Day 16: Angry Words

Here is another one of my favorite songs from Willy Porter.  This one is equally rich with carefully written lyrics and powerful ideas about love and forgiveness.  Yesterday I had talked about God's forgiveness and how it gives us a clean slate - completely renews us.  Because we are His children, and are called to live in His likeness, we are also called to forgive in His likeness.

I know that I am in forgiveness debt - both ways.  I've got a lot of forgiving to do and I am hoping that there is still forgiveness coming my way.  The advice about forgiveness that Jesus gives us in the Bible is this: "I tell you not 7 times, but 77 times." (Matthew 18:22).  Upon first glance at this verse, it makes me think that we are called to flood people with forgiveness.  I think that is true - forgiveness should be in abundance.  But I also think that Jesus is saying this - forgive from a place of sincerity, and do it wholeheartedly, get to the point where you can give forgiveness upwards of 77 times.

Willy's song is a good reminder that we are on no timeline for forgiveness.  That is not to say that we should hold on to anger for a long time - that becomes self-destructive.  One of the lines from Angry Words says this:
I have cursed your name a thousand times or more
Your photograph lies deep at the bottom of my drawer
But when I looked at it this morning, I had not angry words to say

I think to forgive, we have to get to the point where we run out of angry words - get to the point where we can set them aside.  Forgiveness is a change within the giver.  We often talk about forgiving and forgetting.  Forgetting can be the hard part.  And maybe sometimes it is alright not to forget - not to necessarily dwell on something - but to learn from what it was that we are giving forgiveness for.  I think forgiveness can be coupled with letting go.   

Forgive and let go.  Forgive when you are ready to forgive. Forgive when it comes from a place of honesty and truthfullness.  Forgive in abundance.  Forgive and have no more angry words to say.  

~SP

Day 15: Give Us Clean Hands

I have had a few songs in mind lately that speak about forgiveness.  It is not an easy topic, but forgiveness is one of the truest and purest expressions of love that God has for us.  There is an old (and not very good) movie called Love Story.  The theme of the movie is "Love means never having to say you're sorry."  Hollywood got that one wrong.  Love certainly means seeking forgiveness, being willing to give it and being willing to receive it.

Give Us Clean Hands is a good reminder of what God's forgiveness is.  The chorus goes like this:
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

God's forgiveness cleans our slates.  He leaves us without stain - renewing our hands for the purpose of His work and renewing our hearts for the purpose of His glory.  I think that God's forgiveness often comes in subtle mercies and graces in our lives that we may not recognize at first as His forgiveness.  There are also two parts to His forgiveness - the giving end and the receiving end.  We have to be willing to receive His forgiveness.  I am guilty of hiding behind a hardened heart, and to resist God's willingness to make things new in life.  I have been learning throughout this past year that it is alright to have a broken heart - we often need it so we can let out the things we are holding on to and to allow God's love and forgiveness a place in our heart.

In the bridge of this song, it talks about God being the God of Jacob.  God's forgiveness is one of the most steadfast qualities about Him.  He has been forgiving long before we were in need of it.  The forgiveness he gave to Jacob, Sarah, Moses, Rebecca, Adam and Eve, is the forgiveness He gives us today.

As God's children, we are also called to forgive one another - I have a song for that tomorrow :)

~SP

These were my co-workers and family over the summer.  I am thinking of them today because we played this song a lot together over the summer.  They played a huge role in the breaking and renewing of my heart.  I learned a lot of about God's grace and forgiveness alongside them this past year.

Day 14: The Maker

This song is a little different from the others I have chosen.  I'm not sure about Mr. Matthew's views on faith or God - but he does sing to concert halls full of thousands of people.  And if those people are able to hear the words to a song like The Maker, I think that is an incredible thing.  Everyday in our culture, children are watching movies about a hobbit and his friends headed on a journey to put a ring back in its place, or reading books about a group of four siblings that goes on an adventure in a world on the other side of a wardrobe.  It is cool how these things are able to permeate our culture with God's message, and we may not even know it.

One of the lines from this song says, "I'm not a stranger, in the eyes of the Maker."  I think that is a simple, but powerful truth.  Feeling like a stranger amongst a group of peers is a frustrating thing.  You think, "if they only knew me - knew where I was from, how I was raised, why I think this way..."  In life, we desire to know and be known fully and truly.  It allows us a deeper connection with those around us.  It isn't always possible to achieve that relationship with everyone around us, and it usually takes a great deal of time.

The wonderful thing, is that we are never a stranger in the eyes of God.  He knew every part of us from the very beginning, when He was carefully and delicately forming us.  God fulfills that desire that we have to be known, and to be loved for every part of who we are.

A few weeks ago my mom texted me a Bible verse to look up.  It was one I was familiar with, but read with new eyes.  If you are ever feeling like a stranger, Psalm 139:1-18 is a good reminder that there is someone who knows you completely and loves every part of you.

You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar (2).  Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely (4).  You created my innmost being; You knit me together in my mothers womb (13).  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (14). 

We are never strangers - were never strangers - in the eyes of our Maker.

~SP

Day 13: Beautiful Things

 

This has been one of my favorite songs since the summer, because musically it is very different.  The chorus of the song repeats this phrase:

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of dust 

Dust is something that we try to eliminate in our homes.  Once a layer of it settles on our shelves or wooden floors, we are quick to grab a swiffer and get rid of it.  We are ashamed of the dust.  But God, sees potential in the dust.

At any time in life it is easy to struggle with finding where our value comes from.  We constantly try to find it in tangible things - the other people around us, our academic performance, our ability to be the life of the party.  The list is endless.  The search for value in worldly things is a draining process - we always have to go back for more to be filled up again.  

Our true value is not about who we are, but about who God is.  God saw potential in the dust to become His beautiful children.  God saw potential in something as small and seemingly unimportant as dust; He sees potential in us because He sees who we are and who we are becoming.

Your value is constant.  When you are alone, or when you are in a room full of people - you are still valued the same in God's heart.  

Another line from the song says this: Out of chaos life is being found in You.  Even when it seems unbearable, even when we lose our footing, there is still a promise and a hope in God.  A promise that He will not leave us unshaped and un-molded, but that He has new things in store for us.  A hope for the future.

~SP

Day 12: Hallelujahs

Chris Rice's Hallelujahs is a beautifully written song, filled with imagery of God's beautiful creation.  It was on my mind this morning specifically because of the title.
In my Hebrew Bible class that  I took last spring semester, my professor talked about the word Hallelujah.  "Jah" is derived from the word Yahweh and "halle" means all of you. Together, the word means "praise God, all of you."
I have often heard this clever quip that going to church doesn't make you any more of a christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.  And I have heard people argue that one doesn't need to go to church at all the be a christian.  I would beg to differ.
Attending church is about being in a community.  God's mission field is as much inside the doors of a church as it is outside.  A church is a place where we are called together to work at living in a heaven-like community.  It doesn't matter what denomination claims the building, or if the church has a pipe organ or a praise band.  It is about the people within who are going through life together, and holding each other accountable on their faith journeys.
God loves the church.  We may not love the establishment of getting up early on a Sunday morning and sitting through an hour and 1/2 long service; but a church community is a gift from God and we are called to embrace it.  I watch Dancing with the Stars with my mom because she loves that show.  I watch football with my dad, because my dad loves it.  I love both of them.  I believe that part of loving God is loving and being passionate about the things He loves.  God loves the church, and He wants us to be a part of that community.
So let's run an experiment - what if we all just worshiped on our own, all the time, in solitude.  We can only shout "loo-yah."  It sounds strange, and it will feel strange too.  Hallelujah; Praise God, all of you.  I am thankful for my church community here in Bloomington.  The service I attend is called "The Open Door."  I hope that is what anyone would find when they seek God's church - an open door, and an open community.
~SP

Day 11: Mountain of God

Mountain of God is a song that I have newly discovered, however it echoes a poem that I have know for a while.  I am not sure of the author of the poem, but the title of the poem is "It's in the Valleys I Grow."  You can find the words to the poem here.

The end of the chorus of Mountain of God says this:
Now I realize the truth,
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

Often I have heard camp experiences, experiences of big worship gatherings, and the like, referred to as "mountain top" experiences.  These are experiences where we often feel safe in a community of believers, everyone is alive and passionate about their faith.  People pray thoroughly, act carefully and love graciously.  I have been to the mountain top several times, and it has played a significant role in the shaping of my faith.

At the end of the summer, when the campers had gone and my co-workers and I were preparing to leave, we sat around our staff room with our boss.  She was reminding us that life would be very different after we left camp.  We were going to encounter situations that were not easy and decisions that were hard to make, and we didn't have the immediate comfort and protection that being in the present community provided.  She was reminding us that at the base of the mountain, things would be different.  We all agreed that we had to come down from the mountain.

What I have found this year is that God is the same distance from me when I am on the mountain top as He is when I am in the valleys.  He is constant.  He gives us both experiences in life - mountain and valley - because He knows there are things in each of those places that shape our hearts and our faith.  He also knows how to use us for His purpose in those places, in the lives of others around us.  Just as the mountain tops have played a significant role in my relationship with God, so too have the valleys.

This is a picture from Rocky Mountain National Park that I took when I was at the National American Baptist Youth gathering in Estes Park, CO in 2008.  In the most literal sense, I was on the mountain top.  The theme of the conference was "More Than a Week," which I took to mean that we should always be in the mountain top mindset.  I have come to realize that what has lasted more than a week, is God's presence.

~SP


 

Day 10: Better is One Day

Better is One Day has been one of my favorite praise songs to sing in church.  Right from the opening line, it is a beautiful illustration of how incomparable one moment in the presence of God is, with any number of moments outside of His presence.
The opening line says this:
How lovely is your dwelling place, oh Lord Almighty.
When I sing the words "dwelling place," I replace them with the word "home" in my head.  I believe that God lives in His home, which He has also prepared to be a home for us.  I have been thinking about my own home lately - the four walls as well as the people that live there. 
My house back in Milwaukee has mostly wood floors.  When you walk in our front door there are two mats set next to each other.  It is a rule in our house that you have to take off your shoes before entering.  This is so we don't track in snow, salt, dirt or anything else.  All my friends in high school new this rule about my house, and I would always watch them come in and very carefully go through the thought process of take off the shoes, put them on the mat, then come inside.
Removing the shoes helps to keep our wooden floors clean at home, but there is also another reason that I take my shoes off when I am at home.  If you have ever tried to sit on a couch - curl up in a ball, snuggle up with some blankets - while wearing your shoes, it is somewhat uncomfortable.  And when  you walk around with your shoes on at home, it always feels like you are going to be leaving again.  Taking off your shoes is an unspoken symbol that you are home, and that you are going to stay a while.
This makes me think about Moses and his sandals.  When he comes into God's presence as God presents Himself as a burning bush, God tells him "Moses, take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground."  I think what God is also saying to Moses is this - Moses, you are home, take off your shoes and stay a while in my presence.

 

We are at home in God's dwelling place.  His home is our home, and He has made it so we will find comfort and rest there.  He wants us to take off our shoes and stay a while.
Another line from the song says this:
One thing I ask
And I would seek,
To see Your beauty
To find You in
The place Your glory dwells
The place where His glory dwells is truly the Kingdom of Heaven.  The amazing thing is that God has allowed us glimpses of that kingdom here on earth.  If we look, and if we seek Him, we will find that His glory dwells in the homes we share with our families and others here on earth.  
~SP

Day 9: You are Holy (Prince of Peace)

If you've never heard this song before, it is a very high energy praise anthem - be warned, you will probably start to sing along after the first chorus or so.
I like this song because it gives a list of things that God is:

You are Lord of Lords
You are King of Kings
You’re Emmanuel
You’re the great "I AM"
You’re the living God
You’re my saving grace
You will reign forever
You are Ancient of days
You are Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End
You’re my Saviour, Messiah, Redeemer and friend

It is not an exhaustive list - it could go on and on.
Last summer, at the beginning of staff training for camp, my 7 co-workers and I all took Meyers Briggs personality indicators.  It was a way of highlighting facets of our personalities and illuminating what drives our thoughts and actions.  The results of the test frustrated me.  It told me I was a introvert, amongst other things, but I thought, how can I be shoved in that box? I'm not completely an introvert, I like people!
The thing about a Meyers Briggs is that it is a scale, a range, and it simply labels you by whichever tendency you are closer to.
So what about Jesus, and His personality?  He liked to invite 12 of His best friends over to dine with Him, and at the same time, He liked to take time away and pray in solitude.  We have a savior that cannot be put in a box.
Just as God continues to get to know us, and sees us through the changes and development in life, we are able to bear witness to the revealing of His heart and His character.  He wants a relationship with us so He can get to know us more, but also so that we can come to know Him more.
Jesus is my savior - He has paid for my sins and made a place for me in Heaven.  He is the Messiah - God's promise to His people.  He is my redeemer - He renews and restores the broken things in the world and the broken things in my heart.  He is my friend, and for that I am thankful. 
~SP

Day 8: I Am His Daughter

I found this song about a year ago.  A family friend posted it on my Facebook wall after our families had had dinner together that night.  The chorus of the song proclaims this: "He is my King and my Father; I am His daughter."
Identity is an incredibly important thing.  I believe that our identity in Christ is always growing, and it can be changed.  However, I think something powerful happens when we are able to establish ourselves as a daughter, son, brother, sister, or follower of Christ.  It changes how we look at our relationships with others, as well as our relationship with God.  We are saying, "this is who I am, because God, You are who You are."
I want to go back to the idea of God as Father.  I do believe that He fills both parental roles in my life, but it is cool when I am able to recognize His reflection in the actions of each of my parents.
Middle School was an eventful three years.  In those years, you start to learn about relationships - mostly friendships. What qualities you desire in a friend; how to be a good friend.  You also learn what it feels like when someone is not a good friend.  I can recall a few times where I was experiencing frustrations with friends.  It caused a lot of stress because I desperately wanted to sustain a friendship, but I wanted to get and give love and respect out of the friendship, which wasn't there at the time.  I can remember being upset, and trying to express my frustrations to my dad one morning before school as we were eating breakfast.  As he heard my frustrations, I could see him get visibly upset.  He was upset that I was hurting; upset because I was upset.  Just as my earthly father knows my heart, and hurts with me when I am hurting, so does my heavenly father.  I believe that God's heart really does break when our hearts break. 
Being a daughter is a huge part of my identity.  In that way, people will know my mother and father.  In that way I hope that people will know my Heavenly Father.

I want to share a picture of my family.  They are a huge part of my identity and the shaping of my identity in Christ.  May you and whoever is part of your family - whoever is a mother, or father, or brother or sister to you - and who has helped to shape your identity, be blessed.
~SP

Day 7: 10,000 Reasons

This has been one of my favorite songs to sing in church over the past year.  I took it with me to camp this past summer and as a staff/praise band, we arranged it into an acoustic set with 3 guitars, a piano, a djembe (a drum) and violin.  When sung, it feels like singing a prayer.  It has this beautiful blend of old church music and new church music.
One of my favorite parts of 10,000 Reasons is this line, which is taken directly from scripture:

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger,

Your name is great and your heart is kind.

For all your goodness I will keep on singing,

10,000 reasons for my heart to find.

I love that passage because it illuminates the character of God's heart.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that the Creator of hearts - the one beating in my chest that pumps blood, and feels things - has a heart Himself.  He truly knows my heart, because He has one Himself.   I cannot think of a quality I would rather have myself, or to find in a friend, than someone who is so patient, and abounding in love.  That is something I cherish about who God is - His patience.  He will wait on me when I am trying to figure things out, and He will wait with love and grace.  

The number 10,000 appears in another familiar song - Amazing Grace.  We sing, "When we've been here 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise, then when we first begun."  10,000 is not the biggest number I know, but it can't be underestimated.  When Amazing Grace was written, the writer probably couldn't see 200 years into the future.  I can't sit and count to 10,000; I get side-tracked.  The point is, it is a big number.  There are more than 10,000 reasons to praise God.  I think with each day, we have at least one reason, and that is all we need.

Something that I noticed this morning that I thought was really cool was that when I searched Matt Redman's video on youtube, and started typing in 10,000..."10,000 Reasons" was the first suggestion to pop up.  With my little knowledge of the internet, I know that the more frequently things are searched, the sooner they pop up.  10,000 Reasons came up first.  Not 10,000 giggling babies; not 10,000 coke bottles exploding.  This is what people are looking for, listening to.
~SP

Day 6: God of This City

At the end of the week at camp this summer, we sang this song around the campfire.  One of the weeks there was a group of kids from the south side of the city of Chicago.  These kids were so sweet and had fun, unique personalities.  The girls referred to me as grandma Sarah, ever so fondly.  They thought I had an old spirit.  The backwoods of Wisconsin were far different from the concrete city they were used to.  And minus a few mosquitoes and some crazy deer, much safer.  But just as God was with them in the safety of Green Lake, God has been with them, and all of the other campers in their own cities.
God is the God of every city.  I think that is hard to realize sometimes when I see images of the Middle East on the news and there are no sidewalks, no trees and sometimes no buildings or cars because they've been destroyed by bombs.  But that is a city too, and God is alive and at work there.
In my History of the Old Testament class last spring, my professor had us watch a video of a man from the 700 club or a similar network.  The man was commenting on a natural disaster that had taken place in Haiti, and how the Haitians had made a treaty with the devil, which brought on such despair for their nation.  My professor then slyly asked what we thought of the video.  One student raised his hand and said, "that guy is a..." (You can use your imagination and fill in the rest).
God is the God of Haiti.  God is the God of Iraq and Afghanistan.  God is the God of Sudan, and God is the God of France and Spain.  When we pledge our allegiance to our home country, we say "One nation under God."  That is just it, we are one of the nations under God, one of the many where His people live.
God is the God of every city.  I believe that he dwells among all of His children, whether they realize it or not.  He also dwells in our hearts.  Once He dwells within us, He is within the home, the school, the church and the city that we live in.  Our hearts are a city for God and He is building and reconstructing, constantly.
~SP

Day 5: Unconditional

Unconditional is one of my all time favorites songs.  If you aren't familiar with Willy Porter, he is a fantastic musician and a Milwaukee local.  I used to babysit for his kids when I was in high school.  They are a great family!
All of the lyrics to this song are thoughtfully and beautifully written.  It is about seeing reflections of God's unconditional love in our world. The first few lines of the song go like this:

She said "I will always love you, no matter what may come.

I carried you inside myself, the two of us are one. 

No matter how you fall down, or how it comes undone

to me you will always be shining."

Willy illustrates God's love through the relationship of a mother and her baby.  Often when I pray, I refer to God as "Father," but I have found that He often fills both parental roles in my life in many ways.  That is how great His love is.

God's love is so great and so deep - much of it is still a mystery.  As I have grown up, I have constantly found new places that God's love can go.  I love the lines to this song, because that is exactly what God thinks of us.  We are His children, we are a part and a reflection of Him.  God saw us as beautiful on the day we were born, and still sees us as beautiful and we grow up and "come undone."

There isn't too much I can say today, because Willy's lyrics are so poignant and beautiful.  I can relate this, however: sometimes when I go home on a break from school, and I am with my parents, we hug a lot and talk a lot.  But another thing my parents do is look at me.  My mom says she likes to just look at me sitting there on our couch.  When she looks at me, she doesn't just see college Sarah, she see's the past 20 years.  Everything I've done and everything I've become up to that point.  She sees the things that are like her, and the things that are like my dad.  She sees the triumphs and the struggles.

I think through the love of my parents, I have experienced a glimpse of what God's unconditional love is like.  When I go away to college, and then come back home, the door is still open and their love is still there.  When my parents see me, they see everything in me.  I am transparent to them, and their love still abounds.  God can see even more than that, and His love is always waiting.  
~SP

Day 4: What a Friend We Have in Jesus

The video I added today is a vocal quartet arrangement of What a Friend We Have in Jesus.  It is really lovely.  Also, if you are a country music fan, Brad Paisley does an acoustic guitar version without words, but it is still beautiful.  His version isn't on Youtube, but if you have access to his guitar album "Play", it is on there.
I think it is a truth that the friends we choose help us to learn a lot about ourselves and are a big part of who we become in our life.  Proverbs puts it well: "As iron sharpens iron, so does one person sharpen another."  God gave us friends for a reason, the same reason He created us.  He didn't want us to be alone.  He wanted to give us a community here on earth as a foretaste of what a community with Him will be like in heaven.
In my 20 years I have started to grow some philosophies on friendships.  They are a product of my own experience, but I think others can relate to some of them.  They are still rough and in the works, but here are a few thoughts:
I don't believe in the term "best friend."  That is definitely from my jaded middle school days, where you turn around every 5 seconds to find a giant knife in your back.  I'd rather use the term closest or dearest, because that accurately describes where I hold my friends in relation to my heart.  I feel like best comes with too many expectations.  We are humans and we fall short.  But a closest or dearest friend will always have a place close to my heart even when the going is rough.
I also believe that God puts friends in our lives at all different times.  This summer I got together with a good family friend that I met when I was four.  We sat for a few hours and talked and it was like no time had passed since I met her and thought her light up Skechers were the coolest thing in the world, so therefore we had to be friends.  I also got spend the summer growing relationships with 7 other young adults as we ministered to campers.  I am so grateful that God brought us together this past summer, especially the three ladies that I worked with.  They have places very close to my heart.
Having Jesus as a friend says a lot about who we are.  He is the ultimate model of what a friend should embody, and at the same time, He is the ultimate model of grace and forgiveness - He wants us to be His friend even in our shortcomings and imperfections.  Even though we fall short and encounter snags in our friendships, Jesus works in our lives, and the lives of our friends to give us a glimpse of what it is like to to be in a heavenly community with Him.
~SP

Day 3: Signature of Divine (Yahweh)

Signature of Divine is one of my favorite Needtobreathe songs, and altogether, one of my favorite songs.  I love that the writer chose to use Yahweh to refer to God.  When you speak the word Yahweh you have to breathe it out; it is almost like it falls out of your mouth.  I think that is a pretty cool thing - it is a reminder of where the breath and life within us comes from.
The chorus of the song goes like this:

Yahweh, Yahweh

Great is glory, when you go before me

Holy, Holy

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh. 

Something I have struggled with in college, and I see my friends and peers struggle with, is being in control of our lives.  I sit around and tell myself where I want to be in the next few years of life - location-wise, career-wise, etc.  There is nothing wrong with planning it all out.  But I have to remember that my plan is a loose framework.  God gave me the gift of organization.  He blessed me with that ability.  But I know that the only way for my life is when I put God before me.  My plans can only take me so far, but I find comfort in being able to see my plans.  I can't see into God's plans and that scares me.  

As we grow older, we get a blessing in life - the blessing of experience.  This experience doesn't necessarily have to mean scraping rock bottom and learning from it - it can be, but that is not the only kind of experience.  As time goes on, we are able to experience God's graces and mercies, His comfort and His peace in times of loss or struggle.  There have been times when I have chosen to surrender and put God's plan before mine, and I have found that the words of the song ring true: Great is His glory.  The blessing of experience also yields the blessing of stronger trust.  I continue to experience God's graces in my life, and my trust in His goodness grows as I encounter new obstacles and challenges in life.  

Another great part of this song is the title: Signature of Divine.  That is us.  He is telling us that we are His beloved sons and daughters and He has signed us and sealed us.  Put His signature on us.  He is proud of His work.

~SP   

Day 2: Desert Song

Desert Song was one of my favorite songs from camp this summer.  It talks about finding strength through God in some of the driest, most barren times in life.  The bridge of the song is my favorite:

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

Throughout college and especially in this past year I have been learning this truth: that God is steadfast, as is the character of His heart.  When I left camp this summer I told myself I would read scripture and journal my prayers every day.  I aimed to keep a more constant conversation going with God.  I have done fairly well, but looking at my journal there are some considerable gaps between dates.  It reflects some times this year that I have been so caught up with school and life that I forgot to stop and talk to God.  I forgot to lean on Him even when times were good.  

The bridge of this song is a reminder that even as I fall away - even as I become like that friend that just drops off the face of the earth, doesn't call, doesn't text - God is still God.  He will take me back regardless of how long it's been.  His goodness and His desire to have a relationship with me never changes.

It took me a long time to understand the parable of the prodigal son.  It can be frustrating because I usually put myself in the shoes of the other brother, watching my brother come home after he has made poor choices, only to receive praise, blessings and lavish gifts from our father.  I often fail to see that I can just as easily fit into the shoes of the prodigal son.  Sometimes I spend time away from God, caught up in my own life and things that I convince myself I will be able to handle on my own.  But whenever I return, I know that He is still God.  He is the same.  He still is the reason to sing.  He still is the reason to worship.   

~SP

Day 1: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Instead of giving something up for Lent, I have decided to add something in.  Music has been an important part of my faith life, and I thought that picking a different song to reflect on each day during the Lenten season would be a good Lenten commitment.  Never before have I been keen on blogging, and I could just write these reflections in a journal, but I think part of Lent is about sharing with others.  It is also a way to be kept accountable.  I would love anyone to read this blog if you have the time - but hey, maybe you gave up internet browsing for Lent?  What are the odds?

Today's song will be for the blog's namesake: an old hymn and one of my favorites, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.   

Jadon Lavik's version is one of my favorites.  Although much of my generation is moving out of the time of hymns and progressing into other types of worship music, I do still love hymns.  At some point, they meant a lot to someone - they were a sort of profession of faith by the person who wrote them.  I like it when they are woven into modern worship services, and every once in a while I like a service that is all hymns.

The first line of the hymn goes "Come thou fount of every blessing, tune mine heart to sing thy grace."  That is one thing that I think I forget to ask God, or allow Him to do often - tune my heart.  Sometimes it is so easy to have energy, to get excited and to be passionate about life.  Sometimes it just isn't.  I have to remember that it is OK to ask God to do the tuning; work within me and renew me.  In one of his letters, Paul describes how we are each instruments for God's purpose.  Instruments go out of tune.  Luckily, He is the master of melodies and harmonies, and is more than capable of putting us back in tune.
The end of the first verse proclaims "Praise His mount, I'm fixed upon it.  Mount of God's redeeming love."  That is what I'm aiming to be tuned into this season; to be fixed on.  God's redeeming love.  As is usually said of Christmas - we should keep the spirit and the truth of Christmas alive and in our hearts all year around.  I think the same can be said of Lent.  The convictions of Lent should be convictions that we have in our hearts the whole year through.
~SP