have you thanked a veteran lately?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfElHIt7n0s&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
have you thanked a veteran lately?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfElHIt7n0s&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
Here are the lyrics:
I believe there’s only one God, and He’s a trinity
The Father, Son, and Spirit, Almighty God is He
I believe He’s the Creator, by Him were all things made
He knows all and He’s holy; forever He’s the same.
But you and I are sinners so God sent His only Son
To be born of a virgin, He’s God and man in one.
I believe for my salvation Christ suffered and He died,
He rose again the third day and lives in heaven on high.
I was thoroughly enjoying listening to my Randy Travis Glory Train CD while I puttered around in the kitchen this afternoon. It’s full of wonderful songs, and there’s just something about Randy Travis’s voice (for those of us who love country music, that is).
I posted lyrics to one of my favorites in my Facebook status this afternoon. So rich and true:
He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
and the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered victory without fighting
but He said help would always come in time.
Just remember when you’re standing
in the valley of decision and the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again
Another one that has become a favorite is “Where You There (when they crucified my Lord)?” I’ve heard this song many times throughout my life, and I have to admit, I never “got” it. Just seemed a bit non sequitur to me… of course I wasn’t there!
But this past August (August 11th, while I was out for a walk/run, to be precise), the beauty and message of this song finally touched my heart. It became not about whether or not I was there, but caused me to ponder all of these events, and somehow they became more real to me:
when they crucified my Lord
when they nailed Him to the tree
when they pierced Him in the side
when they laid Him in the tomb
And glory hallelujah – when He rose up from the grave!
It truly caused me to tremble. And to literally hit my knees with my face to the ground, again surrendering, as I was shaken to the core with the magnitude of my Savior’s sacrifice and love for me. It still causes me to tremble, and I can rarely hear the song without tears.
I couldn’t find the Randy Travis version to share with you, but here is a great rendition from Johnny Cash (with the Tennessee Three, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and the Carter Family).
I pray it causes you to tremble.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7u6eRrxuKU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1]
have you thanked a veteran lately?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfElHIt7n0s&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
It’s our 14th!
Happy Anniversary, Babe! I’m so glad to be yours, and thankful you love me even when I’m seven weeks pregnant and horribly emotional. 🙂
For some reason, I can’t find songs from our wedding on youtube, but here are a couple from our reception…
Andrew and Amity sang “Two Sets of Joneses” for us:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQE5PNRLZ40&hl=en&fs=1]
And Lynn surprised us with “If You Could See What I See.” I couldn’t find a video with Geoff Moore in it… the best I could find is this one with shots from the TV show Beauty and the Beast (loved that show, btw):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAFzqWNQBNM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
Someday, I’ll like to get digitalized the video of Andrew and Daniel singing the song Daniel wrote for us.
The song I most would like to find to embed is Steve Green’s “God Causes All Things to Grow.” Debbie Smith sang it at our wedding, and it is still such a blessing to me. Here are the lyrics:
Dreams dressed in white
Vows made by candlelight
Hoping to find out what true love is all about
A quiet fear
Where do we go from here
So many wake and see love slowly disappear
Chorus:
God causes all things to grow
Through every season we know
He will guard the life
That He’s planted in our souls
And when we feel the cold winds blow
We’ll hold to what we know
God causes all things to grow
You know where I’ve failed
My weakness has been unveiled
And yet by grace you choose to love and to forgive
So come what may our home is here to stay
A witness to the lasting promise He has made
And we know God causes all things to grow
Through every season we know
He will guard the life
That He’s planted in our souls
And when we feel the cold winds blow
We’ll hold to what we know
God causes all things to grow
I have so much to post! But I must go fix supper. So I’ll tell you about our new puppy, etc, later. But I had to take the time to post this wonderful video. I hadn’t heard this song until today, and it just… wow.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27GUZsrhxJ8&hl=en&fs=1&]
This is a phenomenal performance by Phil Keaggy of Salvation Army Band. Rick, from Cumberland Books/Dry Creek Chronicles, posted it out of his current fascination with “looping,” a technique that allows a solo artist to “turn his solo guitar into a guitar army.” I sat here with my mouth open through much of it – great stuff!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDPM4-YIF9c&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thR-lVuztIY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
A friend had a neat post this morning about music that pulls our heartstrings. There are some lovely pieces of music listed in the ensuing comments, and I’m guessing there will be more than one post that comes of it on my blog.
One of the pieces of music that has brought me to tears more times than I can count is the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. I’ve always loved it, but it gained a whole new significance to me in the early 1990’s.
I was blessed to attend, with a group of family and friends, one of the performances in the New Young Messiah tour in 1993. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening, but the portion of the performance that had a profound affect on me was the Hallelujah Chorus. It was, in keeping with the treatment of Handel’s great work, a more modern rendition, and even included some ballet dancers.
As I stood and raised my voice in praise with the thousands around me, I was brought to tears as I thought of an eternity of praising our Savior with saints through the ages. I wonder if perhaps we’ll praise Him in every style of music that has been used throughout human history. I am certain that there will be no judgment of this style or that style of music or praise, because, at last, our focus will be where it truly should be – on our precious Lord!
The experience brought to mind some of the passages that talk about the praise due our Lord:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
(Isaiah 6:1-3)
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
(Revelation 4:8-11)
And one of my favorite passages, Revelation 5. The portion in italics, we love to sing; the portion in bold is part of the text on which the prelude to the Hallelujah Chorus is based:
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
(Revelation 5:1-14)
I’m not making any statements on my view of the “end times” here. I just believe that once it’s all over and done, we are going to have some fabulous praise and worship together! And I think that it’s going to happen in a great many musical genres.
So, here’s a traditional version of the Hallelujah Chorus:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtWkNxn3duA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
Looking forward to Forever and Ever!
Over the last couple of days, I’ve been seeing all these news headlines on my various feeds about some big surprise on a British talent tv show. I’m not into tv; I’m not into reality shows, tv talent shows, etc. But last night when Sue told me about this amazing performance, I headed to youtube to take a look.
I can’t embed the video, but it’s so worth the click. Check out Susan Boyle.