Monday, June 27, 2011

Music is the Mirror of my Soul


Happy Last Monday of June, my darlings!

I try to keep a lot of what's happening (at least the negative things) in my personal life from bleeding over into my blog.  I want my followers/readers to look forward to arriving at my pages, to be encouraged or amused or uplifted (or any combination of those), and to come away from a post happy and looking with anticipation towards the next time.


My blog is not a rant.  It is a place for the things I love to be shared with both old friends and friends I haven't met yet.

This being said, I crave your indulgence for one slightly less-than-cheerful selection for this Music Monday.  It has been thunder-storming quite a lot here in the Southeast, and the black clouds seem to be a reflection of my mood and of the things that are happening in my personal life.  You see, dear reader, for all that I am a bright beam of sunshine in most of my posts, I have a broken heart.  I hide it fairly well on a day to day, but sometimes the grief is overwhelming.  In these moments, I turn to music.  I acknowledge the pain and the struggle, and then I focus all of my attention on praising God.  He can heal any hurt, mend any break, and breathe new life into something which seemed for all the world to be dead.  He is the deliverer and redeemer of my soul, my tower of strength, my anchor in these raging storms.

Here, then, are 4 selections that are applicable to my struggles at the moment.  The first is a beautiful piano rendition of the song "My Immortal", originally done by the group Evanescence a few years ago.  This instrumental carries the melody in all the right ways, conveying feelings of grief and anguish, but always with a touch of tenderness and hope.  The second is a song by Natalie Grant that I have always loved.  The lyrics in the beginning deal with the loss of a child, which - PRAISE GOD - I have never experienced.  But her chorus of "how it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive" can be applied to other things that happen in life.  The death of my father is one, and there are other, more recent things that don't deal with actual death, but which hurt just as severely.

Acknowledging the pain and moving forward from it, the 3rd and 4th selections, both by the band Casting Crowns, focus on turning to my Comforter and Healer for help.
"If We've Ever Needed You" contains one of my favorite lyrics ever: "With shipwrecked faith..."  That so accurately sums up for me how we respond to a crisis.  But the body of the song is about giving over to the understanding that we can't do anything on our own.  Our very breath is not ours to breathe.  It is given to us with such deep love!  We NEED Him!
"Praise You In This Storm" is all about not waiting until after God does something in our lives, but through the pain, through the roller coaster of emotions, through the most frightening parts of our struggles.  No matter where we are, what has happened, or how impossible the situation seems, He is God and He is in complete control.  

Please enjoy the music, and let Him speak to your heart through it.  If you are not going through a time of trial, I rejoice with you!  He is good!  If, however, you are dealing with some hard things in life, He will comfort you!  He is good!




3 comments:

  1. "Praise You in this Storm" gave me comfort during a particularly stormy time in my life. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. I read your blessing list before reading the post, so I knew something was up! So sorry that you are having such a rough time. :'( "Praise You in This Storm" came on the radio the day of my grandad's funeral, right when we got in the van to go from the church to the cemetery, & it was just the right length that it finished when we arrived. God's timing, if not what I would choose, is still perfect.

    To answer your running ??s, first of all, no wonder you're enjoying it so much. There's a popular running shirt that goes around that reads, "Running is cheaper than therapy." That's totally what I use it for about 1/2 of the time. As far a logging: I have an excel spreadsheet that I've used for years to keep track of distance + time. If you prefer an online tracker, I would recommend Daily Mile or Runner's World (I prefer Daily Mile). I don't remember if it's .com or what, but you should be able to find it on Google.

    It rained one day last week, and the next morning I sweated about 3x as much as usual-- so it's not your imagination! Be sure to hydrate well on humid days! And above all, keep enjoying it. You won't love every minute, but don't let running become a drudgery or a "have to"-- if you're not feeling it, it's okay to cut a run short or slow down or walk for a while or whatever. Just be sure not to miss too many days, or it will be hard to pick it back up again.

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  3. Hi Jenny - what a beautiful blog - I love the name and your incredible header. Your musings are great inspirations for your readers - I admire your gentle spirit and that you want to devote your blog to praise and God's glory.

    Thank you for your visit - and your sweet comments. I appreciate your visit so much!

    I hope you have a wonderful week - (don't get dragged down by the heat)!

    Blessings -
    Vicki

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