Life

As Charlene Darling Said, Songs Can Make Us Cry

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments
English: it is picture of the sheet of the son...

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Many years ago, I attempted song writing. None was worthy of publishing and most have mercifully faded from memory. However, there are two I remember (at least the titles). One was a soulful ballad about commitment, titled: “If I Don’t Leave, Then I Guess I’ll Stay”. The other was a heart-tugging song about unrequited love: “I Did a Belly-Buster in the Swimming Pool of Love”. (Charlene Darling of the old “Andy Griffith Show” would have certainly lamented “Don’t play that one, Pa, it always makes me cry!”)

Several years after those, when our son, Daniel, was still a baby, I made this one up to sing as I tried to get him to sleep (sung to any baby melody you choose):

“All the little gophers in gopher town, they all get together when the sun goes down.

They build a little fire, and dance round and round, all the little gophers in go..pher..town!”

Still probably not worthy of publishing, but I was pleased with the imagery, and Daniel seemed to enjoy it.

It’s difficult to write a good song, especially considering you need to have lyrics and an appropriate melody to go with them. It seems impossible to write a great one. That is one of the reasons so many hymns, old and new, are amazing. The words touch our hearts with their praise for our great and gracious God, pictures of unshakeable faith, and prayers for God’s continuing help. Their accompanying music, whether soaring and broad or simple and quiet, fits perfectly to complement the message.

The background of some of these songs makes them even more amazing: From the well known story of H. G. Spafford writing “It Is Well” on an ocean liner after it passed the spot where his four daughters had recently drowned, to the lesser known circumstances behind Thomas A. Dorsey writing “Precious Lord” after hearing his wife had died in childbirth and the baby had not survived, or “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” being written by Louisa Stead after her husband drowned trying to save a young boy.

These stories reveal the unshakeable faith of the composers. However, above that, especially when considered with the lyrics of the songs themselves, they reveal the love, mercy, and grace of our God.

All the little gophers in gopher town don’t really get together and dance around the fire after sundown (at least I don’t think they do). But, the Lord’s love, mercy and grace is real. It’s shown clearly when we hear that whether we’re in peace like a river, or in sorrows like a stormy sea, God makes us able to say: “It is well with my soul”; or, we cry out to the Lord to take our hand because we’re tired, weary and worn; or we affirm that it truly is sweet to trust in Jesus and know He is with us to the end. And, when God takes the song and reinforces that reality in our heart at just the right moment and for just the right reason, it can make us cry.

The Last New Year’s Post – Until 2013

/ Bill Jones / 3 Comments

    

Bluegrass Pickin' Party - that's me playing the banjo and trying to sing

     Back in our bluegrass band days, the bass player, John, and I sometimes borrowed an old Steve Martin Saturday Night Live skit. As we rolled up cables and put instruments in cases after a job, we discussed which songs worked, and whether the audience paid attention. On nights when things went especially well, we would talk about the future of the band and realize what we were saying – “…yea, we could start having regular practices…add more songs…we could really get serious and …” Then we’d stop talking, look into the air as if thinking about it, turn back to each other, shake our heads and say “Naaaah” – and laugh as we continued to put things away.

     It wasn’t that we didn’t care. Practice sessions weren’t needed because we played jobs at least once a week, and often more. We added new songs by working on them during breaks. We had worked up to a solid musical level, had great fun with it, and when the audience paid attention, they had great fun too.

     John and I knew our family lives and day jobs wouldn’t allow us to “really get serious”. As we expounded on the future, we had the luxury of letting the excitement seemingly build and then jokingly say, “naaah, this is good where we are.”

     As we talk and think about possibilities in life, we often feel the spark of excitement and begin to make plans. The plans are for good things so we make heartfelt commitments – and intend to keep them. The hard part then is consistency and diligence in the long term. Life gets in the way, and that spark of excitement dims.

     That isn’t always a bad thing. Whatever we were planning may have been impractical or the timing was wrong. But, often, as we allow the commitments to fade, we’re neglecting something that is practical and the timing is right, and the need is important (perhaps even critical).  

     In all our various roles as Christians, we don’t always have the luxury John and I had. We are called to good works, to obedience, to avoid becoming lukewarm.

     The New Year is a good time to ponder those things we may have let slide – what we once were excited about doing but haven’t carried through. If we have, in effect, decided “Naaaah, I’m good where I am”, we need to prayerfully ask whether God agrees with that.

“This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” Titus 3:8 NKJV

 

The Grand Quest – “Be Holy”, for Our God is Holy

/ Bill Jones / 31 Comments

     When our son, Daniel, was a youngster, we spent hours playing the Super Mario Brothers videogame. The game is a quest to rescue Princess Peach Toadstool from the evil villain, Bowser. The players run, jump, and bounce their way through different levels until they meet Bowser face to face on a bridge over a lake of lava. If they defeat him there, they can enter the dungeon and free the princess.

     Daniel was more successful than I was in this game (and all the others we played too). Nevertheless, after much failure and many “GAME OVER” endings, I eventually sent Bowser into oblivion and triumphantly entered the dungeon. My quest was complete and the princess was free, but the results were short-lived. When I reset the game, she went back into captivity.

     Along with that minor quest of freeing the princess, God has blessed me to complete some more significant ones. I graduated and found a good job, and I married the love of my life (thankfully, that was a jointly pursued quest!)

     However, there are many more that seem never-ending, and, at times, don’t have a clear objective. I am searching for what it means, and striving to be, a good: husband, father, grandfather, church-member, and brother to others in my life. While “good” is the part that is not always well defined in my mind, I do know where I should be headed. These quests all relate to learning and obeying God’s Word, and can be summed up in the Grand Quest that the Lord has given us:

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:15-16 NKJV

     Now that’s a quest to stand in awe of! We’re supposed to be holy: set apart, different from the world around us, pure. Regretfully, there are quite a few times during my days when that’s not the case – either in word, thought, or action (or the lack thereof).

     The Bible teaches that we won’t reach that perfection in these mortal bodies. But, while it is a daunting task, it’s not impossible to get closer to it every day. It’s possible to make progress because we are not alone in the quest – God has sent the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” 1 John 4:4 NKJV

     When we consider our weaknesses, we may believe this quest is never-ending. However, we can be assured it will be completed – not through our own strength, but because Jesus paid the price for our sins. In Heaven, we will be presented “faultless (holy) before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy” Jude 1:24 NKJV.

     Finally, we know it won’t be temporary. There is no reset button that sends us back into captivity. We will eternally be with God, and more fully understand that it was not our quest at all – it was the Lord carrying us along in His quest to bring all His children home.

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This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Quest”. Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic.