After the events of this week, with the passing of my grandfather, I thought it only appropriate to share the story and lyrics of a new song from my upcoming EP, entitled “The Lord is My Strength.”

When I began thinking about this song in August of 2009, I was deep into study on the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. I had recently preached a sermon entitled, “Because I Said So,” where I talked about having faith through the uncertainties of life. I wrote in my journal the words, “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior.” As I said those words over and over, I began to think of ways to capture the message of hope through faith in a song.

Later that year, I began following the music of worship leader Casey Darnell. Casey has since become a friend of mine, and after hearing his music and witnessing his amazing faith and heart for God, I knew that if possible, I wanted him to be a part of this song. He graciously signed on, and after several songwriting sessions, “The Lord is My Strength” came to fruition.

There are several references from Scripture that laid the framework for this song:

Habakkuk 3:2
LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.

Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Jude 1:24
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy…

I look forward to letting everyone hear the song once the final production is done, but I wanted to share the lyrics with you in the hopes that God will use these words to provide strength for those who are in times of brokenness.

The Lord is My Strength by Jon Lloyd & Casey Darnell

Oh Lord, we’ve heard of Your fame
Now we stand in awe of Your glory
Let Your grace and Your mercy reign
Though my heart and flesh may fail
You are God, and You never will

The Lord is my strength
Through the trials and pain
He is able to carry me
Every step of the way

The Lord is my strength
and my portion always
Every time I am weak
The Lord is my strength

Let the weary hearts find Your rest
Let the hungry soul now be fed
In our times of brokenness
Though our hearts and flesh may fail
You are God, and You never will

© Copyright 2010 BRN Music\Ava Truth Music.

Look for the complete ALIVE EP on iTunes and in stores this Fall.

-jon

I’m a leader on the Presbytery Youth Council of Coastal Carolina, and I usually do graphic design work for the group’s events. Here are the latest two designs for your viewing and commenting pleasure:

This is a logo I created for the council’s 2010-2011 theme, “Larger than Life.” All of the other themes of events will somehow relate back to this theme. With this design, I was looking to do something simple, and after a bit of web inspiration, came up with this. I was able to get a high-res image of the PCUSA’s logo, and after playing around with the opacity, got it looking just right.

The next image is a promo for the first PYC event of the year, the kickoff event. I was going for a festive, bubbly-type of thing with this. I used some “fireworks” brushes I found on deviantart and other than having to angle each letter individually, it wasn’t really that time-consuming.

As always, comments are appreciated. You can click on each image for a larger version.

I’m writing this from the lobby of Assembly Inn in beautiful Montreat, NC. Just had to tell you about what happened last night. About 11pm, I was making rounds to make sure everyone was in bed, and subsequently locked my room key in my room. I called the main office for another, but they told me that I’d have to walk across the Montreat campus to get it.

One of our high school guys accompanied me on the journey. After hiking up and down there and back, I got up to our floor only to realize that the lights in the hall were off. I figured everyone was asleep. Then, the lights came on and our entire group was out in the hallway with tins of balloons, streamers, etc, with gifts and cards for my birthday.

I was extremely surprised! I was a bit bummed that I wouldn’t be able to spend my birthday at home with the family this year, but this was the next best thing. Apparently, my wife was in on it, as there were gifts from here as well.

I’m very blessed to have such an amazing group of people that surround me. Last night was great – and it wasn’t even my birthday yet!

This past Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching the message at both of our services at FPC. The title of the message was “The Best-Laid Plans.” After thinking about how my own plans for my life had changed drastically over the years, I prayerfully considered how my situations might relate to others in our society. The result of my prayer and contemplation was this message. You can listen to it below. A transcript is also available underneath the audio version. I’d certainly love to hear your feedback!

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The Best Laid Plans – Transcript