A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of a new CD in the mail. Normally getting new music makes me do a little hitchkick in the driveway, but when I saw that Steven Curtis Chapman’s Beauty Will Rise was in the envelope, I sort of pushed it to the side of the kitchen counter and tried to ignore it. If that sounds harsh, I don’t mean it that way – it’s just that I knew that it was his first CD since his daughter Maria’s death about 18 months ago. And as a mama – well, I knew the music would probably be jam-packed with some tough emotions. Honestly, I didn’t want to go to that place. I just didn’t.

Well. This afternoon I got an email about a live chat that SCC is doing on Facebook Tuesday night (here’s the link if you’re interested), and I Twittered (tweeted? oh, technological jargon, I LOATHE YOU) about it because I thought it sounded like something that would be an encouragement to people. And by the way, if that last sentence makes it sound like I’m some Mary Sunshine person who walks around all day looking for ways to encourage people, BE YE NOT FOOLED. It’s just that I think that the Chapmans’ story is one that God is using to minister to a whole bunch of folks, so I thought I’d share the link.

Now. I believe that’s plenty of overexplaining for one day. You’re so welcome. It’s completely free of charge, by the way.

Anyway, tonight after supper David and Alex went in the living room to watch a TV show, and as I walked through the kitchen, the SCC CD caught my eye. It was still on the corner of the kitchen counter. Still scaring me a little bit. But for the first time since it arrived in our mailbox, I knew that I wanted to listen.

Oh, y’all. I am so glad that I did.

The songs on this CD aren’t easy. Just knowing a teeny tiny bit of the pain behind the lyrics makes it almost incomprehensible that someone could write and sing through that level of heartache. But the result of SCC’s vulnerability in the midst of an incredibly difficult season is an absolutely stunning CD – full of questions and declarations and hurts and hopes. The tender heart of God is all over it. It’s honest and raw and real and heartbreaking and encouraging. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it.

You should also know that the CD booklet-thingy (yes, that is the technical term) unexpectedly threw me for a little bit of an emotional loop. The third song on the CD is called “SEE,” and SCC shares the story behind the song in the liner notes:

Shortly after Maria had been carried away to Jesus, all of us, and particularly Caleb and I began to talk about how desperate we were just to “SEE” something…a dream or a vision…anything that would help confirm in some tangible way what we were holding onto by faith, that Maria was truly “okay,” and even more than “okay,” that she really was safe in the arms of Jesus. It was a plea that I heard us all say several times in those first hours…”God, please just let us “SEE” something!”

He writes about how he found an unfinished drawing on Maria’s art table the day after her death, and then:

I turned the page over and was completely stunned to find a word written on the back in Maria’s handwriting. To any of our knowledge she knew only 6 words that she could write…but there on the back of the paper she had written in all capital letters the word “SEE.” Even as one who is usually careful not to attach more meaning to something than it deserves, I was and still am completely convinced that this was a precious gift from the broken heart of our Father in Heaven delivered through our daughter’s own hand the very morning before she left us for Heaven…. And it was our Father’s way of saying, “SEE with eternal eyes, SEE that I have your little girl safe and sound with me, and SEE by faith My promise of the day that’s coming very soon when I will make everything new and wipe every last one of these tears from your eyes.”

I’ll pause for a second so that you can go grab a tissue. Really. It’s totally fine.

Here’s the thing. I tend to keep things light and happy around here because I enjoy light and happy. But sometimes life is stinkin’ hard. Sometimes life feels like the complete opposite of light and happy. I know that there are all sorts of trials and issues and doubts represented among the people who read here – and as someone who has wrestled with her faith a time or ninety, I know how hard it can be to see God’s hand in the midst of unexpected or even unthinkable circumstances.

But you know what? God’s there. He really is. He’s faithful. And He loves you so much.

I have no idea why I felt like I needed to write this post. It’s way longer than I ever intended for it to be, and it’s not particularly, you know, CLEAR. I’ve never met Steven Curtis Chapman, and I’m about 261 kinds of positive that he’s never heard of my silly blog. But make no mistake: his transparency and his candor have blessed my heart tonight. Blown me away just a little bit. And I can’t help but think that if you’re struggling right now – with a relationship, with grief, with illness, with unbelief, with whatever – the lyrics from these songs will bless your heart, too.

And I guess that is all.

Have a great Tuesday, everybody.

Edited to add: just found out that you can listen to the whole CD on Rhapsody. For free.

Hiya.

If you entered the Christy Nockels “Life Light Up” CD giveaway last week, now is the time to find out whether or not you won.

That’s all.

Now do have a lovely evening.

Last night our little family-o-three went to the Glory Revealed concert, and OH MY MERCY was it ever a fun night-o-worship.

(By the way. When I was around, oh, say, 23-ish, if someone had asked me to make a list of things I was certain – CERTAIN – I would never say, the sentence at the top of this post would have been a solid 3 or 4 on the list. And it probably would’ve been directly underneath a sentence that said, “I will never join a Baptist church.”)

(Oh, sweet irony. You do amuse me.)

We decided to take Alex with us to the concert because he loves music so much, but he wasn’t exactly in his finest mood when we got to the church. He was uncharacteristically grumpy and BOUND AND DETERMINED that he wanted to go home. He finally sat back in the pew and looked at some books I had in my purse, but let me tell you: he was one stonefaced little man.

Until the music started.

And as soon as the music started, his eyes got big and he looked up at me and said, “Mama. MAMA! THAT’S ‘HOW GREAT!’ WE HAVE THAT SONG ON YOUR IPOD!”

It was even better in person.

And by the time intermission rolled around, the boy was back to normal.

To say the least.

One day last week I read on Twitter that there was going to be a “special guest” at the concert, but I didn’t think too much about who it might be since I had other, more pressing issues on my mind like I wonder whatever happened to Judd Nelson? and How will I cope if it turns out that Ole Miss REALLY IS the best football team in the SEC this year? and Do I want to paint our bedroom a blue-green or a green-blue or a gray-green or a green-gray?

Anyway, as it turned out the special guest was Chris Tomlin, and it was such a treat to hear him that I really don’t even know what to say about it. So I’ll just show you a picture instead.

There. I know we all feel better now.

The only negative part of the night was that my husband and I determined that the dry ice that gets pumped out into the audience at concerts seems to give us headaches, and of course that totally made us feel like our names might as well be Mamaw and Papaw. But really, we didn’t so much mind the short-term headache because fortunately we don’t run across a whole lot of dry ice when we run up to the Cracker Barrel for a quick supper of soft solids at 4:15 in the afternoon.

It’s our favorite thing to do after we go walking inside the mall.

Have a great week, y’all!

p.s. I’ve posted the winner of the Marshalls gift card giveaway; click here to find out who won.

So yes, I blog about music a lot (you know why? because I LOVE IT), and the other day I decided to look and see how many times I’ve blogged about Christy Nockels, who is one of my absolute favorite singer / songwriters.

The answer? EIGHTEEN times.

That is sort of a lot considering that she hasn’t had a new CD in three and a half years AND, you know, I don’t know her in real life even a little bit.

But oh my word. I love her music to pieces.

And today I am WAY PAST TICKLED to be able to share it. Click over to the giveaways page if you’d like to win one of ten copies of Christy Nockels’ new CD!

I just posted the 10 winners of the Selah You Deliver Me CD giveaway, so if you’d like to find out if you’re one of them, click over to the winners’ page.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to the month of August this morning. August, I know that we’ve had our differences in the past, but you have been unseasonably cool this year, and I just want you to know that you have blessed my soul. Right now I have a tender feeling about you, August. It’s never happened before, but it’s delightful.

That is all.