Am I the only one who feels as if I have been immersed in a beautiful movie with part of the soundtrack missing?
I love what God is doing in our lives, I love how He is walking so near to us each day. I love the fresh vision, the fresh words, the fresh burdens that seem to have unified those in my world in the past several months.
I even love the wonderful praise and worship songs which our teams do so well. Beautiful songs--many of them straight from the Psalms--expressions of heartfelt praise and love and adoration. They usher me into a place of worship that I love. I love how those choruses are vertical...they leave the "me" out of it and focus on the "Him". Upbeat expressions of worship, slower melodies to hear His heartbeat...I really do love all of that.
But there is still an element missing that I long to have restored in my life.
What would be the right word for it? The "testimony" song? The "story" song? The "experience" song? The "hope" song? The song that conjures up pictures of where I've been and what I've done and His response to that?
One with a beat, a flow, a melody line that causes your soul to soar...
My soul was so refreshed several years ago when the praise and worship choruses finally understood that worship was all about Him and we learned that to enter His presence, we must take the focus off of us and put it on Him.
But in the process, I am afraid we threw out Ephesians 5:19 which says, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."
That's what I miss. I miss the "speaking to ourselves" songs. The ones that are testimonies of where we have been, what He has brought us through, and where we are going.
Not the corny songs about Mama, either. Nor the twangy ones that take their cue from bumper stickers.
Please don't stop doing the praise and worship stuff.
But is there a new song out there that can fill this hole in my soul?
I think I'm going to create a new label for posts in this blog and label it "Controversial."
This will be the first post that goes in it.
(I'm editing the post with this addendum: I'm not talking about bringing back the "old" stuff, either. I love to hear music that takes me back to another time, but that's not the new song I'm talking about. I'm talking about a new song for now...for 2011... I don't really know what I'm searching for, I just know that I will know when I find it!
Ditto!! I am SO with you on this controversial thought!
ReplyDeleteI think you raise a valid point...not controversial (altho I can see where some might find it so, I suppose). I glanced at my iPod and here are a few song options I found. Not sure if any of these are what you're looking for, or even your 'style' of music, but they are a few on my song list that testify to what I feel, what I've lived, and what I'm living now.
ReplyDeleteThis Little Light of Mine - Addison Road
Change in the Making - Addison Road
Empty and Beautiful - Matt Maher
Let the Waters Rise - Mikeschair
Lead Me To the Cross - Chris and Conrad
This is the Stuff - Francesca Battistelli - the 'fun' song option ;)
Anyway, when you find the new song you're searching for, please share it with us! :) And thanks for encouraging us to seek Him.
P.S. One thing we were discussing recently: there is a difference in "church songs" and "songs-I-listen-to-on-my-iPod". Some songs are great for my personal devotional time, listening to while driving down the road or while cooking supper...while others are great for congregational type singing. The ones I've listed are mostly the "by myself" type. :)
I have been convicted about this very thing!
ReplyDeleteTwo hymns have really ministered to me over the past year or so, "It Is Well With My Soul" and "Be Thou My Vision." Both can be found and played on my blog (http://likeabubblingbrook.com) if you scroll to the very bottom of the page... there's a music player there with just those two songs :) They are versions performed by David Nevue - with no words - and are absolutely gorgeous. They bless me!
I was raised in a small country church. We sang the "songs of the church" out of the Great Gospel Songs hymnal. I loved those songs--I still do. I learned to sing alto and tenor while singing those old songs. I learned how to lose myself in worship and in song as I closed my eyes and sang with my whole heart.
ReplyDeleteI like some of the new choruses. Some I can totally do without. I do not think we should ever do away with the old and only sing the new. We need to remember that most of the middle aged and golden aged brothers and sisters prefer the hymns. Let's face it--Amazing Grace will NEVER get old. It clearly defines us all--"I oncewas lost and now I'm found". I just think a well thought out mixture of both will yield the best results--just my opinion.
I would like to suggest a song for your consideration. Christy Ballestero's newest CD is awesome. Consider the song, "When you find he's all you have, then you'll find he's all you need". Wow!! This song ministers to me like no song has in a very long time.