CD Review - Awesome God

Bob Kauflin, of Covenant Life Church, compiled a CD titled, Awesome God. It is targeted at children 7 thru 12 years, but I suggest it is enjoyable to all ages.

The songs are meaty in content, rich in instrumentation, and catchy for the memory. This makes listening to the CD a truly multi-sensory experience. My children were dancing around the kitchen to many of the songs (with their dad, though he may not want me to disclose that "charismatic" bit of his personality.)

Here's a quick summary of the content that I appreciated in each song:

1) Awesome God - Rockin' music highlights lyrics that are like an updated "O Worship the King". This song is a great way for children to sing praise to God.

2) Forever God - This tune describes how God goes "on and on and on and on..." A great look at the immutability of God in terms a young child can relate to. (I love the guitar on this one!)

3) You Are Always With Me - The omniscience of God is the topic of this song. Then the chorus echoes the psalmist's sentiment, "Where could I go? Where could I hide?" This one will surely be a favorite with the boys because of the instrumentals.

4) Who Is Like You? The musical introduction to this one makes me think of driving across the prairies, and the words would definitely describe that picture in my mind, "Who is like you, O Lord/ Clothed with splendor and light, Who is like you, O Lord/ Armed with Power and Might/ And who am I O Sovereign Lord, that I should know Your Love." It reminds me of W.O Mitchell, looking out over the vastness of the plains, saying he felt like a "pea on the edge of a saucer". Clearly no one is like God, and this song reminds us of that!

5) Sovereign One - Almost like a lullaby, this song gives great assurance in the sovereignty of God. I'll definitely memorize this one to sing to my 2 year-old when he wakes in the middle of the night.

6) Mighty, Mighty Savior - This is my favorite song! It starts with the depravity of man, "No one is good/ No one is holy before God" and continues to unfurl the entire gospel. I've been wanting a song for the Pioneer Girls that could stick in their minds and (maybe 20 years from now) give them the information they need to come to salvation. This is it!

7) Jesus Came to Earth - We often talk about Jesus with children and I think this song gives the complete character and works of Christ, in the capsule of a song. A helpful song with teaching in the verse and a response of praise in the chorus.

8) Your Love - 1,2,3,4!! This "screamin' acid" rock song is the stuff that dreams are made of! It's engrained in my mind, which is great, considering it focuses on God's love. Plus, it doesn't just speak of God's love, with regards to the cross, but continues to the discipline God gives us 'in love'. A really balanced look at the love of God.

9) Three In One - Great teaching on the trinity makes the lyrics of this number invaluable. It is a wonderful way to learn about God, as well as worship Him, through song.

10) For You Are Holy - By looking at the Creator's uniqueness, this song climaxes in the chorus, "Lord, You are Holy". Again, an opportunity for kids to ascribe worth to the Lord - the worth that He alone deserves.

11) The Gospel Song - Just 4 lines of lyric, but a great summary of the gospel found in those lines. The gentle guitar is a beautiful accompaniment to the simple truth.

12) Have You Heard? This song brought me to tears the first time I listened to it. It is an honest witness, "This is the best news that we could ever hear... by trusting in Jesus Christ, in His saving sacrifice, We can be made new."

In summary, this is one of the best children's CDs I have yet encountered. I find the music enjoyable and the lyrics stimulating. Thank you to the men who wrote the songs, and to the singers and musicians who produced it.

Awesome God

It arrived!

The Awesome God CD for children came today and it has been playing non-stop. Before I give a review, I’d like to share a small story affirming the "awesomeness" of our God.

It all began in October, 2005. I am the leader for our club circle at Pioneer Girls, which has been a real "ride" this year. You see, our attendance went from ~50 girls last year, to close to 90 this year. To add to the importance of this ministry, almost 75% of the girls do not come from our church – many from no church background at all. This means a lot of them do not know who God is, who Jesus is, what God’s redemptive plan is for them, what Jesus did on the cross and through His perfect life, etc. At times, I was feeling overwhelmed with the burden of teaching accurately the things of God.

To add to the challenge, I have approximately 15 minutes in our opening to teach songs and 15 minutes to play games (then the girls head into small groups). So, naturally, my desire to teach biblical truths began to focus on the song time. I began praying for God to help me – thinking that He would inspire me, somehow, to write songs. The songs I was desiring, would teach of: 1) man’s depravity, 2) God’s Holiness, 3) Christ’s life and death and resurrection, 4) the character of God, 5) how we can know God… and of course, I wanted them to be fun musically. This truly felt like I was asking God for an incredible miracle, since I have only written one song (for my husband).

Then in November, the elder responsible for the spiritual care of the Pioneer Girls ministry approached me. He asked me if I had any prayer requests he could share with the elders to pray for. I told him about the things on my heart, adding my quest for "meaningful’ music to the list. A few weeks later, as I was Christmas shopping, I browsed through the children’s CDs at the local Christian bookstore. Nothing. Not what I was looking for, that is. Lots of nursery rhyme songs, adult worship songs sung by kids, bedtime lullabys, but nothing with real "teachability". I was again praying for God’s help and guidance.

December arrived and one day my husband came home to tell me he had placed my name on a list for a free children’s CD. One catch, though. I had to write a review on my blog about the CD. Sure, I thought. More of the same. But when I went to the website for the preview, I was amazed. I was staring at the screen… staring at a miracle. Here were the songs I was praying for. They had been around for a while, but the fact that my hubby "stumbled" upon this offer now, was clearly the hand of God giving me a precious gift.

We serve an Awesome God. My heart is encouraged by this CD, by the way it came to us, and by the opportunities we have to help the children in our lives know Him!

Tomorrow, I’ll write the review.

A Child's Song

Yesterday my youngest son, 2 years old, was rustling around in my closet singing "Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King." This must be an overflow from the Christmas season of carols. But it caused me to consider making a more concerted effort in teaching the boys "meaningful" songs.

There are many wonderful songs, which can engage our children’s minds. However, my criterion of "meaningful" includes songs that ...
1. are musically interesting
2. are lyrically stimulating (ie. not the same line repeated 4 times)
3. give my children the ability to worship God

I believe this final characteristic of songs to be most important, since that is my goal in raising my sons. My prayer is that their artistic expressions will ultimately be expressions of praise and worship to their Creator.

Bob Kauflin, worship pastor from Covenant Life Church, has recently compiled a children’s CD, Awesome God, which has some excellent new songs that teach children about the character of God. I’ll be doing a review of the CD in the coming weeks. But for now, let me just say that it is excellent material for children (and adults).

Some other songs I plan to sing with my children include hymns of old, like:
O Worship the King; A Mighty Fortress Is Our God; Immortal, Invisible; Be Thou My Vision; My Faith Has Found a Resting Place; O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go; O For a Thousand Tongues To Sing; Take My Life and Let It Be; Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven; Man of Sorrows; Trust and Obey; How Great Thou Art; Fairest Lord Jesus; Beneath the Cross of Jesus; Holy, Holy, Holy.

This is around 1 per month, with a couple extra for Easter.

Maybe, just maybe, my two year-old will also add, "pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise" to his closet ramblings. I can only hope.

Music For All Ages

A while back, I posted a review of a children's cd called, Awesome God, from Sovereign Grace Ministries. It's a great CD that has spoken to my heart many (if not every) time I listen to it.

Well on the way home from church, it was mommy's turn to pick the tunes, and so I grabbed my latest CD, Casting Crowns. I was excited to listen to this disc again, since I've only heard it a time or two. As the 3rd song on the CD finished, my 5 year-old piped up from the back seat, "mom, play that one again."

I was surprised, since his latest choice of listening pleasure has been Jungle Jam, Jungle Jam, and more Jungle Jam.

As I asked him about why he wanted that song again, (which I was more than happy to oblige, since it is one of my favorites) he said, "cause it's got the giant in it."

"The giant in it?" was my thought. And then, wouldn't you know the song came to the verse about David and Goliath. It amazes me what my kids pick up that I miss totally. But it amazes me even more that God definitely is actively at work in their hearts and minds, while I am often oblivious. That's a good thing. That's His grace.

That's also a benefit of listening to music that is not exclusively geared to OUR age-group. Maybe it's time to crack the old hymnals, gospel songs, and worship chants with our kids, while at the same time dragging out "Music Machine", "Hide Them In Your Heart", etc. for us. I'm glad my kids aren't into listening to their own ipods in the back seat yet. That sure would squelch a whole lot of "inter-generational" worship and learning which happens in our car.

p.s. for your interest,
VOICE OF TRUTH Lyrics by Mark Hall and Steven Curtis Chapman

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again.
"Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus: But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over meI will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Can't you just see how this song would relate to the "giants and fears" world of a 5 year-old boy, and yet I sadly never would have considered it as touching his soul. I'm glad God works while mommy's busy driving!

God Made A Beauty!

My boys and I (husband included) went to Montana last week for some R&R (running and reading).....rest and relaxation are simply not realistic with a 2 year old and 5 year old. As part of my bookbag, I had John MacArthur's latest book Twelve Extraordinary Women. My husband had ordered it (possibly hoping it would kick-start an oh so ordinary woman). I was so excited with the preface and introduction that my heart was licking up the words like mountain goats enjoy road-salt. John's reminders of God's perspective of women was good news for me, especially because the value of a woman had nothing to do with her "self-worth", her "self-image", her "profession", her "beauty", etc. Enjoy the following excerpts:
One of the unique features of the Bible is the way it exalts women. Far from ever demeaning or belittling women, Scripture often seems to go out of the way to pay homage to them, to ennoble their roles in society and family, to acknowlege the importance of their influence, and to exalt the virtues of women who were particularly godly examples......
(then he goes on to discuss the plight of women throughout history...how they have been regarded as possessions, lesser citizens, mistreated and such)
Even when secular movements have arisen claiming to be concerned with women's rights, their efforts have generally been detrimental to the status of women. (his case in point: radical feminism)
The whole message of feminist egalitarianism is that there is really nothing extraordinary about women. That is certainly not the message of Scripture. As we have seen, Scripture honors women as women, and it encourages them to seek honor in a uniquely feminine way (Prov.31:10-30). Scripture never discounts the female intellect, downplays the talents and abilities of women, or discourages the right use of women's spiritual gifts. But whenever the Bible expressly talks about the marks of an excellent woman, the stress is always on feminine virtue. The most significant woment in Scripture were influential not because of their careers, but because of their character. The message these women collectively give is not about "gender equality"; it's about true feminine excellence.
Then in discussing the women he chose to include in the book,
all these women ultimately became extraordinary not because of any natural qualities of their own, but because the one true God whom they worshiped is great, mighty, glorious, and awesome, and He refined them like silver. He redeemed them through the work of an extraordinary Savior - His own divine Son - and conformed them to His image (Rom 8:29). In other words, the gracious work of God in their lives made each one of these women truly extraordinary.
John MacArthur ends the preface with an exhortation that our lives can also be extraordinary by the grace of God and that is my prayer for you!

To Be Like Jesus

Sovereign Grace Music has released their second children's album, To Be Like Jesus, and I'd like to give my official two-thumbs up. The album offers a nice variety of styles of music, with a focus on the fruit of the Spirit.

My children have been struggling, particularly lately, with experiencing God's peace in the midst of our upturned life due to our move. The album addresses that.

The boys have been fighting and short-tempered with one another... the album addresses that.

Mommy has been struggling at displaying self-control and patience, as she's been working through boxes, on minimal sleep (while baby adjusts to the new home and life), and amidst the dryness of soul that comes when dear brothers and sisters are removed from one's life... the album points to Christ for help with such battles.

There are a few tunes that are a touch "rocky" for me... especially early in the morning, but overall, this is a great album... which explains why it's been in our CD player for almost 3 weeks straight.

Definitely different than Awesome God, but a favorite nonetheless!!

To Be Like Jesus

There's a new children's album out by Sovereign Grace Music... and if it's anything like their previous album, Awesome God, it's sure to be a great way to teach, praise, and raise our children. It's called To Be Like Jesus and samples can be heard here.