Today’s iPod shuffle landed on a song by the Beatles. The song takes me back to 1964 when I was an overweight nerd struggling to find my place in the world. What a difference forty-three years makes. Now I am not overweight. “Can’t Buy Me Love” reached the top of the charts for the group. When asked about the deeper meaning of the song Paul McCartney gave this reply. “The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want.” Sing along with me aching Boomers… I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright I’ll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright ‘Cause I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love I’ll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too I may not have a lot to give but what I got
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There is no safer sport in politically correct (for the most part) America than Christian bashing. Comedian Kathy Griffin went for shock value, sure publicity and safe offensiveness with her recent comments about Jesus at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards show. Griffin made the remarks over the weekend upon receiving the award for Outstanding Reality Program for her show “My Life on the D-List.” “I guess hell froze over,” said Griffin, whose show overtook ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” Holding up her statuette, Griffin topped off her off-script speech by saying, “Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now.” That offends me. I made a mental note to avoid all things Griffin (TV shows, CD’s, comedy shows, etc) in the future. But that was the end of my reaction.
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(My schedule is insane today. I have updated an earlier iPod devotional. Hoping for a fresh batch starting tomorrow) Welcome to the experiment known as the iPod devotional series. Here is how it works. On the old iPod is a “shuffle songs” feature. You hit the button and the iPod randomly picks a song. I am writing a blog about whatever song the device selects on that day from the 1,000 plus songs on my iPod. My music list will further confirm my status as a Christian who makes others feel superior. My music goes from Al Green to the Youngbloods. Beatles to U2. Old hymns to modern praise music. Toby Keith to Frank Sinatra. Oldies to the soundtrack from Monty Python’s Spamalot. This could be interesting. Regular readers of this site know that I am a huge fan of the group Casting Crowns. So it is no surprise that a song from the Atlanta based group would come up in this series. The song is called
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(Today’s crazy schedule does not allow time to whip up a fresh blog from scratch. I have frozen this past favorite in an airtight zip-lock for just such a day. A quick pop in the microwave defrost setting and it is ready for your consumption…hope you enjoy). Welcome to the experiment known as the iPod devotional series. Here is how it works. On the old iPod is a “shuffle songs” feature. You hit the button and the iPod randomly picks a song. I am writing a blog about whatever song the device selects on that day from the 1,000 plus songs on my iPod. My music list will further confirm my status as a Christian who makes others feel superior. My music goes from Al Green to the Youngbloods. Beatles to U2. Old hymns to modern praise music. Toby Keith to Frank Sinatra. Oldies to the soundtrack from Monty Python’s Spamalot. This could be interesting. Before we hit the shuffle button I have to share a series of questions from
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USA Today Columnist Craig Wilson noted that a new collection of quotes had piqued his interest. The book is called Not Bartlett’s and it is a compendium of thoughts on life, love, etc. Wilson listed a few samples and one caught my eye. “What a wonderful life I’ve had – I only wish I had realized it sooner.” Collette That is true for most of us. But for some reason we tend to dwell on the disappointments, failures and hurts instead of the blessings most of us have in abundance. One reason was articulated by the Church Lady on SNL. “Could it be (echo) SATAN?” Yes. Without question that is a factor for followers of Jesus. Satan’s battle plan is threefold. To cause us to dwell on past disappointments, to focus on current problems and to fear future events. Falling prey to any or all of those strategies robs us of joy and distracts us from the solution. Jesus. I
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Today’s winner is Matthew West and the song is called “Nothing Else”. You might better know Matthew West from a song called “Next Thing You Know”. His CD called History is one of my favorites and today’s song is an honest reflection on the journey to find happiness. Here are some of the lyrics to Nothing Else. I tried money I got as much as I could and I went to the store And I bought it all But it wasn’t enough ’cause I wanted some more But my house was full So I bought a bigger house and filled it up And there I was with all that stuff And empty. Been there. Done that. Just took the t-shirt in a bag of other stuff to Goodwill. We have so much stuff at our house. Other Christians are so convinced that God is angry over one or more of the top 10 sins on their personal countdown (gay marriage, alcohol, et al). I
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The shuffle landed on a song today that I had already written about in the last series. I went back and read that piece, and unfortunately, it still works. So here is a solid gold flashback… The tune is called Clumsy and it is written and performed by one of my favorites, Chris Rice . You can find the song on the CD Deep Enough to Dream. How interesting that the third song in the shuffle series is my anthem for my Christian journey. ESPN’s Chris Berman signature line for a football blooper is “rumbling, stumbling, fumbling”. That would have been how I described my Christian walk until I found this song. Here are the lyrics from Chris Rice that I could have written if I had any musical talent or ability to write lyrics. Those were the only two obstacles that kept me from writing this song. You think I’d have it down by nowBeen practicin’ for thirty yearsI should have walked a thousand milesSo
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