Dave and I sang this very song (back with this official track) at malls, schools and churches from the time it was released on Carman’s album, “A Long Time Ago in a Land Called Bethlehem” in the late 80s through the early 90s. It was one of our “greatest hits” and so much fun to sing. Tara even mentioned we should sing it at the big Christmas Concert this weekend, but I think I’ll just sing along with Carman and Cece (one of the best voices ever) when no one is listening.
I love it because when you are surrounded by the track, it’s like you’re right in the middle of an epic story, so well told, in song. And it breaks in to some amazing worship (did I mention that CeCe can sing!??), culminating in declarative exhuberance that brings you to your feet. Because? Our blessed SAVIOR has come! Oh, yes!
Dave is the romantic lead in the Prairie Playhouse production of the original play, “Christmas Again.”
Tonight is the final performance of this fun, jolly mix of traditional Christmas songs and a heartwarming story with 4 adults and about a dozen and a half kids. It will follow Brighton’s own Parade of Lights downtown and be performed at The Armory (not long ago renovated and restored for community-theater-type events even though I wanted it for my house, geesh). And Dave, among other songs, gets to solo on one of his all-time favorites, “White Christmas,” with the rest of the cast joining in. He was the star of the show, the handsome leading man. But even wholly dedicated to his role in the play, with a “bad woman” flirting with him, and the “good, single mom” winning his heart, he refuses to remove his wedding band.
The older mom of another player saw him at Target today and was quite star-struck, apparently. Get in line, lady!
Some people just stay, whether you deserve it or not. Some people trust their hearts to you for a lifetime, not because you see them a lot or stay in touch like you should or are even a very good friend at all. And when you decorate your “family tree,” the non-designer version filled all that really truly matters from Chrsitmases past, and you come across ornaments which had been tucked into cards years ago, and little notes, or when you hang what a friend once made that has become an heirloom to you now, when you remember – regardless of all the miles, yes, your friends have once again come near.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
Through the years we all will be together,
If the [Lord] allows
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.
LYRICS: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Merry Christmas DEAR Friends, far and near!
There isn’t room to list all who have been true friends to me throughout the years. But they must know?
In Iowa, and Minnesota, Indiana and North Dakota (not to mention South Dakota), Kansas, Washington, Tennesee…Robert, Louisiana, and even in Nebraska! In Montana, and Oregon, Texas and Chi-town, and close to home {Frederick, and Brighton, Denver, Longmont, Boulder, Firestone, Arvada, and the rest}… really all around…
Is. 9.2 a people walking in darkness have seen a great light
This version of the song is from Chris Tomlin’s Christmas album, but the musical genius (Matt) wrote it (and leads most of it) and every Christmas, I can’t help singing it. And each Christmas when I drive into my neighborhood and see the lights on the houses, I know they are declaring, whether those who strung them realize the truth they represent or not, that the Light of the world came. Every twinkling light, every candle lit that pierces the darkness that would otherwise be there represents Jesus, the light of the world. Jesus dispelled a darkness that can never overtake us again. We are children of the Light.
I look out my window on a December night and I remember: The Light came, He shines!
John 8.12 Jesus said: I am the light of the world…
Even as a really young kid, once I started reading, “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power” in Reader’s Digest was a favorite of mine. I love words, I love phrases that string them together in a way that lights up my brain. I am a word-lover. And I love to give words as gifts.
So you’d think by now I’d perhaps have mastered the use of them somewhat, have some ability to use them for great things.
I cannot believe how prone I remain to blurt out the worst possible words at the most inappropriate moments; how quickly I will still employ the profane in spite of knowing thousands of other ways to communicate even my frustration. I say the wrong words at the wrong time in the least-effective way so {stinking} often. Just….yuck. Bleeehhh.
See? Nothing.
If only my “spoiling it all” by “saying something stupid” was as nice as “I love you.” sigh
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecc 5.2 NIV
My song for Sunday a week ago got me totally in to an Andrae mood. So, I pulled out all my Andrae Crouch and the Disciples LPs and played them this week, sang along! He is just one of the voices of my life, one of the greatest musical infleunces. I am begging Luka to book him for Heaven Fest for me (and everybody else!). I found this interview he did online at www.oneway.orgwhere he explained how young and “green” he was, even when he wrote the song I shared last week, “The Blood Will Never Lose its Power,”
“When I first wrote ‘the Blood’ I was 14; I didn’t even know what the song meant…(The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, Take the Message Everywhere, Light Records, 1969)…it just came. …Didn’t know what it meant; wasn’t driving a car; I was totally green to what was going on.”
Interviewer: And it (the Blood…) has meant so much to people all of these years.
“It’s the Word, so it was really a prophetic message that lives on forever that, “the Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.” Many songs came that way. Those early days were exciting and adventurous. Everything was new. Just like I don’t know what God has in store for me, now. It’s that same kind of excitement.”
Another of his songs I so love, one I find myself humming or singing quite regularly, is one which reminds me that what I have, I need to share. “Tell Them” is the good news that THE God of the universe, while they are yet sinners, loves the people around us – just the way He did with us. And He came to give them life. I find it appropriate to kick off this “season of good will” with the joyful message of a Father who loves us~
Tell them even if they don’t believe you
Just tell them, even if they don’t receive you
Tell them for me
Please tell them for Me
That I love them
And I came to let them know.
Tell them
When it seems you are forsaken
Just tell them though it seems your earth is shaken
Tell them for Me
Please tell them for Me
That I love them
And I came to let them know
Tell that lonely man who walks the cold streets all alone
Tell that crying child who doesn’t have a home
Tell those hungry people dying lost and in despair
They don’t even know that I care
Won’t you tell them on the streets and tell them on the highways?
Compel them, even on the byways
Tell them I can mend the broken hearted
Restore the ones who have parted
And I came to let them know
And I came to let them know
It is appalling to think how long I often go, rushing here and there in the busyness of life, full of the great news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet neglecting to share it. Neglecting to go and compel…
Andrae Crouch. Demos Shakarian. Beth Moore. And a song…
It started with my dad making me watching Jesus Explo ’72, nearly having to drag me from my room at the time, which I wrote veeeeeery extensively about HERE (click!).
Andrae Crouch and the Disciples sang and oh, I loved their sound, oh yes! I sang my heart out to many an 8-track or cassette tape of his music. Andrae is the soundtrack of my spiritual heart and soul from about 1972-1980.
I just completed my first-ever Beth Moore Bible Study(confetti flying through the air- bells and whistles going off, and all that jazz). In one of the sessions toward the end, she was preaching up a storm about the blood of Jesus and started quoting the lyrics to Andrae’s song, “The Blood Will Never Lose its’ Power.” Wow-it brought back a flood of memories – maybe especially because just that very day, the physical therapist I have been seeing about the Labor-Day-weekend knee-wrenching episode, had said, “You know, it is probably time to get the MRI and look at getting surgery. And oh how I hated that. You see, this very same knee had been broken and mangled before and after two+ years of 24/7 pain, God just healed it. Just like that. While I was running up and down these massive industrial stairs to the finance office at Heaven Fest 2009. It was crazy!
So Beth quotes the words to this great song, resisting, she says, the urge to actually sing it out.
And I remember. 1972. Davenport, Iowa.
I had the flu, apparently. Achy beyond comprehension. A fever of 104. Sort of delirious. Just misery. It was a Sunday, but I was 12, and old enough to be alone in my utter despair, so off to church my parents and family went…me left on the couch, just sort of moaning. My mom had the left the television on very low, I couldn’t really hear it beyond my whimpering, but it was background noise, as I lay there suspended in a gauzy pain, the kind that makes you cry out to Jesus for relief making you acutely aware that you haven’t been crying out to Him for much of anything recently. You think about making deals, promises, but haven’t the strength and know He is probably glad for that.
At some point, however, the sound of TV seemed suddenly to have become louder. I became aware of what was on. Demos Shakerian was hosting his weekly Full Gospel Buisiness Men’s Fellowship International show. And his guest? Andrae Crouch. I don’t remember what they talked about, but at some point, Andrae moved to a grand piano and started singing this song. And I am telling you, the Presence rode in on that melody and just poured over me. That room turned in to a holy place as that song filled the air, the volume somehow mysteriously louder, clearer than it had been (in the days before you could just use a remote to change the volume!).
“The blood that gives me strength from day to day…”
I started to cry as I heard those words which were etching truth into my very heart. Andrae sang and I felt healing surge through me as pain just – went! Gone. My head stopped throbbing, I started worshiping. It was strong, but tender; it was mighty and powerful, but for me, not against me. Andrae sang and sang and angels must have been singing along. I was very suddenly and immediately energized and whole – like not one thing was wrong, not one. No more pain, moaning, no more achiness – all of it: gone! I grabbed the thermometer and took my temp, it had instantly fallen to exactly normal! I felt light as a feather, ready to dance with joy.
I hopped up, got dressed and walked 2 1/2 miles to church. Didn’t even get a day off school because of that flu.
The knee.
Just finished up a big fundraiser. About 2/3 of the way through the evening last night in heels (covering lots of area at high speed), it started popping out of place again. Today it is so very sore. Today it feels like I will be a cripple forever. I am on the couch on a Sunday morning, sort of achy all over from the last few crazy days, wondering: is there a numerical limit to how many healings one knee gets? Or could He do it again? Would He?…
Got to hang with cousins Hunter and Averi recently, which was lovely.
click on thumbnails for a larger view
And Rocky sang to Jovan for her birthday.
A Bruno Mars song. She loved it. His mommy may even have cried a little at the romance of such sweetness. Isn’t it nice when we can love someone just the way they are (even if we’d tweek them a little here or there if it were up to us??}? And isn’t it glorious beyond comprehension when some one loves us that way???
And my little Kelley-sisters-grandbebes visited
Under the canopy of yellow-leafed Aspens just beyond the patio. We use Christmas lights in trees even in summer for magical nights under blue-blue skies.
And this is a SNEAK PEEK at some Rhoades family fun we had at the farm this weekend. More to come!
It is appalling to think how long I often go, rushing here and there in the busyness of life, full of the great news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet neglecting to share it. Neglecting to go and compel…
