waiting for you

1 Sea to Sea

May he reign from sea to sea... Psalm 72:8 NLT

Saviour King, you are Son of Man and Son of

God, our Friend, you are God with us who reigns on high

King of Kings, all the earth will bow before you

Lord of lords, we will worship you forever

And honour you, and praise your name

From sea to sea, we will stand and sing

From shore to shore, all creation will adore

Our Father, our Saviour, our King

From sea to sea we’ll sing

Counsellor, you heal the sick and broken

Prince of Peace, you hear the cries of hungry hearts

Holy God, help us see each other with your

Love and Grace, we will glorify your holiness,

And power, and majesty

Hear our cries, Lord, open hearts and hands

Give us love, Lord, unite our hearts to sing your praise

2 O Most High (Psalm 9)

I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm9:2 NLT

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart

I will rejoice in you and I will be glad

I will sing your praise, I will sing to your Name

O Most High – you reign forever

O Most High you judge in righteousness

O Most High, O Most High

Those who know your name will trust in you

For you’d never forsake those who seek you

I will sing your praise, I will sing to your Name

I sing praises to your name; I sing praises to my King

You are God Most High, you are above all things

3 You Alone are God (Psalm 86)

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Psalm 86:10 NLT

Teach me your way, O Lord and I will walk in your truth

Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name

I will praise you, O Lord, my God

With all my heart, I will glorify your name forever

So great is your faithfulness, you alone are God

All of the nations you’ve made will come and worship you

They will bring glory to your name for you alone are God

There is no one like you, no deeds compare with yours

You’re abounding in love, you alone are God

4 Grace Flow

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:24 NLT

I love your ways, I love your name, let your love grow, let your grace flow

Open my eyes, open my hands, let your love grow, let your grace flow

Here am I, send me – your love is capturing me

Grace like an ocean flowing over my brokenness

Open my heart, open my mind, let your love grow, let your grace flow

Take all my fear, take all my pride, let your love grow, let your grace flow

All that I need I find in you, all that is broken, you make new

You breathe your life into me, you complete me

5 Holy

Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. Psalm 90:2 NLT

You are God. What have I to say? Holy...

You are King. What have I to bring? Praises...

In all humility, O let me come and be still in the presence of God

Open my eyes to see your power and love for me - I lift up my hands to my God

6 Love Conquers All

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16 NLT

Battles around us, wars within - it’s so hard to hear the truth

Empower us with your loving might; help us fight the good fight

Smaller than you made us to be, we try to build our defence

Weaker for all our boundaries, strength comes on our knees

We want to know you more; we want to share your sorrow

We long for peace to reign and love to conquer all, may your love conquer all

Here in the ashes, clothed in rags, we have been playing games

You’ve called us up out of the gloom, into your throne room

Distracted and empty, we follow anyone but you

Pierce the centre of our confusion, come, come change us!

Open our hearts to know your grace, help us receive your love

Break down the walls of fear and pride, change us from the inside

7 Meet Me Here

But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my saviour; O Lord, do not delay. Psalm 70:5 NLT

Tired of striving and wasting time, I’m broken, wounded and empty

No more pretending I’m more than this - you know my weakness and frailty

I’m finally here, I see my need and this is all I want: Your heart in mine, my hand in yours

Oh that I would disappear, that your glory would meet me here

How could I think that I could be well and whole without you?

You are the source of my love, my life - all that is good within me

Oh, I’ve been waiting for you, but now I finally see

Looking back through my life, you were waiting for me

Breathe on this clay and fill me up with joy and love overflowing

Teach me your song and I will dance - all of my days I’ll be singing

8 Be to Our God

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 7:12 NLT

Father, I come to lay my sins on the spotless Lamb of God

He bears them all, and he washes me whiter than the driven snow

All praises, all honour, all glory is yours

All power, all wisdom be to our God

Father I come, and place my hand in the hand pierced by a nail

I bring all my fear, all my hurt and grief; he brings healing and release

Father I come to offer praise to my Saviour, Friend and King

He set me free and he makes me sing songs of life and hope and peace

9 Please Don’t Wait

O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name." Daniel 9:19 NIV

But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble. Isaiah 33:2 NLT

Feels like foolishness to believe, that you’ve seen and know what we need Have you heard our heart’s cry all along, when we’ve been aching for so long?

O Lord, heal! O Lord, forgive!

O Lord, won’t you hear and act?

Please don’t wait! Please don’t wait!

Hope is draining everyday, and we all face a different way.

Standing still, we try to find the path, but the only key is just beyond our grasp.

We know you’re good, we know you’re strong

We know you hear us and you have a plan

But we wonder how, we’re asking when

We don’t know why we just can’t see your hand

No one knows what can be done; no one can say what’s still to come.

You are all we have to hold on to - at last we know that we must wait for you

O Lord, we’re waiting for you

10 Redeemed

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1b NIV

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 NIV

I was lost, but I’ve been found; brought to the right road, set on solid ground.

I was broken, and now I’m whole. My wounds are mending, and there’s a peace in my soul

Now I am redeemed, I’m washed and I’m cleaned

I stand free in mercy, I’m walking in peace

I sat in darkness, now I’m squinting in light - it shows all the beauty I’ve missed in my life

I was afraid, but now I know I have the power of heaven behind and before

Although I have questions and suffer sometimes

Love always finds me before my tears have dried

I cannot keep silent, I can’t hold it in - I have hope, love and comfort instead of my sin

What is this mystery? What is my hope? My hand is in Jesus’ and we’re walking home

My hand is in Jesus’ and I’m walking home

11 Resting In Love

Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV

Take my heart, take my will, draw me closer until I’m resting in love

Help me seek your face, tune my heart to sing praise, then I’ll rest in your love

Hallelujah, rejoice, Praise Him with a loud voice, bless the Lord, my soul

Hallelujah, Amen I’m overwhelmed again, I’m resting in love

I won’t believe the lies - I’m not alone or despised – I’m resting in love

I reach my hands up to you, the source of all that is true, I’m resting in love

You are my rock, You are my God, my hope, and my peace

You make me free, and I’ll always be surrounded by love

copyright © 2007 Karla Drader - info@karladrader.com

New International Version; International Bible Society Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

New Living Translation; Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois60189.

waiting for you

01 Sea to Sea

May he reign from sea to sea... Psalm 72:8 NLT

This song was co-written with Doug Regehr (co-worship leader and guitar player extraordinaire). He had a musical idea, and we decided to get together to write a song around it. The idea for the subject was came from a worship project called “Sea to Sea”. Our song didn’t end up being included in the project, but in any case, a song was born, and we’re pleased with it!

02 Meet Me Here

But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay. Psalm 70:5 NLT

What a great place to be - the place where we stop pretending that we're something we're not, where we throw up our hands, and give it all to God - all the ugliness we've been trying to keep from him and everyone else. Who are we kidding? Everyone has their garbage. It gets really ugly in the darkness, but when we let God get at it, he can transform it! I love the idea that sometimes we sit and wait for God to come get us and pull us up, and when we finally find Him, we realize that he had already been reaching for us. He was just waiting for us to take His outstretched hand. The world teaches us to despise our neediness. But God designed us to be needy! He is the vine and we are the branches - we must abide in Him. So realize who we are without Him, and then what we are with Christ in us - Christ in me the hope of glory!! (Colossians 1:27)

03 O Most High (Psalm 9)

I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm9:2 NLT

This song came out of reading Psalm 9 which David wrote as a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s justice. Even when we see situations that are unresolved, we need to praise God and thank Him for what He has done already. David does both in this Psalm - praises God for His wonderful deeds which reminds us of God’s power as the Most High, and calls out to God to continue acting because He is powerful. When we worship God for His power, we’re reminding ourselves that He is able to act in the situations that we feel are hopeless, and we also find it easier then to recall times when He has intervened for us in the past. Praise also increases our ability to find God in the present desperate situations.

I like songs that have declarations of intent in them. Like David, I intentionally began with I will. I will praise you Oh Lord, with all my heart. I will. Even when I don’t feel like it. Because you are powerful and loving, O Most High.

04 Love Conquers All

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16 NLT

Why do people that love and need one another fight over trivial things? We are so easily distracted from the important things, and our view gets twisted. We are satisfied with so much less than God wants to give us. We focus on issues that aren't ours to worry about, or get caught up in things he's asking us to let go of. Boundaries are so very important, but when we erect our own without involving God to make them strong yet flexible when needed, they become a rigid prison for our own heart.

Sometimes, looking at people problems, they seem utterly hopeless. And yet I believe that the love of God is stronger, and will, one way or another, conquer every 'hopeless' situation. This song was written with a specific situation in mind, one that I have been praying about for many years, and this song continues to be my prayer. As we listen or sing this song, let's join with one another and lift our 'hopeless' situations to the only one who can bring hope, to the One who IS Love. And may His love conquer all.

05 Redeemed

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1b NIV

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,and he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 NIV

This song is part of my life story. I grew up in a Christian home and decided to follow Jesus when I was 4. I never really turned away. I tried to listen and keep growing in my faith all through high school and University. This was the last song I wrote before our first daughter was born. We had a wonderful month together, but suddenly, I was plunged into severe post-partum depression. Having no history of mental illness at all, we were all taken by surprise. It was truly terrible for a few months, and then even when my anxiety and sleep were back under control, I was left with a crisis of faith. God would just not go back into the box I had him in; I missed Jesus so much, but I couldn't feel Him with me anymore. I felt I had no rock to stand on. Slowly, I found my way back to God. Looking back now, I can see how God had been holding me even when I couldn't sense His presence . He was there. My life was redeemed from the pit. I was lost, but I've been found.

06 Please Don’t Wait

O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name." Daniel 9:19 NIV

But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble. Isaiah 33:2 NLT

Waiting for God to act in a certain way can be a really long wait. When we let go of our ideas of how things should go down, it usually goes better! This song was written about a specific situation that still remains unresolved, in my mind. It doesn't feel so desperate now, partly because it has been so long, and because I can see ways that God is at work, even though things aren't happening the way I'd like them too.

This song is a prayer that God wouldn't delay, because we're waiting , counting on God to come through for us. We've already been waiting so long to see any progress, it feels foolish to keep asking. We're powerless to change some situations, and sometimes I feel that hard hearts are impossible to melt. Or are they? Could God use them for some other purpose?

Most of the times in our lives, we don't get to see God working in, around, through, behind...God is infinitely resourceful and creative, and I fear that most of the time, I'm not. I'm impatient, linear, fearful and unimaginative. Do it this way, and do it now. But God is big. God's ways are not my ways, there are plans I don't get to see. I will choose to trust, and choose to accept God's timetable.

07 Be to Our God

But thank God who gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 7:12 NLT

08 Grace Flow

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:24 NLT

This song is an expression of my desire for God to use me, and flow out through me to the world. The idea of Grace - that we are forgiven no matter what we've done, and through nothing that we’ve done to deserve forgiveness - is so compelling, and it's really what separates Jesus from any other religious figure. He offers us grace - undeserved, unearned. I couldn't help but start the song with praise, asking for more of God. And realizing that I have to let go of my idea of how my life should go, I pray Open my eyes, open my hands. I need to fill up on You. Then, send me.

All that I need I find in You, All that is broken, You make new; You breathe your life into me, You complete me

When I look around at the needs of the world, I get easily and quickly overwhelmed. Where to start? I have no choice but to go to God, and let Grace wash over it all. As I am filled with Grace and Life, I have something to share.

09 Holy

Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. Psalm 90:2 NLT

This song is light on lyrics which is quite intentional. I was playing my guitar one morning, just wanting to write a praise song to God. I was sitting, sensing God's presence and nearness, and feeling like I didn't have much to say.

You are GOD. What have I to say?

10 You Alone are God (Psalm 86)

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Psalm 86:10 NLT

This song came out of reading Psalm 86. Everyone worships something or someone. It isn’t a question of if you worship, it’s a question of what you worship. This song is a declaration that God is first in my life, above my #1 priority. No one or no thing can take God’s place. God is love, and Love like that cannot be found anywhere else.

Teach me your way, O Lord and I will walk in your truth

Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name

I will praise you, O Lord, my God

With all my heart, I will glorify your name forever

So great is your love to me, You alone are God

All of the nations you’ve made will come and worship you

They will bring glory to your name for you alone are God

There is no one like you, no deeds compare with Yours

You’re abounding in love, You alone are God

11 Resting In Love

Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV

This song came from a place of frustration and feeling overwhelmed by all life was throwing at me. God made me aware that I was trying to do everything myself, and I began to sense to surrendering everything (my plans, my hopes, my fears). It was a relief to do so! This idea of resting and letting go returns again and again to me, but each time it's in a new area of life, or it's at a deeper level. It's a challenging lesson, but bottom line, God is Love, and Love is the best place to rest. So this song is a celebration of the realization that I could just lay it all down, give it all to God. It's so simple - just let go of my ideas and plans of how things should be. There is so much freedom there!

The first verse conveys that idea of surrender - take my heart (my emotions, my hopes and dreams, my fears, my love for God and for others), take my will (my plans, my goals, my desire for control), and help me rest in God, sink into that love. And then I pray that I would look to God first (help me seek your face), trusting that all these things would be added to me afterward (Matt 6:33), but whatever happens, my heart will praise God for His love (tune my heart to sing praise).

Then the chorus is just praise. 'Hallelujah' means 'Praise the Lord', and 'Amen' is an affirmation - like a strong 'yes' or 'may it be so'. I used Bless the Lord, my soul (straight from the Psalms) because sometimes we have to talk to ourselves to remind ourselves to do it. And sometimes we have to repeat it to ourselves and others - let me say it again.

The second verse talks about lies - voices that tell us we're alone, and unloved. Those voices, wherever they come from, can make it very hard to rest. They keep us striving...we must be more, do more, get more. But when we realize whose we are, and what we mean to God, then we know that's enough.

The bridge is a reminder to myself of who God is to me. Just in case I was starting to doubt again - God is my Rock, my God, my Hope, My peace. I am loved, I can rest.