Troubling Lyrics
We sing to Him out of gratitude for Who He is and what He has done. In creating the world and all that is in it, the universe and the laws we will never understand, He demonstrated His supremacy and glory.
November 20, 2024
“… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father…”
Ephesians (5:18b-20)
The Puget Sound boasts a freshness and beauty long-remembered by folks who visit.
But maybe you’ll come up here on a sunny day, catch a ferry boat, and enjoy our gorgeous channels, inlets, and bays. The views are astounding. Stand for a moment on the deck of a ferry boat; walk out onto the pickle-fork and breathe in all that invigorating fresh salt air.
Watch for the seals and sea lions lounging about on the buoys. Maybe you’ll spot the occasional visiting Grey Whale, or see the Orca pods that frequent the south sound.
Wherever we live, sounding forth His praise is what we do, we Christians.
As we get to know our Creator, and come to know Him as our Redeemer, praising Him just naturally follows.
Unless it doesn’t. It’s so easy to crowd out the practice of praise. Have you ever felt a reluctance, a sort of “I do that on Sunday”, or, “I’ll get to it in just a bit, when I’m finished with…”?
In our fast-paced, hectic life, pulling away from the business of life to embrace the essential, happens only by intention.
Worshiping the One worthy of our attention is a decision. A commitment. A surrender. An intentional attention to the Holy One.
Do you want to be more thankful, more mindful of God, and more celebratory in your faith? Me, too.
It’s tough to take our eyes off the craziness of the here and now, the pain that steals our attention, and the burdens that load us down, and decide to turn our attention instead to this God who became flesh.
Establishing a regular practice of worship is a practical step we can take to reinforce the ongoing habit of seeking Him, and His glory, first.
Do you find that taking those moments to glorify Him, whether out-loud in song, or quietly in your heart, becomes the highlight of your day?
There is nothing like knowing that you have blessed your Father by your effort, by your decision to turn from you to Him, just because you wanted to delight Him.
How thrilling is it, that turn towards Him? That decision to raise our sights off of our selves, is the moment when we begin the best part of our day.
In worship we enter into a communion with the God of all time, the Creator of everything, the Lord who is Love.
We add our voices to the myriad of worshipers past, present and future, elevating the Name of the Holy God, who is worthy of our praise.
For a soundtrack of many of the worship songs featured on SaltySoundGirl, click the playlist, and start singing!
Do you find that the more you know Him, the more you love Him, and the more you love Him, the more you want to celebrate Who He is?
We become a people who are eager to please Him. We long to make Him happy, to cause our great, loving, almighty God to smile.
The thing is, and this is a pretty unpopular fact, our lives on earth are really short.
The opportunity to glorify Him — on this earth, in these bodies — is a brief one. The time is now!
The angels in heaven, ever before the face of God, cry “Holy!”
We, His dearly beloved children, are invited to join in this eternal anthem of praise. Hallelujah!
And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’
Isaiah 6:3
We sing to Him out of gratitude for Who He is and what He has done. In creating the world and all that is in it, the universe and the laws we will never understand, He demonstrated His supremacy and glory.
When God came down as a human baby, Light flooded this world like never before. His presence, His light, broke into this grim, dark world. The light of the world had arrived.
The lyrics bring the worshipper into a place of relinquishment, humbly offering oneself to God.
From the breath of God, man breathed. In the breath from God, man lives. And with the breath of God, shall we not praise Him?
“I am lost in wonder at all You do,” sings Phil Wickham in today’s addition to our practice of praise.
Praise to the Lord, the king of creation, redemption, our past, present, and future. Praise to the Lord, today!
For believers in Jesus, we fear death no more. He is risen! So we, too, will rise.
To pray for God’s will to be done, means that I will no longer delude myself into believing that the locus of control is mine. To pray for God’s will to be done, means that I will demonstrate that I trust Him. To pray for God’s will to be done,
The song is a prayer, where the singer tells the Lord that he can’t even count high enough to name all the blessings from above.
We decide to be thankful. On our own, in the quietness of a moment alone, we make the change. We close our eyes and exhale. We let the hard thing alone for a minute, and we decide, when we open our eyes again, to pay attention to what else is
How can we praise Him enough? One glorious day, all of creation will burst forth in worship and praise to our God, who is love. Will we ever stop singing?
I was challenged to pray not just for what I hoped God would do.
The Father knew that I would need this truth for the hard years ahead.
This old hymn is a prayer reflecting faithful trust in the Lord Jesus. When the author, Jean Pigott, penned the words “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting”, she little knew how valuable this prayer would be to missionary James Hudson Taylor, nor how beloved it would still be over 100 years
Who is the One who worthy of all worship, honor, and praise? Yes, Christ Jesus, the mighty Lamb of God is the One worthy of it all. And what a joy to sound it out! Sound it forth, this day, while it is still called “today”! Use your voice to
Phil Wickham’s new song, The Jesus Way is (I think) one of his best. And that is saying a lot! The lyrics to this song challenge, encourage, and beckon us ever onward, inviting us to state with conviction that we choose the Jesus way! Have a listen!
Turning. Sometimes it takes an effort almost superhuman. Especially when anxiety and or depressive feelings pervade. Sometimes we are too anxious, too watchful–we don’t think that we can take our eyes off of this thing even for a minute. How can we give it over to Someone else?
God’s grace: that enduring, sacrificial, unearned love that our Creator God bestows upon His children. Can we ever extol Him enough? Probably not. But let’s try, anyway!
Trust Him to be the King over your life, Sovereign over what you are facing today.
Is He worthy? And that’s the question for the ages. Is His worthy of our praise? Mine? Yours? Even in this difficult situation, even in this? Yes! Sing it! Raise your sights to Him, scripture invites us. Lift up your voice and proclaim the truth, in the easy times, and
Today’s Practice of Praise brings back an old favorite from yesteryear. This lovely worship ballad found its way into many churches in the 1990’s. Perhaps you are familiar with it already. If not, I hope you find it enriching in your moment’s with Him.
A Thousand Hallelujah’s? Are you kidding me? Today, I can’t generate even one! Heavy sighs just kept escaping from my weary, worn-out soul. Is there a way out of my grumpiness, and into His presence?
Today marks one of the highest and holiest days of the Christian Calendar. It is a day for jubilant rejoicing, as we celebrate our great King’s triumph over death, sin, and the grave.
Do you know this Savior? Have you met this Risen Lord?
Charles Wesley wrote today’s much-loved hymn over 250 years ago. “And, can it be, that I should gain and interest in the Savior’s love?”
Wesley was overcome with the reality of God’s Amazing Love.
The song that we are adding to our practice of praise today Jack Hayford’s most popular. In fact, for over 15 years, it was consistently among the top 10 songs among Christians. Perhaps you have enjoyed praising God with this gem.
Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”
King Jesus is Lord of the Cross, Lord of the Resurrection, and Lord of Life. Our King, All Powerful and Eternal, is worthy of our adoration!
Indeed, with each new day, the sun comes up, and it’s a new day just dawning. There’s never been this particular sunrise, you know, that one that occurred today. There’s never been this new day, the one in front of you, right now. Yesterday is past, and is now consigned
And we look to Him, at the head of the banquet table, as He breaks the bread in celebration of our reunion. We raise our glasses, all around, and toast the Giver of the feast. Then the music, and the dancing, and the singing, as all of us unite our
The authors worship the Triune God: Jesus the Son, the Spirit, and lastly, the Father. The chorus then states: “You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore, demonstrating that though three Persons, our God is One.
In John’s Revelation, he includes these words, words that bear continuous repeating, over and over, throughout every age, forever and ever.
The song states that we will love God with everything we can, with everything we are. Both in the Old Testament Law, as well as the words of Jesus in the New Testament, we are instructed to direct our full self to loving God.
This song is truly a gem. It does what Wickham intended–it helps bring God’s children right into the throne room of our beautiful God.
Shipwrecked by the storms? It’s easy to wobble, and times we just tip over. But we are invited to run back to Him! He is waiting.
The sign is clear: “Keep Off”. The rule is plain to see. And the seagull? He doesn’t care. Watch him stare at us, daring us to change his mind. Notice his exquisite placement; of all the spots to plunk down, he has chosen defiance. He’ll land where he does. Take
Our God is pure love, and that, we can take to the bank. As we proclaim it, we remind our own wavering souls of this higher truth, the one that can co-exist with the struggles of life.