Gratitude.

Funny how quickly I rush to the computer when I need release for worries, but how delayed my post is to shout from the (blogosphere) rooftops the sincere gratitude I feel the minute that same concern is relieved.

Don't get me wrong. I felt like I could run a marathon when I heard a good report on a loved one's health. But isn't it easier, all the way around, to log complaints than it is to give praise? I find that's true at the grocery store with customer service, too. Kind of sad that it applies to my Giver of Life.

At any rate, the relief I did and do feel at this very positively answered prayer is best summed up in a decade-old song by Nichole Nordeman, aptly titled, well, "Gratitude."

Watch the YouTube video:



The lyrics are here:

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead 

And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You, please...

Independence Day.

I do love the feeling of putting things that have passed in the past.

I can learn, and grow, and love the memories I want to hold onto.

IMHO (in my humble opinion), Nichole Nordeman does an excellent job of capturing the essence of my day -- along with the freedom offered us by our Savior -- in "Finally Free."

Video is here; lyrics are below.




Finally Free by Nichole Nordeman

v.1
No chain is strong enough,
no choice is wrong enough
No mountain high enough
that He can't climb
No shadow dark enough,
no night is black enough
No road is lost enough
that He can't find

*chorus*
And if the Son has set us free,
then we must be free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today

Everything has changed...
I'm finally free

v.2
No pain is deep enough,
no heart could bleed enough
Nothing but Jesus' love
can make a way

*chorus*

Sunrise: Part II.

*** I'm adding the video to this post now that I've gotten past my remedialness and remembered how! ***


I am a longtime lover of Nichole Nordeman's music, and came across the song "Sunrise" this morning.

Perfect timing, perfect lyrics:

Sunrise

If I had the chance

To go back again

Take a different road,

bear a lighter load

Tell an easy story

I would walk away

With my yesterdays

And I would not trade

what is broken for beauty only

Every valley

Every bitter chill

Made me ready to climb back up the hill

And find that . . .

You are sunrise

You are blue skies

How would I know the morning

If I knew not midnight?

You’re my horizon

You’re the light of a new dawn

So thank You, thank You

That after the long night,

You are sunrise

There’s a moment

when Faith caves in

There’s a time when

every soul is certain God is gone

But every shadow

is evidence of sun

And every tomorrow

holds out hope for us

For every one of us

You are sunrise

You are blue skies

How would I know the morning

If I knew not midnight?

You’re my horizon

You’re the light

of a new dawn

So thank You, thank You

That after the long night,

You are sunrise

You alone will shine

You alone can resurrect

this heart of mine

You are sunrise

You are blue skies

How would I know the morning

If I knew not midnight?

You’re my horizon

You’re the light of a new dawn

So thank You, thank You

That after the long night,

You are sunrise

You are sunrise