Singing | All is Well

All Is Well ~ Lift Up Your Voice, and Sing

November 25, 2015 By Shelly Durkee

I love to sing.

Always have. I sing very imperfectly. I sing much like I navigate life–like a draft horse barreling through the notes and staff and key signatures.

But, good gracious, I love to sing.

And, there is no greater joy in singing, then getting to sing in worship, with my girl.

She sings like a songbird. I don’t know where her beautiful voice comes from; except this–it must be a gift of grace, from God.

4 years ago or so, she had surgery on her throat. And, that surgery completely changed her life. She went from one who struggled to breathe freely, let alone sing, to one who has tremendous breath support and the ability to hold these high-register, soprano notes that create chicken skin.

But that’s not why I have such joy, when singing with her.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. Singing with her is fun. I’m a 5-note range alto. I can belt, but I have no flexibility, no sweetness, no gentleness to my voice. Singing with my girl allows me to sing music I’ve never been able to sing before. I let her do all the hard work, and I just fill in the harmonies. 🙂

But my joy, in singing with her, goes far beyond the fun.

It’s this: the opportunity to worship our God, together.

It’s this: the opportunity to sing words that have deep meaning, for both of us. For so many reasons.

It’s this: the opportunity to proclaim “It is Well”

I love to sing with my girl.

I noticed something interesting a couple of months back: so much of the music I gravitate to when choosing songs to sing, center on the very settled-ness that God has brought to my soul, and to my family. “Blessed Assurance”, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, “It is Well with my Soul”, “A Mighty Fortress”; the list is long of songs that have a very similar theme.

Christmas is here, and my girl and I are preparing a couple of songs for an upcoming annual event: A Christmas Tea. One of the songs is O Holy Night; the arrangement is the one sung by Point of Grace several years ago. Traditional, and so fun to sing with her.

The second, though, nearly wrecks me. It’s a song sun by Michael W. Smith and Carrie Underwood: All is Well.

It’s the proclamation that, with the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel–the “God with-us”–entered our world. Became on of us, yet separate from us. A mystery of mysteries. And that baby was the Savior of the world. And is the Savior of the world.

Your Savior. My girl’s Savior. My Savior.

And, because of that, All is Well.

No, it doesn’t always seem as if all is well. Sin plagues us. Fear’s assault us. Nightmares haunt us. Worries surround us. Sickness takes from us. All these things–they are very real. And can shut out the light. They can cause darkness to descend in our minds and our souls.

But this is truth; these lyrics to this song:

For tonight darkness fell
Into the dawn of love’s light

Yes. On that night in Bethlehem, the darkness fell. Not on the world, but from the world. It fell–it collapsed–it disintegrated–it was consumed, by the dawn. And that dawn was the light of the only true love known to man.

A love that gave itself, as the sacrifice for our sins.

And, my friends–because of that, All Truly is Well.

And, my friends–getting to sing those words, with my girl, in her clear and strong and powerful and commanding voice, know where she has come from, and where we have come from, and the settled-ness of grace, nearly brings me to my knees, in worship.

All is well all is well
Angels and men rejoice
For tonight darkness fell
Into the dawn of love’s light
Sing A-le
Sing Alleluia

All is well all is well
Let there be peace on earth
Christ is come go and tell
That He is in the manger
Sing A-le
Sing Alleluia

All is well all is well
Lift up your voice and sing
Born is now Emmanuel
Born is our Lord and Savior
Sing Alleluia
Sing Alleluia
All is well

He Restores the Years (Joel 2)

July 20, 2015 By Shelly Durkee

I’m a bit overwhelmed this afternoon, and not entirely sure that I’ll be able to find words.

And, really, maybe, no words need to be found. But, me being me, of course I must try.

I had the honor, gift, privilege of singing an incredible song this morning, along with our phenomenal choir and band at church. Amazing experience. Never before have I sung something, and wished so fervently in that moment, or immediately after, to see Jesus face-to-face. At least, not to the degree that this morning brought.

Even so, come quickly Lord.

What will it be like, to see Him “high and exalted”? To be able to say “my eyes are fixed upon His face”?

I can’t even imagine, really—although, this morning, I believe, came very close.

Honor and power, dominion and praise–Unto the Lamb, who was and is, and is to come.

I could have sung it a dozen times this morning.

And while the lyrics echo those found in Revelation, for me personally–in that moment, they were more a reflection of the words found in Joel 2:

I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.

26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

    and praise the name of the Lord your God,

    who has dealt wondrously with you.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.

27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,

    and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.
They were joy.
They were a recognition that God is a God who restores year eaten away by the locusts.
Locusts are odd creatures.  On a couple of occasions, I visited my grandparents in Southern Illinois for a week or so.  I liked visiting them; mainly because I adored my grandpa.  But also, they lived in the country, which was always an adventure.  A garden to tend, a riding lawn mower to use, the wooden bridge that crossed the train tracks, where grandpa carved our names and where we would throw rocks off the bridge, trying to “ping” them on the rails.
But one of my favorite things to do was to hunt around the property for locusts that were getting ready to shed their skin.  Once I’d find one, I’d grab a lawn chair and sit and watch.  For a long time; because it was a long process.  After the locust had emerged and had finally flown off, I’d carefully remove the shell–the carcass of skin–and carefully wrap it in toilet paper and place it in a shoebox that I kept for that purpose.  Yes, I was an odd locust-shell hoarder child.
But my grandpa didn’t like  the locusts.  They ate his corn leaves, his tomato leaves, his lettuce leaves.  The words scripture uses to describe them are so accurate:  swarming.  hopping.  cutter.  destroyer.
I think those same words could be used for sin.  Ours, others.  And, the evil one, who seeks to consume and devour.  And, sometimes, life.
And these things–sin, the evil one, and even life, can eat away at the years.  I know this full well.
But God is talking here about His own army of locusts, sent out among the people.  We discussed that a bit in Sunday school this morning; it is a hard thing to grasp.  His righteousness.  His holiness.  His sovereignty.  I can’t grasp it.
However, I do know the experience of lost years.
But.
He is the restorer of those lost years.
He is Job’s restorer.
He is Israel’s restorer.
He is your restorer.
He is my restorer.
And, in the moments of singing “Hallelujah” this morning, in the crescendo of worship, in that very moment, this passage in Joel was no longer words on a page, but words in my soul:
“….praise the name of the Lord your God,

    who has dealt wondrously with you.“
My soul, my soul, my soul.  He has dealt wondrously with me.  Wondrously.  Hallelujah.
He is not far away.  He is near.  He has not and will not forsake.  He is near.  He is in our midst.  He is near.  He is the Lord our God.

There is none else.

I love how this passage ends: “….And my people shall never again be put to shame.“

I have known the drowning weight of shame. I still fight it/know it, and maybe I always will. But, what I fail so often to comprehend is this: God doesn’t restore the years only to expect us to dwell in that dark, red-faced, head-lowered prison of shame. He restores the years so we can and will “fix our eyes upon His face……”

He restores the years, so that we can and will lift up our faces and sing “All praise, unto the Lamb….who was and is, and is to come.”

Why we Sing, and why I miss it when I can not sing

October 14, 2010 By Shelly Durkee

I had to miss choir practice tonight due to extenuating circumstances. I had looked forward to singing tonight, so was somewhat discouraged that I was unable to. But as a result, the night brought to my mind a recent quote I read by Bob Kauflin on the reason why we sing. Kauflin recently spoke these words at a Worship Conference:

At one point I quoted Harold Best: “All our musical offerings are at once humbled and exalted by the strong saving work of Christ.” We touched on how our singing is not something we originate, but flows from the relationships of the triune God who sings (Zeph. 3:17; Heb. 2:12; Eph. 5:18-19). We sing because God sings and we’ve been made in his image. I never got to mention it on the panel, but a very helpful book on the Trinity is The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders.

The idea that God sings never fails to stir me up. And Zephaniah 3:17—whew:

17 The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

Tonight I came across words from David Ward on why we sing, in relation to the congregation: Also very true and important insights on this subject:

As we sing to one another, encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ with the precious truths of God’s works and ways, we bring glory to God. He has designed singing as a wonderful way for those who are strong in the gospel to encourage those who are weak as they give witness with their lips and body to the reality and power of what they are singing about. Even as a song leader, I have had many mornings where I was inwardly struggling to believe and appropriate the gospel. God often uses the sound and the posture of the congregation to help get my attention off of myself and my individual spiritual walk and be encouraged at His work amongst our entire congregation

Singing is very important to me, it is core stuff, it is prayer.

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