I wrote a poem last week, well I tried to. I kept getting stuck even though I really like the idea. No matter what I tried I couldn’t put anything down that I felt worked, but Chasing Your Heart, by Ryan Stevenson from Fresh Start (2015) made me realise why my poem wasn’t working for me.

I was giving up, I was done dreaming,
‘Bout to hang it up, jaded and defeated,
Looking so hopeless, watching every door closing.

I’m getting sick and tired of the sound of my heart,
Breaking when I see my dreams falling apart,
I’m full of resentment, but I’m still believing…

This is how I felt when I was struggling to write and after two days of wondering why it wasn’t working I realised that I wasn’t putting enough of me in it. Poems need to reflect your own heart, my poem is trying to reflect a young believers heart. That’s not me, I’m fully chasing God’s heart.

I’ll never stop chasing Your heart,
My dreams live wherever You are,
And even when I’m falling apart,
I’ll never stop chasing Your heart.

Whatever it looks like, whatever You say,
What’s stirring in my heart is Yours anyway,
I’m no longer hopeless, cause this door is open…

In my wrestle with a nice idea I did manage to get a poem (if you can even call it a poem) down. I’ve decided to post it while I put poem writing on the bottom of the pile for awhile. You can read it here, it’s called, Do we sense God?

For me, the answer is yes. But what I ask myself is, am I after God’s own heart?

Chasing Your Heart – Ryan Stevenson

I’m not a big fan of Christmas, one reason is songs are confined to two months of the year, really some should be around all year. We Are The Reason by David Meece from Are You Ready? (1980) is one song that is a year-round reminder.

As little children we would dream of Christmas morn’,
And all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find,
But we never realised how a baby born one blessed night,
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives.

Yes, there’s Christmas. Yes, there’s a baby. But this is not a Christmas only song.

We were the reason that He gave his life,
We were the reason that He suffered and died,
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give,
To show us the reason to live.

Remember that every day of the year. It’s one of my favourite choruses because it’s so easy to remember, and gives me so much to think about.

I’ve finally found the reason for living,
It’s in giving every part of my heart to Him,
In all that I do every word that I say,
I’ll be giving my all just for Him, for Him.

We Are The Reason – David Meece

“Its about the journey!” I saw this on a rental car poster (mistake included, it should be “It’s”) in their office. And immediately I knew that The Journey, title track from Building 429’s latest album, The Journey (2018) would be this week’s song.

I’m away for a week to visit family members doing it tough. This song is very timely for me, and for them (the album only came out a month ago, and I only got it two weeks ago). And I was hooked from the first bar of the piano intro.

Wish I could talk to the younger me,
Caught up in all his insecurities,
Afraid to walk on the raging seas,
Step on out, step on in,
Say the words that I’ve never heard,
That could steady a heart that hurts,
Young men worry things will never turn,
Wish I could say to the younger me…

It’s okay not to be okay,
We all long for an easier way,
Beauty grows in the strangest places,
Don’t be afraid to stand and face it,
It’s not how we get where we’re going that counts…
It’s how we live the journey.

My hope on this journey to visit my family is that I will encourage them greatly. I want my words and attitude to point them to Christ, I know he’ll continue to encourage them after I leave.

Cause you’ll never be alone,
He’ll be with you all along,
He wants you to live with your heart that’s wide open,
So you can dance like there’s nobody watching,
Cause you’ll never live at all,
If you never risk the fall.

Go out and live the journey.

The Journey – Building 429

My Bible Study group is discussing evangelism. Over the last two weeks we have talked about ways to share our faith in Christ, who we should share Christ with and why we MUST share Christ. Back To The Street, the title track from Petra’s album Back To The Street (1986), is a song I’ve heard this week, and because evangelism is on my mind, the content of the song focuses my mind on proclaiming the Gospel.

It’s so easy to lose the burden, take our eyes off the fields,
Settle into apathy and forget what the harvest yields,
It’s so easy to think we’re finished with our labour for awhile,
Kick back and let somebody else go the extra mile.

Before our discussion started I felt a bit like this. I was wrapped up in my own issues, I excused myself because I’m not in a ministry job, I told myself others could do it. How wrong I was!

Jesus said go! (Go!) Into all the world make disciples of all men,
We gotta go! (Go!) To the highways compel them to come in,
As long as there’s a tearful eye that cries alone at night,
As long as there’s a weary soul ready to end the fight,
As long as there’s an aching heart that still has strength to beat,
We gotta take this message back to the street,
We gotta take this message back to the street.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are all called into ministry. We must all love our neighbour, which means telling them the truth in love because we have the amazing gift of a relationship with God through Christ. Our neighbours are all around us, across the street, in your sports team, across the desk at work. They’re crying out for the Gospel, waiting for truth and longing for new life.

This song was released 32 years ago, and it still rings true today, just as it did back then. The streets are different today, but the message is still the same and the commission hasn’t changed.

Back To The Street – Petra

Two and half weeks ago I injured my thumb. It’s not broken, but it does cause significant discomfort and annoyance, especially considering I can’t move around freely.

Even though I know it will take six weeks to heal, probably longer, I’ve been getting frustrated with the amount of pain and angry with the people around me.

This week’s song comes from a self-titled debut album, Rush Of Fools (2007). The chorus of this song came to mind a few times in the past week, especially the memorable chorus. Those four lines mirror my heart currently with my frustration getting in the way of my relationship with God and others.

Turn me around, pick me up, undo what I’ve become,
Bring me back to the place of forgiveness and grace,
I need you, I need your help, I can’t do this myself,
You’re the only one who can undo what I’ve become.

There are two other things I want to mention. Firstly, there is an acoustic version on Carry Us Now (2014) that I listen to and love. Secondly, this song, on its own, misses something, and that is thankfulness. We need to thank God that he can undo our lives, renew our minds, and heal our pain when we’re humble enough to come to him.

Make every step lead me back to the way that you…

Undo – Rush Of Fools

I wasn’t sure what to share with you this week, none of the music I listened to felt right. Amy Grant, Matthew Parker, Switchfoot, yet nothing until last night when I found this Tim Hawkins parody, Sounds Of Starbucks.

Tim Hawkins is one of my favourite comics. His skill with a guitar and ability to find humour in mundane activities is a combination I thoroughly enjoy. His faith is also clearly evident when you watch one of his shows.

This parody is ‘Weird Al’ quality. The way Tim weaves story into his lyrics, the way he mimics the original vocals and the way he parallels the original video. All done in a comedic way.

I feel I should say I don’t drink coffee (or even like it) and I have never been to Starbucks. But by the sounds of the morning rush, awful screams, sirens, riots and angry mobs… I don’t envisage going any time soon.

Sound Of Starbucks – Tim Hawkins

This song is fairly obscure, I can only find it on YouTube, I haven’t been able to find a legal physical or digital copy anywhere else. But after listening to Katy Hudson (2001), the debut album from the then 16-year-old, it’s no surprise the career she has gone on to have.

Trust In Me is the first track on the album and the chorus caught my attention straight away.

But you say, don’t worry, 
For I’ve healed the blind man and I’ve set the captives free, 
And you say, don’t worry, 
All you’ve gotta do is put your trust in me.

The vocal range and simple message make this hard to ignore. But it’s something I forgot last week. I have a wild imagination and my mind often convinces me of things that aren’t true. I regularly need to overrule my imagination and put my trust in God.

The verses are full of questions, which allow doubt to creep in. Questions are great for a creative writer like myself, particularly the big ‘What If?’. Most of the time I control the creative parts of my mind and rest in the wisdom of God. But it’s not easy all the time, so songs like this really a help.

Trust In Me – Katy Hudson

When I’m looking for something to dance to, remixes normally hit the spot. And from Mandisa’s remix album Get Up: The Remixes (2014), Shackles (Switch Remix) certainly does, emphasising dance more than the original.

The original, a nice song from Mandisa’s True Beauty (2007) has a greater emphasis on praise and worship. For the remix Switch has increased the tempo and sped up the vocals, altering the emphasis a bit, while praise and worship is still there, it becomes more praise through dance.

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance,
I just wanna praise you, I just wanna praise you,
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands,
And I’m gonna praise you, I’m gonna praise you.

That chorus always get’s me grooving for my Creator. Even though the verses are a bit buried in the increased speed, there’s a great message there.

I have been down so long, feel like all hope is gone,
But as I lift my hands, I understand that I should praise you through my circumstance.

A reminder that we need to praise God for all He’s done, no matter how we feel or what we’re going through. By focusing on Him we remind ourselves of how great and powerful He is, and that with his help we are an overcomer.

Shackles (Switch Remix) – Mandisa

High intensity, skate-boarding, rapping, singing, rock, this combo isn’t for everyone, but those familiar with Manafest know that the style doesn’t hinder the message. And that’s certainly true of Won’t Give Up from the album Stones (2017).

From the start this song gets your blood flowing, and although I find the chorus very repetitive I’m inspired by the pre-chorus.

You build me up when I breakdown,
You take my hand when I’m alone,
You pull me out when I fall in,
You heal the scars beneath my skin.

I broke down on Sunday, the situation I found myself in overwhelmed me and I just couldn’t cope. But I won’t give up, I’m going to keep fighting, there will be days when fear overwhelms me and I break down, but I’ll learn from setbacks and trust God to build me up to face the next challenge.

Won’t Give Up – Manafest

If you’re thinking Baby Baby sounds familiar, that’s because it is. A couple of years ago Amy Grant teamed-up with Tori Kelly to re-imagine her song, Baby Baby, from the album Heart In Motion (1991).

The song is faithful to the original, and instantly recognisable, but updated so that it doesn’t sound out of place today.

I’ve heard the original and this update over a hundred times, yet I’m uncertain who or what Baby Baby refers to. The more I listen, the more I think Baby Baby refers to an infant child, an actual baby.

Baby baby, my tender love will flow from,
The blue sky to the deepest ocean,

I’m not an infant child expert or baby whisperer, but I love children’s picture books. I read them whenever I get the chance, and that could easily be a line from a one of them.

Baby baby, the stars are shining for you,
And just like me I’m sure that they adore you,
Baby baby, go walking through the forest,
The birds above are singing you a chorus,

Again, those lines could easily be in a children’s book, alongside pictures of stars shining bright and an infant child being pushed around a forest in a stroller.

However, when I watch the original video (awesome clothes and style included), I’m reasonably confident Baby Baby refers to a husband. The third verse, while I could still see the lines in a children’s picture book, shows a faithful wife through sickness and health.

Baby baby, in any kind of weather,
I’m here for you always and forever,
Baby baby, no muscle man could sever,
My love for you is true and it will never,
Stop for a minute,
Baby I’m so glad you’re mine.

Amy’s two previous albums, Unguarded (1985) and Lead Me On (1988) also show the joys and trials of a God honouring marriage while incorporating a classic 80’s sound.

Baby Baby – Amy Grant feat. Tori Kelly