A Greater Yes - The Whisnants - When Lyrics Speak

Ever go through times when you feel like God must be tired of hearing your prayers because you are tired of praying the same thing over and over? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Just being honest with all of you, sometimes I do question why God hasn't heard me. I know he hears, but I feel that He just isn't listening. Now, I know that He does, but it is just disheartening when you don't see prayers being answered. He promises to always hear and always answer, but the hard part is waiting on His timing. But sometimes He has a reason for us to wait, "a greater yes."



I absolutely love this song by the Whisnants. From the first few notes, it truly speaks to where I am so many times in life. Praying and waiting for God to move. I'm thankful for the promise this song says that we will never pray a prayer that He does not answer. He won't ignore our earnest requests, but we must have faith to wait and believe that He has a "greater yes."

I love the line in the second verse that says "the teacher is often silent when you are in the hardest test." When we go through hard times, it's easy to concentrate on the silence we get. We don't think about all that He might be orchestrating behind the scenes to work things out for our good. God's timetable is certainly not our timetable. And even if His answer is "no," I can still count myself as blessed!

God may answer our prayers just as we pray, but at other times He has a better plan. I think back to times in my life where I have prayed for something so earnestly, a job or relationship. Now that time has passed it's so easy to see that would not have been the best for me. I'm thankful God knew that then, and He still knows that today. When I look at those things that I've been praying for, I have to remind myself He knows best and what I desire might not be God's best for me. He might have a "greater yes."

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28

Here Comes Sunday - Wilburn & Wilburn - CD Review

Duos are a rarity in Southern Gospel. However, father and son Jonathan and Jordan Wilburn make it work, and make it work well as Wilburn & Wilburn. Another rarity is having the strong success that they had with their debut project Family Ties. Now they are following it up with their sophomore release Here Comes Sunday which I expect to have as much if not more success as their first project.

The album has 12 songs, and there truly is something for everyone. I love the variety of this project. Ben Isaacs produced the album. And if my ears aren't deceiving me, it sounds like a couple of Isaacs helped with background vocals as well.

"Here Comes Sunday" is the title cut of the project. Upon just seeing the title I thought the song would have something to do with going to church on Sundays, but the Sunday in the song is referring to the resurrection. It's a great song  with a more progressive country feel. The bridge then brings the life application that during your darkest times, joy will come in the morning. Definitely a highlight of the project!

When you see a song with a title like "Funeral Plans," you know it's going to be interesting. Jonathan Wilburn does a great job on this song! It's a song that is definitely his bread and butter.

I love the song "Joseph." It's a great take on the faith of Joseph and how he chose to stay by Mary and raise Jesus. He chose to protect her and choose to trust God. The song asks Joseph questions about how he chose the road of faith rather than the easy path.

The first single from this project is "A Man Like Me," which features Jordan. I've already heard it a lot on radio already, so I wouldn't be surprised for this to be a big hit for them. The song is a tender ballad from Jimmy Yeary and Dianne Wilkinson. Incredible song that talks about how God can use anything through His power, even "a man like me."

"Help Me" is a great country-flavored song. The title is a little deceiving in that the person is actually asking for help from God to help others who are in greater need.

"If These Old Walls Could Talk" is another country song that's a real toe-tapper talking about an old country church that has seen countless lives changed. Another uptempo great song is "Heaven's Jubilee." Love that they chose to put their own style into this song and cut it!

Album rating - 4.25 stars - Fans of Southern Gospel are guaranteed to find something they like on this project. It has a great variety, and of course I like that there are more than the typical 10 songs. Wilburn & Wilburn are definitely showing that duos have a place in gospel music!


Song List -
1. "Here Comes Sunday"
2. "Funeral Plans"
3. "Joseph"
4. "Nobody Like Jesus"
5. "I'm Bound for That City"
6. "Every Scar"
7. "Help Me"
8. "If These Old Walls Could Talk"
9. "A Man Like Me"
10. "Heaven's Jubilee"
11. "Everything's New"
12. "Across the Miles"

How Many Concerts Do You Attend?

I'm not sure about where you live, but in Arkansas it's either feast or famine when it comes to gospel concerts. Either we have several groups all come at one time or there's nothing for a month (i.e. July). Now this Friday two of my favorite groups will both be in Arkansas, but fortunately (or unfortunately) one of them is two hours away, so the group that will be closer wins.

I know for a lot of you, like me, how many concerts you attend really just depends on how many artists are nearby. But I'm curious, in a typical year, how many gospel concerts do you attend? I know multiple-day events you can see several concerts in one day even, but just count the event as one.

Fun Clip Friday - Jeff and Sheri Easter

Jeff and Sheri Easter teased a new DVD that will be released soon on their Facebook page yesterday. The DVD gives fans an inside look at them recording their most recent project, Eyes Wide Open. Personally, I'm pretty excited about getting a copy of this! Judging by the teaser, I'm pretty impressed by the quality of video this will be. I'm excited that they allowed fans this inside look through this DVD. Not only does it seem that you will hear some stories about why songs were chosen but also you'll get to see part of the recording process and hear from members of the family during the process.

So enjoy this week's Fun Clip Friday courtesy of Jeff and Sheri Easter!

These Truths - Old Paths - CD Review

The Old Paths released These Truths this month that they teased in an interview recently with me. This is the group's second project with Crossroads Music. Their previous project Right Now had two #1 songs, so this album had to follow the success of that one, but I think won't have to worry about this one not measuring up to the success of Right Now. With These Truths, Old Paths shows that they are one of the best upcoming quartets and will continue to rise to the top.

The project kicks off with "We Are Those Children." This is one of my favorites. It's an uptempo, solid quartet song that was previously recorded by Heaven Bound.

"Love Them to Jesus" is another one of my favorites that features Tim Rackley, lead singer. It seems that sometimes an album either has standout ballads or uptempo songs, but this project has a great mixture of both!

Tenor Jeremy Peace is featured on "Isn't That Why He Came." It's a tender ballad with an incredible message. He's also featured on "God Said I Love You," which is another incredible ballad that speaks of the message of the cross. Jeremy shows off just how high he can go toward the end of the song.

"Enough and Then Some" and "God's Gonna Do the Same" are both fun songs that really show off bass singer Daniel Ashmore. His strong bass will impress you, and then when you take into consideration that he's still in his early twenties that will wow you even more.

"If It Were Not for Grace" shows off baritone singer Doug Roark. It's another ballad with a strong message. He's also featured on the track that the title of the project comes from, "We Hold These Truths."

"Long Live the King" is an incredible song to close the project on. I love the arrangement and the orchestration at the beginning, it really sets the tone for the song. It's such a powerful song, vocally and lyrically. I can see this being a huge song for the Old Paths!

Album rating - 4.25 stars - These Truths is definitely on the must-buy list of 2013 projects. I cannot say enough about the incredible song selection with a mix of great, tender ballads and strong, uptempo quartet numbers. Quartet fans and gospel fans alike will love this project!


Song List:
1. "We Are Those Children"
2. "Isn't That Why He Came"
3. "Enough and Then Some"
4. "We Hold These Truths"
5. "Love Them to Jesus"
6. "If It Were Not for Grace"
7. "I'm Just Passing Through"
8. "God Said I Love You"
9. "God's Gonna Do the Same"
10. "Long Live the King"