Last week for Easter, we sang this song. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite worship songs, and one that could even become a favorite for Easter as well. I am so thankful that I serve a God who has conquered death and who loves me as well. What a joy! This is "Mighty to Save" from Hillsong United.

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness,
Kindness of a savior
The Hope of the nations

(Chorus:)
My Saviour,
He can move the mountains,
My God is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything that I believe in
Now I surrender (and I surrender)

(Bridge:)
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory of the risen king, Jesus
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen king, Jesus

I forgot to mention last night. When I told the kids that Daddy was bringing home a surprise, their first guess was a big screen TV. Jason and I have been talking about the switch to digital next year and have been spending our "lottery winnings" on a giant TV, and apparently the kids thought that sounded pretty good. However, when it turned out to be a puppy, they were still pretty happy. ;-D

He is risen indeed!!!

This one might be jumping ahead just a bit, but I can't let this week go by without including this one. Growing up, my mom directed one of the church choirs. Easter was always a joyous celebration, and one of my favorite songs that we did was Michael Card's "Love Crucified Arose." My mom had a beautiful choral arrangement of this song, but the version I found on YouTube is really nice as well. May you know that you are loved by the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Long ago He blessed the earth
Born older than the years
And in the stall a cross He saw
Through the first of many tears
A life of homeless wandering
Cast out in sorrow's way
The Shepherd seeking for the lost
His life, the price He paid

Love crucified, arose
The Risen One in splendor
Jehovah, soul Defender
Has won the victory
Love crucified, arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again

Throughout Your life You felt the weight
Of what You'd come to give
To drink for us that crimson cup
So we might really live
At last the time to love and die
The dark appointed day
That one forsaken moment
When Your Father turned His face away

Love crucified, arose
The One who lived the died for me
Was Satan's nail-pierced casualty
Now He's breathing once again
Love crucified, arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again

In my church as a child, my parents directed serveral children's musicals. One of my absolute favorites, and one that I was able to accompany on the piano many years later, was The Story of Little Tree. It was a beautiful story of a tree that experienced the healing touch of Christ. And in that musical was a gorgeous song sung by Little Tree, called "The Man Called Jesus." Even as a young child, when I first heard this song, it reminded me of just how much Jesus sacrified to come and live among us and how much He loves me, despite my many flaws.

All He did was save my life, all He did was be my friend
And then mend my broken heart so that I can smile again,
Now they've taken him away and I just can't understand
Why they've treated him this way, no they must not know this man,
Oh, they must not know this man called Jesus.

He's so gentle, He's so kind, what could he be guilty of,
Oh, how could it be a crime that He gave us all His love,
Now the man who saved my life, has been nailed upon a cross,
And the joy that He made mine, without Him we'd all be lost,
Oh they must not know this man called Jesus.

If they've known Him like I do,
If they felt His gentle touch,
If they've only seen the love in His eyes,
And I hope someday they will
Ad like me they'll understand,
What it is to love this man called Jesus.

Will the morning ever come and the night be left behind,
Jesus is the only One who can bring the sun to shine,
Now I feel just like the sky, when the rain begins to start,
I can't stop these tears I cry from the pain that's in my heart,
No, they must not know this man called Jesus...

I haven't done a Musical Monday for two weeks. So I'm going to make up for it by posting a few of my favorite songs about the cross today.

First on the list is Beautiful Scandalous Night by Steve Hindalong. The recording below was done by Bebo Norman & Leigh Nash. It's not my favorite. If you can get recording of the version on At the Foot of the Cross, it has an absolutely gorgeous rendition of it. But this one does have a great vid with it.

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all

CHORUS:
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side

CHORUS

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

CHORUS

Before I do my song for today, I have to share a quick story from church with the kids yesterday. In the large group, they have a new virtue of the month and for March, the kids are memorizing verses and studying Bible stories about courage. For the first story yesterday, they talked about Esther. The storyteller had kids come up on the stage to act out the parts. When he was handing them out, he said, "We're going to talk about the story of Esther today." And the response from one of the children was, "I think you mean Easter!" I was absolutely howling in the back of the room!

Anyway, on to the song of the day. I'm posting about "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLaughlin.

It's not that usual
When everything is beautiful
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn't it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It's just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don't throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle
Ordinary miracle
Do you want to see a miracle?

It seems so exceptional
That things just work out after all
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It's just another ordinary miracle today
It's just another ordinary miracle today

While I'm not sure that I agree that "things just work out," I do love the thought that we are able to see and participate in the miraculous on a daily basis. It's so easy to want to see BIG evidences of God at work that we miss the hundreds of things that happen around us, even just within our own bodies. The ability of a scratch to stop bleeding, scab over, and skin to regenerate over the wound is absolutely amazing to me when I take a minute to think about it, but so often, I just miss it, looking for God to really show Himself to me.

As you go about your day today, I would encourage you to take a minute to thank God for the ordinary miracles around you. Have a blessed week!