Songs of the Heart Playlist

Songs of the Heart #4 - 'Every Brand New Day'

Two songs, but they have the same theme...

March 12th, 2009

When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.

Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.

When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.

Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.

Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God...
Increase.
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.
-'Every New Day' by Five Iron Frenzy

I’m waking up
The world is turning
The sun is shining again
I’m holding on
To things I shouldn’t
It’s time to let them go
I’ve been on a losing streak
Hit so hard I couldn’t speak
But when I hear Your voice it fades away

And I can hear You say
It’s a brand new day
The pain goes away
I’m headed for the door
And I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home

Your love, it burns
Away my darkness
You guide me when I’m blind
You are the light
That shines inside me
Showing me I’m
So much more
When I’ve been on a losing streak
Hit so hard I couldn’t speak
But when I hear Your voice it fades away

Take me into Your arms
My home lies within Your heart

And I can hear You say
It’s a brand new day
The pain goes away
I’m headed for the door
And I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home
-'Brand New Day' by Fireflight

It's so hard to think of every day as a brand new day. We get stuck in our ruts and just sit there, feeling helpless about our situations. With everything going on lately (bad economy and the trickle-down effect of that, familial stresses, and general chaos), it's so easy to wake up and think "Well, here's another day just like before." It doesn't take too long to get to the point when you're thinking "What's the point?" I think FIF summed it up best with the line "I just don't feel like flying anymore."

These songs remind me that with God's strength, each day is brand new. Not only that, but each day, with God's grace, we are brand new. We never know what God's going to do with a day if we give it to Him. That's the key... we have to give up our day to God for Him to do something amazing. What's interesting is that something amazing may not happen right away, but would be the result of something you let God do through you on any given day. If we think of each day as a new day, it changes our outlook on life. Wonder, "what will God do with me today?" and keep your eyes open for possibilities.

Songs of the Heart #3 - 'I Have Been There'

Here is the new one in the "series"!

March 8th, 2009

In a room without a view, a new mother smiles and holds
her tiny fingers on her brand new baby girl.
Her husband takes her by the hand, so unsure about the future
and no money can they make it in this world?
And they pray, Lord all we have to give is love
and they heard a gentle voice like an echo from above,

I have been there. I know what fear is all about.
Yes, I have been there and I'm standing with you now.
I have been there
And I came to build the bridge oh so this road could lead you home.
Oh I have been there.

He's been a pastor twenty years
but tonight he sits alone and broken hearted in the corner of the church
He tried to change a fallen world
with his words and with his wisdom but it seems like it is only getting worse
And he cries, Oh Lord I just don't understand
Then he felt the hand of grace, and he heard a voice that said

I have been there, I know what pain is all about
yes I have been there, and I'm standing with you now
I have been there, and I came to build a bridge
oh so this road could lead you home
oh I have been there.

An older man up on a hill
holding flowers but he can't hold back the tears.
oh he has come to say goodbye.
he thinks about the life she lived,
thinks about how hard it's been to live without her
sixty years right by his side
and he cries, oh Lord I loved her till the end
and he heard a gentle voice say "You'll see her once again."

I have been there
I know what sorrow's all about
yes I have been there and I'm standing with you now
I have been there, and I came to build a bridge
oh so this road could lead her home, the road could lead her home
oh I have been there
You know I overcame the cross, yes I have been there
so her life would not be lost
oh I have been there, and I came to build
a bridge so this road could lead you home
the road could lead you home

Oh I have been there

Yes I have been there
- 'I Have Been There' by Mark Schultz

This song simply amazes me. I get so caught up in the implications... Can you imagine? It's God basically telling us "Been there, done that. I know exactly what you're going through right now, and I'll be with you through it all." How absolutely comforting is that??

But how often do we really remember that He has been there with us through it all... that He knows our fears, our pain, our sorrows? How often do we forget, in the midst of those moments of fear, pain and sorrow, that God is with us, just willing us to turn around and seek His strength to get us through? This is something I am continuing to work on. To remember that God is there with me, through the moments of fear, of pain, and of sorrow, as well as the moments of joy, of excitement, and of peace. And we must thank Him for all of those moments. Because He is there, behind all of them.

I have been there. I know what fear is all about.
Yes, I have been there and I'm standing with you now.

I have been there

Songs of the Heart #2 - 'Hard to Get'

That initial spark from a journal entry initiated another... See, most of the groundwork of my faith and what I know of God has come from songs. It's how He speaks to me. I just can't always explain how it works. 'Day by Day' started me thinking that I could turn it into a devotional-type series. I wrote two, back in June of '07, and just the other day got the idea for a third, which I am working on. Here, for your reading pleasure, is the second one in the "series", 'Hard to Get'. It's a little longer than the other one, but it's because there's more lyrics to this song than the other!!

June 15th, 2007

You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love, and who get hardened by the hurt
Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said
Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then.
Did You ever know loneliness? Did You ever know need?
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on and Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat
Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained
And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know is if

You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead and we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret
I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
To where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along, I guess.
That's just Your way and You are just plain hard to get
- 'Hard to Get' by Rich Mullins

I love this song. I just can't help but sing along with every fiber of my being. It's the last few lines that get me every time. I can't count the number of times I've felt so lost that I gave up trying to find a way, only to find God waiting for me at rock bottom, shining light a few feet in the right direction. That's one of the more interesting things I've learned - that God does His best and greatest work at the lowest and most miserable moments in our lives. It's like that old saying; "You can't fix what isn't broken." I have a t-shirt with a great phrase on it - 'healing comes to the broken places first'. God can't heal us until we recognize our brokenness, and give it up to Him.

So when I feel like God is playing "hard to get" in my life, when I really need His direction, I remember that it's when I get completely derailed and I'm totally lost that God shows up, in all His Glory, with a road map.

And so You've been here all along, I guess.
That's just Your way and You are just plain hard to get.

Just plain hard to get.

Songs of the Heart #1 - 'Day by Day'

It all started with a journal entry...

June 12th, 2007

Day by Day, day by day.
Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly;
Day by day.
- from Godspell

This chorus has been running through my mind for nearly 24 hours now. These are the things I should be desiring most! To see You clearer in everything around me; to love You with all my heart, soul and mind; and to follow You so closely that I don't know where I end and You begin. That's what I should be praying for, not the frivolous crap I normally ask You for.

So forgive me, Lord, and help me to desire these things more than anything else. And because I can't state them any more eloquently, I will just repeat them in their beautiful simplicity.

Day by day, day by day.
Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray;
To see Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly;
Day by day.