Faith

Worship and worship music is a huge part of my expression of joy, thankfulness, faith, and love of God.  I enjoy different kinds of worship music, listen almost exclusively to contemporary Christian radio in my car (89.3 KSBJ), and sing in the choir at my church.  I often feel the closest connection to God and His peace and love in my times of worship.  Many tears of both joy and heartbreak have fallen during my worship time.  Only He really knows everything we’ve been through.  But, I almost always feel a deep sense of peace after a pure time of worship when I didn’t hold anything back.  To me, worshipping through music is pouring out your heart to God through the songs and acknowledging Him as Lord.  Then, feeling His responsiveness and connecting to it.  It blesses my soul. 
When I first joined my church in 2001, the song I recall getting me “hooked” on contemporary worship music was “You Are Good” by Isreal Houghton.  Do you know it?  We actually just sang it again two weeks ago and it’s as good as I remember.  It’s really upbeat and FUN!  Gets you moving and dancing and just celebrating the genuine goodness of God.  Did you know that worship music could sound like that and that some people dance and jump at church?  I didn’t.  
Here’s a video of Isreal and his band New Breed signing You Are Good and Rejoice in South Africa.
Certain songs in life just take you back- they don’t even have to be Christian songs- to a certain time in life and you can almost taste the experience.  I vividly remember how I felt as a “baby Christian” going to church regularly for the first time as an adult, completely ignorant of Christian music and definitely feeling a little . . . weird about even hearing lyrics like, “I worship you Almighty God, there is none like you.” And I felt really out of place because I didn’t know any of those songs.  I was more familiar with My Love Don’t Cost a Thing (it was 2001 after all).  At church, I was self conscious and awkwardly clapped my hands to the beat of the music, but my mouth was shut tight.  
Slowly over time, as I continued to show up on Sunday mornings, the songs became familiar.  I bought our church worship CD (or maybe it was given to me?)  and started listening to it in the car.  At church, I looked forward to my “favorite” songs being played.  It wasn’t long before I knew ALL the words and was sining in my car.  Then, the girl who used to keep her mouth shut, auditioned for the choir. When I look back now, I realize I didn’t need to feel self-conscious about not knowing the songs (I doubt anyone even cared or noticed).  We all start somewhere in our walk with God.  What matters is just starting and knowing that HE IS GOOD!
Do you have a favorite worship song?  
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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

12 Comments

  1. I just wanted to start by saying I love your blog. You inspire me to try to make my home a haven for my family, and your other blog helps me to stay motivated to be healthy. I also am self-aware enough to recognize that the next words I type speak more about me than they will ever speak of you, but I still felt compelled enough to post them.

    Whenever you post about your faith, I am left wondering, "What is Megan actually doing with her faith? How is it driving her life?" The life you share with us on your blog seems so idyllic. You don't struggle with having enough money to feed your family. In fact, you have so much extra income that you are able to stay home (at least part time) with your gorgeous son and decorate your home with beautiful, new home furnishings. You have the time and energy to spend deciding how to use washi tape to decorate your bathroom plumbing.

    I struggle a lot with my inner fight to not judge you and your circumstances (and clearly I'm failing in that fight). You seem so well-off, and I can't help thinking the same thoughts of you as I do of the Catholic church. All this money and wealth in the Vatican and yet people are still struggling with hunger the world over. How much wealth is too much? At what point do people say my lifestyle is not reflective of my faith?

    1. Thank you for writing. The glimpses of my life that you see on my blog probably do seem idyllic and behind the scenes there is much I don't share because I choose to keep some sense of privacy in my life. I feel your heart of giving and caring in the words you wrote. I can tell you are moved by the hunger in the world. My girlfriend recently headed up a fundraising effort for Feed One that gives 100% of donations to children overseas. I hope that my support and posting about it on Honey We're Home prompted some people to think about giving to causes that they are passionate about and even to realize how blessed we all are. I'm also reflective of what I am doing with my faith. Sometimes, I'm just trying to heal myself and my own insecurities and know I'm worthy in God's eyes. Lately, it feels like the gift of encouragement and love and one-on-one time and attention to people in my life is an act of faithfulness as people so crave to be heard and valued. I'm wishing you all the best and hope that the enemy doesn't win the battle of the mind with the lie of comparison. Your heart knows better. Much peace and love to you and thank you for your thoughtful comment.

  2. Hi, I'm French, I'm Catholic and a member of a Gospel Choir. We sing in English and thanks to our leader, I have discovered a lot of worship songs. We have sung "They will know we are christians", "Here I'm to worship"/"Worthy is the lamb" from Darlene Zschech/Hillsong, "When the battle is over" and "Come by Here" from Walter Hawkins, "My Life is in your hands" and "My Life my love my all" from Kirk Franklin, "In the Sanctuary" form Kurt Carr. It is so different from we can hear here during mass !! I love it. If you need the youtube links, just let me know

  3. I've followed both your blogs for a while now but haven't commented much.. but I just want to say I love reading both this one and Honey We're Home..

    I grew up going to church (I'm a pastor's kid) and so I've always been exposed to Christian music but it became so special and personal once I really made a choice to follow Jesus.. Lately I have had 10,000 reasons by Matt Redman on all day long 🙂 but I love most of his music!

  4. May I just say how much I enjoy your posts. Your faith is evident in how you respond to people, too. I love your comment response to hmmm, you could totally have taken it the wrong way and come back snippy, but your light shines through your writing. 🙂

  5. Music sure can heal the soul. I grew up listening, singing and performing Christian music, and old hymns as well. While Amazing Grace is my all time favorite hymn…my favorite contemporary (among many) is Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets (my ring tone as well).

    To hmmm…we have all been in your shoes at some point and time. It is easy to judge, question, also the work of the devil. He likes to creep in whenever he can. I applaud you for your honesty.

    Megan, your gracious reply is exactly what I expected from you. I know you have not always had it easy and have had to work hard for what you have.

    I am in the midst of a study on the book of Romans. I highly recommend reading through it. Through Paul's words we learn a lot about ourselves and judgement. We've all been there, that green eyed monster comes out (the devil in disguise). I will say however that I have learned that things aren't always as they seem or appear. While many post pictures of gorgeous homes, beautiful lifestyles, fit bodies, etc, we don't really get to see the inside or the bigger picture. I for one am guilty of putting on a brave face. Most that know me or come in contact with me would "assume" something quite different than what is actually the case if the truth were told. Contrary to belief, I do NOT have it all together, my home is NOT always clean and picture perfect, my girls were NOT always angels, my marriage was NOT always perfect. Some would think otherwise because I do not wear things on my sleeve. I am a pretty private person. I prefer to let God handle see and handle the ugly stuff.

    The comparison game is by far the devil's most creative way of getting at us. But, just remember…God created each of us unique to fill a purpose that He decided upon long ago. Live for Him.

  6. You are awesome and I'm proud of you for putting your heart & faith 'out there'… That takes courage :). You are doing great things in encouraging others to have the same courage & share in your joy.

  7. I agree. Music is one way of expressing our faith, and it's a very powerful means. Since ancient times, people have been making harmonious sounds to express themselves. Needless to say, it's an integral part of our lives and, depending on the type of music, affects us in many different ways. Which is why I really believe that it's important to listen to music that affects us positively.

    Bishop Scott @ BishoplScott.com

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