I'm privileged to be the person who chooses the songs we sing on Sunday mornings during our church worship and celebration service.
(I'm always open to input!)
Today I'm coordinating the order of service and adding a few creative elements as we find ourselves in the 2nd Sunday of Lent as well as in the midst of The Salvation Army's Partners in Mission campaign to aid Liberia.
I truly believe God speaks profoundly through music and poetry. The Bible is filled with it. Timeless, truthful, beautiful words.
Today, while flipping through our church songbook, I found a familiar hymn that specifically spoke to me in light of the recent devestation in Japan and other parts of our world - as well as the turmoils and tensions I've been made aware of in the lives of several people I care very deeply about.
Each can be overwhelming to go through, nevermind trying to be that friend who stands along the sidelines wondering how I can even possibly be of any help and comfort.
Here are the lyrics.
THE WONDER OF HIS GRACE
Many are the things I cannot understand All above me mystery I see But the gift most wonderful from God's own hand Surely is His gift of grace to me
Higher than the stars that reach eternity Broader than the boundaries of endless space Is the boundless love of God that pardoned me O the wonder of His grace!
When I came to Jesus with my sin and shame And to Him confessed my deepest need When by faith I trusted fully in His name God's rich grace was granted me indeed
Passing understanding is His boundless love More than I can ever comprehend Jesus, in His mercy, left His throne above All to be my Saviour and my friend
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Thank you God for halting my crazy day for this special moment.
Thank you for reminding me of Your amazing love, creatively penned by others whose words continue to testify to the same.
My daughter and I (like countless other mom/daughter combos) recently saw Justin Bieber's movie, "Never Say Never."
A very inspiring movie about JB's rise to fame from a little Ontarian town.
And he's got all these catchy tunes, like this one, which I actually have on my iPod and has gotten me through an extra 5 minutes on the treadmill lately.
We really enjoyed the movie despite all the screaming, shrieking, (and even) fainting GIRLS. Oh my.
Here's a picture of the cutie-patootie everyone's crushin' about.
The mom in me, who just couldn't get past the clips of him as a sweet little 6 year old boy playing the drums, kept thinking, I hope they are really taking good care of him. That's a lot of hype for one teenage boy! Based on the movie, he does seem to have a good support system surrounding him.
Bria and I had lots of good conversation in the car ride home. She couldn't get over some of the girls crying at his concerts.
Bria: Weren't they happy to be there?
Me: Well, honey, that's the point - they were SOOO happy to be there that they were overwhelmed.
Bria: Well, they didn't need to ruin their time there by crying through the whole thing!
*giggle*
The hype surrounding The Biebs brought me back to my tween days where another group in pop music was evoking the same screaming, shrieking (and even) fainting results in MY circle of girlfriends...
Can you guess who it was?
Scroll down...
Down more...
(Really about to show my age here...)
Ahhh, Duran Duran.
Yes, they are ALL male.
(Hey, the '80's were an androgynous era!)
By age 10, I was certain I would marry Simon LeBon someday.
He was the lead singer.
The cheeky one at top-right.
(Instead, I married the cheeky Jason LeBon and, I'm very happy about that.)
I just can't leave this blog posting without a Duranie video.
Special effects have certainly come a long way!
It's so funny to see the pop star mayhem continue on to another generation in my family.
My daughter doesn't know who Duran Duran is yet, but I'll tell her one day.
Don't wanna give this Bieber dude any competition.
Even though the original members of Duran Duran are now 50 yrs old. ;)
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Duran Duran's photo courtesy of Last.fm, where you can find more images to take you down memory lane.
This book gives a refreshingly transparent insight to Mary Beth's life as the spouse of a famed Christian musician, family life, their Show Hope ministry and ultimately the devestating and tragic accident that claimed the life of their 5 year old daughter, Maria.
I resonate with some of Mary Beth's struggles and respect her honesty about life, love and her journey as a Christian - specifically through times of incredible grief and despair.
Although there are several dark pages, this is truly a book about healing and hope.
I recommend this book if you have lost a loved one and/or are struggling with a sense of loneliness and longing as you attempt to gain healing in your life.
I'm happy to pass my copy along if you'd like to read it.
Just msg me your mailing addy at oldcolonytam@yahoo.ca
If you scroll down along the right hand side of this blog, you'll see a virtual iPod containing a few love songs for this time of the year. Just click on play and be warmed by the sweet, soulful sounds of Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, Etta James and Percy Sledge.
(But you have to say "lemon" like Bono in the U2 song, or they simply won't turn out right.)
1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup margarine, softened 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 tbsp. flour 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup powdered sugar (for decoration)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan. Combine flour, 2/3 cup powdered sugar and margarine. Pat dough into pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden.
Whisk eggs, sugar, flour & lemon juice until frothy. Pour over hot crust. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar.
Inspiring/cute/funny/truthful pic courtesy of dazeychic on Etsy.
