Let me tell you a little story ... last Monday, I got home from work and found Laura Story's new album Open Hands in my mailbox. I went inside and proceeded to spend an incredibly frustrating hour on the phone with the company that manufactured my now-broken television and the company I purchased an extended warranty from. Both phone calls ended unsatisfactorily (you can see my Facebook rant here if you're interested), and once I hung up the phone, I knew I needed to do something to lower my blood pressure. So I popped in the CD. Immediately, I felt myself beginning to calm down. And then I was captivated by the music I heard.
Throughout the Bible, there are countless stories of ordinary people whole-heartedly attempting to live a life fully surrendered to God’s unique calling on their lives. More than once, God asks people of faith to relinquish control and simply trust Him. These days, singer/songwriter Laura Story is discovering the beauty found in letting go. It’s this posture of surrender that she’s striving for on her fifth studio album, Open Hands (Fair Trade Services).
1. Death Was Arrested
2. Open Hands
3. You Came Running
4. Give You Faith
5. For the Love of My King
6. Awake My Soul (A 1000 Tongues)
7. Whisper
8. Every Word You Breathe
9. Majesty
10. Extraordinary
11. Grace Abounds
Open Hands is full of songs that are melodious, truth-filled, and incredibly singable. I wouldn't be at all surprised if churches throughout the country add "Death Was Arrested" to their Easter season rotations. That song is probably my favorite on the album, though I like each song. Other favorites include "You Came Running" and "Awake My Soul," which is adapted from "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." And—unlike with some other albums—I can listen to the whole thing straight through. Open Hands is a beautiful album, and I'm sure I'll be enjoying it for a long time to come. 5 stars.
I also have a copy of this CD to give away! Enter through the Rafflecopter below.
Giveaway rules: 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, 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. Contest is open in the continental US and Canada only. Winner will be selected at random using Rafflecopter.com and will have 48 hours to respond to email notification, or another winner will be chosen.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Buy the album.
Watch the Open Hands lyric video.
GRAMMY® award winning artist, speaker, songwriter, author and worship leader Laura Story has a gift for penning songs that connect with people all around the world. Among her successes as a solo artist with her smash hits “Mighty to Save” and “Blessings,” Laura has also penned hit songs for other renowned artists including Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable.” Her solo artist music debut in 2008 with Great God Who Saves led to four Dove nominations and the award for “Inspirational Album of the Year.” In 2011, Laura released her sophomore project Blessings. The album and the emotionally powerful title was inspired by her real life trials and adversities, primarily her husband Martin's diagnosis of a brain tumor. The album resonated with a huge audience and led to whirlwind career highlights for Laura, peaking at the No. 1 album spot for three consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Contemporary Christian Overall chart, topping the iTunes® Christian/Gospel Top Songs chart and holding the No. 1 spot for an impressive 28 consecutive weeks on the Christian charts. The success of the single “Blessings,” which was certified RIAA Gold, includes the GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Christian Song, the Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Song and the Dove Awards for Song of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. The song inspired Laura's first book, “What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops?” in 2012. God Of Every Story released in 2013 to much acclaim, and her first ever Christmas project God With Us, released in October of 2015. Laura recently released a new book and bible study curriculum When God Doesn’t Fix It; Lessons You Never Wanted to Learn, Truths You Can’t Live Without. She has a graduate degree from Covenant Theological Seminary and has served as a worship leader at Perimeter Church in Atlanta since 2005, but her greatest joy is being a wife to Martin and the mother to Ben, Griffin and Josie.
Connect with Laura: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
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.
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