“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit ...
"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” ~ Margery Williams
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Like the song - love the video: this is REAL LIFE!
According to an article in Today's Christian Music: "Dove award winning artist Aaron Shust traveled to Indiana, PA to shoot his new video for the hit single, "My Hope Is In You." Vinegar Hill Creative oversaw the production with David Altrogge and Michael Harnet serving as directors for the taping. The concept of the video is a couple turning to their faith as their daughter faces medical issues. It’s a subject familiar to Shust as he faced his own life threatening medical struggles with his 2-year-old son, Nicky. "
And, an even more in-depth article from New Release Tuesday, by Kevin Davis, who sounds like an interesting person himself! from his very brief biography: "Do you have any Bible verses that tie-in to the message of the song?
All of Psalm 121: I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
...and Psalm 25:5: Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
What's the takeaway message of the song for you personally?
Everything about recording this album and this song wasn’t how we planned. My wife and my two-year-old son, Nicky, were living in a hospital ,where my son was being fed through tubes because he couldn’t keep down any food or drink for more than two seconds, and the doctors were running out of options to treat him. He was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, a rare and extremely painful condition, where he was unable to take in any nutrition. Doctors tried multiple food formulas but his body rejected all of them. He had to spend months in the hospital. Our older son was with friends all the time and my grandmother was dying.
Finally, when the last available option was tried, his body accepted it. But he still had to be fed through a tube that bypassed his stomach. Doctors explained that Nicky would have to be on steroids for the rest of his life to manage the pain. Then, I’m thrilled to report that our son had miraculously been fully healed. The doctors had no explanation. It was as if he never had the condition. What was considered to be a permanent disease seemed to have disappeared. It was truly a miracle.
During the entire ordeal, I became acutely aware of my utter dependency on God and my need to daily, constantly, embrace His promises and His presence. Over the years I’ve written a lot of songs speaking to my own soul the way David did in the Psalms: “Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God.” The album and this song come out of a difficult season for me and my family personally, and they are declarations about who God is and who we are in Him because of His great love for us. This song is about praising Him simply for who he is. To witness your own child being healed of something that doctors told you was permanent, painful and incurable—just totally moves my heart to worship God.
According to an article in Today's Christian Music: "Dove award winning artist Aaron Shust traveled to Indiana, PA to shoot his new video for the hit single, "My Hope Is In You." Vinegar Hill Creative oversaw the production with David Altrogge and Michael Harnet serving as directors for the taping. The concept of the video is a couple turning to their faith as their daughter faces medical issues. It’s a subject familiar to Shust as he faced his own life threatening medical struggles with his 2-year-old son, Nicky. "
ReplyDeleteAnd, an even more in-depth article from New Release Tuesday, by Kevin Davis, who sounds like an interesting person himself! from his very brief biography: "Do you have any Bible verses that tie-in to the message of the song?
ReplyDeleteAll of Psalm 121: I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
...and Psalm 25:5: Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
What's the takeaway message of the song for you personally?
Everything about recording this album and this song wasn’t how we planned. My wife and my two-year-old son, Nicky, were living in a hospital ,where my son was being fed through tubes because he couldn’t keep down any food or drink for more than two seconds, and the doctors were running out of options to treat him. He was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, a rare and extremely painful condition, where he was unable to take in any nutrition. Doctors tried multiple food formulas but his body rejected all of them. He had to spend months in the hospital. Our older son was with friends all the time and my grandmother was dying.
Finally, when the last available option was tried, his body accepted it. But he still had to be fed through a tube that bypassed his stomach. Doctors explained that Nicky would have to be on steroids for the rest of his life to manage the pain. Then, I’m thrilled to report that our son had miraculously been fully healed. The doctors had no explanation. It was as if he never had the condition. What was considered to be a permanent disease seemed to have disappeared. It was truly a miracle.
During the entire ordeal, I became acutely aware of my utter dependency on God and my need to daily, constantly, embrace His promises and His presence. Over the years I’ve written a lot of songs speaking to my own soul the way David did in the Psalms: “Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God.” The album and this song come out of a difficult season for me and my family personally, and they are declarations about who God is and who we are in Him because of His great love for us. This song is about praising Him simply for who he is. To witness your own child being healed of something that doctors told you was permanent, painful and incurable—just totally moves my heart to worship God.