track eighteen: the hallelujah chorus!!!

over a month after starting this little project, i can see the finish line... 17 songs behind us, only one remaining... but for a quick little recap;

1. canon in d (my caller id/ringtone on my friend's phone... love her)
2. the rainbow connection
3. my tribute
4. 2 legit 2 quit
5. bottom of the barrel
6. the star spangled banner
7. loving God, loving each other/i'm satisfied/Alpha and Omega
8. work that
9. shine on us
10. i hope you dance
11. You are everything
12. moonlight sonata
13. i don't regret
14. wherever we go
15. my hallelujah song
16. carolina in my mind
17. orphans of God
18. and............. the final track is the hallelujah chorus! :)

i love this song! haha :)) it never fails to put a smile on my face! regardless of the season, this song always reminds me of Christmas... an uncle in the singing Christmas tree, friends in college choral performances, roommates in the itty-bitty living space that is a college dorm "electric-sliding" to soulful celebration's rendition of the song... that's right, i said it... doing the electric-slide to the hallelujah chorus *and i don't even feel bad about it :)*

why are we moved to our feet when this song plays? it is more than traditional propriety... why has this song has remained a mainstay following handel's masterful creation? other impressive musical numbers have fallen by the wayside... why do i have to smile when the first notes reach my ears? obviously this answer is more personal than the others, but i believe you can all relate...

...because our God reigns! the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will reign forever! and i know we will be singing "holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty" when we get to heaven, but i want to sing the hallelujah chorus just one time- with all of eternity left to praise Him, i hope we get to sing it once!

"and He shall reign forever and ever!"

and that my friends is the conclusion of my soundtrack... this song, with the others, is all i want my life to show. i am not important- i have likes and preferences and opinions, but they don't compete with the real meaning of my life... i live to bring glory to God- the God who created everything there is; the God who maintains it all; the God who rules it all... the God of the universe is the God of my life.

track seventeen: orphans of God

i know it has been a long time since i last updated my little corner of the world, but life has been crazy busy... for those of you who don't know, crazy busy is like jumping out of two classes a day college life into twelve hour days on my feet all day long. it is a big jump..... one of the best jumps i have ever made :)

that being said, avalon's orphans of God is long lost number seventeen. i first heard this song about three years ago. i was driving the roads of my old stomping grounds on my way to see a friend who was hurting. i won't go into the details of the circumstances within the memory just the significance this song still has to me every time i hear it.

to save time and still manage to post before the end of june :) here are the lyrics... listen to the truth of this song and sing along~

"who here among us has not been broken, who here among us is without guilt or pain, so oft' abandoned by our transgressions, if such a thing as grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this... there are no strangers, there are no outcasts, there are no orphans of God, so many fallen but hallelujah, there are no orphans of God"


there are no strangers. there are no outcasts. there are no orphans of God... do you believe that? so many fallen, but hallelujah, there are no orphans of God! no matter what you do or where you've been, you cannot escape God's love... more than that, this truth applies to everyone. everyone we inadvertently or purposefully pass judgement on is a child of God. He loves them just as much as He loves you... this song brings that home to me.

"come ye unwanted and find affection, come all ye weary come and lay down your heads, come ye unworthy you are my brother, if such a thing as grace exists then grace was made for lives like this..."

i can't claim to be better than the next guy on the street, because without the love of God i would be in the exact same predicament... do you get it? i don't want to be the person who lives the snooty nosed lifestyle holding my head up in air like i live above everyone- stepping on everyone with my stiletto heels leaving a lingering hint of whatever overly priced perfume i happen to be wearing in my trail... i want to be the one with dirty handprints all over my outfit as i go into work, the one who isn't afraid to get dirty before i go in somewhere important.

i hope that you can carry the message of this song with you as you go on your way today. look your fellow human in the eyes today with the love of God.