Cassie has learned to sing. She loves to sing along
with as many songs as she knows.
She has learned one song that brings back a flood
of memories every time she sings it.
This article is one I wrote about a year and a half
ago. It means a lot to me.
So I thought I would share it with you.
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One of my favorite websites is Rhapsody.com.
They have a service that allows you to download
music to listen to and burn onto CD’s.
The best part is that it is perfectly legal. It’s a
fee-based service that doesn’t steal from artists.
As I listen to music at work all day I have been
holding an internal debate as to what is my favorite
song of all time.
Several possibilities might include:

• Stairway to Heaven (Led Zepplin) – Although this
  is a great song it is way too cliche for anyone under
  the age of 45 to have this as a favorite song. It also
  falls into the same trap that songs such as Hotel California,
  Free Bird, and American Pie fall into. I can only bear to
  listen to songs that are 36 minutes long so many times
  before I start pulling my hair out.
• Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) – My all-time favorite
  Springsteen song. This song earns extra points for citing
  Roy Orbison, arguably the greatest voice in the history
  of Rock and Roll.
• I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love With You (Tom Waites)-
  Easily my favorite heartbreak song of all-time. I find it
  more compelling than either Shape of A Heart or
  Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate by Jackson Browne.
• Deirdre Dances (Michael McDermott) – My friend’s most
  confessional and moving song it is an emotional paean to
  innocence lost.
• Anything by the Beatles – Some of you might be incredulous
  but I am not a Beatles fan. As a matter of fact, I can barely
  stomach them. Talk about cliche.
• Against the Wind (Bob Seger) – Great song about the
  constancy of life. It makes me think back to 18 and
  thinking that this one girl was THE one.
• Mandy (Barry Manilow) – That’s a joke. Just checking
  to see if you are still reading this.
• Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan) – Dylan plugged and
  coherent. Does it get any better than that? Yeah, probably.

My list grew longer and longer but I still couldn’t find
that one song that rises above all the others.
I realized that since Christ truly has a hold of my heart
that no secular song can seize that part of me that is
most important.
Therefore, I moved my search to the sacred. The older
I get the more I like the old hymns that I grew up with.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the contemporary songs that
are full of passion and excitement.
Songs such as Shout to the Lord, Here I Am to Worship, and
Wonderful, Merciful Savior.
However, too many of them are what you might call 7-11 songs:
Songs that have 7 words that you sing 11 times.
I really like the multiple points of theology that can be found in
some of the hymns:

• My Jesus, I Love Thee – The line “for Thee, all the follies
  of sin I resign” stops me short every time I hear them. Do I truly
  love Him that much?
• When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – “Did E’er such love and
  sorrow meet?” I shiver at the thought of the cost.
• Lord We Come Before Thee Now – My favorite entrance song
  into worship.
• Just As I Am – what a tremendous affirmation of God’s grace.
  Sing all the verses please. It’s long but so beautiful.
• Mansion Over the Hilltop – “I’m satisfied with just a cottage
  below, a little silver but a LOT of gold.” On second thought,
  scratch that one.

Still, I could find no song that outdoes every other one.
Modern Christian artists have a few that might make it such as:

• Hold Me, Jesus (Rich Mullins) – The best song about surrender
  I have ever heard.
• Worlds Apart (Jars of Clay) – Great confessional.

I could name dozens more. But still, none stood out above all the rest.

I was just about to give up my search when I heard it:
Definitely the sweetest, most beautiful song I have ever heard.
The emotion and sincerity overwhelmed everything else that I have
listened to in
the past.
I heard it Monday night in the car.
The radio was turned off.
No CD’s or tapes were playing.
Chloe was singing.
She was singing “Jesus Loves Me.”
THAT is my all-time favorite song.
Nothing else comes close.
If I teach my girls anything, I pray
that it is the sweet truth that Chloe
now knows the words to:
Jesus loves me this I know, for the
Bible tells me so.

I hope she sings that song every day of her life.
Her dad loves to hear it.
Her Father does too.
Christian, do you realize how much
God relishes hearing your worship?
You are His favorite singer. He rejoices
when your sweet, tender voice
praises His name.
He wants to hear more and more of it.
You are a blessing to the Creator.
Praise Him.
No greater sound will ever be heard.