Turn My Heart -- Lynn DeShazo

An October morning in 1989 in the basement of her parents’ house was the scene. Birmingham, Alabama (its flag is shown here) was familiar to Lynn DeShazo, but she’d been gone awhile, and was feeling that her surroundings didn’t quite recapture everything she needed that day. So, 33-year old Lynn asked God to “Turn My Heart” in a way that He’d done before. She found that He was listening, as the next few months transpired. Moving from one place to another was more difficult for Lynn than she had imagined, even though she’d pondered this episode for many months and felt certain she was taking the right path. Could it be that the turning had started many months prior to that autumn morning when her thoughts actually coalesced into the words she sang for the first time? It seemed, as she reflected on the events 20 years hence (in 2010), that she was still approaching him with the same expectation – letting Him turn somebody isn’t an isolated incident.

Lynn DeShazo had been on an eight-year journey during a time in her post-college years in the 1980s that finally led her to “Turn My Heart”. From Alabama to Michigan, and then back to Alabama, Lynn may have concluded that God was doing some directing before she asked for his guidance a bit more directly the morning she wrote her ‘Turn…’ song. She helped plant and lead a church in worship for several years in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in what she might have thought was the epilogue to her college and post-college career in Auburn, Alabama that had concluded in 1981. By 1989 Lynn was headed back to the Deep South where she’d begun. Landing in her parents’ basement, working in a UPS store, and engaged in a nascent – and still somewhat uncertain – songwriting career, Lynn felt uneasy. She no longer had the church in Ann Arbor to lean upon, where all her friends and life’s purpose had been centered for the better part of the previous decade. True, she was indeed a songwriter, a calling that had been gestating for several years, indeed since her high school days. But, she felt the ambiguity of this calling’s future. Would she find a church where she could minister, particularly with this gift for music? Her unease had actually been ongoing for a couple of years, beginning in Michigan, so this visceral sensation upon which she focused one October 1989 morning wasn’t new. But, as she read about a king in Proverbs 21:1, the words resonated, spurring the words of “Turn My Heart”.  Lynn wanted to be part of His river, like water He directs down a path. She evidently wanted to live there, not just ride a raft through it and then jump out. That’s why she uses the word ‘surrender’ in the song’s vocabulary to express her desire to be one with His spirit. The next few days and weeks, Lynn’s life was indeed blessed, as she finished the song, found a church, and moved into a place to live (not her parents’ basement!). She’d begun a new chapter, one she’d been working on, perhaps unconsciously, since Michigan.                   

Lynn was probably used to making turns in her life before she actually wrote some words to that effect in 1989. She describes at least two other choices shortly after graduating from college, shared in her book (see if referenced below) that were ‘turns’ she took to grow in reliance on Him. (I won’t share them here – she does a better job of it in the words she wrote in her book!) So, by the time she needed more direction in 1989, she was already used to seeking Him out for this purpose. She relays that her ‘turning’ was still continuing in 2010, when she looked back over the previous 20 years. Lynn’s still swimming in His river!  

The book, More Precious Than Silver, by Lynn DeShazo, WinePress Publishing, 2010, is the only source for the above song story.   

See the composer’s site here: http://www.lynndeshazo.com/index.html

All to Jesus I Surrender -- Judson W. Van DeVenter

Mid-life career switch…that’s what was on the mind of Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter, and had been for some time as he thought through the possibilities. He eventually decided to say “I Surrender All” (alternately known as “All to Jesus I Surrender”) in 1896. Did he in effect raise the white flag, as the British did at Yorktown in 1781 (see picture), feeling the ignominy of defeat? Judson was in fact recognizing a greater power that he could not overcome, but he didn’t sound like a guy with a crushed spirit. Instead, he embraced this change without regret. He’d become aware through hints in his life, through experiential suggestions, that this transformation would tap into something that he did not even know was there before. Surrendering had turned out to be the deal of a lifetime!

Judson Van DeVenter had prepared during the first half of his life to be an artist, but then decided to let the Creator steer him into another talent for the second half of his life. He realized as a child that the Lord had blessed him artistically and musically, so upon his graduation from a Michigan college he accepted the path as an art teacher and later art supervisor in a Pennsylvania high school. As a 30-year old he went throughout Europe studying and honing his art skills. He kept his singing voice in tune also, through some formal study and participation in the church choir where he worshipped. Consequently, his involvement in that church’s evangelistic campaigns stirred his spirit, and many friends coaxed him to consider full-time ministry – to leave his first love, art. It wasn’t an easy or quick decision, but one that he mulled over for five years. He probably wondered, ‘Can’t I do both?’, but eventually discovered that his conscience was posing the issue as one of submission to a higher will. He had to listen, and decided to let Providence take control. Looking back some five years later, he wrote about this surrender decision, noting that he did it ‘freely’ (v.1), and yes ‘humbly’ (v.2), but asking to be filled too (v.4).  His surrender would eventually take him on trips all across the United States, and across the ocean to Scotland and England too, but it was during a campaign in Ohio where he reminisced and composed this ode about his mid-life change. Perhaps “I Surrender All” was also with the encouragement of George Sebring where he stayed during this stopover. By the end of his life, he’d crafted nearly three-score hymns and become a professor of hymnology in Florida. Perhaps God’s answer did in fact let him use the art sense he’d possessed since his childhood, but in a more focused way as a hymnist. Judson says it was the ‘pivot’ point in his life, learning that He had cultivated a talent deep inside for His own purposes.

What if Judson Van DeVenter had stayed on his original course as a teacher-artist? Nothing in his background says he would have stopped singing in the choir, or ended his volunteer role in the church’s evangelism efforts. Honestly, it seems as though Judson’s life was pretty well-lived in these roles –teacher, choir singer, church volunteer. Moreover, his call to change wasn’t exactly an epiphany, or he might have immediately amended his calling toward ministry. Instead, it was gradual, like the dawn of morning. No one, including the one to whom he finally surrendered, forced him, perhaps because he was already doing good works. Judson was just willing to see if greater works were on the other side of the white flag. Are you good? How about being great!     

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

See brief biography here of composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/v/a/n/van_deventer_jw.htm

See brief account of song story and all five original verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/s/u/isurrend.htm

Have Thine Own Way -- Adelaide Pollard

Mid-life crisis? Was this among the circumstances of 40-year old Adelaide Pollard as she contemplated her situation in 1902? She must have felt, as many do at one or multiple times in their lives, that she’d reached a point where she was passionate to do something, yet was frustrated by the hurdle in her way. Was her desire not something good for His kingdom, she wondered? Has he not put this aspiration inside me? And then, in quite an unexpected way, she encountered someone she’d never met before, who spoke something that got inside her. Though certain of His will before this incident, Adelaide must have concluded that she needed to say “Have Thine Own Way” more deeply and intently. She needed to be like potter’s clay (maybe like the one I made many years ago, shown here).

Adelaide Pollard was part of several ministries for God for many years before and after the turn of the 20^th Century, and so was accustomed to following wherever He seemed to be leading. She’d been a teacher, including as a bible instructor, in the Chicago area in the 1880s. She also had followed and participated in the work of two evangelists prior to turning 40, the second of which was in New England. It was there that she was keenly motivated to seek missionary work in Africa, yet bitterly disappointed in her drive to raise funds for the trip. Perhaps she’d poured out her soul over this deep regret to a group at a prayer service one night, for it was there that an anonymous old woman said something that germinated deep within Adelaide. Was it the wisdom that comes from experience, perhaps some distress in her own life, which caused the elderly woman to pray the words that Pollard used later that same night as her hymn title? Not only had the old woman’s words pierced her; Adelaide also found inspiration from an ancient writer, someone who might identify with her emotional state – Jeremiah. This prophet’s imagery of a potter (Jeremiah 18:3-4) found its way into her response in the hymn. In submissive words, she speaks of putting aside her own agenda in favor of His. Interestingly, many years later, she actually did go to Africa briefly. She then spent the war years (World War I) in Scotland before returning to the U.S. in the postwar era.

So, could it be that part of her surrender to Him meant moving about on His timetable?

How would Adelaide Pollard answer? Besides moving physically several times in her 72 years, she must have more than once moved emotionally-spiritually. Pollard is credited with writing perhaps a few dozen hymns, but among them are several with titles that suggest she surrendered again and again to what He wanted her to do. “Have Thine Own Way” wasn’t just one episode of Adelaide Pollard’s story, but really rather like a window we can peer through to see what’s inside. Are there windows about me, which others may be looking through? What do they see? Maybe it should be Who they see, huh?

See more information on the song discussed above in 101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003; Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, Kregel Publications; and The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 

Also see following sites:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/o/l/pollard_aa.htm

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/t/h/hthineow.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_Thine_Own_Way,_Lord

That’s Why We Praise Him – Tommy Walker

If you wanted to sum up in one word what Tommy Walker learned from writing “That’s Why We Praise Him” in the late 1990s, it would be ‘Obedience’. It probably is different for each person, for each of us is wired to easily obey some things, while other compliance calls are more demanding. Walker shares that resisting temptation can be toughest -- thus, making obedience essential --when fatigue sets in following a mountaintop-like experience. Think about Jesus’ life, and the same principle applied to Him.

Jesus was tempted on the mountain by Satan when He was tired and hungry (Matthew 4:8), and He obeyed His father, so He has the credibility to advise you and me, right? It was that reputation that spoke to Tommy Walker one night in a hotel room. You can read the entire story in his little book (see the reference below), but in short, Walker was tempted that night, following a Promise-Keepers gathering. And, despite his lonesome and weary state of mind, he resisted the thought of surfing through channels -- hotel room television channels -- because he wanted to respect and obey God. With lots of time on his hands, a self-imposed TV blackout, and his guitar in hand, Walker found a tune. It was as if God was saying ‘…here’s a gift’, and Walker relates he wrote the song on the spot, sensing it would resonate with those who would hear it. Is it an accident that Walker’s asceticism that night, mimicking Jesus’ attitude 2000 years ago in the wilderness, yielded a Divine gift? Perhaps it’s a recipe for song-writing that should be tried more often.

How would you show someone obedience in a one-look picture today? I think of a soldier offering a salute to his commanding officer (see the photo above). Walker was obedient, and he wrote words in “That’s Why We Praise Him” to remind believers that Jesus was too. ‘He came to die’, ‘He gave His everything’ remind us that He submitted, just as a private does to his C.O. And, I remind myself when I sing this song, Jesus never stopped doing so. He’s higher in rank than I’ll ever be, and yet He continued this obeisance. How? Why? He must have known something that I don’t. How did Jesus manage to be a servant? Oh, that’s right…His Father gave up Jesus to do all this, so He’s a servant-minded Father, teaching His son and all His earthly children the same lesson. Now, doesn’t it make more sense to salute Him, when you know all this?

Information on the story behind “That’s Why We Praise Him” can be found in Tommy Walker’s book Songs from Heaven, written with Phil Kassel in 2005, published by Regal Books.

http://www.tommywalker.net/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Walker_(worship_leader)

Lord I Lift Your Name on High – Rick Founds

Rick Founds found something. His name lends itself to this kind of declaration, and since he’s a songwriter, he may have even used this way to introduce one of his creations, this song “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”. He’s written many songs, and strummed on his guitar numerous times, but the day he wrote the words of this song, he says he was struck by God’s plan for us. It was a new thought, even though it was a day like many others, and he was doing what he did lots of other times in his own personal time with Him. 

 

What new thought? A. God has had a plan, since the beginning; and B. He, the Creator, subjected Himself to creation, kinda behaving like a part of His Creation, to implement this plan. The words of Founds’ song tell us that God put Himself into a four-step cycle: Heaven-Earth-Death-Resurrection. He’s the only one who’s ever gonna do all four of these – think about it, Founds says in this song. It’s probably something I’ll never completely fathom, but something Founds says about God’s behavior helps us understand. God is like rain, Founds has said. It falls to earth, nourishes what’s there, evaporates into the air, and then returns again – as when brought by thunderstorms (see the picture above). It’s not a perfect analogy, but rain is perhaps the most basic ingredient to life on this planet. Most of the human body is water, and most of what we see growing here does so because it receives moisture. Have you noticed that scientists get really excited when they think they’ve discovered water on Mars, or on one of the other planets? Thinking of His creation, it really makes sense that God would behave like rain in order to replenish us.

 

 I drink water after I run, and I need God like that too. Rick Founds was studying from His electronic Bible, and playing with his guitar, and he’d done this many times, undoubtedly because this combination fed him emotionally, spiritually, and creatively. He grew, just like plants do when they get water, and the song God gave him to share with the world is just like that rain. I wonder how Rick Founds feels knowing that he has helped carry God’s water to believers like me? What a sensation! Even more, how must Jesus feel, having been the Godly rain for us? Maybe He’ll tell us one day. For now, this song keeps coming back to remind me that God is intimately familiar with what sustains my spirit. And, He knows the physical fuel is necessary too. I’m headed to a church Potluck in a few minutes – fellowship, and food and drink. He has sent me all that I need. 

 

 

The source for Rick Founds’ Lord I Lift Your Name on High” song story is the book “Our God Reigns: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2000. Also see “The Complete Book of Hymns-Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ,2006.

Be Still and Know -- Anonymous

I cannot say I’ve ever met someone with a messianic complex, have you? Oh, lots of individuals think pretty highly of themselves, and maybe even some could be classified as true nutburgers that really believer in some warped way that they are a divine gift to the rest of us. But really, what would it be like to hear the following sincere words that go something like this? ‘I’m the Lord God, and you can be certain of this, so you’d better listen to me if you want me to help you’. No sane person would claim the copyright on this statement. Only the true God Himself could author words like that, and back them up with action. Perhaps that’s why this song “Be Still and Know” has no acknowledged composer by name.


Although the song “Be Still and Know” has no earthly individual composer that is known, its inspiration can be traced with some specificity. The words that match the song’s title may be from one of the Psalms – Psalm 46:10. Commentators and editors of the Bible indicate that some professional worshippers, Korahites, may have been the originators of the words written in that Psalm, and therefore the composers of at least some of the words that we sing. Korahites were not just any worshippers, but as the name suggests they were descendents of Korah, the great-grandson of Levi. He was a privileged servant in tabernacle worship, but in his conceit and jealousy for more, he rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16). And so, God had him swallowed up in the earth, along with scores of others, because of his impudence. Do you think generations later, the oral history of Korah’s demise was remembered by his descendents? Check out the other words in Psalm 46, and God spells out the context of ‘being still’ before Him. There’s turmoil on earth, fighting that God terminates (v. 9) so that the creation will be silent and in awe of Him. I have thought of “Be Still and Know” as a tender, soft prompting by God, but thinking of Korah, I wonder if this isn’t instead a warning that his grandkids and great-grandkids want me to heed. The words of a 2nd verse of “Be Still and Know” -- that the Lord strengthens us – may have derived from the ages in which God promises healing (Exodus 15:26). Which one of us doesn’t need this promise, either physically or spiritually? Perhaps this original pledge to Moses’ people for deliverance from Egypt is the same one that prophets (Isaiah 41:10 or Zechariah 10:6) picked up later and echoed for worshippers.

There’s a hope ringing in these words for us who feel beaten. If not now on earth, then later, I hear Him say. Does worship really connect me with Him, one might legitimately ask? If I pay attention to the words, it seems the intended audience of most of the songs I sing are either others around me or God Himself – both very appropriate, as I edify others or offer my praise directly to Him. “Be Still and Know” is most unusual, because the singer is actually God, who’s using my voice to vocalize His message directly into my being. I become His audience. Someone might say ‘all worship songs are from God’ if a composer allows the Spirit to work in their creation. True. I don’t have to be retold that truth in“Be Still and Know” – I just listen.

Information on Psalm 46 and other Bible verses from which part of the song “Be Still and Know” may have sprung was obtained from study notes in the NIV Study Bible, copyright 1985 by the Zondervan Corporation, general editor Kenneth Barker and associate editors Donald Burdick, John Stek, Walter Wessel, and Ronald Youngblood.

A Living Prayer – Ron Block

Ron Block has seen ups and downs, ins and outs over the last 15 years, and he discovered how to maintain a healthy perspective through all of it. His music-writing is a mirror of his walk, he says, of the closeness that he’s been nurturing with God. If that process sounds like a recipe for prayer, then it’s no accident that his song “A Living Prayer” has struck a chord with listeners who identify with its lyrics. And, it’s no surprise either why it received a 2006 Gospel Music Association Dove award for the Bluegrass Song of the Year. The song was part of a record titled “Lonely Runs Both Ways”, which Block recorded with Alison Kraus and Union Station. What was Block thinking about when he wrote it? Was he feeling alone, as the record’s title and the song’s lyrics suggest?

Here’s what Block says briefly (see the link here: http://www.ronblock.com/site.php?em2643=145169_-1__0_~0_-1_3_2010_0_0&content=writings&em2642=

). Block does say that he’s alone, and that rough roads and griefs abound, but yet he doesn’t dwell on these realities. Jesus is the answer, Block’s biographic sketch relates on his website, and as he talks in detail about this song. Instead of wallowing in downbeat emotions, Block leads the worshipper to feel secure in the God-to-human relationship, to let one’s life reflect this trust. Block’s goal is to find at life’s end that he’s been ‘a vehicle or vessel of His Spirit’. And so, Block’s words ‘take my life and let me be’ are his ambitious lifelong plea to Him. This is one we seldom hear even believers say --‘Lord, just use me’. ‘Protect’, ‘heal’, or ‘show’, but not too often ‘Use’ me, are the words that stick out in my conversations with the Almighty.

Here’s something you might not expect to hear from a Christian. Block says the song’s life message isn’t that I “try to do good and avoid doing bad”, nor that I “try to be a witness”, nor “try to be Christ-like”. No, the idea is not that I try to do anything. Isn’t it strange that in God’s calculus, I become a living prayer by giving up my life? Block’s song conveys that there is true peace and contentment in giving up, in submitting to God. Stop striving, and just let God’s presence and purpose wash over and through me, I muse out loud to Him and to myself. Prayer’s heart is surrender, I’m told. Jesus did this too…another good reason to pray like this.