Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Holiday" (Madonna)

Rules of Civility #17 - "Be no flatterer, neither play with any that delight not to be played with."


Couldn't have said it better myself!!  Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Where we live in a Material World, wishing on our Lucky Stars, hoping to be on the cover of Vogue, while waiting for our Holiday!!!!  Did you get a break recently?  If not I hope you have one planned for this summer.  You deserve a break today:

"You Deserve A Break Today"

Well, maybe not to McDonald's, but at least away from your normal routine.  We call it a vacation!! In Great Britain it is called "holiday".

"Holiday" - Madonna - 1983

For some of us it is hard to believe that 30 years have passed since pop singer Madonna arrived on the scene. (She's 55 this year by the way).  1983 saw her first single hit the charts from her eponymous debut album, Madonna.  "Holiday" went to #16 on Billboards Hot 100 and all the way to #1 on the dance chart.  A "lucky star" was born.  (Is that a sigh I hear?).  For the past 30 years Madonna has transformed herself from an '80s wannabe to an iconic figure whose music has left a lasting mark in our culture. 

Madonna has not been without her critics since arriving on the scene.  It seems at times that she has gone out of her way to inform everyone that she is not a paragon of virtue.  She defined a generation's style throughout the 80's.  After establishing herself as the queen of popular music, she went about displaying her "range". Savvy in the business perspectives of the music world and provocative in the entertainment portion, Madonna would attempt acting through the late 80's and all through the 90's even winning a Golden Globe for her performance in the 1996 movie Evita.  Most critics agree however that her strength is music and concerts. 

It was the infectious groove of "Holiday" that would start the career and success that Madonna sees to this day.  She continues to make albums and tour in support of them.  But you can just imagine that even with all of the "interests" that Madonna has that she could afford to have a time where she "took a holiday, took some time to celebrate..."

In the Bible we see times where great men and women of God took a break. Many of these times were spent in the desert.  (Can you imagine taking a vacation in the Sahara?  Me neither.) Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and most of the prophets had times where they were in solitude.  (Not necessarily a vacation, but at least a change from their normal routine.) Sometimes these breaks were to provide rest from a time of hard work, others were to prepare them for times of persecution or rejection.   Even Jesus would go to a place of solitude to get away from the crowds and refocus. Here is a great sermon on how Jesus prioritized His time alone: 

The Solitude and Silence of Jesus - Tom Shepherd

For me the highlight of this sermon is speaking about Jesus temptation. At His weakest physical point (He had fasted for 40 days and nights), Jesus went toe to toe with Satan and defeated Him by using scripture.  He has promised us that He will not ask more of us than we can stand, and that He knows every temptation by which we are tempted.  This was the moment He could make those claims.  He was then attended to by angels.  Jesus was using this time to prepare for His ministry. 

Please don't think that we want to make you feel guilty for taking a vacation that doesn't involve demonic conflict.  Everyone needs a break, a time for refreshing, a time away from the normality of our lives.  As Christians, doing everything as unto the Lord, shouldn't our breaks honor God as well?  The hotel clerks, housekeeping staffs, servers at the restaurants, everyone we encounter has been placed in our path for a reason.  It may be an opportunity for us to encourage a fellow brother in Christ, or we could have the chance of a lifetime and introduce a preChristian to Jesus.  Things that make you go hmmm....

As we plan for an incredible summer and the vacations that usually go with this time of the year, let's take the opportunity to remind ourselves that even when we are away from our normal, we interact with others who may be in their "normal".   Maybe this could be more than just a "Holiday.....let's celebrate"

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy    

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Moments Like This" (Allison Krauss And Union Station)

Welcome to Tuesday...a very sad Tuesday.  A Tuesday that will be remembered for years to come as "the day after".  Residents of the cities of Shawnee and Moore, Oklahoma are waking to find a reality of which they would never dream.  If you have not already been praying for the people of the state of Oklahoma, please take a moment to do so.  Pray for those affected by the storms, those who have the unimaginable task of search and rescue, and those who are on their way to administer aid during this heart wrenching day.  There will be no tongue in cheek remarks today from The Notes. Only some thoughts regarding what we can do....at "Moments Like This"....

"Moments Like This" - Allison Krauss and Union Station

Many will ask the question "why did God allow this to happen?"  We don't have the answer to that question as we have asked it at times in our own lives.  We can only tell you that in times of great struggle, it has been our experience that God sends comfort.  In times of great trials, He sends exactly what we need at our time of need.  At moments like this, Christian folk should be praying for everything that would impact the situation in a positive manner.  One way that would impact would be by giving a gift to a trusted charity that is earmarked for disaster relief.  Many denominations, as well as non-religious entities, have such entities that are in prepared for assistance in the wake of such disasters.  Give as you can or volunteer if you are trained.  It truly is a time when action can speak louder than words.  So pray, give, volunteer, and then pray some more.  When the time comes, if you are in a position, listen to the ones who need  consolation through one sided conversation.  Don't offer opinions unless requested, just offer an ear and a heart...



Thank you for doing what you can...

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "99 Luftballoons" (Nena)

Rules of Civility #16 - "Do not puff up the cheeks, loll out the tongue with the hand or beard, thrust not out the lips or bite them, or keep the lips too open or too close."

Welcome to the greatest day of the week!!!  Back in the day, retailers would see a "bump" in sales on Tuesday due to the New Release music and video of the day.  It's called a "hard street date".  In this day of downloadable, digital, drival (is that too harsh?) called popular music, it is rare to see a "hard street date" that affects the retailer, the music label, or an artists sales.  Sigh...(those 3 dots actually have a name.  It is a grammatical device called an "ellipsis".  The Notes are your source for educational stimuli.)  Back in the day, say 1983, the "hard street date" was huge.  If the timing was right and all the stars aligned in the proper order, a one hit wonder could be born on a Tuesday.  That's the case for today's Tuesday's Musical Notes!  Let's go back to that wonderful year where your hair was teased more than your little sister...1983.

Nena was the name of the band.  As some band names go, it was also the stage name of the lead singer, Nena.  Her actual name was Gabriele Susanne Kerner.  That name would have been much harder to fit on the front of an album cover...(ellipsis, remember this there will be a quiz).  Nena, the band, was a Neue Deutsche Welle band.  This is German for New Wave meets Punk Rock.  Nena also has the high honor of being a 2 hit wonder for the same song.  "99 Luftballoons" was the #2 smash from the band in 1983 and #15 overall for that year.  It was the highest charting German song in Billboard history.

"99 Luftballoons" - Nena (German Lyrics)

It was so popular that the band released an English language version of the song with slightly different lyrics that charted suprisingly everywhere but the United States.

"99 Red Balloons" - Nena (English Lyrics)

 "99 Luftballoons" was originally intended as a "protest" song about the separation of Germany into Eastern and Western countries.  The Berlin Wall would fall 6 years later, but probably not because of pressure put on by "99 Luftballoons".  That pressure would come from somewhere else...

"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall" - President Ronald Reagan
 
"99 Luftballoons" remains the highest charting German song in Billboard history and is ranked at #16 in VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s.  For a song that most Americans had absolutely no idea what was being said, this is quite amazing. 

Equally amazing is a story regarding the appeal of a message that under normal circumstances would not have been understood by its hearers. 

In the book of Acts (after The Gospel of John, before Paul's Letter to The Romans in most Bibles) we read about the beginnings of Christianity.  Jesus had spent 3 years teaching Hebrew men about who He was and what His sacrifice would mean.  While the disciples really didn't grasp the entirety of what Jesus was trying to teach them, they believed He was who He proclaimed to be... God's son.  While they didn't fully understand the complexity of Jesus mission, they loved Him as a teacher and mentor.  After He was gone, they didn't fully discern how their lives would change, yet they embraced His message and began sharing The Good News of what Jesus had done for them. 

At about this time, there was a pilgrimage to Jerusalem by people from all over the world to celebrate the Feast of Weeks.  This was a Jewish customary  feast and gathering to commemorate the giving of The Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  It is still observed today as Shavout by our Jewish friends.  As the disciples had gathered to remember, an incredible occurence took place:


Acts 2 KJV/The Message


While the disciples were accused of being drunk by some of the crowd, others were astounded to be hearing their own language by these men.  They heard The Gospel from first hand accounts in words they could comprehend with their   minds and a message they could understand with their hearts.  Peter, who had once  denied any knowledge of Jesus, now preached boldly about how salvation had come into the world through Jesus.   And the people understood...at least 3000 of them did.

In light of this story, why are Christians today so intimidated at the thought of telling someone about Jesus? Why do we hesitate when the call for a mission trip is made?  Why are we skeptical when we hear of thousands being saved  at evangelistic events?  3000 souls were saved due to Peter's presenting The Gospel.  Why should we expect any less than that today when we present The Gospel?  ? If God can transform Peter's message into languages from all over the world, why can't the stories we have about Jesus be transformed into exactly what hearers around us need?  Some will say that we are "drunk" in a figurative figurative sense, yet eltheir criticism does not release us from the responsibility to tell the story and then have the faith that God will deliver the message.  You never can tell what walls in people's lives can be torn down if you will be true to your calling and speak the "foolishness" of The Gospel.  (1Corinthians 1:18)     To some it may even seem like you are singing a song about Red Balloons...


  
'Til Tuesday,


Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "It's A Beautiful Morning" (The Rascals)

Rules of Civility #15 - "Keep your nails clean and short, also your hands and teeth clean, yet without showing any great concern for them."

Hey there!  It's Tuesday and "It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day".  It's the day after Monday and it's not yet gone with the wind.....It's the day for the blog about Music and The Messiah...in short....It's the day for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Let's get started shall we?  Open your books to page 85 and find the chart about how Americans spend their leisure time.  It should look exactly like this:

Leisure time on an average day

      Minutes

Watching TV     170 (2.8 hours)
Socializing and communicating   37
Reading      18
Sports, exercise, and recreation  18
Playing games; using computer for leisure 26
Other leisure activities   18
Relaxing and thinking    17

Total leisure and sports time   298 (5.0 hours)



NOTE: Data include all persons age 15 and over. Data include all days 
of the week and are annual averages for 2011.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

For you Picture Pages folks, go to this site for the graph:
 
Leisure Time of Americans

If you consider that the Americans who are lucky enough to have a job right now will usually spend at least 8 hours a day at that job and you combine that with 8 hours of sleep (4 out of 5 doctors surveyed recommended....) That leaves you with 8 hours of the day that you aren't making a living or resting from making a living.  In addition to the 5 hours of leisure time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics  says that most Americans spend 3 hours by "Caring for others, eating and drinking, and household activities". Given these stats it is easy to see why many Christians note that lack of time is the reason they don't have a consistent quiet time.....or is it?  Regardless of that.....It's A Beautiful Morining!

The Rascals "It's A Beautiful Morning"

Whether they were Young or just Rascals, they made a large enough impact in the music scene of the late '60s to be inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2010.  They had 3 #1 hits, "Good Lovin'", "Groovin'", and "People Got To Be Free" and in 1968 they hit #3 with "It's A Beautiful Morining" keeping The Rascals at the top of the charts as the decade came to a close. This song describes the joy of embracing the new day and what it may hold for us.  It encourages us to wake up and see the beauty that surrounds us in creation. It inspires us to get outside and "just take in some clean air, boy!" But for some strange reason it leaves out the best day of the week.....Tuesday!

Originally known as "The Young Rascals", to keep the band from being confused with another group, The Rascals would become known for their laid back rhythms and easy going blue eyed soul music.  They remained a band from 1965-1972 and reunited in 2010 for the Hit Parade induction.  2013 saw The Rascals continuing to perform as they played shows on Broadway with close to their original lineup. 
How long does it take to get a Bible, open it and read a chapter?  Just over 6:00 minutes.  Yep, I timed it on a stop watch.  In that 6 minutes I read about how God provided for Joseph during the interpretation of Pharoah's dreams.  You can read the chapter here probably quicker than I did:

Genesis 41 HCSB
 
How do you spend your mornings?  Admittedly, some folks get up just in time to get dressed and head out the door, but what would your life look like if you planned to get up just a bit earlier....say 6 minutes.  If you reference our above chart, you would only have to give up 51 seconds from each of the 7 categories above. Regardless of whether or not you are a morning person, you can certainly see yourself spending at least 51 seconds doing most of the 7 leisure time activites first thing in each day.  So how about it?  This could be the beginning of sacrifices that you can make to mature in your faith.  This could be the way you transform your family.  This could be the way you positively adjust the behavior of your circle of influence.  This could be the way you assist your church with their mission of Kingdom growth.  Notice, this 6 minutes  wasn't an inductive Bible study with 85 references from Matthew Henry or a treatise on theology.  It was 6 minutes that I spent reading what God wants to say to me today.  What does He want to say to you today....It's a beautiful mornin'..... 
In the book of Lamentations, a book of the Bible know for its melancholia, there is a moment of pure joy as Jeremiah faces the thought of a new day and the encouragement he receives from building his relationship with God....

Lamentations 3:21-24

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy