{Review} Whole Heart by Passion (CD)

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, 

for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts. 

~Isaiah 26:8

The newest album from the Passion movement - Whole Heart - is being released today.

What is the Passion movement? Passion started in 1995 and is based on the verse from Isaiah that I posted above. Their mission is to reach young people ages 18-25 and create a revival in that age group. Their stated goal on their website is to lead people towards "renewed intimacy with God."

Lead by Louie & Shelley Giglio, Passion holds conferences and has musicians such as Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman lead the worship. The music has moved beyond the conferences and into churches around the globe. 

Their newest album was recorded live at the latest Passion Conference and features artists such as Crowder and Kristian Stanfill. Some of the songs may be ones you've heard before like "God, You're So Good" or "Great are You Lord" or they may be brand new like "Ghost" which features Crowder or "All My Hope" which is another new one by Crowder. 

Your love it comes with no conditions

You give us Your whole heart

My hope is in the blood of Jesus

I know who I am because of who You are

I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at the album. I've been listening to it now for the last couple of weeks and it's been fantastic. It's full of wonderful worship songs. And since it was recorded live some are longer than a typical song you might hear on the radio (four go over five minutes along). I can only imagine what it must have been to be there live during this recording. 

I love going to live worship concerts. I always feel like it's a small taste of heaven. 

{Review} Laura Story: Open Hands CD

I was given the wonderful opportunity to listen and review Laura Story's newest album, Open Hands. This is her fourth regular album to be released along with a Christmas album that she put out in 2015.

If anyone has every heard the story behind Laura's song, "Blessings," you know that she has suffered hardships in her life. This shows in her music. "Blessings" came from her husband, Martin's, bout with a brain tumor.

Laura is a gifted musician and singer/songwriter. Not only has she written many of her own songs, but she has also written for other artists including Chris Tomlin ("Indescribable").

There are 10 tracks on this CD including the title song. I've had this playing in my vehicle now for at least the last week. I'm absolutely loving all of the songs. In fact, I tried to turn it off and just play the radio as I figured my boys were getting tired of it after a few days. They turned it back on. It's that good.

The first three tracks are my ultimate favorites, but really, that's like decided if I like chocolate chip ice-cream or cherry vanilla ice-cream better. It's all good.

The very first time I listened to the CD was while I was on my way to church. I didn't even know the lyrics enough to sign along. And yet, they still hit me hard. I was crying and worshiping on the way there and eager to get back to listening again. I now wake up with the songs playing in my head each morning.

The title track - "Open Hands" - paints a wonderful picture of letting go of all the things we hold on to so tightly and allowing God to take it all.

Laura shares the inspiration for the song in the video you can find HERE.

My other favorites off the album are "Death Was Arrested" and "You Came Running."

It was interesting the other day as we were driving. My 15 year-old son mentioned that he has two favorites as well. His are track 5 and 10, "For the Love of My King" and "Extraordinary." He has good taste.

If you enjoy great worship music that has lyrics that will speak to your soul as you listen to them over and over, then you'll want to pick up a copy of this CD. You can purchase it HERE (iTunes) or HERE (Amazon) or other retail outlets.


Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.