Sara Groves is one of my favorite singer/songwriters.  I distinctly remember sitting with Brad in the auditorium at Hope Church in Memphis several years ago listening to her sing.  We were in the middle of some personal struggles that were doing a number on our marriage, and I’ll never forget Sara sharing about some tough times she and her husband, Troy, had walked through.  It felt so reassuring to know that we weren’t alone – that they had been there, too….and were on the other side of things.  I instantly felt a connection to her as a wife and mom, and I’ve loved her music ever since.  I appreciate her honesty and willingness to share her life without reservation.  Her lyrics (as well as her voice) are so pure and deep and genuine, and they’ve spoken to my soul time and time again.

Her new album, Invisible Empires, will be available October 18th, and I’m giving away a free copy on behalf of Fair Trade Services!  I’ve been listening to it tonight, and it’s a great album!  My favorite songs (tonight) are I’ll Wait, Open My Hands, Eyes on the Prize & Finite.  The whole album is really very good.

All you have to do is leave a comment below to be officially entered for the giveaway.  The winner will be chosen on Saturday, October 15th at 10AM CST and will be notified via email.

When asked what she hoped listeners would take away from Invisible Empires, here’s what Sara had to say:

Psalm 127 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, then the builder builds in vain.” That verse is what this whole record is really about… There’s two kinds of ways to go about our lives and that’s to do it ourselves or to rely and wait on God and I think the theme of the record is that, the things of God are real. They’re more real than things that we hold in our hand. So, we may not see them. They might be kind of seemingly invisible but that’s the real work of God.  So, a lot of this record is about being present, being aware that God’s at work and then joining Him……

Be sure to leave a comment!

                          

Take One:

Take Two:

Take Three:

Isn’t that just beautiful?!  I figured out that Riley learns best by watching me play and by us practicing together, so that’s the route we’re taking for the upcoming 4th Grade Graduation program.  It works for me!  I’m going to be a really good recorder player by the time we learn the rest of the song!

                          

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands.
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the Risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless Righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of Glory and of grace.

One in Himself, I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God.

I hope you are rejoicing in His love and celebrating His victory over the grave wherever you are today.  And I hope you know that He loves you and that living for Him is SO worth it!  Happy Easter!

                          

Then I found this one, which I really like, too . . .

I hope you enjoyed them & that you have a good week!

                          

Jesus, here I am with open hands
Lifted high to You
Could my heart contain all Your love for me?
You’re all I need to know, You’re all I need to know

You are my reward, all I’m living for
I surrender all my life to You
All consuming fire, You are my desire
No one else but You, I surrender all my life to You
All to You, my Jesus

                          

And here he is showing off how he’s learned the whole alphabet song (well, we’re still working on the very end, but he’s got all the letters – which is what really matters!) . . .

The big boys have Fall Break this week, and we’re just hanging out here.  Yohannes is SO excited to have them home.  He misses them when they go to school.  This morning, he came running up to me shouting, “Riley Cole no school!”  I currently have 8 kids at my house (my three plus some neighborhood kids).  We have a comic book making station on the porch out back and a big “fort” (think chairs with every blanket and quilt in the house spread out on top) in the garage.  It’s CRAZY, but they’re all having fun at the moment . . . so it’s all good!

I’ve been working on updating the blog a little bit . . . can you tell?!?!  I’m still “tweaking” it some, but I’m pleased with how it’s turning out.  I want to make it functional and helpful for other families in the adoption process – as well as fun and interactive for our friends and family.  Let me know if you have any suggestions or see any changes that need to be made.  Thanks!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!

                          

Our kids don’t typically rock out to Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer.  We were just having fun listening to clips of old songs on iTunes – and apparently they like going old skool, too!

                          

I’ve already had a couple of people ask about the second (last) song on the video.  It was written (and sung) by our dear friend, Josh Bronleewe.  He’s also the worship leader at our church.  Josh is extremely gifted in the areas of singing and songwriting, and we’re so thankful for him.  If you like the song, you can purchase it on iTunes.  It’s called “Gave Me a Home.”

In some ways it seems like we’ve been home longer than a month – and then in other ways I can’t believe it’s been a month already.  We began the adoption process in late January, and less than nine months later he was home – quite a whirlwind!  He’s doing really well and seems to be very happy here.  He’s learning a lot of English and loves his big brothers.  He sleeps well and eats well and gives the best hugs and kisses!  We are truly blessed that he’s part of our family!

I hope you all have a great weekend & be sure to watch the video if you haven’t already!

                          

We’ve also been singing this one.  I really like it, too.  This version isn’t the best quality, so . . .

. . . you can watch this one if you want to see the words.  Some of the images just seemed kind of weird to me – especially the close-up of the eagle.  Maybe it’s just me – but it kinda freaked me out a little bit???

Anyway, they’re great songs, and singing them with my church family refuels my soul.  I’ve started slipping into the back of the room during the first service with Yohannes.  We just stay for the music and then jet out (since he turns into a chatterbox as soon as the message begins), but it’s so good for me.  He seems to enjoy it, too, and apparently he’s been listening to me sing in his ear (bless his heart!) because he’s picking up on the songs.  We sang “My heart will sing no other name, Jesus, Jesus” and he broke out in “Jesus Loves Me!”