​I love it when timeless hymns are given new life and vigor.  Not that the original song was old-fashioned or out-dated, but sometimes a new bridge or chorus to a traditional hymn allows it to speak to a new generation in a fresh way.  I feel like this is true for the hymn “Jesus Paid it All” with Passion Music’s new bridge added to it.

​Life can get crazy sometimes.  As we look forward and focus on worshipping God at the beginning of this new decade, it seems that life has gotten crazier than normal.  It seems that many people I know of or have brushed shoulders with over the past month have either lost a loved one, experienced a family emergency, had an accident, or are knee deep in medical challenges.  Life can become overwhelming at times, but there is One who is constant and never changing.  The God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow is reliable and totally in control.  Today’s song feature celebrates and declares our faith in that truth.

​As we march forward into the new year and make our new year resolutions and goals, let’s make some goals for our spiritual life also.  Let’s renew our purpose and commitment to Christ.  Let’s review and remind ourselves what a surrendered life to God looks like.  And as we do this, the natural outpouring should be praise.  Praise for all that God has done for us and worship as a sacrifice and offering of surrender.

​Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2020!  I’m so excited what God has in store for this year and this new decade!  We live during an exciting time when the stage is set for God to work in mighty ways.  And the amazing thing is that we can be a part of what God is going to do.  What an awesome God we serve!

​Merry Christmas!  What a special day this is!  Joy as children open up brightly colored packages, merriment as families gather together, and yummy food as people come together to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world.  And on this special day, I have a special worship song to share.

Christmas is just around the corner!  Have you been busy with parties, celebrations, and festive activities?  I have!  This is such a busy season!  So much joy, so much excitement, so much celebration!  But let’s not forget the Reason for the season.

​Christmas is such a special time of year!  Lots of lights, parties, decorations, beauty, and celebration.  But what’s it all for?  Who are we celebrating?  Jesus. 
 
The focus is Jesus.  The celebration is for His birth.  The giving of gifts is in remembrance of the greatest Gift of all.  But sometimes we lose sight of Him in Christmas.  Sometimes the Christ Child gets lost in the busyness.  Sometimes we forget the reason of the season.

​Advent is here!  The long awaited Christmas season is upon us!  A time for merriment, carols, and festivities.  Therefore, let’s make our worship reflect this special season.  Let’s celebrate Christmas by worshiping and adoring the King of Kings!

​To wrap up our month of worship focused on surrender and gratitude, I want to share with you a song that has been speaking deeply to me over the last couple of months.  It’s a call to surrender, a call to make Jesus our everything and all that we’ll ever need.  It’s a prayer, asking God to fill us with more of Himself and less of ourselves.  It’s an anthem to declare to ourselves, reminding us of our mission and purpose.  This is “Fade Away” by Passion Music.

​This simple, classic hymn is one of my favorites.  Penned in 1896 by the little known J.W. Van DeVenter.  This Methodist lay pastor wrote many hymns, but the most well-known one by far is “I Surrender All”.