Music Monday: Cannot Keep You

Well, I just got back from my LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) and had a great appointment! So many of my symptoms are gone and my physical exam was the best yet! He even is letting me stop some of my meds...wohooo!! I'm closer to the finish line than ever before and it feels good :) Please continue to keep me in your prayers.

Anywho, today is Music Monday!

A lot of times I discover songs through Pandora. So I have random pieces of paper laying around the house with different song titles. Today's song was written down probably almost a year ago and I'm finally sharing it with you! Oopsie. 

It's called "Cannot Keep You" by Michael Gungor. One of his most popular songs is, "Beautiful Things" (love, love, LOVE that song), as well as, "White Man" (too cute...you know you want to look it up ;) ,  but "Cannot Keep You" isn't as well known so I figured I'd shine the spotlight on it today. 

Cannot Keep You

"They tried to keep you in a tent

They could not keep you in a temple

Or any of their idols, to see and understand

We cannot keep you in a church

We cannot keep you in a Bible

Or it's just another idol to box you in

They could not keep you in their walls

We cannot keep you in ours either

For you are so much greater

Who is like the Lord?

The maker of the heavens

Who dwells with the poor

He lifts them from the ashes

And He seats them among princess

Who is like the Lord?

We've tried to keep you in our tents

We've tried to keep you in our temples

We've worshiped all our idols

We want all that to end

So we will find you in the streets

And we will find you in the prisons

And even in our Bibles and churches

Who is like the Lord

The maker of the heavens

Who dwells with the poor

He lifts them from the ashes

And He seats them among princes

Who is like the Lord

We cannot contain, cannot contain

The glory of your name

You took me from the ashes

And you healed me from my blindness

Who is like the Lord"

Not to bash the church, because I love the church, but it has to be said...sometimes we (the church) like to keep God all to ourselves. The truth is, God isn't only for the church but He is for all, even those who don't believe in Him. Sometimes we focus on the people in our church more (which they should be cared for). Sometimes we focus on our own ministries more, when instead we should be getting outside of the church walls. That's why I love this song, because it gives us a visual of our God who doesn't dwell only in buildings. 

"So we will find you in the streets and we will find you in the prisons and even in our Bibles and churches. Who is like the Lord?" God is not only pursuing the church goers, but He is pursuing the people on the streets. He is pursuing the people in the prisons. He is pursuing the people in the hospitals. He is pursuing people in America. He is pursuing people in every nation. He cannot be put in a box and if we keep Him there, we are doing a disservice to Him and all of the people who do not know Him. Therefore, if God is pursuing all people, we should pursue all people for "we cannot contain the glory of Your name." 

What lyrics speak to you? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Music Monday: Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer

Normally, Music Monday consists of a contemporary song, but today the song is more of an anthem or sacred prayer. The choir sang this yesterday at church and the lyrics really touched my heart.

I think we can all relate to the lyrics.

Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer

By James Koerts

"Jesus draw me ever nearer as I labor through the storm.

You have called me to this passage, and I'll follow though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith, and at the end of my heart's testing, with your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest, keep my spirit staid and sure. 

When the midnight meets the morning, let me love You even more.

May this journey bring a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith; and at the end of my heart's testing, with Your likeness let me wake. 

Let the treasures of the trial form within me as I go.

And at the end of this long passage, let me leave them at Your throne.

May this journey bring a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith; and at the end of my heart's testing,

 with Your likeness let me wake. Let me wake."

My favorite lyrics would have to be, 

"Let the treasures of the trial form within me as I go.

And at the end of this long passage, let me leave them at Your throne."

Instead of letting a trial simply be a trial, finding the treasure in it can help us transcend the negative.

Of course, the trial may linger and make it difficult to find hope.

It may bring out raw emotions.

It may seem impossible to find the treasure in it, but I think with God's help, at some point we can find the treasure.

More importantly, instead of holding onto the hurt and trial, we should "leave them at Your throne".

When we do that, we experience the freedom that only Jesus can give.

That can almost be the hardest part, letting go of the hurt and holding onto the anger, but if we don't, we will only walk upon a path of darkness and hopelessness.

What lyrics speak to you?

I'd love to hear from you!

Music Monday: I Need You

This week's song is one of my all time favorites..."Lord, I Need You"

 by Matt Maher and Audrey Assad.

There are times when I'm overwhelmed. Times when I'm weak. Times when I can't see the light. In these times, all I can say is, "I need You, Lord." 

A cry out to God that centers my everything around Him, because He is my everything.

I feel like sometimes we can get wrapped up in the world and forget how badly we need God. 

When we are reminded how badly we need God, I believe our faith naturally becomes stronger. 

"Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, you're my hope and stay."

This whole song is meaningful to me, but I especially love this verse...

"Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are, Lord, I am free

Holiness is Christ in me." 

It's such a wonderful realization of knowing that God's grace

 is more than my sin instead of vice versa. 

Also, understanding that when we focus on what Christ has done for us and what He is doing in us, it's very difficult to feel overwhelmed, weak, and hopeless. 

What speaks to you in this song?

Music Monday: Love is War

This week's song is "Love is War" by Hillsong United. My awesome friend, Marissa, actually suggested this song and I'm glad she did, because I had never heard it before.

I have a feeling that many Music Monday's will feature Hillsong United...they just have such powerful lyrics that are hard to ignore!

"In Your justice and Your mercy
Heaven walked the broken road
Here to fight this sinner's battle
Here to make my fall Your own

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son

Let Your love be my companion
In the war against my pride
Long to break all vain obsession
Till You're all that I desire

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son

And I know Your love has won it all
You took the fall
To embrace my sorrows
I know You took the fight
You came and died but the grave was borrowed
I know You stood again
So I can stand with a life to follow
In the light of Your name"

I think my favorite lyrics in this song are, 

"I will fight to follow...I will fight for love...to throw  my life forever into the triumph of the Son."

I think it shows that it isn't always easy to follow...but although it may be tough, I will still follow.

The same with love. The love that Jesus asks of us, can be difficult at times because of our own selfishness, but Jesus wants us to live in love, so we should fight for love. 

When we stand firm and persevere, we through our "lives forever into the triumph of the Son." Jesus is glorified when we overcome the inner struggle from within. 

This song is a great picture of how life can be challenging, it can feel like a battle at times, but in the end, Jesus always wins. 

What lyrics speak to you? 

Any suggestions for future Music Monday's? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Music Monday: Humble

I believe music can be so powerful and transcending.

Audrey Assad's music, especially. 

She is one of my favorite singer/songwriters because her music is not surface level, but so much deeper. 

It's relaxing and moving, centered on God's loving and gracious character.

I have all of her albums, but her newest album, "Fortunate Fall" is by far my favorite. 

I can't necessarily say that today's song is my favorite from the album, because each song is wonderfully unique.

However, this song sheds light on one of God's most powerful characteristics to me.

Humble

Humble and human, willing to bend You are
Fashioned of flesh and the fire of life, You are
Not too proud to wear our skin
to know this weary world we’re in
Humble, humble Jesus

Humble in sorrow, You gladly carried Your cross
Never refusing Your life to the weakest of us
Not too proud to bear our sin
to feel this brokenness we’re in
Humble, humble Jesus

We bow our knees
We must decrease
You must increase
We lift You high

Humble in greatness, born in the likeness of man
Name above all names, holding our world in Your hands
Not too proud to dwell with us, to live in us, to die for us
Humble, humble Jesus

We lift You high
We lift You high

Jesus' humbleness amazes me. Gosh, I love every word of this song, but "humble in sorrow, You gladly carried Your cross. Never refusing Your life to the weakest of us. Not too proud to bear our sin, to feel this brokenness we're in" paints a beautiful picture. Even during the long trek up to Golgotha, with a heavy cross laying across His beaten and broken flesh, Jesus didn't act out of pride or put up a fight. He carried His cross with a humble attitude. He never said, "I'll die for you, but not for you." He said, "I give life to all, even the weak!" He was so humble that He took our sin and felt all the pain we've endured.

The chorus, "We bow our knees, we must decrease, You must increase. We lift you high" comes from John 3:30. John the Baptist was telling people about the coming Messiah and he ended his testimony with, "He must increase, I must decrease." John the Baptist was humbling himself before Christ. He was showing us to do the same. 

"Not to proud to dwell with us, to live in us, to die for us." Often, I focus on Jesus dying for us, but tend to forget that He also humbled himself by living here on earth and also in us! 

Think about that.

Wow.

Not only did He die for us, but He lives in us.

How humble.

He's the only person that had every right to say, "I don't need to carry this cross. I don't need to live among the poor and sick. I don't need to live in sinners." But if He had said that, He wouldn't have been the Son of God. 

How humble. 

That's just incredible to me that the one and only perfect person would die for me, an imperfect person, but not only that, live in me. Because He was humble, we should humble ourselves, as well. We humble ourselves to God and others...not feeling superior to anyone, but equal.

We have a lot to learn from Jesus, that's for sure.

What lyrics speak to you? Do you struggle with humbling yourself?

Music Monday

So I thought I would start something new...Music Monday.

In the past, every once in awhile I would add a music video pertaining to the blog post of the day, but I figured I would post a song each week that is inspiring or moving. 

Today's song has been going through my head the past two days and I can't seem to get it out of my mind.

Oceans by Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown, where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep, my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours, and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand will be my guide

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me

You've never failed, and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours, and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior 

The chorus has to be my favorite part of the song...

"And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours, and You are mine."

Instead of being drowned by our troubles, keeping our eyes above on God will only get us through. When we look past the chaos around us, we can be uplifted because our "soul will rest in Your embrace...for I am Yours, and You are mine." 

What is your favorite lyrics in this song? What speaks to you? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!