7 Quick Takes: Volume 17: Song Lyrics Edition

I can't believe it's Friday. I'm not sure if this week has flown by or dragged, but I've just been having a really hard time figuring out what day it is. Yesterday, I was very sure it was Monday. Oh well. Maybe I had a secret yearning to start the week over again?

I have talked with people before who swear by something called "Bible roulette" - flipping the Bible open to the first random passage and looking for the meaning for them in what they read. While I was driving to work yesterday, I was thinking about how song lyrics can work the same way. Sometimes the right song just speaks to you. So, since we're looking for 7 Quick Takes, I thought I'd list the last seven songs that played on my iPod (it was on shuffle), along with a little bit about why I needed to hear each one.

--- 1 ---

Remembrance (Communion Song) - Matt Maher: "We remember You, and remembrance leads us to worship/And as we worship you, our worship leads to Communion/We respond to Your invitation, we remember You." I love thinking about Mass as remembrance. We are called to remember His sacrifice, and that is the reason for being at church on Sunday. I have a hard time matching up the feeling that stirs within me thinking about someone I have known in real life who has died with how I should feel on Sunday morning. This song helped me match up those feelings, and I am very grateful for that. It's so easy to miss the magnitude of that sacrifice, even take it for granted a little, and when it does hit me I am blown away and moved to tears every time.

--- 2 ---

Every Little Prisoner (Deliver Me) - Matt Maher: "From wanting to be loved, from wanting to be praised by all/From needing to be first, from finding all my worth in this world/From wanting to be seen, from constant worrying about myself/Deliver me..." This one kind of speaks for itself. I should start every day by listening to this song. God loves me, as He loves us all. We were created in His image. It's us who should be praising, not the other way around, but it's so easy to get caught in the trap of wanting earthly rewards and living for all things in this world. So, so easy. I'm not saying I think it makes sense to live like nothing matters on earth, because of course we can only get to heaven through a combination of faith and good works. Sometimes, though, I need to just step back and ask myself how much this will matter in a few hours, a few days, a few years. This outlook, even for ten minutes, generally improves my entire day, as it gives me permission to enjoy all we are blessed with and make decisions with more clarity.

--- 3 ---

American Dream - Switchfoot: "When success is equated with excess/The ambition for excess wrecks us/The top of the mine becomes the bottom line/When success is equated with excess...This ain't my American dream/I want to live and die for bigger things..." Along the lines of the last song, it's easy to think about how things will be perfect and we can really enjoy life once we have more money, once we own our own house, once we are living the American dream. Well, news flash to me: we live in a house we have all to ourselves. We have jobs and we can pay our bills. We have two beautiful children. We ARE living the American dream! Studies have shown that more money and possessions do not increase happiness.

--- 4 ---

Everything and Nothing - Matt Maher: "Cause everybody wants to see the proof/We're always tripping on our pride to get to You..." I'm starting to see a theme here. It's so easy, again, to be prideful and let that keep us from a good relationship with God. There's nothing we can hide from Him, so why do we (I) try? Why do I wait for everything to be just so before I feel like I can be faithful? In this Year of Faith, I'm going to work on letting go of that pride where it prevents me from forging better relationships both with God and with others.

--- 5 ---

Dare You to Move - Switchfoot: "The tension is here, tension is here/Between who you are and who you could be/Between how it is and how it should be...I dare you to move, like today never happened/Today never happened before..." There really is a theme. I swear it was on shuffle. I am not perfect. No one is perfect. We are perfectly and beautifully human, created by God in His image. This life is what it is, but it also is what we make of it. In each moment, there are choices I can make that will make the difference between what it is, and what it could or should be. Oof. That's a weighty one, but going back to #2, not all of them will matter as much in the long run. It can be an ongoing process, but one to be mindful of nevertheless.

--- 6 ---

Blessed Be Your Name - Tree 63: "Blessed be Your name/In the land that is plentiful/Where the streams of abundance flow/Blessed be Your name..." This one, pretty simple. Don't let God be absent from everyday life. This would be that land of abundance. He brought us here and He belongs here with us.

--- 7 ---

Kyrie - Matt Maher: "God of reconciliation/Heal our wounds in darkest times/Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy)..." A nice conclusion (again, I swear it was on shuffle!) because even after all of the times we use our free will to make mistakes and mess up, time and time again, God wants to forgive us and welcome us. He is loving and merciful. Oh, I needed to hear that. With great freedom comes great responsibility, but also great love and forgiveness. How awesome is this life we live!

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my thought process (and my playlists). What are the last 7 songs that played on your iPod (or computer, or however you listen to music)? How did they speak to you? Please share!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!