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Let Him Pick the Song {Five Minute Friday}

Five Minute FridayIt’s Five-Minute Friday with lovely Lisa-Jo!

Set a timer and just write. Don’t worry about making it just right or not.

For me? An exercise in letting go and letting words flow. Five minutes only. {yes, I do set a timer and it quacks like a duck at 5 minutes, which totally makes me smile}

Today’s prompt: Song.

And go…

I’ve been messing with my playlist for months and tomorrow we’ll see how it serves me. Each song has been handpicked because of its words or beat or peppiness {is that even a word?!} and tomorrow those songs will keep me company as I run 13.1 miles.

I went back and forth about planning the order of the songs or just hitting shuffle as I cross the start line. I know certain songs get me more fired up than others and maybe if I put them at just the right mile, it will be enough to help me meet my goal.

But The Hubby said the best thing to me last night when I asked him what he would be doing.

“I figure God can put together a better playlist order than I can.”

Amen, dude. So I will let Him direct my steps and direct the songs and trust that He knows just the song I need to hear and just the right time.

Shuffle

Isn’t that how it works in the every day for me as well? Let go. Trust Him. Let Him sing into my life. It’s always more perfect when it is in His timing and not my own.

The surprise of that perfect song when the legs ache or the miles drag on – I can’t wait to see what song He picks.

Stop.

*****

Team Samaritan's Purse OCC

Tomorrow, I will run my second half-marathon. I’m excited and nervous and just want it to be here already, but I’m especially honored to be running to raise money for Operation Christmas Child with Team Samaritan’s Purse! We’re almost halfway to the $500 goal, but the hours are dwindling! I would love your prayers for the race and any help you can provide to support Operation Christmas Child! Thank you for praying, donating, and sharing as you feel led!

And take a few minutes to read the song-filled words of many other writers linked up over at Five Minute Friday today!

10 Favorite Christian Running Songs {May 2013}

works for me wednesday at we are that familyIt’s race week and running is at the forefront of my mind. In an effort to not freak out {especially after a crummy run yesterday!}, I’m going to focus on some of the things I love about running!

Today I’m thinking about music, and I have several playlists to share with you! First, I’ve found some GREAT Christian music to run to recently!

Here are my current favorite Christian running songs:

10 Christian Running Songs

1. The Proof of Your Love by For King and Country

2. Awake My Soul by Chris Tomlin & Lecrae

3. We Won’t Be Shaken by Building 429

4. Middle of Your Heart by For King and Country

5. Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

6. God’s Great Dance Floor by Chris Tomlin

7. Me Without You by tobyMac

8. All This Time by Britt Nicole

9. You’ve Got a Home by Christa Wells

10. Do Everything by Steven Curtis Chapman

My list isn’t final for the half-marathon this weekend yet, so tell me…

What are your favorite Christian songs for running?

 

And don’t forget there are only a few days left to donate as I run for Team Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child this Saturday! Praying God will bring together $500 in these last days! Thanks for your donations and prayers!

 

Linking up to We Are That Family’s Works for Me Wednesday fun!

LullaBible: Baby’s First Bible Stories & Songs {Giveaway!}

When I was pregnant with our first child, I dreamed about rocking him to sleep, singing lullaby after lullaby from the vast repertoire of children’s music in my music-teacher brain…

Big J Sleeping

It was a sweet thought, but after he was born, mommy brain set in and, even though he loved to be held and rocked, I would sit in that chair with not a single song coming to mind! Not. Even. Kidding.

Little J Sleeping

Little J didn’t like to be rocked and didn’t really care whether I sang to him or not, so I was kind of off the hook there!

Double J Sleeping

And fast forward to baby #3 – he won’t have anything to do with being rocked to sleep either, BUT he loves it when I sing to him, so I am loving the adorable LullaBible: Baby’s First Bible Stories & Songs from Tommy Nelson!

LullaBible

This sweet book is full of Bible stories and lullabies to share with your little one! To make it a special keepsake, the LullaBible also includes journaling pages to record those beautiful memories you make with your child! Go ahead, take a look inside the book by clicking here!

The lullabies in the LullaBible include hymns, old favorites, and some new songs by the author, Stephen Elkins. I have so enjoyed curling up in the rocking chair with Double J to read and sing about our wonderful God and His love for us as we get him ready for bed!

For music types like myself, the sheet music is included for each song. And for those who would rather not sing the songs themselves, all of the songs are on the enclosed CD as well!

You can purchase the LullaBible on Amazon or Christian Book!

And you could win one copy here today! Just follow the directions below to be entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*I received a copy of this book to review as a Tommy Mommy. I was not compensated in any other way for this post, and all opinions are 100% my own!

**This post contains affiliate links.

My God-Sized Dream Anthem

Talking about my God-sized dream last week was a big step for me. And the encouragement I received from all of YOU was like have a cheering squad just for me! THANK YOU!

Holley asked us to take a baby step towards our God-sized dream this week and I had a little fun with this one!

I love music and the way it inspires and motivates me. As I was running {OUTSIDE!!!} this week, a song came up in my playlist and I knew some of the words were just what I needed to keep in the forefront of my mind as I pursue the dreams He has spoken to me!

Here are a few of the lyrics that inspire me…

Sometimes it’s hard to just keep going

But faith is moving without knowing

Can I trust what I can’t see to reach my destiny?

I want to take control but I know better

God I want to dream again, take me where I’ve never been

I wanna go there, this time I’m not scared

Now I am unbreakable, it’s unmistakable

No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Forget the fear it’s just a crutch

That tries to hold you back

And turn your dreams to dust

All you need to do is just trust

~”Unbreakable” by Fireflight

That’s what I’m working on with my dreams – letting go of my control and trusting Him! They are His plans for me in the first place!

What music inspires you as you pursue God’s plans for you?

Here is the song in case you wanted to listen! It’s great for getting pumped up!


{If you are reading this in your email or reader, click on over to this post to view the video!}

I’m linking up with Holley and more God-sized dreamers today!

A Peaceful Christmas Playlist

I don’t know about you, but I’m in desperate need of some peace right now.

Fussy baby, busy holiday season, a house full of boys, the events of last week…

Peace doesn’t seem to stick around for long.

Music is one of the things that brings me peace, so I’ve put together a playlist of peaceful Christmas music that I an turn on whenever I need to quiet my soul.

Here is what’s on my list… {song, artist, album}

And in case you’re looking to buy some new Christmas music this year, I noticed a few of my very FAVORITE Christmas albums are just $5 when you buy the MP3 version on Amazon! Among the 100 albums on sale are A Very She & Him Christmas, Peace On Earth by Casting Crowns, BarlowGirl’s Home For Christmas, and When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr.!

What Christmas songs bring you peace during this busy season?

 

*This post contains affiliate links.

25 Songs of Christmas! {Free Printables}

Last year, I shared our family tradition of learning one Christmas song a day for the first 25 days of December. I absolutely LOVE Christmas music and I want our children to know and love these wonderful songs as well!

We learn how to sing each song, read about its origins, and listen to a few different version when possible!

This year, I wanted to make it fun and easy for you to do the same with your children!

I’ve put together three free printables, each with 25 Christmas songs to sing with your family! One includes only sacred songs, one only secular, and one mixture of both!

Just click on the picture of the version you like to get the PDF to download and print!

Sacred songs only…

Secular songs only…

A mixture of sacred and secular songs…

I tried to pick well-known songs for all three, but some of your favorites may be missing! Maybe there are some new ones you’ll learn along with your children!

We’ll be starting our 25 Songs of Christmas this Saturday, December 1st! Will you join us?

If you enjoy these free printables, would you mind sharing them with your friends in some way? Twitter? Facebook? Pinterest? I would be so grateful! You’re the best!

 

Get Your FREE Seeds Family Worship Song!

I’m all giddy today because I get to share with you from the new Seeds Family Worship album! That’s right! All new music from Seeds!


This volume, the seventh from Seeds, is incredible because it it completely focused on who God is. The Character of God features 11 Scripture passages that help us look to Him and His unchanging, wonderful, powerful ways.

“God is Spirit and Truth” is special to me because I have had many reminders of the power of the Holy Spirit lately, all which made me realize how little I’ve relied on it! In the midst of stress, remembering He is Spirit and Truth helps me prove false any negative thoughts that have creeped into my mind and cling to the power of His Spirit in order to move forward!

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. ~John 4:23-24

This song is also a great reminder for our children that God IS truth! When they are confused by messages from this world, His Word is where they will always find truth! And when we worship Him in Spirit and in truth, He will fill us with His presence!

Today, I have the privilege of giving this song to you FREE! Just click below to get yours:

 

Powered by Like to Download

{If you already like Seeds Family Worship on Facebook, click here to get your free song!}

And THEN, you can visit some of my wonderful friends’ blogs throughout this week to get ALL of the other songs from this album free as well! I know Amanda already has her free song live!

Thanks to Seeds for making this available and for the great music!

 

*This post contains affiliate links.

God Is Good To Me {And YOU!}: A Video and Giveaway!

We’ve had a lot going on in our lives right now {in case you couldn’t tell by the crickets chirping here at the blog}!

Almost all of it has been wonderful, awesome stuff, but crazy schedules and many changes also come with a lot of stress.

Several times a day I need to step back {or go into the peace of the bathroom}, take a deep breath, and remind myself of one important thing…

God is SO good to me.

And now, thanks to the lovely and spunky Yancy, the kids and I have an amazing song running through our heads to remind us of that very truth!

Check out this special Yancy Blog Tour video just for all of you…

{Did you catch the sparkly piano in there?! So awesome!}

The kids have been dancing around to this and having so much fun! We loved Yancy’s first preschool CD & DVD, Little Praise Party: My Best Friend, so we are pumped about this latest album!

There is nothing better than music based on the Word of God that is fun for ALL of us to listen to {and by that I mean not annoying to adults}!

There is much fun to be had at Yancy’s website, including music and DVDs for kids of every age. I loved her album for older kids/teens called Stars, Guitars, and Megaphone Dreams - great energizing music!

Now, YOU have a chance to win a CD/DVD combo pack of Little Praise Party: Happy Day Everyday!

Leave a comment before midnight tonight telling me one way God has been to good to you lately! One winner will be chosen at random and notified by email!

And don’t miss out on the wonderful videos at the other stops on the Yancy Blog Tour:

Monday April 30
Impress Your Kids

Tuesday May 1
Mama Hall

Wednesday May 2
God Centered Mom

Thursday May 3
Homeschool Creations

Friday May 4
ModSquad

Saturday May 5
When You Rise

Sunday May 6
4tunate

Monday May 7
Inspired To Action

Tuesday May 8
Home With the Boys

Wednesday May 9
1+1+1=1

Thursday May 10
Muthering Heights

Friday May 11
MOB Society

Saturday May 12
I Can Teach My Child

Real Love Playlist {Top Ten Tuesday}

Hearts and flowers and chocolate and…

Does any of this actually equal love?!

When you have kiddos, you start to think about the meaning behind holidays and such a lot more. We don’t want our boys growing up thinking Christmas is all about them getting presents – it’s about Jesus’ birth. We don’t want Easter to be all about egg hunts and candy – we want them to know it is about the death and resurrection of our Savior.

Even though Valentine’s Day isn’t about something as central to our faith as the birth or resurrection of Jesus, it is about love, and the Bible tells us love is pretty important.

Top Ten {Tuesday}

During this time leading up to Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share more with the boys about what REAL LOVE is and looks like, and one of the ways to do this is through music. We are a music family. Someone is always singing in the house and I like it that way :)

So I put together a simple playlist on iTunes of songs we already owned that talk about real love – the love of Jesus and how we can spread that love. I had a few people ask what was on our list, so I will share it here today, but you can pick ANY songs that your family enjoys that talk about Jesus’ love and love in action!

*****

Our Top Ten “Real Love” Songs 

1. Your Love, Oh Lord {Third Day}

2. Your Love is Extravagant {Casting Crowns}

3. Put On Love {Seeds Family Worship}

4. Love Has Come {Mark Schultz}

5. No Greater Love {Seeds Family Worship}

6. It’s About Love {Veggie Tales - The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree}

7. How He Loves {David Crowder Band}

8. His Love Endures {Seeds Family Worship}

9. The Face of Love {Sanctus Real}

10. Do Everything in Love {Seeds Family Worship}

*****

I tried to make a mixture of songs our whole family would enjoy! I included several songs from Seeds Family Worship because they are actual Scripture verses about love and that is what I want our boys to remember most! Here are the verses for those songs…

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love… ~Colossians 3:12-14 {ESV}

*****

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. ~John 15:13-14 {NIV84}

*****

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever. ~Psalm 136:1-6, 26 {NIV84}

*****

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. ~1 Corinthians 16:13-14 {NIV84}

*****

What would be in your mix for a “real love” playlist?