I usually would do these on Friday’s and have 5-10 grouped together. This year, I plan on doing one a day until Christmas Eve to make it a little easier for you to listen to one, instead of 5-10 at once.
The Hope Of Christmas by Matthew West-
lyrics:
Take me back to eight years old The little church on a dead end road With a candle flicker in one hand And dad’s hand in the other Take me back to silent night My heart was full and the world was right ‘Cause right now the world looks nothin’ like Those innocent Decembers
These days peace on Earth is hard to find And I need you to remind me one more time
You’re still the hope of Christmas You’re still the light when the world looks dark You’re still the hope of Christmas And You’re still the hope of my heart
Watch the snowflakes fallin’ down Like a blanket on this town For a moment we can hardly see The pain this year has brought us May the sick find healing’s touch May hatred’s fight be one with love And may every heart make room for You The one who came to save us’
Cause You’re still the hope of Christmas You’re still the light when the world looks dark You’re still the hope of Christmas And You’re still the hope of my heart
You’re the hope of Christmas
I bowed my head to pray tonight Felt my little girl by my side She slipped her tiny hand in mine And we both talked to You And it took me back to 8 years old My daddy’s hand and a story told About Heaven’s love and the manger lo And a promise that’s still true
You’re still the hope of Christmas You’re still the light when the world looks dark You’re still the hope of Christmas And You’re still the hope of my heart
You’re still the hope of Christmas You’re still the light when the world looks dark You’re still the hope of Christmas You’re still the hope of my heart
I wrote this song a few years back. I tried everyone I know to help me record a demo for it so maybe I could send it out. I was willing to pay but could not find anyone willing to help. Finally, I found a local musician, who was in a band I liked called Acoustic Ghost, who said he would help with some demos for my songs. Joel is an old time rock and roll guy and said he would do his best to make my songs come out the way I was hearing them in my head, but they did not. He did a good job, just not the way I wanted them to sound.
This song, I hear it like a spoken/rap song, like Jason Aldean’s Dirt Road Anthem type of sound. I can picture TobyMac, Matthew West, or maybe Lecrae recording it, but that is wishful thinking. I just think the music they make would go well with this song. Joel made it into a classic rock/blues sound, which I really do like and maybe it would bring a different audience to it that I was not expecting. However, I would still like it done the way I hear it but I am grateful for Joel’s efforts.
I have included it at the bottom. If you have some time today, take a listen and leave me a comment on what you think. If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone that knows TobyMac or Matthew West or anyone else, feel free to forward for me.
It is six minutes long but I think it could easily be reduced to four, four and half minutes.
Here are the lyrics:
I was walking down the street, smile on my face
Full of Gods love and forgiveness
In my head I was thinking how great is His grace
but it seemed everyone that looked at me looked away
They didn’t care or they didn’t know
Then I heard someone yell, what do you have to say
So I looked at him and told him our story
That You lived and died for me
I told him of Your love and Your glory
Then he looked at me and said I’m not bluffing
But what you say, what if it’s nothing
Then I smiled at him and started to sing
What if my friend,
What if it’s everything
What if it’s everything
So I walked on with a pep in my step
Living my life for Jesus
I wasn’t turning back, I won’t have regrets
Then I saw someone down on their luck
I went up and talked to her
I said hello and gave her my last buck
She thanked me with tears in her eyes
then she said, so what’s your story
I told her our story and how You had to die
She asked how do I know that it’s really something
You know my life’s been a rough one
Then I smiled at her and started to sing
What if my friend,
What if it’s everything
What if it’s everything
By then a crowd gathered around
They all wanted to know
How they could have this hope I had found
So I told them our story, told them to believe
Told them of the book, told them of your words
Told them I only know of one guarantee
In this life you will have troubles
But your sins you must confess
Give your life to him, don’t be on the bubble
Then they said we want to believe in something
But what if, what if its all nothing
Then I smiled at them and started to sing
What if my friends,
What if it’s everything
What if it’s everything
What if it’s the only thing
What If It’s Everything by me and Joel Rollo-
The Man That Needed Grace by Matthew West –
See The Light by Tobymac –
Set Me Free by Lecrae –
Together by for King & Country (with Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly) –
Sorry, I have been absent for a few weeks but trying to get back into the swing of writing and reading. I wrote this one last summer but now we have the remix. Enjoy.
Here I am, sitting all alone at home
‘Cause I’m not allowed to tour to play my songs
I pop the top to a Corona and add a lime
The fireflies signal that it is time
So I walk out to the dock and start to play
It seems so weird with no one chanting my name
My fingers come alive as I start to strum
I warm up my voice and start to hum
Here I go, playing for the crickets
‘Cause no one is allowed to buy any tickets
I’ve got a chorus of bullfrogs playing bass
A hundred fireflies lighting up the place
My dog’s tail beats an old metal trash can as if playing drums
He’s a little off beat but he sure knows how to stick out his tongue
A stray cat chimes in with a melody
An old dog barks because we disturb his sleep
An alligator joins in from the swamp
I like how he stomps, I pray he doesn’t chomp
A thousand mosquitoes buzz overhead
I better play one they like or they might sting me dead
I play one about that old muddy creek
And they fly away content, leaving us in peace
I play another about a summer love that I let slip away
A raccoon decides to join the crowd before the night turns to day
I close the night with a few of my greatest hits
Then my butt tells me it’s tired of the sits
So I stand and thank my band and take a bow
My show is over and I look at the crowd
I thank the raccoon, cat, dog, gator, fireflies and the crickets
That’s all there is because no one is allowed to buy any tickets
Six Feet Apart by Luke Combs –
Quarantine Life by Matthew West –
Together ( We’ll Get Through This) by Steven Curtis Chapman –
Forty miles before sunrise and I’m starting to fade. The white lines are starting to blur in my headlights. I rub my eyes to try to buy a few miles.
Thirty miles before sunrise and I’m rolling down the window to get some fresh air. Yes, that’s what I need. Some fresh air. Why am I driving at this hour? I can’t even remember what I’m running from. I shake my head and adjust my seat to try to buy a few more miles.
Twenty miles before sunrise and I don’t think I’m going to make it. Wherever it is I’m trying to make it to. What the!!!!! I slam on my brakes. Why would someone be standing in the middle of the road? I look around but no one is there. I’m so tired my mind is playing tricks on me. I see another person darting out from my peripheral vision. These hallucinations are driving me crazy. What if they aren’t hallucinations?
Ten miles before sunrise and I turn the radio up. Need a song to wake me up. A song I can sing along with. I hit scan and the first song comes on. I like that old time rock n roll, that kind of music just soothes the soul. Good song but not in the mood for an oldie. The scan stops next on sports radio station. No thanks, I love sports but that is not going to keep me awake. Next stop is another oldie. U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Well, Bono, neither have I. Neither have I. Next stop is Jason Aldean’s They Don’t Know. Oh yeah, I can do this one.
All they see is tractors, barbwire and tall green grass
They don’t see the years spent working, busting their ass
How they pray for rain
They don’t know a thing
About what it takes
Livin’ this way
They ain’t seen the blood sweat and tears it took to live their dreams
When everything’s on the line
Ain’t just another field, just another farm
No, it’s the ground we grew up on
They think it’s a middle of nowhere place where we take it slow
Aw but they don’t know
No, they don’t know
Sunrise. Look at the beauty of this sunrise. How can anyone say God doesn’t exist when they see how he paints the world each morning? Yeah I know, I have questioned God’s existence many times. Every time things don’t go my way actually. However, in this moment, when I feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the way He lights up the world, giving the world a way out of the darkness, I know He exists. I can’t help but say out loud “God, I believe in you!”
Ten miles after sunrise and I am thinking I should turn this car around. Face my demons for once instead of running away. I am just so tired. My brain is foggy.
Twenty miles past sunrise and I wake up with the car flipping over and over. What the heck? I must’ve fallen asleep. I come to a stop upside down in a ditch. I can’t get out and I know no one is around. I picked the most desolate place to drive, to escape my life. I smell the gasoline and I see the fire start. I know I’m going to die.
I see two men a short distance away. One dressed in red, the other in white. They look like they are in a heated argument. Don’t they see me? Help!!!, I start to scream. I see the man in white look my way. I know him from somewhere, but my head is spinning. He says one last thing to the man in red and walks my way.
He reaches for my hand and I grab his.
The radio plays Broken Things by Matthew West.
If grace was a kingdom
I stopped at the gate
Thinking I don’t deserve to pass through after all the mistakes that I’ve made
Oh but I heard a whisper
As Heaven bent down
Said, “Child, don’t you know that the first will be last and the last get a crown”
Now I’m just a beggar in the presence of a King
I wish I could bring so much more
But if it’s true You use broken things
Then here I am Lord, I’m all Yours
The pages of history they tell me it’s true
That it’s never the perfect; it’s always the ones with the scars that You use
It’s the rebels and the prodigals; it’s the humble and the weak
All the misfit heroes You chose
Tell me there’s hope for sinners like me
Now I’m just a beggar in the presence of a King
I wish I could bring so much more
But if it’s true You use broken things
Then here I am Lord, I’m all Yours
Grace is a kingdom
With gates open wide
There’s a seat at the table just waiting for you
So, come on inside
Broken Things by Matthew West –
Mercy Meets My Pain by Seventh Day Slumber –
Every Mile Mattered by Nichole Nordeman –
You Still Love Me by James Fortune –
I Wouldn’t Love Me by James Fortune (feat Kierra Sheard) –
My God, My Music, My Life 