He Will Carry Me by Mark Schultz

My heart is aching. A dear friend of mine lost his son, only moments after he was born. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and emptiness of losing a child. And, yet, I mourn for the loss of a soul I never knew.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4)

I know that there are no words that can fill the void, but I hope they know that they are in my thoughts and prayers. I cannot know the pain they're experiencing, but I will be there for them any way that I can.

Lord, please comfort and keep this family, in this time of great sorrow. Wrap your loving arms around them, and let them know that you are with them... you, too, lost your son... you know what they need, and I ask that you provide for them. I pray all of this in Jesus' name, Amen. 

Thought That Counts

Often in times of trouble

we don't know what to say,

So we choose to say nothing,

and sometimes run away.

When friends are really hurting,

we don't know what to do,

So we offer weak excuses

or say we're hurting too.

It really doesn't matter
what kind of gift we bring;
We only need to be there
if we don't bring a thing.

It truly is amazing
what a hug can do,
When heartache numbs the senses,
and friends depend on you.

There's comfort just in knowing
that you are not alone,
When tears are overflowing,
and hearts are cold as stone.

It's the loving prayers of others
that balance our accounts,
For when we measure love,
it's still the thought that counts.

~ Clay Harrison

I Remember You

The world may never notice
If a rosebud doesn't bloom
Or even pause to wonder
if the petals fall too soon.

But every life that ever forms,
Or ever comes to be
Touches the World in some small way
For all eternity.

The little ones we longed for
Were swiftly here and gone.
But the love that was then planted
Is a light that still shines on.

And though our arms are empty,
Our hearts know what to do
Every beating of my heart says
"I Remember You"

~ Author unknown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSFH6_IiOlw

He Will Carry Me by Mark Schultz

I call, You hear me
I've lost it all
And it's more than I can bear
I feel so empty

You're strong, I'm weary
I'm holding on
But I feel like giving in
But still You're with me

[Chorus]
And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me

I know I'm broken
But You alone
Can mend this heart of mine
You're always with me

[Chorus]
He will carry me

And even though I feel so lonely
Like I have never been before
You never said it would be easy
But You said You'd see me through the storm

[Chorus]
He will carry me
He will carry me

Teach Me To Breathe by Luke Cyrus

I heard about Luke Cyrus from another person's blog, and I feel that his music is worth sharing. His song, "Teach Me To Breathe," is so beautiful. Sometimes, it's difficult for me to remember that I'm not meant to know what tomorrow will bring. I'm to trust in God, and have faith that He will guide my steps. I pray that God will teach me to breathe.

You can check out more of Luke's music on his website:  http://lukecyrusonline.com/index.php

http://youtu.be/LOG1ktZV0AI 

Teach Me To Breathe by Luke Cyrus

What am I to do?

You know this is what I was created for

How will I know when to move

I'm waiting for some kind of open door

Well it's hard to trust when I can't see

What tomorrow will bring

[Chorus]

Teach me to breathe

Today's air

Teach me to see

Why you have placed me here not there

Teach me to believe

I place my worries into your care

Oh help me to trust in thee

Teach me to breathe

What will I become?

Father let your will be done

I'm nowhere feeling close to home

I'm nowhere near my comfort zone

Because it's hard to trust when i can't see

What tomorrow will bring

[Chorus]

What are the details of my future?

Oh give me a simple faith

They are not for me to know

What are the plans that you would have for me to do?

That I'd love one another

But most of all

To love you

[Chorus]

Today and not tomorrow's air

Teach me to see

Why you've placed me here not there

Teach me to believe

I place my worries into your care

Oh help me to trust in thee

Teach me to breathe

I Surrender by Kim Walker

This song speaks what my heart is sometimes unable to say:

"All to You, I surrender,

Everything, every part of me.

All to You, I surrender,

All of my dreams, all of me.

...I surrender... cause I trust you God
...all my hope is in You
...I place all my trust
...to you God
...cause your ways are far better than mine.

No turning back, I've made up my mind,
I'm giving all of my life this time."

 I pray that the Lord help me to remember and trust that I am to surrender EVERYTHING to Him, my Lord and Savior. 

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2) 

"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" (Matthew 26:39) 

"...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15) 

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24) 

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes" (Psalm 37:4-7)  

"For many are invited, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14) 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28) 

"The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him" (Psalm 37:23)  

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,  a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:34-39) 

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11) 

"A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?" (Proverbs 20:24) 

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps" (Proverbs 16:9)  

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6)  

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8)  

"Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths" (Psalm 25:4)  

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:11)

There is a long article that really fleshes out The Full Surrender. I haven't quite finished reading the entire thing, but it's been interesting and though-provoking.

http://youtu.be/trRMqPmpOh8

I Surrender by Kim Walker 

There is no love, sweeter than the love You pour on me.

There is no song, sweeter than the song You sing to me.

There is no place, that I would rather be,

Than here at Your feet, laying down everything.

[Chorus]

All to You, I surrender,

Everything, every part of me.

All to You, I surrender,

All of my dreams, all of me.

If worship's like perfume, I'll pour mine out on You.

For there is none as deserving of my love like You.

So take my hand and draw me into You,

I want to be swept away, lost in love for You.

[Chorus] [repeat]

I surrender, I surrender (cause I trust you God)

O, I surrender (all my hope is in You)

And I surrender (I place all my trust)

O, I surrender (to you God)

O, I surrender (cause your ways are far better than mine)

OOOOoooo, I surrender... yea yea

All to you, all to you, yea yea.

O, I surrender, I surrender

I surrender (all to you, my God)

O, I surrender, I surrender

I surrender... OOooooh...

No turning back, I've made up my mind,

I'm giving all of my life this time. [repeat] 

Your love makes it worth it,

Your love makes it worth it all,

Your love makes it worth it all. [repeat]

Your love makes it worth it,

Your love makes it worth it all,

Your love makes it worth it all. [repeat]

[Chorus]

Your love makes it worth it,

Your love makes it worth it all,

Your love makes it worth it all. [repeat]

Lift Me Up by The Afters

This song is so uplifting. I'm not good with waiting, but I'm grateful to have a God that loves me and lifts me up. It's hard to let go, but that's what we're called to do... to let go of our worries, doubts, fears, etc... What an amazing Lord we have to carry us and love us unconditionally! I hope that this song touches you, as it did me.

http://youtu.be/i6UAGhJHmOw

Lift Me Up by The Afters

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the day
Waiting for a sign
That I’m where you want me to be

You know my heart is heavy
And the hurt is deep
But when I feel like giving up
You’re reminding me
That we all fall down sometimes
But when I hit the ground

[Chorus]
You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go
You lift me up when I can’t see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I’m letting go

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

I know I’m not perfect
I know I make mistakes
I know that I have let you down
But you love me the same

And when I’m surrounded
When I lose my way
When I’m crying out and falling down
You are here to

Lift me up when I am weak
[Chorus]

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love
With your love
I don’t know what I can offer
In this moment I surrender to your love
To your love

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go

[Chorus]

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Clinging to the Cross by Tim Hughes & Brooke Fraser

I've never heard this song before, but I ran across (and liked) it. It reminds me of the hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross."

On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our defiance of God' law. He died in our place... paid for our sin... took our judgment on Himself. He died on the cross, so that we can live.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18)

The cross forever freed us from the fear of death. Through the perspective that the cross gives us, death is only gain.

"For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man" (1 Corinthians 15:21)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

"I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown" (The Old Rugged Cross)

But, the cross also frees us from the fear of life. Before Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, man was living without power against the temptations that come with living in a fallen world. But, the cross of Christ allowed us access to God's power... enabling us to say "no" to sin. It's through Jesus' death that we are freed from sin's tyranny, and that we can pursue holiness and righteousness.

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin... For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:6-7, 14)

"Each moment of every day we choose whom we wish to follow. If it's the Savior, the benefits are many. If it is sin, the consequences are destructive and miserable. Before Christ, we had no choice. Sin was our one and only route. All of life was marked by unrighteousness. But once we came to the Cross and gave the Lord Jesus the right to rule our lives, we were granted a choice we never had before. Grace freed us from the requirement to serve sin, allowing us the opportunity to follow Christ's directives voluntarily" (Charles Swindoll)

Every time we are faced with temptation, we can find strength in Jesus. Perhaps this is one of the reasons we cling to the cross, as someone clings to a life preserver after falling overboard.

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16)

The cross shows us that God has loved each of us "with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3) from the dawn of time.

So, we cling to and cherish the cross because we know that Jesus died on it for our sins, that it's through the cross that Jesus freed us from the bondage of sin, and that it's the clearest revelation of God's love. But, it's also an invitation to all to enter into relationship with Him. The cross invites each of us to turn from sin, and enter into a relationship with Christ. God wants to walk with us through life, guide us when we face tough decisions, bear our burdens, share our joys... God wants a relationship with each of us. 

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:14-17)

http://youtu.be/OV7oISJKbmE 

Clinging to the Cross by Tim Hughes & Brooke Fraser

My soul is weak
My heart is numb
I cannot see
But still my hope is found in You
I’ll hold on tightly
You will never let me go
For Jesus, You will never fail
Jesus, You will never fail

[Chorus]
Simply to the cross I cling
Letting go of all earthly things
Clinging to the cross
Mercy’s found a way for me
Hope is here as I am free
Jesus, You are all I need
Clinging to the cross

Even darkness is as light to You, my Lord
So light the way and lead me home
To that place where every tear is wiped away
For Jesus, You will never fail
Jesus, You will never fail

[Chorus]

What a Saviour, what a story
You were crucified but now You are alive
So amazing, such a mystery
You were crucified but now You are alive

[Chorus]