UnendingRhythm's Blog

God has answered…

unendingrhythms — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:57:26 +0000

God has answered the prayers of a couple of my friends this week. One delivered her baby girl on Sunday; another a baby boy this morning. My sister-in-law & a friend from school are both due in about a month. So this goes out to the mamas and the papas!!

Taking responsibility for a brand new life can seem like a scary thing… so I’ve been told . Even for amazing people like these new parents I know. At a baby shower for one of them last Saturday, we shared this song by Watermark. It celebrates God’s gift of a baby. It also speaks of the need to trust God to give wisdom & insight for parenting, and the need to entrust the child to Jesus.

My friend (whose baby we were celebrating at the shower) is considering the name Elliana, so the fact that this song is called “Elliana’s Song” meant a lot. Elliana means “God has responded.” When I heard that my friend who delivered today gave her son a name that means “the Lord has heard,” it also reminded me of the message of this song… May God be with these families, and those who are still awaiting the arrivals of little ones. We are celebrating with you!!!

Elliana’s Song–Watermark

Baby woman, tiny in stature now
But your heart is a treasure
Little princess come follow behind me now
I am reaching for you

(chorus)
Elliana, God has answered my prayers
Elliana, God will conquer my fears
To mother a daughter, to look you in the eye
To know that I had everything, to walk with you in life
To give you to Jesus that He would impart
The wisdom that I’m longing for to mother your heart
Elliana, God has answered my prayers

There will be others to lead and to guide you girl
But only one you’ll call Mother, the honor is all mine
To show you what a woman’s like
I’m so glad you’re mine

Tenderness of God is twirling around
In our living room tonight
Lighten up your daddy’s eyes
And know that he just wants to freeze you in time

The Answer

unendingrhythms — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:11:55 +0000

Shane and Shane. The Answer. My fav song for the last several years .

I first heard it while I was in Indonesia (for an 18-month language study/mentoring program). My housemate lent me the cd, “An Evening with Shane and Shane,” and this was song #4… As I missed my family back home, as I struggled for guidance while I was there, as I wondered what my future after I got home would hold, I was reminded that the Answer was…

Well, listen (or read if you must) yourself. The answer is the same for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzDDzXBj9g

The Answer–Shane and Shane

I’ve tried more of me
And I’ve come up dry
Trading You for things
Things that go away

My happiness is found in less
Of me and more of You
My happiness is found in less
Of me and more of You

I have found the answer is
To love You and be loved by you alone
Alright, alright, alright
You crucify me and the world to me
And I will only boast in You
Alright, alright, alright

Oh so satisfied
At the thought of You
Growing up in me
Covering everything

My happiness is found in less
Of me and more of You
My happiness is found in less
Of me and more of You

You are, You are(loved by me)
You are, You are(You’re loved by me)
You are, You are(You’re loved by me)
You are, You are, You are

Desert Song

unendingrhythms — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:36:00 +0000

Are you in a desert at this moment?

I’m so thankful for the truths that remain even when circumstances leave us feeling broken and beat up. A few days ago, the problem of suffering and affliction came up for me (I got lost while driving, and got really frustrated! Funny the things that prompt reflection on life’s questions, isn’t it?). I asked God why I had to get lost; why He doesn’t give me direction in life when I want it; why a friend lost a son…

The next day, as I asked these questions again, I got no comforting reasons for the trials that continue while we live in this world. But the Lord led me to some Psalms where David says some interesting things about suffering (especially Psalm 31) . We think of praise, or of the Psalms, as a means to celebrate what God has done for us. David, on the other hand, praised God in the midst of his troubles. He knew that God is consistent, and therefore our praise to Him & trust in Him should be also.

Desert Song–Hillsong

(Listen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QemZQKKJbRU)

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it’s way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be empited again
The seed I’ve recieved I will sow

Fringes

unendingrhythms — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:01:10 +0000

These guys are one of my favorite groups ever.

Fringes–Shane & Shane

He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing
And how faint a word we even hear of Him
And yet – our eyes and ears and minds get all the candy

I sing for grace
For grace it lets me sing
And all I’ve ever seen or heard
Or haven’t seen or heard
It’s His
There is no other
All of this is but the fringes

And these are but the fringes
And all the world hinges
On His grace and on His word
It speaks things into being
And the spoken things revealing
The glory of our God and King

When we celebrate the greatest things God has given us– whether longings fulfilled or sweet sunrises– these aren’t the pinnacle of what He’s able to do; these are but the fringes.

These two guys who do the song, Shane and Shane, sing with expression and passion worth hearing. Listen to this song at: http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742236172333673

Come for Me

unendingrhythms — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:33:56 +0000

To some people a picture is worth a thousand words. So often for me, as you may have noticed by now, it’s not a picture but a song that captures my heart best. “Come for Me” is about trusting that God will fulfill His dreams for us here and now, and yet longing for the world to come when we can see His face. The words capture our heart’s cry. But, like a good poem, they prompt us to dream, to fill in through our imaginations the things that are not describable with words (or– in some cases– even with pictures).

“Finally the voice I have followed for life/has a glorious face that is lit up with light.”

Does that line make anybody else long for heaven? I’m glad the Charlie Hall (writer of the song) didn’t try to describe the Face, and no artist’s visual representation could capture it. But when I hear this song, I feel it– the longing, the hope, and ultimately the fulfillment. Sorrow melts away in the heat coming from that awesome Face. I know I will one day “see Him as He is,” as 1 John 3:2 says, and until then I keep hoping.

Be blessed. Listen.

Come for Me– Charlie Hall

Jesus come take me away, I long to see Your face
This world is broken yet beautifully made,
Jesus come take me away
Jesus I’ll patiently wait, till like a vapor I’ll fade
Help me fulfill all your dreams for these days,
Jesus I’ll patiently wait

You’ll come again with a shout,
like a thief in the night you’ll come riding on clouds
Finally the voice I have followed for life
has a glorious face that is lit up with light
And you’ll come for me, no more pain, peace,
No more fear, release
just lost and consumed with my glorious King,

Jesus today I am tired, I need your music to come and inspire
I give myself to be refined in this fire,
but Jesus today I’m so tired

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z09vO1f_a8Ib (this will take you to the the song but the video’s not really necessary to watch).

Thank You for… (David Crowder)

unendingrhythms — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:48:17 +0000

This one is simple, and oh-so-very-good. You really should just click on the link and check this one out. Hear it, don’t read it; go to:

http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742270267443083

Thank You for Hearing Me– David Crowder

Thank You, thank You, thank You. We delight in Who You are and in Your love to us.

Before the Throne of God Above

unendingrhythms — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:38:39 +0000

This song was written in 1863… it declares some powerful truths that are unending. I love songs that tell God’s salvation story. My church sang this on Sunday, and it spoke just as powerfully as it must have for the last 146 years: (check out the Shane & Shane version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8dlg5yBywo&feature=related)

Before the Throne of God Above– Charitie L. Bancroft

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great high Priest whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!

I sit here typing in the downstairs lobby of ATS. A friend just came by and, as we talked, she quoted this: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” Amen, Sueihn.

Aslan– Kendall Payne

unendingrhythms — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:19:53 +0000

C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, declaring that these books were “not an allegory.” While not all of his stories may have Biblical parallels, his depiction of Aslan, the “untamed lion” who rules above all other rulers, has pointed many to a better understanding of the Lord.

A couple of weeks ago, I took myself to a coffeeshop, with my computer, headphones, a journal, and no agenda. I was feeling frazzled and stressed, and empty. Mentally, physically, even spiritually– I was worn out. I did what I should have done a couple of weeks before, before I passed my limits, and went away for some alone time to reflect and relax (but mostly to relax, honestly ).

Days earlier some people had been prayed for me that I would hear God speak to me in a way I could receive (just a sense of His presence, a word of encouragement from someone, an insight into Scripture– that would be nice, I thought)– and I didn’t get it. “Why don’t You speak, Lord?” I wondered before Him, sipping my half hot chocolate/half coffee (my favorite). “Why don’t You just zap me and make me what I should be?”

I had been listening to Pandora, an internet radio station that lets you plug in your favorite artists, and then plays artists that are similar. A song came on that I had never heard before– called “Aslan.” God was singing His response:

Aslan– Kendall Payne

Don’t stop your crying on my account
A frightening lion, no doubt
He’s not safe, no he’s not safe
Are you tempted now to run away?
The King above all Kings is coming down

But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think He should
But He is good, He is good

I know you’re thirsty, the water is free
But I should warn you, it costs everything
Well, He’s not fair, no He’s not fair
When He fixes what’s beyond repair
And graces everyone that don’t deserve

But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think He should
But He is good, He is good

No one knows Him whom eyes never seen
No, I don’t know Him but He knows me
He knows me, He knows me

Lay down your layers, shed off your skin
But without His incision, you can’t enter in
**He cuts deep, yeah He cuts deep
When the risk is great and the talk is cheap
But never leaves a wounded one behind**

But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think He should
But He is good, He is good

Our God is untamed, and will not do things according to my plan. Oh, He is good, though. Even when He cuts deep– a time in life when He wants us to boldly risk things, and understand that talk is cheap– we can be at peace knowing that He never leaves a wounded one behind. He is not controllable– but He is good.

Hiding Place– Sara Groves

unendingrhythms — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:31:10 +0000

On my second coffee shop experiment, I turned on Pandora (internet radio station) and this was one of the first songs I heard:

Hiding Place– Sara Groves

Early when the day is new
Before the stirring
I will come and talk to you
And confess the ways I am broken
To recall the words you’ve spoken
And to try to comprehend
The love you have for me

You are my hiding place
You fill my broken heart with songs
Songs of deliverance
You sing of how the weak are strong

You never meant for me to walk alone
You are always for me
As the truest lover of my soul
You hear my desperate calling
You have kept my feet from falling
And have set me on this rock on which I’m standing now

You are my hiding place
You fill my broken heart with songs
Songs of deliverance
You sing of how the weak are strong

And I believe You
For you’ve saved me from my darkness and my shame
And I believe you
For I hear Your song of beauty through the pain

I deeply appreciate the development of this song. God sings over me and fills my heart with song that was not there without Him. He does not ignore my hurt and brokenness, but urges me to “spill” about it to Him. He does not take all the pain away, but enables me to hear His song of beauty in the midst of pain, and puts a song in my heart not only after I feel better, but in the midst of trouble.

My favorite thing about this song, however, is the bridge at the end– “And I believe You.” You see, God has been singing over me all my life. He has never stopped singing. But I still have to believe His songs.

Oh, How He Loves Us

unendingrhythms — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:07:11 +0000

This summer, a good friend (Amy, my college roommate) told me I should check out this song. The chorus simply repeats, “Oh, how He loves us; oh, how He loves us.” The Father wants to sing this song over all of us. He wants us to listen.

The words are pasted below, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYu68H7nNGQ will take you to the YouTube video of the author, John Mark McMillan, not only singing the song but telling the story of how it came to be. This is another story of how God does miracles in the midst of tragic circumstances.

How He Loves Us– John Mark McMillan

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath
The weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these
Afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize how beautiful you are
And how great your afflictions for me

Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so

Yea He loves us
Oh how

We are his portion
And he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we’re all sinkingh
So heaven meats earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart burns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
He loves us

He loves us, Oh how he loves us
Oh how he loves us
Oh how he loves

Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so