The leaves on the trees are starting to change color but I’m glad that it still feels like the warmth is deciding to stick around a little longer. The pumpkin spice flavored things, which is the edible essence of the fall season, is at its optimal seasonal peak! I’ve even decided to enjoy a few pumpkin spice flavored treats, which is something I usually skip out on. I think I’ve mentioned my love for cardigans and pashmina scarves that I love to wear; but this is the season that I’m able to wear them around more comfortably which is one of my fashion favorite things to do.
“Let me lift my hands to the ceiling,
Lord knows I been praying and believing”
Recently, I had the opportunity to release a new album! The name of this new album is ‘My Enemies’ Nightmares,’ which at face value, may seem dark and not very telling of God’s love… However, the message within the album is the fulfillment of the good and blessings received through our Lord, even in times of doubt and tribulation. The album was released on September 25th, which was also World Dream Day. This is the day that is dedicated to the dreamer as someone who is a visionary and a leader in making and inspiring change. We could even reimagine the dreamer as a praying person with a prayer that they invoke action behind that in turn brings people together in the love and light of Christ. We could view worshiping together on Sunday as one of the dreams Jesus had (although, He is omniscient); His people joining and worshiping Him as our Lord and Savior and spreading the love that He taught us to have through His messages to other people. We could see our own input to Crop Walk as a dream that required the action behind it of us collecting sponsors and putting in the effort to walk to help end world hunger. This album encapsulates these same types of ideas of overcoming darkness with love and goodness by being the opposing light of what the darkness represents; whether it’s in relation to spirituality, ignorance, malice, etc.
“I been sowing them seeds in,
Good things I’ll be reaping”
There’s a song on this album that I particularly thought you would all enjoy called, ‘Hands’. From the flowy guitar and melodic piano to the percussive elements, all wrapped together with the uplifting lyrics; I felt this song, even while writing, was going to be worthy of a review! This song starts out with the chorus that is all about lifting praises up to God. A few Sundays ago, Pastor Drew was mentioning different ways of prayer; some people clasp their hands while others have more of a flathanded joining of their hands, some people close their eyes, and some even have their eyes open. This song embraces the method of prayer with hands being raised, as the chorus suggests, with the idea of lifting our hands is lifting our praises to God and letting Him bless the work we perpetuate to do with our hands.
“Let me pick you up ‘cause I don’t want to see you down,
Your presence picks me up, let me see you smile now”
The inspiration for this song comes from me personally feeling the need for God’s love and forgiveness and also feeling the goodness that God love has shown me. I’ve personally been through ups and downs, but God’s grace has shown me the way through. My dedication to my music career has come at a high cost, but sometimes that is what it takes for something you truly believe in and love. When we think of brilliant minds of people who made an impact with their art, words, and actions; whether that be the art of words like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream for a day where racial discrimination has ceased, or the art of music the way Bob Marley brought arenas of people together with his songs with lyrics of love and freedom, I’d like to be associated with great leaders who helped shape the world in a positive way as we know it through my art, too. This dream, too, requires work to achieve!
“May the Good Lord be with you!”
The Bible has a few times that it mentions the act of ‘sowing seeds’ which is mentioned in this song, but is also another song on the album. Jesus says that if we sow seeds of love and righteousness throughout our lives that they will blossom into a fruit bearing trees. The seeds of righteousness must also be planted in good soil for it to grow because as the parable is told, the seed sown on rocky ground was not well rooted, similar to the seed that was simply cast onto the ground or scattered in the rocks that was quickly eaten by birds or scorched by the sun! What Jesus was saying in this passage from the book of Matthew was that the Word of God must be well rooted in us for us to truly live out our life through Christ. We can go to our churches but if we fail to practice the lessons we are taught, our faith quickly withers in times of hardship. We can even proclaim the goodness of our Lord but failure to actually live this out in our private lives – when we think no one is looking – is the true testament of our faith which is a direct reflection of where our seed has been sown.
“I be praying for love, yeah
Let me see those hands high!”
I sure hope we were able to unearth and uplift some good energy by unpacking the lyrics in this song. We may have even learned some new ways of prayer and how to view God’s grace through some seemingly secular methods and ideas. I hope you all enjoy the new song and album! Most of all, I hope that when you’re feeling ‘that feeling’ that you lift your hands to the ceiling!
References:
“Matthew 13.” Oremus Bible Browser . Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Myers, Yeshuwa. “Yeshuwa Myers – ‘Hands.’” YouTube, 25 Sept. 2024 . Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.