Sunset
Dig Down Deep
Whether you know it or not, music affects your life.
This week I have had the privilege of experiencing 2 new albums. Why is it a privilege? These 2 artists have been chosen by God (whether they believe in Him or not) to share their talent with the world.
That I have an affection for music is an understatement. I grew up with music all around. One of the first songs I can remember is Bullfrogs and Butterflies by Barry MacGuire.
There was a cabinet full of vinyl in our living room for a long time, some of those albums are now in my possession. One of those albums contains a song that I believe would make a beautiful mural for a kids room. Simple story telling lyrics.
Anyway, back to the albums of this week.
The first is Kenny Chesney’s newest, Life on a Rock. I can close my eyes and feel my toes in the sand. My favorite song is Lindy. I don’t know quite what it is about that song that actually makes me close my eyes and pause, no matter what I am doing. The other song that digs is “Here on the Hey Now.” I feel as though it serves as a reminder to cherish the people you hold dear.
The other album is called New Siberia. If you follow me on FB you may have seen it pop up in my feed. The artist’s name is Antje Duvekot. Most of her songs of very personal. This is an album that I have just discovered so I don’t know all the nooks and crannie just yet. But just sitting with headphones on blocking out the world and listening is comforting to me.
There are cons to music being so affecting.
There are songs that I can’t listen to without an unbidden memory popping up.
There are artists I simply can’t listen to. It has nothing to do with talent in this case (that is for another time).
There is music that 10 years ago would not have affected me but today will bring a tear.
There is some music that is beyond words. I love the Disney classic, Fantasia. What Mr. Disney and his animators did with that film was not only groundbreaking but deeply emotional, in my opinion.
I know that are sections of Christianity that don’t think music or dancing belongs in the church or their personal lives. I cannot imagine how empty their lives may be.
Music stirs us. Music through worship stirs us to desire God. God stirs us to desire music.
Psalm 8:1
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
The Bible is well worn, it was my graduation gift from the church I grew up in. The CD’s are the first two albums in what has become a massive collection.
Ya’ll know DumbleDan? His name should be Fred (or George) Weasley. He’s a ginger, he likes to make or get into trouble, he thinks he’s sneaky.
But Dano has some separation issues. When Luke is out of town for work, Dan is twice as neurotic as usual. He can’t be still. I have figured out a few things that help him relax and now he is half on my lap, half on Luke’s pillow and sound asleep.
Changing the world one tiny finger at a time
My home church is amazing. We have people with kind hearts and open minds. We have ministries that help the hurting, broken and wounded. This is a statement from our Value Life Ministry.
“Recently one of the demonstrators outside our church during the weekend services posted on her facebook page that “diapers never saved a baby,” referring to the fact that as a Value Life Ministry we give moms in unintended pregnancies diapers, formula, baby items, etc. really everything they need for their unborn baby and that it doesn’t make a difference. I am writing this to tell you that many of the abortion vulnerable women we serve tell us they are considering abortion because they believe they won’t be able to pay for the things they need for their baby if they decide to keep the baby. Through the connection with a Motherheart mentor who will journey alongside her and the generous donations of Vineyard Columbus members and attenders many women decide not to abort their unborn baby. “Diapers DO SAVE babies! ” Thank you for the thousands of donations to the Value Life Ministry…. Empowering Women with REAL Choices”
If you would like to find out more about or donate to Vineyard Columbus’ Value Life Ministry follow the link.
Remembering with those who can’t
I visited my grandma this evening. She is suffering from Lewy Body Parkinson’s. The link is merely descriptive, there is so much more to the disease. I was prepared to write a post today. Then, a song that I have and love came to mind. I am posting a link to a video of the song and including the lyrics.
Anna stares out of the window
It’s her eighty-fifth spring
She tries to concentrate on something
Her face is strained and she’s confused
At the walls in this room
And all the strangers standing around her chair
They brought her photographs in frames
They are using her name
But she just smiles politely at their embrace
And Anna
Introduces herself again
A man picks up her hand
And says, “Anna, look, the spring has come”
And your carousel is waiting
It’s 1925 in New Orleans
You are in your favorite dress
Your brother is at your dad’s hand
And you’re on your way to the Harborfest
There will be apples on sticks and fish stands
And you’ll get to wave at the passing ships
And your daddy will buy you something
At the end
And Anna tries to form a thought
But at the end she’s forgotten where she started from
There’s something she would like to say
But the words in her head seem to have got away
Can Anna come out and play
And over all that is inside her
A curtain is closing in her deep brown eyes
Well it’s like someone’s built a wall
And through the very last cracks
Anna extends her hand and a little girl calls
“Please don’t let me fall”
It’s 1925 in New Orleans
You are in your favorite dress
Your brother is at your dad’s hand
And you’re on your way to the Harborfest
There will be apples on sticks and fish stands
And you’ll get to wave at the passing ships
And your daddy will buy you something
At the end
Well there’s so much you must have witnessed
As the whole world changed, child
At the onset of the Jazz Age
And it was long before Elvis
And rock and roll
They told you, “There will be music
You just wait”
It’s 1925 in New Orleans
You are in your favorite dress
Your brother is at your dad’s hand
And you’re on your way to the Harborfest
There will be apples on sticks and fish stands
And you’ll get to wave at the passing ships
And your daddy will buy you something
At the end
What do you think of it all
As you are so small
Under your blanket here in this hospital
I love you
Tell your bones not to let go
But your heart is beating slowly now
The spring has come
But one small leaf was falling, falling, falling
What I have learned from fairy tales…so far.
If your step-mother is the queen and you more fair than she, except to spend some time in the forest hiding. She wants to take you out. And not in a, “Hey, let’s do dinner” sort of way.
Never make promises to a frog. Never.
That gingerbread house in the forest might look tasty but look the other way, man, look the other way.
You can survive being eaten by a wolf, someone just needs to cut him open and replace you with rocks. Also if the wolf asks where your Grandmother lives, don’t divulge.
Animals can be musicians.
Rumpelstiltskin is a tool.
Tonight my heart is broken at the loss of our dog.
I will miss him getting on the couch every time he thought we weren’t looking.
I will miss his slobbery noggin in my lap when I was trying to put my shoes on.
I will miss him shaking the bed in the morning, trying to wake us up.
I will miss him playing with his (un)stuffed dog.
I will miss the way he would bark at and run away from Kris Potter and Cody & Brenndan Bauman.
I will miss the way he would bug (most) people until they would scratch his noggin.
Mostly, I will miss my big bear.
