Lifesong....

I've been listening to Casting Crowns a lot lately. When I heard the praise band at church sing LifeSong a few years ago, it became one of my favorite songs....

"I want to sign your name to the end of this day...knowing that my heart was true. Let my lifesong sing to you" Something to aspire to.

While browsing through the CD's at the library the other day, I found two by Casting Crowns. I've been listening to those two CD's for the past few weeks at work. Here at home, I've been watching their videos on You Tube and God Tube. There are a lot of them. Very inspiring stuff. Very moving.

The lead singer, Mark Hall, seems like just a regular guy...a sincere guy...a nice guy. From a short biography I found via google, it seems that he never aspired to be a star...or in a band...and thought he would always be a youth pastor. That is where his heart is. Mark Miller, the lead singer of Sawyer Brown, and Steven Curtis Chapman played a pivotal role in bringing Casting Crowns into the public eye. An excerpt from the above biography:

....Miller knew it was time to go out and recruit what would become the imprint's flagship artist. "I called Mark back," Miller says, "and his response was exactly what you'd want to hear. Rather than saying 'When do we leave?' or 'How much money am I going to get?" it was 'Am I still going to be able to be a youth minister?" "My response was something like, 'Sure, Mark, but your congregation may be a whole lot larger than you would have ever imagined.'"

And indeed it is! And the lyrics and message they spread far and wide does not just touch the hearts of youth...but spans the gaps between people of all ages.

On one of the videos I saw on You Tube...can't remember which one....Mark said this:

You can say what you think...but you will live what you believe....Casting Crowns

Isn't that the truth. It reminds me of another quote from a bygone era that I ran across the other day in my internet meanderings.

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

It seems "Lifesongs" involve more than just "lip service" and correct theology. It is a "put your money where your mouth is, practice what you preach" way of living. It does not come about by sheer effort....but with a humble heart, guided by the christ within...and a sincere desire to be His hands and feet to a world in need.

My friend Martha posted this on Emerging Universalist last night.

To us - worship isn't going to church, singing good choruses, raising hands, holy dancing... it's what you do when you're flying down Rt 80 and you get cut off - it's what you do when some joker butts into line then argues with the cashier - what you do when your spouse acts like a jerk - what you do when your child puts herself in harms way again and again and again. You're sacrificing your will, your need to punch someone's lights out, the desire to say every bad word you know - the desire to run away and isolate yourself - and that's worship.

In ways both large and small...that is the lifesong we are called to sing.....