Welcome to the blog that continually seeks out to answer the question, "how can I listen to music that I love and have an open mind to what the lyric could be saying to me?" You've never asked that question? Oh my!!! Well, maybe continue reading and you'll begin asking yourself that all the time. And boy!!! Do we have an answer for you! It's Tuesday and time for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!
Tuesday is my absolute favorite day of the week! Original release dates in the music and video industry were on Tuesdays for many years. Not really sure why. It just was. So as a music retailer, I was always interested to see what artists new cd might become a fast seller or what movie might unexpectedly be the surprise hit of the week. Each week we would merchandise the new releases in easily accessible locations and by Thursday, we would have a good idea of what to expect to need for the weekend. This allowed us to plan a bit better, but in hindsight, I guess it wasn't quite as convenient for our guests. It did, however, provide a love of Tuesday that I continue to have today.
The music and video industries moved to a Friday release a few years back, but here in the blogosphere, we attempt to keep the Tuesday hype machine alive by bringing you some of our favorite songs with a perspective that you may have never considered, released only on Tuesdays. We call it Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! We'd like to welcome you to the last Tuesday of September!!! So glad you're here!!!
My wife loves to keep a calendar. As we've gotten more seasoned(code word for getting older), we have discovered the necessity of having everyone who lives at our house put their events down on said calendar. Our phones are ok, but the calendar in the kitchen provides a central location for our family to have ready access to what is going on in each other's lives. I confess that calendar has saved me on more than one occasion! When I fail to write something down, turmoil ensues as once again I get to tell my wonderful wife how right she is about writing everything down. For me, that calendar is a piece of the puzzle that supplies me with something that many in our world need to have today...peace of mind.
Anyone who has listened to the radio knows that sound. Quite simply...Boston! Anytime you hear the opening guitar licks from "Peace of Mind" or other of Boston's hits, you recognize an incredible talent and someone who is very specific with the music they are attempting to generate. Tom Scholz is the name of that person. He continues to lead as Boston makes music and tours.
"Peace of Mind" was the third and final single released from Boston's debut album which continues to climb in record sales and has become one of the highest selling debut albums of all times "The 10 most successful debut albums of all time" by etcanada.com staff. 19 Dec 2014 "Peace of Mind" surprisingly only went as high as #38 on the charts as it followed on the heels of the other two singles from Boston, #22 hit "Foreplay/Long Time" and the debut release "More than a Feeling" which peaked at #5. Tuesday's Musical Notes - "More than a Feeling"
"Peace of Mind" essentially describes the desires of a creative who is trying to get to the top as fast as they can. Boston's advice...getting to the top isn't worth it if you sacrifice who you are and your peace of mind. "People livin' in competition, all I want is to have my peace of mind..."
Are you working to get to the top of the ladder? What do you sacrifice to get to the top? How's your relationship with your immediate family? Do you have friends that are not work associates? Time for a church? Please don't misunderstand, I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't do our best and work towards the highest point of impact and influence we can. After all, Paul said to Colossian Christians that they should have an attitude with regards to their work habits as if they were employed by God. Paul's letter to the Colossian church, chapter 3, verses 22-25 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/English Standard Version of the Bible parallel If your future's coming way to slow it is easy for our motivations for work to be one the factors that drive us crazy and rob us of the peace that we all need. A peace that can only be obtained by having lives of balance.
We live in a very tumultuous world. There seems to be little peace about anything. Why do we seem so contagiously unhappy? I really think it is that while we talk, support marches and rallies about being at peace with everyone, we really don't have a clue as to how to have peace in our own lives. There can only be one source for that kind of peace of mind, heart, and spirit. Paul's letter to the Philippian church, chapter 4 NASB/The Message/ESV
I hope you took a moment to read that entire chapter. Paul is very encouraging to a group of folks whom he loves without exception, yet continues to hold them to a high standard. From this chapter, there are a couple of verses that go well with Boston's #38 hit. In verses 6 and 7, Paul writes, "Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (The Message paraphrase) "A sense of God's wholeness" sounds like a peaceful place to me, how about you? That is a wholeness that I desire to have in my life, to enable me to face the unexpected that is guaranteed to happen. But how can we gain this peace that comes for a sense of God's wholeness?
I heard a speaker recently say that perhaps when we pray for healing, resources, or the cares of the world, perhaps the focal point for our prayers are in the wrong place. His suggestion was to beg God to fill us with Himself each day. As God does this, this message that Jesus provides regarding anxiety will be real in our lives. From Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Do you see that? First of all, we must seek God. We must be filled with Him and as we are filled more and more, all of the rest of our cares, concerns, anxieties, and things that cause turmoil will be taken care of in light of what He does. My personal conviction is that all of these things vanish in the presence of God. The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25-34 NASB/The Message/ESV
The New American Standard Bible translation brings peace into the forefront in Philippians 4, verses 4-7, "4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace (emphasis mine) of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." You see friend, the ultimate pathway to peace of mind, is through peace with God.
Do you have a tension in your life that you can not seem to shake? Does the future seem to hold a solution to that tension that you can envision? That tension is Holy Spirit drawing you to God. Your resistance to His peace is the source of that tension. I understand your indecision. Be careful you're not left behind. There is a peace that resolves that tension...isn't it time to have a peace of mind? Your life can truly be different. It can be filled with peace and the wholeness of God. Take a look ahead...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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