Hey folks, I’m back! If you actually follow this blog, I’m sorry for the lack of posts this summer. I had a crazy busy summer (26.5 credits of Med-school, plus trying to have an actual life outside of school made for little free time), so I decided that I was going to put a pause on writing posts for this site until my fall/end-of-summer break. At last, we have arrived!
Since I haven’t been posting all summer I thought that today it would be nice to share with you some of the songs that enjoyed during my hiatus. These are songs that I either discovered recently, got me through rough weeks, or a combination of the two. So this is basically going to be a “special edition” of Songs You Should Listen To.
First up is a song from Audio Adrenaline. Now, before I talk about anything else, I just want to say that I’m so glad they are back! Apparently their lead singer had issues with his voice (vocal cord damage from a disorder called spasmodic dysphonia [med student, remember?]), and so they retired back in 2006. However, they are back with a new lead singer – Kevin Max (best known for his past membership in dc Talk). As far as I’m concerned they are still the same band. Their musical style is a little unusual, but that’s what I always liked about them. Anyways, the name of the song is He Moves You Move, and it’s from their new album Kings & Queens.
The message of this song has been so important to me recently. I’ve been really trying to let go of certain parts of my life, and letting God come in and rule them instead of me. One of my favorite lines from this song is “You’ve got to lose control, let go, there’s nothing left to hold on to.” I’m someone who likes to have a plan for everything, and likes the safety of the known, so letting go of that control is really hard, but also extremely necessary. If we don’t let go, and let God work His will in our lives, then we will never grow – especially in the spiritual arena.
Remember, God’s plan is always better than our plan, and just as Jesus is greater than us, so are His thoughts, gifts, and blessings greater than we could ever imagine. Our job is to get out of the way, and let God fulfill His purposes in, for, and through our lives.
iTunes: Buy on iTunes
Spotify: Audio Adrenaline – He Moves You Move
Click here for Lyrics
Second Song You Should Listen To is by an artist named JJ Heller. I heard about JJ via one of my best friends, who mentioned her one day, and encouraged me to look her up. I’m so glad I did, because I love her music. And I can unashamedly say that I basically listened to her non-stop for a solid week. As I was listening to her, I decided pretty quickly that I was going to feature her in one of these posts. The only problem was picking a song. After thinking about it, and listening and re-listening to many of her songs, I finally decided upon Small. A couple of the other songs I found very helpful and encouraging as well, but this one seemed to fit with what I was focusing on this summer more than the others (and the message of my runner up by JJ, Control, was already covered by Audio Adrenaline [above]).
This song is all about how people try to make God into what they want Him to be. All too often we think of God as this guy who sits on a cloud and grants wishes, or that in order for Him to use us, we need to be strong, or influential, or confident, or smart. These are all lies, and we need to stop holding God in such low esteem.
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine recently, and said something along the lines of ‘God’s ultimate purpose for our lives is not to make us happy, but to allow us to glorify His name.’ When I heard this song, I was immediately reminded of what I had said that day, by this line, “Broken people hit the ground when they discover that you’re not here for our benefit.” It’s true, God is not here to fill our lives with ice cream and rainbows. He is not a vending machine, wish granting, luck box – and we need to stop thinking of Him that way, because that paints a very small picture of Him. Again, God’s plans are so much more than “how to make sure you have a good day.” Of course, He loves to give good gifts to His children, and He loves to bless them abundantly, but that doesn’t mean we are entitled to what we want, when we want it. In the words of JJ: “People wish that you were more like what they wanted you to be. Eventually they won’t have much of you at all in their theology.”
iTunes: Buy on iTunes
Spotify: JJ Heller – Small
Click here for Lyrics
And because I was gone for so long, I leave you with two more recommendations, one artist, and one album. First, go check out the album From Up On Poppy Hill Songbook, it’s a soundtrack from the Studio Ghibli film From Up On Poppy Hill. It’s just a lovely instrumental album, that I found very nice and relaxing to listen to.
Spotify: From Up on Poppy Hill Songbook
Finally if you like epic orchestral music (think Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Batman Begins, and maybe a hint of TRON Legacy) go look up the artist Two Steps from Hell – weird name, I know. I’ve been listening to a couple of their albums for the last month or so, and loving it. I also happen to like their catch phrase, which is “Music makes you braver.”
Spotify: Two Steps from Hell
I know this was a long post, but there was a lot to catch up on. At this point, it looks like I’m not going to be able to finish my review post before the end of the night, so it will have to come out the first of September instead of the last day of the month like I used to always do, but I’m alright with that.
As far as this fall goes, I’m pretty sure I will be fully back, so expect to see a review and a recommendation every month!
Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the songs!
Losing control,
Teegan
The Meaning of Music 