Saturday’s Song: Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns

Posted on June 15, 2013 by EdB

It’s been several stormy weeks. There have been tornadoes in Oklahoma & the mid west. We had severe thunderstorms pass through Georgia Thursday night. The trees were swaying like flags, the rain came down in a torrents while lightning flashed continually. So many are faced with storms of crisis in their health, financial storms & our country is paralyzed with political parties unwilling to compromise for the good of the “we the people.” I makes you wonder about the times we live in but it seems as every generation says this at some time. It does bring us to the Praise Song of the Day: “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns.

Casting Crowns
Praise You in This Storm

From wiki: “Praise You In This Storm” is a song recorded by Christian rock band Casting Crowns. Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms and produced by Mark A. Miller, it was released on January 28, 2006 as the second radio single from the band’s 2005 album Lifesong. It was inspired by the band’s experience with a girl, Erin Browning, who died of cancer, the song has the lyrical theme of maintaining faith through difficult circumstances. It was nominated for two awards at the 38th GMA Dove Awards, winning the award for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts. It also topped the Radio & Records Christian AC & Soft AC/Inspirational charts.

Hope that you have a super Saturday & a wonderfully amazing weekend! Wishing you an even better day tomorrow. When the storms come, hold onto this: “Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.”’ Hebrews 13:5 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Happy Father’s Day!

“Praise You in This Storm”

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Friday’s Song:”Like A Child” by Jars of Clay

Posted on June 7, 2013 by EdB

Happy Friday afternoon friends, I wish everyone an incredible & wonderful weekend. It’s been a good day today, a little hot & muggy but the rain held off in NW Georgia (Marietta) until we were finished for the day. So, my thoughts turned to a great way to start off the weekend. I’m not sure why but a great praise and worship song by Jars of Clay came to mind. It joyfully speaks to the way we should address all our problems. The Praise Song of the Day:“Like a Child” by Jars of Clay.

“Like a Child” was the fourth “radio” single released from the self titled album Jars of Clay. It followed another of my favorites from this album “Love Song to a Savior.” Both songs were written while the band members were students at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.

I hope you will to accept one truth from this song, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” as found in Mark 10:15 & Luke 18:17. We must all have faith “Like a Child” to enter the Kingdom.

“Like A Child”

I hope that you’ve had a great day today & have an even better tomorrow.

Praise and worhsip song with lyrics:“Like a Child” by Jars of Clay

http://youtu.be/cAK0rmHbk6Q

Friday’s Song: “We Will Rock You” by Queen

Posted on May 31, 2013 by EdB

It’s a sunny day & the end of May in the sunny south. Tomorrow is June the first but today let’s celebrate the sunshine, the springtime, & last day of May with a praise song that somehow became the anthem for sporting events around the world. Written by Brian May, the lead guitarist for Queen, this song consists of a stomp, stomp & chant followed by one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in all of music. Rock & Roll praise song of the day, with lyrics: “We Will Rock You,” written & performed by Brian May & Queen.

We Will Rock You

From Wiki: In 1977, “We Will Rock You” & “We Are the Champions” were issued together as a worldwide top ten single. These songs were written in response to an event occurring in the 1977 British Tour. The band had played a gig at Stafford’s Bingley Hall, and, says Brian May:

‘We did an encore and then went off, & instead of just keeping clapping, they sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to us, and we were just completely knocked out & taken aback – it was quite an emotional experience really, and I think these chant things are in some way connected with that.’

Soon after the album was released, many radio stations began playing the songs back to back without interruption. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it number 330 of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004 and the RIAA placed it at number 146 on its list of Songs of the Century. In 2009, “We Will Rock You” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

I have also heard this song used as a praise & worship song by changing the lyrics of the chant to: “We will, we will love you.” Isn’t it funny how versitale songs can be?

I hope that you have an incredible last day of May, and you have an even better day tomorrow. Keep on rockin’ & remember that as long as we never give up, “We Are the Champions!”

Here is a web address to both songs combined: http://youtu.be/6hg5skx5TZM

“We Will Rock You” by Queen

Tuesday’s Song, “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin

Posted on May 28, 2013 by EdB

It’s been a cool morning, which gave way to a warm & muggy day in the sunny south. We’ve had beautiful weather for the Memorial Day weekend, & I hope yours was also. On Friday evening we started the weekend off with a two hour praise music set @ The Cross Worship Ministry. The group I’m blessed to play with praised from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM-ish. A friend, Mark Baer, had a birthday, so we celebrated by sharing chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. If I’ve just eaten or not, I can always find room for chocolate cake. Backing the train up just a bit to the praise music, one of the things I enjoy about playing music is connecting with what God is doing through the music. I can never explain it but I just hear/feel things within the music. While I’m playing, sometimes the things I feel in the music just find their way out of my guitar. This never fails bless me. I’m not a hugely talented guitar player but God can even use me when I’m praising Him. This brings me to the praise song of the day, “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin. We have enjoyed this song for a long time & I’ve always enjoyed playing it. I was surprised to discover that I hadn’t used it for a praise song of the day. Please, enjoy this amazing praise and worship song. While doing research I discovered something incredible. Chris Tomlin when asked to perform the song at an international conference updated the song which is now known as the ‘world version.’ It includes other worship leaders singing parts in their native languages: Indonesian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Zulu & closing in Mandarin, with pictures possibly from China. This world version brought tears to my eyes. To answer the question in the song, as great as great can be if not better. I hope enjoy it, that you have had a great day today & have an even better day tomorrow.

Here’s a link to the original version. It is an incredible praise and worship song with lyrics included on screen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLQ1td3MbE

“How Great Is Our God” (World Edition), by Chris Tomlin

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Posted on May 8, 2013 by EdB

Monday’s Song, “Flood” by Jars of Clay

Posted on May 7, 2013 by EdB

It’s funny sometimes how we ask and/or pray for something continually, then wonder if we’ll ever really get it. For the last several years the sunny south has been rather dry. I’m not talking Arizona or Mohave Desert dry but quoting the experts, “we have been experiencing severe drought conditions.” We’ve ended each the last 4-5 years with rainfall deficits approaching a foot or more. We’ve seen lakes with significantly low water levels, while some area ponds, creeks & wells have dried up. The well-boring people have been working 10-12 hour days & more. We have discussed, prayed over it and were concerned it would not let up. We’ve lost a lot of the grass to the dryness & trees were dying from lack of rain. In recent years when folks went out to cut the grass, in some areas we were cutting as much dirt as we were cutting grass. We were kicking up enough dust when cutting the yard that when stepped off a riding mower, people looked liked “pigpen” in the Charlie Brown Comic Strip, with a cloud of dust at their feet.

Now the problem has reversed itself. A week ago, the news reported a rainfall surplus of over 5.5 inches year to date. We had significant rain over the weekend with mentions of a new surplus total of approximately 9.00 inches ytd. Area lakes are approaching or exceeding “full pool.” The National Weather Service was issuing flood warnings in north Georgia, where streams, creeks & rivers are starting to overflow their banks. It reminds me of the old saying, “be careful what you ask for, you just may get it.” God has blessed us with some serious rainfall. Recently, trees have been falling because the ground is so rain soaked the roots cannot support them when storm winds blow. Dust is no longer a problem, now our problem is the ground being too wet & too soft to cut grass or sometimes to walk on. As human beings, doesn’t it seem we’re unhappy about the rain whether we have too little or much? That concern brings us to the Praise Song of the day: “Flood” by Jars of Clay. I hope you will enjoy this great praise and worship song with the lyrics included in the video.

Noah’s Ark and rainbow

Ark in flood

Jars of Clay is their self titled, first full-length album released October 24, 1995. “Flood” was the eighth track on that album but first single released from the album. “Flood” rose to number one on the Billboard & stayed for a long time. Secular radio stations caught on to the popularity of this song & some of them began to play it. Essential Records decided to use parent label Silvertone to promote the album, sending out CD singles to radio stations. Many of the radio stations loved the single, putting it into regular rotation. After it was played, the phones would ring constantly with inquisitive listeners wondering about the song. “Flood” hit the No. 1 position on numerous secular radio stations due to its popularity in the northwestern US where many alternative bands were then popular. Jars of Clay was initially considered a contemporary Christian praise and worship group but things changed with the release of “Flood.” It was a crossover hit in the United States, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart & No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album remained in the top 60 albums for much of the year, also remaining in Billboard’s Top 200 albums for the entire 52-week cycle. The album went ‘gold’ and shortly after attained ‘platinum’ status. The debut album has now sold around 2,000,000 copies.

Last year, Carole & I had the pleasure of seeing & hearing Jars of Clay at the “Celebrate Freedom” concert on Labor Day weekend. In the concert, Jars of Clay was incredible, performing “Flood” & many of their other songs! I sincerely hope they return this year. For anyone in the Atlanta, GA area that enjoys “praise and worship music” this concert is a must for Labor Day Weekend.

I hope that you’ve had a marvelous Monday & have an even better day tomorrow. Stay dry, if you can!

“Flood” by Jars of Clay

Monday’s Song: “Freedom” by Richie Havens

Posted on April 29, 2013 by EdB

It’s a cloudy Monday after a rainy Saturday evening & Sunday. On Saturday, I had the blessing to “pay it forward” by serving at McEachern Memorial UMC Car Care Ministry. We help by performing maintenance to the cars of folks who would not otherwise be able to afford service for their cars. Often we work on cars for single mothers, retirees, missionaries, & those less fortunate. In some instances we take donated vehicles, repair/refurbish then as necessary, to provide transportation for people with no working transportation. While it can be tiring work, we know we are doing this, “for the least of these” & serving a higher call. Saturday evening, I was fortunate to attend a candlelight serenade for my nephew Andy who was not expecting the serenade, his mother or me to be part of the Body of Christ serenading him & his new friends. Hopefully Andy was freed from anything that stood between him & a relationship with God & a better understanding of the sacrifice made for him by our Lord on the cross. Yesterday was just a rainy Sunday. Today started the morning cloudy but we are now starting to see sunshine occasionally break through the clouds. Today, April 29th, is the anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp by US Army Troops in 1945. It’s fitting that the day/days before this anniversary would be rainy to acknowledge the tears that fell & the suffering that occurred in this & many other such camps during this war, wars before & wars since. For me, the sunshine symbolizes the joy felt by the people held captive in this camp upon being set free. This point brings us to the praise song of the day: “Freedom” by Richie Havens from 1969 at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. The feelings Richie Havens projected in this song make it a perfect departure “praise song” befitting this day. You can still look forward to the regular “praise & worship songs with lyrics” in the future.

3 Days of Peace & Music

While researching the song, I was saddened to discover Richie Havens died of a heart attack exactly a week ago, at the age of 72. As we pause to remember & celebrate the freedom of the captives from the Dachau Concentration Camp today, we can celebrate Richie Haven’s freedom from the burdens of this life & we celebrate the one week anniversary of his arrival in heaven. From wikipedia, “Richie Havens was an American singer-songwriter guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul, and rhythm and blues. He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. His Woodstock appearance in 1969 catapulted him into stardom and proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival’s first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours. In part, Havens was told to continue playing, because many artists scheduled to perform after him were delayed in reaching the festival location with highways at a virtual standstill. He was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual “Motherless Child” that became “Freedom”. The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience”. RIP Richie Havens & all the souls lost in Dachau. We also pray for those so weak when freed on this day in 1945, they never recovered & died shortly after.

I hope that you are having a marvelous Monday & will have an even better day tomorrow. I also hope that you will find “Freedom” from anything that stands between you & a better relationship with a loving Father God that deeply desires a relationship with you. Please let me know which prayers we may offer for your freedom from whatever troubles you.

“Freedom” by Richie Havens

Thursday’s Song: “Help Me Find It” by Sidewalk Prophets

Posted on April 25, 2013 by EdB

Daily, we are confronted with so much information; we hear the news from competing sources, all of whom are fighting for our undivided attention above all others. It can be a very noisy world in which we live. That noise makes it not only difficult to hear but also to think. It adds to the difficulty to find what we need among all the noise. Occasionally, I find myself seeking something I’ve lost. Yes, I loose things. I have tried many different ways to find those numerous things I’ve lost. I have found something that gives me peace & helps me sometimes find what I’m seeking. What is that you ask? It’s the point where we visit the praise song of the day: “Help Me Find It” by Sidewalk Prophets.

When I can’t find whatever it is that I’m seeking, I pause, close my eyes, & say a little prayer, asking for help & guidance to find it. More often than not, whatever I’m seeking is soon in my grasp. I can’t explain why that helps but I’ve heard that God helps those who seek Him & seek His guidance. Could it be He’s just so surprised to hear from me that if grabs His attention? I don’t know. There is so much that I don’t know. I find it easier to seek guidance from those better equipped to provide it. That doesn’t mean that I always do what HE asks of me. The truth is, I have being dragged kicking & screaming more often than not. To that end, the words from a song by Rich Mullins describes those awkward moments: “I’d rather fight You for something I don’t really want, than to take what You give that I need.”

The Sidewalk Prophets are a contemporary Christian music band from Nashville, TN. In, 2010, they were named “New Artist of the Year” by GMA & awarded a Dove Award. The same year, they were nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for their album These Simple Truths. In 2011, they were nominated by GMA for Group of the Year. In 2012, they released their newest album, Live Like That, which rose to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Albums in 2012 & includes one of my new favorite songs, “Help Me Find It”.

Live Like That – album cover

I hope you have a Terrific Tuesday & an even better day tomorrow. Whenever (if ever) you find yourself seeking something you’ve lost, trying asking for some help & guidance by asking God to, “Help Me Find It”. It may open doors to a new relationship with the reported creator of the universe. How cool could that be?

Here’s a great praise and worship song with lyrics:

“Help Me Find It” by Sidewalk Prophets

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Monday’s Song: “Taxman” by the Beatles

Posted on April 15, 2013 by EdB

It’s that special day of the year; not a birthday, Christmas, or Easter but it is April 15th. It’s tax day. While I’m never excited to have a stare down with the calendar with this day approaching, I am thankful to earn enough to worry about paying taxes. While I hear complaints regularly about how bad things are in this county, I’m not ready to pack it all up and move somewhere else. There is a lot of discussion about immigration but most everyone of our families immigrated here at some point from some other place with much less opportunity. Our song for today is not one of the traditional “praise and worship songs” but Praise Song of the Day is: “Taxman” by the Beatles.

The song “Taxman” as one of a very few written by Beatle, George Harrison in 1966. It is the opening track on the Beatles album Revolver. Harrison said, “’Taxman’ was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money; we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical.” As their earnings placed them in the top tax bracket in the United Kingdom, the Beatles were liable to a 95% supertax introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labour government (hence the lyrics “There’s one for you, nineteen for me”).

Revolver is the seventh studio album by the Beatles. It reached number one on both the British chart and American chart where it stayed for seven weeks and six weeks, respectively. The Beatles album Revolver placed #1 in the All-Time Top 1000 Albums & # 3 in the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. I was unable to find any praise and worship songs with lyrics about taxes, but we did find “Taxman” with lyrics, enjoy.

I hope that you have had a great day today & an even better day tomorrow. I also hope that you continue to earn enough that paying taxes is a concern but not so much as to be a burden.

“Taxman“by the Beatles

Praise Song for Saturday: “Breathe” by Michael W Smith

Posted on April 13, 2013 by EdB

It’s spring time in the sunny south which means sunshine, flowers blooming, trees blooming, grass growing, and pollen. We are at the point where it’s almost approaching yellow snow. It’s interesting to drive away in a car almost yellow with pine tree pollen & watch it blow off the car. Simultaneously, our car is stirring up pollen from the driveway & down the street. It’s almost like living on a dry dirt road when the pollen stirs up into a cloud almost like dust behind a car on a dirt road. It’s funny but it brings back memories of growing up just outside Raleigh, NC when many of the small roads were gravel/dirt roads. The roads in the housing subdivision where I grew up in outside the city limits were gravel & dirt roads & cars would sometimes made large dust clouds when it was dry. I also remember riding my bike several miles to play little league baseball in a sand lot field in a pasture across from the New Hope Baptist Church. One of the side roads which approached the ball field was gravel & dirt. It was a short cut from my house to the ball field. It was great times riding down that dirt road until a car came roaring along. Then, you could hardly see or breathe for the dust cloud from the passing car.

Dusty road

There are other times in our lives when we are so burdened that it’s almost hard to breathe or to remember to breathe, an involuntary action, meaning our body must breathes to live. It’s at those difficult times, the best thing we can do, is to just breathe. When we sit & breathe deeply, it helps us become calm & allows us to reflect. Sometimes, if we close our eyes & just breathe, it’s easier to find inner peace. It’s this place where/when God seems a little closer. It’s not that God is really any closer. It’s that we are focusing on shutting out some or all if the noise in our lies which sometimes is overwhelming us.

Just breathe!

It’s in those inner places in our soul, that we can hear God speaking to us. This thought brings us to the praise song of the day: “Breathe” by Michael W Smith.

The song “Breathe” appears on two albums by Michael W Smith. Both albums are compilations albums. The albums are: Worship, which was Michael W. Smith’s sixteenth album. Worship was certified Multi-Platinum, meaning it sound over two million copies. It peaked at #20 on the album chart. It was released September 11, 2001 (this is Smith’s first album of contemporary worship music) & the second album is titled: Decades of Worship (released January 17, 2012).

I hope that you have a super Saturday & an even better day tomorrow. However if life has become almost too much of an adventure for you, remember to just “Breathe.”

“Breathe” by Michael W Smith