Mar 12, 2007 Discovering Peace

I've finished up the first year of work toward my current goal.I have found the work itself is not dificul, but navigating a life of balance in the midst of family responsibility,work responsibility and the academic world's requirements have been a real challenge. We were taking my Mother In Law home yesterday on a 4 hour turnaround trip. During the 4 hours on the way back, we had a beautiful journey and time to reconnect with each other. These times are becoming more precious to us than gold.

We led the worship time at a church yesterday.

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Open the Eyes of My Heart-scripture from Ephesians
Welcome
I Lift Your Name
Step by Step (chorus)
Prayer of Adoration
Draw Me Close-scripture from James
Duet- Anthony and Earnie- Before the Throne
Call to Obedience- Draw me Close

Before the Throne of God Above

Music by Vikki Cook
Original lyrics by Charitie Less Bancroft
I took my cues from the Bob Kauflin project :Upwards

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Behold Him there! The risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless, Righteousness
The Great unchangeable I AM
The King of Glory and of Grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God
© 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Format: MP


I am coming to believe that in America, more people learn of God through sound song lyurics than from what they get fed from the pulpit. We watched a DVD on the Getty's last night before retiring to bed and were blessed by their hymns that seem to attempt toremove the element of time and place. While they are not what Iwould call timeles, they ar far superior to what we were sining in the 1980's!

Here's a story about In Christ Alone, and a link to their website.

From listening to the interviews that came with the CD, I appreciate their attention to words; my only critique is that after a while the folk tunes they focus on for singability can tend to sound the same after a while. I suppose that is the same critique I have of Chris Tomlin- maybe it is pure over exposure on my part. If Iwere to read Frances Havergal all day I would likely find repetition there as well.

Written on the fly in the car going to Paducah as spring was springing forth on the roadside...

Within the Wounds

If you find yourself at a distant place
From the Glory of Christ's Face
Lay down the things that interceed
Between His love and your great need
Lay down the pain, lay down the strife
Lay down the burdens of your life
Cast every care with every crown
At the feet of Jesus lay them down

He entered into suffering beyond what we could bear
We find ourselves within His wounds if we will only dare
For when our name's engraved upon the hollow of his hands
Our names are placed within the wounds and He will keep us there

The failures over which you've cried
Successes that would end in pride
Take up the cross, and cast the crown
At the feet of Jesus lay them down
Let every hope and every plan
Reside within the nail pierced hands
Until your resting is complete
Held by His hands, laid at his feet.

For when we lay down at His feet we lay there where the nails
Pierced the Son so cruelly , so we rest where power prevails
For at His feet is healing and loss becomes our gain
The fellowship of suferring brings comfort to our pain.

Let every hope and every plan
Reside within the nail pierced hands
Until your resting is complete
Held by His hands, laid at his feet.

Anthony Foster
March 18, 2007