This is my Song

This beautiful Hymn was sung for us in church today, July 4, 2010, by Ann and David Harsh and AnnEllen and Ken Boettcher. It’s so beautiful; I had to find out more.

The following are the lyrics listed in our United Methodist Hymnal (#437). Music by Jean Sibelius (1899) and Words adapted by Lloyd Stone(1934). It’s a prayer for peace, here and everywhere.

This is My Song

This is my song, oh God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, oh God of all the nations;
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my prayer, o Lord of all earth's kingdoms
Thy kingdom come on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him.
And hearts united learn to live as one.
Oh hear my prayer, o God of all the nations.
Myself I give thee; let thy will be done.

So moving are these lyrics. Truly, as we celebrate our own independence, let us pray for freedom and peace everywhere.

Here is a link to an article about the song from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia_Hymn

Here is a beautiful rendition of the hymn by The Southwest American Choral Director's Association Collegiate Choir in 2006.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjuxePRyCo&feature=related

And here is a link of the hymn being sung by the Indigo Girls with Missy Higgins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD1t6tzbp-Y

God Hears

College as a whole was an uncomfortable struggle for me. I didn't have a home or a family close by, which I now know, feeds me. I wasn't grounded. I went through periods of rebellion (or complete stupidity). And then I came back to a place of faith, but was scared and overwhelmed with how far I had wandered. I was 23, a young 23. So here's my simple cry out in the dark from way back then. I met my husband about 3 months later. And it all worked out. Adolescent angst. :-)

God Hears
12/18/97
by Teri VanLieshout

When I was a young girl, feeling sad and afraid
I went to my church and I knelt down and prayed

I prayed for an answer to fall from above
The sky to tear open and pour out God's love

I wanted a voice, a hand on my shoulder
But all that I felt was the room getting colder

      It's easy to think that God doesn't hear
      When we ask and expect things like magic,
      But if we look back again at our life taking course
      We see our prayers being answered

Frustrated, empty, lost and alone
I left the church thinking I'd wasted my time

God doesn't hear me, I said to myself
He's got more important prayers on his shelf

So I went down the street for some coffee to drink
Sat down at a table alone to think

      It's easy to think that God doesn't hear
      When we ask and expect things like magic,
      But if we look back again at our life taking course
      We see our prayers being answered

At the table I sat and thumbed through some books
Nothing looked interesting, nothing quite took

And then a tap on my shoulder, as if from above
The man one seat over started talking to me

About hometowns, and majors, and jobs and the like
Finding one's path and direction in life

      It's easy to think that God doesn't hear
      When we ask and expect things like magic,
      But if we look back again at our life taking course
      We see our prayers being answered

He offered his thoughts and shared his frustrations
There were no clear answers or new revelations

But I left feeling heard and much less afraid
As if God really heard me when I knelt down and prayed

Life is a struggle, yet one thing is clear
God knows our thoughts and really does hear

      It's easy to think that God doesn't hear
      When we ask and expect things like magic,
      But if we look back again at our life taking course
      We see our prayers being answered