Fear, love and freedom

"I will not fear
I will not deny Your love...
All of my life
I could not deny Your love."

When I sang these words for the first time, I didn't really think about them. It was about mechanics. Memorization. Music notes.

But music is so much more than notes. Words like these were designed to mean something.

They're from a song called "Freedom is here" by Hillsong United. It's a song to (and about) God.

When I started thinking about the lyrics, I thought they were about having courage to share my faith…to live for God. Maybe that is true. But maybe it’s about something more.

As I again contemplated the song lyrics above, I realized that when I live in fear, it can be a form of denying God’s love. Because when I live as if I know I’m loved, it’s virtually impossible to be afraid.

Let me explain...when people see me, it’s like they’re watching a little girl standing on the edge of a diving board. The girl who knows and trusts her Dad to catch her approaches the edge differently than the girl who doesn’t trust her dad at all…or the one who doesn’t believe anyone is in the pool waiting for her with open arms.

I’m not diving into a pool today, but every day I dive into situations, relationships, work…you name it. Do I jump with confidence? Or hesitate?

In the words of another musician (Dave Barnes—my fave—to be exact), “Where love is, fear won’t tread.”

I believe with all my heart that there’s a freedom found in Love alone.

30 days of worship music

Recently, our pastor challenged our youth and young adults to listen to nothing but praise and worship music for the next 30 days.

There are so many good reasons why it's a great idea--worship makes God bigger in our lives (than problems or gas prices!), helps us stay focused on living right, keeps our minds centered on the positive (and not criticism), etc.

But from a practical standpoint, I heard some people comment, "What am I going to listen to for the next 30 days?" or "That's going to be a lot of Hillsong!"

So...I decided to break out my CD collection and look for praise and worship music. I thought I'd use this post as a forum to let you in on some of the worship bands and CDs I like...and if you think of others, let me know:

Hillsong and Hillsong United: I'm probably more of a Hills United girl myself--and have been listening to the "I (Heart) Revolution" and "All of the Above" CDs lately.

Starfield: Starfield is a worship band out of Vancouver, BC (discovered them back in my days at Trinity Western!). "Beauty in the Broken" is an awesome worship CD--love the songs "The Hand that Holds the World" and "Unashamed". I don't have their latest CD "I Will Go" yet (I'm going to buy it on iTunes tonight!), but have been listening to some of the singles on their MySpace page. It's great!

Sonicflood - "Sonicflood" - I broke out this "oldie" worship CD (circa 1999!) in the car this morning. It's still a great CD to me with songs like "Heart of Worship" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever."

Delirious? "The Cutting Edge" - Delirious' album, "The Cutting Edge" is also an older CD (1997), but I think it really sparked a lot of the modern worship revolution we've seen in the Church worldwide. It's a 2-CD set packed with some of my all-time favorites like "Lord, You Have My Heart" and "Oh, Lead Me." Simple. Beautiful.




Champions Centre - "Nothing Compares": Our own worship CD includes some great tracks with the heartbeat of our House.





Others worth noting? (Though not completely my style):

• Lincoln Brewster "Amazed"
  
• Third Day "Offerings" and "Offerings II"


• Lakewood Church


• Reuben Morgan


• Planetshakers


• Darrell Evans


• Chris Tomlin


• Vineyard (e.g. the "Breathe" song on the "Hungry" CD is one of my faves)


• Matt Redman

Others? I'm sure there are a ton more. I'm sure the next 30 days of worship will be amazing...but I'm more excited to live a life of worship (beyond just music) forever.

Cool Song Lyrics

I love words. I love music. Put them together -- and you've got cool song lyrics. So I decided to write a quick post about song lyrics I like ... and why they inspire me, make me smile, make me laugh, etc.

What's amazing about good lyrics? They're short. They stick in your head (or in your heart). And yet they can make you think, get a new perspective or remember a moment in your life.

So here goes:

Song:

"Hosanna" By: Brooke Fraser - Hillsong United - All of the Above

Lyrics:

Break my heart for what is Yours /

Everything I am for your Kingdom's cause

Why I Love Them:

These words express a pure heart to live full-on passionately for God -- to be a person "after God's own heart." It's about seeing people, life, situations, the world -- like God sees them. All in two lines.

Song:

"83" By: John Mayer - Room for Squares

Lyrics:

Whatever happened to my lunchbox? /

When came the day that it got thrown away? /

And don't you think I should have had some say in that decision?

Why I Love Them:

These lyrics just make me smile. John Mayer has the ability to paint relatable pictures with words (it's probably why he's won several Grammys for songwriting). "83" is all about childhood and remembering that good time in his life (for Mayer, it was being 6 in '83).

Who can't relate to having a favorite lunchbox (I remember mine in the first grade was purple and had these cartoon puppies on it!)? But whatever happened to it? And why didn't I get more of a say? :)

Song:

"Love on the Rocks" By: Sara Bareilles - Careful Confessions

Lyrics:

Here’s a simplification of everything we’re going through /

You plus me is bad news /

You’re a lovely creation and I like to think that I am too /

But my friend said I look better without you.

What I Love About Them:

These lyrics are honest. I haven't personally been in this situation with a guy. But I've seen plenty of friends who have (guys with girls in their lives, too, by the way).

It's like the point where you see something you don't want to see about a relationship -- you see it, your friends see it -- but you don't want to. Sometimes, it even happens when both people are good people, but just not good together.

Song:

"Your Love Will Never Change" By: Dave Barnes - Brother, Bring the Sun

Lyrics:

So tell me there’s nothing that you can’t do /

You’ll love me though I’ve hurt you /

You’ll take my blame /

Your love will never change /

Your love will never change

Why I Love Them:

I honestly had a hard time picking my favorite lyrics from this song -- it's that good. These lyrics sound like a love song, but it's actually written to God (another part of the song talks about He created the world but "somehow knows my name" -- that's incredible in itself).

I guess they just express that sense of awe for His unconditional "no matter what" kind of love. No matter what I do that may miss the mark and break His heart, He loves me. He takes on the blame and paid the price for my stupidity, pride, weakness -- sin. But despite all of that, and all I may do to hurt His heart today or tomorrow, His love for me is unchanging.

Pretty amazing.

Favorite Things of the Week

CD in My Car: Hillsong United "All of the Above": My favorite? Brooke Fraser, of course--the best song is "Lead Me to the Cross".

Cool Starbucks Beverage: Tall, tangerine frappuccino juice blend

Favorite Night Out: CLG BBQ at the Stewarts'--where the boys did the cooking and the Peris made me laugh so hard that my eyes teared up. :)

Best Way to Beat the Heat: Wearing skirts and floaty dresses--it's almost like wearing shorts to work (sorry guys - you don't have this option).

Weekend Fun Event: Kelley's Hawaiian Wedding Shower - yay, I get to see the bride-to-be visiting home from Alaska!