Endless Ocean - Jonathan David Helser

There is no end to the affection you have for me, this is a fact that I frequently choose not to remember. Once I remember that my Father in Heaven loves me with no end then the walls of my heart break and allow the Loves of others to penetrate what I desire to keep closed. My preference out of my own selfish desires is to gaze into the hearts of others while not exposing myself. But luckily I have a God who transforms me from the inside out, tearing down walls he never designed to be standing, removing the blockades of my self desire.

Recently the Lord has been opening my eyes to my own desire to sin and how he knows the recipe to rehabilitate my wandering heart. He is working but I choose to not listen to his voice and/or not act upon the commands of his mouth. His discipline sometimes feels like punishment but its rather simply a father guiding a child away from the fire and toward himself.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

In the beginning you were singing
In the end you'll still be singing over me
In this moment you're right beside me
You're everywhere, you're in the air that I breathe

You are an endless ocean, a bottomless sea

In my sin you kept loving
There's no end to your forgiveness and mercy
Every morning you keep coming
The waves of your affection keep washing over me

All those angels, they are swimming
In this ocean and they still can find no shore
Day and night, night and day
They keep seeing new sides of your face

There's no end to the affection you have for me

All in Great in the Presence of my Papa
Paul Shackelford

Rise Again - Needtobreathe

I have been reading a book about the arts and Christians role in creating culture. Steve Turner, the author, asserts a major critique that modern Christian art does not speak about real life. The art created does not sound genuine or have any ties to real life that people outside the faith can connect with. While reading the book I listened through this album and I think that this song does a great job of breaking the mold. The members of Needtobreathe are all outspoken followers of Jesus but very little of the art that they produce mentions Jesus or Christianity at all. Instead they craft creative music, written from places of pain and joy. "Rise Again" steps through pain that occurs in life as we see relationships stretched and torn. The bitterness of broken hearts and friendships is then contrasted with the truth that we will get up from this pain and rise again. "I can see us moving on, I can feel that coming on strong", the joy that comes after the

Twenty-Four - Jess Ray

Lately I have been listening to lots of music and podcasts while working and biking to work. I was feeling a need for some new music so I turned to NoiseTrade to check out some new artists. My favorite thus far is Jess Ray because of the honest lyrics, tastefully simple musicality and overall enjoyable listening environment. While on my flight back to Atlanta I was struck by this song at first because of the drums that propel this song behind the walking guitar. If I were to add drums to a track like this it would have been done in a very similar manner. Once I got past the drums I was awe struck by the simple power of these lyrics, take a read below and follow the link to her blog to listen. To me it was not written for an outward expression of hope or encouragement but rather as a inward proclamation to the soul. As the psalmist often choose to sing, this song speaks inward in a call to stand up and be reminded of truth all to often forgotten. As I gear up for the star

You Will Be My Ain True Love - Alison Kraus

This song has so much power, even if you remove the lyrics. I just decided to take in the full potential of the song by turning the stereo all the way up and playing the song a few times. Before even looking for a video of this song I knew it was related to the Civil War and the separation that occurred between loved ones. This song starts out explaining the battle field and how the soldier has survived the terrors of war. As the song continues to build you can tell that the soldier wants to be with his love. They have been separated by this war and now he wants to be back with her. The last few lines portray his death and how he has been reunited with his "True Love". I believe that this song describes his "True Love" as God, our eternal True Love. He has returned to his maker after being killed in Battle and this song paints that picture so well. This song has tons of power in the music behind the lyrics, it adds so much to the meaning of this song!

Letters from Lilongwe

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