I'll Fly Away

Some glad morning when this life is over
I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away.
When I die,
Hallelujah by and by,
I'll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away.
When I die,
Hallelujah by and by,
I'll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away.
To a land where joys shall never end,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away.
When I die,
Hallelujah by and by,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory,
I'll fly away.
When I die,
Hallelujah by and by,
I'll fly away.

Text and Music: Albert E. Brumley

All Creatures of Our God and King

I promised you a song ages ago. I'm sorry I delayed. I've been...busy and freaking out.

Today, I went back to my old church to honor my father's request. I had to practice humility and grace- two things which I generally lack. But with all the churches I've visited so far (which really haven't been that many) I've learned a lot; what with the warmer weather inducing more positive, altruistic thoughts (and cuter outfits) I have had no other option.

From re-reading Nehemiah, Esther, and Job, I've recognized these three things:

1. "Perhaps I have a hard time praying to God because my prayers feel too much like a monologue instead of a dialogue."
2. People always ask, "Why is the book of Esther in the Bible?" I wonder now if they ask that because she's a woman. Her story isn't pointless. Indeed, 'for such a time as this', but she saved the Jews from another genocide. What do you mean by asking about Esther's importance? Of course a woman can be used by God.
3. The question is not if Job has done right or wrong. The question is what God intends with what appears to be a punishment. I say 'appears' because from reading Job we know that God is not slighting Job- Satan is.

Then this morning having to return to my old church- Nehemiah, Esther, and Job are three 'characters' who experienced different aspects of God's character. Each story, each book, though expressing the same God could not be more different than each other. Nehemiah rebuilds a wall. Esther becomes queen in a foreign land. Job is wonderingly punished.

And yet each of them fast and pray- listen to the advice of peers/mentors presumptuous and otherwise; and God still does what he intends with them. Their lives are so different but God knew what to do exactly in each of their lives.

God did not treat Nehemiah like Esther; nor Esther like Nehemiah; nor Job like Esther; nor Job like Nehemiah; etc. God treated each of them as his or her own person.

And today's sermon (Ephesians 1.3-11) discusses a sort of adoption that God undergoes when believers come unto him. Because historically in Roman society, if you were a slave but impressed your master, your master adopted you into his family. You became one of his children, inheriting the same rights as his biological children- perhaps more so because an adoption is him picking the child, not just- you know- popping out.

Anyway- I'll expand on this throughout this week. It's been too long. I'm sorry.

But the above is why I've chosen 'All Creatures of Our God and King' for today because all creatures are of our God and King.

Here's my song:

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing

Alleluia! Alleluia! 

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise Him! O praise Him! 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing win that are so strong,

Ye clouds that sail in heaven along

O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice

Ye lights of evening, find a voice,

O praise Him! O praise Him! 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,

Make music for Thy Lord to hear,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou fire so masterful and bright,

Thou givest man both warm and light,

O praise Him! O praise Him! 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart,

Forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye! Alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

Praise God and on Him cast your care,

O praise Him! O praise Him! 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him! Alleluia! 

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One,

O praise Him! O praise Him! 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Text: St. Franis of Assisi; translated by William H. Draper

Music: Geistliche Kirchengesange, Colonge 1623

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

(1)
O for a thousand tongues to sing
my Great Redeemer's praise;
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace.

(5)
He speaks, and listening to his voice
new life the dead receive!
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice;
the humble poor believe.

(6)
Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold your Savior come;
and leap, ye lame, for joy.

(9)
On this glad day the glorious sun
of righteousness arose;
on my benighted soul he shone
and filled it with repose.

(10)
Sudden expired the legal strife,
twas then I ceased to grieve.
My second, real, living life
I then began to live.

(12)
I felt my Lord's atoning blood
close to my soul applied.
Me, me he loved, the Son of God-
for me, for me he died!

words by Charles Wesley (1739)
music by Carl G. Glaser (1828)

Come Thou Fount

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

Sorry I know it's been a while since I've sung for you. But here it is.

Tenth Avenue North's "Grace"

sorry i haven't sung you a song in a while, but i haven't sung any hymns in church that i like enough to sing, but please enjoy this lyric video. 

tenth avenue north is great! 

Grace! Only Grace, can move your dead heart's stone away...

Bad Blogger

I didn't blog yesterday or Saturday. I'm so sorry. I wasn't busier than usual I just... How dare I?! On Saturday, I was four days away from an entire month of blog posts. Next month will have to be an entire month of blog posts straight. I'm sorry. So, I guess today will be a threefer. Yesterday was supposed to be a twofer. Ah, c'est la vie.

what was supposed to be Saturday:
I read all of Galatians that morning because I realized that I'd hardly touched the Bible all week. I've already gone through James 15 times this past month, I wanted to read another letter: Galatians seemed most appropriate. A lot of people read Galatians and are amazed at Paul's explanation of his transition from persecutor to humble servant. It's difficult not to notice that. Really, it's a running theme in all of Paul's works.

Now that I look at it, Galatians is like Paul's version of James'...James, but it has a different twist. Instead of Paul writing that faith without deeds is dead, Paul writes that works of the Law is like old skin, and faith is new. Way back when he was Saul, he worked the Law perfectly, but "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and go them.' Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for 'The righteous shall live by faith.' But the law is not faith, rather, 'The one who does them shall live by them.' Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us [what we commemorate every Good Friday]...'"

Like James, Paul doesn't suggest that one can be done or had without the other, but he emphasizes faith because all he had before was works. I guess after 'coming to faith' he had a greater reason to work.

what was supposed to be Sunday:
I didn't sing any hymns that I recognized in church. I also attended a new church and stepped out of my social boundary skills so that I could meet A LOT of new people. What?! But!- here's a song from Tenth Avenue North called Beloved. If you want to know what inspired Mike Donehey to write this song (on the first album) click here.


and today:
The following isn't the result of a writing challenge. I think I wrote this two years ago. (Two years?!)

"oh, shit!" she yelled. "oh, shit!" she yelled. "...oh, shit!" she yelled and that's all she would keep yelling if he wouldn't leave the room, and she wants him to leave the room. 'poisonous apparition', she thinks, 'hasn't he poisoned me enough?'
   "you are being dramatic."
   "oh, shit!"
   he clamped her mouth closed with his sweaty hand. "cease." he said. "desist."
   'oh, shit.' she thought.
   "whatever is the matter?"
   "i'd thought i'd lost you!" she mumbled into his hand. he didn't ask her to repeat herself; he'd felt every word and was sorry she was suddenly so afraid of him.
   "why did you think you lost me?"
   "well, i don't know, let's see. oh, now i know: because you left!" she punched his arm to no avail. "you left without saying goodbye! here you are without saying 'hello!' you left! no reason! no explanation! no note! no phone call every now and then! no facebook message! you left! at many points in your lostness i thought you'd died! you- you left! where's my goodbye? you owe me a goodbye."
   "goodbye."
   "i won't accept it."
   "why?"
   "because you didn't mean it! say it like you mean it!"
   he paused. he took in a deep breath. "goodbye."
   "goodbye to you too!" she crossed her arms and turned away from him.
   he stepped outside of the room, left through the front door closing it behind him. he then knocked three times and she answered.
   "hello," he said.
   "hello! where the hell did you go?"
   "i left."
   "to where, damnit?!" she threw a pillow at him, but the pillow left her hand too late and landed at his feet instead of hitting his face at the earlier projection she'd intended.
   "you won't believe me."
   she looked at him and stormed back into the room. he followed swiftly behind her. "i won’t believe you?" she picked up another pillow. "i won't believe you?" she sat down. "i won't believe him!" she yelled at the ceiling.
   "i've already established that."
   "me? the girl who lets you do whatever you want. me? the girl who's patched up your ripped pants and bleeding scabs every time without interrogation. me? the girl who's cried at least once a week, hoping you were all right. me? this girl won't understand?"
   he bit his lip. "only once a week?"
   she threw the other pillow at him and this time did not miss his face. "oh, shit," she murmured. "i can't believe you're alive." she fell onto her chair and pulled her knees up close to her chest. "you're alive."
   the man got off his own seat and knelt at the young woman's trembling side. "i am alive. i'm sorry you thought i was dead."
   "yes. yes, i did. i thought you were more than dead. i thought you were having fun without me!"
   the man smirked and laughed. "while my adventures away from you were exciting beyond comparison," she shot him a look. "although i'm sure yours are just as exciting—all my adventures have proven one thing."
   "what's that?"
   "that i miss you."
   the young woman perked up and smiled. "you had to go on stupid, crazy adventures to figure out that you'd miss me? you couldn't take a personal holiday like a normal person and miss me? communication included?"
   "me? a normal person? me? the boy who's manipulated kings into believing me their lost prince. me? the boy who's planted dandelions in the amazon and fed poisonous scones to british intelligence? me? a normal person taking a normal holiday to figure out the most natural and inspiring thing is that i miss you?"
she bit her lip. "you only missed me?"
   he kissed her gently and quickly on her mouth and loved the feel of her shy smile. "no," he said. "i more than missed you." he took her hand. "now, it's time to go to confession."
   "excuse me?"
   "yes! you've just kissed an apparently dead man and said 'shit' at least ten times!"
   "don't forget 'hell' and 'damnit'." she mumbled.
   "off to confessional! christians are not supposed to touch, let alone kiss, dead bodies; nor are christians supposed to curse."
   "yeah, well," she said pulling on her sweater. "you make me feel human."
   "and that is why i have missed you."
   "dante says there’s a special circle in hell for you."
   "and which circle is that?"
   the woman paused and laughed. "my heart."
   "you cliché little she-devil."
   "ah, apparently you missed the clichés, you brazen bard!"
   "i thought you were almost going to call me a bastard."
   "i've filled my daily curse quotient."

From God; to You

When there's nothing to believe in, I believe in you.
Forget the past and let my hand in yours be the proof.
Though the strong could be my company, you're the one I choose;
So remember, I believe in you

I know it feels like every eye is watching you-
Waiting for you to fall, expecting you to lose
But I see victory, so all you have to do
Is remember, I believe in you

I believe, even when I see you crying.
I believe, let me dream for you.
When nothing comes from trying,
Remember, I believe in you

There will come a day when love will lift you out of here.
There will come a day when love will bring the truth.
There will come a day when love will free you from your fear;
And you'll remember, I believe in you.

I believe, even when I see you crying.
I believe, let me dream for you.
When nothing comes from trying,
Remember, I believe in you

Bethany Dillon's I Believe in You from her album, Imagination

Hosanna

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, The people sing

Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith, With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, We're on our knees

Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

all because we do not carry

everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he'll take and shield thee;

thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Assurance

i decided to record my singing for you- it's not perfect and i was interrupted a couple times, but i thought it would be humorous than something "perfect" and "put together".

here are the lyrics, 

blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! 

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

heir of salvation, purchase of God,

born of his spirit, washed in his blood.

this is my story,

this is my song,

praising my savior all the day long! (x2)

perfect submission, perfect delight! 

visions of rapture now burst on my sight; 

angels descending bring from above

echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

this is my story,

this is my song,

praising my savior all the day long! (x2)

perfect submission, all is at rest,

i in my savior am happy and blest;

watching and waiting,

looking above,

filled with his goodness, washed in his love. 

this is my story,

this is my song,

praising my savior all the day long! (x2)

not singing yet.

one day, i'll get around to singing you songs instead of posting the lyrics.

amazing grace, how sweet the sound 

that saved a wretch like me.

i once was lost, but now am found;

was blind, but now, i see. 

'twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

and grace my fears relieved.

how precious did that grace appear

the hour i first believed.

when we've been there ten thousand years,

bright shining as the sun,

we've no less days to sing God's praise

than when we'd first begun 

the world shall soon dissolved like snow

the sun forbear to shine,

but God who called me here below

will be forever mine

i thought it incredibly appropriate that the first worship song i would share with you is this hymn by John Newton, an ex-slave trader. even if you've never been to church, everyone knows this song, but i'll finish it off with a chorus from Hillsong's latest: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail), one with no less worship than it's predecessor.

Spirit, lead me when my trust is without border, 

let me walk upon the water

wherever you would call me.

and take me deeper than my feet could ever wander;

where my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.