I grew up enjoying a plethora of music.  We had Phantom of the Opera, Amy Grant, Reba McEntire, even Paula Abdul.  We owned Michael W. Smith and DC Talk, even some Yanni was thrown in the mix.  So I suppose with a varied introduction to music, it shouldn’t be any surprise that it became a passion of mine.  Chorus was the highlight of my elementary years and I advanced to band for my middle and high school days.  I continued to either play my trumpet or sing on the church praise team throughout college and I am now looking forward to joining my new churches praise team.

Over the past year, I experienced a strange longing that I never knew was real.  I wasn’t a part of any extra curricular musical activities and when I was in the midst of praise or a performance, my heart ached.  I discovered some time ago that one of my favorite forms of worship is through music so I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising, but I never knew how much it gets into your very soul.

I was privileged to play with a band that was extraordinarily good.  If anyone has heard of the prestige of the Mid-West festival (an international music conference), my high school played there Dec 2003.  It was amazing to be known as a well accomplished musician and to realize that I was playing music that some lower professionals couldn’t play.  Now, don’t take this as tooting my own horn (no pun intended).  I was no where near the best player there, or even in my own section (trumpets by the way).  Simply, I learned to appreciate the opportunity that I had been given.

To make music well comes from the soul.  You hear about artists of all forms, painters and musicians and dancers alike and you discover that their imagination is vast.  To be a true master of an art, it has to come from the soul.  I suppose that is why I find music as my favorite form of worship.  I can’t sing or play praises half way.  If I do…it’s usually not very pretty or joyous.  But when I play from the depths of my soul, I feel as if I am worshiping alongside all the beings of heaven and that’s where I want to be.

After not writing for nearly a week I wanted to come back with something meaningful.  I have plenty of useless ideals and opinions that don’t amount to much but when I look at the world I want to make more of an impact.  BarlowGirl recently came out with their newest CD entitled “How can We Be Silent.”  It is also a “campaign” of sorts for people to not just listen to the music, but to live the life.  They challenge listeners to submit their own stories about not being silent and standing up for Christ in a world that has long forgotten that He is in fact their Maker, Savior, and king of the world that they live so freely in.  It amazes me how simple this can be and yet how difficult we make it.  We create in our minds this idea that we have to travel to the far ends of the earth in order to make a difference.  The we have to somehow be in grave danger and in fact risk our very life for our ministry to be at all effective.  Why?  Why do we need to go into the depths of the world (though those ministries are in deed needed and greatly appreciated if you are in fact called into that work)?  But why do we feel that we can’t minister to our neighbors by living a life that Christ exemplified and being friendly even when they are not?  Why can’t we minister to the workers at the local grocery store by letting them know that it is offensive to see magazines like Maxim displayed openly when all they do is offer substantial temptation to any man who walks by them and can make women feel degraded or not pretty enough by not fitting the prototype displayed?  Why can’t we minister to our local restaurants and servers by respecting the work and service they are trying to provide and simply saying “God bless you” and meaning it before walking out the door?  These minimal actions are things that should be done in our life without over analyzing them but done with the heart of He who lead us in the example.  Why do we insist on being silent when we don’t agree and accept that the society is just going to change that way whether we do something about it or not?  If we all stood up for what we actually believed can you imagine the changes that society would have to make for us?  Christians have too long been silent and accepting of the ever demeaning changes that we are forced to accept without complaint.  God did not call us to be weak (meek, but not weak) and we should be strong for our God until the day of his glorious appearing which may be closer than we think.  Until then, speak up–> Never be silent for what you believe.

Right now I’m sitting on my front (side) porch, computer resting on my lap, just watched the sun set, and thankful for the gentle breeze that is keeping the temperature at a very nice “cool” for the moment (it feels like rain *wishing, hoping and praying* but the sky doesn’t look too hopeful yet…maybe tomorrow).

I’m playing Skillet’s newest CD: Comatose. Great album. It focuses on the inperfections that we all can be and yet…God loves us. This awsome rock group has always been on my top favorite list. They incorproate a lot of unique sounds (including strings) into their songs and the vocals are so inmistakable it makes for a great band. This new album is deffinitly worth listening to as well (I went out and bought it right away and love it–listen to it all the time).

I love that there are so many varieties of music that are there to praise God and to offer ministry unique as each and everyone of us. Skillet is a great rock group, who will be in Orlando, FL at Universal on Sept 8 (for a complete list of their tour, go to their website…they also have some of their songs and videos from Comatose on there as well). But just as I said with the Christian hip-hop ministry, it is a ministry, whether or not people believe it. No it’s not heathenistic for artists to like a specific type of music and to make their ministry reach others who share their love of that type of music (whether it be rock or hip hop or evn contemporary which is the same as pop, by the way). It’s a ministry, there isn’t anything to complain about and I don’t unserstand why people do. There are some people who only listen and only like rock music. Ok, so let them listen to it. And, I thnk that it is that much better if they are willing to incorpoate a Christian message into what they are listening to (because you really do listen to the words whether you think you are or not, it gets inside your head). So why not make it something with a good message AND a good beat that people like. I think that these ministries are awesome and groups like Skillet are awesome.

Here are the lyrics to one of the songs from Comatose album, it’s called Rebirthing.

Verse 1
I lie here paralytic inside this soul
Screaming for you till my throat is numb
I wanna break out
I need a way out
I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way
The worst is the waiting
In this room I’m suffocating
Pre-Chorus
Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen
I take you in
I’ve died
Chorus
Rebirthing now
I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now
I wanna live my live, wanna give you everything
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Right now
Right now
Verse 2
I lie here lifeless in this cocoon
Shedding my skin cause I’m ready to
I wanna break out
I found a way out
I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way
The worst is the waiting
In this room I’m suffocating
Pre-Chorus
Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen
I take you in
I’ve died
Chorus
Rebirthing now
I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now
I wanna live my live, wanna give you everything
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
(I come alive somehow)
Bridge
Tell me when I’m gonna live again
Tell me when I’m gonna breathe you in
Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside
Tell me when I’m gonna feel alive
Tell me when I’m gonna live again
Tell me when this fear will end
Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside
Tell me when I’ll feel alive
Chorus
Rebirthing now
I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now
I wanna live my live, wanna give you everything
Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
(I come alive somehow)
Right now (I come alive somehow)
Right now (I come alive somehow)

Thanks to Christian Music Lyrics for the hookin me up with the lyrics for the song!

K (my boyfriend) loves hip hop. Not the “get down and dirty” hip hop…Christian hip hop. Since I started dating him he has introduced a number of different artists to me: Cross Movement (CMR), Ambassador, Da Truth, Flame, as well as many others including one of my (now) favorites, Lecrae. These guys have a phenomenal ministry that they are actively working on and the messages that they preach in their songs are sometimes so much deeper than anything you hear on the radio today. I wanted to give a shout-out for them, and maybe let some of y’all know that this is out there and they are awesome. Cross Movement Records also does R&B so if that’s your thing, they have some great artists signed on there and new ones added all the time.

My parents say that they don’t like hip hop because they can’t understand what is being said (that’s learned too.) But, just in case you wanted to see what kind of messages were in some of the songs, I listed on of Lecrae’s songs below. It’s called “Send Me.” This song is entirely about the importance of missions and what they are (and are not doing). Great songs and great meaning. Hope you enjoy it and hope you check out CMR.

Send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i seen it with my own two,
there’s no way i can show you
a perfectly poverty stricken people with no view.
And i bet you can’t believe this,
they never heard of jesus.
Heard young butler, lil wayne, and young jeezy.

No one’s signing up to go on missions this summa.
Rather sit at home and watch exibit pimp in a humma
while a nine year old is shot down.
No one’s screaming ’stop now!’
no bridge illustrations for criminals who on lock down.

People deep in africa
looking for an answer bra’.
In china man,
they’re dieing man,
until they know who died for sins.
So look what grace did.
Not for us to stay here
inside our comfort zones
at home in mama’s basement.

Get out on the grind y’all.
Ain’t no better time doll.
I know y’all read the great commission.
Let me just remind y’all:
make disciples of the nations.
Teach’m to obey the lord.
Have to lead someone to christ before i face the lord.

Send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

hey! After, 1,000 years in the west and the churches
get’n bigger daily without understand’n worship. (say what?)
Some regenerate but a lot ain’t saved.
You walk outside and be surprised cuz the block ain’t changed.
And the numbers they be get’n me.
Something just ain’t hit’n them.
America ain’t christian they practice’n the ritual.
That’s why we should be mission though.
Hey, what you think i’m spit’n for?
The united states is die’n
and in the east is looking pitiful.

Some places if they catch you
they’ll arrest you.
They’ll serve you,
but they still need the word too.
The gospel should be heard too.
We claim we ain’t ashamed,
but we ain’t hit the block up.
Were in our christian bubble,
while our brotha’s get’n locked up.
Lord i wanna stock up,
pack a bag and walk up
in a country where my faith may get me shot up
anywhere i go, whether my city or far abroad,
i just wanna show’ christ the risen holy god.

Send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i know they’re die’n in the streets over in the middle east.
Some kids sink in piece
others hold’n up a piece.
If the violence doesn’t cease,
then at least the deceased
might know jesus as their savior as their bodies hit the streets.
And i know this is a graphic view.
And i pray that it’s attack’n you.
Track’n you to act and do
what you see in the back illusion.
Mathew twenty-four and fourteen.
We should read it twice
before we think that life is just a battle
see we free in christ!
Look dawg! Life is more than church work and football!
What if you were dead and seen that christians overlooked y’all!
This is why we leave the couch
and leave the comforts of our house
to show a die’n world a god they’ll probably never read about.

The great commission says make disciples of all nations.
Have we even made them in our own nation?
Come on christians!
Missions exist because worship doesn’t.
People don’t worship the god who made them.
We’re ambassadors.
Let’s go!

Send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
send me I’ll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

(found the lyrics on uplyrics.com~thanks!)