Monday, November 22, 2010

A Night with the Chapmans

My son Joe invited Mandy and I to a concert at his church last night.  He lives about 45 minutes away from us. The 1 1/2 hour total commute was definitely worth it...we were so blessed.   We got to see Steven Curtis Chapman in concert ~ and his sons' group Caleb was the opening act ~ and his wife Mary Beth was his special guest!!  It was awesome!

The tour kicked off on September 10 in Lancaster, PA and ended last night in Joppa, MD.  It was an extra special blessing to be there for the final night of the tour and for Steven's birthday.  It was a privilege to hear how God has been working in the lives of this family since the death of the youngest Chapman, Maria.  It was convicting to hear about their orphan care program called Show Hope.  It was a wonderful evening!

photo from last night's concert

He sang some powerful songs including Beauty Will Rise from the CD of the same name.  He wrote this about two years ago ~ after the death of his little girl.  I found this video on YouTube in case you'd like to listen to it.  Beauty Will Rise begins about one minute into the video.



 
With Hope is another song written by Steven. He wrote it about a dozen years ago to minister to a family who had lost a child. Now it ministers to his family.


With Hope
This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you’ve gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but …

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God’s plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father’s smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
‘Cause now you’re home
And now you’re free, and …

We have this hope as an anchor
‘Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so …

So we can cry with hope
And say goodbye with hope

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

What a testimony this family is to the Grace of God.

5 comments:

Sherry said...

I love Steven Curtis Chapman's music. I am so glad you had the chance to go to the concert and took it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Ann said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Kim Hanauer said...

Marie,
Thank you so much for your kind comment on my blog.
I will be making more pocket purses and posting them on my blog. They will also be in my etsy store. They`re great for going to the flea market or antique stores.
Have a Blessed day-
Kim :0)

Libbie said...

Hi Marie!

What a fun night!!! I wish I could have tagged along! Annie & I love to sing "Cinderella" on the top of our lungs. Cool about your friend's son too!!! I haven't been to a concert in...well wayyyy too long! I need to get out more :)!!

thanks so much for posting my little giveaway!! that is soooo sweet of you!! I can tell some oeople have come over from your blog so I wanted to be sure to let you know that I really appreciate it! You are always such aaweet friend! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your family! I hope you don't have to cook too much!
Love
Lib

Shelley said...

Thank you so much for posting my giveaway and for becoming a follower. I can only imagine how amazing the concert was. How fun!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! :)