The Lyric and The Light
A weekly space where faith and music meet. Each episode, we will take one song- from timeless hymns to modern worship- and pair it with the living truth of Scripture.
The Lyric and The Light
Two Friends Explore Faith, Music, And What It Means To Walk With Jesus
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Start here if you want faith that breathes. We open our first episode with a simple prayer and an honest promise: no perfect formulas, no performative faith. Just two women who love Jesus, love worship music, and love the kind of community that shows up in public parks, nursing homes, and Uber rides with a quiet yes.
We introduce our ministries and why unity across churches matters, especially when life feels noisy. From Phil Wickham’s homesick hope to the bright lift of Kane and the steady joy of Maverick City, we talk about how worship songs don’t just sound good—they train our hearts. You’ll hear a raw testimony of deliverance at 3:30 a.m., how removing temptation made room for peace, and why some chains fall fast while others loosen over time. This isn’t theory; it’s the real work of following Jesus when you’re tired, tempted, or just unsure.
Make Room becomes our anchor. We dig into its surrender, the line that rattles comfortable religion, and the gritty choice to let God rearrange our routines. Calling shows up as seasons, not a single spotlight: a street-preacher moment in a car, a park filled with voices, a hallway of handshakes on Sunday morning. We wrestle with walking beside Jesus versus letting him lead, the pull between zeal and burnout, and what service looks like beyond our comfort zones.
If you’re craving relationship over ritual, music that points you home, and a faith you can live in the middle of a messy world, you’re in the right place. Press play, share it with a friend who needs hope, and subscribe so you don’t miss what comes next. And if this encouraged you, leave a rating and a review—tell us which lyric God used to reach you today.
Welcome, Prayer, And Honest Beginnings
SPEAKER_00Hello and welcome to the Lyric in the Light. I'm Lena. And I'm Dionne. And we wanted to welcome you to episode number one. Sorry, we're already starting this out on a great note with the giggles. But before we get started, I want to thank you guys for tuning in. But I also want to lead us in prayer. And I'm just going to warn you ahead of time that praying out loud is not my strength. This is something that I feel a little bit embarrassed about doing, but I think authenticity matters. And Deanna and I had a great conversation about that this morning. Sorry, for inside joke. We had a great conversation about that this morning, that we're not going to be your picture perfect Christian podcast. We're not going to say all the right things. We are not going to be a walking bumper sticker. We are not going to, you know, be this pious, perfect, whatever embodiment of Christianity that you guys want us to be, the poster children for Christian leaders. We're not, we're just regular women who love the Lord, who love worship music, and who love each other. Yes. And we want to share that with you guys. So please join us in a really quick prayer and give me grace as I struggle through this until I get more comfortable praying in front of you guys. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for bringing my friend Dion to my to ask me if I wanted to take part in this podcast. Thank you for the people who are listening. Please guide our conversation to be a blessing to those who tuned in. And also, God, soften their hearts to give us grace for them times when our sound is not working right, or we talk over each other or make a joke that doesn't land or say yes, mm, uh-huh, a little too much because we're still figuring this out. So God, just be with us. Holy Spirit, guide our conversation. We love you so much, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen. You know, we did we did go through that. Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01Oh, listening through the the first the first couple times we tried this. There was a lot of, mmm. Yes. It was it was odd.
SPEAKER_00It was odd. It was cringy. It was. It was weird. Anyways. And it was funny also. So we've had some a lot of fun. We playing with uh the sound on this. So anyway, I appreciate you guys. So since you guys don't know both of us,
Who We Are And Why We’re Here
SPEAKER_00I'm Lena. I am the founder of a worship ministry called Light the Way. We bring together Christians of different denominations from different churches and we put on worship nights in downtown parks to try to promote unity within the body of Christ while also sharing Jesus and the gospel through music. And then we invite nonprofit organizations and local churches to come and set up a free booth so that people can find resources that they might need. Because I figured that some people are probably not going to church because they're struggling with homelessness, hunger, addiction, mental health, whatever, fill in your problem here. But there are so many great resources out there for people who are in need. And so we invite them to come set up a free booth to provide those resources. Um, this year we're tackling conferences, which I'm sure as the podcast goes on, we'll share more about. But I'm just really excited to be here. Thankfully, Dion asked me. And before she tells you who she is, I'm just gonna introduce her. This is Dion Robinson, and she is the founder of the Pious Prodigal Ministry. And why don't you tell the people a little bit about what that is?
SPEAKER_01Um, the Pious and Prodigal I came up with it's I'm I'm not sure, like it it's so it's based on Luke 15, 11 of the prodigal son returning, and I give people a key, a skeleton key, basically, with that scripture attached to it, really just to encourage them that if they have fallen away from Christ or need to you know come to Christ, that no matter where you are in life or what's going on or what you've done or who you are, it's that it doesn't matter. God does not care and he will meet you right where you're at. And I just give that out as encouragement, really.
SPEAKER_00I think it's awesome. I have a prodigal key from you hanging on the knob of my bed right by me. So it sleeps right back.
SPEAKER_01I see some people wearing it. I see some people hang it in their car, or so whatever. It's a great reminder either way. I hope so.
SPEAKER_00That's why I did it. Good job. Well done, good and faithful servant, right? So, well, just give us a little bit of a warm-up question so people can kind of get to know us. I'm just gonna shoot fire some questions at you. So, what since you started the lyric and the light, what is the
Worship Nights, Unity, And Community Outreach
SPEAKER_00most you worship song of all time and why? I guess that would change because you're like me where we have different songs. What song is like on your heart right now that's just like, and why do you think that is?
SPEAKER_01Right now, I probably have playing on repeat Homesick for Heaven by Phil Woodcombe. I love him. It just it's such a the song is a beautiful picture to me of of heaven. I want to walk with Moses on streets of gold and dance with David before your throne. You know, I want to see my children run to your arms. Just all the things that he just paints a beautiful picture of heaven in that song. And anytime I feel low and play that song, you you have to feel happy and joyful and excited. For for me, I'm excited to go home.
SPEAKER_00You know, really especially right now with the the temperature of the world right now and how how all over the place everything is. And we're definitely not gonna get into politics that is not this podcast. You get enough of that, you get enough of that on the news and in social media. So we are definitely not gonna be discussing politics here, but just with the temperature of the of the world, not the country, but the world. And and as it's the days get closer to Jesus coming home, I think we are all, all of his followers feeling a little homesick for heaven, even people who don't know Jesus yet, you know, they're always fine trying to find something, trying to search for something where they can't quite put their finger on it. So they're searching for it in relationships or in money or in things that are just because they have this hole in them that they can't fill because they haven't figured out that what they're looking for is God and they're looking to go home. So I think that's a perfect song. So what song can instantly change your mood? And this could be, I mean, well, we're talking about worship music, so we'll stay with worship music for this.
SPEAKER_01Again, though, there's I mean, my playlist is so you know, versatile. And I'm talking just my praise of worship list is so versatile, and it really if you're talking about putting me in a joyful mood. A joyful mood, then let's go with Jesus music by Kane. I just ugh that song. I love it.
SPEAKER_00I don't think I know that song.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, it's so good. You have to listen to it. I will have to listen to it. Jesus Music by Kane. It's a very free-spirited, almost hippie something sound to it. Just Jesus love, you know, it's ugh, I love it. Yeah, you've got to listen to it. It's so good. Yeah. I mean, there's there's so many, but that was right now. It's in like top of my playlist right now.
SPEAKER_00I think bless me, Maverick City music, just because I happened to see it the other day, and it was something that was living on my TV for a while because when I had my in-home daycare, I had my babies loved it. It's such an easy song, and it's very like clappy and jumpy and whatever. So it just happened to show up in like a TikTok reel or something the other day. And I was like, I forgot about this one. Like, bless me, bless me, bless me, Gody. Oh, I know that. Okay, perfect. We're gonna have to trade songs. See, this is what's just great about this podcast because we're Christian music just as a whole is such a like a huge spectrum, and I'm newer into faith. Dion, you've been walking with the Lord for how long?
SPEAKER_01About 22 years.
SPEAKER_00About 22. I am about six years, give or take. About six years. I've been going to church for like 10 years, but I really haven't been like walk-walking with him for like six, about six years. We started going to church pretty faithfully. And then with Light the Way, that it's uh three years this month that all that started, which is crazy, crazy. It's three years because it was during the Asbury revival. So it was three years ago this month that the Asbury revival happened, and that's when God gave me the vision of that I would be doing Light the Way. And when that happened, that was when like I got a fast pass into Christianity and it has been a heck of a ride ever since. But I am still still learning. I don't, there's a lot of songs that are Christian that have been out for a long time that I had never heard before.
SPEAKER_01So I don't care how long you've been walking with Christ, though. It again, there's seasons to that too. So I can say I've been walking with Christ for 22 years, but faithfully walking with him like the past year and a half. Really. I mean, you can say you're walking with Christ, but not be following him.
SPEAKER_00What do you think that that even means to walk with Christ?
SPEAKER_01I think again, I think there's different ways to look at that. Like I look at my kids right now
The Prodigal Key And Hope After Wandering
SPEAKER_01attempting to walk with Christ, but they're very young in that nature. You know, they you know, I have one that I call my fence rider. And for people who don't know what that means, it's she's riding the fence. She wants a little bit of the world and but wants to know God, you know. And probably all are of my kids are sit there though, not sure, you know, and so but would I say they're not walking with him? No, I think they're they're trying to, but then you get someone like me who's a little more advanced in that walk and I'm clinging to him, you know. I I look at him in every decision I make in everything, you know, where maybe if you took me back 10-15 years, I could say I was walking with Price, but I was not following him, you know.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, letting him like lead your life. Yes. It's funny because I think of walking with him as in like you are actively like when I'm walking with somebody, I'm walking right beside them, I'm carrying on conversation with them, I'm in relationship with them. Whereas when I'm following somebody, they're walking ahead of me and I'm allowing them to basically lead me wherever I'm going. But there's separation there. So that's just kind of like the visual that I get. But when I think like I was curious about God was my fence riding, but I wasn't ready to like completely be walking with him or following him anywhere because there's control that I wasn't ready to relinquish. For sure. Yeah. I wanted to, I still wanted to smoke weed. I still wanted to, you know, live my way and share the dirty jokes and dress a certain way. And, you know, I didn't want to, I didn't want to relinquish that. I don't know what I thought I was missing, what if in giving that up, like what I thought was going to be feeling like it was missing from my life, letting that go. And I can't tell it because you think you think of it as a as a restraint when really it's a chain broken instead. So it's like the opposite. I feel more free now than I ever felt before because when I was smoking weed pretty regularly, it was it had control over me. Like I had to smoke before I, you know, got anything done for the day. I had to smoke before I would go eat something. I had to smoke before I watched the movie because it wouldn't be as funny without it. I had to smoke before I took care of my kid because if she was having a rough day, I needed to be able to deal with her. Um, and now I even see that, and I'm not trying to call my husband out on anything, but my husband smoked cigarettes and I gave it up, you know, back in 2021. But I was probably the same way, but I was more of a social smoker. He's like a a smoker by addiction. And, you know, when he gets out of the car, he lights up a cigarette. When he gets done eating, he lights up a cigarette. And it's, I mean, even if he just got out of the car five minutes ago at the when we're garage sailing or something, he lights up a cigarette. And it almost has like like he can't do anything without it. It's a crutch and it's a chain that has to be broken. I knew a lady, she couldn't get out of bed without having a shot. She used to have a bottle of jack next to her bed and she couldn't even get out of bed if she didn't have a shot. And that's that is your shackled in that situation. So as much as people want to see the Jesus as an another shackle, I don't feel shackled at all. I actually feel free of all of my shackles that I was wearing before.
SPEAKER_01So now because what it's making me think though, when you say walking with him, and that you felt those chains break. I will fully admit that I just sat here and said, I've been walking with him faithfully for the past maybe year and a half. Like I still have chains. For sure. I know I do. You know, there's things that I have not definitely have not faced. Like I don't I wouldn't say that I'm not walking with him. I I am. I mean, I just said to you a second ago that I cleaned to him now. But I look at him as my father in heaven, no different than my father on earth here. You know what I'm trying to say, like he
Songs That Lift Us: Heaven, Joy, And Playlists
SPEAKER_01knows my struggles. He knows those chains that I still need to break.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But I don't feel like I have any less of a relationship with him. I feel like I'm closer to him than ever right now. Even within the struggles I still have.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So now with you saying that, I'm picturing somebody walking next to somebody who's got chains attached to them and weights on their feet. And so you have to almost cling to them because carrying those chains and those weights around with you trying to keep up with Jesus, you're weighted down. And he almost has to he has to help pull you and keep you going. Otherwise, you know, you could stumble because you're carrying all this extra burden and weight on you. But if you let those chains go and you are free to walk without that weight on you, that you just be able to walk with him in complete freedom. And you could even run with him instead of just walking.
SPEAKER_01That's a perfect analogy because as you're saying it as you're saying it, I could feel it, you know, like I I see him there just ahead of me pulling me, you know. And it's not for lack of wanting to follow him that closely. But it's daily almost you know, somebody said the other day, daily dying, you know, to him and leaving the worldly things. And I always think that I'm there, but then oh, there's that one thing though, you know, that I still am doing, you know.
SPEAKER_00And I think that's gonna be the case until the end, isn't it? Because we can't, we're never never, none of us are ever gonna reach perfection, a level of perfection, but maybe some chains aren't quite as heavy as others. Yeah. You know, like my cussing, that has been that's a chain. That's I and it's but it's a lighter chain because it's something I feel like I don't have to carry all the time, and that I really could just set it down if I wanted to, but also depending on who I'm around, it that like the the chain compiles, whereas you know, when I get around my friends that are following the Lord, like it's not as prevalent, but it doesn't mean it doesn't slip out, you know, because I'm so used to carrying that chain. Right.
SPEAKER_01And we had a conversation the other day about bringing God more into all our conversations with all our friends, with all of our family, no matter if they're following Christ or not. And that was something that is important to me. And I'm just thinking of you with the language because I have the same issues, and I know getting around certain people, that F bomb just goes. And but being around fellow Christ, like I would never, never in like church be like, you know, yeah, anything like that. So why would I allow it around certain people or friends? You know what I mean? It's it doesn't it doesn't add anything to the conversation, you know, let's put it that way.
SPEAKER_00It's a natural, I mean, when you but we've been just doing it for a long time and the world has us kind of conditioned to think that that's just completely normal way to speak. Yeah, it's because it's everywhere, even now, it's on television, it's on commercials where even it used to be censored and now it's not. And some people, again, will see that as a form of control, but it's that that we feel controlled because you can't you can't curse. And it's like it's more of a respect thing. And I think that there's probably much more educated uh ways to say some of the things that we're saying. It's really a complete lack of creativity.
SPEAKER_01They say people that curse though are highly intelligent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we are. I was just I don't know, because I don't feel very intelligent when I listen to myself using curse words. I mean, I go, you know, gone back and watched like old videos of me with friends and stuff before I was walking with the Lord and the way that I talked and the way that I carried myself, I didn't seem very intelligent to me.
SPEAKER_01Even when I hear people talking like that, I think, wow, that is so gross. Yeah, you know, like that's what I sound like doing that. But isn't that like with anything, seeing someone who smokes or you smell it, or you know, I used to smoke too. And in case you can't tell by my voice, um sultry. Yeah, yeah, no, it's not from cigarette smoking. It's I've been talking this way since I was two. No. Wow. We were talking about that, about my aggressive voice. Yeah, I don't know. I never mean to sound aggressive, it's just yeah. Anyways, passion. Yeah, I don't even remember what we where I was going with all that, but well, we were talking about cursing, but we can we can we can jump jump on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay. So, so what is let okay, are you a morning person or a night owl? This is just an easy one. Neither.
SPEAKER_01Neither. I'm a midday girl.
SPEAKER_00You don't run into many of those. Give me noon one o'clock.
SPEAKER_01That's that's good for me. It's weird because I hate getting up early. I'd rather sleep till 10 and I'm good to go to bed by seven. So, but I think uh it's my personality too. You just don't want me early in the morning. Don't want me late at night. Try to agree. Like, you know, some people probably don't want me at all, but yeah. They're wrong. No, I'm just I'm not a morning person. You could ask my husband that for sure. And then I just we like to be I said we literally are, you know, like the 70, 80 year old couple. We like to go to dinner at four and be home by five, you know, and invite by seven. So yeah, we don't lead a very exciting life or anything. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00I am the 4 a.m.
What Walking With Jesus Really Looks Like
SPEAKER_00Yes girl. You are. I I don't I don't like so irritating. I don't like sleeping in. I didn't used to be. I mean, even with just being with my husband, he knows, but he gets up at 3:30, 4 o'clock in the morning for work because he used to be on the road all the time. So then naturally he was waking up at that time. And then when I had my daycare, I had parents wanting to drop their kids off, you know, at seven o'clock in the morning, which meant that my house had to be cleaned before that. And I and I just wanted some time before my house was filled with babies that needed me all day long to just kind of sit and like let my brain wake up for a little while beforehand. And then now that I'm I don't do that anymore, it and even before that, like it really started becoming my quiet time with God. I realized he was waking me up at like 3 30 anyway. And I and then once I saw after he came to me at 3 30 in the morning to tell me that I needed to quit smoking weed, which was just a crazy experience. So, real quick, I was getting ready to open my daycare and I was sitting there just contemplating smoking because I knew I had, you know, four hours or whatever before any kids would be here, or three and a half hours. So whatever I smoked would be gone by then. But I wanted to, I just wanted to like get into. That headspace because, like I said, I couldn't do anything without it. And I was getting ready to have a house full of kids and like it was going heading into the crazy. So I had to start my day a certain way. And then I was going to clean. Anyway, I'm sitting on my couch and I just hear this voice. And this was probably the only time I recognized the voice as God, because he'd used this voice one other time when he told me to move to Indiana. That's a story for another time. But he said, How would you feel if every time Aria, who's my daughter, by the way, she's seven, if the every time Aria wanted to feel joy, wanted to feel, or was sad, or was upset or wanted to feel happy or laugh or whatever that she had to use drugs. And out loud in the dark to myself, I said, devastated. And he said, How do you think I feel? You've never even tried me. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You've never even asked. And I was like, fine. Okay. Go for it. You're give your best shot. And almost like a light switch, the minute I've said, okay, it was like every urge I ever had to smoke weed went away. And I called a friend of mine and said, come take. I had just gone and bought weed and I had paraphernalia on my house. And she came and she took it out of the house because I just didn't trust myself not to raccoon through the garbage and go get it. And because I was gross. And like I just, I just didn't try. I mean, people who know, you know, people use drugs, like they know they did, they don't care that it was in the garbage, you know. So I I didn't trust myself for it to be in the house and or in the garbage. And so she came and took it away. But I don't think she even needed to do that because I've gone to Chicago, I've gone to Michigan, I've gone to where it's legal now since then. It's been around, not like people I was with, but I could smell it. Like there was a dispensary like not too far from where I was, just watching a show the other day in Chicago. And I could easily have gone to get it if I wanted to, but I have absolutely no desire. And that was the first time I ever experienced deliverance, which was wild. But that was the first time I heard him. And then the second time was a month later when he told me, you know, I would be doing a worship night in the park. And that's when Light the Way started. And so I realized that that was the time of the day that he liked to talk to me. And so I'm gonna get up that time of the day and spend time with him. And it's been awesome. I have time to like do a Bible study. I'm reading the Bible every day. And it's just nice, quiet time to be with him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I do I do, I do do, I do do that. I do do. I do do that also in the mornings, you know that I I do that. So I do spend time with him. That's not excuse me. That's not a problem I'm having in spending time with him. It's but I definitely am, you know, okay, so you know, over a year ago I gave full surrender of my life to him. And that that's part of what I'm saying when I say we say we walk with Christ. I have been walking with him. But last January, over a year ago, I gave full surrender of my life to him, my finances, my marriage, my health. I was going through so many things. And you know, my husband thought I was having a nervous breakdown, and I was like, no, this is God taking over. Like I just I didn't have any more like fight, not with my health, not with my marriage. Not that like our marriage was falling apart or anything, but there were definitely some issues, and my health was you know bad, and I was mentally not stable, and you know, so yeah. Anyways, that's again, it's another episode, but going back to spending time with him and walking with him, I do feel closer to him now than ever. But there's always a butt for me, you know, and that's what bothers me is I always have a butt for him. So I've I've walked this past year and a half with him, and now I've reached a point of butt and I don't know what to do with that, you know. So I don't want to get too heavy in the first episode, yeah. Just because I mean you know, we're just like getting to know each other, not me and Lena.
SPEAKER_00Thankfully, we've had a I've had a nice uh crash course in Dion over the last oh gosh, I don't even know. It hasn't been that long though.
SPEAKER_01I didn't know you say that, but like you keep saying that, and like but now we've been friends for a while. Has it been like a year even? I feel it's like a relationship you fall into, you know. Sometimes it's like, well, we've only been together like four months, but we love each other. You know what I mean? Like that's how I felt about hello. That's how I felt about you instantly, though. You know, it was like, let's just say it was like an instant friendship. We didn't have any awkward time trying to get to know each other. We just it just sort of was natural. It's very natural, very natural, all natural.
SPEAKER_00Very she regrets every minute of it now.
SPEAKER_01Very, I think we're so much alike actually, but then there's so many ways that we're not, and so
Chains, Habits, And Real Freedom
SPEAKER_01I think that that's that's the good thing, though, is that it's a nice compliment. It we do, we compliment each other, and I think we also lift each other in different ways, and you should hope for that in any friendship. Absolutely, but what I've definitely found with you is that you always like to say that you're a newer Christian or whatever, and I often find you more scripturally sound than people I know that have been walking with Christ so for a long time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I have the benefit of not being complacent in my faith yet. Yeah, and I say yep because it seems like it kind of like everybody kind of gets to that point and ebb and flow, definitely. I haven't I haven't reached, I don't know which part's the better one, the ebb or the flow, but I am, and more so every day because he just keeps giving me more and more to do and introducing me to more and more people that are giving me opportunities, even you know, like this one to sit and really be reflective about worship music and about the lyrics and about you know what it what they all mean and what inspires them and what motivates people to worship. And worship has become such a big part of my life thanks to, you know, being in charge of this ministry, that I think I really haven't had a chance for it to get to, I don't know if it's the ebb or the flow, but it's the whatever the slowdown is. But I find that it it separates me from people sometimes, especially people in my inner circle. Some of my friends have pulled back. I've even had one of my closest friends tell me to stop talking to them about Jesus and that if every conversation is going to go there, that they're not interested in continuing on being friends with me because they are not really walking with the Lord or they, and nor are they interested in that, even though they tried, they gave it what they considered their best effort. And then even my husband, he is not interested in doing Bible studies with me. He has very, he has a very his own way of being with the Lord, and he thinks like what I do is kind of almost an overkill of it, where in my mind I can't spend enough time with him. Yeah, that's all I want to listen to is worship music. It's all I want to listen to is is Christian podcasts or reading Christian books. I just I I like reading the Bible, I like studying his word, I like talking about him. I never get sick of it. He's an endless source of joy and inspiration. And when everything else, and I try to tune it out and I try to tune into the world just to kind of like stick my head back out and see what everybody else has got going on, it's loud and it's messy and it's ugly and unkind. And I just want to be like, nope, staying in here, staying with the Lord, because everything else out there is so not okay.
SPEAKER_01I think it's part of what I admire about you though, is that devotion to him right now, where like I said, I do have that devotion, but you know, I always have a but for him.
SPEAKER_00Not not not the other kind of but not the good but that's a good butt.
SPEAKER_01It's always a little bit of you know, I always, you know, one of my big scriptures is you know, I believe but help me with my unbelief. The father, you know, got the child that was possessed, and I that is like probably my life scripture right now. I believe but help me with my unbelief. So I'm always hanging on. But yeah.
SPEAKER_00But but or mine, mine is seek first the kingdom of God. Seek first the kingdom of heaven. I just I I and I'm like, okay, I will. So every morning when I wake up, I pray. Maybe I need to change my scripture is what it is. Well, not if that's what you need help with. Not everybody's gonna be uh, you know, walking in the same place. And I think that's good because even our listeners, as they listen to us, some of them might be on fire right now, like I am, and just fervent for the Lord, and they just wanna, you know, dig in, dig in, dig in. And then there's some people who might be where you are where they're like, I am here, but and then there's some people that might be like, I'm not even close. Right. I'm just peeking in and seeing what all this is about. And I'm I'm like, and the Bible seems boring, and like, you know, and there, I'm not gonna lie, there are some books that are not the easiest of read. So when you get to we are in one of them right now, yeah. I although Ezekiel's getting better. We're doing Ezekiel in our personal Bible study. So I think it's getting a little bit better, but Deuteronomy, the numbers, a lot of like the genealogy books and the books that are, I mean, with the Old Testament being focused on so much on the law, yeah, yeah. And and talking to us like deeply about the rituals that we no longer perform because thank you, Jesus, that we don't have to do that anymore to have a relationship with the Lord. But I mean, I guess you have to learn where you came from to appreciate where you are, and all of that was meant to be a mirror for the Jews to see that they were never going to be good enough, yeah, no matter what they did. Because they could never, I mean, fulfilling all of those laws perfectly all the time, every day, like it's only possible for Jesus. And we needed to know that so that we understood what kind of a rescue we actually had in him.
SPEAKER_01So hence why I wanted to do a podcast. Yeah. Um my daughter had actually put it on my heart. I do a small devotional for my kids every morning. I send them a brief one-minute, minute and a half devotional. And she said, you know, Mama, why don't you do a podcast of devotionals and things like that? And so she kind of planted that seed in my head, and I prayed on it for a while and definitely wanted to do this, but I didn't know how or you know how to format it. I didn't know anything about doing a podcast. So I reached out to Lena because she just seems a little more experienced with media things, let's put it that way. And because she is a soundboard for me on scriptural things, really more listening to my venting than she has, you know, wise counsel usually. She does. And I think we both operate on a sense of if I can't find the answers, you know, if I don't know the answer, I will help you find the answer, you know, and that's definitely how I am with people, but you've done that for me. And so then when I was trying to decide on what to do for a podcast, I through training came up with the lyric and the like. And I wanted it to be because we're both worship and praise music girls. Music is a huge background for me and you. I thought, let's do something with praise and worship music, tying it to scripture, you know, that kind of thing, and then maybe explore the background of the songs, things like that. It's important to me that we do hymns as well, which Lena's comment to me was, I don't know any hymns. And I laughed at her actually, and then started to find that a lot of people don't know a lot of hymns. But also when I started introducing things to you, you did know more than you thought you did. The more I bring up hymns, you do know them. You do know more than you think you do.
SPEAKER_00I do, but yeah, our I mean, I definitely I go to a non-denominational church, so I think for the most part it is predominantly more contemporary worship, right? But he does throw in a few hymns here and there. And then I had the benefit of getting to sing with our Light the Way United team when we had a worship team at an elderly facility, and the worship leader at the time had decided that she thought had the great idea that most of these people probably grew up on hymns. So the songs that she had picked were him. So I knew some from from that experience as well, and they are really beautiful. So I'm glad that we're gonna be doing those. But I want to talk a little bit about the song. So so we can talk on music a little bit before we let everybody go. What song this week has been on your heart?
SPEAKER_01Um I mean several, but peace be still. I hope darst. Look it up, listen to it.
SPEAKER_00What about make room? I think you had mentioned that one too.
SPEAKER_01Definitely make room.
Early Mornings, Quiet Time, And Hearing God
SPEAKER_01I mean, like I said, there's always so many for me because I'm just it's music constantly, you know, for me. But I can say that yeah, you know, make room because there's a part in the song. I mean, obviously she sings, I will make room for you to do whatever you want to. But then she gets into a kind of punchy part of it where she says, Shake up the ground, shake up the ground of all my religion. And then, you know, your way is better. And it that part of the song, I'm sorry, I can't complete, I don't know completely the lyrics there, but that's such an important point right there in that song, though, is it's not about religion. And people think it is, and it's not, yeah. It's not about religion, it's not, you know, necessarily how some of you grew up in church. It's not that, you know, and I didn't I didn't have that. I didn't know that I didn't grow up in church. I mean, I grew up a Lutheran, but we didn't, we weren't regular Sunday queue sitters, you know, so I didn't grow up in church. Right. I was confirmed as a Lutheran, but anyways. Same. You know, anyway, so it's just like it's not about religion, and and it does sound so cliche, but it's not about religion, it's about relationship. And it is, it's not about it for me, it's my relationship with Christ, and that's all it is.
SPEAKER_00Some cliches are cliches because they're true. Yeah. Like they're, I mean, it's people make like they down on it being a cliche, but that's true. It is true. It isn't about religion, it is relationship. When you make it about religion, first of all, Jesus was a dude, not a Christian. And you know, Christians were the people that follow Jesus. Yeah, I mean we can get I you can really go into that, but it it's religion is the is the rules. It's feeling like you have to earn your way by doing certain things a certain way. And yeah, and not about the relationship you have with Jesus, right? It's being, you know, being performative. But since you since you told me about Make Room, I didn't find out a little bit about the song in general. So I'm gonna share a little bit for us, people that don't know. Make room was written by Alyssa Smith and it was released through Community Music's worship movement connected to the belonging company circle of writers. And the song became widely known because after live versions circulated in churches, it became a natural movement for moment for the altar calls and the prayer and the reflections. The line is a prayer of surrender and not a declaration of control saying, I will make room for you to do whatever you want to. It's most commonly used in services during transition moments, like after a sermon or before a prayer or during ministry times, because it invites a response, not a performance. So the bridge that you were talking about, the shake up the ground of all my tradition, break down the walls of all my religion, is what makes this song powerful because it's and slightly uncomfortable because it challenges comfort Christianity and asks people for genuine transformation. So what the song is really about is it's not, this is it's not a feeling good worship song. It's a dangerous prayer because you're asking God to interrupt your routines, expose your empty habits, remove things that you've grown comfortable with, reorder your priorities. You're not inviting God into your space, you're clearing space for his will. So thinking about that, when was the last time that you genuinely prayed, do whatever you want and mint it?
SPEAKER_01Probably just I mean, probably just a couple weeks ago because I've been struggling, you know, with my purpose. And you know, I'd shared with you even that I'd been talking with some friends lately about my purpose. I've been talking with you about it, and I think I had to lay down my I had to lay down my will, my wants, my desires. Not that you have to do that for him, but I've been in a struggle with him for a year now, you know, over a year with giving him my full surrender, and I feel like I've seen nothing from doing that, you know, overall. Like nothing has changed in the ways I was looking for change necessarily. But then a friend and mentor said to me, What if this is what he wanted for you? And I was like, What? And she said, This, this, just this, just this, what you're doing every day. You're you're meeting with friends, you're I do Uber driving on the side, you know, you're she says, she calls it my street preacher in the car because I will pray for people, I minister to them. If they ask me about Jesus, I tell them about it. I have things in my car that say prayer warrior on duty.
SPEAKER_00Just but why do you say it like that? Why do you say she says that I'm a street preacher? You don't think that that's true?
SPEAKER_01I I guess I think a street preacher is the guy that stands out on the corner, you know, holding up a sign and that's going to hell, they don't come to Christ, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00Well, thank God you're not that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I'm not that that not that hard about it, but yeah. So what I'm saying is that I kind of had to go home and take that to God. And is this what is this what you had planned for me then? Is this was this my purpose? Is this what it was? Just relinquishing to you and now you putting me in front of people to bring them to Christ as best as I can. Does that disappoint you? No, that's what it is. Not when I started to look at it in that light. Yeah. You know, but and there's always that, you know, but I want this, or I would rather be doing that, you know? And that's where my struggle lies.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because you're still not putting down what you want and saying your way is better. I'll do whatever you want to, not whatever I want to, or whatever feels better for me. It's whatever you want me to do. And what if he's called that is all he's calling you to do.
SPEAKER_01And so maybe that's why that song is hitting me in the gut right now, because your way is better, not mine, you know, and I can't, I can't completely put it down.
SPEAKER_00I envy your way, his way with you sometimes, you know, because you do get the freedom that I don't get. You know, I I have I I have a a job where I am very busy, and then I'm I have a ministry where I'm very busy, and I don't have the still that you have. And I and as somebody who's on the other side of things, like, yeah, there's the financial benefit of having the job that I have, but I don't have the freedom that you have. I don't get to go, you know, have lunch with friends. I sometimes feel like a very like absent friend. Ari wants me to come have lunch with her. I don't get to do that. I don't get to be a chaperone on her school field trips. I don't get that freedom. So there is there is so much joy and pleasure that I don't want you to miss out on in your stillness. And being the street preacher the way that you're doing it, I think is going to be much more effective than being the guy standing on the street with a sign telling people you're going to hell if you don't follow Jesus. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. So I think you keep doing what you're doing and you know, and you calling. I'm listening to John Revere right now and us a whole session about calling. I'll have to send it to you. And I highly recommend everybody else listen to it too, if you're wondering about what your calling is and what to do with that. But he said something today about your calling isn't like going to be one thing. You could be called to something for a time and then And but that calling is preparing you for the next calling and the next calling. And you could be called to multiple things throughout your life. So enjoy the calling of the season that you're in and try to soak up whatever it is that he has for you instead of always feeling like you have to be preparing for whatever the next thing is. Like just try to absorb what's happening now. Living in the moment. Yeah. Because one day you might miss that. And you won't have that time at 10 o'clock to have that Bible time. And also, no, I was not dogging on you or anybody else for, you know, oh, I'm I'm better than everyone because I have Bible time at 4 a.m. and I give my time. Like whatever time works for you, if 11 o'clock at night
Full Surrender, Frustration, And Trust
SPEAKER_00is your and that is important.
SPEAKER_01So do you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You just make your time later than me, but you have the ability. You have well, yeah, after I wake up. I that's what time I wake up. I want to see my husband before he leaves for work. And that's what time God talks to me. If God talked to me at eight o'clock at night, then that would be the time. But he doesn't, because he knows that my I have to put my daughter to bed and my husband's around. And you know, he wants me to still he he calls us to our families too. So he wants me to be the mother that he blessed me with Aria to be, and the wife that he blessed me with Brian to be. And I can't be with him, giving him my full attention if I am distracted by other things. So he knows that this is what time works best for me and my life. So I'm gonna ask one more question, then we'll wrap it up for today. So is there anything right now that you think is uh taking up time and space that's meant for God? So that you can make room for him? Is there anything that you think you can change today about what you're doing in your day-to-day to make room for him that takes you outside of what you want and what's convenient for you, but makes more space for him?
SPEAKER_01Probably my worry and anxiety.
SPEAKER_00What can you do about that outside of prayer though? Like you what is there a change that you personally can make outside of prayer that can make more time sugar that can make more time for him I mean I know I struggle with you know like putting myself out there more for others, thirding, I will say yeah, I'm gonna be there, I'm gonna do that, and then I'm gonna go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, definitely my heart my servant's heart is I need to work on that.
SPEAKER_01It's a great one. I I want to help people, obviously, and I I love that. Like I've always said like my my calling, I don't feel like being in hands and feet. And I look at that as serving, like going to to feed the hungry or like and that sounds probably real ignorant, but like I feel like I have a different calling to help people, not physically like that.
SPEAKER_00Well, I don't necessarily I I I can agree with that, and I I agree that but I also think that you're right in that sometimes that's not your calling, because like I there's a ministry that I partner with beyond the church walls ministry, they are known for going to homeless shelters and feeding the homeless there. And I had even said to them, sometimes I feel guilty because I don't do that with them, but I do other types of outreaches, like I'm getting ready to do this women's conference and we were preparing for a worship night in downtown park, but they don't do what I do either. They so I'm not to say that they could never or that they wouldn't. It's that that that they found something that they're passionate about that fits what their belief system is, that works, that they do really well. They've uh built those relationships, and that's something that that they really want to do, but they don't do what I do. But we need both parties to be doing. We need people who are evangelizing and who's out there sharing Jesus and and getting into the downtown parks and uplifting people's spirits and feeding Jesus to even to believers and just reigniting that fire in them, which is something that I do. But they also you also need people who are going to go to the shelters and take care of the people. And there's no competition there. But I do think that I I do try to stretch myself to serve, like I serve at church as a greeter, even though I'm tired on Sundays because I work Saturday nights till midnight, I still show up and greet. And then on Thanksgiving, I go with the Good Grace Project and I feed the homeless with them in Michigan City. And I so I try to find serving opportunities that to where it's not all the time, because I know that I don't have the bandwidth mentally, physically, whatever, to do that form of serving all the time. But what you're doing now in in serving Jesus to people through this podcast, what you're doing when you get up and you worship, coming to worship in the park or whatever, that is a form of serving. But maybe find opportunities that do kind of take you outside of yourself and say, like, this is not something I would choose to do for me. So you know that I am doing this for you and serve in that.
SPEAKER_01My comfort zone. That's what I don't like. Because I am a sower. Like I will sow seeds, I will sow financially into your ministry. Do you know what I mean? I'm that person, but I'm not, I don't like to be out of my comfort zone around people, you know. So that's definitely something I could work on. Yeah. So that's good. I think that's good.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, I this says I think this is a great first episode. I hope you feel good about it. Hopefully, our sound is okay. I know we're having a couple little Bluetooth issues, so hopefully you guys aren't gonna hear that on your end. But if you do, sorry, we're still learning. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to our very first episode. We look forward to having you back on our next episode. We are not gonna structure this. Initially, we had planned to do a song per episode, but I think I think we're gonna we're gonna kind of see how it goes and and feel how it feels. We'll still do the music. We're definitely talking about music. We did, we talked about quite a few.
SPEAKER_01That's what I'm saying. We'll we'll still do a song in scripture each episode, but I think I was for me anyways, I was trying to yeah, probably structure it a little too much, and I'm not a structured.
SPEAKER_00I'm not a structured soul. You know, I really am not. I think it's okay. And and this is more, this is meant to be more of an introductory episode anyway. So hopefully you feel like you got to know us better. You're gonna definitely get to know us better over the next few episodes. And we're so glad again that you tuned in. Thank you so much, and thank you for your grace while we work out the kinks and and figure this out together. So we love you. We are Lena and Deanne. Thank you for tuning into the lyric and the light. Bye.