Why So Anxious?

A couple years ago a new band came and did a show at my church. That band was Remedy Drive – I don’t think they ever became super big, but they did have two albums out at the time (Now they have a third and an EP or two). I remember not liking the concert, but not because I didn’t like the music, but rather because it was too loud. I’m glad now that one of my friends lent me the CDs after the concert so I could listen to them at a more manageable decibel level.

This month’s song is one with surprisingly few words, but I feel like it gives us an important reminder – that we can’t see the whole picture, but God does. It’s easy to feel like we’ve wasted time, are wasting time, or that we don’t have a plan for the future. And while doing your best and working hard is important, God’s purpose for your life will be fulfilled no matter what. He will use your successes and your failures. He knows your hopes, dreams, and plans – and His for you, are greater. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe, do you honestly think that the 3.5lbs of neurons in your head are smarter than God? Do you think you can plan better than the orchestrator of the planetary orbits? Do you think you are more creative than the artist that created all the flowers of the field? Do you think you are stronger than the everlasting rock of salvation? God is greater than words can ever describe, and His plans for us are more amazing than we can ever imagine.

Without further ado, Here’s For The Years by Remedy Drive. I hope you enjoy this short and simple, yet profound reminder that God is in control, and He is greater than we often give Him credit for.
Since they are few, here are the lyrics:

Here’s for the years the worms have eaten
Grace for the youth that’s almost gone
I was awake when you were sleeping
When you are weak i still am strong

Don’t despair child- you’d think I can hold you up when you fall
If I can hold up the stars I can answer your call

Why so anxious? you’d think I can light up the path for your feet
If I can turn on the sun – let it shine in your street
When I rise up, and I’m carefully painting the dawn, it’s for you
Rise and shine love, give glory where glory is due

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/heres-for-the-years/id286438497?i=286438610
Spotify: (Sorry, this song is not on Spotify for some reason…)

Giving glory where it’s due,
-Teegan

Restless Heart – Matt Hires

Well, it’s that day of the month again – the last day – which means it’s time for me to get this posted! I know that I completely skipped January (and I apologize), but I was busy with starting med-school, ok? The other problem I’ve run into, is that I’m currently listening to a LOT of background/ambient/soundtrack music (especially when studying) – i.e. music without lyrics. Which means that I don’t have any words to review. I think that’s enough excuses and explaining for now though, let’s get to the review.

The song I’d like to look at today is one that I picked up from iTunes’ Free Song of the Week a few weeks ago (sorry). I’ve found the tune and lyrics to be quite catchy – let’s see if the message is worth holding onto…
The name of the song is Restless Heart by Matt Hires. And the title gives a pretty good heads up as to what the song is going to be talking about. This song is sung from the guys point of view. It’s about a girl who is pretty and maybe a little dramatic when it comes to feelings. Here is the first line or two:

Pretty girls come from the ugliest places
You come from the worst of them all
Heartbreakers like you are hard to erase
You lift me up just so I fall

To me, when he says she comes from “the worst of them all,” he’s letting us know that she is a really pretty girl – and that being really pretty might now be the best thing. As the old saying goes ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover.’ In this case it’s – just because it looks really nice, doesn’t mean it is. I actually think this is a very important point to remember/think about. Our culture is always telling us how important looks are. Women are hit hardest by this, but men are not exempt either. It’s refreshing to find a (secular) song that boldly tells us that looks are not all there is to life – they can be deceiving.

Becoming consumed with looks is usually bad for both parties involved. An opinion that I’ve held for a long time is that people who are really good looking – you know the kind I’m talking about – the people who look good in whatever they wear, whose hair is always perfect, and they never have any blemishes. I feel that those people may be worse off that the average looking people who envy them. Why? Because the perfect-people attract the wrong kind of attention/people. They attract people who care about their looks, not their personality. That’s not to say that beautiful people never have close friends – they do – it’s just the point out that they usually have more shallow-temporary friends than your average guy or girl. I’d also like to point out that I’m not saying you are shallow if you are pretty. But seriously, there are a lot of people out there who would love to meet Tom Cruise, the sole reason basically being that he is a good looking guy (or cause he’s super famous…work with me here).

Bottom line, looks are not all they’re cracked up to be, they can be a stumbling block for some people, and may even hide the true nature of others. I think that’s enough about looks for now though. The next thing I’d like to look at in this song comes from the chorus:

Heyyy you’ve got a restless heart
Beating out out out out on your sleeve
And I won’t let this fire start
You say love is all that you need
Well you’re not gonna get it from me

This is what I’m going to call the histrionic dilemma. To the uninformed (which was me 5min ago) Histrionic means: “overly theatrical or melodramatic in character or style: a histrionic outburst.” My dictionary also tells me that it is used in psychiatry to describe a person who is: “marked by shallow, volatile emotions, and attention-seeking behavior.” I feel like this word perfectly fits with the description of the woman from the song. She is always spewing forth she emotions (heart on her sleeve – love is all she needs), and to top it off, she changes her mind pretty frequently (restless heart).

I’ve talked about this before on here, but I think it’s worth mentioning again. Don’t let your emotions make your decisions. My current favorite way of thinking of my emotions right now is that of a dog on a ship. You are the captain of ship, you stand at the helm and direct the ship by what you can see and hear. Your dog stands on the edge of the ship and barks at rocks as they come towards you – this is how your dog helps you make decisions. However, it would be complete foolishness to suddenly allow your dog to steer the ship while you sit idly by and watch. It doesn’t matter how good the dog is at seeing the rocks, if it doesn’t have the means to turn the wheel, then you will surely run aground. The same goes for emotions. Emotions are an important factor when making decisions, but they should never become the sole reason for making a decision.

The girl in this song sounds like she lets her “heart” lead – i.e. she goes with the flow of her emotions (listen to verse 2). These people are dangerous, because what happens when you suddenly don’t “love” that person anymore? I like the title of one of Larry Norman’s songs “love is a commitment.” A commitment is exactly right, love is not dependent upon feelings, or experiences, or wether or not you’re compatible with each other. Colin Smith once said: “True love is neither an urge nor a feeling, but a decision. It is a steady commitment to act in the interests of the one who is loved, irrespective of the cost.”

So did we learn something from this song? I think so. As far as listening to it or not goes, I’d say give it a shot. At worse it a catchy tune with catchy lyrics, and it might even have the potential to cause you to do a little thinking. Looks and emotions are tricky things – don’t let them control you.

Thanks for stopping by,
-Teegan