Sad Songs Blogfest

        L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick is hosting her first ever blogfest in which we come up with some of our favorite songs that break our hearts.   I have a difficult time resisting the pull of a blogfest of this nature so I decided to enter two of my blogs with songs of different natures.  My other entry is at A Faraway View.

        For those unfamiliar with this blog, A Few Words, this is usually a Sunday only blog that reflects on verses from Psalms and puts them into context with things that are on my mind.  In hopes of bringing this blog out of its quiet corner of contemplation, in April I will be looking at Contemporary Christian Music from A to Z.  If you aren't familiar with Christian music and think it's all a bunch of boring church hymns perhaps my A to Z series will shed some new light on the subject.  I hope you'll give it a chance.

        Today allows me to offer a preview of some of the music types that I'll be exploring in the upcoming month.  Please at least sample the beginnings of the songs to let me know what you think of my choices.

     
There Forever -- Like most of the songs on my list, this song by the 77s has a message of hope within it, but seems to be confined in the loneliness, dejection, and despair of this often sad and confusing world.




I Wish We'd All Been Ready   --   DC Talk delivers their version of the classic Larry Norman song lamenting those who have been left behind in the Rapture.




Love   -- Matthew Ward who with his sisters performed as the vocal group 2nd Chapter of Acts released this poignant song on one of his solo albums.  The story of the song reflects on the love his mother had for her children  and how sometimes we realize things too late    It's an incredibly powerful song by a truly amazing singer.   This is a song that easily moves me to tears.



Don't Cry         Performed by Adam Again, this song reflects upon the ache, the longing, and the sadness that we all feel at times.   The song is particularly sad knowing that its singer / songwriter Gene Eugene died tragically, far too young.



Note to Anna     The group Daniel Amos and the genius behind the music, Terry Scott Taylor, have been a mainstay of Modern Christian Music for over three decades.  This song presented here is about a young woman who never received the message of salvation because nobody ever told her.



Frail     Jars of Clay in a flawless live performance with orchestra performs a song about our weakness and fallibility which is why Jesus suffered in our place.



All I Ever Wanted    This song by Margaret Becker reminds me of a very sad time in my life.  I would sometimes listen to this song over and over hoping things in my life change--and things did change for the better eventually.   Probably better classified as a beautiful song, it still sounds sad to me.



           Who says Christian music has to be boring?  I hope you enjoyed my picks here.  Do you have any that you would chose in this genre?   Do you have a favorite Christian artist?

              Now check out some more on the Sad Songs List.

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Sing Praise to the Lord

Image via Wikipedia  It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
         And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
         And Your faithfulness every night,
 On an instrument of ten strings,
         On the lute, 
         And on the harp, 
         With harmonious sound.


Psalm 92:1-3 (NKJV)


      Starting on April 1 this blog will be participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  I will be posting daily throughout the month of April.  The theme for the month will be music.  I will be exploring some of the Christian music artists that I enjoy and who have been an influence in my life.  


         I hope you will stay with me throughout the Challenge to provide me encouragement.  And I hope you will enjoy the music and perhaps even discover a few new artists  or rediscover some who you may had forgotten.

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Tomorrow Will Get Its Day

Worry or Prayer (Photo credit: Leonard John Matthews)

Give your worries to the Lord, 
       and he will take care of you. 
       He will never let good people down. 

Psalm 55:22

New Century Version (NCV)

      Sometimes putting trust in the Lord seems easier said than done.  It would be nice to just go through life like most of us did as children when we had everything taken care of and didn't have to worry about much of anything.  Maybe we had some chores around the house and we were usually expected to do well at school, but we didn't have to think about bills and the bigger headaches of being an adult.  Our parents were there to take care of all of that.

       Later when we had the responsibilities adulthood we were the ones having to think about the bills and the future.  Sometimes it can become stressful as we become absorbed with worry and fear.   Yet what good does it do to let ourselves fall into this unhealthy trap?  It's wise to plan for the future and take care of daily affairs.   But if we worry about things over which we have little or no control, we are not solving any problems and may actually be contributing to new problems.

         Enjoy life.  Do what you can as best you can.   But don't let the unseen things of tomorrow ruin today.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. 

Matthew 6:34

New Living Translation (NLT)

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Getting Rid of the Junk

Cover of The Mystery of Picasso

People are only shadows as they go here and there. 
      They rush around, but it doesn't mean anything. 
      They pile up wealth, but they don't know who will get it.

Psalm 39:6

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

        I keep thinking about simplicity in my life.  Less stuff around me.  Less clutter.  Less to worry about.

        The 1956 documentary film The Mystery of Picasso recorded the famed artist at work as he creates a number of paintings made expressly for the film and then presumably destroyed afterwards so that they can only be seen in the film.  This was an act of intent.

         Each year countless possessions of great value as well as items of common value are lost through disasters or theft.  I have been a victim of a few vehicle break-ins which resulted in the uninsured loss of many thousands of dollars worth of things that belonged to me.  Some of the items were of irreplaceable personal value to me.  

         Even when the losses are covered by insurance, let's face it--someone has to pay for those losses.  Life goes on and we all pay more for the want of acquiring more stuff.   For what purpose?   

         Recently on the news there was a report of riots occurring in Orlando, Florida where people were rushing to buy Nike Galaxy Foamposite shoes.  How far would these people have gone to have gotten a pair of these shoes?  The resale market value for these shoes on places like E-bay was reported to be a thousand or more dollars a pair.  Shoes mind you!

         Elsewhere in the world, including nations of prosperity, there are people in need of basic items like simple clothing, shelter, or even food.  What are we doing?  Why do we think we need fashion designer clothes and accessories, expensive jewelry, and high priced electronics?  There's a lot of vanity at work here.

         In the end what does it all come to?   Some of us will be lucky and recoup our investments in our lifetime or even leave something for our heirs to cash in on, but mostly it's just empty acquisition to fill some temporal void in our lives.  

         There's a lot of junk in my life that I need to get rid of so I don't have to have that distraction pulling me away from what is truly meaningful and valuable.

If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?   My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

1 John 3:17-18

Good News Translation (GNT)

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Watch What You Say

Image via Wikipedia

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

King James Version (KJV)

         Recently I signed up for Twitter.  Over the past week I've been on that site learning about this style of communication which is for now a novelty to me.  I find it similar to instant messaging except that whoever wants to can see what you're saying.  More than once on sites like Twitter has someone said the wrong thing and that has gotten them in trouble.  
        
          The concept of Twitter is mostly about economy of words, but as typical in much of today's social media circles just about anything goes as far as content.  I get silly sometimes in my words, but I try not to offend too many people.  My standard rule is to try to not say anything that I wouldn't say if my late grandmother (or anyone whose sensitivities I might care about) were listening.  


           Ultimately we should be most concerned about being heard by our Creator who hears all that we say. With God it is not only our words and our thoughts, but also who we are in our hearts.  What we are within will influence how we come across to others.  We may fool people for a while, but there's no fooling God.


Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:6

New International Version (NIV)

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