K-LOVE CONCERT AT RED ROCKS IN DENVER...AUGUST 2023
THE MILLENIAL CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA IN PALMYRA, NEW YORK...JUNE, 2024
Doctrine and Covenants 25:12-13
"And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting praise."
Doctrine and Covenants 45:71
"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing."
Psalm 100:2
"I need music like I need water."
Amy Grant
"The Truth" by Megan Woods
How many times can you hear the same lie before you start to believe it?
The enemy keeps whisperin' to me, I swear these days, it's all I'm hearin'
I used to know who I was, now I look in the mirror and I'm not so sure
Lord, I don't wanna listen to the lies any more...
When I feel like there's so much noise livin' rent free in my head
Heaven finds me in a still small voice and it sounds like grace instead...
The truth is I am my Father's child, I make Him proud and I make Him smile
I was made in the image of a perfect King, He looks at me and wouldn't change a thing
The truth is I am truly loved by a God who's good when I'm not good enough
I don't belong to the lies, I belong to You!
And that's the truth...
If you are familiar with my story, you know I spent ninety days in a rehab center in Southern Utah called Desert Solace, and that it was there that my life was saved and my heart was changed. Well, at least it began to change...in some dramatic ways. I have always loved sports of all kinds, so before recovery I listened almost exclusively to sports radio while I was in my car. But when I got home from Desert Solace, almost immediately I realized that it was a waste of time, because as I began my recovery I came to understand that so much of my time had been spent in things that simply didn't matter very much. I needed more and I needed different. In my car I have satellite radio, Sirius XM, and I began searching for something new to listen to while in the car. Somehow I found a station called "The Message," which plays contemporary Christian music. I had never heard that music before and it was all new for me. And from the beginning I fell in love with it! These songs and their lyrics spoke to my soul like nothing I'd ever heard before, and often when I heard a new song that penetrated my heart I would have to pull the car over to the side of the road and just cry...
So here I am, almost nine years later, and I am still in love with this music. Good music...Godly music...invites the Spirit like nothing else. I do love singing the hymns in church on Sundays...well, most of them...and I love to watch the Tabernacle Choir on Sunday mornings. It's beautiful! I have also fallen in love with the Millenial Choir and Orchestra, with their amazing arrangements and powerful voices. My friend Peter sings in the Austin choir, and we have been blessed to see them perform in person in Salt Lake, New York City, Boston, and Palmyra. They are incredible!
It was no accident that there was a choir of angels singing at the birth of Jesus!
I'd like to share some samples of the lyrics to some of my favorite contemporary Christian songs, as I just did above. Marilyn calls it Jesus music, some call it worship music, others praise music...it has become my music. I listen in the morning and I listen at night. And I listen anytime I'm in the car. Whenever we give up a habit or an addiction and the time we spent acting out in that habit or addiction, we create a vacuum in our life, and it has to be filled with something. Much of mine has been filled with music. It settles my mind and my heart, causes me to feel grateful for undeserved blessings and Grace, and allows me to both worship and praise my Savior every day of the week. Above all, it brings joy to my life and my spirit! And so many of these songs are about addiction and recovery...being changed by Grace...because that's what life is about.
So what follows is a small taste of a huge feast! And you're invited to go to YouTube or Amazon Music to actually listen to these songs, because the message is delivered so much better with the music!
Just like "The Truth," there are many songs about our identity as a son or daughter of God, who is fully loved no matter our mistakes.
"He Knows My Name" by Francesca Battestelli
Spent today in a conversation in the mirror face to face with
Somebody less than perfect.
I wouldn't choose me first if I was looking for a champion.
In fact, I'd understand if You picked everyone before me,
But that's just not my story...True to who You are You saw my heart
And made something out of nothing.
I don't need my name in lights, I'm famous in my Father's eyes.
Make no mistake, He knows my name!
I'm not living for applause, I'm already so adored, It's all His stage...
He knows my name!
The first time I heard this song I was in the car and had to pull over. Couldn't see through the tears. Of course, I had grown up singing "I am a child of God" and I knew that in my mind, but it had never really been placed in my heart until I began recovery and finally figured out...just a little bit...who I really was and who I really am. And how much I am loved, without having to earn it. This song spoke that truth to my heart, as did "The Truth."
"Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me.
You have been so, so kind to me...
When I was your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, you paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me...
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God!
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'till I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine.
And I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away.
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God!
There's no shadow You won't light up, mountain You won't climb up, coming after me!
There's no wall You won't kick down, lie You won't tear down, coming after me!
Such a beautiful song! Reminds me of Elder Patrick Kearon saying, "God is in relentless pursuit of you." Yes He is...
Another great song about who we really are...
"Priceless" by For King and Country
Mirror mirror on the wall, tellin' those lies, pointing out your flaws,
That isn't who you are. That isn't who you are.
It might be hard to hear, but let me tell you dear
If you could see what I can see, I know you would believe
That isn't who you are,
There's more to who you are...
I see you dressed in white, every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom, at the sight of you
Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable, darling I see it all in you!
And another one...
"Flawless" by Mercy Me
There's got to be more than going back and forth,
From doing right to doing wrong,
Cause we were taught that's who we are.
Come on, get in line right behind me, you along with everybody
Thinking there's worth in what you do...
Could it possibly be that we simply can't believe
That this unconditional kind of love would be enough
To take a filthy wretch like this and wrap him up in righteousness?
But that's exactly what He did!
No matter the bumps, no matter the bruises,
No matter the scars, still the truth is
The cross has made, the cross has made you flawless!
No matter the hurt, or deep the wound is,
No matter the pain, still the truth is,
The cross has made you, the cross has made you flawless!
This song reminds me of my dear friend and therapist Lynne, who would tell each of us almost daily that we were perfect just the way we were. What! Huh?! That was crazy talk to a group of addicts just beginning recovery, but I soon came to understand that is how our Father sees us...made flawless through the Savior's Atonement, but with the ability to become even more perfect tomorrow. He sees me as His perfect son, as imperfect as I may be, and He leads me along, as I willing to be led...
I also love the songs of hope, whose message is that God is aware...aware of our hurt, our need for healing. Our suffering and our need for peace. Our disappointments and our need for hope. Our mistakes and our need for constant repentance and forgiveness. He knows. And there is always hope...
"The Hurt and the Healer" by Mercy Me
Why?
The question that is never far away.
The healing doesn't come from the explained, Jesus please don't let this go in vain.
You're all I have, all that remains.
So here I am, what's left of me. Where glory meets my suffering.
I'm alive
Even though part of me has died, You take my heart and breathe it back to life
I'll fall into Your arms open wide, when the hurt and the healer collide.
Breathe
Sometimes I feel that's all I can do, pain so deep I can hardly move.
Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You, Lord take hold and pull me through...
It's the moment when humanity is overcome by majesty,
When grace is ushered in for good and all our scars are understood,
When mercy takes its rightful place and all these questions fade away,
When out of the weakness we must bow and hear You way it's over now...
Jesus come and break my fear, awake my heart and take my tears
Find your glory even here, when the hurt and the healer collide...
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