I so wish I had more time to write a decent post on the greatness that is Tori Kelly and this song, but unfortunately, studying for finals comes first (at least it’s great study music!). Tori is an amazing musician (I mean, those riffs…!), but what I love about her the most – aside from her spectacular hair – is the stand she always makes to live upright in an industry and world that says it’d be easier to just compromise one’s standards and be like everyone else to be successful. In my eyes, she’s one of the best kinds of success there is – someone who’s unique, talented, and doesn’t let the world define how she should use those talents.
You unravel me, with a melody You surround me with a song Of deliverance, from my enemies Till all my fears are gone
My sister emailed my family this song a few weeks ago, but I didn’t get around to listening to it until now while (finally!) reading emails. Turns out, it’s the perfect message for this mid-semester morning.
It can be so easy to dart our eyes around quickly and stumble into listening to the world’s message on every front in life, especially during stressful times. The common lies that we choose to hear and believe are sometimes shocking. Concerning school: “You should be scared. That exam is going to be so difficult. And you definitely didn’t study correctly for it. Plus, you’re not even smart enough to be doing this.” Concerning relationships: “You never do anything “fun.” Fun friends do this. Why can’t you just shut up and join the crowd for once?” Concerning identity: “You’re not unique in any way. You are not special. You’re just like everyone else.” Concerning ability: “You don’t have any talent whatsoever. People are probably laughing at you behind your back.” Concerning practically everything else: “You should be worried. You should be hesitant. You should be filled with fear. Good luck getting through this.” That’s why the constant refrain of this song couldn’t be any more powerful or true:
It looks like the next couple of days will be very musical over here on the blog! I meant to post this about two weeks ago, but this post became a casualty of final exam preparation… oops. Seems like pre-scheduling my posts as much as possible in the future to keep them consistent will be my best bet going forward! But moving on…
A couple weeks ago, I woke up to the song Lord I Need You playing in my head, and I couldn’t resist singing it over and over in both my quiet time and in my head throughout the day (isn’t it awesome when the Lord puts a song in your heart? Since He knows my love for music, it’s almost daily for me!). Later that day, I was browsing on Instagram for a study break and happened to visit Sadie Robertson’s profile (she’s the daughter of one of the main people on Duck Dynasty and actually recently published a book, Live Original). Lo and behold, she had just posted a video of the Daraja Children’s Choir singing Lord I Need You at her church that past weekend! Seeing as that was the weekend right before my final exam period began, the song was such a wonderful reminder for me to recognize just how much I need the Lord in my life, in all facets.
Happy Sunday! We sang this beautiful song in church this morning and it’s been running through my head all day long, so I thought I’d share it here.
I also had my first day-trip to Budapest yesterday (the first of many trips there I’m sure…it was lovely to get my big-city fix after a couple of months as a smaller-town girl in Pécs)! I’ll be sharing photos from that trip soon, along with Part Two of my Art of Translation post. Have a blessed start to the week!
Today is a Dean’s Holiday for all the students and faculty here at the U. of Pécs! I think this is the first legitimate “break” we’ve had since beginning classes in September almost 2 months ago. We were given the day off for Medicine Days, which is an event that the University holds for alumni who graduated from the school 50 years ago – the honorees receive a new diploma from the University, and they are celebrated during the weekend of activities. Naturally, with a Friday off, I have more time than usual to sit on my couch and do something I love: sing worship songs! Today, this was my Friday jam:
This version of Salvation is Here is on Yahweh, an acoustic collection of songs sung live by Hillsong Chapel, which lately I’ve realized is my absolute favorite CD. There’s just something about this song (and the CD) that’s so uplifting and victorious.
