Forever Young – Wishing This For My Wonderful Sons, Nick and Joey

May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

And may your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

Singing Horses

 

I could play with these singing horses all day.  Go here and click on each horse to hear them sing to you and harmonize with each other.

Amazing Fan Participation Music Video

This music video is so super fun. Japanese band Sour  (btw – I love their music) shot Hibi no Neir’ (Tone of Everyday) using a cast from their actual fan base which includes different people from all over the world. Each person and scene was filmed purely from webcam. “Hibi no Neir” is from Sour’s first mini album ‘Water Flavor EP.’ Enjoy!

No Matter Who You Are – No Matter Where You Go

Share your stories of those who stand by you, past and present.

American Idol – and the winner is…

Another season of American Idol is over…and it was a good one!  I liked both Adam and Kris and would have been satisfied with either outcome, but the title went to Kris Allen.  So in honor of Kris’s win I thought I would post this video of him singing “God of the City” by Bluetree.

Hope For A Tree Cut Down

I love the blogging world…the way one good thing leads to another good thing.

I was over at Missio Dei reading a great post by Jonathan Brink  about  The Great Emergence conference that was held in Memphis, TN Dec 4 – 6.  In the post he mentioned that Nadia Bolz-Weber, author of Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television, got to open each session with sections of her book.  I wasn’t familiar with her work and went to check out her blog, Sarcastic Lutheran (which Jonathan was nice enough to link to).

Now stay with me…I started at Missio Dei and jumped over to Sarcastic Lutheran.

When I got to Nadia’s blog her most recent post was about a free album called Hope For A Tree Cut Down from Church of the Beloved.  So I clicked on that link. Turns out the album is available for free and it is hauntingly beautiful.  If you have trouble getting to Church of the Beloved (I had a little trouble – probably because they are getting a lot of hits) you can find it on ITunes as a podcast for free.

The title of the album is taken from Job 14:7-9:

At least there is hope for a tree:  If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.  Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,  yet at the scent of water it will bud  and put forth shoots like a plant. 

Here are some good words about the album:

From their website, “That is what we are discovering together at Church of the Beloved – a hope.  Hope that something new is beginning that has very old roots.  Hope that God is growing life out of our devastation, trust out of our cynicism, love out of our fear, community out of our isolation….  And that’s what this album is about – fumbling into God’s grace.  It is a seismic and humble shift when our heart can hear the words that God has been saying to us for all our lives, ‘…nothing can separate you from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus’.  These songs say ‘Yes’ to God’s claim upon your life that, ‘You are my Beloved.’”

From elnellis.com :  Some highly creative and generous friends over at Church of the Beloved have recorded a fantastic set of music that stands in the spiritual and musical traditions of Sufjan, Colbalt Season and Over the Rhine- it evokes similar worshipful and emotive responses for me. This is an exemplary demonstration of contextual, local and indigenous worship that has come out of a faith community that is in touch with their creativity:

If you do download the record please share your appreciation with the folks who put this together. Please email them or leave a comment at their site.

Groovin’ On A Sunday Afternoon – What Are You Listening To These Days?

 

 

Made a CD for a friend this week. I started off with a little Jason Mraz and went from there.  It actually ended up being two CDs – a total of 30 songs.  I made it for my friend, Colleen, who lives in San Antonio.  I was there for a visit back in April and we spent some time talking about music – so I decided I would share some of my favorites with her.  It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  Here’s the playlist:

 

Groovin’ On A Sunday Afternoon – The Young Rascals (it was a perfect title for the collection)

Shy That Way– Tristan Prettyman and Jason Mraz (love them together)

If I Ain’t Got You – Alicia Keys (the voice! the piano! It’s perfect!)

(You Want To) Make A Memory– Bon Jovi (great sing a long song)

Love Song – 311 (from the movie 50 First Dates – very pretty)

The Story– Brandi Carlile (love the raspiness of her voice – makes me think of Grey’s Anatomy)

Ain’t Nobody– Chaka Khan (makes me want to dance)

Love Song– Sara Bareillies (another great sing a long)

Live High– Jason Mraz (very mellow and easy going – his voice shines through on this nicely)

Keep Breathing– Ingrid Michaelson (another song from Grey’s – I can still see Christina in that wedding dress)

With You – Chris Brown (who would’ve ever thought I would like a song so much where the guy calls the girl Boo)Dream Some – Shelby Lynne (something I found accidentally and fell in love with)

Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song)- Enrique Iglesias (very poppie and great to sing a long with)

You and I– Jason Mraz (this and Beautiful Mess may be my favorite Mraz songs at the moment)

Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me – Gladys Knight (a timeless song - makes you think of someone special)

Sunday Morning – Maroon 5 (just a feel good song all the way around)

How To Save A Life – The Fray (hauntingly beautiful)

Look At Me – Keri Noble (another one I found accidentally and fell in love with)

Crazy – Gnarls Barkley (love the funky feel – also love the music video of this song)

Tell It To My Heart– Taylor Dayne (anyone feel like dancing?)

When The Stars Go Blue – Ryan Adam (I still think of Blake Lewis from American Idol when I hear this song)

The Way I Am– Ingrid Michaelson (such a positive, upbeat, fun song)

You’re Beautiful – James Blunt (great song – in fact his whole Back To Bedlam album is great)

No One – Alicia Keys (still love this song even though they played it to death on the radio)

1000 Things– Jason Mraz (another great one from Jason)

Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis (was so glad when her music started to break here in the US – love her voice)

Who Knew – Pink (don’t listen to much by Pink but love to sing along with this song)

Unfair – Josh Kelley (was in the movie 27 Dresses – love the old Motown sound)

Love Love Love– Tristan Prettyman (her voice goes so well with the guitar)

Smooth – Santana (sexy)

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS?

note: image from http://www.heathersdesign.com/artwork/mraz.jpg