Song of the Week: My Life is in You, Lord

Hello hello hello. :)

I'm excited about the song feature for this week. Not for any particular reason, but it's just an awesome feel-good song. It's called "My Life is in You, Lord" and I don't know if it ever made it mainstream or to radio but we sing it at my church and I absolutely love it! It's very simple and it says:

My life is in You, Lord
My strength is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord
It's in You

We change up the second part of the song from the traditional way. We sing it just like the first part. Here are the lyrics:

Delight is in the Father
Delight is in the Son
Delight is in the Holy Ghost
They are three in one 

I love it! Listen to it here. Enjoy and have a Happy Saturday! :) 

xo,

Rita

Song of the Week: The Wonderful Cross

Hello loves.

This week's song spotlight is on "The Wonderful Cross". This song is very dear to my heart. The lyrics are amazing and the song truly speaks for itself. My favorite lyric is:

"See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did ever such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?"

I was introduced to this song through my church a few years ago but it was made popular by Michael W. Smith and another version is by Chris Tomlin. It really makes you sit and think about what happened on Calvary's cross and it breaks my heart each time. It is important for us to remember Calvary's cross and the crucifixion of our Savior because then we will never forget to use His Blood for all things, which was His reason for going to the Cross. You can listen to Michael W. Smith's version of the song here. I pray that you are blessed by what you hear.

Much love,

Rita 

Song of the Week: "Don't Wanna Let You Go"

By Deitrick Haddon.

No matter what state of mind I am in, this song breaks me down and opens my heart so that I can worship Jesus and let His love flow through me. It's on his Crossroads album which was released in 2004. This is one of my favorite songs; a true worship song. It is a cry out to God, pleading for His presence, His Spirit, to stay and making a bold statement saying that I won't let Him go once He comes to me.

"Now that you're here, I don't wanna let you go."

"I'm in love with you Jesus and I..."

 "I'll just stay here in Your arms forever."

Simple song. Simple lyrics. Strong message. Pure worship. Listen to it here. Much love.

 xo,

Rita

Song of the Week: I've Anchored in Jesus

Hey y'all!!

A beautiful view of the sun on our way to Indiana.

So, you may have been wondering where I've been. Well, for the past week I've been in Jeffersonville, Indiana for my church's annual July International Convention. It was AMAZING, the best yet. Every year we say that it was the best convention ever, but that's because it's true. It gets better and better as time goes on. I didn't take many pictures, hardly any at all because time was precious, and so was energy. The convention was five days of services, both morning and night, with on average about three hours between the two.

The Word was out of this world, I may be able to share some things that I learned later down the line. If you like, you can go to my church's website christgospel.org and view each of the messages from the July Convention in the video library. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to e-mail me.

A view of one of the bridges we passed. I love bridges!

Now, on to the song of the week. The theme of the convention was being anchored in Jesus so we sang a song each service called "I've Anchored in Jesus". It's a little out of my comfort zone, a country hymn, but the more I listened to it as well as the lyrics, the more I loved it. Once we make Jesus the core of our lives and anchor ourselves in Him, then we don't have to worry about being overtaken by the waves of trials that we face. We know that Jesus will take care of it all if we lean on Him.

This past week has been life-changing and I am so excited about what God is doing in my as well as the rest of my church family's life. I am forever grateful.

The beautiful view from our hotel room.

Love and Peace,
xoxo Rita

Song of the Week: Friend in You

Hey friends!

The song that has been on my heart the most this past week is "Friend in You" by Jon Gibson. I absolutely LOVE this song; it's one of my all-time favorites! It makes my heart smile every time I listen to it.

"Friend in You" is found on Jon's album Change of Heart, which was released in 1988. The fact that this song came out before I was even born and is one of my all-time favorites amazes me. I grew up listening to this song on the radio and it stuck with me ever since. Of course as a child, I didn't really listen to the lyrics, but I remember that it filled me with joy every time I heard it. Now that I'm older, the words of the song really touch my heart.

Let me take a moment to say, I really love Jon's voice! He's been compared to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Donny Hathaway and is recognized as one of the pioneers of gospel music. "Friend in You" was one of his number one hits and I see why. This song is about someone who is at their wits end and sees no hope in the future, but then Jon comes along to tell them that Jesus died for them, is a friend that they can always count on, and He lives in spirit right there in their heart.

And the part of the song that speaks to me the most is that exact one:

"My friend, I know what you've gone through, but Jesus died for you. So keep in mind, that although your heart is blue, let it break in two. And you will find a friend that lives in you."

 I love it! You can listen to "Friend in You" here and I pray that you are blessed by it!

Also, one last thing. Let me take this opportunity to extend an open invitation to all: if you do not know Jesus as your Savior and something in this post, or in the song, or just in life in general has touched you to where you do want to know Him and you want Him to live inside of you, send me an e-mail and I will help you in making that possible. You can find my contact information under the "Contact Me" tab at the top of this page.

Much love to all!
xoxo Rita

Song of the Week: Draw Me Close To You

Hi all!

This week's song spotlight is on "Draw Me Close To You". There are many versions of this song but I became familiar with it through a brother singing it at my church. This song is very special to me because it is my cry to the Lord. It verbalizes what I feel inside. Ultimately, that is what my heart desires; to be closer and closer in my relationship with Jesus.

This is a very beautiful song. It has a slow tempo and flows kind of like a waterfall. The lyrics are simple, clear, and easy to understand. So no matter how mature or new you are to the world of Christianity, there is something that everyone can take away from this song. I believe it was made popular by Michael W. Smith and since then has been enjoyed by the masses.

This song allows you to have a true heart-to-heart with God and I know I am blessed by it every time I hear it. In case you have never heard this song before, take a listen here and I pray you are encouraged and blessed as you do.

Love and peace,
xoxo Rita

Song of the Week: Fence Riders

Hey y'all!

Because I am a singer and I LOVE music, I have decided to incorporate a new segment into my blog. It's called "Song of the Week" and it will feature a song that has been on my heart the most over the past week. The song for this week is most definitely Jimmy Needham's "Fence Riders".

Jimmy Needham is my most FAVORITE artist so you will surely be seeing more of him in the future. "Fence Riders" has a fun sound with a catchy beat. What stands out the most to me, as it usually is with Jimmy, are the lyrics. My favorite lines are apart of the chorus and they say:

"Can I sing about my maker, and have you not roll your eyes? Can I weep about my Savior, and the way He died? I know it don't make sense, to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ!"

 LOVE LOVE LOVE this song! You can listen to it here and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Love, Rita