The album I’ve been listening to on repeat lately is called The Blood & The Breath: Songs That Sing the Story of Redemption by Caroline Cobb. The songs trace God’s big story from Genesis to Revelation. They thoughtfully bring scripture to life—even some texts that aren’t often sung. My favorite song is called “Dry Bones,” based on Ezekiel 37. I don’t know many songs based on this strange passage (or Ezekiel in general), but this song has helped me see the beauty of life coming from dry bones. And it gives me hope that situations that seem dry and hopeless can be revived by the Spirit of God. The words are good, but to get the full effect you should go to Caroline’s website, listen to the song, and download the album.
Dry bones
Hearts of stone
Slain and left
In the valley of death
Been dead so long
All the flesh is gone
A mass grave
No one can raise
But you said “live”
And the ground it gives
The bones start to rattle
And the darkness lifts
You give them blood and bone and
Hearts of stone to flesh
You give them muscle, skin
And life within the breath
Open graves
Bodies raised
The living breath
Reversing death
Written May 2011 for The Scripture to Music Project
Words and music by Caroline Cobb
From Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 37:1-14; 36:26,27
Photo by _ChrisUK, used under a Creative Commons License.
To celebrate Labor Day, I took a hike I’ve been meaning to take all summer. I grew up going to the beach at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, but I had never really hiked there. My trusty Best Easy Day Hikes: Grand Rapids, MI told me that there is good hiking, too. So this morning I packed a lunch and set out. I took the South Trail, which the book says is 4.8 miles and the state park map lists as 5.5 miles.
The trail on the way to Lake Michigan was mostly through deciduous forests on a sandy, but firm, trail.
Shortly before Lake Michigan, the trail passed through the foredunes.
Almost to the beach!
On the beach, looking north. You can’t make it out in the picture, but I could see Big Red (the Holland lighthouse) in the distance. After snacking on the beach, I started out on the return trail, which travels through the foredunes and then zig zags up through blown out dunes. This part of the trail was harder than the first part! But looking back at the lake, the views were beautiful.
This is now one of my favorite dune hikes in Michigan! It has a more natural and remote feel than a lot of the parks (no stairs, for instance) and the dunes are extensive. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the dunes and is ready to climb through a lot of sand.
Dry bones
