My Life's Soundtrack - Part 2 - Sacred List 1

My first installment of "My Life's Soundtrack" dealt with secular songs, but it will come as no surprise to people who know me well that I have several "sacred" songs (Gospel/Christian/Christmas songs) that are especially meaningful to me. In fact, if you've been reading my blog for more than a year, you likely know one of the songs that I'll list below. In any case, here's the second installment.

Christmas Lullaby - Amy Grant and Chris Easton - Not only is this a beautiful song. Not only is do the lyrics hold a powerful faith statement. But also, Sherry, Sarah, Leah & I sang this at our Christmas Eve service one year, and that is a memory that will always be with me.

Hope for Resolution - Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory - I blogged about this piece of music back in 2004, but its history goes back t0 2002, and extends past 2004. In 2002, Adam was a freshman at Luther College (our alma mater) and we attended our first "Christmas at Luther." "Hope For Resolution" was the closing piece, and it was so powerful, it brought tears to my eyes. A couple years later, I loaned the CD to Karla, our church choir director, and she decided our choir could and would do the piece. Sherry, Sarah & I were in the adult choir, Leah was in the children's choir, and it was probably the best piece we ever did. I stil get goosebumps listening to the high notes Sarah sang at the end, and my emotional high follows the music, especially recalling the beautiful accompaniment of Leah and the rest of the children's choir. Getting the chance to sing it with the four of us, and having the connection to Adam and to Luther make it a very meaningful piece in my life.

Friends - Michael W Smith and Deborah D Smith - We sang this song when some family friends left Rochester, but we've felt the emotions in this melancholy yet hopeful song many, many times since; most recently as we changed congregations ourselves. "Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the lord of them."

Hallelujah - G. F. Handel - Participating in Handel's Messiah each year at Luther was special enough (Weston Noble, folks!), but to do it in our senior year with my wife, my sister and my parents singing as well? A musical highlight of my life.

Beautiful Savior - Translated by Joseph A. Seiss- The finale piece at Decorah High School's Christmas Concert, and a meaningful, symbolic piece of art for the remainder of my life. Whenever I can sing this, in four-part harmony, in a sanctuary full of worshipers, I experience a foretaste of heaven.