Most People I Know

Before meeting Brad, I worked at the Naperville Gap store for a little more than a year.  As a promotion, they gave away a CD featuring different popular artists doing cover songs.  I loved it, so of course, I've since lost it (me, who would tell you I don't lose things, lost this).  Anyway, one day, I was out on the highway driving and singing along with this...

And I was caught by a lyric I hadn't determined, and it made me laugh with joy!  Can you hear it?  (No fair googling it or reading others comments, you have to listen for it be revealed, just as it--He--was revealed to me!)

Josh Wilson

(photo by my friend Harry Miyamoto)

Last Sunday night, while I was on my blog break, Brad and I went to see Josh Wilson at a sort of nearby church.  We had seen him as an opening act twice recently, and we said if he ever "headlined" we'd see him if we could.

We mistakenly arrived about 1.5 hours before show time, and the church staff were gracious enough to let us in early, so we were blessed with first row center seats.  

I didn't bring my camera, and that was okay. I wanted to savor the show.  But my friend Harry showed up, and he's almost always with a camera, so I asked him to share this.

Simply put, if you ever have a chance to see Josh, do.

He put on a two hour solo show, no band, he was his own band.

He's funny.

He's richly talented.

God was with us.

Brad said, he felt we were all in the presence of David--as in King David--

writer of psalms and songs.

"He expresses all that is good in living for our God. We need people like this to help guide our way to the Father. Pray for his influence and his walk of faith."

"Just Keep Your Head Above"

     This song was particularly important to my friend Vicki.  I, too, have fallen in love with it.  Please, I know there a lot of blogs out there that link to the blogger's favorite songs, but if you're feeling at all down, or if you're feeling like a challenge is headed your way, please take a moment and listen to this song--even if you've heard it before.
      You will feel stronger, I promise.  And then, when you're done listening, do me a favor?  Say "Vicki Miller," out loud.  Lots of people are missing her still and always.

  "Vicki Miller."

Swim

You've gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music
That saves you
When you're not so sure you'll survive
You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven't come this far
To fall off the earth
The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
A crack in the armor
I swim to brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Through nights that won't end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers and friends
Yeah you've gotta swim
Through wars without cause
Swim for the lost politicians
Who don't see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking me open now
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
Well I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There's no shame in drifting
Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark
Yeah you've gotta swim
Don't let yourself sink
Just find the horizon
I promise you it's not as far as you think
The currents will drag us away from our love
Just keep your head above
Just keep your head above
Swim
Just keep your head above
Swim, swim
Just keep your head above
Swim

For more on the story of "Swim," click here.

Sunday Sweetness, and Lenten Log number 7

Sweet treat number one:
     My favorite (that's a joke between us, she's my only) niece sent me a message on facebook to tell me to check out this song.  She found it on Itunes, and she thought I'd like it. I do.  I have for a while.  She was right. I don't see her much, I miss her, and though she doesn't listen to Christian music, she stumbled on this one.
     God quietly at work through one of his greatest gifts--the gift of song.
     Thanks Al.

(I choose this acoustic vid to share, it just fit this early Sunday morning--worship time.)

Sweet treat number two:

     Today is our first fourth anniversary.  Four years ago today, my husband came to pick me up from school and we scurried to the county seat to get married before the office closed!  It was a Tuesday afternoon, and we were the last to be hitched in the judge's chambers that day.  He, Brad not the judge, cried.  She, the judge, was stoic.  And it was sweet and quick. I remember holding his hands and looking in his eyes.  Few people knew about it, we kept it secret for a while--this was great fun. No photos were taken though!
     Things are so good, I cried while I shopped for his anniversary card--I love and really like my husband.

  
Lent experience for this week:

     It seems like each week I'm thinking less of Lent.  I feel like I should feel horrible about this, but the World Vision challenge isn't resonating with me (perhaps it's more suited for a different age bracket).  I've had my moments, but there is simply nothing I can do in my life that compares with the suffering Christ endured for me.

     Don't misunderstand, I have talked with and spent time with Jesus this week--and it's been good.  I have prayed and read, but the scripted "program" hasn't done it for me.  What has been coming into my mind often this week?  Godspell.  Someday I should write an entire post about how the movie soundtrack of Godspell was the only God in my life for so long.  Anyway, those songs (and images from the movie) have been with me all week--on my heart and in my mind.  This week I'll throw the CD in my car so I can Praise-along on the way to work. Corny, but amazing how good chooses to work--again through song.
     Last night at church, they asked us to journey through a week's worth of specific devotionals.  I asked Brad to do this with me each evening, similar to how we spent Sunday evenings in Advent.  This is something I'm very much looking forward to.
     God, you reign...

Wedding Song--Question of the Week

     One of my former students is getting married in just under six months, My friend Juanita just went to a wedding shower for her son's fiance, another friend is off in New Orleans for a wedding over this break, our first fourth anniversary coming up next month, so I've been thinking about weddings.

     So here's a wedding question:   

What song did you and hubby dance to?
(Or what song did you and your lovely wife dance to?)

     Our second wedding (remember, first was a civil in April) was on a Sunday afternoon, and though I'd asked people to help me build a song list, only a few people danced. (Could it be because we didn't have an open bar?)  But we did...

     We dance to "God Bless the Broken Road" by Selah.  Since my dad has died, I danced with Mac to "Love Shack," the longest song ever.  There are pictures, but he'd bop me if I posted them here.  Some of the girls (women) danced and our kid friends danced.  I have to post these 'cause the kids have changed so much...

And Mac's friend Mike danced...not a kid, but always a kid to me.
So, share your song, and let's think of joy!

A Tuesday Night Concert

     On Tuesday night, we went to a free (!) concert at our church in Naperville, The Compass.  We saw Josh Wilson, Jonny Diaz and Matthew West (the headliner).  I caught each one in with my-battery's-dying-point-and-shoot:

     Brad's back won't allow him to stand in line for long, so he was allowed in extra early.  He then snagged front row (center) seats, but he worked for them.  He helped some "young men" move some equipment only to realize as the show's third act started it was Matthew West and his band mates he helped.  My husband the roadie!  (And yes, the back allows him to move some and some things, but standing on a cement floor for more than ten minutes would have had him in great pain all day the next day.)
     The show was incredible, and I could go on and on, but instead I'll just strongly recommend you go to youtube and type in any of these musicians' names and listen.  What you will hear from them there will be more important than any words I could use to describe our night.

Help needed to get me back from the Land of Out of Touch...

     My car is a 2003 Honda Civic.  When I bought it, I hoped I'd be driving it until I was in my 50's.  I turn 50 this October (okay, now is a good time to tell me I don't look anywhere near 50...)  My car has a radio.  A simple AM/FM radio, not the satellite variety, and I will admit to being a button pusher.
     In the mornings, I tend to listen to Christian radio as I drive to work (on the way home, news radio, but that's not pertinent).  Yes, I am a Christ Follower, yes I am uplifted by many Christian tunes, but mostly listening to Christian stations is a default behavior on my part.  My other station presets are too full of talk in the morning--even though they're set to music stations.
     When the personalities aren't chatting, the music they play on these current stations isn't so current.  Last week I stumbled across REO Speedwagon ("Time for Me to Fly"), Dexi's Midnight Runners ("Come on Eileen"), and Billy Idol (they all sound the same). When I got in the car this morning, I heard "Hey Jealousy," by the Gin Blossoms.  Great song, but circa '92 is my best guess.
     I have lost touch with what's good and popular now.

     I must have mentioned this to Mac, because for Mother's Day he gave me an iTunes gift card with the promise he'd load some new songs--and only "new" songs--on my ipod.  The problem is? I don't know a single one and the card will pay for dozens.
     So, my question of the week is, Will you make some recommendations for songs I could check out and add to my play list?
    Won't you help me please?  (Okay, it's the beg of the week!)

"It would be heavenly"

     When I first found myself being called back to God a little more than five years ago, I didn't know what to do.  I had been anti-church for so long, I was reticent to try one out.  I was afraid to tell my friends because I knew they'd respond by wanting to take me to church.  I was painfully worried I would get my hands on a Bible and not understand a word of it.  So I went to a Christian bookstore and bought a CD of Christian hits.  I had no idea what I was buying, and then to force myself to listen to it I would pop it in my portable CD player and start my nightly three mile walk.  I had to listen to it then, no turning back.  (I was a little obsessive about my walking at that time.)
     One of the songs on that CD is featured on the play list below.  "Open Skies" was such a joyous and welcoming song, I remember liking it but not really getting it.  Wanting to get it, and knowing in time--quite soon really--I would.  The Holy Spirit at work in me I suppose.
     Last week, while driving to work, "Open Skies" came on WBLG.  I was pleased, that song is tenderly important to me.  Suddenly though, the airwaves were filled with static and other stations bleeding into the song.  Normally I couldn't stand that interference, I'd start button pushing immediately.  But I needed to hear the song, I needed to mentally push every bleeding-in thing away and hear that song.  "Praise Him under open skies, everything breathing praising God, in the company of all who love the King."
     I kept the song on.  When it was over, I felt renewed.  And I realized I had made a better effort at pushing interference out of the way during that one song than I do during daily life.  I realized I need to push the things of life away to see Him and be with Him more.  It may take focus and work on my part, but it can be done.  He is always right there.

Summer Song?

Question for this week, the seed being planted by my son, is:

What's your favorite summer song?

Mine is "Summer in the City," by the Lovin' Spoonful. When it came out, I think when I was six or seven, I thought it was a song about Chicago. What other city was there? It's still such an evocative tune.

I also like, "Ride Captain Ride," and "Close to You," because they remind me of summer. Before we had central AC, I used to sleep on the floor in my older brothers' room (they had a good fan). They'd fall asleep with their FM (woo-hoo, eh?) stereo radio on, and those were two songs I always looked forward to hearing each night. Now, if I hear them and it's not summer, they seem so out of place.

I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll

Okay...squeezing my brain to remember...

I have seen--admittedly in the 80s:

Cheap Trick

(seven times?),

Hall & Oates

(three times--they were a favorite until Darryl Hall was quoted in Rolling Stone--circa 1985--as saying he was the best rock singer ever. Um, Mr. Hall, meet Mr. Zander above),

Duran Duran

(took my sister to see them on the Rio tour, it was a wild teeny bopper experience, and they were so hot),

New Order

(way too much synth),

The Cars

(kind of boring),

The Red Hot Chili Peppers

(found myself in their dressing room, totally innocent situation),

David Bowie

(I wore red shoes; can't recall his footwear),

Prince

(hubba, hubba, hubba--was glad I brought my binoculars),

Sheila E.

(Glamorous before Fergie--without love it ain't much),

Tom Waits

(yawn),

Elvis Costello

(a few times, always so good),

The Jackson Five

(The Michael helps his desperate sibs tour),

Joe Jackson

(no relation to aforementioned desperate sibs),

The Stray Cats

(once at a bar in Milwaukee, once at a bar in Chicago--at the Milwaukee bar, my date aka Mac's dad, sneaked in a camera and almost got pounded by a bouncer),

Sade

(she was so gentle),

The Talking Heads

(a couple of times--or maybe one was the concert movie)...

Entering into the 90s:

The BoDeans

(some kid behind us kept screaming, "Naked, NAKED!!!")

Squeeze

("Tempted" remains one of the best songs ever),

and most recently...in the aughts:

Barenaked Ladies

(all time fave, four times),

Alanis Morrisette

(Dont'cha think?),

and

Chris Isaak

(aka Hello Handsome at the House of Blues).

Yet...

I'm greatly looking forward to and quite excited about seeing

Chris Tomlin tonight.

If you had, even a few years ago, told me I was going to see a "Christian artist" would have laughed.

Hard.

Long.

I still like all the music above (okay, not so much Tom Waits), but I love, too, the new music God has added to my life.

And let's face it, Chris Tomlin is the only artist on this list Brad knows, so we can go together!

Can I get an "Amen?"

Edited Sunday morning:

Last night, as I sat waiting for the show to begin and did some reflecting as I people watched, I realized that you all may have inferred that this was my first Christian concert. It was not, just the first once since I've had this blog!

The opening act, Israel Houghton & New Breed had us singing along immediately. He's written a lot of songs we sing in church, so even though few people knew him, we did know his songs. He threw in a couple of old worship songs, and this made Brad tear up.

Chris Tomlin was fun and fabulous. There were moments as he performed when I paused to listen--I looked at those thousands of people, all different

(for instance, the young girl next to me was so sweet but had not been blessed with the gift of rhythm--her clapping was off all night,

or the elderly couple next to Brad who didn't stand once but kept their eyes closed and swayed in their seats,

or my friend Chris who I could see down in the front row who raised his arms and danced through the whole show),

but all following One--and I got the chills.

How great is our God?

Savant? Hardly.

My husband is an educated man who has served the Lord mightily for decades. He began pastoring at the age of 18, serving a small church on the weekends while he got his undergrad degree.

His Bible knowledge astounds me, and I am drawn to his relationship with Jesus.

In his case, due to these lifelong pursuits, his pop culture knowledge is non-existent, particularly when it comes to pop music.

When we were dating, we were flipping channels one night, and one of those Time-Life infomercials came on plugging a collection of 70's music. Okay, Brad's 20's coincided with the 1970's, but he knew only about two of the nine dozen songs that scrolled on the screen. I, on the other hand was a teen in the 70's, and I knew the words to every song they snippeted: Hall & Oates, David Bowie, America, Heart, Dan Hill and even, sorry to say, Gino Vanelli (I didn't like him, but his song was one of those that sticks where it's not welcome.)

By the end of the commercial, he was just shaking his head at me, and he said, "Do you want me to order this for you?" No need, it was just a walk down memory lane.

While he was raising his family, pursuing more degrees, and pastoring churches, apparently I was listening to the radio too much and going to concerts.

Last summer, we were standing in Dick's Sporting Goods, and "Brian Wilson" by BNL came on. Okay, they are my favorite band, so I sang along. Every word. He just looked at me like I was from another planet, and he will have to admit, to this day he still giggles at the band's name:

Barenaked Ladies.

This fall, we were watching a movie and someone mentioned Led Zeppelin. He said, "Who is that?" Again, the man graduated high school in 1970! I lay in the crook of his arm and sang, "There's a lady who's sure, all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven...when she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed, with a word she will get what she came for..." Admittedly, I don't know if those lyrics are accurate, and my singing is awful, but nevertheless he remembered the tune!

Most recently, at our small group Christmas party, I sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Peter. He's in seventh grade. Brad was proud of me in a silly way. To him, I wrote the World Book chapter on rock knowledge.

Hey, it's easy to look learned next to someone who thinks Amy Grant is what is hip.

Still, and especially, I love my hubby!

All You Need is Love

Last week, for four nights, our church put on a really cool production of an original work, Let It Be Christmas.

It was the Christmas story set, mostly, to Beatles music and told as if it were happening now.

My girls and I went opening night, and so it was special for that reason--a chicks' night out of sorts...(to see my girls, slide all the way down this page to the slide show, and wait for my "daughter/friends" to pop up.)

My two favorite parts of the show were Charles's (w)rap as the opening, and the Wise Men (in this case Eric, Elic, and Zach) who sang the Beatles' "Because" as they approached the Baby Jesus.

On Christmas Day, Brad and I watched The Nativity Story, and each time those Wise Men were on screen in the movie, I could hear the three-part-harmony of three Wise Men in business suits (remember, the modern day setting).

"Love is old, love is new,
Love is all, love is you."

It's awesome (a word I try to save for God things) to hear an old, familiar song and suddenly hear Him in it.

I thank Elic and Eric, the show's masterminds, for sharing His joy with me in this way.

Mary did you know?

Most likely you've heard it, but my goal today is to simply share the song,

"Mary Did You Know."

I heard it first two years ago, and though I can sing along with and have more memories attached to so many other Christmas carols, this one has become incredibly important to me.

Twenty-two years ago, the birth of one child changed my world. I remember looking at Mac when he was his smallest and wondering about the good he would do in his lifetime.

Now that I am a Christ Follower, I know the birth of

this child more than 2,000 years ago,

changed the world forever.

I know the good He is.

How can we not wonder about His mom?

If your computer is on mute or you're listening to something else, please listen instead to this blog's Playlist.

The second song on the list was sung in church yesterday. I found the vocalist after service, and after complimenting his performance, I asked who sang the song originally. He said, "Dave Matthews."

When I replied, "Gee, I don't usually like him,"

the singer laughed, "Me either!"

But yesterday, we both did. So take a listen.

(If you want to repeat a song, just scroll down to the bottom, and click on it on the Playlist.)