Hope everyone has had a great week! I've been on vacation this week, so that's the reason for my lack of blogging this week. But I'm back now, and had a great time!!
Enjoy this funny clip from Legacy Five. At the end of the concert, the pastor of the church asked them to come back and sing "Winging My Way Back Home." Needless to say, it had been a while since they sang the song, and Scott Howard picks on Glenn Dustin, which always proves to be pretty funny!
Is anyone going to any concerts this weekend? I might be making a trip to South Arkansas tomorrow night to see Mark Trammell Quartet again. Hopefully I can make it. If so, you'll hear about it next week!
He Gives a Song is the debut project of the Murray Family with Crossroads. I had not heard of the Murray Family before, but definitely want to hear more after this!
The group consists of husband and wife, Ernie and Connie Murray. Their two sons, Jason and Chris, and their wives, Emily and Cindy, make up the rest of the group. They have a strong family blended sound. This CD is had a more traditional, family-style Southern gospel feel.
Song list:
“What Heaven Means to Me” – The album starts with the known Vestal Goodman song. The family definitely did Vestal proud on this song. Great way to start the project! The song features Connie, the mother of the group.
“Sufficient Grace” – This one of my favorite songs on the project! The song has a beautiful message reminding listeners of God’s great grace and the promise we have in Him. Emily is the featured vocalist on the verses. There are some great harmony vocals on the chorus of the song.
“I’m Going Where He Lives” – This song has a slower, country feel. The song holds the promise of one day going to Heaven and seeing our Savior face to face.
“He Will Deliver Me” – This song features Cindy. The song is a great reminder of how Christ has delivered in the past and He will deliver us as well no matter what we are going through.
“Lazarus” – This a cappella song really features the family’s tight harmonies. For me, this was a shining moment of the album that really shows off their vocal abilities.
“He’s Alive” – It’s a great, up-tempo song. The song has a strong Easter message. With most
“Easter” songs being slower, I found this song a breath of fresh air.
“Rise Up and Walk” – This song is their first single off the project. It features Chris and tells the story of Christ healing the lame. It’s a beautiful song with a wonderful message and a perfect first single!
“Hills of Old Judea” – The group adds a bluegrass feel with this song. The chorus of the song picks up some lines from the hymn “Lily of the Valley.”
“To the Glory of My Father” – This song is one of complete praise and adoration to our Lord. It recognizes all the wonderful things that God has done for us.
“It Won’t Be Long” – The last song on the project has a very traditional, classic Southern gospel feel. It talks about how it won’t be much longer until we will be going home to Heaven.
Personal Favorites: “Sufficient Grace,” “Lazarus,” “He’s Alive,” “Rise Up and Walk”
I strongly encourage you to listen to the Murray Family. Be sure to check out He Gives a Song, you will not be disappointed! The CD releases on March 20. For more on the Murray Family, go to http://www.murrayfamilymusic.com.
Hope everyone has a good Friday! Enjoy this clip of the Booth Brothers from Southern Gospel Picnic in Branson at Silver Dollar City from this summer. Towards the end of the clip, you will see why even at this outdoor concert, it can be quite interesting to come in late from intermission!
This summer, I took a step I never thought I would as a single woman. I purchased a home. A series of events led me to decide to start looking for a place to buy instead of rent. I found a condo that I loved for not much more per month than what my current rent was. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, a condo that already included appliances and was nearly double the space of my apartment. And buying a condo meant I still didn’t have to do yard work, and as a single woman this was important! :)
Everything went pretty smoothly, and I was confident that God had opened this door. The seller accepted my first offer, and I was set to move in late August.
The Monday morning before I was supposed to close on Thursday, I got an email from my mortgage consultant about the loan. When it was going through underwriting, they discovered some issues with the loan. And if the loan did happen, I would need more money at closing than what they initially quoted me. I panicked. I thought, “Ok, God, you seemed to be bringing me to this place. What happened?” I was set to move in less than a week and would no longer have an apartment in less than two weeks.
I called him back and, of course, no answer. He had requested additional documents in the email, so I sent those to him. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I was the door was about to be closed, and I would be left without a place to live.
My mortgage consultant finally got back with me, explained the situation and told me even more documentation that was needed. I was able to get everything to him. But I wouldn’t get answers that day.
I got home from work, and I broke. I was trying to be a grown-up and make this huge purchase on my own, but at that moment I felt like a scared, little girl. At my breaking point, I thought about the song “Hold Me While I Cry” by Karen Peck and New River.
“It’s been one of those days,
If anything could go wrong it went wrong,
I know I’m feeling sorry for me,
There’s a lot of self-pity going on.”
It had definitely been “one of those days.” I just needed to relieve the stress of the day and cry it out, and so that’s what I did.
Here I was making one of the biggest decisions of my life, trying to prove my independence and that I was a “real adult” now, but all I wanted to do was cry and feel my Heavenly Father near me, holding me. I prayed and cried and wondered what was going to happen next.
“I take a lot of your time,
When I should be strong,
I should be standing by now when it’s you I’m leaning on...
I try to be strong, but if anyone can fall apart, I fall apart…”
I had tried to be strong and hold it together all day long, but in the comfort of my bedroom that afternoon, I couldn’t any longer. I know we’ve all experienced days like this, many situations I’m sure a lot more serious than this one. We've tried to hold it together, but then when we get alone, all we can do it go before God and just cry out to Him.
I needed strength from God to get through this. I honestly had no idea what was going to happen in the coming days. The last part of the first verse says:
“Tomorrow I will be ok
The dawn will bring a brand new day
I’m sure by then I’ll be fine…”
The sun would come up the next morning, and I would be ok. I had to start looking at the positives. I had friends who I could stay with for a while if I needed to, and I could always rent somewhere to put my furniture. I started thinking logically and making those “what if” plans. It would all be ok in the end, no matter what happened. God had a plan, even if I wasn’t sure what that was anymore.
Wednesday afternoon, one hour before I was scheduled to do the final walk-through of my condo, I got the call that everything was approved. The amount I would need the next morning to close was actually less than what I was originally quoted. God had indeed worked it all out, even far better than I had thought!
That Monday afternoon when I was crying it all out to my Father, I had no idea how much He would provide just two days later. Sometimes we just need to cry out to God after “one of those days,” and be reassured that it’s all in His control. He will give us strength, and hold us when we cry.
Top ten finalists for the Singing News Fan Awards were announced yesterday. A complete list can be seen here.
Looking over the lists it seems that most of the top 10 nominations this year are the same as last year. Most of the categories only have one or two differences in the nominations from 2011 with the exception of the Horizon categories and Young Artist where winners change every year.
I'll confess I was one of those people who in September was tired of seeing the same people win again. So my nominations this year had no one who won last year on it. Not because I didn't like those artists, but just because I would have no right to complain about the awards being the same if I voted for the same people. I'm not sure how my final ballot will turn out, but I really wanted to see nominations vary this year.
The biggest surprises for me came in the Album category. I expected to see "Part of the Family" by the Collingsworth Family and "Reach Out" by Karen Peck and New River. I also thought that Jason Crabb's "The Song Lives On" might be included. All three of these earned Dove nominations. In fact, none of the Dove nominated Southern Gospel albums were nominated. I don't think that these are necessarily predictors of one another, but at least last year there was some overlap.
What do you think? Were there any surprises for you? Do you think awards will be different this year or will it be pretty predictable again?
Edit: Daniel Mount has a great breakdown comparing this year and last year's nominations!
