True Love is DYNAMIC!
You have to do something right to have met someone like Lauri Riley-Dowling who truly loved my music and when she was healthier would be present for choir rehearsals, sometimes 3 a week! For close to 30 years she was a very dedicated member of the Agape Choir and many of them showed up for her Celebration in Song at the Hot N Cool Cafe, on Dec.18, 2022. It was a glorious Sunday Devotional in the B-hood with singers and band members filling the place for a joyful sharing of the songs that still shape our lives and help us to love more. Someone with a heart as pure as Riley’s pitch was perfect(!) made me aware of this particular Devotional. He remarked how special the feeling in the room was. He never met Riley, never heard the Agape Choir, and didn’t know the band, but he could feel the love because love is DYNAMIC! He was as moved as we were by the whole scene. So I offer this clip of a song from Riley’s celebration, along with a prayer request:
that we allow God to order our steps and ignite the highest good within us;
that we share our good in the ways that we can;
that we find the way to trust God, to respect each other, and to celebrate with songs that remind us of who we truly are… like Riley did. Amen.
Blessed and highly flavored,
Rickie
Choir Culture is the best!
Original Agape Choir sings Spirit’s Calling You
‘Spirit’s Calling You’ Lyrics:
(Chorus)
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
When you climb the highest mountain that you can find
And you’re looking out with eyes so satisfied saying
Look! Look! Look! Look what I have done
Look! Look! Look! Look what I’ve become
And the Spirit says,
I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS COME TO ME
(Chorus)
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
When your time has come to move to that place so high
And you’re feeling for the ones you’ll leave to cry – saying,
Look! Look! Look what I leave behind
Where? Where? Where is my peace of mind? And the Spirit says –
I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS COME TO ME
(Chorus)
Spirit’s calling you. Come! Come…
(Bridge)
Imagine the sound of the ocean
(I AM MORE THAN THIS )
The birds in flight
(I AM MORE THAN THIS)
The loss of a loved one
(I AM MORE THAN THIS)
A heart so broken
(I AM MORE THAN THIS)
A newborn baby
(I AM MORE THAN THIS)
The pain of a body
(I AM MORE THAN THIS)
People when they’re happy
People when they’re sad
God is more than this
God is more than this
God is more than this, God is more
(Repeat)
And the Spirit says,
I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS – I AM MORE THAN THIS COME TO ME
(Chorus)
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come…
(Instrumental solos, Bridge to Final Chorus)
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come.
Spirit’s calling you. Come. Come
Home.
Written and arranged by Rickie Byars
Michael Beckwith, Co-writer
Eternal Dance Music, BMI (c) 1990
Performed by The Agape Choir & Agape House Band