Walk With Me

I put this song on a CD I made for my daughter. Her name means "annointed," and the verses I chose to bless her with with were Psalm 23:5-6, on which this song is based. Little did I know how much this song, and she, would be a source of overflowing blessing to me.

Here's how it works. I have more to do when taking care of my newborn daughter than I thought I could possibly handle. Minute by minute, my husband and I are providing 100% of care for her. We don't sleep or get out as much as we used to. Somehow it all works out; we get to the end of the day. And there is joy along the way, and sometimes, even some peace.

Like yesterday, when I got out to Wal-mart for the first time in a month. I got the whole trip, start to finish, done in an hour. That never happens. But it happened in part because WM was fairly empty. It was like the Lord was leading me beside quiet waters. And as I shopped, I was thanking the Lord that I could get out of the house and attend to the needs of my family. And suddenly I realized He was restoring my soul.

I started wondering if this song were written by someone in my exact situation; watered-down, or decaffeinated coffee, is about the only kind I can drink in any satisfying quantity. My husband and I must speak in hushed voices. Sometimes we feel empty and sometimes we feel strong. But I think that it's just a good song that speaks a universal lesson about trusting, and God providing, that peace like the Good Shepherd can.

Welcome to Our World

It's a bit late, but here is a post about a Christmas song.

"Welcome to Our World" wasn't originally on a Christmas album, but it is Chris Rice's best contribution to the Christmas repertoire. I remember making up a creative dramatic movement to this song that involved sign language and acting and having a group perform it at a Christmas party for our campus ministry. The words are sheer poetry and the melody is a lilting, yet plaintive lullabye.

As usualy, Rice has his doctrine right and at the ready so ably that one hardly notices it: he speaks of the baby who's "been promised/ we've been waiting," as though he were one of the Jews who knew a Messiah was prophesied. He writes of the incarnation in both physical and spiritual terms: "fragile fingers sent to heal us/ tender brow prepared for thorns/ tiny heart whose blood will save us." To this tiny infant, he sings a prayer for salvation: "wrap our injured flesh around you/ breathe our air and walk our sod/ rob our sin and make us holy/ perfect son of God." There has only ever been one baby on whom such hopes could be hung. It is a wonder, still, to think that the Savior was once a baby. To me it shows that God must love babies.

I suppose it is because I have my own tiny baby now that the reality of the incarnation seems more wondrous to me this year. A baby changes one's perspective on life; mine has done more than that and simply rocked my world. It was a world that needed rocking, though, and I'm so glad she's here. So baby, welcome to our world. I pray you grow up loving your Savior who came as a baby for you, loving His Word, and all the bright and beautiful things He made, especially music and poetry.

This blog began a few years ago as a response to Handel's Messiah during a Christmas visit to my grandparents' home. At the time I felt like I needed to start writing/doing something new. Now that another joyful Christmas has rolled around, I sense that this blog will take a new turn and be more personal responses to songs. We'll see.

Happy New Year to anyone who reads this -

Kim



I suppose that it is

Christmas to Remember

I woke up this morning with Amy Grant's "Christmas to Remember" song in my head. It's all about the comfort and joy of the Christmas season, like twinkling lights, the smell of evergreens, Nat King Cole, fireplaces, snow and time with loved ones. That is all good stuff, and you know what? I'm glad someone wrote a song about it. Because we need people to remind us how to be happy, and we need to teach our children how to enjoy things. So what if this song is not about the deeper meaning of Christmas. All of the good stuff emanates from that and allows us to enjoy "the hopefulness this season brings." I for one am thankful for it!



Amy Grant Lyrics
A Christmas to Remember Lyrics

Be My Escape

Up early this morning because it's Election Day and wanted to vote early, I have a little time to write.

I've been thinking about this Relient K song a lot lately, and just wanted to comment on the sheer cleverness of these lyrics:

And I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity
And I’ve been locked inside that house
All the while You hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out
And that might be the death of me

There's a literary term for what the writers are doing with their words here, but basically it's a play on words, and it makes a point. He was "housing" all that doubt within himself, but by doing so, the doubt was "housing" him, and he was imprisoned by it.

There's a similar play on the dying/death term, which is equivocal; "it might be the death of me" could either indicate the fear of whatever lies beyond the familiar fears (better the devil you know), or it could indicate that some kind of metaphysical death must take place for him to escape the fears. Maybe both! I'm leaning toward the second because of the line, "I know to live you must give your life away."

Anyways, cool song.

"Be My Escape" is on Relient K's 2004 Capitol Records release, Mmmhmm.

You are God Alone

This song recorded by Phillips, Craig and Dean preaches the gospel to me, focusing on God's sovereignty. Some people argue that if anyone has power over you you are not free, and probably oppressed. That is true in the human realm where there are various little-k kings vying for power at the expense of others. On the other hand, beyond the theatre of human egos, there is God Himself, who does not need to compete with other kings; He is supreme. That's what this song recognizes, and what I have to recognize before I have much to be glad about.

On the other hand, I wish this song went a step further. It discusses God's might and immutability, and the futility of trying to be against Him. If you already know God's character - how He loves His creation, and provided the substitionary death of His son for the sins of His creatures, then you can be glad that He is on His throne. That the song is written in the context of such a worldview is probably true, but taken on its own, it tells me I should revere and awe, but not necessarily love God.


You are not a god created by human hands
You are not a god dependent on any mortal man
You are not a god in need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that's just the way it is

You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
Your are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

You're the only God whose power none can contend
Youre the only God whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God
Who's worthy of everything we can give
You are God that's just the way it is

Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That's what You are

There are a couple of nice YouTube videos to this song, here's one.

How Then Shall We Sing?

I think that in heaven we'll hear many different types of songs with instrumental, acappella, and angel voices. We may even hear voices we're not used to hearing when "all the earth" sings His praises. I try to imagine flowers, bears, rocks and trees joining in our melodic worship and it is beyond my understanding but not beyond belief.

I think this because I believe Ephesians 5:19 teaches that on earth we should hear a variety of different types of songs, too. Paul instructs the Ephesian Christians to be "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." I think the three types of music listed there represent a variety of acceptable forms of musical worship.

Other writers have discussed what a good "Christian song" is to be. Most are good enough to say it isn't just a matter of a preference for a certain style. We have songs of such different styles, though, that sometimes they don't seem to mix in a single worship service. I'd like to suggest that the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 applies to worship services as well: there is a time and place for every event under heaven. Sometimes it is time for a somber tune, such as "Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus." Sometimes it is time for a contemporary tune that reflects pure wonder, such as "How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin. Sometimes it's time for an outright celebration, like "He Has Made Me Glad" (note that the happy song is actually based on a Psalm). Worship leaders need to be sensitive to the proper time for each type of song, not just the right occasion, but also the right moment inside a worship service, and provide appropriate transitions between them. Good transitions help the congregation understand the purpose behind each song.

Part of what we're concerned about in a church service is time - we have only, say 30 minutes to sing all of the songs we want, so we have to choose our songs and occasions carefully. Perhaps in heaven we will have much more freedom. There is a time and place for everything under heaven, but at some point in heavenly life there will be no more time. We'll be able to sing as many songs as we want, at the same time, for as long as we want, and I don't think we'll ever run out of new things to sing about or new ways to sing, listen, or play together, and that is something I really look forward to.

God Bless America

In the spirit of Independence Day, I decided to post about patriotic songs.

We sang "God Bless America" at church on Sunday, and I could hardly do it because I was so choked up. America is the land that I love, and I do pray that God would "stand beside her and guide her through the night" she is currently facing. I often wonder if there is hope. Even if there isn't, I still love America.

We recently took a drip up north to the Midwest and got to experience "America the Beautiful" again. The Chinese word for America means "beautiful land," and I think it's entirely appropriate. The mountains, the prairies, the oceans - it's all so beautiful and worth preserving. The verses of the hymn progress from America's physical beauty to the character of its founders and defenders. Each verse ends with a prayer or a hope.

Last thoughts are from the third verse, about fighting for what is good:

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America, America! May God thy gold refine!
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine.



Words by Katherine Lee Bates, music by Samuel A. Ward

Be Still

I am so impressed by new ideas, or new words for old ideas, that sometimes I'm a little prejudiced against good songs that sound like something I've heard before. Sometimes those seemingly mundane songs bear a powerful witness that turns out to be exactly what I needed to hear, and I am grateful that I can change my mind.

Such is the case with Storyside B:'s "Be Still." It bears witness to the simple, but profound truth that God is, and that sometimes He speaks when we listen. I'm grateful for the reminder, since I've recently been led to reflect that the Christian life is a lot about listening.

Here are the lyrics, and below, a theoretical point to ponder.


StorySide:B Lyrics
Be Still Lyrics

The editors of The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts(2007, Intervarsity) summarize an included essay by Bruce Benson in the following way. "God's call in creation precedes beauty, which therefore takes the character of response. As our response manifests divine beauty, it forwards the divine call to others, who then respond and call. And so forth. As a result, we cannot shrink art down to creativity or making, but must also see ... [as in jazz music] what characterizes art in general: repetition, not just innovation" (Treir, Husbands and Lundin 12). I may not grasp this fully, but one thing I think the authors mean is that there is artistic value in repeating what we've heard or seen before. It is a reference; a call for response. While there may be nothing new under the sun, there is always a new possible response - from a new person, in a new day - and I think sometimes a song calls for that in a way that is spiritually valuable.

Those are my thoughts. :)

Day By Day (the Hymn)

This is what you might call a devotional hymn, in that it is not exult in the majesty of God or weighty doctrine. Yet it carries a message that Christians need to hear in order to live in awe of the majesty of God and to apply doctrine to their lives.

Day by day, and with each passing moment
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment
I've no cause for worry or for fear...

The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made...

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word...

I must admit: trust is the biggest battle I face in the Christian life. It all comes down to whether I believe the promises, or don't. The day-by-day steps of trust make a big difference to my overall spiritual trajectory. If I'm not believing that God is good, or, more specifically, that He is good to me, that doubt, especially if unperceived, can allow in a lot of other things like worry and strife, and those things ensnare me into sin.

I'm thankful for songs like this one that remind me of simple but profound truths. Not all truth is simple, and not all is profound; there are hymns that treat weighty matters like justification and sanctification which are both complex and profound. My point here is that if I don't have the simple things straight, I'll never be able to bear those weightier realities that provide a more substantive joy.

I was praying about what song to blog about this week and a friend mentioned this one. I've become familiar with it over the past year and now embrace it as part of my spiritual heritage and musical repertoire.

"Day By Day," Words by Caroline V. Sandell-Berg, Music by Oscar Ahnfelt. The lyrics printed here are half of each verse; for the full lyrics and melody, check it out on CyberHymnal.

O Great God

Was thinking about this song this morning, looked up the lyrics and found someone else blogging about this song, too. That's awesome; God works all things together for good, even national distribution of music.

We've been singing "O Great God" at church and it's gotten into my heart. Timmy's got the full lyrics at the link above; one verse in particular I wanted to note.

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

I was struck by how each of the first four lines mentions a different sense that was numbed or deadened before His Spirit gave the singer life. It is a confession that we are senseless until the Lord quickens us. I appreciate the artistry that conveyed this truth.

Programmed to Receive

"You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave."

I thought of this line from the Eagles' "Hotel California" in a discussion about church membership. It can be very hard to leave a church by un-joining, but a lot of people check out.

I think "Hotel California" is a nightmare version of a shallow, perverse, sensate culture. There is plenty of room, and you can live it up, but still, when you're in the middle of it, you think, "This could be heaven, or this could be hell." Nothing's quite straight: minds are "Tiffany-twisted," and materialism gives you the "Mercedes bends." No one quite knows what they're doing there, "some dance to remember, others dance to forget."

I think some people join churches this mindset - not quite sure what they're there for, except they think perhaps its a "lovely place." And maybe it is, but maybe that's all it is. The worst thing is, that the church may not quite know what it is there for, except that it is "programmed to receive."

I think "HC" is also about drug addiction, and I'm not meaning to say that churches or membership just feed addictions. I would say, though, that in the world we are all "just prisoners here of our own device." We may look pretty but need a radical salvation. Try as we may, we "just can't kill the beast" - the sin nature within or the Enemy who works against our souls. What does overcome the world is faith; that is what churches should be about, and that's what its members should have.

God of our Yesterdays

I am so glad He is sovereign over my yesterdays. My God is the God of my yesterdays - all the way He has led me to follow Him, all of the mistakes I've made, all the triumphant moments - and He is the God of my tomorrows.

This Matt Redman song declares that we praise the God of our yesterdays, our todays, and our tomorrows.

This is particularly poignant to me as I meditate on the words of Psalm 124.

"Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,"
Let Israel now say,
"Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us..."

If not for the Lord; I can't even imagine. I see His Providential intervention even in the hidden stories of my yesterdays that I'm glad didn't end up in the yearbook or in the gossip circles. And I'm glad I can praise Him for the deliverance He provided through His strength alone.



"God of our Yesterdays," by Matt Redman, is on the Passion God of this City album (2208).

Someday

It's the beginning of the New Year. A fresh start brings hope. Ultimately, hope in the Lord does not disappoint, but sometimes looking around at the world can be discouraging.

That's why I like this song by Nicole Nordeman, which puts things in perspective. It just says, in various ways, that the things the heart longs for will be fulfilled, someday.

Someday all that's crazy
All that's unexplained
Will fall into place
And someday all that's hazy
Through a clouded glass
Will be clear at last.

And for those days when our spirits really groan within us, Nordeman reminds us,

And sometimes we're just waiting
For someday.

Waiting implies faith in some future thing, and it implies not giving up. This song encourages me to not give up faith as I wait.

"Someday," by Nicole Nordeman, from the 2005 Sparrow Records album Brave.