My Top 10 Completely-Cheesy, Guilty-Pleasure, No-Longer-Top-Secret List of "Secular" Love Songs I Confess I Sometimes Twist to Sing as Worship Songs

Sorry for the obnoxious post title— but it does say it all.

Nope, as much as I love good praise and worship, 
there will be none in this count down. 

I admit it: over the past few years, 
these are the songs that have gripped my heart,
and I look forward to showing you why.

Happy Valentines Day, Y'all :) 

"Because Your love is better than life, 
my lips will glorify you." 

Psalm 63:3 

1. "Show Me Love" —Robyn 

"Never thought I would find love so sweet

Never thought I would meet someone like You

Well now I've found You and I You tell you  me no lies

This love I've You've got for you me

Could take me 'round the world

Now show me love

Show me love, show me life

Baby (scratch that- that's just strange) show me what it's all about

You're the One that I ever needed

Show me love and what it's all about, alright"

God has shown us love. 

He has shown us the greatest love: His death and resurrection to give us life. 

I feel like this song is the secular equivalent to:
"Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdoms cause 

Show me how to love like You, have loved me." 

How He Loves, John Mark McMillan 

(Okay I never said I couldn't reference worship songs ;) 

But this is the first and last, and it certainly deserves its spot) 

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, 

that we should be called children of God! 

And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; 
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  John 10:10 

Confession: My dad and I have spent many car-rides together belting out this song.

2. "I Love You Always Forever" —Donna Lewis 

"Feels like I'm standing in a timeless dream

Of light mists, of pale amber rose

Feels like I'm lost in a deep cloud of heavenly scent

Touching, discovering You

Those days of warm rains come rushing back to me

Miles of windless summer nights

Secret moments shared within the heat of the afternoon

Out of the stillness, soft spoken words

Say it, say it again

I love you always forever

Near or far, closer together

Everywhere I will be with you

Everything I will do for you

Say You'll love and love me forever
Never stop, never whateverNear and far and always 

and everywhere and everything"

Confession: I'm a words-of-affirmation-love-language girl, so I just love that this is a song of ceaselessly saying: I love you, always forever. 

Confession:  On days I'm so caught up in my sinfulness that it's hard to believe He still loves me like crazy... I've imagined God whispering the chorus to this song in my ear as I'm walking through campus or sitting in class or grocery shopping at Kroger. 

"for his steadfast love endures forever...
for his steadfast love endures forever....
for his steadfast love endures forever..." Psalm 136 

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

    therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you," Jeremiah 31:3

"The LORD your God is with you, 

the Mighty Warrior who saves. 

He will take great delight in you; 

in his love he will no longer rebuke you, 

but will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

3. "The One" —Backstreet Boys 

"I guess you were lost when I met you

Still there were tears in your eyes

So out of trust and I knew

No more than mysteries and lies

There you are, wild and free

Reachin' out like you needed me

A helping hand to make it right

I am holding you all through the night

[Chorus:]

I'll be the One (I'll be the one)

Who will make all your sorrows undone

I'll be the Light (I'll be the light)

When you feel like there's nowhere to run

I'll be the one

To hold you and make sure that you'll be alright

'Cause (your) faith is gone

And I want to take you from darkness to light

I'll be the one

I'll be the light

Where you can run

To make it alright

I'll be the one

I'll be the light

Where you can run" 

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 

"I am the light of the world. 

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, 

but will have the light of life."" John 8:12 

Confession: For almost every Sunday morning of my sophomore year in college, a car-full of my friends and I (sometimes I'd be happily stuffed in the trunk) rolled into The Rooted Church with the windows down bumping Backstreet Boys full blast. 
Confession:  For almost my entire childhood, I was totally team N'SYNC. Woops. ;)

4. "Let Me Love You" —NeYo

"Let me be the One to give you everything you want and need

Baby good love and protection

Make me your selection

Show you the way love's supposed to be

Baby you should let me love you, love you, love you"

Confession:  I've always loved me some Mario charm and choreography. 
Confession: I've always loved not letting God love me, which is actually pretty prideful. 

5. "Can't Stop Loving You" —Van Halen 

"I wanna hold you and say, 
We can't throw this all away 
Tell me you won't go, you won't go
You have to hear me say 

I can't stop loving you

And no matter what you say or do 

You know my heart is true, oh 

I can't stop lovin' you 

You can change your friends, your place in life 

You can change your mind 

We can change the things we say 

And do it anytime 

Oh no, but I think you'll find 

That when you look inside your heart 

Oh baby, I'll be there 

Oh I'm twisted and tied 

All I can remember 

Is how hard we I tried 

Only to surrender 

And when it's over 

I know how it's gonna be 

And true love will never die 

No, not fade away."

Confession: This is one of my all time favorite songs— period. I'm obsessed with it. It's God's unconditional love and perfect grace wrapped into simple lyrics. 

And I can't get enough of it. 

And then there's those grand last lines that get me every time. 

Those words of
Eternity. 

Marriage. 

Forever. 

"Love bears all things, 
believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.

Love never ends." 

1 Corinthians 13:7-8

6. "I Need You" —LeeAnn Rimes 

"I don't need a lot of things,

I can get by with nothing

Of all the blessings life can bring,

I've always needed something

But I've got all I want

When it comes to loving You

You're my only reason,

You're my only truth

I need You like water

Like breath, like rain

I need You like mercy

From Heaven's gate

There's a freedom in Your arms

That carries me through

I need You

You're the hope that moves me

To courage again

You're the love that rescues me

When the cold winds rage

And it's so amazing

'Cause that's just how You are

And I can't turn back now

'Cause You've brought me too far." 

Confession: The first time I heard this song I was frustrated because I thought it was about a person and I thought it should be about Jesus. 

Then I found out it was about Jesus. 

Woops. 

I'm including it anyway. 

"As a deer pants for flowing streams,

    so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God." 
Psalm 42:1

7. "I Don’t Want Miss A Thing" —Aerosmith 

"I could stay awake, just to hear You breathing...

I could spend my life in this sweet surrender 
I could stay lost in this moment forever Every moment spent with You is a moment I treasure 

Don't want to close my eyes 

I don't want to fall asleep 

Cause I'd miss you babe (Yeah that's weird, skip the babe) 

And I don't want to miss a thing

I just want to hold You close, 
feel Your heart so close to mine 
and just stay here in this moment
for all the rest of timeeeee
YEAH YEAH YEAH
YEAHHHHHH!" 

Confessions: After a season of carrying shame from my past, my sophomore year in college I was given a season of experiencing the Holy Spirit like never before in my life- by the grace of Jesus Christ alone. I was swept up in the most insane love I have ever known. 

What's my point? I couldn't go to sleep. My eyes would get dry because I barely blinked— I was wide awake, all the time. At night, I didn't want to leave the sweetness of dwelling in His Presence, so I would just lay in my bed for hours, soaking in joy. That's when I realized that, thanks to Him loving me first, I didn't just love God anymore— I was in love with God. 

"You will fill me with joy in your presence, 
with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11

"Where shall I go from Your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?" Psalm 139:7

"Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

"For to me, to live is Christ to die is gain," Philippians 1:21 

Confessions: I LOVE AEROSMITH. 
SO MUCH.
My favorite roller-coaster will always be the Disney's Hollywood Studios Rockin' Roller Coaster. 
My dad took me to see them in concert for my sweet 16th birthday present. I was counting down the days, got all dressed up the night of, only for them to call it off because someone got sick. I almost cried. My boyfriend and best friend still came over just to comfort me. But thankfully, it was rescheduled, and it was aeroawesomesmith. 

8. Give Your Heart a Break- Demi Lovato 

"The day I first met You
You told me you'd never fall in love
But now that I get you
I know fear is what it really was

Now here we are,
So close yet so far.

Haven't I passed the test?
When will you realize,
Baby, I'm not like the rest?

Don't wanna break your heart
Wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared it's wrong
Like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live
And there's no time to wait, to wait
So let me give your heart a break

'Cause you've been hurt before
I can see it in your eyes
You try to smile it away, some things you can't disguise
Don't wanna break your heart
Maybe, I can ease the ache, the ache
So let me give your heart a break" 

Confessions: This song hit me the first time I heard it— when my older brother played it for me in a car ride, confessing that this song was his recent obsession. But back to my confessions; I've worn my heart on my sleeve far too many times. The result? A tired and confused heart, craving a safe place to rest. 

This one wraps up all the doubts and fears that keep us from giving our heart wholly to God. 

But the truth is—His love is the only love that never fails. 

We can trust Him with our hearts. 

After heartbreak and loss, He is the only one willing and able to give our hearts a break. 

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit." 

Psalm 34:18

Confession: My junior year of college I was still wrestling with shame and brokenheartedness from my past. One night, while sitting in my robe alone in my apartment, this song came on shuffle when I needed it. God grabbed my heart and I was filled with fresh joy. I will never forget getting up and doing "quickies," short & sassy dance combinations I learned from being a TCU Showgirl my freshman year. No shame— literally ;) I remember rejoicing in God's love and forgiveness over me while whipping my wet hair, smiling in the mirror without a touch of make-up on, finally learning to love myself in a God honoring way again. 

9. "You Da One" —Rihanna 

"You the One that I dream about all day

You the One that I think about always

You are the One so I make sure I behave!

My love is Your love, Your love is my love

Baby (weird, ditch the baby), I love you, I need you here

With me all the time

Baby we meant to be

You got me, smiling all the time

Baby (weird again, don't call a Holy God a baby- creepy) 
Take me now, hold me now

Make me come alive

You got the sweetest touch

I'm so happy You came in my life

No there's just One, One, One

One, One, One

No baby just One, One, One

I bet you wanna know

You the One that I dream about all day

You the One that I think about always

You are the One so I make sure I behave!

My love is Your love, Your love is mine"

"For [there is] one God, 

and one mediator between God and men, 

the man Christ Jesus;" 1 Timothy 2:5

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 

This one could also, of course, be sung back to us.

Scripture tells us that we are the "one that He thinks about always," 

and because we are in Christ, our Heavenly Father loves us like His Only Child. 

17 

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you."
Psalm 139:17-18

Confession: I couldn't stand so many songs by Rihanna until I roomed with one of my best friends my junior year. She was full of a sweet kind of sass, and once said, "Yes— I can listen to Rihanna and wear a bikini and still love Jesus." After a year of hearing Rihanna sing every one of her songs from the room beside mine on almost a daily basis— I confess she made this playlist, and a couple others. :) 

10. "Love Will Never Do Without You" —Janet Jackson 

Confession: I LOVE JANET JACKSON! 
SO MUCH.

But really. 

My dad also took me to see her in concert when I was in middle school. 

(You have probably gathered by now that my dad is pretty fantastic. It's true. He's always been crazy about music and concerts and even crazier about me- which shows me how crazy God is about me...) 

And is she not totally fabulous and funky in this video!? 

I am determined to mimic her look here. 

BUT ANYWAY! 

Are these lyrics right or are they right? 

Love will never do without God. 

And I just had to include the first couple lines because 
it's just plain funny (mostly because it's true) ;) 

"Other guys have tried before
To replace You as my lover
Never did I have a doubt
Boy (Lord) it's You I can't do without

I feel better when I have You near me
Cause no other love around
Has quite the same ooh ooh 
Like you do do do do babe

They said it wouldn't last
We had to prove them wrong
Cause I've learned in the past
That love will never do without You.

IF YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE, SING!" 

"So we have come to know and to believe
the love that God has for us. 

God is love, 

and whoever abides in love abides in God, 

and God abides in him." 1 John 4:8 

"Whom have I in heaven but you? 
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you."
Psalm 73:25

"This is how we know what love is: 
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." 1 John 3:16

"If we recieve the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, 
for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 

Whoever does not has made him a liar, 

because he has not believed in the testimony that God 

has borne concerning his Son. 

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, 

and this life is in his Son." 

1 John 5:9-11

Final confession: I'm writing this post from Valentines Day Eve to 3 AM on Valentines Day in my apartment by myself--void of loneliness and filled with more joy than I've had in a long time. :) 

Thank You, Jesus. 

Love, 
Cass

PS: To keep singing... ;) A gift for you:  My Top 10