 I just love David Crowder. His music is haunting and speaks deep to my soul. There are times when I just listen to the words and feel them so powerfully. I am especially in love with his I Know A Ghost album. Every song has it's own vibe that draws you in. I listen to one song and think how amazing it is, only to be knocked out by the next one. The whole album blows me away. Over and over and over. In the world of 2021, my personal anthem has become Crushing Snakes. I think it should be the anthem for every red pilled Christian. Here are the lyrics: We’re not afraid Terrors of night Arrows that fly by day Ten thousand may fall but we We will remain We’re not afraid A promise of God Can never be torn away Walking on hands of angels Crushing snakes Safe under the shadow of His wings Our fortress and our strength Our fortress We’re taking back our freedom Our battle has been won We have been liberated Back from the dead, we’ve come Do you see Him King of Heaven Champion of all creation Eyes of fire Voice of thunder Tearing through the sky in wonder Dressed in light we See Him coming On a horse that’s white like lightning Do you see Him Piercing through the sky Breaking through the darkness Do you see Him The song Ghost is also crazy good. Again, the lyrics speak to me so personally right now. Check them out: His Ghost is a fire A holy flame burning wild Burning through the night Burning with the light of a billion stars His love is like lightning Cracking through the sky and Burning through the rage Burning through the pain of a billion scars Get ready All the stories are true His Ghost is inside me A holy fire burning wildly Burning through the things That need to be erased to liberate my soul Get ready There’s an empty tomb Get ready There’s a Ghost in the room Get ready Even mountains move Get ready All the stories are true He’ll heal you He’ll heal you He’ll heal you He’ll heal you We’re ready for Your fire to fall We’re ready for Your voice to call We’re ready for Your lightning come We’re ready, into Your arms we run We’re ready, let the heavens part We’re ready for the angel songs We’re ready for death be done We’re ready for Your kingdom come We’re ready, like a waiting bride We’re ready for Your bread and wine We’re ready to burst to life We’re ready for You to set things right So come on Come on Come on We’re ready We’re ready We’re ready Yes, Lord - we're ready!
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 By OSU Special Collections & Archives Thankfully, I have never had to cut down a tree before. But, if I ever had to, I know I would be thankful to live in our modern age where we have chainsaws that make the work a lot easier. Prior to having chainsaws, people used two-man crosscut saws to cut down trees. In America, crosscut saws were used as early as the mid-17th century. As you can see from the photo above, these saws were huge, and you needed help to weld them. So, you are probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with God? Well, much like the lumberjacks of the past who used crosscut saws, we need a partner to get our work done. As Christians, our partner is God. You may not have ever thought about God as your partner before, but, isn't He the most wonderful and able partner you could ask for? YES!! I am certainly grateful to have Him as my partner. In his book Intercessory Prayer, Dutch Sheets tells us, "Without question, humans were forever to be God's link to authority and activity on the earth. Here we have, I believe, the reason for the necessity of prayer. God chose, from the time of Creation, to work on the earth through humans, not independent of them. He always has and always will, even at the cost of becoming one. Though God is sovereign and all-powerful, Scripture clearly tells us that He limited Himself, concerning the affairs of Earth, to working through human beings." So, in order for God to work through us, we must partner with Him and do our part. God has the power and He gives us the authority to use His power. It's an amazing partnership. Thanks to Holy Spirit living in us, we have everything we need to use God's power in our lives. We simply need to recognize this, and harness it and get to work for the Lord. Chris Tomlin, one of my favorite Christian artists, wrote a song about this in 2018 called Resurrection Power. Here are some of the lyrics: You called me from the grave by name You called me out of all my shame I see the old has passed away The new has come Now I have resurrection power Living on the inside Jesus, You have given us freedom No longer bound by sin and darkness Living in the light of Your goodness You have given us freedom Listen to the song here: Are you ready to partner with God? Think of all you can accomplish! Let's start today.
I will leave you with a beautiful, powerful, and incredibly appropriate quote from St. Teresa of Avila: Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.  I grew up listening to Tom Petty. His music, with and without The Heartbreakers, and The Traveling Wilburys and others, was a staple in our home. It is still hard for me to believe that he is no longer with us. But, I am thankful that his music and lyrics are!
I think all of you know by now that music is a very important part of my life. And, if you read my blog regularly, you also know that I like to take popular and/or secular music and look for God in it. Or, find a way to point any music that I listen to back to God. It is just something that I do. So, yes, I am doing it again! In the unprecedented times in which we are living, where I feel that the devil and his minions are freely showing themselves and obviously think they have the upper hand and control our nation, I have news for these demons, WE have the victory. God has already won. You have been beaten! You may think you have won, but not so fast--we Christian, we Believers, We WON"T BACK DOWN! And, so this song and these lyrics have never been more relevant. Thank you, Tom for sharing this anthem and your many wonderful gifts with us! Well, I won't back down No, I won't back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won't back down No, I'll stand my ground Won't be turned around And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down Gonna stand my ground And I won't back down I won't back down Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out I won't back down Hey I will stand my ground And I won't back down Well I know what's right I got just one life In a world that keeps on pushin' me around But I'll stand my ground And I won't back down I won't back down Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out I won't back down Hey, I will stand my ground (I won't back down) And I won't back down  A while back I learned about the Japanese art form of Kintsugi. Kintsugi means "golden joinery." It is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The philosophy behind this is to treat the breakage and repair as part of the history of the object, rather than to just disguise it.
Isn't this just beautiful? As you can see from the photo above, I think it makes this once ordinary bowl breathtaking, don't you? This is what God does for us as human beings. He takes our brokenness, our hurts, and our sorrows and with His heroic love He starts to make us whole. The Lord's love is not just any old love, His love is a triumphant mix of mercy, grace, tenderness, forgiveness, and kindness. His love heals us. His amazing and potent love; His combination of ingredients makes us golden. Over time, as we bask and grow in His love, we will go from glory to glory. And, as such, we will become more and more like Him. One might even say more golden. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18) This is what it means to grow spiritually in Christ. And, I don't know about you, but I want to be more golden--more like Him. And, we are all broken, aren't we? Each in our own way. Some of us are more broken than others. But, praise God, He can heal us. All we have to do is ask Him. I know that sounds too easy--too good to be true. But, it IS true. How do I know? Because, not only does the Bible tell me so, but I have personally experienced it for myself. I may be broken, but because of God's love for me, I am now beautifully so! My cracks are being sealed with God's golden love for me. His love makes me whole. And, as typically happens with me, this reminds me of a song I need to share with you that reinforces this thought: Beautifully Broken by Plumb. Here are the lyrics: Every tear, every doubt Every time you've fallen down When you're hurting, feeling shame When you're numbing all your pain When you've lost your way And feel so far away You're not You're beautifully broken And you can be whole again Even a million scars Doesn't change whose you are You're worthy Beautifully broken Every fear of being loved For who you are no matter what When you're stumbling, with each step And you're haunted by regret And the darkness closes in Just listen You're beautifully broken And you can be whole again Even a million scars Doesn't change whose you are You're worthy Beautifully broken You're beautifully broken (beautifully broken) You're beautifully broken Oh, the god who made the stars Is the god that made your heart And he's holding you right…  We are living in very stressful, very chaotic times. "Normal" life is stressful enough, but throw in a world pandemic, economic uncertainty, rioting and racial unease, and a presidential election into the mix, and stressful doesn't even begin to cover it. But, well, here we are. Welcome to life in 2020.
 Photo By Devin Harvey This past Friday evening, August 28, 2020, gospel artists "United to Fight Poverty" with a virtual concert on Youtube. It featured TobyMac, Hillsong Worship, Kirk Franklin, for KING & COUNTRY, Tamela Mann, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Matthew West, CeCe Winans, Natalie Grant, Zach Williams, Mandisa, Big Daddy Weave, Matt Maher, Phil Wickham, Christine D'Clario, Blanca, Rita Springer, Dante Bowe, Colony House, and Jon Reddick. And, y'all it was AWESOME!! I have never heard of Colony House before. The band is composed of brothers Caleb Chapman on vocals and Will Chapman on drums, with guitarist Scott Mills, and bassist Parke Cottrell. Caleb and Will are the sons of contemporary Christian musician, Steven Curtis Chapman. Take a listen to their songs Looking for Some Light and Waiting for My Time to Come. I have never listened to Kirk Franklin before either. Y'all, I have been missing out! I have no idea where I have been, I guess under a rock or something! lol Kirk Dewayne Franklin is an American choir director, gospel musician, singer, songwriter, and author. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew among many others. He has won numerous awards, including 16 Grammy Awards. His song Love Theory has me grooving! You will have this on repeat! And, Wanna Be Happy? has an amazing message. It never ceases to amaze me how much music can do for your soul. How it can just lift your heart or comfort your hurts or explain exactly how you feel. I have said it before and will say it until I die, music is medicine.
 A few Sundays ago I was listening to Mandisa on my Abide App while I was at the gym. She asked, "what is your song?" She was sharing with us that we each need to write our own song about our life. Mandisa pointed out that while all bluebirds sing and sound very similar in their song, that they each have a distinct sound that belongs to only them. We are the same way.
So, ever since then, I have been thinking about what my song is. I have written a few lines in my head and thought it would be good to actually get them on paper. (Or, type them out, as we do nowadays!) And, so here we are. I realized that for a few years now I have been repeating three words in my head to myself. I say them over and over. So, I figured these words would be the name of my song. Trust and Believe I trust and believe in you, O Lord. I trust and believe in you. Your Word is my lamp and my sword. I long to be in your presence and one day see your face. I am ever so grateful for your love and never-ending grace. When this world becomes too much and my struggles overwhelm. I turn to you and trust and believe, because you are at the helm. I trust and believe in you, O Lord. I trust and believe in you. I know the promises you have made. And I know that they are true. I know that you love and cherish me. I place all my hope in you. Many days my strength fails me, And my head and heart are a mess. But, in you, I find my comfort. In you, I find my rest. I trust and believe in you, O Lord. I trust and believe in you. I place my confidence and my heart in your hands. I gladly give you my life, It is yours to direct and plan. I rest securely in the knowledge that I seek and find in your Word. That I need not fear, nor worry, nor live my life on my own. I rest securely in the knowledge that Jesus will come again. It is for all these things and more, O Lord, I sing your praises evermore. I trust and believe in you, O Lord. I trust and believe in you. This is it. This is what I have so far. Maybe one day I can put some music to it, somehow. And, maybe even find my voice to sing out loud. So, what about you? What is your song? I would love to hear it! |
WELCOMEI am so glad you are here! I am Erica Strickland, a girl who loves God. My goal here is to simply share His love and light. Categories
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