Laura Story - Open Hands CD Review and Giveaway

The beauty about worship music is that this is a preview on earth of what we will be spending an eternity doing in heaven. Think of it like a trailer of the wonder things to come, when we spend every moment thanking our God and Savior Jesus for the ultimate sacrifice of restoring what was broken in the Garden of Eden so long ago, a forever, eternal relationship with each other for those that place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The best part is finding some incredible songs that can express exactly what those moments in our life mean and this is Open Hands, the latest CD by Laura Story.

In fact the title track Open Track is a combined effort with Mac Powell (Third Day) which perfectly conveys taking everything we have in life and offering it to Him with open hands, holding nothing back.

Death Was Arrested conveys that loving restoration that happened when Jesus gave His life for ours who place our faith and trust in Him and redemption was possible from our sin. You Came Running is about what happens when we have those trials and storms in our life and feel completely lost in search of someone who can save us! This is one of my personal favorites because all we need to do is call out to Jesus and He comes running to us! Give You Faith conveys that all the world has to offer will never measure up to the faith we can have in Jesus which never fails us, no matter what we are going through. For The Love Of My King is truly a love story between the singer and the One we sing for. It also conveys how much love God has in store for us, one that is unconditional and eternal.

Awake My Soul (A 1000 Tongues) is a collection of all the wonders God offers us from the glories of His majesty and the triumphs of His love and how He is worthy of the songs of a 1000 tongues that sing His praise to Him. Whisper tells us how God calls us to Him, despite our circumstances when we are willing to leave the world behind, if we but seek Him, we will be found and we will be set free in only a way that Jesus can from our sin and bondage. Every Word You Breathe is a personal conversation or prayer with God asking Him to let us hear His voice above all those in the world, to not lean on the things we have known and only in placing our hope in Him.

Majesty is the 9th track on the CD is such a precious song of worship conveying all the qualities of God and how holy and wonderful He is based on His grace and mercy for us. Extraordinary sums up how wonderful a believer's life looks in Christ. Grace Abounds the final track on the CD defines what grace means, that we can come to Jesus broken and battered and He will restore us from all the burdens of the world and set us free. You can definitely feel the heart of Laura Story's walk of faith in this CD and for those looking for something uplifting and one that will speak to you in any circumstance, this is it!

I received Open Hands by Laura Story compliments of Fair Trade Services LLC, Provident Music Distribution and Propeller LLC. It speaks of God's unconditional love and how the Bible is His instruction manual for how much he is trying to restore that relationship between us that is lost, broken and keeping us from experiencing all He has to offer through His grace and mercy and the promises found in His Word. I easily give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to the generosity of Propeller LLC they are offering a giveaway copy of this CD to one lucky follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here are your guidelines to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog Reviews From The Heart.

2. "Like" Laura Story's Facebook page.

3. Be a resident of the US or have a US mailing address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

4. Leave me a comment below telling me why you'd love to win a copy of Open Hands by Laura Story. Don't forget to include your email address as well so I know how to contact you if you're the lucky winner of this giveaway. You can even use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will be notifying the winner of the giveaway on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Enter as many times as you like and remember without an email address, I can't contact you so don't forget to include it.

Laura Story: Open Hands

You can find Laura Story on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest projects and music.

You can pick up a copy of this CD through iTunes. 

“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. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Phil Wickham - Children of God CD Review

I have been a huge fan of Phil Wickham's music for quite some time. I've had the privilege of being able to see him live in concert both at my church and at the Harvest Crusade in 2013. His music just moves you in such a way and what I find contagious about Phil Wickham is his undying love for Jesus Christ. It comes through in not only his music, lyrics but in his performance, Now I have the unique opportunity to be able to review his latest CD, Children of God. Even before I had the chance to listen to the entire CD, I fell in love with one of the songs from that track, Your Love Awakens Me, which is rising to the top of the Christian music charts!

Children of God contains 12 songs and truly contains exactly what one would expect to find, devotional songs of mighty worship and praise that will last long after you stop the final song. They are what I call worm songs or soul songs. Ones you find yourself singing when there is no music and that is part of the power and conviction of Phil Wickham's music.

1. Doxology/Amen -  is a worship song that defines the purpose of praise and worship music, that are prayers to Jesus Christ.

2. Better Than Life - will be just like what This is Amazing Grace was to Phil's previous album on this one! Definitely upbeat worship song!

3. Your Love Awakens Me - conveys the sense of what it is like for a believer of Christ to experience God's love in their life. It creates an awakening in their soul. This is such a catchy song and one I know you will absolutely love!

4. The Secret Place - features Madison Cunningham, talks about what its like when we experience God in our hearts. Its a place others can't see, but we can certainly feel. More like a worship song.

5. Wide Awake - Not one of my favorites on this one, but still an uplifting worship song.

6. My All in All - Speaks of the great love and presence of Jesus Christ, who is the stream of life and victor in any battle we face. A definite battle-worthy song! 

7. Starmaker (High Above the Earth) - Definitely a worship song of our dedication for the salvation that Jesus Christ alone offers. I can this one being incorporated by churches as part of their praise and worship service!

8.  Children of God - Another great praise song. It conveys a song about whom children of God are in Christ. We are more than warriors, but children of God.

9. Stand in Awe - Another powerful praise song, that takes what a believer feels for God, and puts it not only in song, but in a prayer to our Heavenly Father!

10. Body Mind and Soul - another praise song, that conveys in the heart of the believer what where our praise and worship comes from, body, mind and soul.

11. As It Is In Heaven - a great song that comes off more like a prayer set to music.

12. Spirit of God - Speaks of our longing for the Spirit of God to have His in our life.

I received Phil Wickham's Children of God compliments of Fair Trade LLC and Propeller LLC for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside for a copy of this DVD in exchange for my personal and honest evaluation. Phil Wickham just has one of those amazing voices you can recognize the moment you hear him. His conviction and devotion comes across in every single song and that is what makes this such a wonderful CD a great addition to your praise and worship music library. This is his first album in three years, for in 2014 Phil Wickham didn't know whether or not he'd ever be able to sing again. He had vocal polyp, a small lesion on his vocal cords, and while doctors could remove it, the outcome would be up to God. Thankfully, we serve an amazing Healer and Creator and Phil is back once again. These are the songs of the reawakened heart, and his passion and love for God come through on every single song. For me, this rates a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The lyrics are not provided in the CD but you can find them by visiting philwickham.com.

For more information on Phil Wickham's Children of God or where you can pick up a copy of this CD today, please click on the links below:

Phil Wickham's Children of God

You can find Phil Wickham on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest projects.

You can buy Phil Wickham's Children of God at the links below: 

I Tunes
Amazon
Spotify