A short time ago, I was poignantly reminded that one of the beauties of poetry, or in the case of the intended subject of this blog, lyrics, is the meaning that captures your heart and demands your attention, even though the meaning you derived isn’t necessarily the intended one. But because your attention has been seized, a little time and thought enable you to come around to and benefit from the intended meaning.

Case in point: It is possible that my life may soon undergo a major upheaval. I would rather it not. I’m not necessarily a fan of upheaval, or even dramatic change. The situation has been on my mind, of course, and was weighing on me heavily on a Sunday in November when I was participating on our church’s worship team. One song in particular was really tearing me up.

I will never be the same again.
I can never return, I’ve closed the door.
I will walk the path; I’ll run the race,
And I will never be the same again. -- (Geoff Bullock)

Now, what struck me at that point was just thinking about never being the same again, and about having to close the door. I was thinking of how that door would be closing on a situation that has been life-influencing if not exactly life-changing. A situation that I didn't really want to be in in the first place. However, I have come to be not only content but happy, and frankly I don’t want that door closed by essentially reversing the situation.

But I was, of course, missing the point. The song continues:

There are higher heights; there are deeper seas.
Whatever You need to do, Lord, do it in me!
The glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again.

I was needing to be reminded of that "whatever You need to do" part. I don’t like that part as much. It’s fine to sing about, but to really submit to it? That can be painful.

Sweep away the darkness; burn away the chaff

Yet I am so thankful that God pointed out to me what the actual point of the song was. It still made me sad, and I still cried through the end of sound check, but it is forcing me, even still, to examine myself and confront things in my nature that need put to death.

Because of the frame of mind I was in, there were other snatches in that Sunday’s collection of songs that made me mindful of my potential upheaval, but as I came to realize that I needed to get my head straight about the real point of “I Will Never Be the Same Again,” I realized that I was really missing the point of things in several places. Our worship leaders construct the song lineup around a theme, and I realized I needed to consult my lead sheet and see what the theme of the day was intended to be. “I Belong to Jesus.”

We place You in the highest place above all else -- (Kirk Dearman)

Oh. Yeah. That’s right. I belong to Him and am supposed to be His to do with as He wills. Everywhere I go, He is to be in the highest place.

You are my strength when I am weak, you are my all-in-all. (Dennis Jernigan)

And because I belong to Jesus, He will take care of the upheaval. As I so frequently told my children when they were little, we don’t have to have our own way all the time to be happy. It’s time for me to mean it.

The Joy of the Lord will be my strength
He will uphold me all of my days (Twila Paris)

Whether the circumstances I would rather avoid come to pass or not, He will be with me. If I’m cast into a lonely situation, He will uphold me. I can continue fretting, or I can be appropriately sad for losses I might be facing while seizing the opportunity to trust, cling to, and follow Him and come through knowing Him better, obeying Him better, and loving Him better.

The Obligatory "I haven't posted" Entry

My original concept of this blog was to have a week-long discussion about the words of traditional hymns and gospel songs, authored not only by myself but by any readers who volunteered a contribution. I still think that would be a great thing, but I've realized that if I'm ever going to write anything here, I need to be able to let that original concept go.

I have had many thoughts over the last year concerning how God uses lyrics to work on my heart, and those thoughts have gone unwritten. So I will just move on with writing whatever is on my mind concerning hymn lyrics. However, I will probably expand into lyrics of more contemporary music more frequently than I originally intended. Our church congregation does sing traditional hymns, but the majority of our music is contemporary, so it's only natural that those songs are on my mind frequently. And this blog is going to be about the songs that are on my mind.

I would still love to have contributors. If you happen on this blog and would like to say something that would be rather more extensive than the comment space allows, then by all means contact me so that we can discuss including your entry here. I would be honored to receive your contributions of content.

I'm working on the re-boot entry now and hope to post by the end of the week. Meanwhile, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

"Great Is Thy Faithfulness" was written by Thomas Chisolm in the early 20th century. In reading about the song's background, it appears it was set to music by William Runyan in 1923. Sources indicate that Chisolm lived a life where he never had much, but God always provided his needs. He had constant examples of God's faithfulness in small, sustaining ways.

There are amazing and awe-inspiring stories of God's faithfulness, but I think most of us can relate to Chisolm in that we experience God's faithfulness quietly yet continuously. The time in my life when the words of this song ministered so directly to me was not a time of great drama, but in my staid little life, it felt dramatic to me. When my third child was born, I experienced a somewhat unusual complication. This complication kept me in the hospital for 10 days after her birth. I'd never experienced any illness but the run-of-the-mill winter bugs before, and it was unsettling to be hospitalized and have no diagnosis. Though my other children were in good hands, it was unnerving to have them be in someone else's care for so long. When I'd been there a full week and still was without a diagnosis or effective treatment, I could only think of Psalm 113:9, of being settled in my home as a happy mother of children. (Granted, I was hardly barren, as this was my third child in three and a half years, but I was surely anxious to be settled in my home with them.) It was a Friday, and I was growing very discouraged. Dear friends drove 45 miles in Friday rush hour DFW traffic to see me that evening. I was so glad to have them, but I was downhearted.

And then Saturday morning, the doctors announced they would treat me for the condition that was the most likely suspect even though a diagnosis wasn't confirmed. And it worked. And the fever came down. And they agreed that there was no reason I couldn't nurse my little pink sweetheart. And they found me a nurse who really was an effective consultant to help the baby get past her confusion (because putting her on a bottle would have just cut to the heart).

And all I could think, over and over, was "All I have needed Thy hand hath provided." Thank you, Lord, for providing all I have ever needed. I still tear up every time we sing that song and come to that line. I hope I always will.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;

As Thou has been, Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars int heir courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To They great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, and ten thousand beside.

Refrain: Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Welcome to a hymn blog!

I still love old hymns.  Many times there is a depth in the lyrics that has the power to really focus my mind on the Lord, on scripture, on living worthy of the gospel.  The purpose of this blog is to call attention to these lyrics.

In addition to appreciation of the lyrics themselves, I'd love to hear stories about how hymns have been sustaining and comforting during specfic times in folks' lives.

While traditional hymns and gospel songs will be the focus here, more contemporary music is allowed here from time to time. ;)  Hymns, after all, are songs of praise, so there is unquestionably a wealth of songs in the contemporary praise and worship genre that are hymns with lyrics that deserve to be noted and meditated upon.  We'll bring those up now and again, but the emphasis will be on songs that are, well, older than we are.

My desire for this blog is that it be a community effort, and to that end, I'll be soliciting contributions from my favorite online community.  Hopefully we'll make some new friends and earn new contributors along the way.