KatieW

“Fight Today”

I was inspired to write this song based on some timely words of encouragement a friend (Peter MacNicol) once gave to me; words which entirely changed my perspective and helped equip me to fight both spiritually and mentally. The bridge of the song encapsulates perhaps the most impactful exhortation Peter conveyed to me: that, having the mind of Christ, we know that dark thoughts come not from within us, but from without, and we need not (and must not) allow them residency in our minds.

The first verse draws imagery from the Psalms, while the chorus is a call to battle. The premise is that when you view the entirety of a war, it may seem impossible; you may think, “How can I ever make it through another year?” But if you take each battle one by one, the question becomes not, “Can I make it through the year?” but rather, “Can I make it through one day?” And you can. Before you know it, after making it through just one day, three hundred and sixty-five times, you’ve made it through the year.

So fight today, and let tomorrow worry about itself!

Get the song on iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/fight-today-single/1483991137?app=itunes

“Sometimes”

My song “Sometimes” was written to facilitate awareness, understanding, and acceptance of Autism and those on the Autism Spectrum by explaining challenges, difficulties, and thought processes from the perspective of a person with ASD. It is available on iTunes, Google Music, Amazon, and other online music vendors.

The (actual) Promises of God

It is impossible for God to speak a promise that He cannot or will not fulfill — and make no mistake, all of His promises are written in Scripture (there are no new promises being made) — whether that be to the Church, to Israel, or to the world. We do not doubt that God is unchanging, nor that His Word is unchanging. So why would we take it upon ourselves to attempt to change the promises written in His Word?

Some cases in point: 1.) God has promised His future wrath to the unbelieving world; telling them that God has no wrath for them is both sinful and deceitful. 2.) God has promised salvation to the Church, to those whom He has directly called to repentance; to claim that all can and/or will be saved is to ignore the Gospel and to usurp God’s authority/sovereignty. 3.) God has promised to return Israel to her land, and to redeem a remnant of Jews; to deny these promises or claim them as belonging to the Church is to rob the Jews of both their identity and their inheritance.

To some, these may seem like insignificant errors. But any error in communicating or teaching the Word of God is not merely a mistake; it is sinful. God requires of us that we handle His Word rightly, that we are advocates of truth, and that we are not deceived. Disobedience to these commands constitutes sin and therefore begs repentance and correction.

References:

Numbers 23:19: “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

Deuteronomy 4:2: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”

Proverbs 30:5-6: “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

Romans 2:5: “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

John 6:37: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.”

Ephesians 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.”

Jeremiah 23:3: “Then I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.”

Revelation 7:4: “And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”

2 Timothy 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What the Gospel is(n’t)

The Gospel does not free you from physical ailments, poverty, difficulties, struggles, or afflictions. The Gospel is very simply that our righteous God established laws in accordance with His righteousness — those laws required that a sacrifice be made when they were broken. As sinners, we have all been guilty of breaking those laws. But Jesus Christ, a perfect man (and perfect God), became that sacrifice for us, that all who call on His name in repentant faith would receive forgiveness for our sins and be granted eternal life with Him.

That is all that the Gospel promises. And it should be enough — more than enough! If, in God’s abundant grace, He chooses to call us to repentance of our sin, we must follow Him at all costs. Scripture does not promise that it will be easy — the disciples were poverty-stricken, tortured, imprisoned, and martyred. To divert ourselves around the difficulties of life is to divert ourselves away from the Gospel entirely, substituting a false Christ for the true Christ.

If we have faith in Him, we must also have faith that He is sovereign over all things, that His will is perfect, and that He can and will be glorified even through (and especially through) our afflictions!

References:

Job 23:10: “He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”

James 1:2-3: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Romans 5:3-5: “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-10: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Romans 1:16-17: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.'”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

1 Peter 3:18: “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

“Peace Like a River”

I was inspired to write this song as I was praying for a friend of mine, to bring peace and comfort through Christ, but it also applies to my own life. The imagery was largely drawn from Isaiah 66 (and yes, I know that passage has a far deeper meaning pertaining particularly to the Jews of that time period; however, I believe we can draw inspiration from it ourselves as well).

Lyrics are in the video. All music, lyrics, instruments, and vocals are done by me. As always, I know I’m not a Grammy-quality vocalist, but I don’t aspire to be. My only aspiration is to follow my passion, worship my God, and share my journey with others along the way! :-)

To God be all the glory, always and forever and in all things!

Now available on iTunes!

1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14 is the subject of much misunderstanding within the Church. Most of which comes from our lack of Greek knowledge and historical understanding.

To start with, this chapter addresses prophesying — but it’s important to note that the Greek word for “prophesy” has two primary meanings: most commonly in the Old Testament, it means to “foretell” (i.e., reveal something about the future, usually pointing to Christ). But in the New Testament, it often means to “forthtell” (i.e., to speak forth the truth and counsel of God — in the modern sense, this includes teaching what He has already revealed to us in Scripture). Needless to say, the latter definition is applicable here.

Next, there’s the mention of tongues. People have a tendency to take verse 2 (“For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit”) and separate it from the rest of the passage, while also ignoring the entire historical context. When we read the passage in context, taking into consideration the time period in which it was written, we gather that Paul is very clearly discussing people who spoke in foreign languages (languages other than their native language). He instructed the Church that this gift did have a use, but that use was only applicable in the context of speaking directly to foreigners, who could not understand the language of those native to the land — during that time, God enabled certain people to speak in the languages of other nations to share the Gospel with them. 1 Corinthians 14:2, when read in the context of the letter, simply means something along the lines of this: “When you’re in an English-speaking church, if you try to teach in French, you’d might as well just be speaking to God, because He’s the only one there who understands you.” That’s an extremely modernized paraphrase, but it’s the best way to explain it without getting too deep into history and the Greek language. The rest of the passage sheds more light on this understanding, but people tend to ignore it or pretend it has nothing to do with the first verses.

“This Love”

This is a custom song I wrote for one of my supporters (I don’t know if she wants her name listed or not, so I’ll keep it anonymous for now). It was written to illustrate both her love for God and for her husband through all things. But I admit, I can never write a song that I haven’t first felt in my heart, and this song is no exception.

To God be all the glory, always and forever and in all things!

[get my new album “Songs from the Heart and Beyond” on iTunes, Amazon, Google, and more! Links are on my website: http://www.K8EMusic.com/store]

“Undying Rose”

I kind of don’t even know what sparked this song. When I write music, I always follow my heart. Usually, I have an idea of where it’s taking me. But with this song, I had no clue. I simply followed, writing what came from my heart to my mind. The lyrics have multiple levels to their meaning, and each and every note, instrument, sound, beat, and word is there for a purpose. This is the most musically intricate song I have ever done, as well as the most poetic. And while the mix may not be perfect (nor are the vocals), this song really moves me. As I wrote, I could hear and feel what sounds would be placed at each point. And as I listened to the final mix, every note in its place, each representative of a deeper meaning, I felt it pierce my heart. But in a good way, haha. God was truly moving in this song (probably to unlock areas of my heart that I didn’t even know existed), and I’m grateful.

Lyrics are in the video. All music, lyrics, instruments, and vocals are done by me. And as always, I know my vocals aren’t Grammy-quality, but that’s not my aspiration. My only aspiration is to follow my passion, worship my God, and share my journey with others along the way :-)

Glory to God forever, always, and in all things.

Songs from the Heart and Beyond album

Songs from the Heart and Beyond (released 11-12-13) features a selection of real, honest, original music from the heart of the artist, comprised of “dual-purpose” songs with multiple meanings.
50% of all proceeds from album sales are donated to a local Autism cause (CFAII, in Lakeland FL), and 10% are given to ministry (Life Changing International Ministry, in Valrico, FL).

“Music is my passion. It’s the most accurate way I can express what is in my heart. I’ll never write a song that I haven’t first felt. My goal is to make music that others can relate to without compromising my integrity or the heart of the music. I don’t want cookie-cutter pop music that just has a catchy beat and lines that rhyme. Ultimately, above all else, I’ll always give God the glory, because without Him, none of this music would exist — *I* wouldn’t exist” (Katie Woodward).

**SPECIAL OFFER** If you buy the album from any source, and either e-mail me ([email protected]) or tweet me (@K8EMusic), I’ll give you 5 FREE bonus tracks! That’s a total of 21 songs! :-)

To purchase digital copies of the album on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Music, click the corresponding
logo above. To purchase a physical copy including FIVE bonus tracks, click the “Buy Now” link:

Song previews:

Songs from the Heart and Beyond

I’ve launched a fundraising campaign for my second album, “Songs from the Heart and Beyond” — come check it out and support it if you can! I donate 50% of proceeds from album sales to a local Autism cause! The album should be released this Summer (date to-be-determined).

I have some pretty awesome rewards to choose from for those who can donate, including a custom song I’ll write and record about anything you want! For more details, visit the link below:
http://www.faithlauncher.com/projects/192-songs-from-the-heart-and-beyond#/