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Theme • 30 songs

Joy

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If you take a good look at the incredible world that God has created it's kind of hard not to feel a rising sense of gratitude and joy. The world really is remarkable and filled with beauty - we only really have to take a moment to stop and notice it. This song came from one of those moments. I was walking the dog on a gloriously sunny day, blue skies, green grass, listening to a chord sequence James had sent me for a co-write, and my heart began to overflow with the beauty of the day. I began writing the chorus as I walked and the song grew from there. When I sing it I'm transported back to that beautiful day and am filled again with the delight of that moment and thankfulness to God for what is available to us, right on our doorsteps.
At our former church we would do a 'testimony conga' where we'd open up the chance for anyone to come up to the mic and share something that God had done in their lives that week. As people shared short testimonies of what God had been saying or doing, more and more would get up from their seats and join the back of the queue. When we share how God is impacting our lives, faith rises and we remember more and more stories of His goodness. I wanted to write a simple song that would embrace the joy of that moment and encourage us as a family of God to celebrate all the good things He was doing in our community, something that would break up the speaking part of the sharing and draw everyone else into the moment, so you could sing together, have a group of testimonies, celebrate by singing together, have some more... Your story is a part of my story, this is our testimony.
Jon Cairns, Joy Cairns
"Emmanuel" isn't just for Christmas. We often use this name for God when referring to Jesus being born as a man on Earth, hence why it's more commonly used in the run-up to Christmas. But God has always been with us, and will continue to be with us by His Spirit. My wife and I wrote this song as part of the 12 Song Challenge for 2024.
This song started with a challenge: 'write a song about rest'. I was just reading Psalm 34 that week: Taste. See. Pondering on what that might mean, I realised that to really taste or see, I needed to pause, to rest, so I could focus on what my senses noticed. I decided to write about this Psalm and working on it, I found out it ministered to me. The song kept coming back when facing a small surgery I was really afraid of. I listened to the song over and over again and also sang it to others. It is the opening song of my first album as I hope my songs will help others to taste and see that the Lord is good.