Music speaks to me in profound ways. Music puts a smile on my face, makes me dance, allows me to cry or just sit in the sadness. Being someone who feels deeply, songs are the love language to my emotions. At times, they articulate better than what I can express with my words.
Here are some of the songs I have been listening since the calendar switched to 2023.
Less Like Scars - Sara Groves
First Song That I Sing - Sara Groves
I watched Olivia Rodrigo's documentary on Disney+ where she talks about and performs each song that she wrote on her Sour album as she drives from Utah to California. I had heard Drivers License when it first came out a couple of years ago and loved it for how emotional it is. But, I only listened to her whole album this month for the first time. She's a gifted songwriter and I'm still blown away by the fact that she was only 17 when she wrote her debut CD.
Also, on Disney+ is Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions. In this documentary, Taylor Swift and her two co-writers discuss the inspiration behind every song on her Folklore album and then gives an acoustic performance of each track. I wish every songwriter spoke about what inspired every song they have ever written. I was inspired as I watched and listened.
I'm bringing it back to Jesus with the last song I'm listing. It's probably the one that I have listened to almost every day for the last two weeks. According to Wikipedia, it's a Christian spiritual song that has had many variations throughout history. Spirituals tend to be associated with Black Americans during their time in slavery as they would sing while they worked on the plantations. Eventually, these songs evolved into blues and gospel music sung in churches. The first version of this particular spiritual is thought to have been created in 1845 by Reverend Jacob Knapp, a Baptist minister from New York. Give Me Jesus. I have been listening to the Jeremy Camp version. I try to listen to it every morning. I love the simplicity of it and each time I hear it I'm deeply moved by it. It's a prayer for me these days. "You can have all this world, just give me Jesus."
Photo by Bruno van der Kraan
Jesus, may this be true of my heart. That I would desire you first thing in the morning, as I go about my day on my own, when I lay me down to sleep and when I die. I want to want you more than anything or anyone else. Give me Jesus.
Amen.