Complacency

This song by Todd Agnew is one of those that has been resonating in my heart for the last few weeks.  I don't know if that's because God is challenging me or because it goes right along with what we're talking about in youth group this year.  At any rate, it's called "If You Wanted Me" off of his Better Questions CD.



You can find the lyrics at the bottom of this post.

I think what I love most about this song is that it's real, it's prayerful, it's challenging.  God calls us to do so many things that we hesitate to do because they're out of our comfort zone.  Look at the first verse: Todd admits that he would have laughed at something Jesus told a disciple to do.  Who wouldn't?  "Walk on water?  Really?  Are you smokin' something?"  I probably would have had the same kind of reaction.  Then, "If you wanted me to walk on water, why'd you make the solid ground feel so right?"  God, if you're challenging me to do something so crazy like that, why does my life seem so comfortable?

My favorite lines are the last two:  "If you wanted me to surrender, why'd you make these hands able to hold on so tight?/If you wanted me to be like You, why'd You make me like me?"

This year in youth group we're going to talk about "walking the talk."  What does it mean to follow Jesus?  What does it look like to give up everything for Him?  I know that I struggle with following through with the promises we make when we worship.  Following, trusting, etc. are easy to sing and talk about but to live it out?  VERY hard.  And it's easy for me to say, "I live a Christian life" because I'm not a partier -- I don't drink or smoke, I'm not a big swearer.  But does that really make me a Christian?  Doubtful; if anything it just makes me a good person.

I struggle with the everyday, reading the Bible, praying ceaselessly, meditating on scripture aspect of my faith. DO I trust in God's plan for me?  Absolutely.  Do I believe that when I die I will spend eternity with Him?  No doubt in my mind.  But do I LOOK like a follower of Christ?  I mean, beneath the cross necklace and the crosses on my wedding ring and the occasional Christian t-shirt, what do I look like?  This is something I sincerely hope God keeps challenging me on this school year so that I can challenge my kids.


I'll admit I'm glad we're not disciples
Out on a lake paralyzed with fright
'Cause I'm afraid I might have laughed at Peter
Until he stepped into that stormy night

If You wanted me to walk on water
Why'd You make this solid ground seem so right?

I'll admit I'm glad I'm not King David
Ruling over everything I see
'Cause I think I've fallen for more than Bathsheba
Your creation's a temptation for me

If You wanted me to love You only
Why'd you make the moonlight sparkle in her eyes?

I'll admit I'm glad I'm not John the Baptist
In a jail cell waiting for my day to die
'Cause at least down here I know what we're chasing
And it's hard to trust Your dreams are so much better than mine

If You wanted me to die to myself
Why'd You make me fall so deeply in love with life?

If You wanted me to surrender
Why'd You make these hands able to hold on so tight?

If You wanted me to be like You
Why'd You make me like me?

Zanzibar, Zanzibar, Zanzibar is very far

So the other night I took a long trip down memory lane.  As a kid, my brother and I LOVED Bill Harley.  We had a few tapes of his, which we listened to a lot.  He's a songwriter/storyteller who is beloved by a lot of people because of his humor and ability to make stories fun.  Anyone around my age who grew up St. Louis remember the kids' station?  Back before 95.5 was an R&B station, it played songs geared to kids, and there is where I heard a lot of Bill Harley.  I loved that station.  When I was a Brownie Scout and my mom was our leader, she arranged for a field trip to their station and I got to talk on the radio and meet the DJs.  Good memories.

Anyway, this particular story-song has always been in the back of my mind.  It's a story about procrastinating on homework.  He had to write a report in sixth grade on Zanzibar and instead wrote a song about it.  I can't for the life of my find an MP3 link to post on here, but I did find it on iTunes.  The whole tape.  It's two stories and a song and it's only $2!!!  I was very excited to find it.

Here are the lyrics to the song, in case you remember, like me:

Zanzibar, Zanzibar,

Zanzibar is very far

You can’t get there in a car

It’s too far to Zanzibar

Zanzibar, they don’t have tar

To put on roads to drive their cars

Men and women smoke cigars

There’s no tar in Zanzibar

In Zanzibar, they grow cloves

What they’re for, I don’t know

Maybe they put ‘em between their toes

In Zanzibar, they grow cloves

In Zanzibar, they grow ground nuts

People who grow them live in huts

In Zanzibar there’s sugar cane

To grow it they need lots of rain

In Zanzibar, they grow tea

Far away across the sea

Off the coast of Afriki

In Zanzibar, they grow tea

Zanzibar, Zanzibar,

Zanzibar is very far

You can’t get there in a car

It’s too far to Zanzibar

Merry Chrismas Music #2

I realize that I'm terrible at following through with things, LOL. I said I'd do this everyday and then... well... I didn't. Sorry.

At any rate, I think this song is appropriate for tonight, Christmas Eve. This is an original Christmas song by the prolific Chris Tomlin. I love this Christmas album for two reasons: it's a worship album above all else, and it was recorded live with some other amazing worship artists like Matt Redman and Christy Nockels. Definitely one of my favorite Christmas CDs.

This song is called Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground). He sings of the star and the journey to the baby, and then of the sacrifice that Jesus ultimately was born to make. Chris really has been given a gift from God to know what to say and how to say it in a way that reaches people. LOVE this song.



I hope you have a very blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas Music #1

In honor of the Christmas season, and the fact that I LOVE Christmas music (not the hokey stuff, the good stuff, LOL), I'm going to present to you a song every day or two that I love love love.

The first one is called "Magnificat." It's sung by Christy Nockels on Todd Agnew's Do You See What I See? CD. What I love about this CD is that every song is sung from the perspective of someone in the Christmas Story. This particular song is sung fromt he perspective of Mary:



I didn't realize it till after I listened a couple times, but this is Scripture in song. It's taken from Luke 1:46-55, when Mary is singing about her son -- THE Son.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in my saviour,
He has seen the humble state of my heart, and now all will call me blessed.

Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his fame.

Oh, his fame.

He has shown the strength of his hands and brought down the mighty from their pretense,
He scattered the pride in their hearts and lifted the lowly to meet him.

Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his fame.

Proclaim his fame.

He has filled the hungry with good things...and the rich he sent, empty, away,
He hath remembered his servant Israel, and we will remember him always, always.

Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation proclaim,
Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his fame,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his name.