music

“Fill me up with love…”

December 24, 2012 by zharrod

Veselé Vánoce z Prahy! Merry Christmas from Prague!

There is much to be thankful for this year. God has done more than I can began to recount, in the midst of life, which sometimes feels amazing and others much less than amazing. God is God in the midst of it all. As I sit here and think about life today, I’m moved as I think about it all! I really that some 13 years ago, while I was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, this God sought me out and captured my heart with His crazy, radical, upside-down love and changed the course, the path, the journey of my future. That school year of 1999-2000 he filled me with his love, and while somedays it’s obvious that I’ve been filled with this His crazy, radical, upside-down love, there are those other days where it’s less than obvious, and it’s those days that His love, grace and mercy are even more staggering to me.

This morning as I’m wrapping gifts for my “second families” here in Prague, I’ve been watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music and finding new Christmas songs, I stumbled upon this song from Dave Matthews – Christmas Song. I can’t believe I haven’t found it sooner. It’ beautiful. It is from Dave so there are going to be some head scratching lyrics, but the gist of it is awesomely beautiful. Check out the song below from a video and the lyrics below that. I pray that all of us, the “soul searchers”, would be showered and filled with His crazy, radical, upside-down, perfect love this Christmas season and everyday from here on! Merry Christmas! Veselé Vánoce!

She was his girl; he was her boyfriend
She be his wife; take him as her husband
A surprise on the way, any day, any day
One healthy little giggling dribbling baby boy
The wise men came three made their way
To shower him with love
While he lay in the hay
Shower him with love love love
Love love love
Love love is all around
Not very much of his childhood was known
Kept his mother Mary worried
Always out on his own
He met another Mary for a reasonable fee, less than
Reputable as known to be

His heart was full of love love love
Love love love
Love love is all around
When Jesus Christ was nailed to the his tree
Said “oh, Daddy-o I can see how it all soon will be
I came to she’d a little light on this darkening scene
Instead I fear I spill the blood of my children all around”

The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
So the story goes, so I’m told
The people he knew were
Less than golden hearted
Gamblers and robbers
Drinkers and jokers, all soul searchers
Like you and me

Rumors insisited he soon would be
For his deviations
Taken into custody by the authorities
Less informed than he.
Drinkers and jokers. all soul searchers
Searching for love love love
Love love love
Love love is all around

Preparations were made
For his celebration day
He said eat this bread and think of it as me
Drink this wine and dream it will be
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around

Father up above, why in all this anger have you fill
Me up with love
Fill me love love love
Love love love
Love love
And the blood of our children all around

This Place….

January 16, 2012 by zharrod

Music is one of the things that God continually uses in my life to encourage me and pick me up. Over the last week I have been listening to Crowder Band’s new album Give Us Rest nonstop, especially the song “Let Me Feel You Shine.” Here’s how the song opens:

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
(read full lyrics here)

As I’ve been back in the States sharing about what God is doing in Prague, the needs to OUR (your ministry and my ministry) in Prague (you can help meet those needs, click HERE!) and the challenges of living and doing ministry there, these first few words of this song are a HUGE encouragement for me. Honestly I just hit “back” and listen to the beginning of this song over and over again! Why? Because Prague and Czech does break missionaries. If you have met with me since I’ve been back you have heard that I referred to Prague and Czech as “Missionary Graveyard,” where the average missionary making a 5 year commitment makes it on average about 18 months. It’s the sad reality of a tough language, tough soil, unreal expectations and more…

Somehow, by God’s grace, I’ve defied the statistics and I’m on year number 5, but that doesn’t mean Prague, Czech and individuals there haven’t thrown their best at me to break me. That is why I love the words – “This place is trying to break my belief, But my faith is bigger than all I can see!” It’s true. It’s true. My faith, given to me by the redemption of Jesus of me, is bigger than the hurt, the betrayal, the lies, the discouragement, the lack of faithfulness, the cowardliness and the like! IT’S BIGGER! God can put you and I back our feet!

So where are you today? How do you need to cling to this truth? Do you need to start by submitting to Jesus for the first time or maybe for the thousandth time? He’s there. The faith He gives free of charge, is bigger than your situation, “your place,” “this place!” Turn to Him right now!

Here’s the song with lyrics:

Here’s also a behind the scene look at the song:

GOD WITH US

December 16, 2011 by zharrod

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been listening nonstop to a song from Folk Angel’s new Christmas album. The name of the song is God With Us, but honestly it’s not a song but a poem about God being with us. As I listened to the track nonstop in Prague over the last two weeks, what stood out to be the most was the longing of the Israelites for the Messiah.

I pondered… “How would they have felt?” As I thought and prayed through this, I realized to a lesser degree I can understand how they felt as I long for an “Advent” (ad·vent/?ad?vent/ The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.) of sorts in the Czech Republic. I labor and labor. I pray and pray. I love and love. I speak and speak. I listen and listen. Yet I haven’t seen the “Advent” that I yearn for to the hearts of the Czech people. So this song/poem ministered to me in this way for the last two weeks…

Then Tuesday at 5 pm my vonage line (American line via the net) rang and my crying mother was on the other end of the line. Honestly over the past couple months I’ve had a nervous feeling, every time that phone has rang, and it was for this reason. I learned quickly that my grandfather, Bob Shisler, passed away in his sleep Tuesday morning. He has slowed down over the last couple of years and had issues that most elderly people have, but this was unexpected to all of us. Since Tuesday the words of this poem/song have hit me in a much different way!

I’m hurting. My family is hurting. It’s been hard to see my mother morning and even harder hearing my grandmother’s grieving voice, but this amazing truth – God with us – has moved me. Jesus hasn’t left me alone in this. He’s in the midst of it all. He’s here. So as we are in the midst of “Advent Season” this year, this simple, but overwhelming truth, will take on a whole new meaning for me and my family. Please listen to this song, meditate on it and realize that God is with us! He is with us!

you found me

February 8, 2009 by zharrod

One of the reasons I was stoked to make it back to Prague, after our conference this week, was to download the newest album, from The Fray. It hasn’t disappointed! I chose to spend a couple more dollars, so that I could get the music videos and the making of vids too. Because I just love that stuff. I love watching how the creative process for others unfolds. It’s amazing. I wanted to post the video from the newest single, You Found Me, sure enough it’s on youtube, but sadly embedding it was disabled of the actual video, so I posted the acoustic version above, but click HERE to see the whole music video. Beautiful stuff and a song that really speaks to the ‘inbetween world’ we live in. So good….

winter…

November 23, 2008 by zharrod

It snowed here yesterday, which was beautiful, but with the snow and the cold comes longing for the warmth. I thought I’d share this picture and the lyrics to a song that I listened to yesterday, that brought encouragement to my soul. May your heart, and my heart, be melted today by the only one who can truly warm it, Jesus.

Winter by Shawn McDonald
Sometimes I feel like winter, cold I feel
Icicles are forming; It’s hard to tell what is real
Cold winter, cold winter day
Frost is on the windshield and it’s hard to see
The air is like slivers and it’s hard to breathe
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
I am found

Sometimes I feel like the prodigal, a wandering weary son
Gone in search of something beautiful,
something to make me one
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day
The world is full of lies that will only rob you blind
Hit ya’ when you are not looking, and steal away your time
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
I am found

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
‘Cause when You are around
When You are around
I am found

inspiration in my ears…

November 19, 2008 by zharrod

So write now I’m sitting here enjoying one of these:

Yummy… They just switched to the Christmas cups and I was compelled to enjoy one! I guess… So I’m in between my Czech class and doing some prep for a sermon I’m doing at church this weekend, and I thought I would blog some inspiration that has been in my ears over the last few days. I’m not procrastinating, I’m trying to catch my breath between things. It’s especially hard for me to transition to anything worthwhile after Czech class. In other words, Czech class kicks my butt, even when I have, the rare, good day like today! So here I am blogging wanting to share some inspiration with you. This inspiration comes in the form of 3 songs, here you go:

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