If my Life had it’s own Playlist

In celebration of today being my birthday, I thought I would share a sliver of my life’s playlist. Yes, I admit I do have a playlist titled “If my Life had a Playlist.” It has actually been an insightful list to add to along the years, and then to be able to look back on and see the life lived in different seasons and what songs I added at each mile marker.

Here it goes! I’ve chosen twelve songs (out of 184) to share for today.

At the End of a Dirt Road, by Drew Parker
- “I’ll never leave, I’ll never roam. Never call any other place this side of Heaven home. Got all I need, got all I want. Lucky, I guess, but blessed is what I’m hanging my hat on. ‘Cause I’ve already found my pot of gold at the end of the dirt road.”
- Blessed for 32 years to call the end of a dirt road my home!
Look Up Child, by Lauren Daigle
- “I hear you say, Look up Child!”
- Since I was tiny I have known my strength only comes from leaning into the love and hope of Jesus. My parents, my brother, my grandparents were and are all examples of this, so it’s no surprise to me that I just caught on fairly quickly. But I also believe wholeheartedly that being sick and being exposed to medical realities from an early age, Jesus was molding my heart even when I wasn’t even old enough to realize it or acknowledge it.
Like a Billy Graham Revival, by Zach Williams
- “I remember when I was younger, watching him on TV. The gentle giant man with wavy hair. Speaking to the world, looking right at me. Those red letters came alive. A Sunday sermon on a Friday night… Walking down the aisle ’cause all we need saving… Truth spoken, hearts wide open. Choir still singing just as I am. Like a Billy Graham Revival.”
- My family and I went to one of his last revivals held in Charlotte, NC. It is very true that he was a gentle man, but most importantly he delivered the Gospel every single time! The other important thing that he always stressed was that he was a messenger of the Gospel, but you were to go back into your community, to your church, into you personal time in the Bible and prayer- and this is where you are to grow in Christ. I believe this is one of the biggest misunderstandings about Billy Graham- we tend to miss the second part of his message – the go and grow!
90s CCM Medley, by Anthem Lights
- “What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus freak… Shine make ’em wonder whatcha got… It’s a big big house… I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over my head, I want to be… But if I can’t swim after 40 days and my mind is crushed by the crashing waves… For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love… My place in this world…”
- If this didn’t make you break out into song… then you were not born in the 80s or 90s!
Don’t Give Up Too Soon, by JJ Heller
- “Please keep waiting for the morning. Don’t give up too soon. Jesus cares for every sparrow. I know he cares for you.”
- I love the reminder of how Jesus cares for the sparrows and the tiniest things- why would I doubt that he cares for me?
Love You, by Alli Rogers
- “I like to say my college is living in this town. Somedays what seems hardest is simply sticking around… And I like to say my colleague is the mother at the store, the man who serves me coffee or John who lives next door. We all study life, learning how to make things right.”
- I was done with “school” when I was in elementary school. Homeschool in High School was a breath of fresh air, but I am grateful for parents who understood that I just needed to do what was needed to graduate! Because LIFE is the school I thrived and learned best in. Experience, people’s stories, that would be a life long education that didn’t cost a penny!
Life Changes, by Thomas Rhett
- “Ain’t it funny how life changes. You wake up, ain’t nothin’ the same and life changes… And I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
- Things you said you would never do, you do. Things that people tell you are impossible, you prove to them they are possible. Things people say will never happen, happen.
God Only Knows, by King and Country
- “God only knows what you’ve been through. God only knows what they say about you. But God only knows the real you. There’s a kind of love that God only knows.”
- Can I get an AMEN?!
The God Who Stays, by Matthew West
- “You’re the God who stays. You’re the one who runs in my direction, when the whole world walks away. You’re the God who stands with wide-open arms and you tell me nothing I have ever done could separate my heart from the God who stays.”
- Who doesn’t need to hear this multiple times a day?!?
I Need Thee Every Hour, by Joey and Rory Feek
- “Every hour, I need Thee. Oh, Bless me now, my Savior. I come to Thee.”
- I sang this to Lucy so many times that I wouldn’t be able to count! Sleepless nights, tummy aches, shots, just needing to cry (both of us). I just knew it was going to be her first words! 😂
It’s Quiet Uptown, by Hamilton Cast
- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is suffering too terrible to name. You hold you child as tight as you can and push away the unimaginable… Learn to live with the unimaginable… trying to do the unimaginable.”
- These words hit right on point every time I hear them. Especially on days when the grief of not having Lucy physically with me- no words can reach or fix – I only can weep for what is “unimaginable” but oh so real to my heart and life.
Back On Top, by Gloria Gaynor
- “I had a front row seat on a roller coaster ride, you got that right. I kept on hoping things would change but I finally realized the devil’s a liar. With every twist and turn, every bridge that he burned he brought me down, down, down. But Heaven picked me up on the drop. Now I’m back on top like I never fell off. I took some knock down punches, but I’m still standing strong. Back in the groove, got a whole new view. Just when it looked like it was certain, the hurtin’ would never stop, I’m back on top.”