying with me. I grew up in a time where it felt like there was an expiration date on women. Like if you didn’t fit into a certain mold, or size, or type… your worth somehow became less. And then life happens. You grow up. You age. Maybe have kids. Your body changes. Your priorities change. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, you can kind of lose your sense of… who am I now? What’s my style? Who am I supposed to become? Am I too late for something? What even feels like me anymore? So for a while, I think I actually bought into that idea without even realizing it. The idiodic notion that maybe I had passed some invisible point where things were supposed to quiet down. Tone down. Fit into something more “acceptable.” Or the grand illusion that I was out of time to follow my passions! But watching you… that narrative just started to fall apart. The way you show up, the way you speak, the way you move through the world so fully as yourself… it made me realize that aging isn’t something to fear or shrink from. If anything, it’s where things start to get really good. It’s where you get bolder. More comfortable. More you. More beautiful. ⸻ What you’re doing matters so much. The way you show up, the way you speak, the way you fully own who you are, it doesn’t just stay on a screen. It carries through pixelated waves. It reaches people like me, in real life, in real moments, and shifts something quietly but powerfully within us. So I just wanted to say thank you. For your honesty, your energy, your style, your voice… all of it. You have inspired me, Searching for Stars, and undoubtedly countless women all over the world more than words can truly translate. Thank you, for being you!
By Lauren Nixon-Matney May 6, 2026
Okay, so I asked God for a sign this week… and I didn’t make it easy on Him. I had just seen this video about asking for a sign, about how God answers, about how He delights in it… and something in me just… recognized that. Like, oh. I’ve felt that before. Lindsey, it was your video. And the second I heard it, I remembered something. I remembered a time, years ago, back in that early, foggy, pinkless season of motherhood, when I had asked for a sign too. I had prayed, really specifically… really honestly… “God, just show me I’m okay. Show me I’m on the right path.” And I asked for a blue butterfly. I didn’t see it right away. I waited. I wondered if I had imagined the whole idea in the first place. And then, not long after, life moved us somewhere new. A new place, new energy… the kind of move that feels exciting and terrifying all at once. They handed us the keys… and right there on them… was a blue butterfly. And I remember feeling that same quiet recognition. Like… okay. And then, a couple months after that, with prayers inside us building for a second child, we went to a park. One of those ordinary days that turns into something you don’t forget. And there were butterflies everywhere. Hundreds of them. Yellow, filling the air, lifting all at once like something out of a dream. And right in the middle of it… one blue butterfly. I just stood there, overwhelmed, because I knew. I knew I had been heard. Nearly one year to the day later, our second child was born. And then… life kept moving. Time passed. Things got busy. Full. Loud. Beautiful… but a little hazy, too. Somewhere along the way, I think I stopped asking like that. Fast forward. I’m sitting with my kids on New Year’s Eve, going into 2025, talking about goals and dreams. The kind of things you say out loud but don’t always fully claim. “I’ve always wanted to write.” And my daughter, so sure, so certain, just looked at me and said, “Then make it your New Year’s resolution.” And something about the way she said it… she didn’t question it. she didn’t overthink it. She just… believed it was possible. So I did. I started building something I’ve carried in pieces since I was in high school. Old notebooks, scattered thoughts, songs, memories… things I’ve never really known how to explain out loud. And for the first time, it felt like someone actually got it. So I got to work. Writing with a baby asleep on my chest… voice notes, typed drafts, music playing in the background… piecing together old memories with new ones. And I love it. I really do. But if I’m being honest… I started to wonder. Is this meaningful? Is this worth the time? Is this something good… or just something I want? And more than anything… I wanted to know if it was something God saw as good. Not just something that looked meaningful… but something that was. So I sat down, quietly, and I prayed. And I said, “God, if this is something I’m supposed to keep building… if I’m on the right path… if this is your will for me… please just show me. Give me a sign.” And I paused… because I knew I couldn’t ask for something easy. I had asked for butterflies before and blue jays have been unusually common in our backyard lately. I needed something specific. Something I wouldn’t just brush off. I looked over… and saw this little pink and white poodle sitting on my daughter’s shelf. And I laughed a little and said, “Okay God… show me a poodle.” almost sarcastically thinking… well, this one’s going to take a little more effort. But of course… Not even 48 hours later, we ran into Burlington. We were just there to grab socks and shoes for my toddler, her sandals were bothering her. Quick in, quick out. We ended up wandering a little. We’re headed to checkout… and my husband steps down an aisle, picks something up, and goes, “Okay, I know this is ridiculous… but we need this for the office.” And he had no idea. Nothing about my prayer. Nothing about the poodle. I’m barely paying attention yet. And then he turns it around. It’s a painting. Of a poodle. Not just a poodle… a poodle in a full business suit… sitting at a desk… reading a newspaper. I just… stopped. A business professional poodle, for the office we’re building together, a space where I can write. Like everything in me went quiet for a second. Because of all the things in the world I could have asked for… of all the ways that prayer could have been answered… it was that. I remember thinking, smiling, fighting back tears of joy… of course it is. Because I had asked for something specific. And apparently… He has a sense of humor. Also, just to make sure I didn’t miss it… because let’s be real, God definitely knows how to show out… the very next place we went… was Petco. And there was this real poodle. Then again. And again. Every aisle I turned… I kept running into it. And that feeling came back. The same one from before. Quiet. Certain. seen. beloved. Lindsey… Thank you so much, you reminded me to ask. You reminded me that God doesn’t just hear us… He answers. Not always in big, overwhelming ways… but in ways we’ll recognize. In ways that feel personal. Specific. Sometimes even funny… like they were meant just for us. And Lindsey… I just want you to know how much I appreciate all of what you’re doing. Your energy, your humor, the way you show up so fully as yourself… it matters more than you probably realize. You make people laugh, you make motherhood feel seen, and you bring light into spaces that can feel heavy sometimes. But there is also so much more than that… God really radiates through you. In the way you speak, in the way you encourage, in the way you remind people to keep going and to keep believing. It’s powerful. And it’s beautiful to witness. What you’ve created with “get your pink back”… that message, that reminder… it’s reaching people. It’s lifting people. It’s giving something back to women who feel like they’ve poured everything out. And that matters. It really does. I’m so grateful I came across your video when I did. And I’m really looking forward to everything you create next… especially your writing. You’re doing something good here. Keep going. Please never stop casting your light into the world… it really does break through the darkness.
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