Song Of The Week - May 1

Wow... May's already here! Time never seems to move slow enough... it's passing us by like crazy. We've got a lot of things to look forward to these last few months, just make sure to not forget the lessons of the past month as well. I've realized that the past few SOTWs have been what you can classify as... "emotional". But God's goodness and grace doesn't just make us mute with adoration and reverence, it can make us come alive like a raging fire, set our feet to dancing, and fill ourselves with absolute joy. So without further ado, I present to you the SOTW for May 1st...

Everywhere That I Go - Israel Houghton, The Power Of One

"Goodness and mercy will follow me/Surrounding me/Where I go/Everywhere that I go..."

You may, or may not, have heard of Israel Houghton, but the fact is, you all should :). I have not heard many Christian artists bring on the Gospel Funk better than this person right here, and with good reason. Israel Houghton has worked with, and has helped several different artists over the years, including his band, New Breed, and new up and coming artists such as Michael Gungor. He also was the man behind the creation of You Are Good... and if you can gather by that one song, his songs are energetic, lively and infinitely complex!

Everywhere That I Go is from Houghton's solo effort, The Power Of One, which released a few months ago if I'm not mistaken. The song, right from the beginning, is an upbeat, modern Gospel rocker. I am pointing this out because this very fact is awesome :P. But a little more seriously, not many people (teens) listen to Gospel music, or if they do, it certainly wouldn't be their first choice of music to listen to... I'd associate that to a stereotype that people have about Gospel Music. They may think that it's boring, or too traditional for their tastes... But that depends on where you're looking, because nowadays, that couldn't be further from the truth.

The song is an amazing reminder that God isn't just about heartfelt outpourings of emotion through intimate worship times, but He also is the bringer of joy, dancing and jubilation! I think it's very important to give Him praise with our hearts stilled and focused on Him, but I also think it's just as important to be able to celebrate His goodness with a grateful heart that can hardly contain the excitement that this truth brings. That is what I get from this song... every time I hear it, some part of me needs to groove to the beat, and open my heart to the truth of the message. I hope that you all will find a nice, solitary spot in which to listen to this, so you don't embarass yourself when you start grooving uncontrollably ;). Have a good one everybody.

Everywhere I Go - http://www.mediafire.com/?mzvnzmya1ma