Song of the Week

Can't Live Without You
by William McDowell

I can't live
I can't live without you
I was created to live in your presence
Can't breathe. Can't move.
There is no life apart from you. 

I need you to live
I need you to breathe
Can't live without you
Can't live without you

Photo Credit: Marie Travis Delph - 2009

Here is the song. I've had it on repeat this last week. Super simple words, but this should be the cry of our hearts. It is our acknowledgement of who He is and how we see Him. It also is our realization of seeing ourselves rightly. We are nothing without Him (John 15:5).

Song of the Week

Worthy, Worthy 
by Vertical Church Band

No pen or quill, no scribe in perfect skill
With flawless words, could capture all You are
No lofty thought, no scholar of this world
Could grasp an inch of such infinity

Though we cannot comprehend such a mystery
Just a glimpse of You revealed is compelling us to sing

Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Worthy, worthy is Your Name
All of Heaven joins the universe ever crying 
Worthy, worthy is Your name

With hearts amazed and songs that never frame 
The fullness of Your worth and majesty
We come again and fall on bended knee
And here adore the God that we don't see

When You return, we'll hear the trumpet sound
You'll lead us home riding on the clouds
Where we will stand and sing forevermore
The honor and the praise, the glory is the Lord's

(Check out the song here on their YouTube channel. I promise you will want to play this when you are in a place you can belt it out and lift up your hands.)

Song of the Week

Have Your Way by Britt Nicole

Feels like I`ve been here forever,
Why can`t You just intervene?
Do You see the tears keep falling?
And I`m falling apart at the seams.
But You never said the road would be easy,
You said that You would never leave.
And You never promised that this life wasn`t hard,
But You promised You`d take care of me.

So I`ll stop searching for the answers,
I`ll stop praying for an escape,
And I`ll trust You, God, with where I am,
And believe that You will have Your way.
Just have Your way.
Just have Your way.

When my friends and my family have left me,
And I feel so ashamed and so cold.
Remind me that You take broken things
And turn them into beautiful.
So I`ll stop searching for the answers,
I`ll stop praying for an escape,
And I`ll trust You, God, with where I am,
And believe that You`ll have Your way.
Just have Your way.
Just have Your way.

Even if my dreams have died,
And even if I don`t survive,
I`ll still worship You with all my life.
My life, Yeah.

And I`ll stop searching for the answers,
I`ll stop praying for an escape,
And I`ll trust You, God, with where I am,
And believe that You will have Your way.
Just have Your way.
Just have Your way.

I know You will.
I won`t forget.
You love me.
Have Your way.

Okay so these words are seriously the words of my heart right now.

The Way You Love Me

The Way You Love Me
by Anthony Evans

This heart breaks slowly telling me “what are you doing to me?”
We’re not brave, do what it takes
I didn’t know I’d lose everything

Everything that meant anything to me was gone
Something right has to come from this wrong

It is the hurt that breaks me
It is the pain that pulls me to my knees
And the tears, they’ve changed me
To what I couldn’t see
Become so clear to me
This is the way, the way that you love me

My way destroyed me
I couldn’t see I was my worst enemy
So you took away, till my soul ached
And I knew it was no mistake

Everything that meant anything to me is gone
Something right has to come from this wrong

It is the hurt that breaks me
It is the pain that pulls me to my knees
And the tears, they’ve changed me
To what I couldn’t see
Become so clear to me
This is the way, the way that you love me

You loved me so much that you let me, you let me fall knowing that I would lose it all and hear your call
You loved me so much that you chased me, when I ran away you captured by letting me run
To the end of myself, to the end of myself

And this is the way you love me
The way you love me

It is the hurt that breaks me
It is the pain that pulls me to my knees
And the tears, they’ve changed me
To what I couldn’t see
Become so clear to me
And this is the way, the way that you love me

This is the way you love me

What I Thought I Wanted

What I Thought I Wanted
by Sara Groves

Tuxedo in the closet, gold band in a box
Two days from the altar she went and called the whole thing off
What he thought he wanted, what he got instead
Leaves him broken and grateful

I passed understanding a long, long time ago
And the simple home of systems and answers we all know
What I thought I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and somehow peaceful

I keep wanting you to be fair
But that’s not what you said
I want certain answers to these prayers
But that’s not what you said

When I get to heaven I’m gonna go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions, I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted and what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted

Staring in the water like Esops foolish dog
I can’t help but reflect on what it was I almost lost
What it was I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and grateful

I’m broken and grateful
I want to be broken and grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful

Father, this is my prayer. Teach me to be broken, peaceful, faithful, and grateful. Thank you for not being fair because I would be on the losing side. Thank you for not answering my prayers the way I want, because I really do want Your will most of all. Help me to not want for the good and lose the best. In Jesus' precious name, Amen!

Hold Fast - Help is on the Way

I was blessed to have some down time with some friends at the beach this past weekend. It was very refreshing and very needed. I think I just needed some time to get away from the everyday demands here at home. Anyway, on the drive back I was by myself and I heard the song by MercyMe, "Hold Fast". I was doing some very needed talking to the Lord and attempting to listen (I struggle with this area of my life because He always makes me wait to hear Him and I tend to like Him to speak quickly), when the words of the song struck a cord in my heart.

Hold Fast - MercyMe

To everyone who's hurting
To those who've had enough
To all the undeserving
That should cover all of us
Please do not let go
I promise there is hope

Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He's come to save the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast

Will this season ever pass?
Can we stop this ride?
Will we see the sun at last?
Or could this be our lot in life?
Please do not let go
I promise you there's hope

You may think you're all alone
And there's no way that anyone could know
What you're going through
But if you only hear one thing
Just understand that we are all the same
Searching for the truth
The truth of what we're soon to face
Unless someone comes to take our place
Is there anyone?
All we want is to be free
Free from our captivity, Lord

Here it comes fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He's come to save the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing stronger than my strife
Is Your grasp
So hold fast
Help is on the way
So hold fast
He's come to safe the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is Your grasp
To hold fast

I think the verses in italics above somewhat describe my feelings in my life right now. This song, I believe was used by God to let me know to just keep holding on to Him. What great promise that He won't ever let us go. It makes me emotional. I'm so thankful that He is faithful. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I Lift My Eyes

Recently I song with my praise team a song by a Christian artist named Bebo Norman. It's entitled I Will Lift My Eyes. Here are the lyrics:

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

I love the words to this song. I also have really felt the Lord leading me to pray Psalms 121:1-2. I've had a hard time focusing on what is the most important thing in my life. When you are discouraged it's usually because you have began to focus on circumstance around YOU and not on the One who created you and everything else. It's just time to refocus. Lots of things have been pointing to this verse over the last few months, a Beth Moore Study, several songs, friends, devotionals, etc. Obviously the Lord is trying to refocus my attention to Him and turn my eyes to the main event and not the side show.

He has also used the Greek word hupomeno lots. It means to abide under, to remain, to persevere under trials, to hold fast, to endure bravely and calmly. The Book of James uses this word. The Lord is telling me to hold fast. When you've done all you know how to do then you just stand therefore.

Thank you Lord for the fact that you are God and there is no other. Thank you that in the midst of struggle you are present and you care and love us. Father, thank you for the Scriptures that are your love letter to us. Thank you that we can look to it for direction, comfort, peace, and joy. Father, thank you that we have a blessed hope of being with you one day. Father, that is the prize. That is what I live for and what I press toward. Help me Lord to not lose focus. Help me to lift my eyes to the One who is my beloved. Thank you that you use your people to encourage each other. Father, thank you for your grace and mercy that is new to me everyday and that even when I fail, and I do this often, that you will pick me up and restore me. Help me to pursue you and you alone with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. That on the Day of Judgment you will say, "Well done; thy good and faithful servant!" Father, how I long to please you and share your love, your words, your truth with those that you allow me to come in contact with daily. Father, I pray that I might be a vessel fit for your use. And as much as it may hurt, and I'm sure it will, purify me Lord. So that the only thing that is left is you. In Jesus' might and precious name, Amen!

Tip of My Heart

Tip of My Heart by Bebo Norman

It's on the tip of my heart, the words to say
But I fall apart and I walk away
There's an angry world pressed against my back
And at every turn I keep looking back
And I know you promise me
Love through eternity
So why can't I just hold on

I want to live, I want to love
But I'm afraid my simple faith will never be enough
I want to laugh, I want to be set free
And let you hold all that my soul has deep inside of me
But I don't know where to start
It's on the tip of my heart

So would you take my hand, because I'm sinking in
To this life I've made, but don't understand
The clock moves so slowly, but time goes so fast
In this whirlwind world that will never last
This love you're giving me
It's not just make believe
Help me just to hold one
You open the sky, and open my eyes
And all my fears are scattered away
So I walk in grace, because I've seen your face
You are all that matters to me

So I'm gonna live, I'm gonna love
I'm not afraid because your grace will always be enough
I'm gonna laugh, I'm gonna be set free
And let you hold all that my soul has deep inside of me
You have shown me where to start
It's on the tip of my heart