Calm My Soul - Paper Route

Looking ahead of the concert schedule I realized that Paper Route was coming to town in mid December and I got excited! One of my great ways to make computer work fly by is listening to music, therefore this morning I listened through the first Paper Route album "The Pease of Wild Things". The sounds that this band carries first caught my ear two summer ago when I heard You and I. Broad sweeping powerful alternative rock with lyrics that stir my thoughts. I tend to enjoy artists that have spiritual undertones as they speak about life and love.

Calm my soul woke me up this morning and I would like to pass along some of the reasons why. The first verse resonates well with my life as I am learned year by year, making mistakes, living to tell the tale of grace. A few weeks ago on a trip to TN with some buddies I realized for the first time that I actually forgot a lot of my events in about the last two years of life. It is really strange but they would speak of conversations, events, and memories made and I came up blank. The type of memories that turn your heart to glass is oh so true!

The sweeping chorus of this song has caught my attention before but today it was something I truly could sing out in praise. The members of this group met at a Greenville College and if you would like to read more about their position as Christians in the arts see this article.

Calm your Soul
There is hope
Who bleeds more!

I've seen too much this year

I long for it to pass

The type of memories

That turn our hearts to glass

My mother made me well

My father worked the land

In dust my ribs were formed

And I'll return again

Calm my soul

We are bonded of the earth

Its body and its breath

We hurt the ones we love

And we won't when we pretend, God

Calm my soul

Who bleeds more

I have walked behind for too long

Now I will lead the way

I have strayed, I have strayed, strayed away

If you've love in haste

Thinking only of the cost

Every river leads to land

Every lover to a cross

You lighted hearted war

And they thrash inside your lips

Like and arrow passing through

Your tongue can kill or it can kiss

All is Great in Life,

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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