The Update

The Song of the Week this week comes from NSL Senior Kirsten Stillman. If you have a song you’d like to submit for the Song of the Week, email Luke with the artist and title as well as a paragraph or two about why it’s meaningful to your relationship with God.

[RSS & Email Readers will have to visit the NSL Blog to listen to the song]
We all have a breaking point. It's the point in our lives where we say "I have had enough! I can't do this any longer all alone.” And that is when God taps us on the shoulder and says, "Hey, remember me? I'm still here, I've always been here, are you ready to take my hand?" God takes our sin-stained, mistake-ridden flags, and turns them white, cleaning them of everything until our flags are pure and true flags of surrender. That is the representation of our lives in Surrender Saved My Life by This Beautiful Republic. By taking God's hand and trusting in Him to help us through it all, surrender will save our lives.

I have had enough,
buying ashes with my love
I don't need this

I don't need this
I'm pursuing counterfeit
I'm worth so much more
than this
I don't need it
I don't need it
My flag is turning white
I need Your hope tonight
For the first time
Surrender saved my life
When will all this end?
Must I open up again?
I don't need this

I don't need this
Healing hurts a little more
but I'll be stronger than before
Yeah, I need this,
I know I need this

My flag is turning white
I need Your hope tonight
For the first time
Surrender saved my life
Keep my eyes focused, You are the long run

Keep my eyes focused, You are the long run
There's no time for giving up
We'll make it
We'll make it

My flag is turning white
I need Your hope tonight
For the first time
Surrender saved my life

Saved my life

Like the song? Get “This is a Call” by Thousand Foot Krutch from AmazonMP3

[have a song that you’d like to see as a Song of the Week? send the artist and title to Luke along with a paragraph or two about why it helps in your relationship with God. Sweetness!]

[RSS & Email Readers will have to visit the NSL Blog to listen to the song]
This Week’s Song comes from rockers Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK). Perhaps the greatest comfort we can have in our relationship with Jesus is that we are always free to call out. Even if we don’t feel like God is near (like last week’s song of the week), we have the privilege of being able to ask Him for help, comfort, and peace. And usually, God helps us gain perspective and see what life is really all about. Enjoy.

She fooled all of her friends into thinking she's so strong
But she still sleeps with the light on
And she acts like it's all right on, as she smiles again
And her mother lies there sick with cancer
And her friends don't understand her
She's a question without answers
Who feels like falling apart.
She knows, she's so much more than worthless
She needs to find a purpose,
She wonders what she did to deserve this

CHORUS
She's calling out to you
This is a call, this is a call out
Cause everytime I fall down, I reach out to you
And I'm losing all control now
And my hazard signs are all out
I'm asking you to show me what this life is all about

And he tells everyone a story,
Cause he thinks his life is boring
And he fights so you won't ignore him,
Cause that's his biggest fear
And he cries, but you'll rarely see him do it
And he loves but he's scared to use it
So he hides behind the music
Cause he likes it that way
And he knows, he's so much more than worthless
He needs to find the surface
Cause he's starting to get nervous

CHORUS

Have you ever felt this way before
Cause I don't wanna hide here anymore
Take me to a place where nothing's wrong
And thanks for coming, shut the door
And they say some one out there sees us,
Well if you're real, then save me Jesus
Cause I've been this way for far too long
I wasn't meant to feel alone

CHORUS

Show me what this life is all about
Show me what this life is all about

Like the song? Get “This is a Call” by Thousand Foot Krutch from AmazonMP3

[have a song that you’d like to see as a Song of the Week? send the artist and title to Luke along with a paragraph or two about why it helps in your relationship with God. Sweetness!]

[RSS & Email readers have to visit the NSL Blog to play the song]
There are times when it feels like God is far away. That is a hard thing to deal with, because God promises to never leave us. So why, in the midst of difficult things, do we so often think he’s gone away?
Faith is described in the Bible as “…being sure of things unseen.” It’s choosing to trust that God is being honest when he says he won’t leave our side. We can’t always feel our heart beating in our chest, but we trust it is still there. We can’t always feel our brain processing thoughts, but we are still sure it’s there. Just because we can’t feel God sometimes, doesn’t mean he has left us.
This week’s song by BarlowGirl speaks to that exact feeling…

I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no.
I needed you today
So where did you go?
You told me to call
Said you'd be there
And though I haven't seen you
Are you still there?

Chorus
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel you by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone

And though I cannot see you
And I can't explain why
Such a deep reassurance
You've placed in my life.
We cannot separate
'Cause you're part of me.
And though you're invisible
I'll trust the unseen.

Chorus

Like the song? Get “Never Alone” by BarlowGirl on AmazonMP3.

A feature we’ve started up here on the ol’ NSL Blog is the “Song of the Week” where we post a song and the lyrics along with a mini-Jesus Stuff blurb about what the song can teach us about having a relationship with God. We’ve gotten some pretty sweet responses and we’re looking forward to posting more, but we need your help!

The NSL Blog is your place to share what is happening in your relationship with God, so we’re calling all readers to submit “Song of the Week” articles. It’s super easy, all you need to do is email studentlife@northwoodcc.org with the following:

• Band Name
• Track/Song Title
• Lyrics to the Song
• A quick paragraph or two about why it is important to you/what it teaches you about God!

It’s that easy! For an idea of what we’re looking for you can check out the previous Song of the Week posts. We look forward to seeing what you share!

[RSS & Email readers have to visit the NSL Blog to play the song]
Hot on the heels of last weeks song about letting go, we’re serving up a new one by Tenth Avenue North. When we follow God, there is a lot of stuff we have to let go. We hang on to all kinds of false securities (good grades, sports and activities, money and possessions, certain social groups, etc.) that can (and do) get in the way of finding out who God really wants us to be. The truth is that we are more likely to find what makes us happy when we forget all that stuff and leave it behind. God says, “Let It Go!”

I've been holding on so tight
Look at these knuckles
They've gone white
I'm fighting for who I wanna be
I'm just trying to find security

But You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one's who lose control
You say you will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul
You say let it go.

Well it's hard enough to hear
Harder still, to move beyond this fear
We know there's nothing I can bring,
So tell me what do you want from me?

But You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one's who lose control
You say You will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul
You say let it go, You say let it go

What do I love?
What do I hate?
What will I lose?
What will I gain?
How do I save my soul?
What if I bend?
What if I break?
What will it cost?
What will it take?
For you to save my soul.

You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one's who lose control
You say You will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul

Like the song? Get “Let It Go” by Tenth Avenue North at AmazonMP3!

[RSS & Email readers have to visit the NSL Blog to play the song]
We’re control freaks. Most people have a really hard time when they aren’t in control of what’s happening, they start to worry. Turns out, that’s not how we’re supposed to live. The Bible couldn’t be any clearer, it says “Do Not Worry about anything, instead pray about everything…” God says not to worry, period. That’s right, worrying = disobeying God. Ouch!

The song of the week this week comes from Francesca Battistelli, a young up-and-comer in the Christian music biz. The track “I’m Letting Go talks about the feeling when we just need to quit worrying and jump into what God has for us! Enjoy.

My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge
Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back

I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe

So I’m letting go
This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone

I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid

Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

  Like the song? Get the whole album is just 5 bucks at AmazonMP3!

[email & RSS readers need to visit the NSL Blog to play the song]
This past weekend we were at Blitz and a bunch of the live updates had to do with the awesome music being pumped out by Remedy Drive.

One of the songs they played is called “All Along” and did a pretty good job of capturing the experience for many of us at Blitz. Lots of us shared about how we had been putting a lot of things before God in our life, and it wasn’t working out. This weekend we realized realized that the way we wanted to feel is what God had been offering all along, we had just been looking for it in the wrong place.

So listen to the song, and be reminded that all the things we feel like we have to deal with before we can get to God are the things that he wants to struggle through with us.

It's not everything it seems - the world and its dreams
Slipping like water through my hands tonight
All the things I thought would fill me up inside
Left me empty here - and now I know why

All along I was looking for something else
You're something else
All along I was looking for something more
You're so much more
I finally found what I could never see before
You've always been the one that I was looking for

All of my castles in the sand - washed away again
And I'm left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up
Has been right in front of me all the time

I won't miss you - I won't miss you this time
I say I want you - yeah I want you in my life

 

 Like the song? Get “All Along” at AmazonMP3.com

[email & RSS readers need to visit the NSL Blog to play the song]
Yesterday we talked about Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you think I am?” One of the biggest mistakes people make is underestimating Jesus. He promises we can make it through anything, but we still think he won’t come through for us when hard stuff comes our way. This song by Relient K is a good reminder about feelings like that.

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you, you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus.
When the world around you crumbles,
he will be strong.
He will be strong.

I throw up my hands.
" Oh, the impossibilities."
Frustrated and tired,
where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly.
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fears.

I think I can't, I think I can't.
But, I think you can, I think you can.
I think I can't, I think I can't.
But, I think you can, I think you can.
Gather my insufficiencies and place them in your hands.
Place them in your hands.
Place them in your hands.

[email & RSS readers you’ll want to visit The NSL Blog to play the song]

Third Day is one of the best known Christian acts recording today. This week’s Song of the Week comes from their very first studio album, back when they were a little known band trying to rock a spot into Christian music. (I know what they sound like now, but 15 years ago they were solid rockers on the stage.

The song, called “Thief,” tells the story of Jesus’ death through the eyes of one of the thieves that died on the cross next to him. It’s a powerful and gripping tale… song and lyrics below.

I am a thief, I am a murderer
Walking up this lonely hill
What have I done? I don't remember
No one knows just how I feel
and I know that my time is coming soon.

It's been so long. Oh, such a long time
Since I've lived with peace and rest
Now I am here, my destination
guess things work for the best
and I know that my time is coming soon

Who is this man? This man beside me
They call the King of the Jews
They don't believe that He's the Messiah
But, somehow I know it's true.
And they laugh at Him in mockery,
and beat Him till he bleeds
They nail Him to the rugged cross,
and raise Him, they raise Him up next to me

My time has come, I'm slowly fading
I deserve what I receive
Jesus when You are in Your kingdom
Could You please remember me
and He looks at me still holding on
the tears fall from His eyes
He says I tell the truth
Today, you will live with Me in paradise
and I know that my time is coming soon
and I know paradise is coming soon.

 

Like the song? You can purchase the song Thief from AmazonMP3