Be Still & Know ~ Scripture Lullabies

These songs may be lullabies, but they are most certainly for every age!

By This We Know Love ~ Sovereign Grace Music

One of my all-time favorite Sovereign Grace songs!

Christmas Music

Lots of people are already getting in the Christmas spirit!  Just yesterday morning, I played my first Christmas songs.  I'm hoping that we can get our decorations up in the next week.  In that spirit of Christmas cheer, I want to recommend a couple of CDs to y'all filled with the absolute best Christmas music!  If this doesn't put you in the mood to worship our Savior & celebrate His birth, I don't know what will!  I can't praise these songs highly enough, & of course, you don't have to just play them at Christmas, because it's never the wrong season to celebrate Christ's birth!  Enjoy!

Oh, my goodness, what a wonderful CD this is!  I love each & every song, but I have to say that my absolute favorite song is "Glory Be To God".  Every single time I listen to it, without fail, I start crying at the same point.  When they sing, "Hosanna!  Hosanna!  The Lamb of God has come!  Hosanna!  Hosanna!  He is the Promised One!" over & over, I'm overcome with emotion at this stunning fact.  God promised the Messiah, & He kept that promise!!!  I'm transported back to the manger & am in awe that this Child is the fulfillment of God's promise to us.  He didn't forget us!  He sent His Lamb, just as He said He would!  I'm tearing up even now.  And let me tell you what SGM has done:  you can even download this very song for free on their site!  Get yourself a taste of this incredible CD & stand in awe at what God has done!

Seriously, there is not a bad song in this whole CD!  I have a hard time even picking out a favorite!  "Behold the Lamb of God" takes you through the redemptive history of man, beginning with a song of worship for "the brave little boy who was God, but He made Himself nothing", leads you through Moses & Israel's longing for the Messiah, all the way up to the birth of Jesus.  And Andrew Peterson takes his time singing about Jesus' birth; less than half of the CD is devoted to showing the need & longing for the Savior, while the rest focuses on His arrival.  It's a beautiful journey through the Scriptures in song.  If I have one suggestion, it's to buy the live version if you can.  I normally don't prefer live versions over studio versions, but in this one, I definitely do.  The "Begats", which is already so much fun, is even more so, & the way they do the very last song will give you chills.  And you know what will make you like Andrew even more (& definitely tempt you even greater than I already have to buy the CD)?  You can listen to the entire CD on his site!

Buy, listen, enjoy, praise God!

Mission Accomplished ~ Shai Linne

"So if we can agree that the election of the Father is not universal, & the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is not universal, why would the atonement of the Son be universal?"

Gospel-Light "Christian" Music

I just read an article - two articles, in fact - on the topic of CCM (Contemporary Christian Music).  One was from a woman who grew up in the church, an avid consumer of CCM as a young teenager, who became aware of a truth that's not even on a lot of believers' radars.  She discovered that the majority of CCM is more focused on keeping up with the Jones' (i.e., secular music) than with Gospel content.  This is an insightful woman, for she further saw how CCM's intense desire for "relevance" mirrored the church's striving after the same.  In her longing for authenticity & truth, she saw through the vacuous nature of what she was being fed &, unfortunately, abandoned her faith.  Her words - both truthful & heartbreaking - should be heeded by believers, for statistics show that she's not alone.

"In trying to compete in this market, the church has forfeited the one advantage it had in the game to attract disillusioned youth: authenticity. When it comes to intransigent values, the profit-driven world has zilch to offer. If Christian leaders weren’t so ashamed of those unvarnished values, they might have something more attractive than anything on today’s bleak moral market. In the meantime, they’ve lost one more kid to the competition."

~Meghan O’Gieblyn

The second article was actually the one I read first, the one that led me to Meghan's aforementioned piece.  In citing it, Denny introduces his audience to Meghan's struggles & - accurately, I think - describes her as "a girl who becomes increasingly disillusioned with a vapid, degraded church culture".  From her experience, Denny draws some very important conclusions that - just like Meghan's words - should be given careful consideration.

"In any case, there is a lesson here for all of us. You cannot market the gospel like you market a Big Mac. I have seen lots of Big Macs in my lifetime, but I’ve never seen one that looks as good as the picture on the billboard. That’s because marketers are in the business of taking something ordinary and making it to look better than it really is.

This is the opposite of the ministry of the gospel. We are not in the business of making the gospel to look better than it is. It is already far more glorious and weighty and substantial than we could ever describe. The gospel doesn’t need to be photoshopped to make it effective, nor does it need an extreme makeover “Madison Avenue Edition.” It just needs to be preached plainly and faithfully. And where that simple proclamation occurs, people find it to be the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 4:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:5)."

Early on in our relationship, Michael tried to show me the shallowness in CCM.  At that point, I had listened exclusively to CCM for around 15 years.  I loved it!  So, I took his negative evaluation quite personally, & it made me angry.  Then, when he exposed me to Sovereign Grace Music, I thought it was "too churchy".  But, as I listened to the words in SGM & compared them to many CCM songs, I became aware of a vast difference between them.  The Scripture- & Gospel-saturated lyrics that flowed from SGM songs were riveting, while CCM was almost devoid of that which would make it truly Christian.  Now, that being said, not every song classified as CCM bears these characteristics; however, far too many sadly do.

A clear distinction needs to be made here between that which calls itself Christian - be it media, church, or individual - & that which truly is.  Just as not all that glitters is gold, not all that claims to be Christian actually is.  I wonder where Meghan would be now if she had seen this distinction.  If she had been in a church that unashamedly, unapologetically, unreservedly preached God's Word, that was faithful to God's Word, whose practices were informed by God's Word, would she have walked away from the faith that she was taught in her youth?  Because, when all is distilled down, this is not mainly an issue with music; it's an issue with the church.  And in the case of CCM, music is just a symptom of the underlying illness.

O Heart Bereaved & Lonely ~ Indelible Grace

This is a song for someone I love very dearly.  I pray it helps her heart.

I Asked the Lord ~ Indelible Grace

These inward trials I employ

From self & pride to set thee free

And break thy schemes of earthly joy

That thou mayest seek thy all in Me

That thou mayest seek thy all in Me

He doesn't always do what we want Him to do, but He does always do what is best.

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

Sometimes, life can wear you down.  Here's a lovely song in case you're feeling a little worn down today.  Close your eyes & pray the words.  Run to the only true refuge for weary souls.  May the God of grace & mercy bring you peace & healing.

Edelweiss ~ The Honey Trees

This song is filled with such longing.  Ever since falling in love with it through "The Sound of Music", aching as Captain von Trapp struggles through it on stage, knowing that the Austria he loves will never be the same, I have felt that longing.  In my estimation, this version definitely does the original justice.

Moon River ~ The Honey Trees

I love sweet, simple, low-key songs like this version of the classic.

When You're Smiling ~ Louis Armstrong

Dedicated to my beloved, whose beautiful smile always brings out my own.

You Are My All in All

Children of God ~ Third Day

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.  ~1 John 3:1

Our Song

I've been in love with this song for half of my life, & when Michael & I fell in love, this became our song.  Now, when he's feeling romantic, he plays it & we dance to it.  *Sigh*  I love that man.  Life is indeed la vie en rose with him as my husband!

God Reigns in the Storm

There is nothing like sound music to soothe a sore heart, to convict of sin, to elicit grief & exultation over the cross of Christ, or to kindle praise that bubbles up from a believer's soul. The words of such music are strong. They are biblical, they are God-centered, they are meaty. They have power.

I searched this morning for our "Come Weary Saints" CD, because my heart felt a need for such powerful, healing words. I couldn't find it, so I played "A Steadfast Heart". This is the companion CD for the book by the same title. Hearing the music this morning made me realize my need right now for the book, so I will begin reading that very soon. The CD is a compilation of readings (including Scripture) & music that point to God & are a balm for grieving & troubled hearts. I wept as I proclaimed my faith in God's sovereignty in this painful trial. Tears poured as I was bidden to "be still & know that I am God". My countenance brightened as I was reminded to "glory in my Redeemer, whose priceless blood has ransomed me". If your heart is hurting, may you find the same comfort now that God gave me this morning through the following song.

As Long As You Are Glorified ~ Sovereign Grace Music

A worthy, well-timed reminder & the prayer of my heart.

Gone Fishin' ~ Louis Armstrong & Bing Crosby

My 2 favorite singers.  I love the bantering back & forth!  The whole song just makes me smile.  Modern-day "singers" could learn a thing or two from these fellas!

Amazing Grace ~ Utsunomiya Girls Choir

Perfectly, achingly, goose-bump-inducing beautiful.  And the arrangement is so simple that you can focus on the words without being distracted by a show.

Con te Partiro ~ Andrea Bocelli

Funny story.  This is one of my favorite songs.  But if you had to guess where I was the first time I heard it, would a puppet show ever enter your mind?  I was teaching in GA at the time, & we took our first-grade classes to a local puppet show.  The last skit he did was to this song; I believe his story line involved a prince saying good-bye to his princess.  I barely held it together!  Who cries at a puppet show?!  I didn't understand anything he said other than "time to say good-bye", but the music was so stirring.  I still cry every time I hear it.  Grab a tissue!

In Your Arms

In Your arms is where I want to be
When my world comes
Crashing down on me
So hold me close keep me Yours always
Bid me, break me, be my rock
For now and all my days

Whom have I when my heart
Begins to fail
And sorrow fills the streets
And sounds of death prevail
Jesus is my hope and I know
He stills the wind
So take my very life away
As long as I get Him

My soul longs for the day
I'll see Your face
When sin and death will pass
And tears are wiped away
So let the sky fall down
And earth and cities quake
And I'll say of my God and King

Lord, blessed be Your name

~In Your Arms, The God We Praise, The Church at Brook Hills

These words are rock-solid & the music complements it so beautifully. I have 2 favorite parts of this song. One is "So take my very life away as long as I get Him". The other is the very end of the song where Mandi sings "Blessed be Your holy name" over & over. All the while, the men sing "Jesus" & the women chime in with "Hallelujah". It's absolutely heavenly & I feel like I'm transported into God's presence each time I sing with them.

Lord, blessed be Your holy name. You are my beloved.  All I want is You.