Every now and then I have an experience with my children that takes me back to the days when my mom had a fabulous wardrobe of leotards and large, geometric earrings and drove a sweet, earth toned stay wag that was named after a dinosaur.
Yesterday morning on the way to the kids’ school, we were listening to the Passion: Awakening CD. “How He Loves” was playing when we pulled into the parking lot and I brought the car to a stop right when the song was getting really good. Some of you musical people know the name for that part of the song and are saying it to me like I can hear it through the computer screen. Anyway, y’all know which part I’m talking about.
It seemed like such a shame to turn off the car before we got to sing “And we are His portion and He is our prize! Drawn to redemption by the grace is in His eyes. If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us…” Jackson threw off his seat belt and climbed in the front seat and we sang it together with all our guts.
I remembered being only yay big and in the back of that station wagon, sitting behind my mama’s big 80’s hair and belting out some Amy Grant and Larnell Harris. Nothing in life was so urgent that we couldn’t finish “Angels Watching Over Me” before we got out of the car.
*****
This old church directory photo from FBC Victoria, Texas, came into my life this week. There is no end to how much joy it’s given me. When I look at it I feel loved.
GREAT hair!!
Ahh I love it!. I recall living in PA driving in our yellow station wagon singing “This is the Day the Lord has made.” I recall a certain moment in the winter when all the perfect white snow was resting on the tree limbs, thinking to myself how much God loves me. It was such a peaceful time in my heart.
Now I sing with my 10 year old daughter. She has a sweet voice. She loves Toby Mac. haha
Thanks for the memory recall. WE MISS YOU AMANDA!
Shannon
Kissimmee, FL
What is the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”_how marvelous, how wonderful!
Beautiful family and treasure all those precious memories.
We love all the Casting Crown songs, and some Amy Grant, Twila Paris, Micheal W. Smith, etc.
My boys listen to Christian videos Psalty songs, Steve Green, Praise and worship. Even Barney_I love you, You love me _ We are one happy family.
So funny, how time flies.
Oh I so love this…the picture and the word picture! Grace (10) and I do the very same thing! This morning it was Downhere’s “Bleed for This Love”. It’s so great to have her so in love with Christian music. ;o)
Amanda,
My eight year old daughter loves to sing with me in the car. She knows more hymns than many adults, but her FAVORITE song for several months has been Amy Grant’s
“Better Than a Hallelujah”. When it comes on the radio, she begs me to turn it up, and she just belts it out with all her heart. It brings a lump to my throat and tears in my eyes. Nothing sweeter than singing with my beautiful daughter about Jesus!
I loved this post, there is nothing sweeter than singing worship songs with our babies and rocking out Jesus-style in our mom-mobiles!! Do you ever wonder what our kids are going to make fun of when they are older? Mom jeans? My brief experiment with smokey eyes? Please tell me they won’t knock the highlights!! 😉
I loved the beautiful picture of the fam. Made me think of my beautiful mom and her big, blonde eighties hair!
Much love!
Oh Amanda, so sweet to hear from you! Beth and Keith look like kids don’t they? Well, they grew up to be fine looking adults didn’t they? Precious.
Yep, we sit in the car with the music cranked up too, when something pretty powerful is playing. Ya hafta!
(And….we started the new David-Seeking a Heart Like His this week. HAD to show the ladies, Beth circa 1996 in the hairbrush story. We “may” have laughed a little at the “do”!)
We totally do this too! In fact there are lots of moments singing in the car that I’m so glad I’ve passed this on to my girls. Thank you for sharing your sweet story & that photo is great!
My daughter and I love to sing in the car. Lately it is Toby Mac CD’s wide open while we are waiting for the bus in the mornings. When she sees the school bus coming, she rolls down the passenger side window so that she can hear her music till she is on the bus. What a wonderful sound to hear her singing “I don’t wanna gain the whole world and lose my soul” on her way to the bus. She loves music as much as me. And yes she knows all the words to “Angels” by Amy Grant – because I slip the old school music in every once in a while.
Amanda… Your mom even had “Good” hair back then!!! I love it!!! Thank you for sharing it with us. It made me smile. :o)
I can remember putting in the “cassette” of Carman singing The Champion when my daughters were little! We loved that song.
David Crowder and his band are just the greatest blessing. I can’t imagine what it was like to have Kari Jobe at Bible study this week! And our Travis is just the BEST praise and worship leader. I have had God minister to me so much through music. I love to sing along to the instrumental version of Kari’s Revelation song. All alone, I worship Him.
Amanda, keep singing with those little ones. Enjoy every opportunity. Has Jackson heard The Champion?
Thanks for sharing… this post brought warmth to my heart! Great picture, too! I still have some of those geometric (80’s era) earings your talking about… too funny!
Precious!
When we were driving my eldest (then 8 or 9 years old) to school, we’d often sing “This is the day, This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” One day we weren’t singing when my youngest (about 3 or 4) said from the backseat, “Let’s sing the joyce song.” After a few minutes I realized what song he wanted! We did rejoice then! Still makes me smile!
LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing and it’s good to “hear” you on the blog…you have been missed girlie:o)
love……….. 🙂 i find my daughter singing “God is so Good” every now and then. Music is a huge part of her life and she is especially a music diva in the car….demanding all her favs!!
she is a HUGE fan of kari jobe too!! she knows all the words.
Amanda… That part is called the “bridge” of the song… 🙂 Love singing in the car at the top of my lungs!!! 😀
Great post! 🙂
My son sleeps with his IPod on with worship music blaring…there is no end to the joy it brings me to walk in and hear David Crowder or Chris Tomlin singing praise music over him as he sleeps. What a precious heritage you are passing onto those precious kiddos of yours. And Oh.My.Word can I just say that the first thing that popped into my head when I saw that classic family pic – your dad could totally have pulled it off as one of the Osmond brothers (totally dating myself there I am sure). Great to “hear” you on the blog! Your voice is missed as you answer your God calling to your family…
Amanda,
I didn’t think I could love anything more than that song…but I think I found something…that picture! Pictures are really worth a thousand words. Your post brings back so many memories of times with my children singing Amy Grant and Larnelle too. Thank you for reminding me of precious memories and of the truth for today of how He loves me!
Oh, I got so excited as I was reading your post, because I knew exactly what song you were talking about and EXACTLY what part you were about to “sing”. I have been carrying that same cd around with me for weeks now – from car to work to car to home and back through the cycle again. I simply can’t be without it. Oh how He loves us so….
Amanda I am so glad you shared this!! Makes me remember my daughter who is about your age. I remember when she was about 3-I am belting out They Could Not with Sandi Patty and my precious little girl asks, “Mama, what could they not do?” Such an opportunity to bring the gospel to a pre-schooler through a song. Sweet sweet memories! But I have to say your mama’s hair brings back memories of a different nature! Priceless picture!
Sweet memories 🙂 LOVE IT!!!!!!
I love your story. This was my seven-year-old son and I about two weeks ago at church. We had to sit in the car to finish listening to Starry Night by Chris August. Then we walk in to church and they are singing the exact song!!
amanda, this made my day!!!
a) b/c we love hearing from you
b) b/c i love that song too
c) b/c i lovedlovedloved those moments w/ my own kids
d) b/c beth’s hair was as big as mine back then
so glad you shared!! keep basking in those moments.
Thanks for sharing your story and photo. Reminds me of all the times I used to sing and dance with my daughters to Christian music and now my much younger son who loves to listen to the modern Christian worship music in the car and on the radio at bedtime. I love that David Crowder song you mentioned and I can’t help but sing at the top of my lungs to “Jesus Saves” which i think is by Jeremy Camp (especially the part where it goes “sing it out, shout, til the whole world knows His name, Jesus Saves”).
Being in your Mom’s generation I like to hear your perspective. My own four daughters talk about singing in the car too. Did you also have Nathaniel the Grublet? Psalty and the gang? Gaither Band? And for long trips we listened to Adventures in Odyssey. I can’t wait til my grandkids are just a wee bit older and we can do some of it all over again!
My mom saw the picture and agrees she sported
the same hairstyle:)
And GIRL that is my drive down through stone island
next to the lake song! And it was AMAZING when we
all sang it in Bham, and the screen didn’t have the lyrics
up for a good part of it…I forgot my hands were up
In the air…ooh, how He LOVES!!!
I remember most about car trips with mom,
was how many times we would get lost, because she always
wanted to find her own way.
I remember with dad driving down the highway in
his silver Capris with all the windows down
singing along with him to Aerosmith 🙂
My childhood memories may seem so simple,
but I treasure stuff like that always.
Driving aimlessly now is one of my favorite things
to do. A particular song on repeat depending on
the mood, and sometimes I drive to the beach,
and sometimes I drive to the bookstore..
lately it’s been walking around the springs admiring His
creation and taking pictures…
Sweet special moments:)
xoxo
Ang
My kids and I have a favorite song by Michael W. Smith called Come to the Cross. EVERY single time we get in the car my oldest 8, to my youngest , 3, ask for the cross song. We sing it to the top of our lungs and nothing is too important to interrupt that song….especially when my daughter has her hads raised in the back with her eyes closed, belting it out:)
Oh and song choice with mom…
Usually Carole King, Fleetwood Mac and
The Judds:)
Oh my goodness…your mom was movie star GORGEOUS!!! She still is so so beautiful!! Your dad was so handsome, too, and how cute were you?!! Just adorable!! So much fun!! Thanks for sharing. Happy weekend! 🙂
I love the photo! Thank you so much for posting! I have no children but I can relate to singing in the car with my own mother. I am almost 30 and we praise in the car together like no one’s business! There is no one else in this world I have more fun singing and praising with than her. =)
My four-year-old’s favorite song in the car right now is, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” She doesn’t need the music to sing her heart out. And, I love when we have to keep singing a song, even after the car is turned off. Oh, the joy of singing with our children to the Lord. We have spend uncountable Sundays singing along with Travis Cottrell to, “We clap our hands in the sanctuary.” About the “Hallelujah” verse we are pulling into the parking lot (short drive, we have to stay in the car to finish the song). We have the song cranked up enough that I am sure every person we pass can hear the music. The four of us (me and the 3 kids – dad is a pastor so is already there) have a ball. I am so grateful that we delight in praise together.
there is a special place in my heart for the church directory pictures from my youth. 😉 I LOVE this picture. Thank you for a peek into your treasured past.
🙂 that is awesome <3
Aw….how sweet is that story…
We have a almost 4 year old. And listen to Passion Awakening too. But our guy loves “Our God”. If he wants to listen to it, he will tell us. Nothing like hearing those little ones sing with all their hearts. I told our sr pastor one day, and said the way we as parents must feel when our children worship, must be the same way our Heavenly Father feels when we worship with our hearts.
Love IT!!!!
Amanda, I am so happy you posted that picture because I had a whole other idea of what your mom was going to look like from your description! lol. What a great visual you painted. The actual picture is so beautiful. I see why you cherish it. What a wonderful memory.
I was just thinking again….my boys are in their teens and have been getting used to me drawing (us) closer and closer to God over the years. It’s been a journey for me. I listen to Christian music in the car part of the time. I do think it’s about time I get some “belting out” music so they know for sure their mom is a little nuts! : )
Thank you for sharing! I loved the picture. Sweet memories. . . . . God is good!
Oh Amanda, how precious…:)
Thanks sooo much for sharing. I am going to be sending my oldest off to college next year…memories like those are bitter sweet right now. They grow up so fast.
Loved this story. It was my story too as a child. Singing in the car was an always. We would travel from Florida to Alabama to see my grandparents and sing the entire way. I have gotten to Alabama hoarse. My children can also say it was their lives too. Music has always been an important part of our lives and even now…my sweet husband will sit in parking lots….so I can belt out the last line or two of a song on my XM. What great memories…what great times.
Love this Amanda!!! My girls are at this same age, my 4 year old Sophie belts out “you are good” all the time. I think she even throws a little hip action in there too. 🙂 Love me some classic Larnell Harris, takes me back, Steve Green, Sandi Patti…good times! So good to hear from you!!
I love that song as well. My girls love to sing and we say “Let’s sing some Jesus songs” and off we go. From Mandisa’s “Only the World” ” Stand” (Hillsong) “Better than a Hallelujah” to the latest favs by Gungor “Beautiful Things” and “Holy” we raise our hands play air instruments ( if you know the songs you know you can’t help but do that). Nothing beats the words “Mommy play it again”. You bet.
Oh and I sooo loved “Angels watching over me” and Larnell Harris. Still some of my favs! Your pic reminds me of going to my church in the basement to take family photos to raise money. Thanks for reminding me again those moments are to seized no matter the age.
LOVE IT! 🙂
I know exactly what you mean. There are MANY times I just sit in the car singing til the song is finished! We love the LPL CD The Lamb is Over Come, my grandkids & I raise our hand in the car in place of the sanctuary! Love it.
I saw this picture on Twitter and loved it. Brought back such memories. I believe we have a pic or two that look very similar! It is adorable.
Thanks for sharing.
Lawan
Phil 4:8
Oh my goodness! Thank you for sharing that photo. Such fun!
Amanda, has your mom called you to say you have been disowned or did she call to laugh her head off with you. I can just picutre my own children sharing those wonderful photos of years gone by when fashion was..well..different. I too went through the eighty’s, all be it, I was in high school. Good days!!! This is just hilarious. Sorry, Beth, but if it makes you feel any better I had a mullet and braces.
I am trying to get my youngest son, who is turning 12 and actually can sing a note, to be free and sing like there is no tomorrow. It’s not for the lack of trying.
I certainly agree. You can NOT turn off the radio on the really good part of a song! Thanks for sharing.
Love, love, love it! Thanks, Amanda… that song you talked about brings me such peace and safety when I hear it… and I’m just like you about that “one” part… when it starts my heart is beating violently inside of my chest! I love the pic. =)
Vicky, Overland Park Ks, What a memory review. When my son was small his favorite was Ricky VanSheltons cassette tape of Don’t Overlook Salvation…could we ever belt those songs out 🙂
I so can relate to taking the time to finish “the song”. Not every song pulls me this way, but whatever “the song” is at the moment…you just got to give it the time. =)
And the photo is priceless….on my laptop when I scrolled down the post and came to the photo posted, on the right side of my screen was Amanda holding her precious babe. It just moved me to see her as little girl with her beautiful mommy on the one side of my screen and then her holding her own baby on the other.
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined, what God has
prepared for those who love him”—
1 COR 2:9 (ESV)
Have a wonderful day everyone; God is so good!
-kd