Tag: christianity

Tunes that Trades Sorrow for Joy

Jerry L. Woodbridge

Grief has been described as love with no place to go. I concur. When I lost my beloved husband, I missed him terribly for me and my children. He was our stabilizer in the family. Yet, when we believe our loved one is with Jesus, we can release them into His loving care. What better place to be than with Jesus?

I have selected three songs for this section on tunes that trade sorrow for joy: Darryl Evans’ I’m Trading My Sorrows for the Joy of the Lord, Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns, and Rhett Butler’s Ain’t nothing like a Gospel Song.

We shed tears for the HOLE our lost loved one in our lives, but we can also receive JOY unspeakable that can heal us and make us WHOLE again. In full disclosure, I had heard this song prior to losing my husband but I had already experienced loss in other ways. I loved the upbeat tempo that made me want to dance. I embraced the lyrics of trading my sorrow for the joy of the Lord because it was the Lord’s redemptive plan.

Casting Crowns – Scars in Heaven

We are human. We make choices every day. When we lose a loved one, we often have regrets of things we did not do or did not say. They tell us time will heal all our wounds. Yet, we do not realize our loved one’s wounds are all healed because there is no sickness in heaven. I love this line of the lyric, “But I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased. And knowing yours has been healed are healing mine.” The premise of the song is that the only scars in heaven belong to Jesus.

Rhett Walker – Ain’t Nothing Like a Gospel Song

When we only think about our grief and our own problems, we forget the one who can solve them. The gospel represents the message of Jesus Christ to everyone in the world. Gospel music is sung in the best of times and the worst of times to remind us we serve a loving savior that wants us to free us from the cares of this world. There “Ain’t Nothing like a Gospel Song to uplift our spirits whether stressed, mourning, or challenged with everyday life.

I pray you are feeling encouraged by the tunes that lift us up out of despair and grief and provides peace, joy, and hope.

Tunes that Strengthen Your Identity and Faith

Jerry L. Woodbridge

Hello PRAISY listeners!

Problems that can cause us to lose our peace. We may feel conflicted in our hearts about a situation, suffered a devastating loss, lost a job, or received news about a health issue that will change our life. Music connects to us when our heart is broken. Music is in our celebrations.

Musical Quotes: “Music has the power to soothe the soul like nothing else in this world.” – Tom Waits. “Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch” Debasish Mridha, an American physician, philosopher, poet-seer, and author. “Music brings us pleasure and releases our suffering. It can calm us down and pump us up. It helps us manage pain, run faster, sleep better and be more productive” – Alex Doman, Entrepreneur & music producer.

Music connects us to our culture and develops of our faith. I liked the term of having a faith playlist. The songs that helped me develop my faith teaches me more about God, scriptures, and how to praise Him in the good times and the hard times and teaches us who we are in Christ.

Lauren Daigle is a favorite songwriter and artist who sings “You Say” which is a soulful declaration of faith through our own insecurities and trials and reminds us that we are His child.

Another favorite on my faith playlist is her song, “Hold On To Me.” The lyric in the song that says, “When the best of me is barely breathing…” describes the depth of despair I felt when my beloved husband died. Learning to hold on to the Lord during times of identity crisis or tragedy develops our trust and faith in Him. I am going to share two videos for this post and continue to add more favorite tunes that strengthens my faith.

Thank you, Lauren for being vulnerable with us as we needed His words to encourage us in our own struggles. Lord, bless her as she is a treasure to us.