Other times, my worship flows from deep inside my being. I'm "plugged-in" to an invisible energy source, and I feel like I could keep going for hours…maybe even forever.

So what's the difference? Of course, there are the obvious things like how tired or hungry I am, or that argument with my wife that hasn't been resolved yet (oops!) But more fundamentally, I think it has to do with what I've been doing with my heart.

My heart is the "real me" – the part that aches, the part that soars. I spend much of my life concealing my heart, living out of my rational mind – the part of me that tells me what I "should" be thinking, feeling and doing. So when it comes to leading musical worship, it can be hard to switch gears and let my heart control my thoughts and emotions. The performer remains in control, and my worship experience is shallow.

Reading the Psalms (and putting some of them to music) has helped me worship more from my heart. The psalmists (particularly David) did not worship from reason, they worshipped honestly, from the depths of their hearts. In Psalm 13, David starts by saying "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?" If David had been speaking from his rational mind, he might have said, "God, I know you never forget about me, so it must be some sin of mine that makes me feel forgotten." Instead, he allows the pain in his heart to flow freely in a true heart-felt expression, leading him eventually to make the joyful declaration (also from the heart, not the head) "I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me."

Now, congregational worship may not be the best place to start out with a song about being forgotten. (Then again, it might be…) But if I make it my personal habit to pour out the contents of my heart before the Lord in daily acts of genuine worship, I'll be much more likely to be in that mode of expression when I'm in front of the microphone on Sunday morning.

So, how's your heart doing today? Your Father wants to hear about it.

Click Here To Visit WorshipSong.com!!!

In the current circumstances of my life, I feel like I'm in way over my head, with no land in sight, and only so much strength left to keep from drowning. And God says "Trust Me." In Matthew 6 and countless other scriptures, we are told by our heavenly Father not to worry about the affairs of this temporary life. But for me, choosing not to worry, to simply trust Him to take care of me, feels like irresponsibility. Surely, there is something I must DO to better my lot in life -- financially, emotionally, spiritually. But the One who governs the universe says "Trust Me," "Wait on Me," "Seek first My Kingdom" (which is invisible at the present time) -- and I will "take care of the rest" (in the words of Keith Green's famous song).

So what is the point of all this? To the best of my understanding, the only guaranteed way to please God is to believe what He says -- "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11). Sometimes it appears that God is cruel - allowing His children to face huge losses and imminent danger just to see if we will choose to trust Him. Surely this is how Job felt as a result of God's wager with the devil, giving him permission to pillage every earthly thing that meant anything to Job. But in the end, Job came away with a deeper, more mature faith in the Almighty. I guess that's what I have to look forward to, and it does give me joy.

Please listen to "Fall into Your Arms" on my profile. It is a favorite of many, and an encouragement to those who are in deep water.

Today (May 31st) is my Mom's birthday. She would be 70 today, but on the 22nd of last month, God called her Home. She battled cancer for over four years, and never, ever gave up. Even in the final week of her life on earth, as she lay in a morphine-induced coma, she tried her best to respond to us (her family and friends) as we gathered around her to pray, sing and tell her how much we loved her and didn't want to lose her. Because she trusted Christ for her salvation, I know that she is celebrating this birthday with Him in Paradise.

This is the beginning of a song I'm writing for her:

On a sunny April afternoon
In the front yard of my childhood home
My baby girl clutched blades of grass
As peacefully, inside, you breathed your last
What a beautiful day...
What a beautiful way...
To go Home    (copyright 2007 Matthew B. Vollmer. All rights reserved)

My site is pretty boring so far, but I do have four original songs to check out. Let me know what you think...
http://myspace.com/matthewvollmer

Thanks and God bless,
Matt

Hello. This is my first blog as a MySpace music artist. I've been wanting to put my songs online for some time. Songwriting is my passion, and it's really cool that I can share my music with the world from the "safety" of my home computer. (By the way, does anyone know a really good spyware remover?) 

If you choose to rate or comment on my songs, PLEASE be honest. I can take it, really. I've written a couple hundred songs, so if you don't like these four, I've got a lot more to try.

Not sure if you need this, but my "url" is myspace.com/matthewvollmer

Well, happy blogging, surfing, and whatever else you do online. And remember, God is always good, even when life stinks.