Complete in Thee: 30-Day Challenge, Day 1

Sunday, January 2, 2011

30-Day Challenge, Day 1

A Favorite Song

Frankly, I don't have a 100% favorite song.... I have zillions! Well, not really, but I do have a lot. So I think I will do as Hannah (@ Life in My Own Words) did and list my favorites under a few different categories (selected by myself ;-) ) .

Traditional Hymn
You can look in my categories at various songs I've posted, and that will give you a general idea. I'm going to post one I haven't posted previously (at least, I don't think I have).

In Heavenly Love Abiding by Anna L. Waring

In heav'nly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding, for nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me and nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh, and I will walk with Him.

Green pastures are before me which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure, my path to life is free;
My Savior has my treasure, and He will walk with me. Amen.

Contemporary Hymn
Again, I've posted several favorites (lots by the Gettys!) but here is another one I particular like. We sang it in church today so it's on my mind anyway. :-)

O Great God by Bob Kauflin

O great God of highest heaven,
Occupy my lowly heart.
Own it all and reign supreme,
Conquer every rebel power.
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war.
You have loved and purchased me;
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin,
Had no ears to hear Your voice,
Did not know Your love within,
Had no taste for heaven’s joys.
Then Your Spirit gave me life,
Opened up Your Word to me;
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace.

Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace;
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face.
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed!
O great God of highest heaven,
Glorify Your Name through me!

Disney/Broadway
There are three that get continual stuck in my head. "You Can Fly" (Peter Pan), "Rescue Aid Society" (The Rescuers) and "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid). But these aren't my favorite (particularly "You Can Fly"...so annoying!) I think my favorite is probably "Tale as Old as Time/Beauty and the Beast". "Bitter sweet and strange, Finding you can change, Learning you were wrong...." You know the lyrics. ;-) I like this one because it hits on the fundamentals of life, unlike many of the other Disney songs. A lot of the songs are full of "You're good, you've got it all together, you deserve better, etc." This one speaks of the beauty of change....when we admit we are wrong and allow God's love to work in us, He changes us and makes us what we ought to be! It is truly a tale as old as time. I'm sure the songwriter didn't have that concept in mind when he wrote the song, but that's the message I get from that song. ;-)
Anyway, I do like "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid), "Once Upon a Dream" (Sleeping Beauty), and I get a kick out of "I'll Make a Man Out of You" (Mulan). ;-) I'm weird and kind of like the quiet, melancholy, 70's-feeling songs of The Rescuers too (and the "Rescue Aid Society" theme. ;-) )

Classical
I'd have to say "The Maldau" by Bedrich Smetana! (Sorry the song cuts off at the end of the video, but that has most of it). (It was the best arrangement I could find on Youtube. ;-) )

Soundtrack
Oh! So many!!! Also, it changes over time. Without a doubt, James Horner is my favorite soundtrack composer, and here is one piece of his that I've recently fallen in love. It's "The Heritage of the Wolf", from Balto, and contains most of the themes from the movie, which are all lovely (very stirring ;-) ) .

That's takes care of most of the categories I listen to and enjoy. It would take forever to list all the songs I enjoy, though. :-)

Even if you aren't doing the 30-Day Challenge, perhaps you might comment and share some of your favorite songs?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Since I don't blog, maybe I will take your suggestion and comment ;-)
I'll just do 2 of your categories...
1. Hymn -
At the exact moment, I'm really liking the song, "I Need Thee, Precious Saviour"
2. Classical -
Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1 Prelude" is a grand old standby, but I like Vivaldi's Rain, and a host of others. Oh and a classical guitar song I love is "Cavatina".; January 2, 2011 at 7:53 PM
Pepper Darcy said...: Oooh lovely! I *LOVED* the song from You Tube you put up! And I *love* the Mulan songs too :) Those were so fun! :)

I think I'll do this one :) Thank you for sharing!! :); January 3, 2011 at 8:37 AM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."