I bought my hubby a CD for Christmas. Yeah, I’m a big spender. It was actually a gift from Lydia to her Daddy. It’s a cd by Sara Groves called, Station Wagon: Songs for Parents. Do you know Sara Groves? I love her! She’s close to my age, has preschool kids and just writes personal candid songs. Anyway, this cd is all the songs she’s written to her kids. How sweet!
Well, it must have been a Very Sara Christmas because he also got Sara Groves’ new cd from his mom. (Actually, Les picked it out and his mom paid. Les’ parents don’t do that whole pick-out-a-present-just-for-you thing. They just give you money and you pick out your own present!) This new cd also came with a DVD, so while we were taking down our Christmas decorations we decided to watch it.
That’s when I discovered I have a new hero.
Sara Groves.
I’ve always liked her. How can you not like someone who writes a whole album about her children? Her songs faith-filled, emotional and creative. Her albums are the ones that always make you chill while encouraging and wow-ing you! Anyway, I’m not a music reviewer. Just check her songs out. She’s awesome.
The point of this rambly post is about Sara when she’s not behind the mic. The DVD had some clips from a documentary about her by Nomad.
The first clip was 8 days after Hurricane Katrina. Sara and her husband decided to collect diapers, wipes and formulas for the hurricane victims. (Isn’t that just like a mom of little kids?) Her pastor allowed her to announce it during church and the next day they stood in the parking lot with her tour bus and collected diapers. They got the first bay filled under the bus and were ecstatic that they had received that much! Soon, the 2nd bay was filled. And suddenly, a man drove up to donate his trailer and they filled it with supplies, too! When Sara saw the trailer she looked into the camera and said through tears and her voice breaking,
“Last night I wondered if this was a silly idea.”
See what God can do? We have a silly little idea and he makes it big!
While she was speaking to her church about Katrina, she quoted someone (she didn’t mention who) that made a profound comment about tragedies,
“When disasters happen, I cease to ask, ‘Where is God?’. And I’ve begun to ask, ‘Where are God’s people?’.”
That just speaks to me! I love the idea that Sara used what she had (a tour bus & the understanding of what mamas and their babies need) and God did something big with it.
This is how I want to be. I don’t have a tour bus. I don’t have a musician’s platform. But I have something. God’s put something in my hand, in my life, in my heart. And when I hear about needs and tragedies, I want to use whatever little thing I have in my hand. I want God to take it and make it big!
Am I rambling? I wish I could get everything I felt while watching that DVD into this post. I literally stopped putting Christmas ornaments away to sit on the couch and stare at the television with tears streaming down my face. The rest of the Nomad clips were about her trip to Rwanda. It began with a quote from Bono, “There’s nothing worse than a rock star with a cause…but celebrity is currency, and we want to spend it this way.” Sarah’s no Bono as far as finances and clout, but the point is the same—whatever God gives you, use it!
I just love being encouraged…no, not even encouraged, but challenged by others in the Body of Christ. I hope her story does the same for you. Here’s the music video from one of the songs from her new album. It’s inspired by her trip to Rwanda.
(I have to admit I usually skip over videos on blogs. Who really has 4 minutes to watch a music video? But, this is a good one if you have a sec.)
Adding to the beauty is for all of us: homemakers, businessmen, clergy, car dealers, bowling alley attendants… in the everydayness of the kingdom we are invited to be brilliantly beautiful, all of us moons with no light of our own, invited to shine. ~Sara Groves
oh I love that quote at the end! I totally know how you feel. I want to hear your ideas and join in so keep blogging about it!
The clip of the guy giving away the shirt off his back made me cry. That quote is beautiful.
Have a great weekend.
okay I had to link to this in my link love post today. Thanks for the challenge/encouragement.
I, too, love the quote. And want to tell you, A, that I know God speaks to me through you and your posts. You are so brilliant and write such amazing things, all because God is by your side, and that is just encouraging and inspirational to me. I am thankful for you, your small ideas (which are to me, BIG!) and your blogging 🙂
What a beautiful song. Who wants to move to Africa with me?
I have her old Conversations CD and I still love her music.
I went to college with Sara and though I didn’t know her extremely well, I can tell you that she’s just as genuine and compassionate as you can imagine.
And she has a heart for God that truly shows in her music.
Finally had a minute to watch (and listen to) the video. Very moving. Thanks for sharing it.
I love her! She has that one song that say “hold tight to Jesus, he’s holding tight to you” it’s like a lullaby or something. That song does me in! It gets me every time because it is exactly what I want to say to Nora. I also heard that she wrote some of her songs while potty training her kids.
The video is so hard to watch, especially when you have been there and seen those faces. There is not a day that I don’t wish I was back there just helping feed them or something. Kristen, I will move to Africa with you!
I’ve loved Sara Groves for a long time. Thanks for posting the video – watched it the end, and teared up on the line about her seeing her son’s face in a little boy. Gosh. Really good stuff, Amanda.
Ok… I’ll come back to the video when I’m a little more at liberty to boo hoo.
Keep blogging about your ideas! I always think of things I want to do to help, but I can usually talk myself out of it by telling myself that it’s silly.
I feel the same way! I’ve loved Sara for years and saw that same dvd. I teared up and I teared up when I saw that “I saw what I saw”. You can tell she has such a heart for people and she really stands out against the backdrop of Christian music that is a lot of the same, in my opinion.
Good to find someone else feels the same way about her that I do.
Oh and I forgot to add, Don’t you just love that song about He Looks Like Charles Bronson? Cracks me up!
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