Promises--Sanctus Real

I come back to this song again and again. Sometimes as I sing along to it in the car, I grin and go all out with the hand motions (grabbing the promises out of the air and pulling them to me). Cheesy? Maybe. But sometimes ya just gotta. At least when life is going along in such a way that a fist-pumping celebration is in order.

Life is not always so easy going, though. It can punch you in the gut, then have the nerve to kick you when you’re down. At those times, I listen to the song and lift empty hands, longing for reassurance, and hard-pressed to see God’s promises through tears and running mascara.

I read Hebrews 6 recently and was reminded that God is faithful. It is impossible for him to break his word. And he does not lie.

“And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:18-20, MSG)

Hope. It is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline. Another version of the Bible calls it an anchor for the soul.

Life’s circumstances toss us around. Unexpected twists and turns or inevitable life
changes leave us stranded, lost or lonely. We’re overwhelmed by finances or emotions or relationships. Our choices or the choices of others leave us bruised and broken. The waves keep coming and so often we’re left gasping for air.

But...

Hope. If we cling to it, we have a sure and steady promise to keep us afloat. We have an unshakable, steady link to the other side of it, whatever it is at any given moment. And hope brings us right into the very presence of God, to the starting point of all his other great and precious promises.
 

Check out these other songs by Sanctus Real:

Song Title--Album Title

Run--Run
Pray--Run
Nothing Between--Run
Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)--We Need Each Other
We Need Each Other--We Need Each Other
Closer--Fight the Tide
I'm Not Alright--The Face of Love
Forgiven--Pieces of a Real Heart
Everything About You--Pieces of Our Past-The Santus Real Anthology
 

TGIF

The Friday Song.  I suggested the idea shortly after becoming department Lead and my co-workers have run with it. 

It's a fun, stress-relieving, laugh-at-the-absurdities, sing-away-your-troubles little tradition that helps us wake up on a Friday morning, laugh away the mid-afternoon challenges of office communications or say good-bye to the last few minutes of the work week. 

Each Friday, one of us suggests a song to play depending on our mood or whatever office craziness has gone on that week. 

We've played everything from Aretha Franklin's Respect, to Ozzie Osbourne's Crazy Train, to Marky Mark's Good Vibrations.

Two of my personal all-time favorites are included here.

Laugh. Have fun. Happy Friday!!




                                         We played this, of course, on December 21, 2012.

The Unlikely Candidates - "Follow My Feet" [Official Lyric Video]

The Unlikely Candidates

I heard The Unlikely Candidates song "Follow My Feet" for the first time on the local alt rock radio station several week ago.  I was driving but pulled out my pen and paper (which I always have with me) to write down the band's name and a snippet of the lyrics so that I could look up the song later. 

Something about the song really struck me.  I guess it's the fact that we're constantly faced with choices. Some big. Some small.  We can choose the high road or the low road. We can take what we want or do what we want simply because we can. Or, we can give everything and love others, simply because we can.  Our choices, the paths we choose, are determined by our motives.  Why do we do what we do?  The answers to this shape who we are and play a part in shaping others.

The song begins and ends with a note of uncertainty. Maybe this is why it resonates as well--who hasn't struggled with the question of identity? Of not knowing where the path will lead?

Isaiah 42:16, the Message version, says:

"But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way,
who can’t see where they’re going.
I’ll be a personal guide to them,
directing them through unknown country.
I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take,
make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.
These are the things I’ll be doing for them—
sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.”

The songwriters say that they don't know the way, but they guess that they'll follow their feet. I'm not sure about them, but I want to be deliberate about where my feet take me. There are so many things in life that are out of my control, but the choices I make are mine to own and I want them to mean something positive.

Several other songs came to mind as I thought about choice and identity.

All Along--Remedy Drive; All I Want--A Day to Remember; All the Pretty Things--Tenth Avenue North; Be Somebody--Thousand Foot Krutch; Breathe--Anberlin; Change Your Mind--Sister Hazel; Faceless--Red; Walk--Foo Fighters; It's Time--Imagine Dragons; When Love Sees You--Mac Powell; All of Me--Matt Hammit; Stubborn Love--The Lumineers; New Low--Middle Class Rut; The High Road--Three Days Grace; Run--Sanctus Real; Maybe--Sick Puppies; Tonight--TobyMac

What song(s) would you add to this list?

Skillet - Monster (Video)

Faith, Music and Sharing the Journey

Have you ever had a song meet you in your sorrow or loneliness, walking like a friend alongside you?  Maybe you've heard a tune that made you laugh when you were taking life (or yourself) too seriously. Has music ever spurred you out of complacency or calmed you in the midst of a trial?  Have you ever found yourself praying the lyrics to a song because surely the songwriter must have pulled those words straight from your very own heart?

Music is powerful.  I don't think it's any coincidence that the longest book in the Bible is a compilation of song lyrics or that people most often turn to that very same book when they want to connect with God. Music, lyrics, and the combination of the two have a way of reaching into the core of who we are.

Music is about connecting--with our innermost selves, with one another and with our Creator. 

Music is also about serious FUN.  What's every trumpet player's dream?  To play John William's Star Wars theme, of course! And what self-respecting woman does not LOVE belting out Skillet's Monster driving down the highway with her husband and kids?

As music intersects and infuses my life, I hope that the thoughts I share will in some way encourage you.

Is there a song that has recently inspired you, comforted you, or made you laugh out loud?  I'd love to hear about it!