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Tag Archives: Rich Mullins

“The Living Years” by Mike & the Mechanics

16 Jun

“The Living Years” by Mike & the Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Oh, crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got

You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defense

Say it loud (say it loud), say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (oh when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts

So don’t yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in
You may just be okay

So say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
Because it’s too late, it’s too late (it’s too late)
When we die (oh, when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

I wasn’t there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (it’s too late when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

So say it, say it, say it loud (say it loud)
Say it clear (come on say it clear)
Say it loud
(Don’t give up, don’t give in and don’t look away ’til it’s too late)
Say it clear
Say it loud (say it loud, say it loud)

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: B.A. Robertson / Mike Rutherford

Dear God, this seems like a good Father’s Day song. As I said a day or two ago, I think there are probably more of us who struggle with Father’s Day than sink into the joy of it. I think this son by B.A. Robertson and Mike Rutherford explains why.

When I think about it from a macro level, I think the words mercy and forgiveness are what come to mind. It reminds me of the beginning of the poem “This Be The Verse”: The f*** you up, your mom and dad. They don’t mean to but they do. They fill you with the faults they had. Then they add some extra just for you...

What the child never realized until maybe when they are a parent is how much the parent loves them. How much the parent sacrifices for them. I’ve seen a mom I work with fight for her child’s brain development and health. Doctors and therapists were convinced he is autistic, but she knew there was something more and she has put him through amazing amounts of occupational and cognitive development therapy for the first three years of his life. She has sacrificed. She has taken time from work. She has spent tons of money. And now it seems to be paying off to the point that she was told last week by his developmental therapist that she was once convinced the boy was autistic, but now she doesn’t think he is. As she told me this story, I thought about how this boy will one day be a teenager and frustrated with his parents, and he won’t realize how much they’ve done for him or loved him. How can he.

I can’t really understand how much my parents have done for me over the years. I know there was a time when I was a baby that I was very sick and my mother fought for me to see the right doctors when she felt like I wasn’t getting the care I needed. She carried me and walked with me a long distance to get me where I needed to be. And yes, I have been frustrated with her over the years. And yes, I haven’t fully appreciated everything she has done. And yes, I still have some issues. But it’s okay to let mercy and forgiveness rule the day.

So, Father, I offer this prayer to you today–this Father’s Day. The only hope any of us have is if we, to quote Rich Mullins, “let mercy lead.” Help me to lead with mercy today. Mercy for my dad. Mercy for my children. Mercy for everyone around me. Help me to lead with mercy today, see each person with your eyes, and worship you throughout this day.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 16, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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(Children Who Will Love) “While the Nations Rage” by Rich Mullins

26 May

“While the Nations Rage” by Rich Mullins

Why do the nations rage?
Why do they plot and scheme?
Their bullets can’t stop the prayers we pray
In the name of the Prince of Peace
We walk in faith and remember long ago
How they killed Him and then how on the third day He arose
Well, things may look bad
And things may look grim
But all these things must pass except the things that are of Him

Where are the nails that pierced His hands?
Well the nails have turned to rust
But behold the Man
He is risen
And He reigns
In the hearts of the children
Rising up in His name
Where are the thorns that drew His blood?
Well, the thorns have turned to dust
But not so the love
He has given
No, it remains
In the hearts of the children
Who will love while the nations rage

The Lord in Heaven laughs
He knows what is to come
While all the chiefs of state plan their big attacks
Against His anointed One
The Church of God she will not bend her knees
To the gods of this world though they promise her peace
She stands her ground
Stands firm on the Rock
Watch their walls tumble down when she lives out His love

Where are the nails that pierced His hands?
Well the nails have turned to rust
But not so the Man
He is risen
And He reigns
In the hearts of the children
Rising up in His name
Where are the thorns that drew His blood?
Well, the thorns have turned to dust
But behold the love
He has given
It remains
In the hearts of the children
Who will love while the nations rage
While the nations rage

Well, where are the nails that pierced His hands?
Well the nails have turned to rust
But behold the Man
He is risen
And He reigns
In the hearts of the children
Rising up in His name
Where are the thorns that drew His blood?
Well, the thorns have turned to dust
But not so the love
He has given
Oh, it remains
In the hearts of the children
Who will love while the nations rage

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Rich Mullins

Dear God, this has never been one of my favorite Rich Mullins songs, but it came up on my playlist yesterday morning while I was mowing the lawn, and there was one line that caught my ear: In the hearts of the children who will love while the nations rage.

Oh, Father, where has our love gone? And when I say “our,” I mean the church. Your church. Your body. Where has our love gone? It feels like we have joined the fray with bullets and raging. With barbs. With “destroying” or “owning” each other. I’ve mentioned that I’ve been reading a memoir by Nancy French called Ghosted: An American Story. She is a ghostwriter, and she describes about ten years ago one of her jobs was to sit off camera at Fox News and feed zingers to her clients so they could “own the libs.” She is a great believer in you. Her love for you is deep and sincere. But she didn’t “love the libs” as Jesus would have commanded. She wanted to “own” them. She regrets it now. Especially since she fell out of step with the current makeup of the Republican party. Now she is the one they try to “own.” And sometimes it has worked. Sometimes, they have devastated her and her family. Of course, they claim to love and worship you too. Where is their love?

Now, before I get too sanctimonious on this topic, I could ask the same question of myself. Where is my love for those I oppose? Do I want to own them, or do I want to love them? Do I want to attack them or attract them? Do I want to fight them, or do I want to accept their attacks and meet it with love? Do I want their defeat, or do I want to comfort them? No, I make the same mistakes French describes she made. I get defensive. I get angry and then let that anger become something destructive instead of constructive.

Father, the nations are raging, but our nation is raging too. French described the difference between a Republican campaign rally in 2012 vs 2016. The anger and hate in 2016 vs 2012 was apparently remarkable. People arguing with security guards that they should be allowed to bring their guns in. Yelling at the press. Of course, chanting awful things about their opponent. Yes, right now, our nation is raging. Sometimes with real bullets. Sometimes with barbs of hate, superiority, and dominance. Even Rich Mullins, in a live performance of this song threw a barb at the Clintons (Rich died during Bill Clinton’s second term, so he was President when the song was recorded). It made me uncomfortable. I wondered if Rich could watch that now if he would regret it.

Father, I might have to take a principled stand at some point about political issues, whether they be local, national, or international. And it might cost me. My prayer is that, if it costs me, it be for a reason that glorifies you and sees me honoring you in my response to it. And while I’m here talking about the nations raging, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, China and Taiwan, etc. Oh, Father, please bring peace. Please bring solutions. Raise up your leadership to guide your will to be done. And be in our current elections from local sheriff all of the way up to President. Let nothing happen outside of your will, Father. And while you do that, I will worship you and not look to any outcome that I prefer as my idol.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 26, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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James 5:13-15

25 May

13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

James 5:13-15

Dear God, this passage reminds me of the Rich Mullins song “If I Stand.” I heard him say once that he wrote it thinking about calling on you in the bad times and thanking you for the good times. Worshipping and celebrating you always.

I’ll confess that I feel a little flat this morning. It’s a Saturday morning, and while I have something planned to do at 10:30, I don’t really have anything planned today. What will I do? Will I take time to worship you? Or will I waste the day? Will I take time to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, or will I just be self-indulgent? Will I bring my hurts worries and concerns to you, or will I just feel sorry for myself?

Father, “if I stand, let me stand on the promise that you have pulled me through. And if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you. And if I sing, let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs. And if I weep, let it be as a man who is longing for his home.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, James

 

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Lent Day 12

25 Feb

Good morning, Father. I’ve been doing this after my morning shower, but I think I’m going to skip showering this morning because of how my day is going to play out, so I thought I would go ahead and dive into praying to you and going through Sacred Invitation: Lenten Devotions Inspired by the Book of Common Prayer.

Of course, as is my pattern over the last 12 days, I didn’t read the PM Psalms (138 and 139). David wrote both of them, and I do notice one pattern in David that I think was a problem for him: anger. Psalm 139 is one of those great, worshipful songs. Different parts of it are often quoted. Rick Mullins wrote a song called “Nothing is Beyond You” before he died that leans heavily on this psalm. But David can’t help himself at the end. He has to lash out at his enemies: “If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.” In the midst of a lot of worship, but is a lot of anger.

I wonder how Jesus would have comforted David in the moment he was writing that. “No, David. Love your enemies. Your hatred is hurting you. They are my children too. They sin like you do. They have walked away. I’m waiting for them to return. Beckoning to them. Calling them. I need you to be part of that call with me. Let’s call them together. Be at peace, David. Be at peace. Remember, my rod and staff comfort you. You might be sitting at a table eating, and your enemies might be surrounding you, watching, but I am with you and they will not harm you.”

Is that how you are comforting me this morning, Father? Are you telling me that the people I might see as an enemy are simply people you want to see return to you as much as a parent wants to receive a child that has rejected them? You need me as your emissary to them. You need me to be your ambassador. Your advocate. You need me to be a lover of everyone.

With all of that said, here are today’s passages from Sacred Invitation.

  • AM Psalms: 24, 29
  • PM Psalms: 8, 84
  • Jeremiah 1:1-10
  • Mark 3:31-4:9
  • 1 Corinthians 3:11-23

I have to admit it is kind of refreshing to shift gears from Deuteronomy and Hebrews (John was okay), and shift to Jeremiah and 1 Corinthians. I’m really interested to see what Jeremiah will say to me all these years later. I came to appreciate his role in the Old Testament and Israelite history when I did the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz. I didn’t understand him at all before. Now, I might have 10% understanding, but I at least have a foundation upon which I can build.

Father, you know some of the challenges I’m facing right now. Even this very morning, I have some challenges. Help me to share your joy with others. Help me to share your peace. Help me to be the person you need me to be as I do my best to live the life you have for me to live, warts and all.

I offer this to you in the name of Jesus, my Lord, and with your Holy Spirit, my paraclete,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2024 in Lent 2024, Psalms

 

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Philippians 1:15-24

18 Aug

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

Philippians 1:15-24

Dear God, I know that it’s easy for me to say these words because I do not experience imminent threats to my safety or even my livelihood, but this is the attitude I aspire towards. That my life should really not matter. That I am willing to suffer if it means other will be saved.

Now that I think about it, I had some weird dreams last night. I don’t remember everything, but I remember a mixture of sorrow and joy. I remember one dream where my wife had written a screenplay about our lives that had been sold into a movie. I found out by watching a trailer for the movie and recognizing the story as ours. When I asked her how much she sold our story for, she told me and I was delighted for her and for where we are now compared to the trials I had seen depicted in the trailer. Later, I know I was crying. I’m not sure why. But I was sad about something.

Of course, I do have sorrow. My heart does ache. I guess, like my dream, I have some things in my life that bring me great joy, and other things that make me very sad. It makes me think of the Rich Mullins song “The Love of God.” One of the verses says, “Joy and sorry are this ocean. It’s in their every ebb and flow. Now the Lord a door has opened that all hell could never close. Here I’m tested and made worthy. Tossed about, yet lifted up in the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God.”

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, today, I give you my joy and my sorrow. Both are yours. My joy comes from you and I return it to you. My sorrow is something you will comfort and refine me through. I am tested and made worthy. I’m tossed about, yet lifted up into the reckless, raging fury of your love. Thank you. Thank you.

I pray all of this grateful to be submitted to you,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 18, 2023 in Hymns and Songs, Philippians

 

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“Let Mercy Lead” by Rich Mullins

12 Jul

“Let Mercy Lead” by Rich Mullins

Aidan you’re young
But Aidan you’re growing fast
Me and your mom
And all the love we have
We can only take you so far
As far as we can
But you’ll need something more to guide your heart
As you grow into a man

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Where mercy leads

Aidan the day
Aidan the day will come
You’ll run the race
That takes us way beyond
All our trials and all our failures
And all the good we dream of
But you can’t see yet where it is you’re heading
But one day you’ll see the face of love

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Let mercy lead
Let mercy lead

Let mercy lead

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David Strasser / Richard Mullins

Dear God, at what point do we just let go of the wrongs done to us?

I came across this song this morning, and it felt providential. If I were writing words to the newborn child of a friend, could I come up with words any better than these? Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.

We will come across people throughout our lives–family and friends–who need mercy. I need mercy extended to me because despite my best efforts I have made many mistakes. I need mercy. I need to extend mercy. I need your mercy.

Father, while I sing this song for those I love, help me to live it for myself too. Help me to let mercy lead, let love be the strength of my legs, and leave drops of grace everywhere I go. Help me to reach beyond human wisdom and into your foolishness. Thank you for foolishly saving me. And even though my heart is broken, help me to find your peace.

I pray this in Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 12, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney

06 May

“Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney

I turned on the evening news
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today

Asked him what’s the secret to life?
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said, “All I can say is

Don’t blink, just like that you’re six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you’re twenty-five
And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don’t blink, you just might miss
Your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half

Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years
Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink

I was glued to my TV, when it looked
Like he looked at me and said
“Best start putting first things first”

‘Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can’t flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it’s worth

Don’t blink, ’cause just like that you’re six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you’re twenty-five
And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don’t blink, you just might miss
Your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half

Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years
Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink

So I’ve been trying to slow it down
I’ve been trying to take it in
In this ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ world we’re living in

So don’t blink, ’cause just like that you’re six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you’re twenty-five
And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don’t blink, you just might miss
Your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half

Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years
Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink

No, don’t blink

Don’t blink
Life goes faster than you think
So don’t blink

Life goes faster than you think
Don’t blink

Don’t blink
Life goes faster than you think

Source: Musixmatch

Dear God, I started this on Wednesday morning, but I’ve truly been so busy I haven’t been able to get back to it. It was an incredibly busy week at work, but it was good too. Very good. I’m grateful. You answered a lot of prayers–especially for our fundraising dinner Tuesday night. My wife did the invocation for about 290 people in attendance, and part of it was leading everyone in the first verse and chorus of “To God Be The Glory.” It set the tone for the rest of the night. It was inspired, and I really felt like the Holy Spirit was among us all evening. I am humbled and grateful. Did we raise money and reach our goals? Yes. But more importantly, it felt like everyone (or at least everyone I talked to) left feeling inspired and joyful. I pray they realized from all we said and did that they understood it was you they were feeling.

I was meeting with a friend Wednesday afternoon and we were talking about his struggles and stresses at work. I asked him a question that, to my surprise, seemed to unnerve him a little. I asked, “What do you do to take care of yourself?” He didn’t have an answer for it. I talked to him a day later and it was still sitting with him. He told me the next day that he was realizing he was doing a lot of religious things but he wasn’t really paying any attention to his relationship with you.

So how does all of this relate to this Kenny Chesney song? Well, the second verse has rolled around in my head ever since I heard this song earlier this week:

I was glued to my TV, when it looked
Like he looked at me and said
“Best start putting first things first”

‘Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can’t flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it’s worth

Especially the line, “Best start putting first things first.” I think at some point when we mature as adults we wrestle with the question of what is the first thing that I should be putting first? It made me think of the “One thing” line from the movie City Slickers:

By the end of the movie, Billy Crystal’s character decided that his “one thing” was his family. That was the most important thing to him. But I’ve learned something different over the years. And this would probably hurt some feelings to hear this, but, frankly, it isn’t fair to my family to make them my “one thing.”

I was listening to a pastor interviewed in June 2020 about surviving Covid and the pastor interviewing him asked him if he had one particular message to share with people. He said (my paraphrase), “Yes. We have made an idol out of certainty. We put our certainty in our spouse, our children, our job, our health, our economy, our government, etc. But God is the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” At that point, as I’ve recounted here many times in the past, I started evaluating all of the things in my life that caused me angst and tried to honestly evaluate whether or not they had become idols to me. And I’ve identified a few. The U.S. military was one that I am ashamed to admit was an idol. When I hear about an advancement that another country like China or Russia has over us (like hypersonic missiles), it bothers me. Why? Ninety-five percent of the world goes to bed each night without the protection of the United States Military, and an awful lot of them are Christians and yet they are somehow able to sleep. Why is that so important to me? It’s an idol I’ve used to give me a sense of certainty. I’m sure there are more idols I haven’t identified, and I’m sorry for that.

So what’s my one thing? What is my first thing that must be put first? It’s you. It’s my relationship with you. It’s the submitting of myself to the two great commandments: Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving my neighbor as myself. To quote Curly in the City Slickers quote above, “[If I] do that [then] everything else don’t mean s***.”

Father, it’s hard to do. It’s so much easier to put my certainty and priorities on tangible things. But Billy Crystal’s character Mitch will one day learn that his family can’t be his one thing either. It’s not fair to them. If you are my one thing then you will make sure I am loving my family the way I need to. If I am listening to your Holy Spirit, then you will guide me into loving them well. Thursday morning, I was getting my haircut and your Spirit nudged me to pay for the haircut of the man behind me. Later, the barber told me that the man, who was there with his wife, was just laid off from a business that closed and he was there to get a haircut as he went out and applied for jobs. That humbled and delighted me. Not because I did something nice, but because I must have heard your Holy Spirit talking to me and I acted upon it. So I give you everything. You are my first thing that I will put first. You are my one thing. To quote Rich Mullins from his song “One Thing,” “Everybody I know says they need just one thing. But what they really mean is they need just one thing more.” Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, if I live the life of Job and you take away everything, I would hope that I could say that you are still the only one thing that I need.

I pray all of this through the grace of Jesus through the blood he shed for me,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“I Will Sing” “First Family” “The Love Of God” by Rich Mullins

22 Mar

Dear God, I used to sing these three songs to my children at bedtime when they were little. I just want to sing them to you by typing out all of their lyrics before I go to be tonight.

“I Will Sing” by Rich Mullins

I will sing for the meek
For those who pray
With their very lives for peace
Though they’re in chains
For a higher call
Their mourning will change in laughter
When the nations fall

In spirit poor, In mercy rich
They hunger for your righteousness
Their hearts refined into purity
Lord, let me shine for them
Lord, let me sing
Lord, let me shine for them
Lord, let me sing


“First Family” by Rich Mullins

My folks they were always
The first family to arrive
Seven people jammed into a car
That seated five
There was one bathroom
To bathe and shave in
Six of us stood in line
And hot water for only three
But we all did just fine

Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings

I can still hear my dad cussin’
He’s working late out in the barn
The spring plantings are coming
And the tractors just won’t run
Mom, she’s done the laundry
I can see it waving on the line
Now they’ve stayed together
Through pain and the strain of those times

Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings

Now they’ve raised five children
But one winter they lost a son
But the pain didn’t leave them crippled
Only scars that made them strong

Never picture perfect
Just a plain man and his wife
Who somehow knew the value
Of hard work, good love, and real life

Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana Clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings

“The Love of God” by Rich Mullins

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
I cannot find in my own
And it keeps this fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with the yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God

I have seen no band of angels
But I’ve heard the soldiers’ song
Love hangs over them like a banner
Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey
And it’s never gonna stop
Ever widening their mercy
And the fury of His love

Oh, the love of God!
Oh, the love of God!
The love of God!

Joy and sorrow are this ocean
It’s in their every ebb and flow
Now, the Lord a door has opened
That all hell could never close
Here I’m tested and made worthy
Tossed about, yet lifted up
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God

Father, I pray these songs over my wife, me, our children, and their significant others tonight.

Under your gracious authority I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Doubly Good To You” by Rich Mullins

12 Feb
Rich Mullins performing “Doubly Good To You,” a song he wrote but was originally released by Amy Grant

“Doubly Good To You” by Rich Mullins

If you see the moon
Rising gently on your fields
If the wind blows softly on your face
If the sunset lingers
While cathedral bells peal
And the moon has risen to her place

You can thank the Father
For the things that he has done
And thank him for the things he’s yet to do
And if you find a love that’s tender
If you find someone who’s true
Then thank the Lord
He’s been doubly good to you

And if you look in the mirror
At the end of a hard day
And you know in your heart you have not lied
And if you gave love freely
If you earned an honest wage
And if you’ve got Jesus by your side

You can thank the Father
For the things that he has done
And thank him for the things he’s yet to do
And if you find a love that’s tender
If you find someone who’s true
Thank the Lord
He’s been doubly good to you

Dear God, this is just a great song. Nice and simple. a reminder to count our blessings. The end.

Ah, but then there is the rest of the story. Rich Mullins wrote this for his own wedding that never happened. He lost the “doubly good” about which he was singing. Of course, Rich never experienced having children. I can attest that there can be windows in life when your marriage and kids are all great at the same time, and it really feels like even a “triple” goodness. But then those windows pass and things don’t play out like you hope. How will I respond?

I spent some time last week while I was sick pouring over old pictures of my wife and kids. Those pictures always encourage me. They remind me that there was legitimate goodness at one time. That my mind hasn’t imagined it. No, the photos didn’t capture the pain between the smiles. There are holes in the story for which I don’t know the content. But it really does help me to lean into the pain of the current loss I feel from no longer having that sense of “triple goodness” and embrace the life you e given to me now.

So, Father, thank you for the things you have done and the things you’ve yet to do. Help me to be your complete servant today.

I pray all of this under your authority and in your name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Ready for the Storm” by Rich Mullins

12 Jan

“Ready for the Storm” by Rich Mullins

The waves crash in
The tide rolls out
It’s an angry sea
But there is no doubt
That the lighthouse
Will keep shining out
To warn a lonely sailor

And the lightning strikes
And the wind cuts cold
Through the sailor’s bones
Through the sailor’s soul
‘Til there’s nothing left
That he can hold
Except a rolling ocean

Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm

Oh, give me mercy
For my dreams
‘Cause every confrontation seems
To tell me
What it really means
To be this lonely sailor

And when the sky begins to clear
The sun it melts away my fear
And I cry a silent weary tear
For those who mean to love me

Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm

The distance it is no real friend
And time will take its time
And you will find that in the end
It brings you me
This lonely sailor

And when You take me by the hand
And You love me, Lord, You love me
And I should have realized
I had no reasons to be frightened

Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm

Written by Dougie MacLean

Dear God, here are my thoughts on this song I know through Rich Mullins. It’s one of those songs I’ve never paid must attention to regarding the meaning of the verses. I can just sing along with the chorus.

Verse 1: I just picture the song writer, Dougie MacLean, sitting on a rocky coast in Ireland (to hear him sing he sounds Irish) and watching the waves crash against the shore while a lighthouse sits nearby. He’s imaging the relationships between the sailor, the boat, the water, the shore, the wind, and that lighthouse. From nature’s standpoint, the sailor is the only thing that is superfluous. They are all there for him. The sailor needs the boat. He needs the water to travel wherever he is going or hunt for whatever he is fishing for. He needs the shore for his life off of the boat. He even needs the wind, although he doesn’t need the storm. He needs the lighthouse to direct him from crashing into the shore. But none of these things need him. Their existence would be the same if he was or wasn’t there–well, maybe not the boat since the boat would be docked without the sailor.

Verse 2: The confrontations in my life leave me feeling like this sailor: Vulnerable. In danger. Dependent. Needing to struggle to survive. Lonely. “For those who mean to love me.” That could mean so many things. Did they love him and do the right things to confront him, but he rejected them? Did they reject him for the wrong reasons? With the sky clearing and the sun melting away fears…you know, this almost makes me think of someone going through rehab. The confrontation–intervention. The loneliness. The storm of getting sober. The lighthouse guiding to shore, but protecting as well. The sobriety melting away the fears. The tear realizing how others were loving him through the intervention. I could be totally wrong, but that’s what came to mind when I started to ponder the words a little.

Verse 3: Playing with my sobriety theory, the difficult thing about addiction is that it doesn’t really pass with time. Oh, perhaps it does a little, but it’s only one slip away. The distance is no real friend. You can still be lonely, even in your sobriety. But you take us by the hand, God. You comfort us. Love us. Give us peace. And the more we get to know you the more we realize that we have nothing to really fear. You are our hope and loving you is what it’s ultimately all about.

Father, I will never sing with passion that I am ready for the storm. Okay, never say never, but it is hard to imagine egging on Satan, you, or anything else in that way. But there are times when I have to set my face to the wind and just decide I’m going to do better, whatever that “better” might be. Life can be lonely, but I am blessed beyond measure by the wife you’ve given to me. And I’m not just saying that because that is what Christian husbands are supposed to say about their wives. She is unbelievable and amazing. She is so good for me. You do so much in me through her. Thank you that, for at least this moment, I am not a lonely sailor.

I pray all of this in the name of you, your son, and your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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