Everything breaks. It all falls apart. Entropy is the newborn gift. The blessing and curse. The new life is connected to the inevitable hearse. We are not made for this world, and so, this world will not satisfy—Nor should we expect it to.

Humankind desires permanence. You do. I do. This breath of a lifetime is not it. We yearn for The fixed—the fulfillment of all things good because we are face to face with the one who is Good. We are not there yet. Yet…

Heaven is in our hearts. Eternity is our longing and nothing short of this will fulfill. No earthly delight of food or drink, accomplishment, position, material possession or even person: past, present or future will truly satisfy.

So when we feel the ache, the longing, the desire that goes unfulfilled like an unscratchable itch, it’s home we want. Heaven whispers—do you stop to listen? Can you see the glimpses in the here and now? Are you actively looking to point out those moments to others? To teach them to slow and listen?

Not the foggy memory of the highlight reel past, but something beyond our own history on this earth. Not the pleasure of the moment, nor the anticipation of fun in the near future. This is a longing for the perfection and paradise that God created and situated Adam and Eve within. A place to see, smell, touch, hear, taste without a veil shrouding perfection. No filter. The place we belong.

Home.

It calls. It whispers. And though frustratingly close it remains out of reach apart from death and new life. Heaven is yours for the having, through Jesus. Repent and be saved! Live for Him and through Him. And then…hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter your rest.”

Here are 12 songs that remind me that this earth is not my home, and cause my heart to swell, to soar in expectancy and a heightening sense of life mission. I hope you enjoy them, and they do the same for you—-they remind you of home.

Hold fast, and as you wait…

See

Side A:

1. “Hope or Nostalgia” – Chris Renzema

“Is it hope or nostalgia?/I don’t know”

2. “Can’t look back” – Mat Kearney

“there ain’t no future in the past”

3. “The Day That I Moved Out” – Make Sure

“Things will change/but some things never do/I’m learning to rejoice either way/Because I don’t get to choose”

4. “Fix You” – Coldplay

“When you get what you want but not what you need”

5. “Paradise” – The Gray Havens

“’Cause all this time/And still I can’t get over dreaming of/Paradise/Just say I’m getting closer/Cause I’m longing to find/Find home”

6. “Cure For the Pain” – Jon Foreman

“I’m not sure why it always goes downhill/Why broken cisterns never could stay filled/I’ve spent ten years singing gravity away/But the water keeps on falling from the sky”

Side B:

“Heaven is in our Sights” – Citizens

“Heaven is in our sights/Beauty beyond the skies/Heaven is in our sights, look up/Heaven is in our eyes”

“Psalm 90 (Satisfy Us With Your Love)” – Shane & Shane

“When the sun comes up satisfy us/Before the day has passed us by/Before our hearts forget all your goodness/Satisfy us with your love”

“Shadowfeet” – Brooke Fraser

“Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet/toward home, a land that I’ve never seen/I am changing: less and less asleep/made of different stuff than when i began/and i have sensed it all along/fast approaching is the day”

“Better Country” – Benjamin Daniel

“Can you feel it?/Deep in your bones like an echo of home/When I walk, I can see it/Tracing my path every time I turn back/When we talk, I can hear it”

“You Are Fullness” – Young Oceans

“Do You let my heart break/To let my heart ache?/For You alone/For You alone/Sweetness to my soul”

“We Will Feast in the House of Zion” – Sandra McCracken

“We will feast in the house of Zion/We will sing with our hearts restored/He has done great things, we will say together/We will feast and weep no more”

Listen along here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wJ1eADriEdVlSQCLtToEN?si=dNKe_8s5STWUHx8QKGlbOg