I absolutely love the music program at my church. The contemporary band plays music that touches my soul.
This morning, we sang the song I’ve embedded below. When my children were babies, I rocked them to sleep while I sang Amazing Grace (Chris Tomlin hadn’t come out with this version at that time). Chicky got to where she could sing every verse, word-for-word with me.
Thus, I feel extra special when the song is cued up at church. It’s as if God is reaching down saying, “Hello, Nathalie, I see you there. Here’s your favorite song…just to let you know I’m keeping watch through every triumph and struggle.”
Joyce has music on her mind this week! Hop on over after you post your own answers, link up, and visit others to see how they answered the questions.
1. Share a favorite song lyric.
Ohhh…not a deep question but one that is difficult to narrow down!!!
Hmmm…one of my favorite songs has always been Amazing Grace, so when Chris Tomlin came out with his version, titled Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), I was in love. The words are so powerful because they speak of a Christian’s release from the penalty of sin because of Christ’s death and resurrection.
My favorite lyric from this song is this…
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace
Here’s the link to the video, if you haven’t seen it. I cry with gratefulness almost every time I listen to this song.
2. When was the last time someone yelled at you?
Yesterday. I have teenagers. Need I say more?
3. Money, fame, happiness…are they mutually exclusive?
I’m going to admit that I did not know what this phrase meant, so I googled and learned that “mutually exclusive” means that things cannot exist at the same time.
With that definition in mind, I will have to say that no, I don’t believe that the above things are mutually exclusive. I do think it’s possible to have money, be famous, and be happy. It’s a matter of prioritizing. I know there are Christians who are wealthy, famous, and have happy lives. Why? I suspect it’s because they put God first. True happiness comes from putting God first, then family, and everything else after.
4. What is your favorite dish to prepare for family and friends that doesn’t require turning on the stove, oven, or an outdoor grill?
Is this even possible, Joyce? Of course, you are an extraordinary cook, so you probably know of something.
Oh wait…I just thought of the Strawberry Bottom Cheesecake Pie. I found the recipe years ago on the label of a pie crust I was buying for Thanksgiving. It is one of my family’s favorites!
5. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week. What is one thing you could do this week to simplify your week? Will you do it?
Well, I could win the lottery and then have enough money to hire a maid. That would certainly simplify my life!! Will I do it? It’s all according to if my numbers go up those little chutes on Saturday night!
teeheehee
6. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being 100% and 1 being not at all), how tuned in are you to your country’s national political scene?
I would have to say I’m at a 5. I hate politics. I refuse to watch all of those political shows. They make me gag. Seriously.
I think what’s been going lately with the debt ceiling issue is appalling. I am ready for the next presidential election. Let’s just say that I’m going to be all about “change.” 😉
7. What are your final parting words to the month of July?
It was nice knowing ‘ya, with all of the adventures (I’m thinking of my Alaskan cruise) I had. See you next year!
8. My Random Thought
I am so glad that The Bachelorette is over. I think that this season did me in and made me decide not to watch in the future. Besides the fact that I did not care for Ashley (no offense if she’s reading this…yeah, right), all of the drama was just too much. I’ve also found that I just don’t have the stomach for watching people’s hearts get broken this way. I am getting really aggravated that the media makes so much money off of situations like this. Grrr…
I almost rolled over and went back to sleep after my alarm went off.
In fact, I did…for a little while.
Then, I thought I heard Chicky getting ready in her bathroom, so I took a peek at the clock.
It was 7:30…still plenty of time to get ready for the 9:30 service.
I got up.
I am so glad.
Though Chicky wasn’t up yet (it must have been Molly walking through the house), I got ready.
Rooster was still asleep, recovering from band camp. The Mr. was also still in bed, feeling a bit unwell.
I was on my own.
I made my way to church by myself and sat in my regular seat, smiling and saying hi to those around me.
And then the singing started.
It did not take but a nanosecond for me to be grateful that I had gotten out of bed for my heart rejoiced at the words that were projected on the screen.
Ironically, the worship band began playing Chris Tomlin’s song, Sing, Sing, Sing…
Here are the words…
We will sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
When we shout Your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus
What’s not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God, You are the One
You are the One we’re living for
You are the love that frees us
You are the light that leads us
Like a fire burning
Son of God, You are the One
You are the One we’re living for
I think that often, we get caught up in a song’s beat without paying much attention to the words we’re singing.
Not me.
Maybe this is the English teacher in me.
There is something about actually seeing the words projected on the large screen at the front of the sanctuary.
As my eyes take them in, they enter my heart.
Think about the words of this song.
We sing praises to God, who HEARS us.
We don’t serve a God who’s not paying attention; thus, our voices do not fall on deaf ears.
God rejoices in the praises we sing to Him. In fact, we can read several instances in the Old Testament where the Israelites worshiped God through songs and dancing.
Look at the second stanza. EVERYTHING on heaven and earth bows down to Jesus, for He is the one we serve. Those things that do not in this lifetime will, one day, pay homage on bended knee.
The third stanza, though, is what really got to me today.
“You are the love that frees us…”
Oh my.
Love hung on the cross all of those years ago. It is a love that knew, from the beginning, that our sins would bind us to death and eternity in hell.
Love came down, in the human form of Jesus, and led by example…unto the point of death.
You know…there are three small stanzas in this song. And yet, the words packed into each are p-o-w-e-r-f-u-l!!
As you go throughout the day and your week, set aside some time to sing praises to the One who was with us from the beginning and will never forsake us.
I am always amazed at the ways in which God provides for me.
Today, I had my first observation for my Field Experience class. I was nervous because I was going to be meeting the teacher who had agreed to be my mentor. I was also nervous because in a few short weeks, I will be working with him to create a lesson plan and then using that lesson plan to teach his students.
I think it can be intimidating to walk into another teacher’s class and “take over.”
The school where my mentor teaches is across town. It’s a solid thirty minute trip.
Of course my dogs chose THIS morning to escape from the house…just as Rooster and I were leaving.
God provided, though.
My sweet but mischievous Molly came to me when I called her.
Stupid me didn’t get a good grip on her, so she escaped from me and ran off.
I called out to her, and she came to me a second time.
She never, ever does this. Once loose, she’s usually gone for ten or fifteen minutes.
We’ve taken to leaving the back door open for her so she can come back when she’s spent her energy.
God provided.
I arrived at the school five minutes early.
God wasn’t done surprising me, though.
This teacher’s first period class is a dual enrolled English 1102 class.
I nervously walked in and took a seat at his desk. I was only there to make observations today.
I was surprised to hear a student call my name.
As I looked over, I saw that it was a girl Chicky used to play soccer with. We know her family very well and grew quite close to them during our traveling days.
She’s a senior. I still can’t believe it. She’s grown up in front of my eyes.
She was a welcome sight for my nervous self.
Second period was a class of honors ninth graders.
As they were settling in, the teacher explained that he was just beginning a new unit.
Wanna guess what he’s teaching?
Romeo and Juliet.
I don’t remember if I shared this picture before. See if you understand the significance of it…
Those are the masks and shields that my ninth graders made…
When we studied Romeo and Juliet last term.
Did you just get chills?
I did too.
The teacher had already spent yesterday introducing the unit. He continued this lesson today.
As I worked on the observations that I had to make for my Field Experience class assignments, I smiled.
I understood everything the teacher was saying.
Toward the end of class, the teacher showed a clip from the movie Shakespeare in Love. The scene was the one where Gwyneth Paltrow gets plucked from the audience that had gone to view the opening of the play Romeo and Juliet. The actor who was supposed to play Juliet’s part was having issues with his voice cracking. She already knew all of the lines because she had been having a relationship with Shakespeare.
As the scene jumped from one act to the other (short clips from each), I sat, spellbound.
Although the 9th graders didn’t know what they were really watching, I sure did.
All I could think about was how excited I was to get to teach this piece of literature again.
It’s almost like I get a do-over…a chance to make the lesson even better than the first time.
God had provided.
Again.
He continued to provide when, in third period, one of the students who walked in was a gal from a different soccer family.
He provided yet again when, after class, a teacher entered the room to borrow my mentor’s microwave.
It was a gal from a third soccer family. Her sisters had been Chicky’s travel and high school teammates. Chicky even graduated with one of the girls, and they signed their college letters of intent on the same day (they shared a cake as well).
I have been humbled, yet again.
Despite my having a mini-meltdown at home last night after waves of overwhelming nervousness descended upon my weary shoulders, God must have been up in heaven shaking His head with a sad smile on His face.
He knew His plans.
One would think that I would have learned this lesson by now.
Humans can be such emotional messes sometimes, eh?
You know…some people do not believe that God manifests Himself into our lives on a personal basis.
I disagree.
God is very real and very present. He doesn’t just care about the “big” things in this world, but he cares about even the smallest little details of each individual’s life.
I am so grateful that He didn’t just give Moses the ten commandments and wash His hands of us.
I don’t know why, but I just feel the need to put this video clip on my blog today. I know I’ve posted it before…maybe two or three times.
This is one of my favorite songs ever.
It’s my way of praising the Lord for pouring out His grace on me.
I finally uploaded the videos I took during the various Christian concerts I attended almost two weeks ago.
First, here’s Amy Grant singing a classic oldie. Sing with me…”Love will find a way…”
Did you sing? No? Then you missed out on the one and only chance to actually sing with Amy Grant AND me! If you listened closely enough, you might have been able to discern my voice.
No, it wasn’t the sound of an angel but more like a wounded pigeon that ate too much bread from a tourist.
WHATEVER.
I had fun, so there!
Next on the playlist is actually a short video of the people who stood in front of me during the Chris Tomlin concert. They were bopping up and down doing the “white boy pogo stick” dance that Chris instructed the audience to do…
Now you are privy to part of Chris’ famous song, “Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone.” This is probably one of my favorite songs EVER!
Sorry for the unsteady hand. It’s really hard to hold a camera steady when your heart is about to beat right out of your chest!
Next up is a very small snippet of Michael W. Smith’s “River is Rising.”
And last but not least, this is part of MWS’ song “Friends are Friends Forever.” Oh boy, but this song makes me want to cry every time I hear it. It is a reminder to me that though I might be separated from my friends on earth, I will be reunited with them once we are in heaven.
I have a particular attachment to this song for another reason. It is the song I used for a video I made the summer I worked at my church’s preschool. I had a wonderful class of kids, and it was a great way to spend the summer. During those months, one of my children lost her father to cancer. The mom and I got to know each other pretty well. We saw each other at swim meets and other school functions, and I always asked about her youngest daughter, my student. We had that bond. Last year, the mom passed away very unexpectedly, leaving five children orphaned, and my heart absolutely broke. You might remember me blogging about it.
So, this song brings back those memories as well.
Gee, but I am a downer, eh?
Actually, I’m not, for this song gives me hope. Please enjoy the rather brief portion I recorded (I did you the favor of not singing along to this one)…
Saturday, Day 2 of the Christian Concert Series, could not get here quick enough for Your’s Truly. After my horribly sweaty morning (see previous post), I looked forward to having the evening off.
First off, a HUGE thanks to BP – not for the oil spill, thank you very much, but for the mucho-bucko’s that it gave to many local agencies to drum up travel to the beautiful beaches that line our coastline. My region of Florida relies heavily on tourism, and the oil spill made an already-hurting economy even more so.
I already told you about Point of Grace’s appearance on Friday night.
I had read estimates of 600 people showing up to hear them sing.
Saturday evening proved to be an entirely different ballgame.
By the time I arrived, perhaps an hour before showtime, the crowds were more than double from the previous night.
This time, I did not have to go alone as I sort-of invited myself to ride with another gal and her daughter.
Oops.
Heehee
We took our children, who are both in the band (her daughter is actually on the dance line), along with another young gent from the band, to the concert, where we saw a lot of other people from our church.
We were all there to hear one person sing.
Though the clouds were overcast, and the sky continued to sprinkle down small droplets of rain, people waited…
People lined the pier…
Finally, the wait was over, and I caught my first glimpse of…
CHRIS TOMLIN!!!!
Woo Hoo!!!!
Oh
My
Gosh.
This man can sing, let me tell you!
It did not take him long to get the crowd pumped up. At times, we were jumping like, in his words, “White boy pogo sticks.” Other times, people had their hands lifted in praise…
Most touching, to me, was the sight of so many young people. They often had their arms around each other or their hands raised…
I don’t know why, but the following young gentleman frequently caught my attention…perhaps it was his youth, or perhaps it was simply the sight of him letting his emotions go…
As the evening wore on, Chris continued to play his guitar and sing…
Even his band mate worshiped…
An amazing thing happened as Mr. Tomlin performed.
The dark clouds dispersed, revealing one of the most glorious sunsets I’ve ever seen…
The pictures convey but a snippet of the emotions that ran, unchecked, through the crowd.
I have never, ever seen experienced anything like this.
Every single song was sung for the glory of God.
I believe I caught a glimpse of what heaven will be like, where all believers will stand together and give praise to the One who provides the rain and the rainbows and painted the beautiful sunsets I am privileged to see each day.
Sunday mornings spent at church provide some of the most uplifting moments of my week.
I find myself drawn closer to the Lord through worship music.
Music soothes my soul, while the words remind me of God’s grace and love for me.
This morning, we sang Chris Tomlin’s Indescribable.
The words, which I am posting below the video, describe how vast God’s love and presence is.
I have often spoken with people who don’t believe in God because they can’t see Him.
My response?
Have you ever seen the wind?
No, but you’ve felt its presence as it blows across your face, and you’ve seen its ripple affect as it floats across water. You’ve witnessed its power during hurricanes and tornadoes.
Such it is with God.
Though you may not see Him in the form of a person, He is present.
I am sure that God knew that we humans would doubt His existence, and so He makes Himself seen in nature.
It is His hand that paints the spots on each leopard, decorates the landscape with fall colors, and puts a song of praise in every creatures’ lungs.
That is why I am overcome with gratefulness when I hear this song…
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation’s revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
I love Sundays. Especially the music at church. I know I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record, but I can’t help it. There is such joy in these songs…especially for a Christian.
For me, there’s often sadness as I think about my friends who may not have a personal relationship with God. I want so badly to share with them, but I don’t want to preach. I often find myself in tears while I’m singing…both out of thankfulness for God’s gift, but also from the knowledge that others are so lost.
The song below is a wonderful synopsis of Christ’s work on the cross. The words are provided underneath the video.
Jesus Messiah
He became sin
Who knew no sin
That we might become His Righteousness
He humbled himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing
Love so amazing
(Chorus)
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all
His body the bread
His blood the wine
Broken and poured out all for love
The whole earth trembled
And the veil was torn
(Chorus)
All I hope is in You
All I hope is in You
All the glory to You, God
The light of the world
(Chorus)
There is so much symbolism in the verses above. In Old Testament times, before Christ, God demanded the sacrifice of unblemished animals. Their innocent blood was the sign that the people’s sin had been atoned for. Jesus’ body was broken (i.e. he was beaten) and his blood spilled out. An innocent sacrifice to atone for the sins of all.
The veil being torn in two refers to the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Nobody but the high priest was allowed behind this curtain, and even He only entered one time a year after a time of purification. That curtain symbolized the separation that existed between God and man.
At the moment Jesus died, there was an earthquake, and the veil was torn from top to bottom. Jesus had paid the price and freed mankind to enter into a personal relationship with the Father.
I looked up the definition for “ransom,” and my dictionary says:
a. The release of property or a person in return for payment of a demanded price.
b. The price or payment demanded or paid for such release.
Jesus was our ransom for the price demanded for our sin. Jesus was the only one who could be the ransom because He was completely innocent of sin.
You know…I almost think I could have gone home after singing this song. It was a lesson in itself.
Jesus was the Messiah that the Jews were looking forward to all along.
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