Why You Should Listen to Christmas Music this Summer

Context is usually dangerously important; without it we make wrong conclusions and decisions. Seasons offer an important context to music, but what if they also, indirectly, swallow the meaning?

Click Here If You Listen To Music

I'm looking for music, and I am recruiting your help.

I like music. I listen to it practically non-stop, so it's not wonder that the songs I like are becoming trite, worn and annoying. I'd like your help.

I'm looking for songs with good lyrics, that honor God, and have a good, exciting rhythm.

I've found musicians that have a couple of those factors, and such discoveries were exciting.
They are artists like Scott Phillips and Pompton Lakes, songs like Half Acre, Come Thou Fount, Blue Lips, Mr. Pitiful...

But I'm on a quest to find songs with all three.

I used to think that such a thing didn't exist.

So far, I haven't found anything to debunk that original theory.

And that's why I need your help. I realized the other day that I'm probably not the only person in the world who would listen to this music, who would appreciate it. And one of these other people likely has some musical talent, and they created it. I just need to find it.

Suggestions Welcome.

Listen and Enjoy

Some of the music I've been listening to:
(pick your poison, or listen to them all)

In Jesus' Name, Amen

When I heard this song today I head some of the lyrics for what seemed like the first time. I got a sudden understanding of them.

'I want to sign your name to the end of this day'
as in, I want God to approve of my decisions and actions today.
Whoah.

There is a line in the chorus that stopped me in my tracks this week.
"Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace"

I don't have that chaos feeling. I have had it several times, and however annoying it is at the time I miss it. I suppose I miss the implications of it more than the feeling itself, but all the same I miss it. I miss knowing that God is working on something in me, miss knowing I'm on the brink of something, because it was how I knew I was growing.

And I want it again.
Soon.

Jesus Interposed His Precious Blood

Part of 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing', one of my favorite hymns

Here I raise my Ebeneezer,

Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be;
Let that grace now like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

He is risen!

Spring Cleaning

 (couldn't find this one on youtube, so content yourself with reading the lyrics)


this song is along the same lines:

London, by Brandon Heath

Tunes

Pre-Christmas music, of course

eggeshells

So, the first salad seed I planted was doing great! It was green, and getting (relatively) large. But then yesterday I went to water it, and it was small, and dull, and withered.

I have no sure idea what it was, but I have a hypothesis. A guess.

Remember those eggshell starters?
When I transplanted them to the larger pots, I squished the eggshells and broke them. That'd be enough for the roots to get through- right?
Apparently, not.

I went through all the plants, then, and tried to carefully take them all out of their eggshells and put them back in their pots. I'm hoping I didn't hurt any of them, because most of them are still incredibly small. But, as I pealed the shells off the dirt, I noticed the roots, spiraling around inside, unable to break through these things I had intended as fertilizer. Hopefully its not too late!

Another garden update: there are things growing in all the pots now! The parsley, oregano, chives, different salad types and  cilantro all have little green parts coming out of the dirt! Excitement!

Slightly Unrelated, here is a song by Hawk Nelson. I thought of it because of its title...

Time

I listened to 'How To Live on 24 Hours a Day' by Arnold Bennett from booksshouldbefree.com

Very interesting book, and I'm trying to implement some of the suggestions. Not all of them are exactly realistic, though, because it was written for an englishman in 1910, not a college student in 2011. But many of the principles are worthwhile.

It made me think of this song, most particularly the second verse. You should listen to it. I even made it easier to get to, by embedding it here.



here are the lyrics:

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do is believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessing
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So nobody's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

One More Round

here is One More Round by Barlow Girl.
Later, I'll share some other songs I've been listening to a lot these past couple weeks, but for now, hear this:

does God run?

yeah, I'd say so...

All Things Bright And Beautiful

         Each little flower that opens, 
 each little bird that sings, 
 God made their glowing colors, 
 and made their tiny wings. 

All things bright and beautiful, 
 all creatures great and small, 
 all things wise and wonderful:  
 the Lord God made them all.

The purple-headed mountains, 
 the river running by, 
 the sunset and the morning 
 that brightens up the sky.  

All things bright and beautiful, 
 all creatures great and small, 
 all things wise and wonderful:  
 the Lord God made them all.

The cold wind in the winter, 
 the pleasant summer sun, 
 the ripe fruits in the garden:  
 God made them every one.  
 

All things bright and beautiful, 
 all creatures great and small, 
 all things wise and wonderful:  
 the Lord God made them all.

God gave us eyes to see them, 
 and lips that we might tell 
 how great is God Almighty, 
 who has made all things well.  
 
        All things bright and beautiful, 
 all creatures great and small, 
 all things wise and wonderful:  
 the Lord God made them all.