Milestone Song

I love music. Finding that song that perfectly encapsulates everything you're feeling has got to be one of the best experiences.  It's like the essence of the song fuses in with your soul and things just seem right.

One of my favorite hobbies is to make playlists every season.  This started back in high school in my more emo days.  Oftentimes there would be a song that would stand apart from the rest of the list (usually because it resonated with my feelings of unrequited love).  To this day whenever I hear one of those "milestone songs", I get a rush of memories from that time of my life.  If you know me well, my memory sucks, so the fact that music helps me remember things makes it all the more important to me. 

This year, I've had the privilege of being on band (playing drums!).  Part of that responsibility is to try to find songs that we think would be appropriate for where our church is at.  Unfortunately, I'm still 0-4 in song suggestions making it into the band song list, but one of the new songs we're learning this semester really stands out to me.  It's still early, but I have a strong feeling that it will be one of those "milestone songs" for this semester.  The song lays out so simply God's power and majesty and the lyrics yearn for things that we are so desperate to see happen in our church. 

Every time I listen to this song, I am filled with excitement and wonder at what God has in store for us this year.  How awesome will it be to look back on this semester and hear all the stories of lives God has touched?

Let it Go

I just got a call from the school I was to interview at tomorrow. They said that both positions that I was to interview for were filled. great.

I feel like I'm getting pushed to my breaking point. I've never cried about not getting a job before and right now I'm crying. The most frustrating thing is I don't even have a chance to show what I can offer to them. If I was able to interview and get rejected, fine, at least I gave it a shot.

Why do I get to go through this every single year? Nothing is ever constant for me. People younger than me are advancing in their career and I'm not even stuck in a rut; you need to be on the path to get stuck. I'm on the outskirts looking in.

This has been a tumultuous past couple months, a lot of things I've been trying to wrestle through and figure out, car troubles and lack of job progress... This is the tipping point where I have no one else to turn to but God.

I know that He will be faithful in the end, but it's so hard to see it right now. This is probably the answer to my prayers for greater dependence on Him huh?

Anyways, this song is really resonating with me right now. Strange, because I first heard it a couple days ago.

Time to stop wallowing in pity and let these things go to the One who can actually do something about it.

I change my mind

Ever since I became aware of Christian music, I never really liked Hillsong. They had a couple songs that I thought were pretty good, but for the most part, I disliked how each song was like 10 minutes long with build ups that took entirely too much time. Also, they kinda had a old school, gospely feel to me which I really wasn't a fan of.

Well, this past month I got forced into attending a Hillsong concert in Austin. To be honest, I actually was kinda adamant about not wanting to "waste $35" to listen to crappy music, but ended up going.

The term "anointed" is the only word that does the group justice when you worship with them. From the first time they step onto stage and throughout, they jive w/ the Holy Spirit in a way that you can't help but meet God. Musically, they are talented beyond measure... amazing singers, amazing musicians. But what really struck me was their intense JOY in worshiping God through music. Everyone was worshiping so freely it was a blessing just to witness it.

One song in particular (out of many) stood out to me for its raw and powerful lyrics.

Wedding Dress

So I never understood the appeal for that Korean song "Wedding Dress". The fact that everyone goes crazy when they play it on Youtube (girls AND guys) blew my mind. I would always scoff and make mental judgments at how superficial the fans of this song were. Sorry.

I ran across a mix that my sister had made when I was cleaning my desktop, and aside from a lot of questionable songs on the CD, I heard this song play on Track 9. I was confused, because the song sounded familiar, but the singer was singing in English. Apparently a group had made an english version and I have to admit, knowing what the lyrics say, made me actually like the song. I listened to it on repeat driving to work 3x in a row.

For me, that's a lot, because I purposely do my best NOT to kill songs (aka play the song on repeat until you get sick of it).

So consider that a mass apology to any K-Pop fans that I made fun of out loud or in my head. I can at least appreciate this song.

Songs for You, Truths for Me

I recently bought James Morrison's album Songs for You, Truths for Me. Even in his first album, there was a sense of power behind his smoky voice. Nowadays, it's so rare to have an artist evoke that sense of soul-wrenching honesty while maintaining his manhood but James Morrison does it well.

Even though many songs share of past mistakes, he is able to reveal little epiphanies about the lessons he learns from them. For those of you who are fans of introspective and evocative lyrics, I would recommend you check him out. Some of my favorites on the album are below.

Please Don't Stop the Rain



Once, When I was Little


You Make it Real for Me

Sleepless Night

Lots on my mind tonight. Rain all day and night. Flooded sidewalks. Can't sleep. When I close my eyes I feel like my brain is whirling around at 100 mph. Nights like this I truly appreciate being able to give up all my burdens to God. It's been a long time since I've been so overwhelmed and unable to help. I keep seeing myself on a ship with giant gaping holes and cold, dark water rushing in and I'm trying in vain to plug up the holes with anything I can find. No matter how hard I try and whatever progress I make in one area, another hole opens up somewhere else. As the water rises, it gets so cold, and I get more numb and frustrated at my inability to fix the situation. Seems like God is trying to drill home this lesson to me this year. Let go of control. Let go. Let go. Trust in My plans. Your attempts at helping are noble, but I am the Healer, the Redeemer, not you.

Sometimes it takes nights where you just throw up your hands in frustration to gain the right perspective.

And I’m amazed by You. Cause You’re never far away
And all that I’ve been through, Your love has never changed

Chorus:
You make oceans from the rain
Breathing life into this place
And I will drown inside your love
Until I see your perfect face
And nothing I’ve acquired means anything at all
Cause you’re everything I needed
You’re so much more than I deserve
(Chorus)
And I thank you Lord (repeat 4 times)
(Chorus)
The blood of Jesus can wash your pain away
Seventh Day Slumber- Oceans from the Rain

Much respect to Colt

I heard that Matt Wertz was performing for free at Bass Auditorium, so naturally I wanted to go. Jorgy and I ended going together, not really knowing what to expect. Apparently the night was meant to be this Christian call-out, where Christian organizations met together for good music and a gospel presentation by Joe White (An ex-coach at Texas A&M).

I never really followed Matt Wertz that closely, I had a couple of songs from when he first came onto the scene 6 years ago, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised when he came out w/ his first set b/c his voice was really clear and smooth, kinda like a mix of John Mayer and Jason Mraz. He was a bit awkward at times, but his stage presence was very chill and the songs he chose were light and upbeat. Unfortunately, we were sitting in front of 8 guys who spent the entire time making snide comments, so I was too chicken to record pictures.

After 4-5 songs, who stepped onto stage, except freakin Colt McCoy. His faith was something I had always read about, and I thought it was really cool how he was not just an athlete that just says he's christian, but he actually lives it out. Anyways, he gave a testimony about rededicating to Christ in his sophomore year, and encouraged the audience to be active in living for God.

Now, most big-name athletes could just peace out after their responsibilities end, but Colt stayed the entire time (even through the presentation by Joe White). During the response time, he helped with nailing the "sins" to the cross and holding it up with a bunch of other guys. That really spoke to me that such a "big-time" guy was willing to do such bizzle work because he really wanted to help. Much respect, Colt.

Anyways, the presentation itself was actually pretty cool. One thing that stood out was the analogy of us being bond-servants, CHAINED to our master because we want to serve Him. That imagery never really made sense to me, but it's such a powerful picture of how our hearts should be.

Anyways, I've posted a couple clips of some of Matt Wertz below, so check it.

Matt Wertz singing "You Said" Video
Matt Wertz singing "Carolina" Video