Beautiful
March 21st, 2009
I think this song speaks for itself. It is incredible. It gives me chills – tells the story from beginning to end. The song is Beautiful by Phil Wickham.
Archive
Archive for the ‘Great Music/Videos’ Category
Lead Me to the Cross
March 7th, 2009
This is a song we did a month or two ago at church and it just knocked my socks off. The worship and the humility and the praise that this song inspires was just amazing to me and brings me to tears every time.
Now, there are a lot of videos on YouTube or Tangle (formerly GodTube) where the music is set to scenes from Passion of the Christ. That is a great movie, but a movie that my poor heart can only take very little. When I find a song I want to post that is set to scenes from the Passion, I usually find another video. This time is an exception. I think it is wholly appropriate in light of the content of the song and Resurrection Sunday that is upcoming. Heartbreaking yet ultimate joy at the beauty – how do those two things co-exist, really? In God’s Hands…when He leads us to the Cross.
Listen.
Here is the direct link if you have trouble with the video: Lead Me to the Cross Hillsong
Inspiration and Talent
February 28th, 2009
What I have chosen to share for this week’s Then Sings My Soul Saturdays is not a song with words, but instead a couple of orchestral pieces in a video of a group of amazingly talented kids from Venezuela. I was looking around the TED website for interesting videos, maybe even check out the one where Bill Gates released the mosquitos into the crowd, when I came across this one. This one made my soul sing.
This is a youth orchestra from Venezuela made up high-school aged kids. Watching them play and hearing their music not only pulled me out of my moment and into theirs, but it had me reflecting on so much. I was reminded of how precious their talent is and I hoped that these kids knew what God had gifted them with. I wondered about each kid’s background as I spotted shiny new instruments, and instruments with dull, old finishes that had clearly seen better days (but could still play well!). I was proud of them for their musical accomplishments – it takes hours of practice to work on music like this and to get to this skill level, hours that they were not spending in activities that could be detrimental to them, or perhaps not necessarily harmful but definitely not fruitful activities. I was impressed and inspired by the adults and teachers in their lives who encouraged these kids to practice, learn, and love this music, and by the adults who made this happen and even orchestrated (pun intended) this appearance at such an impressive conference as TED.
Above all, I listened and enjoyed this music. I was taken into the moment. For the second piece, I nearly danced off my chair and stood proudly when they did. It is a longer video than I usually post, but it’s well worth the entire watch.
Enjoy.
Second
February 27th, 2009
I was on Crackbook Facebook this morning and a friend had stumbled across this website I Am Second.
Wow. WOW. Triple WOW.
That’s all I am going to say about that. I’ll let you go there and figure it out for yourself. (Hint: Let your mouse settle on each pic of the folks in the middle of the screen…)
(I watched the videos for Stephen Baldwin and the guy from Korn. I can’t wait to go watch more…)
God of this City
February 21st, 2009
Through the blog Becoming Me, I came across this wonderful blog carnival hosted at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders called Then Sings My Soul Saturdays. I have already been doing something similar on my own by sharing at random times some of my favorite music, but now I can do it as part of this! Cool!
The song I am sharing today is God of this City by Chris Tomlin. The words are simple, yet the message always drives home a reminder to me that the mission field is all around me. My city. My town. It can include the city I currently live in or the one I grew up in – well, that would be a small town – but He is God of that city as well!
This is one worship tune that has a simple verse and chorus that repeats, as you will hear. As a musician, and church musician, I have heard all the jokes on both sides about the old hymns and the praise choruses. Personally, there is so much value to be had in all of that music and I often have to struggle to keep from getting outright offended when I hear those conversations. As someone who is so blessed and humbled and privileged to help (on keyboard only) lead worship, I am witness to both types of music opening the people’s hearts to the Holy Spirit and listening, loving and worshiping.
Likewise, with “simple” songs such as God of this City, worshiping with a single thought helps me to meditate on its meaning, bringing me to my knees in worship, humility, and prayer that much more. My prayer when I hear this song is for my city, my town, my family – and the work that needs to be done. It is overwhelming! But I serve a big God.
Enjoy.