12 Songs I Currently Love

I LOVE music. Like, I really, really, REALLY love it. And it seems like I have been blessed with an abundance of new, really good, music lately, so I've been thinking about doing some sort of "Top 10" list to share some of my recent favorite songs... When I realized I couldn't quite narrow it down to 10, I decided to increase my list to 12 items. With each song I'm including a link where you can listen to the song as well as a portion of my favorite lyrics from the song. I hope you discover something you like along the way!

I present, in no particular order (just kidding, they're alphabetized -- yep, I'm a nerd!), 12 Songs I Currently Love!

1. 101010 - Sleeping at Last

Change is slow but I feel it taking shape.

2. Busted Heart - For King and Country

Winter has come back again
Feels like the season won't end
My faith is dying tonight
And I won't try to pretend...

Until it comes to an end
Soon this season will end
I'll surrender tonight
You meet me right where I am

3. The Earth is Yours - Gungor (I'll admit, though the lyrics are just fine, I really like this song more for the exuberant melody!)

Your voice it thunders
The ground is shaking
The mighty mountains now are trembling
Creation sees You
And starts composing
The fields and trees they start rejoicing.

4. Farther Along - Josh Garrels (Contrary to the previous song, the lyrics here are what are REALLY outstanding -- though I actually love this melody, too!)

Tempted and tried, I wondered why
The good man died, the bad man thrives
And Jesus cries because he loves 'em both
We're all cast-aways in need of rope
Hangin' on by the last threads of our hope
In a house of mirrors full of smoke
Confusing illusions I've seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along
To every chorus of the song
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates
Leading mice and men down to their fates
But some will courageously escape
The seductive voice with a heart of faith
While walkin' that line back home...

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin' for my soul
And I've got no place left go
'Cause I got changed by what I've been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin' on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I'm free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I'll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levees and my bluffs
Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us
Some rejoice and the others fuss
'Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess
That the Son of God is forever blessed
His is the kingdom, we're the guests
So put your voice up to the test
Sing Lord, come soon

5. January White - Sleeping at Last

So let's press undo.
Rearrange the old and call it new-
January white...

'cause if nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the game, a chance to redefine
Everything we are,
In our January white...

If nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the heart in which we change our minds;
Our hourglasses turn.

This year is a sealed envelope;
With apprehensive hope
We brace for anything...

In spite of history,
Hope is January white.

This year, we're starting over again
Letter openers in hand,
A chance to take a chance.
I swear, I understand that the past will be the past,
And nothing changes that,
But the future is brighter than any flashback.

6. Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder* Band

This place is trying to break my belief
But my faith is bigger than all I can see
What I need is redemption
What I need is for You for to put me back on my feet...

I swear I'm trying to give everything
But I fear I'm falling, oh make me believe
What I need is resurrection
What I need is for You to put me back on my feet...

If I could feel You shine Your perpetual light
Then maybe I could crawl out of this tonight...

I lift the knife to the thing I love most
Praying You'll come so I can have both
What I need is for You to touch me
What I need is for You to be the thing that I need

7. Mended - The Autumn Film

Don't give up on me now, this can all be mended
We can iron this out, it can all be mended
When you're tearing at the seems, it can all be mended
It can all be mended now

8. Noble Aim - Sleeping at Last (This is another one with such EXCELLENT lyrics I can't help but include a large portion of the song... And you may have noticed this is the THIRD song by Sleeping at Last that made my list. I have only recently discovered this band, but I have yet to hear a song by them that I don't LOVE!)

Chances are we are alike;
Against what better judgement writes
We ache like children for love,
For a purpose worthy of
Such a noble aim... as love.

Chances are we bruise the same;
A family tree desperate for rain.
A thirst only deserts know best.
A hurt so at home in our chests.
Call it stubbornness or bravery,
To let our branches continue to reach,
With such a noble aim... as love.

Every broken branch and loosened leaf
That we've grown to ignore,
Is now a part of something greater than before.
Every nest that rests upon our limbs,
Seeking shelter from the storms,
Is a purpose worth being broken for.

Chances are we are the same;
Against the odds, against the grain
We lean, like gardens toward light.
We reach with all of our might
For such a noble aim as love.

9. Redeeming Love - Amy Stroup

Forgiveness call
It beckons me
To find the courage and let it be...

You can’t turn back time
You can’t erase the truth
You can’t relieve the things
You wanna undo

So fall forward
Let it mark your soul
Keep your heart tender
And your thoughts bold

And I fix my eyes
On redeeming love

10. Ships in the Night - Mat Kearney

Cause we'll be ok... I'm not going away
Like you watched at fourteen as it went down the drain
And pops stayed the same and your mom moved away
How many of our parents seem to make it anyway
We're just fumbling through the grey
Trying find a heart that's not walking away...

Feels like we're learning this out on our own
Trying to find a way down the road we don't know...

And I'm gonna find my way
Back to your side

11. The Sun Will Rise - Kelly Clarkson

I've been in stuck in a storm before
Felt the wind raging at my door
Couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't find a way out...

And though you can't see it
So hard to believe it
Sometimes you just need a little faith
There's an answer to your prayer
And I swear that there'll come a day
The sun will rise

12. This is Not the End - Gungor

And you know you’ll be alright
Oh and you know you’ll be alright

This is not the end
This is not the end of us
We will shine like the stars bright, brighter

I think a common theme amongst pretty much all of these songs is HOPE. This seems to be something I can never really get enough of! I love that God has gifted people with the ability to blend beautiful melodies and instruments with inspiring words that can fill people's souls with joy and hope. And I am glad to share just a few such blended creations with you!