"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by the Ventures
(from THE VENTURES CHRISTMAS ALBUM)
(Download to listen here: http://www.mediafire.com/?vnnjy0t5dvo)
Yes, it is starting off with the opening riff of the Beatles' "I Feel Fine." The whole album is like this. There's a version of "Sleigh Ride" on this album that starts off with the Ventures signature "Walk Don't Run" riff before kicking it into high gear on the sleigh ride! Imagine that: the world's first mash-up 40 years before mash-ups became popular!
I played this for Nathan this morning on the way to school. I think he liked it. We started making up lyrics:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it, you might say that I feel fine!
Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you help on our hard day's night?"
Then how the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, don't you know that she loves you!
Or something like that.....
Anyway, the Ventures are my all-time favorite rock band. They are to me what Metallica is to Nathan: the band from which I learned most of what I know about how to play the bass and the guitar. I've been listening to the Ventures since before I learned how to walk, and I've virtually destroyed every Ventures record my dad had (remember yesterday's comment about being infatuated with spinning records at an early age? These got the majority of the abuse!). Finding this album on CD over ten years ago was such a treat, and I'm glad I snagged it cuz I don't think you can find it anymore. BUT, if you've got a record player and a Half-Price Books (or a Doc's Records!) near you, this can be had fairly cheaply.
Enjoy!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Christmas Song of the Day: Thursday, December 3
"Here We Come a-Caroling" by the New Christy Minstrels
(download to listen: http://www.mediafire.com/?miky3w3lnlq)
My Mom's Christmas albums were always a source of joy when I was growing up, and this song has more than its fair share of memories. (It also has more than its fair share of pops, crackles, surface noise, etc. This is what happens when one gets infatuated with spinning records at a very early age!) Probably the happiest memory involves my daughter Amanda. In 1992, when she was five years old and her mother and I were engaged, we were driving somewhere and listening to Christmas music and this song was on the tape we were listening to. She liked it enough to want to hear it again, and we taught ourselves to sing it while we were driving. The "aaaahhhhhhh" in the middle..... every time I hear that, I hear Amanda singing that!
When I bought a record player (after having been without one for about six years or so), and then when I got it hooked up to my computer, Mom's Christmas records were the first thing I saved to CD (well, that and my Styx records!). Before then, I'd been relying on an old cassette tape of the records which was stretched beyond capacity. You can imagine the joy I felt when these records came caroling outta the car speakers, scratchy sound & all! Plus, this song is a lot of fun to sing along with. Just pick a part, any part!
Enjoy!
(download to listen: http://www.mediafire.com/?miky3w3lnlq)
My Mom's Christmas albums were always a source of joy when I was growing up, and this song has more than its fair share of memories. (It also has more than its fair share of pops, crackles, surface noise, etc. This is what happens when one gets infatuated with spinning records at a very early age!) Probably the happiest memory involves my daughter Amanda. In 1992, when she was five years old and her mother and I were engaged, we were driving somewhere and listening to Christmas music and this song was on the tape we were listening to. She liked it enough to want to hear it again, and we taught ourselves to sing it while we were driving. The "aaaahhhhhhh" in the middle..... every time I hear that, I hear Amanda singing that!
When I bought a record player (after having been without one for about six years or so), and then when I got it hooked up to my computer, Mom's Christmas records were the first thing I saved to CD (well, that and my Styx records!). Before then, I'd been relying on an old cassette tape of the records which was stretched beyond capacity. You can imagine the joy I felt when these records came caroling outta the car speakers, scratchy sound & all! Plus, this song is a lot of fun to sing along with. Just pick a part, any part!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Honest Thomas
Thomas gets more grief than he deserves, simply because Jesus used him as the catalyst for saying "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." It's as if Jesus is anticipating the other disciples saying to Thomas, "Yeah, see? We told you He was back! We told you we saw Him!" I don't want to put words in Jesus mouth, but the underlying thought here is Jesus saying to them, "I don't want to hear anything out of you knuckleheads. If I hadn't chosen to appear before you guys, you'd all be saying the saying the same thing Tom just said to me. Only difference between him and y'all is he's got the backbone to be honest with me." The lesson here is that doubt, in and of itself, is not nearly as poisonous as our dishonesty in dealing with it. I can go on and on about how sure I am of my faith in the risen Savior, but if I don't acknowledge my doubt before Him, then I make a mockery of His sacrifice for me. So, I don't know about y'all, but I believe I'm gonna cut Thomas some slack from here on out.
In Him and around the corner (and still faithful despite my doubt),
Al
In Him and around the corner (and still faithful despite my doubt),
Al
Saturday, May 2, 2009
That day is done
Note to self: if you are reading this blog and it's after midnight and you're looking for a reason to write.... STOP! Go to sleep! Your days grace has run its course.
Say good night to God and hit the hay! Pick it back up again tomorrow. It'll still be there, only it'll be covered in the newness of the day.
In Him and around the corner (and in constant need of reminding),
Al
Say good night to God and hit the hay! Pick it back up again tomorrow. It'll still be there, only it'll be covered in the newness of the day.
In Him and around the corner (and in constant need of reminding),
Al
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Snatched!
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:28)
Except for when I let them snatch me.
How easily I let myself be snatched. It doesn't take much. And then I'm lifted out of Your hand. But I can still see You, so I know You'll keep an eye on me. Right?
And even as I get further away, I can still see You, which means You can still see me. Right? Except that it's getting a little colder the further away from You I get. And now it's getting foggier and the view is getting dimmer. Jesus, I can still see You, and I know that You can still see me.
But now I can barely hear You, and other voices are adding to the already cascading din. Why won't You bring me back? Whatever it is that I let snatch me from Your hand has a powerful grip on me. Well, actually, it's the other way around: I'm holding on for dear life. If I fall now that I'm so high up....
I look and I can barely see You, although I know You see me. Now the flight is becoming bumpy and I'm running into things out here in the darkness. I can't believe I did it again! I can't believe I let myself be snatched from Your hand. Again! I can take some solace in knowing that I'm not the first and won't be the last; Your Word is filled with stories of people who let themselves be snatched from Your hand and yet, every time and without fail, You caught them when they fell back to you.
Guess I oughta let gravity take it's course. And so I fall. Hoping that You will catch me. Yet You always do; why should I doubt that this time will be any different? Because it feels as though I'm taking advantage of Your grace and mercy. Because I can't hide my sin from You. Because I barely trust myself; how can I trust anyone else, even You?
The fall is painful. The same bumps and obstacles that I hit on the way up are there for me to run into again. But as I fall, I see Your face. I see Your outstretched hand. I can hear You again. And one last pinch of shame asks why I continue to leave You on a regular basis, and why after all these years, You continue to catch me?
Thanks and praise be to You, Jesus, that your love is infinite, unending, and patient; that You would love a repeat offender like me enough to catch me every time I let myself be snatched. This is what You mean: no one snatches me from Your hand because You are there to catch us when we fall, when we finally let go and say "Lord, I did it again! Catch me!"
In Him and around the corner (and still going round and round),
Al
Except for when I let them snatch me.
How easily I let myself be snatched. It doesn't take much. And then I'm lifted out of Your hand. But I can still see You, so I know You'll keep an eye on me. Right?
And even as I get further away, I can still see You, which means You can still see me. Right? Except that it's getting a little colder the further away from You I get. And now it's getting foggier and the view is getting dimmer. Jesus, I can still see You, and I know that You can still see me.
But now I can barely hear You, and other voices are adding to the already cascading din. Why won't You bring me back? Whatever it is that I let snatch me from Your hand has a powerful grip on me. Well, actually, it's the other way around: I'm holding on for dear life. If I fall now that I'm so high up....
I look and I can barely see You, although I know You see me. Now the flight is becoming bumpy and I'm running into things out here in the darkness. I can't believe I did it again! I can't believe I let myself be snatched from Your hand. Again! I can take some solace in knowing that I'm not the first and won't be the last; Your Word is filled with stories of people who let themselves be snatched from Your hand and yet, every time and without fail, You caught them when they fell back to you.
Guess I oughta let gravity take it's course. And so I fall. Hoping that You will catch me. Yet You always do; why should I doubt that this time will be any different? Because it feels as though I'm taking advantage of Your grace and mercy. Because I can't hide my sin from You. Because I barely trust myself; how can I trust anyone else, even You?
The fall is painful. The same bumps and obstacles that I hit on the way up are there for me to run into again. But as I fall, I see Your face. I see Your outstretched hand. I can hear You again. And one last pinch of shame asks why I continue to leave You on a regular basis, and why after all these years, You continue to catch me?
Thanks and praise be to You, Jesus, that your love is infinite, unending, and patient; that You would love a repeat offender like me enough to catch me every time I let myself be snatched. This is what You mean: no one snatches me from Your hand because You are there to catch us when we fall, when we finally let go and say "Lord, I did it again! Catch me!"
In Him and around the corner (and still going round and round),
Al
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I am going round and round....
Okay, this was a God moment. There is no other explanation for what just happened.
I had just finished typing out a long dark night of the soul almost-prayer, using the title of tonight's entry (taken from the Who's "In a Hand or Face" from The Who By Numbers) as my starting point, went to highlight the whole thing for copying elsewhere and it just.... disappeared. Just like a prayer, lifted up to the Lord, out of my hands and into His.
I tried hitting Ctrl-Z to try and bring it back, tried Ctrl-V in hopes it had accidentally been cut/copied. Tried to go back to the auto-saved draft. Nothing.
What do you make of this? Computer glitch? This isn't the first time I've done this process, but it's the first and (so far) only time it's ever evaporated right before my eyes.
It's just a reminder that when I pray, I need to let God take my prayer. I don't know about y'all, but my "amens" rarely signal that I'm ready to let go of what I'm supposed to be giving to God. Oh, what peace I often forfeit; oh, what grief and pain I bear. All because I do not carry everything to God in prayer. I believe He just showed me tonight how it's supposed to be done.
Amen, baby.
In Him and around the corner (and still in awe),
Al
I had just finished typing out a long dark night of the soul almost-prayer, using the title of tonight's entry (taken from the Who's "In a Hand or Face" from The Who By Numbers) as my starting point, went to highlight the whole thing for copying elsewhere and it just.... disappeared. Just like a prayer, lifted up to the Lord, out of my hands and into His.
I tried hitting Ctrl-Z to try and bring it back, tried Ctrl-V in hopes it had accidentally been cut/copied. Tried to go back to the auto-saved draft. Nothing.
What do you make of this? Computer glitch? This isn't the first time I've done this process, but it's the first and (so far) only time it's ever evaporated right before my eyes.
It's just a reminder that when I pray, I need to let God take my prayer. I don't know about y'all, but my "amens" rarely signal that I'm ready to let go of what I'm supposed to be giving to God. Oh, what peace I often forfeit; oh, what grief and pain I bear. All because I do not carry everything to God in prayer. I believe He just showed me tonight how it's supposed to be done.
Amen, baby.
In Him and around the corner (and still in awe),
Al
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
"Increase our faith!"
Luke 17 is a very confusing chapter.
Jesus says you're going to have trouble, but then says it's gonna be a baaaaaad day for the one who brought you trouble.
If you have even the tiniest of faith, you could uproot a mulberry tree..... oops, a little light just went on: it's not you or I that could do that: it's God, working through our faith. But what would be the point? To do so would just be to show off, and God doesn't dig showing off. I think..... ehhh, there's that "I" word again.....
Or maybe it's just to realize that we're no greater than we think we are, but that we're also not as bad...... no, I take it back: we are as bad as we think we are. Probably worse. All I gotta do for proof of that is drive 360 in the morning. Or get behind some inconsiderate galoot in the drive-thru pharmacy line when it's five minutes to closing time and he's just sitting there and all I wanna do is pick up my prescription and go and the last time it was me who was at the front and the pharmacist asked me to move in case anyone else showed up to pick up a prescription but did this turkey move? Noooooooo!
Yep: gonna have trouble.
Lord, I don't understand; please help my misunderstanding, disunderstanding, nonunderstanding, and that I don't let that keep me from staying focused on You.
Lord, help my unbelief. Help me to hear with my heart and not with my ears. Check that out: no wonder I don't comprehend: ear has three letters, heart has five. There's an ear in my heart, but no heart in the ear. Lord, help me to hear with my heart. Lead me in the path of greater understanding.
In Him and around the corner (and hoping I didn't just bring trouble to YOU),
Al
Jesus says you're going to have trouble, but then says it's gonna be a baaaaaad day for the one who brought you trouble.
If you have even the tiniest of faith, you could uproot a mulberry tree..... oops, a little light just went on: it's not you or I that could do that: it's God, working through our faith. But what would be the point? To do so would just be to show off, and God doesn't dig showing off. I think..... ehhh, there's that "I" word again.....
Or maybe it's just to realize that we're no greater than we think we are, but that we're also not as bad...... no, I take it back: we are as bad as we think we are. Probably worse. All I gotta do for proof of that is drive 360 in the morning. Or get behind some inconsiderate galoot in the drive-thru pharmacy line when it's five minutes to closing time and he's just sitting there and all I wanna do is pick up my prescription and go and the last time it was me who was at the front and the pharmacist asked me to move in case anyone else showed up to pick up a prescription but did this turkey move? Noooooooo!
Yep: gonna have trouble.
Lord, I don't understand; please help my misunderstanding, disunderstanding, nonunderstanding, and that I don't let that keep me from staying focused on You.
Lord, help my unbelief. Help me to hear with my heart and not with my ears. Check that out: no wonder I don't comprehend: ear has three letters, heart has five. There's an ear in my heart, but no heart in the ear. Lord, help me to hear with my heart. Lead me in the path of greater understanding.
In Him and around the corner (and hoping I didn't just bring trouble to YOU),
Al
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
