Lover Of My Soul

Maybe my eyes can't see, but you are surrounding me. Here in the wind and rain, the things that I know. Tender and sweet and strong as my need. I know the voice, I know the touch, lover of my soul.

 

 

 

Love That Will Not Let Me Go

Blessed Are The Tears

Source: via Rachelle on Pinterest

Romans 8:25-27

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 

 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Blessed are the tears that fall
Clean the windows of the soul
And usher in a change of heart

Bring a joy that angels know
Blessed are the tears that fall
That wash the stains of life away
Forgiven and forgotten now
A new creation's here to stay
 God will send a merciful Peacemaker
Comforter of all of those who mourn
We'll become the pure in heart, the earthly meek
Enduring misdirected scorn
Blessed are the tears that fall

Blessed are the tears that fall..........my tears....struggling today....   
 Thankful for God's unending grace.

Loud And Clear

For I am crucified with Christ and yet I live.

Not I, but Christ that lives within me.

His cross will never ask for more, than I can give,

For it's not my strength but His.

There's no greater sacrifice, for I am crucified with Christ

and yet I live.

While standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes this morning God so clearly spoke these words to me, I swear He was standing close enough to breathe on me and make my hair move.

I would choose no other way, nor change anything that has happened along the journey. Thanks be to God for sending His precious son to shed his blood so that I may live.

Give It Away

A really old song (from 1990), but a timeless message.

I Still Believe

Sometimes (okay, with me a lot of the time) when there are no words to write there is music that says it all. I have loved this song for many years. Recently, it has become a favorite to listen to while running...and I know that I sing this one out loud for sure!!!  =) 

Yes Lord, oh I still believe!!!  

(If you like this Russ Taff song you may also like this one from an earlier post.)

A Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I hear you in the quiet whispers of my soul Lord, a love that will not let me go.




Be still and know that I am God....Be Still....

Always Come Back

This song is OLD! It's so old that when I sang this in Churches I used an accompaniment track on cassette!! However, I still love it and find such meaning in the lyrics. I can look back and remember specific times in my life when this song was so fitting for what I was going through.

I love this verse:
Funny here I am again
Looking for the answers down on my knees
Shouldn't be so hard to understand,
You're all I want, you're all I need

Especially during the last several weeks this verse has been so true. God is at work in BIG ways. I love it how He is constantly showing me things, growing me, changing me. When I am unsteady, He is strong. When I doubt, He holds the future. When I cry, He wipes my tears. When I run in search of something I do not need, HE COMES RUNNING AFTER ME. I will always come back.

I have nothing and am nothing without God. Nothing.

Every single day God I am amazed by you!!!  Oh, how I love you Lord.

Walk Between The Lines

Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 The Message

 Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Joshua 1: 1-9 The Message

 After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant:

"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."


Walk Between The Lines~Russ Taff

When the night breaks in I won't spin
Far away from what I know is real
In this heart of mine
Light will shine
For I have found my chart to pilot me

Walk between the lines
Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon your Word
Walk between the lines
Seeing surer signs
My heart is hidden deep between the lines

When the days ahead seem full of dread
And I'm afraid of what the future finds
There's this place I know I can go
I'll find the peace to clear my clouded mind

Walk between the lines
Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon your Word
Walk between the lines
Finding deeper minds
My heart is hidden deep between the lines

Protected, protected in your arms

When the night breaks in I won't spin
So far away from what I know is real
If my friends turn away I won't sway
For I have found my chart to pilot me

Walk between the lines
Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon your Word
Walk between the lines
Finding deeper minds
My heart is hidden deep between the lines
Walk between the lines

Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon your Word
Walk between the lines
Seeing surer signs
My heart is hidden deep between the lines

Today my heart is deeply hidden between the lines.

I have listened to this song over and over (and over) this past week. It's been on my kitchen radio, it's on my mp3 player. (I even caught myself singing it out loud when running the other day). I have many, many favorite songs/artists but this is right at the top.  My favorite radio station had 'way back Wednesday' this week. Listeners got to request old songs that they haven't heard in awhile. How cool did my kids think it was when they heard the DJ say my name and then start playing this song.  =)  Hopefully it ministered to someone the way it has to me over the past several days. (Or should I say years??!!)

Evidence Of Love ~ First Call (1993)

Love

1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)

The Way of Love

 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.

Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

I Will Stand By You ~ Rachel Rachel (1991)

Old video/song, but still amazing lyrics that have meant so much to me over the years...and still do today.

Way Beyond The Blue

I am sitting here thinking, wrestling, questioning,  praying to God the same prayer that's been on my heart for many weeks. Then in a split second  God puts a song in my head, one that I haven't heard in a very long time.

Just The Right Words

Answer To Prayer ~ Trace Balin

So many people
Will be down on their knees tonight

Seeking directions
For which road to choose
Or strength for the fight
And when they rise up
Trust in His word
Standin', believin'
Their prayer has been heard
Their eyes will open wide
For a sign they may see

Like a light in the darkness
A song in the night
Just the right words
At just the right time
Tomorrow, today
You may be someone's answer to prayer

The very moment
We are willing to say "here I am"
We step out of our happenstance world
Into His perfect plan
Where nothing's left
To chance or to whim
People to people
Is where it begins
To be His voice of hope
Or the touch of His hand

So when I'm out of touch
I'm missing twice as much
The blessings He has for me
That keep me true to His will
Always faithful and still
Somebody waits for me

Chosen to carry anytime, anywhere
A message from heaven the Lord has prepared
Tomorrow, today
You may be someone's answer to prayer

People to people is where it begins
Today, right now you are their answer

Because Love Never Fails
Sometimes The Answer Comes When You Let Go

Arise My Love

So Excited!!! White Heart & the Christian Music Hall of Fame

One of my all time favorite christian music bands is going to be inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame...White Heart.  I can still remember when I was a Jr High youth leader going to see these guys and WOW what a concert. 

Here is the link if you want to read about the bands history.
http://www.hallmuseum.com/hof/whiteheart.htm                                  

I have been trying to pick my top 3 favorite songs by them and it is impossible! I included a 'bonus' song because I just couldn't narrow down my choices. This first song is definitely one of them.  It was one of the first songs I sang as a solo, and soon became one of my favorites to perform all those many years ago!  It such a wonderful reminder of the gift we are given in Christ.



Oh the tears I have shed to this song...



This song is played VERY loudly in my house!



Loved White Heart all those many years ago and love them just as much today.  I LOVE Christian music and have many favorite songs, bands, singers.  Chad and I were talking the other night about how powerful music is and how much it can influence a life.  I feel so blessed that I have had such incredible Christian music to listen to since I was young.  I have loved lots of different types of music, but the message that Christian music gives me is such an incredible blessing in my life. So many times I will hear a song and think "that is exactly my life" or that is exactly what I needed to hear at that exact moment.

So, if you're looking for a message to uplift you, encourage you...check out some God inspired music. From past to present Christian music has had much to offer over the years and continues to be such a gift to so many people!

Never for nothing....

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!  Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
 ( I Corinthians 13)

Our Pastor says that we all want to love, and to be loved.  Oh how true that statement is.  My question to you today is what happens when the love you give makes you feel like it was for nothing?  When you feel no love returned?  Do you just stop showing love?  Do you walk away?

Maybe you will not see the rewards of loving others in this lifetime, but as Paul states...love is the greatest and without it we are nothing. Love is never for nothing......