Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Me and Bobby McGee" (Janis Joplin)

Tuesday's Musical Notes

Welcome to Tuesday and another edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes.  

Yesterday was an interesting day in the United States of America.  Many folks enjoyed a day off from their normal work schedule.  They used this time to cook on a grill, travel to family members for a visit,  perhaps a cemetery decoration day, or began the season of summer by enjoying a variety of water sports.  Here at the Notes, we took a few moments throughout the weekend to ponder the reason for the extended weekend, Memorial Day.  

"Mansions of the Lord" - Hillsdale College

Memorial Day in the United States has been celebrated since 1868.  It was observed on May 30  until 1971 when it took its place on the last Monday in May.  It is sometimes confused with Veteran's Day (November 11th).  While both holidays celebrate our valiant soldiers and defenders of freedom, Memorial Day is the occasion to remember those who in Abraham Lincoln's words, "gave the final full measure of devotion" to their country by laying down their lives.  A somber reminder that freedom is never free...

And now on to The Notes...

It is well noted that the late '60s were a tumultuous time for the United States.  Freedom had once again become a discussion among the populace.  This freedom however had less to do with releasing those in bondage from their oppressors and much more to do with expression and the feeling of being able to do anything one wanted.  Freedom really became a phrase associated with nothin' left to lose...

"Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin from the 1971 album Pearl

Written by Kris Kristofferson , and originally recorded by Roger Miller in 1969, "Me and Bobby McGee" became a #1 hit posthumously for Janis Joplin in 1971, the second single to ever achieve the #1 spot after its singer died.  ("Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding was the first) The song has been recorded by a host of artists, including Miller (1969), Kristofferson (1970),  Joplin (1971), The Grateful Dead (1971), Blind Melon (1994, Tuesday's Musical Notes - "No Rain"), all the way up to a 2016 cover by actor/singer Matt Doyle (War Horse (movie), Uncontrolled (album)).

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song about a couple of drifters who were attempting to find their way.  Music, specifically, the blues, served as the soundtrack to their adventures.  Eventually their paths parted and the remorse of that separation had set in on the singer.  Perhaps the freedom they so desperately sought was not found in each other as they had once thought.  

Tuesday's Musical Notes supports the ideology that ultimately there is only one true path to freedom.  The pathway was chosen by someone Who gave up everything that He knew to associate with man.  He literally had everything to lose for freedom's sake and chose to lose it all willingly.  The One who sacrificed everything so that we could have a restored relationship with God was Jesus. This makes for a different kind of Memorial Day.

Let's face it.  By looking across at our modern day landscape, it is easy to see that we are not good people.  Everyday of our lives we are impacted by someone's, perhaps even our own, evil.  Because of this evil, our relationship with God, the Creator of mankind is broken.  God is pure holiness.  He cannot have a relationship with someone who is evil.  For us to have any chance of a restored relationship to God, a price had to be paid.  Jesus was that price.  He, as God the Son, became a man.  He was born via virgin birth.  He had no semblance of evil during His lifetime on earth.  He was accused falsely and illegally by the religious ruling authorities of His time to die the most horrendous form of torture and capital punishment that has ever been devised.  He did this so He could secure our freedom and restore our relationship with God...if...we chose to believe that He did all of this for us.  He came back to life after 3 days and was seen by many people.  He is now in heaven providing mediation between us and God.  It really is that simple.  That kind of freedom causes a good feeling that nothing can shatter.  Feeling good IS easy, when we believe.  

If all of this seems far fetched and like some kind of religious proselytizing, consider this;  the source material for the narrative in the above paragraph is the Bible.  Historians, archaeologists, literary experts, and scientists agree that there are more archaeological  "pieces" of the Bible supporting the credibility of the manuscript of the Bible than for any other ancient literary piece.  "How Do Other Ancient Texts Compare To The New Testament?" from Tough Questions Answered blog, December 11, 2012 by Bill Pratt  Think about this, there is more evidence to testify to the lives of Peter, Paul, Mary (sorry couldn't resist!), and ultimately Jesus than there is to support the existence of Alexander the Great.  In light of this, the Bible, this incredible book that details how one can achieve freedom from the evil that so easily ensnares us,  has more than enough authoritative credibility based on physical evidence to be believed. 

In a letter to the new Christian church in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote; "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord, will be saved".  This is the beginning of a series of passages known as the Roman Road.  Take a few minutes and read through these passages that illustrate true freedom.  In reality, there  is much that you could lose...

 The Gospel of John 3:16 New King James Version of the Bible/New International Version of the Bible/ The Message paraphrase of the Bible parallel

Paul's letter to the Roman Church 5:6-8 NKJV/NIV/The Message

Romans 3:23-24 NKJV/NIV/The Message

Romans 6:22-23 NKJV/NIV/The Message

Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthian church 5:21 NKJV/NIV/The Message

Romans 10:4-10 NKJV/NIV/The Message

Romans 10:11-13 NKJV/NIV/The Message

That's it friend.  With a side trip to Corinth, Paul goes down a Roman road to explain how you get to the point of ultimate, eternal freedom.  Now, what do you do with this truth?  Accept Jesus' forgiveness.  Believe in His sacrifice.  Have your relationship with God restored through His sacrifice.  And then feelin' good is easy when you sing His news...and this feelin' good is good enough for me...

"I Believe in the Name of Jesus" by Travis Cottrell from the 2016 album All That Is Within Me

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Somebody's Watching Me" (Rockwell)

Tuesday's Musical Notes

Welcome to Tuesday and another edition of the best blog on the internetosphere!!! Other than being introduced to new words, that may or may not exist, this is a place that you can find out some interesting facts about favorite artists and songs, and maybe just a few things about yourself along the way.  Search for your favorite musical subject by typing in a key word  in the search bar on the far right... you see it... yup that's the one... go on give it a try...we've referenced so much music in the last 6 years that surely one of the songs making your top ten have been given the Musical Notes treatment.   ("Don't call me Surely" from the 1980 movie Airplane!)  We welcome you !!!  Thanks for tuning in!!!

Unless you have been living in a remote area of the Amazon jungle, some part of the Himalayas, or have just chosen to not be subjected to it, chances are you have been introduced to social media or social networking sites.  In 2017, social media has many familiar faces, and even more coming to the net everyday.  ("60+ Social Networking Sites You Need To Know About In 2017" from makeawebsitehub.com)  As of May of this year, ebizmba.com has identified these as the top social media sites:  "Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites"

There are those who wonder what the attraction may be to these sights were it appears that many have completely thrown their privacy away.   Precious thoughts, feelings, and yes even sometimes "animated" debates can be found by millions within a couple of clicks of the mouse.  No wonder it always feels like somebody's watching me...

"Somebody's Watching Me" self title track from the 1984 album by Rockwell

What do you do when your father happens to be record producing royalty and the owner at Motown Records?  You make a record, even against your father's wishes.  You employ childhood friends Michael and Jermaine Jackson, (yes, THOSE Jacksons) to do backup vocals on your first single from the album .  You  allow label reps to disguise your album by listing your artist name as Rockwell, to keep any charges of nepotism from being levied.  (Kennedy William Gordy (named for John F. Kennedy and William "Smokey" Robinson) just doesn't quite have the same "rocked well" cool factor, now does it?) Finally, you make one of the weirdest music videos to ever grace the airwaves.  

All of this colludes together to make Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" into a #2 hit at Billboard.  This however, is where the "One Hit Wonder" label gets attached very quickly to Rockwell's career.  The release of his next 2 albums (1985's Captured and 1986's Genie) would come no where near the Gold status of  Somebody's Watching Me.   Rockwell had 10 singles from the 3 albums, none of which ever achieved the status or chart rankings of today's feature song.  The next highest single peaked at #35.  

It is easy to see where paranoia can come into play when you have the feelings described in "Somebody's Watching Me".  Let's face it, friend we have done this to ourselves.  Gone are the days when there was the expectation of having privacy in our homes and our communication with others.  Between legislation and modernization, we have placed ourselves, 23 years later than what George Orwell predicted in 1984, under the watchful eye of  "Big Brother".  Yes, in case you were wondering, I grow more Libertarian by the day...

Aiding in this careful observation of our lives, is the hand of social media.  Please don't get me wrong, as I use social media everyday for communication and re-connection purposes.  But there is a sharing on this outlet that goes way beyond finding old classmates and letting our choir know when the retreat is going to happen.  This is a personal observation, perhaps one you may or may not share, but, I don't need to know about some things that are going on in your life.  And in the occasion whereby we might disagree, my oh my, the conversation can very quickly turn into a discussion of my ancestry and your desire for my eternal destination.  Dear sweet female ancestors of mine had a word for this type of rhetoric...it's just plain "ugly" and honestly I don't have the desire nor the time to instruct you on the finer elements of the English language.  Besides, in the midst of all of this, there are other's who ARE watching us.

If you have given your life to Jesus, placed your faith on His sacrifice for your eternal destination, and are diligently trying every day to become more like Him, there are those who will be watching your every move to see if you mess up.  On our most Christ like days, in our humanity, we will mess up.  But there is no point in exacerbating the misstep by publishing it on the World Wide Web. (Yup that's what the www part stands for at the beginning of most websites.)  Notice the "World Wide" part of that.  Everyone in the world now has access to the life that you lead.  While you may not have asked for the responsibility of being Jesus to the world,  Christian friend, it is the atmosphere in which we live.  

The apostle Paul wrote about being a potential stumbling block to others by the things we say and do.  In, The Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans 14 - New King James Version of the Bible, The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel, Paul is teaching folks that they should not be judgmental about the way some in their community chose to worship.  I think this also applies to the example that we who follow Jesus should set to those who are preChristian.  Verses 12-13 in the NKJV put it this way:  

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

You see dear friend, in our efforts to be transparent (are you as tired of this word as I am?), we can sometimes cause our actions to be stumbling blocks or road blocks for others,  or even worse, cause harm to our witness of who Jesus is in our lives.  This is where Christians so many times EARN the label of hypocrisy.  

So as you get ready to make your daily, and for some, hourly, trip to facebook or other social media, be reminded, there are those who know that you profess Jesus as your boss, that you are "down with the King"... and most assuredly, you can know that somebody's watching...

"Somebody's Watching" by Toby Mac from 2001 album Momentum

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Livin' On A Prayer" (Bon Jovi)

Tuesday's Musical Notes

Welcome to Tuesday!!!  It's time for another trip around the musical globe as we explore the landscape of lyrics and the topography of truth.  It's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Welcome one and all to the place where it is safe to listen to rock while leaning on the Rock!!!  

We invite you now to journey with us to a land of big guitar riffs and even bigger hair.  That's right!!!  80's land here we come!   You gotta hold on, ready or not...

"Livin' On A Prayer" from the 1986 album Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi

In the fall of 1986, a band from New Jersey released today's feature song on the heals of their first #1 hit single.  It would be the second single from their third attempt at musical success.  Those accolades became a daily occurrence once the band Bon Jovi released "Livin' On a Prayer".  It fast became the signature song for the band that bears the lead singer's last name.   

"Livin' On A Prayer" has been downloaded over 3 million times,  the YouTube video has been seen over 320 million times (+ 1 with your viewing of it today). It is the rare single to hit #1 and then rise up some international charts decades after its original release.  It was voted #1 song of the 80's by fans of VH1...excuse me MTV classic (yawn, just because you change the name doesn't mean you play more music videos...but I digress).  

Listeners of the lyric immediately embraced the song as they related to the story of Tommy and Gina.  Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi says he wrote the song during the Reagan era with "trickle-down" economics serving as an inspiration to writing songs.  ("Bon Jovi Calls George Bush as 'lunatcic'!" from a 2002 article featured in T4C -Top 40.com)  Tommy was a down on his luck musician wannabe and Gina was his waitress girlfriend.  The song relates the struggles that they were having making ends meet.  But through all of this the love that they had for each other was the thread to which the held on for survival.  We suspect that the prayer reference is a use of a well worn phrase to express they were barely hanging on rather than an attempt to convey Tommy and Gina's spiritual condition.

Tommy and Gina's story is not unlike many in our world today.  It really IS a story from not so long ago, in fact it could be a story from yesterday.  Folks all over the world feel the stress, the tensions, and the real life drama that living in the 21st century entails.  It is very difficult to find the balance that one needs to survive, much less succeed in our day and age. How folks deal with this emotional roller coaster for the most part depends on their world view, which we have discussed at length here at the notes.   ( Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Reach Out (I'll Be There)",   Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Drive", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "All I Wanna Do",  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Winter Wonderland", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Ghostbusters")   

Whenever there is much repetition in the Bible, you should pay much attention to that topic as it is repeated to convey its importance.  We realize and are not suggesting that Tuesday's Musical Notes has the import to one's life that the Bible has, however, with all of the above repetition, you would think the Notes holds a world view discussion is one that is pretty important to have.  

Part of that conversation would revolve around the subject of prayer.  "Livin' On A Prayer" seems to suggest that prayer is a last resort for people when there is no where else in which to turn.  This is in direct contrast to what God teaches through His written Word, the Bible.  Now please don't check out if you happen to consider the Bible only a book of literature, because there are some very important literary and thought provoking themes that you could easily recognize as life altering regarding what the Bible says about prayer, IF you would read it.  The Washington Post has a suggestion about a Bible in which you could begin your reading:  "The most popular Bible of the year is probably not what you think it is" by Daniel Sililman, August 28, 2015, Washington Post

Picking up with the repetition theme, the word "pray" with its derivatives, is reference 367 times in the New International Version of the Bible, according to biblegateway.com.  Interestingly, both Psalms in the Old Testament and Acts in the New Testament have the most references at 34 each.  In reading the book of Psalms it is quick to see that many of the chapters are prayers in and of themselves.  Acts is the history of the beginning of the church, so it is no surprise to see the newly formed institution founded by followers of Jesus bathed in prayer.

With all of the Biblical text dedicated to the subject, why would prayer be a last ditch effort in trouble times.  If you read each of the 367 passages in the Bible regarding prayer, you will soon recognize that while some of the references are last attempts to change a person's life, many of the verses refer to prayer, praying or prayed as the first thing that folks do in troubled times.  Some of the verses even testify to those who pray during good times, as a means of praise.  In fact, in his letter of encouragement to the Philippian church, Paul suggests that prayer is something we should do all of the time.  Phillipians 4:4-9 New International Version of the Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible.  In this instance, prayer becomes a daily part of who we are.  It is our constant conversation with the God who created us.  This attitude of prayer can only happen if you have begun the conversation with God.

If you have never had a conversation with God, it is not to late to start.  Praying consistently is habit forming.  You can have this daily demeanor by just talking to God.  It may seem a little awkward at first, but it is the most important conversation you can have today.  Talk to Him like you would a friend, because He is the closest friend you could ever have.  Talk to Him like a parent, because He desires to be a Father to you.  Talk to Him like a confidant, because He loves you like a brother or sister.  The key is to begin the conversation, He is waiting to hear from you.  He'll meet you wherever you are, saying to you...take my hand, we'll make it I swear...

"Cry Out To Jesus" by Third Day from the 2005 album Wherever You Are

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Running Down A Dream" (Tom Petty)

Hey there, it's Tuesday!!!  Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Thanks for stopping by!  

Do you ever find yourself staring off into space?  I sure do.  It seems to get worse as I get older!  If you have ever found yourself wondering where the last 5 minutes or more have gone, well you probably have fallen into the world of day dreaming.  This phenomena is not that much different from dreams that you have when you sleep, in that you find yourself in a place other than where you expect to be doing things other than what you expect to be doing.  Sometimes this can be frightening, other times..."It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, you've got the radio on, and you're driving'..."

"Running Down A Dream" by Tom Petty from the 1989 album Full Moon Fever

From the 5x platinum, # 3 album Full Moon Fever, comes the second single from Tom Petty's solo debut, "Running Down A Dream". It peaked at @23 at Billboard and was used as the title to a documentary on Petty.   It follows the footsteps of Petty's  #12 debut single from the album, "I Won't Back Down" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I Won't Back Down"), solidifying Full Moon Fever's status as a legitimate solo effort by the leader of the Heartbreakers and founding member (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr., and Muddy Wilbury) of the 80's supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.  (George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Bob Dylan).  

Cowritten by Jeff Lynne, Petty and Heartbreaker band member Mike Campbell, "Running Down A Dream" is a semi biographical nod to Petty's musical roots and life on the road as a touring musical act.  It features the reference to the #1 hit from 1961, "Runaway" by Del Shannon. It portrays the all too familiar process of trying to chase a dream to its ultimate conclusion, but always being just slightly behind and never quite catching up with the pace of the dream.   It is the kind of song that you don't mind having the windows down, hitting the cruise control yourself, and singing along.  It's just so much fun and could easily serve as the soundtrack for any daydream that you're needing to break up your day.

There are different kinds of dreams.  There are those that come in the middle of the night as visions of alternate realities or fantastical stories in which we imbed ourselves.  There are those dreams that are reoccurring that tend to visit the traumatic events in our lives.  Mine always include ominous men in red blazers showing up at the door and saying, "Mr. Cross we are here from the University of Arkansas.  Do you remember the accounting course you took in the summer of 1985?  We're here to inform you did not, in fact pass that class.  We have notified your employer of this discrepancy and we need to recover your diploma..."  Bolt up out of bed in a pool of sweat, scary stuff right?

These are not the dreams we wish to visit today however.  

As we face this season of "graduation", it is a good opportunity for us to ask a few questions.  What are your goals and desires?  To what do you wish to aspire?   What are your dreams?  Even if we have achieved our "degree", we continue to learn and our opportunity for aspiring to greater heights continues.  We live in a world that fuels the ideology that we can never achieve enough.  How does this jibe with a world view whose foundation is the Bible, God's Word?

Running down a dream in the Bible takes on many forms.  Many of which take the shape of  the dreams of our previous discussion. From Jacob seeing angels ascending a ladder, to Joseph interpreting dreams for those he encountered, to the visions that Daniel saw regarding the end of times.  But again, these dreams, while important events in history, do not encompass what God desires for us to achieve with our lives.  

A letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the conquered and exiled nation of Israel can serve to fuel the goals that we make for our lives.  Jeremiah writes: 

"For this is what the Lord says: “When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from."

In this passage, God is providing the dream of restoration to the Israelite homeland, but the promise God is making in Jeremiah is equally true for us today.  The difficulty for us in 2017 is that so many times, we do not take advantage of aligning our dreams with God.  Notice what He says in verse 11..."He knows the plans that He has for us".  One should only imagine that Gods plans are far better than any plan we might contrive. When we align our plans with His plans, His dreams for our lives will come to pass because He has promised that they will.  

Jesus promotes this promise even further when He talks about God's plan for our lives.  In 10th chapter of John's recording of the Gospel, Jesus is speaking of Himself as a shepherd and about us as His sheep.

The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple John 10:6-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel  

Notice that Jesus speaks about the abundance that He provides for our lives.  But we must enter Him as we would enter the door to a sheep pen.  Once there, our lives, our aspirations, our dreams are enhanced because they are in correlation to the Shepherd's life.  We rely on the One Who provides our needs and Who promises abundance.  Being in His presences is a place that feels so good, like anything is possible.  We don't have to run down our dream, it is already there waiting for us, IF WE WILL GO THROUGH THE DOOR.  

Dear friend, God is waiting to provide an abundant life.  He is waiting for you to partner with Him in dreaming big dreams.  He does not however, force His will on anyone.  You choose between God's abundance or your own efforts at running down your dreams.  Which will it be today?  As the band Rush puts it, "If you chose not to decide, you still have made a choice."  Let's choose to "Dream Big" in God's abundance...

"Dream Big" - title track from the 1998 album by The Martins

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "More Than A Feeling" (Boston)

Tuesday's

Welcome to Tuesday!  It's the first Tuesday of May!  Today we dust off an email that was in the first year of Tuesday's Musical Notes.  It features another of our favorite bands from the 70's and has been altered slightly to fit with the vibe of the blogosphere.  Thank you for reading today.  We never take for granted readers around the world who join with us in a passion for music.  We hope you find The Notes an interesting take on music. More importantly, we hope you feel the drawing of the Holy Spirit of God on your life.  Thanks again!!!  Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!

What are the special songs in your life that cause you to vividly remember a time, place, or person?    If we were to be honest with ourselves I think we would have to admit that these songs some times stir up "More Than a Feeling"...

"More Than A Feeling" from the 1976 self titled debut release by Boston

What do you get when you blend creative genius with a masters degree in electrical engineering from MIT?  This is the formula for one of the most famous rock bands of the late '70s and early '80s.

To this day, fans around the world know the music of the band Boston.  Believe it or not, Boston only has 7 albums.   Tom Scholz is the creative genius and MIT graduate that created the band's entire debut album, Boston, in his basement.  He is also the only band member to have been in Boston since it's origins.  He played many of the instruments and used a 12 track recorder to layer the mixes one on top of the other until he got just the right sound, the Boston sound.  Boston's debut single in 1976 from their self titled album was the #5 smash, "More Than A Feeling".  On the strength of "More Than a Feeling" and subsequent singles, Boston would soar to #3 on the album chart and over its history has sold 17 million albums (Yes, that means it is 17 times platinum, making it one of the best debut records by any band in history)

Due to Scholz's attention to detail, as well as a few lawsuits with record labels,  many years lapsed in between studio albums.  Surprisingly, Boston only has one #1 hit, 1986's "Amanda" from their third album appropriately titled, Third Stage.  It had been 6 years since Boston's "Don't Look Back" and fans were hungry for that trademark Boston sound. Boston released its 7th album, Life, Love, and Hope in 2013 and continues to tour aggressively.  This time 11 years will have elapsed since Boston's last album.  

Tragically, Life, Love, and Hope,  is the first Boston album not to feature in a dominant role lead vocalist Brad Delp who committed suicide in 2007 .   

Delp and Scholz were the original band members signed by the record label Epic.  Delp's vocal range and signature voice plus Scholz musical brilliance and engineering background define a sound that is instantaneously recognizable.  

Have you ever noticed that as the seasons pass, many folks take a moment to  pause and reflect.  What things happened in the previous season that will affect my life in this season?  I tend to consider the Spring just before Summer hits, I think about the past Summer in the Fall, the Fall in the Winter, etc.  Perhaps you do the same.  Some of those reflections can cause strong emotions as we remember times, places, and people that we encounter.   Do these times of reflection grow stronger and maybe more protracted as we get older?  

There are triggers all around us that cause us to remember specific events that were long forgotten.  Our senses are the most potent of these. Occasions are recalled when just the right smell, sound or even the right picture is put into our environment.  

My personal opinion is that our sense of hearing, specifically with regards to music is the strongest impetus that causes reflection and remembrance. Perhaps you have times that you associated specific songs with distinct events or people in your life.  

The Eagles "Take It To The Limit" reminds me of the time when my younger brother and I were having an argument.  It seemed that every time he responded in our quarrel, it reminded me of a song to which I would immediately burst out singing.  I found it great fun and quite the challenge, and I think he found it a challenge to try and stump me.   I can't recall what the argument was about, but I do recall that after for or five times of my crooning a tune, he was so mad that he finally quite speaking to me.  

Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Southern Cross" reminds me of the first car that I owned.  

"Walking on Sunshine", by Katrina and the Waves (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Walkin' On Sunshine") reminds me of the special dance that our children and I have and the times that we danced it.  

It's great that music can cause our memories to kick in and sometimes recreate an emotional moment.  Our relationship with Christ, however, must be more than the feelings or emotions we get when we sing the latest Praise & Worship top ten or hymnbook classic.  Paul talks about how we can go past the mountaintop experiences and find the perfect will of God by being transformed into the likeness of Christ.  (The Letter to Roman Christians written by the Apostle Paul Chapter 12 New International Version of the Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel).  

This process involves the entire makeup of who we are.  Our feelings, our intellect, and our physical bodies must all be brought under the sovereignty of who Jesus is.  Our feelings can betray us, so we must enlist the entirety of who we are to become entirely His.   We can not trust our feelings.  The Psalms are filled with the proclamation of how wicked our hearts are and how our hearts will betray us.  "Our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus Name." 

Let me challenge you today to surround yourself with those things that will transform your life into the likeness of Christ.  Reading the Bible, having a quiet time, the counsel and association of Christian friends, and intense prayer are all things that will make your relationship with Jesus "more than a feeling".

"Mountaintop" from the 2013 album I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home)" by The City Harmonic

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy