Tag Archives: All Sons and Daughters

With Us

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god with us

I used to know all the common prepositions by heart.

About, above, across, after, against, along, among — and 28 more. Memorizing that list helped in picking out the prepositional phrases when diagramming sentences, which was important because…… Why was that important?

The one thing that did stick with me from Freshman English was to never, ever, over-your-dead-body, end a sentence with a word from “the list”. The horror of leaving a preposition hanging there, right before a period, struck a fear into me that still exists today. No matter how much I want to write, “Who were you talking to?” I force myself to be proper and write, “To whom were you talking?” Sounds a bit formal, though, for this midwestern girl.

My favorite preposition is at the bottom of the list.  

…….over, since, through, to, toward, under, with.  

With.

What a lovely word.

When God picked out a name for His Son, it was Emmanuel —

God with us. (Isaiah 7:14)

I am grateful for that choice of names.

It’s so much better than

God above us, God behind us, God beyond us, God over us.

I love the “with-ness” of God.

“God With Us” by All Sons and Daughters

There are lots of great prepositions in this song (none dangling).

 

Christ Be All Around Me

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Christ beside me

When the alarm on my phone goes off in the wee hours of the morning, a song starts playing next to my pillow:

“As I rise, strength of God, go before, lift me up.

As I wake, eyes of God, look upon, be my sight.”

Before I’m fully awake, I need this prayer.  Negative thoughts, worries, and bad attitudes can attack me before my feet even hit the floor.

Then I stumble into my office, light a candle and open up my Bible.

“As I wait, heart of God, satisfy and sustain.

As I hear, voice of God, lead me on, be my guide.”

Some days, as my blurry eyes focus on the Word, it jumps out and grabs me by the neck.  Other days, I just look at God and He just looks at me. Both satisfy and sustain.

Then I move into the day with all the lists and obligations and duties.

“As I go, hand of God, my defense, by my side.”

By evening, I am happy to rejoin my pillow and whisper a vesper prayer.

“As I rest, breath of God, fall upon, bring me peace.”

This song has carried me through many, many days.  Many, many moments.

“Your life, Your death, Your blood was shed for every moment.”

I started listening to the music of “All Sons and Daughters” three years ago.  When I needed a reason to sing, I put “Reason to Sing” on repeat.  When I felt poor and powerless, I kept “All the Poor and Powerless” on top of my playlist.  I love their music.  I love their lyrics.

This duo doesn’t know it, but they need me.  I add a third harmony part to their songs every morning in the shower.  Duets are great, but in my opinion, three part harmony is glorious.

I guess I’ll leave well enough alone and keep them by my pillow for now.

This week, this is my song:

Written by Leeland and Michael W. Smith.  Recorded by Leslie Jordan and David Leonard.