Thanks everybody who participated in the Passion “Awakening” CD Giveaway! I really enjoyed reading everyone’s personal “Awakening” moments and I appreciate all the RTs!
Congratulations to the following 5 people, each of whom will receive a copy of the Passion “Awakening” CD, courtesy of Sparrow Records.
make someone aware (of something) for the first time
Lately I’ve been drawn to songs that talk about an awakening of the heart and soul, since that is very much what I am experiencing in my life right now. Songs like Brooke Fraser’s “Shadowfeet” (“…I am changing, less and less asleep, made of different stuff than when I began…”), Robbie Seay Band’s “Awaken My Soul” (“Awaken my soul, awaken my soul, all I’ve gained I’m letting go…”) and this one, Chris Tomlin’s “Awakening” from the new Passion CD of the same name, have been resonating with me much more lately than ever before.
For You and You alone / Awake my soul / Awake my soul and sing
For the world You love / Your will be done / Let Your will be done in me
Like the rising sun that shines / From the darkness comes a light
I hear Your voice and this is my awakening
There’s something about the metaphor of waking from a slumber, less and less asleep, your eyes and heart opening to the proverbial “new day” that is a power visual for me right now. I pray this song awakens something inside you and fuels your heart like it is mine.
This song is impacting me so much that I reached out to the good folks at Sparrow Records and they’ve gladly set aside 5 copies of the new Passion “Awakening” CD to give away to AnIdolHeart.com readers! This CD is so great and features songs from Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, Fee, Hillsong United, Kristian Stanfill, Charlie Hall as well as David Crowder Band, with a live version of their take on “How He Loves”.
There are 2 ways to enter to win…
1. Leave a comment below sharing an “Awakening” moment from your life.
This Friday, April 23, I will randomly select 5 entries from all the comments and tweets and those 5 people will each receive a copy of the Passion “Awakening” CD, courtesy of Sparrow Records/Sixsteps Records!
I’ve got a lot of half-finished blog ideas and things written, but honestly, the last couple days I’ve felt a bit worn out and needing some inspiration.
Enter “Go”, the new album from Sigùr Ros lead singer Jónsi, which was just released yesterday. I’ve blogged before about my love of Sigùr Ros’ music and how it moves me. I won’t rehash all that, but you if you haven’t read that post yet or heard their music, you are really missing out. Sigùr Ros hails from Iceland and Jonsi sings mostly in an unintelligible, responsive language called “Vonlenska”, which is translated as “hopelandic”. I know, pretty dope, right!? There are actually a lot of English lyrics on “Go”, which is pretty cool when contrast with the “vonlenska”.
“Go” is brilliant and has been infusing me with mad inspiration. The album is stunning! The harmonies, the rhythms, the musical textures… it’s an incredible work of art. The album is vivid, bursting with creativity and teeming with life!
It sounds like beauty.
It sounds like Spring.
It sounds like hope.
It sounds like redemption.
I wanted to share the video for the song “Go Do” with you. I know it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but for the rest of you, hope you enjoy and are inspired!
Brooke Fraser is one of my absolute favorite writers and artists. Her album “Albertine” is brilliant and I don’t know how she did it, but with her song “Shadowfeet” she has crafted what may very well be the perfect song. It is certainly one of my favorite songs and speaks to me from a deep place. As I’ve been walking out my story, specifically the past few months, this song has become an anthem of mine and I listen to it often when my heart feels overwhelmed…
… on days like today.
Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I’ve never seen
I am changing: less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And i have sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in you
There’s distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
But I’ve heard rumors of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way
Each week I read a lot of blogs and consume a lot of media, and I want to centralize some of my favorite finds of the week and share them. So I’m going to start doing a week in review, or a “weekly recapitulation” rather, of some cool stuff I’ve found online in the previous 7 days that fall under my primary blog topics of faith, life and culture. This will all be stuff that has inspired, challenged, encouraged or in some cases flat out entertained me this week, that i want to share with you. The goal is to do this over the weekend, but this one fell on Monday morning. Should be fun times. Here goes.
“In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life.” – Timothy Keller
“At some point I’ve got to come to grips with the fact that my identity is not based on what I earn, what I have, or where I rank. At some point I have to realize this game is doing immense damage to my ultimate goal of Christ being formed in me.” – Pete Wilson
I loved this post and concept. I’ve been thinking a lot about personal goals and being much more intentional in my life, and this concept speaks directly to intentionally surrounding yourself with the right people to help you do life wisely. Love that.
“I didn’t realize the how significant of an impact my job satisfaction had on my family. Had no clue. I want my son to understand that your job matters. Not in the ways that the world thinks, but in terms of your impact. I want him to find what he’s passionate about and do it. He will be better for it. His family will be better for it. The world will be better for it. If that means lower pay, fewer benefits and fewer job security, so be it. Let everybody else be safe and miserable.” – Kevin Deshazo
In part 3 of his series, Randy shares, with great emotion, his gratitude to a few friends who have been very instrumental in shaping his life and who he has become. This is powerful and makes me think of the friends in my life who have played key roles in shaping who I have, and continue to, become.
I watched this show Friday night and loved it! The show was incredible and I hope it serves as a wake up call to people about what we’re putting in our bodies. The whole health/fitness/nutrition thing has become a big focus for me this year, and I’m excited to see this show develop.
These guys released their new album “Miracle” this past week and it is instantly one of my favorite albums of the year. The song “Awaken My Soul” makes me want to run a marathon, go skydiving or something! I love this album and will be doing a blog about it very soon. You can listen to it here, then buy it here.
The lead singer of Sigur Rós, Jónsi, is releasing his solo debut album April 6. In the meantime, he has released four videos of him and Nico Muhly doing undressed versions of songs from the upcoming album. Jónsi’s voice sounds particularly delicate on its own, so he and Muhly stick to just piano, guitar, or ukulele for each song. The sessions were filmed at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London. AMAZING! Props to Stereogum for this!
Anything cool you’ve found online this past week that you’d like to share?
