Writing Challenge Day 12

Songs About Writing

I apologise that I have rather fizzled out on my posts for the 15 Day Writing Challenge. Between my Liebster Awards Posts, my lack of writer's experience and my busyness in preparing for Oxford this unfortunately has become the least priority. I would like to finish it off, however, by writing a post for day 12. Many of my friends struggled to find examples of songs about writing, and while these are not entirely related to novel/fiction writing, I thought they might be appreciated.

Lèrowen's blog: Eat...Sleep...Write

When I saw this day's question, it made me think of two Christian songs about writing. They are both technically about song-writing an writer's block, but I think they're rather appropriate

The first is by a band that would arguably be called the most famous Christian band in South Africa. They've had songs of theirs played on secular radio stations as background music at international cricket matches and in television commercials. They were actually based in America for some time, and I thought they might have been more popular in the Christian music scene over there, but I discovered that it was probably more that this led to their extreme popularity in SA though they remained rather unknown internationally.

I've been to two of their concerts. At the first one this particular song really affected me, and I've loved it ever since.

No Words - Tree 63

Is there nothing new underneath the sun?

Some unfound way to tell of all You've done

I sit around and round in circles

All that I find is one thing true

I'm trying to resist saying things You've heard
I'm trying to invent a new way with words
All that I find in my frustration

Is that it does not change the way I feel 'cos

There are no words that I could say
There is no music I could play
There is no song I could sing
To tell of all the love You bring
 

Are all my sleepless nights just a waste of time?

Will my words mean anything if I can't make them rhyme?

You're waiting for me to break the silence

You're listening even though you already know that there...

There's nothing new

Underneath the sun

And I'm lost for words anyway

You're a symphony

Washing over me

Washing over me

I'm lost for words

~~ * ~~

The second song is something I used to hear on our local Christian radio station. It expresses the same sort of sentiment as the former. I confess I had to look up the artist, and can't even be sure this is the version I heard. But since his name came up in the majority of the results, I shall attribute it to him.

26 Letters - Ben Glover

I can't form a sentence

To save my life

I try to coin a phrase

But I can't make it sound right

I feel helpless

A little dumb

I'm an educated fool

With a brain gone numb

All I wanna do is let You know that You

You had the heart to change the heart of me

You took me to a love I never knew

26 letters is all I got

To tell You how I feel about You

26 letters and you know I'm never ever

Gonna write the perfect paragraph

I try to express

with adjectives of thankfulness

But, I don't know if I can do it

With 26 letters

I could be a scholar

I could be a sage

I could write a million books

And be the latest rage

I still can't say enough

For what You've done for me

With this limited vocabulary

All I wanna do is let You know that You

You had the heart to change the heart of me

You took me to a love I never knew

On and on and on I go

With limited descriptive prose

And I give up 'cause I've said it all before

Secure in His hands

We had a wonderful Church service this morning. So much happened, I can't even recount it all. It was lots of little things that people said - the Spirit of God was moving.

The missionary Patrick Mulenga, shared with us a little of what the Lord has been doing in their church and then recounted the amazing story of how he was brought back from the brink of death that he might continue to serve the Lord. Glenn shared with us some small lessons from the lives of David and Solomon.

One of the most amazing things he pointed out is that when David ask if he could build a house - a temple - for the Lord, he was told by Nathan the prophet, "The Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son." (2 Sam 7:11-14a, NLT)

I always thought the prophesy was about Solomon, and it was, but it's also, more importantly, about Jesus, David's descendant who would "build the temple" three days after it was destroyed. Wow!

But before we even got to this part of the service, there was something else that spoke to me on a personal level, and it was in two of the songs which had been selected for us to sing. I share them below and what they meant to me...
__________________________________________________________________________

As I head off to Oxford in three months time, there is a lot for me to think and worry about. I am both excited and scared of everything that has to happen, and has to be done, and of what it will be like when I'm there. My fears are few, but real. The one is general paranoia that something will go wrong before I even get there. That an Icelandic volcano will erupt, cutting me off from Europe, or worse, leaving me stranded in some place like Dubai. I also fear how I will handle the cold and rain, after living in sunny sub-tropical climes my whole life.

Another of my fears is deeper, more spiritual. I've heard stories, enough to make this fear real - will my faith be enough to sustain me when I am off on my own, in an unknown place among unknown people? I've lived under the watchful eye of parents and church my entire life. Now I enter, the "big bad world", alone with temptations aplenty and those to hold me accountable few. I like to think that it will, that I am strong enough. I survived teenagehood and a secular university unscathed. I have not yet fallen down the path of rebellion which many Christians wander along at some point in their lives, if even for a little while. And so this continual fear hangs over my head every time I'm presented with a new challenge in my life. Will this be the time that I fall?

Only time will show my faith for what it really is, but I ask all my friends to uphold me in prayer. It seems almost a selfish request, that I should be spared when others aren't. Yet surely there is not harm in it: May I be spared once again.

As we sang this chorus this morning, I found the hope and strength I needed to allay these fears for a time, real though they may be:

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

If I rest on the far side of the sea,

Even there, your arms will keep me warm,

Even there, your loving hand is sure to guide me.

The wings of a plane; an island, not only on the far side of the sea, but of the world; a place that will be far colder than anything I am used to. The words could not be more appropriate, had someone written the song especially for me. And what makes them extra special, is that the first two lines come straight from scripture (Psalm 139).I think this ought to become my key refrain, the words I say as I wake and sleep.

From your Spirit where can I go,

From your presence where can I flee,

You are there in the oceans far below,

I go up to the heavens,

You are there beside me.

You have searched and you see,

All of me, all of me,

I will give willingly,

All of me, all of me.

Oh, may those last two lines be true. Not only for the next two years, but for the rest of my life.

The next song we sang was equally appropriate:

I'm so secure,

You're here with me,

You stay the same,

Your love remains,

Here in my heart

So close, I believe

You're holding me now

In your hands I belong,

You'll never let me go.

May I feel and know the security I have in the Lord, and may I always stay safe 
in His hands.

Two Songs

Casting Crowns has been my favourite band for a long time. I have all of their (original - not live) CDs and was most disappointed when they came to South Africa but missed my city. Possibly my favourite CD of theirs is The Altar and the Door, though honestly, it is hard to choose.

I was thinking about yesterday's post, and realised that I am in the position described by their song "Somewhere in the Middle". For copyright purposes I shan't quote the whole song, but below are some relevant lines:

Somewhere between who I was and who you're making me...
Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans...
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You’ll find me...

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control?

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences,
The God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle?

And it seems that that is exactly where I am. I know what I should do, but my own will is resisting it. The last two lines give the answer I need:

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You’re by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I’m caught in the middle

You can find the lyrics to the whole song here 

There's another song that's been going around in my head during this time. It's from Ocean Eyes by Owl City, whom I recently discovered. I only have this one of his CDs, but I enjoy listening to it very much. The words I keep thinking are from the last song on the CD, "Tidal Wave".

I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
’Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me
Then I was given grace and love
I was blind but now I can see
’Cause I found a new hope from above
And courage swept over me

It hurts just to wake up whenever you’re wearing thin
Alone on the outside, so tired of looking in
The end is uncertain and I’ve never been so afraid
But I don’t need a telescope to see that there’s hope and that makes me feel brave 

You can find the lyrics to the whole song here

There's something about music, that encourages and uplifts the soul - Casting Crowns and Owl City both have a gift for song writing - a way with language which expresses truths accurately. These two songs remind me that I'm not alone in what I'm going through. Many others go through the exact same thoughts and feelings. Even other Christians, who to all appearances are successful and prosperous musicians, go through the same kind of struggles and doubts. I'm not alone - and that makes be feel brave.