Better Than a Hallelujah Sometimes

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a hallelujah

~Amy Grant

"You are confused. You think the clay is equal to the potter. You think that an object can tell the one who made it, 'You didn't make me.' This is like the pot telling the maker, 'you don't know anything.' " ~Isaiah 29:16 (NCV)

The clay is not stronger than the potter. In fact, it's purpose is to yield to the bendings and moldings of the potter's hands. But sometimes, the clay is stubborn and resists the molding of the potter. When this happens, the clay becomes dry and brittle at times. And no matter how much the potter tries to salvage the clay by re-adding water, reshaping and creating new ideas, the clay can break. 

Our lives are the clay and God is the potter. Molding, shaping, building. God puts things in front of for reasons. And sometimes we repel against what He wants for us. He bends us, shapes us, sends us on new paths, when we have ventured on "our own" way instead of yielding to His hand and voice. He is happy when we obey him. But sometimes, if we are unwilling, he has to break us. And it breaks His heart to do so. But being broken is a good thing. By breaking, we can become aware of what we are doing or the path that is leading us away from God. And even then, sometimes we refuse to listen to Him. So He will continue to break us until we hear Him. 

God gives us choices on the path of life. Sometimes we ignore the path that He has chosen for us. We ignore the whisper in our ear saying, "Turn right, my child." And defiantly we chose the path that we want instead. And at certain times, God's heart is broken and he has to break our hearts. And like the clay, we become brittle and dry. And then instead of listening to Him, we question Him. "Why? Why did you let that happen? What did I do to deserve this? How much more are you going to throw at me? If you are a loving God, why do these things happen?"

I've asked these questions many times. Sometimes I got the answer that I wanted, other times I didn't. I know it sounds cliche, but things do happen for a reason. Sometimes these seasons are gloomy and we run, run, run from God. But you know what? God is the life giving water that is always flowing. And if we cry out to Him, he'll give us that living water and replenish the dry, brittle substance. And we grow in Him, letting Him reshape us.

Sometimes it feels like we don't want to go on living because one bad thing after another comes our way. And we feel like we don't have the strength to go on. But if we lean on God and those around us for support, we can make it through the day. One step at a time. One breath in and out. God will never let us fall so far from Him that he can't reach us. He's always able to pick us up when we've fallen. His arms are always open, waiting for us to come to Him. His love is as far as the East is from the West. 

I know you are broken and feeling lost at the moment. I know you feel like there is nothing left of you; nothing that you can give to anyone. I know you have been hurt by those you love. But God is here. He's waiting. He's waiting for you to cry out to Him. He may seem far away at the moment, but he will soon whisper, "I'm here! I've never left you!" Your cry to Him is better than a hallelujah. 

I am Gomer, Hosea's Wife

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Gomer, here's a quick background. She was a girl with a reputation. Promiscuous or possibly working as a prostitute. But God told Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman. So he did- he married Gomer. And he fell in love with her. But she still continued her bad behavior. Read more about Hosea and Gomer in the bible: Hosea 1:1-3:5.

Hi. My name is Gomer.

Seems we all can relate to Gomer at some point in our life, can we not? We've all had done something in our past that was wrong. Let me tell you a little story...

In the past few months, I have been Gomer more than I care to claim. No, I have not been sleeping around or selling my body. For the record, and I will never been ashamed of it, I am still a virgin and will be until I find the man I will marry. But, like Gomer, I've made choices that I could have changed. BIG choices. I hurt a few people that I care about. Not once. Not twice. But more than that. I kept getting that little niggling, "Don't do it, Mindy. It's not worth it." But I kept retorting back, "Oh, just this one little time will not hurt." And that one little time snowballed and ended up damaging those people emotionally and physically. But I was only thinking of myself and not the other people that I was hurting. And right now, I'm living with the mistakes that I have made.

I had been forgiven in the past by the people that I hurt, but this time, if forgiveness comes, it will take some time I'm sure. And trust and confidence will need to be built. I grenaded that wall down and now, brick by brick, I'm hoping to build it back with those people. I love them dearly. I learned from my mistakes.

And even though I feel like if I were them and I wouldn't ever forgive me, I deep down that God has forgiven me. He is Love. And he loves us unconditionally, just as Hosea loved Gomer even though she continued on her path of wickedness. But, just because God forgives us daily and days are made fresh and new in his love and mercy, doesn't give us free reign to go and continue to do the bad. Sometimes, it's going to take more than once, twice or three times to get it through out thick skulls to NOT do something that could be potentially harmful to you or others. *points to self * case in point. I hurt others over and over again, but this last time was the final time. I learned my lesson. This is an opportunity to learn from the wrongs and grown in character.

Just as God loves us and forgives us, we are to love and forgive others. It may not be immediate like God does, but eventually time will forgive. I need to take the "ME" goggles off and think before I speak or do something. I can stop the cycle.

Hi. My name is Gomer. And I have done things in the past that I am not proud of. But I'm willing to change them.




I just spoke silence with the seeker next to me
She had a heart with hesitant, halting speech
That turned to mine and asked belligerently
"What do I live for?"

I see the scars of searches everywhere I go
From hearts to wars to literature to radio
There's a question like a shame no one will show
"What do I live for?"

We are Hosea's wife
We are squandering this life
Using people like ladders and words like knives

[CHORUS]
If we've eyes to see
If we've ears to hear
To find it in our hearts and mouths
The word that saves is near
Shed that shallow skin
Come and live again
Leave all you were before
To believe is to begin

There is truth in little corners of our lives
There are hints of it in songs and children's eyes
It's familiar, like an ancient lullaby
What do I live for?

We are Hosea's wife
We are squandering this life
Using bodies like money and truth like lies

[CHORUS]

[Bridge]
We are more than dust
That means something
That means something
We are more than just
Blood and emotions
Inklings and notions
Atoms on oceans 

Heroes are made when you make a choice

Wow.

I just had the most beautiful breakdown. A breakdown that was long overdue.

I am going through a Bible study called "He is my life" by Debbie Alsdorf. It's about loving others as Christ did. I think I mentioned this a couple blogs back.

I just finished my third week, and I can notice a difference in things. Yes, there are still some things that I am still working on, but I can feel a small difference. I'd rather take small steps and inch my way closer to my goal and climb to the top of the mountain verses taking giant leaps, reaching my goal in record time, only to fall and fail. I am learning to enjoy the obstacles in the way; they are helping me to grow and learn from my experiences.

Here is an example from this week. There is a salesman at work that, for some reason I can't quite figure out, I can't stand. Don't ask me why. I don't think that he ever did anything to me, and if he did, it was probably over something so stupid. Well, he came up to me at the window. I actually politely spoke with him. I wasn't short in answering him nor did I give him one word answers. I looked at him. I smiled at him. And I think that we actually laughed. Huh. Breakthroughs can be done.

But today, about a half hour ago, is when the breakdown came.

If you haven't seen the movie "To Save a Life", I really think that you should. I have heard nothing but good reviews about this movie, but then, I have heard reviews of other good movies only to be let way down.

This wasn't a slap in the face movie. This was a, "Mindy, I'm going to really open your heart and cause you to see what I see" moment. I watched it.

I became emotionally drained. I couldn't help but think of all the people that I have past on the street that probably needed a smile or a simple wave. Or the person that needed a door opened for them at the grocery store because their arms were full. Instead what did they get? A silent judgment. A glare. A "I'm better than you, so why would I associate myself with you" thought.

Some Christian I can be, huh?

I am so glad that God opened my eyes. I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be. But too often, I become this person that I want the most not to be just to "fit in". Why? I can't take whatever I have here on this earth with me when I die.

Would I rather have a handful of gadgets that will last for a short period of time only to change in a matter of minutes? Or, would you rather have that warm, bear hug saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

I think I would chose the latter. At least, I knew I would have saved at least someone's life down the road instead of drowning myself in my headphones or games. No, I'm not saying that they are all fun. But I think I would like to see that person that I might have passed up smile and welcome them home when they pass from this world to the next.

When you feel that little tug in your stomach, don't ignore it. It's probably God tugging at your heart, breaking it to feel what He feels when He sees someone lonely and lost.

Here's a little phrase I came up with that I am trying to live by:
You can't say no to His go.

Sure, you can try and go a different path, but He's always going to lead you back.

Are you going to be a hero?

New Way to Live

Arise, there's a new way to live
Thought we were living, but that's not what we've been
We've been, breathing out and breathing in
But the question remains have we ever truly lived.


~New Way to Live, Jason Gray

I couldn't figure out why I have been so bitter these past few weeks. I couldn't figure out why my heart had been so hardened by the things people said to me. I couldn't figure out why my eyes had adverted away from God even though I tried to seek him over and over.

I am learning that I need to surrender and forgive. Forgive being the bigger part.

During Holy Week this year, an already stressful time for me as I am journeying to the Road to Calvary, my best friend decided she wanted to end our 6 year friendship. And what made it worse for me was the fact that she couldn't do it face to face. She did everything through facebook. I was hurt, confused, angered, bitter, resentful, you name it. I cried tears but I couldn't figure out why I cried them.

Then Good Friday came. I cried, knowing that Jesus died for me and saved me. But for some reason I couldn't let go of what had happened a couple days prior.

And these past few weeks have been the same. I haven't been very close to God and I haven't talked to him, even though I thought that I was doing a good job in my life. I mean, I wasn't out drinking, I wasn't doing drugs, I wasn't out breaking the law. so that had to count for something, right?

This past weekend I spent some time with some wonderful girls of God. And we also had an added little perk of listening to one of my favorite artists, Jason Gray. There was so much that went on this past weekend, but I will make that another post in the days coming. We got to have some special time with him and he was talking to us about stuff. There was a new song that he was working on and it just wrenched my heart wide open.

I was grateful that I was in the company of amazing friends. For had I not been, I would have not been able to get through that moment. God was speaking to me and laying His hand on my heart. He was telling me: "Forgive.....forgive.....forgive. That's all you need to do. Forgive, and let it go. I will handle the rest."

I knew exactly what He was talking about. I needed to forgive my friend for what happened. And things happen for a reason. This was just a stepping stone that I couldn't get over. I tried my hardest to hang on hoping that maybe, just maybe, if I did, things could work out. But I had to step off that rock and move on to the next one, waiting for God to tell me what to do.

Jason shared a story about how God wants all of us. Not what we think he wants us to be or how we should act in front of Him. We can never truly be intimate with Him if we are not willing to share everything with Him. Even our anger.

This was another turning point for me. I had to release the anger that had built up over the past couple days and give it to God. It was holding me back from Him.

It's going to take a bit to learn to do, but this weekend with amazing friends and musicians showed me that I have to be vulnerable at the feet of Jesus. He can give me peace and joy and comfort.

And I am learning there is a new way to live. A life full of joy and happiness. Satan can attack me all he wants, but as I read God's Word and commune with other believers who will lift me up, I can stand against him. Sorry, buddy, but you can't win this fight. You never have, you never will.

A Father's Love Letter

I stumbled upon this while looking for something to add to my Bible Study. Wow. The Truth.

http://www.habeeb.com/fathers.love.letter/fathers.love.letter.english.html

Father's Love Letter
My Child ~
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
                                                                                                   Love, Your Dad, Almighty God

God's Loving Kindess

For some reason or another, I have never actually been able to wrap my fingers around the concept of God being my Father; my Daddy. Or Jesus as my brother.

I have always known God as a powerful omni-present being, the one that hears my prayers. And Jesus to be my Savior, but I never actually considered them to be part of my immediate family like I do my brother or my dad.

I have tried in the past to pray about it and take my cares to God like my father, but there was always a barrier that blocked me from feeling the things that I truly needed to feel to help me understand that God is my Father and I can go to him for anything that I need. I may not get it in an answer that I want like my Dad does to me, but He will answer me somehow. This I know. But I never could just close my eyes, reach out my arms and run to God like a little child does when they scrape their knee and he holds them tight and comforts them saying, "I'm here. You are okay. Daddy's here."

I have had a hard time over the past couple months trying to get into my Bible trying to learn what God wants me to. My mind was always distracted and I couldn't tell you how many times I would read the same sentence over and over and over again. I am grateful for the new friends that I have found at my new church. I started going to a new reunion group along with my regular one that I attend from the people of Walk to Emmaus. The new reunion group I chat with are women from my new congregation that have attended Via de Cristo which is similar to the Walk to Emmaus.

Ruth, one of the ladies from the group said to me, "Mindy, don't go to church-go to worship. And don't read the Bible- STUDY it."

I really needed to hear that because I was getting caught up in my schedule and I couldn't keep up with the daily readings and I wasn't retaining anything.

I did my study this morning and I had a new found, newly freshened look on the Bible. It was on God's kindness and how we really need to come to him as a child comes to a Father. He is our Daddy and we need to trust him like a child does. They mimic things that the parent does.

This makes me think of my 2 year old nephew. He does everything that my brother does. He is definitley a Daddy's boy. He follows Marshall around the house/yard with his Handy Manny tools and helps Daddy fix things. He runs to Daddy when it's time to sleep or he just needs a hug.

That's how I want to be with God. I want to look up to him and follow everything that He teaches me. I want to mirror him.

And I need to learn that Jesus is not only my Savior, but also my big brother. As I was reading my Bible study, I got this image of Jesus and I chatting over Starbucks, goofing off in the park, playing card games, crying into His shoulder, soaking it wet. That's the relationship I want with Jesus. I need to start making it personal again. I want to look at Him not only as my Savior and Brother, but also my lover. I want to be focused on nothing but him. I his love for me to fill me completely and make me whole. Sometimes that void just takes over and and I can't find anything to fill it, even when I try seeking it in the Word.

I am slowly learning to have an intimate relationship with my Daddy and Big Brother. I want it so much.

The Voice of the Psalms

The Voice of the Psalms
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishing

I have always loved the Psalms. I always found them comforting and a great worship and prayer.

The Voice of the Psalms is a wonderful book to add to your collection. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishing Company and written by the people from the Friends of Ecclesia Bible Society, this version of the Psalms is, I think, one of my favorite.

The Voice of the Psalms is the newest edition to the family of The Voice. They have published versions of readings from the final week of Jesus’ life on earth, the Gospels, Acts, Romans, and more.

The first few pages give a great layout of the book. You get a great overview of what the Psalms is supposed to be, understand the vision of The Voice Project and receive a welcoming from the President of the Friends of Ecclesia Bible Society

I love that the Voice of the Psalms also provides devotionals for Lent, Advent, Worship, and Seeking.

The reading is easy to follow and understand. Sometimes I have found myself wandering while reading the especially longer Psalms. Spread out among the psalms are mini devotionals that help you feel more connected to the writers of the Psalms. You can bring what they wrote thousands of years ago to life in your own walk.

I enjoy this book very much. I highly recommend anyone to pick it up and deepen your love and relationship with God.

For more information on The Voice, please visit www.hearthevoice.com. There is a lot of great information on the project including free downloads. Right now they have the Voice Revealed: The Gospel of John

I'm Not Going Down...I'm Rising Up

So....once again, my journey is through a song....

Not Going Down from Jason Gray


Not Going Down:
I'm not going down
I'm rising up....woah
I'm gonna stand my ground
and I won't give up...oh, no
And I'm not Goin' down


I have been really trying the last couple of days to stay on track...it's really hard. Especially yesterday when they decided to rearrange the office before I got there. It took nearly four hours later to get the office back in shape where I was able to sit down and do my work. I hadn't eaten since 9am and I didn't get to eat until 6:30 That's a long time. Not good when you are trying to keep your metabolism level and eat every 3-4 hours. I was getting really cranky and whiny and I could tell my body was telling me to eat....But I didn't

And I have been trying to keep up with cardio. I HATE sweating! It's yucky and I just feel disgusting! But today I cycled for 30 minutes and every last song I would like, I'm done...I can't do this anymore. Then another one of my fave songs would come on and I would just keep going. I finally said, "That's it. 25 is good. I'm done!" then Not going down came on. I got back on the bike and said....5 more minutes, Mindy....just 5 more minutes.....


This song motivated me through the last stretch of the exercise. I focused on God and pushed through and persevered. God is amazing at pushing. No....the SPIRIT is great at pushing me. He kept whispering in my ear and saying, just a couple more rotations...you can do it. I'm giving you strength.

Not only does it motivate me through my workout, it motivates me through life. This has been a song that I sing regularly to myself to help push me. Jason is a great lyricist....and it's great when you really can connect with someone's music. It makes it part of you; not just a song.

Thank you, God for pushing me to the limit. You are awesome!

Ending is Beginning

Coincidence or God Speaking?

For most of you that regularly read my blog or are on the downhere boards know that I have been battling with a decision to leave my church(see previous post...).

Today at church at a wedding I sang at, there on my old music stand that I used to use every Sunday, was a single guitar pic.

I had bought Bob, our worship director, a downhere guitar pic card as a joke gift since he always picked on me about downhere.

On the music stand today was a single downhere guitar pic. I picked it up, looked at it, and choked back a couple tears that decided they wanted to form. On the pic were the downhere name and "Ending is Beginning".

I don't know if this was just a coincidence that that was there or if this was God saying, "Hey...it's okay. I am moving you in a new direction and you are ending here, but a new beginning is coming..."

I know that Ending is Beginning is also a parallel of coming to the end of myself and letting God begin again. Which is also a path that I need to consider. It's always a daily struggle to die to myself every day and let God do His thing. But I am learning as I am growing more and more in my faith to trust God and know that he is providing for me for what I need at the moment of every day.

God is great and I am trusting His plan and what he has in store for me. I know He has something big and exciting planned for me...just waiting to see what it is!!

What Difference Do It Make?

"What Difference Do It Make?” is a wonderful read. Blending stories of other folks that read the previous book called “Same Kind of Difference As Me” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, it’s great to see how God is moving and working through all of us. In between chapters of Ron and Denver, are stories that were “inspired” by Denver and his struggle with homelessness. Hearing Ron and Denver’s stories helped change the lives of people and their actions that they took when doing through their daily lives. I haven’t had the chance to read “Same Kind of Difference As Me” yet, but I love how they brought snippets of the book into the new book so you could piece the stories together. I would recommend reading “What Difference Do It Make?” to anyone who is struggling in their life with anything from finance, to a loss of a loved one, to a betrayal. In the words of Jason Gray- Everything Sad is Coming Untrue. Even if you are going through a rough time in your life, there is a light on the other side that will help guide you through your trial. These stories are truly ones of healing and hope and proof that God is looking down on us and will take care of us in our need if we call out to him.

Again I Say: Rejoice!!

Philippians 4:4-6

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.



Wow. I couldn’t have read a better verse today! One thing that I have been struggling with for years is prayer. I never know what to say. I don’t want to sound greedy. Sometimes I feel stupid just talking to the air. But over the past couple of months I have learned to take everything to God in prayer. And he will provide. I am living proof of that. I love my job at Russ Darrow, and I have been part time for the past year since I started. And I was struggling every day to find a way to make ends meet. I was always looking for other part time jobs to fill in the hours that I didn’t work there, but nothing came up. And news last week came that our normal full time girl, due to personal reasons, was going down to part time and I would get the full time position. WHAT? Really? So, I sent my blessings up to God. Then today, I word that I will be getting a raise on my next check! I can’t tell you how much God has blessed me in the past couple of weeks. All the trails and pain that I have gone through only equip me to be a stronger person in my walk with God. And I have learned to pray earnestly and continuously. He will provide for you when you need it. And when you least expect it!



I have also become more open with my faith and not being ashamed to pray in public. I still struggle at times, but I am getting better at it. I have a problem with sitting and listening for God, though. I always have things running through my brain and I get distracted easily. Sometimes things are good, other times not so much. Sometimes I am running down my “to do” list and I lose sight of why I am bowing my head. There is a song called “Let the Waters Rise” from Mikeschair that has been my prayer the past couple months since I first heard it. I remember crying. I actually heard it again last night having a “worry” moment and it came at the right time and brought me to my knees in surrender.



Don't know where to begin
It's like my world's caving in
And I tried but i can't control my fear
Where do I go from here

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
You feel so far away
I am willing to go where You want me to
God I trust You

[Chorus]
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knee
So let the waters rise


If you want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You




God will never put anything in front of you that you can’t handle. He’s just a prayer away when you feel like falling. He’ll pick you up when He knows you are ready. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Jason Gray: Everything Sad is Coming Untrue

Now, I try not to be one that is biased, but I have been waiting (im)patiently for the new Jason Gray album “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue”. I have been a strong supporter of his music for some time now, and Centricity Music has not let me down yet.

Nor did they or Jason let me down this time either.

“Everything Sad is Coming Untrue” is a wonderful blend of pop, praise, folk, and everything else in between. Jason is a gifted songwriter and knows how to wrap God’s word around your heart.

If you are curious as to where Jason came up with the title, it’s a passage in Tolkein’s “The Lord of the Rings” where Sam wakes after the darkest day of his life to find those he thought dead were alive and that all was well: “’Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?’ ‘A great shadow has departed,’ said Gandalf, and then he laughed, and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land…”

I can’t say that I have a favorite, because all the songs have some form of meaning to me. But I think that one of my favorite lines is from “More Like Falling in Love”, the first track on the album: “Cause all religion ever made of me, was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet. It never set me free.” I think it’s true that we focus sometimes why our “religion” is better than the other person’s, and we could debate out this all day long, but this is an album review, so let’s carry on!

Jason is a great storyteller and is not afraid tackle tough subjects like battling deception on “The Golden Boy and the Prodigal”, and not letting worship get watered down or fluffed up like in the song “Fade With Our Voices”. This album is a true testament of what it means to confess and fall at Jesus’ feet and offer ourselves completely.

If you are looking for some good hearty music that needs to pull at your heartstrings, then “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue” should do the trick.

More information can be found at Jason’s newly updated (and really cool!) website or at Centricity Music’s website.

I encourage you to pick up the album. I am telling you now that you will not be disappointed!