This is my 100th post of the year. This marks the 8th year since this blogs inception in 2009, and the 4th consecutive year that I’ve published 100 or more post in a year.
That is of course, it will be my 100th post of the year if and when I publish it. A few years ago I wrote a post about having 100 posts in draft status. At the end of the post in the only comment, I had written that I had deleted all but 15 of the posts in draft status and hoped never to accumulate nearly as many post there again.
Well it turns out that I have been accumulating posts in draft status again. I currently have 77 posts with that distinction. The majority of these are from 2023, but I do have 14 from this year. As part of my 100th post of the year celebration,I will now list each incompleted post of 2024 by title in Chronological order.
Double Library Day
Team Saturdazzle
(Untitled)
Milwaukee Brewers Catcher William Contreras bringing major league streak to begin season
Crystal Lake Library
(Untitled)
(Untitled)
Anniversary vs. Annual
A to Z 2024 Reflections
(Untitled)
What’s most wrong about the 2024 White Sox
The Newfangled Four - A Spoonful of Sugar (Parody) [From Mary Poppins]
Former Chicago White Sox MVP , The late Dick Allen, elected to the Hall of Fame.
Not everybody needs a college degree (Writers Workshop)
That’s the 14. Some of these may see the light of day and most will be discarded. One of the drafts from last year is scheduled to post tomorrow for the next edition of Wordless Wednesday. I also hope to share the story behind that picture in a subsequent post.
Tomorrow’s post won’t be the last post of the year as I have a Michael Card Christmas Concert video scheduled to drop on 12/25. I’ll probably land somewhere between 103 and 107 2024 posts before the New Year and the whole race to 100 begins again.
Summer is right around the corner and it is time for me to endeavor once again to get into one of my favorite past times: Summer Reading. My Summer reading season generally goes from Memorial Day (tomorrow) to Labor Day (which is September 2nd this year). By starting today and ending Labor Day, the season is 100 days long.
I want to read at least 10 books during this period. That is an absolute minimum goal. I think I would actually be disappointed if I only read 10 books this Summer. That is basically only one book every week and a half. I really have my eyes set on twenty, Which is 1 book every five days for a fortnight of weeks.
Now when I say read, I really mean consume. I may listen to some, and read some on a device, but the majority will be physical books which I will read from the printed page. There are some books that I am in the middle of reading, if and when I finish them this Summer I will count them. There are some reading programs that do not allow this, but mine is not one of them. To keep myself honest each year, I don't start reading any books the week prior to Memorial Day. I've been so busy lately, that I don't think I've read any books for the last two weeks,
My lack of recent reading could become problematic as I am out of habit. Over the next few days I hope to remedy that by jumping back into the waters of reading.
Here is a list of 10 books that may be some of the first I finish this Summer.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
This is probably a good time to stipulate that some of the books I plan to read this Summer, I actually will be re-reading. Earlier this month, in my A to Z Reflection, I wrote about my plan of reading all the Narnia books again this year, and then doing the 2025 A to Z challenge on the series. I wouldn't be at all surprised, If I finished all 7 prior to Labor Day
Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy
Many of the books I read during this program are books that I own. I picked this one up last year at a meet the author event. My wife has already read this story of McCarthy's walking trip with his son on the Camino de Santiago. I read some of it last year but will be starting anew as I'm not sure where I left off.
Luke: The Gospel of Amazement - Michael Card
Michael Card is one of my favorite singers, but I also enjoy his writings. This was going to another one that I started over from the beginning. I just page through it and I remember most of the introductory material from reading it earlier this Spring. I'm going to start again on page 32 which is a chapter about Luke chapter 1.
Eugene Onegin byAlexander Pushkin
Years ago I lived on Pushkin Street in Khabarovsk, Russia, This Summer I will again be attempting to read Pushkin's verse novel, Eugene Onegin, I have been very off again Onegin (pun very much intended) with this one. For the past few months I have been consistently practicing Russian for the first time in decades. If I can wade through the English translation, maybe next year I'll attempt it in Russian.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
At the beginning of this year, I wrote a post about my plan to read FOTR (I have never finished it) by September 2nd, which is the 53rd anniversary of his death. I am about 1/2 way finished and if I only read 1 book this Summer it needs to be this one. If I'm not done by 4th of July I will start listening to it as well as reading it.
1984 by George Orwell
Speaking of books that I've never finished. 2024 should be the year I finally finish 1984. I've had to return a copy to the library twice this year, but I'll order one today from them and should be finishing it very soon.
Concise Theology by J.I. Packer
The 3rd book so far with initialized authors. I have read this book multiple times over the years. This year has been a little different as I've been reading one chapter at a time and highlighting that chapter as I read. There are 94 chapters and I have completed 24. It is very possible I will not get through all 94 by Labor Day.
The Cooperstown Casebook by Jay Jaffe
In my sports blog, Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog, (which has now been incorporated into this blog), I write a lot about Baseball's Hall of Fame. Jaffe writes in this book about who he thinks are Hall of Fame worth candidates. I am looking forward to finishing it soon.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
As of yesterday, all my children are officially finished with their secondary education. Which of course means they are all finished with their primary or elementary education as well. I, on the other hand, will probably never be finished with children's literature. To that end, I'm dusting off a favorite tome from our home school days and planning to enjoy it anew this Summer.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Now that school is over, I am looking forward to re-reading Allen Levi's fiction debut. I believe I gave my copy away. So, I may need to wait until I get a summer job and a summer paycheck before I get to this one.
Don't be too surprised if I finish other books before or instead of some of these these 10. I will try to post a review of each book as I finish them. I'm not always successful when it comes to that part of the program, but we shall see. 3 short weeks after Labor Day I will turn 60, so this is my last Summer Reading Challenge of my 50's. I think that will make it that much more enjoyable.
I am doing my A to Z Reflections in 2 parts this year. The traditional reflection with the index and the pontification will follow. This year I paid homage to John "1 Hand Typing" Holton by having a "song of the day" for each letter of the alphabet at the end of my post. I would post a You Tube video of the song in question and then daily add that song to my Spotify A to Z playlist.
I am adding a bonus song of the day for the reflection called appropriately enough, Reflecting on My Reflection by Allen Levi.
The Leap of Dave A to Z Playlist ia now ready with all 26 songs from the challenge.
I will be back later this week with my traditional reflection. Foe more reflections click here.
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 26th is Hug an Australian Day.
Australia is the lone continent that is also one entire country. Australia Day is celebrated each year on January 26th marking the 1788 landing of the first fleet into Sydney Harbor and the subsequent raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain. 3 months to the day later you can celebrate Australians all over again by hugging them.
Originated in 1996 in Melbourne, Hug an Australian day promotes warmth and wellness.
Wallaby,Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Buddhist Monastery, Brisbane, Australia www.dhammagiri.org.au
Not everyone can visit Australia. However everyone can promote good will to Australians everywhere by wishing all Auissies you meet well wishes and perhaps even a warm embrace. Here's a cute video of someone hugging a koala bear.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 25th: Multiple Holidays Abound
Everyday of the year there are a plethora of holidays, My job for the challenge was to scour through those holidays and find one that somehow relates to the letter of the day. Since todays letter is V, I thought I might give you a variety pack of holidays, events, and occurrences to celebrate today.
Holidays
National Hairstylist Appreciation Day Held on the 25th April since 2012. Prior to that it was celebrated on April 30th, but alas, that wasn't it's "permanent" day.
International Delegates Day - United Nations The current U.S. Ambassador for the U.N. is Linda Thomas Greenfield. The last former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. that I voted for for President of the U.S. was Nikki Haley.
World Penguin Day Statred in 1972, April 25th coincides with he day that Adelie penguins begin their northern migration. It is a little confusing because I thought it was March of the Penguins, not April.
License Plate Day On April 25th 1901 the state of New York made the first law requiring automobiles to have license plates. Speaking of license plates click here to see the I holiday Indicted Illinois Governors Day.
Born On April 25th
Al Pacino - American Actor 1940- present
Edward R Murrow - Radio and Television Journalist - 1908-1965
Edward R Murrow Public Domain,
David Strathairn As Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck
Guglielmo Marconi - Inventor and Physicist 1874-1937
Died on April 25th
Ginger Rogers - American Actress and Dancer. Died in 1995 at the age of 83
John Havlicek - Boston Celtics Basketball Star died at the age of 79 in 2014
Bea Arthur- Actress best know for her roles on t.v. shows Maude, and Golden Girls- died at the age of 86 in 2009
Happened on April 25th ...
2021 - Chloe Zhao win's Best Director Oscar for the film Nomadland. Frances McDormand won the Academy award for Actress in a Leading Role for Nomadland, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture.
1990- Hubble Space Telescope Sent Into Orbit.This hour video show the Space Shuttle bringing the telecope into space and then releasing it into orbit.
This poster shows many of the great pictures taken with the telescope.
There is an entire house concert from 2019 on this video, if I have set this up correctly, the intro to the song should start as you open the video. There are 22 songs on the A to Z Spotify playlist now. Just like today it houses a lot of variety.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
A Very Special Installment Today
Dave Out Loud Presents Undecided, Undeclared & Uncertain Day
21 letters 21 songs assembled in a playlist. 5 more remain. Here is what we have so far.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
The third Wednesday of April is One More Time and you Get a Parade Day.
As today's letter is a vowel, it is another opportunity for me to make up a new holiday. Many holidays come with traditions, games, or events that go along with them. Easter egg hunts, for example are believed to have originated in Germany in the 16th century. The first Turkey Trot (a race taking place the morning of Thanksgiving) took place in Buffalo New York in the late 19th century. One More Time and you Get a Parade Day may be the first holiday that was started to celebrate a tradition rather than the other way around .
My wife and I have been playing a game I invented around the time we got engaged called "What A Thing to Say". It started as a game to play when we were in a social setting that required a lot of mingling. I believe the original occurrence was at my Grandfather's wake. I gave my fiancé a thing to say, I believe it may have been The Almighty Dollar. Over the course of the event she had to work in the phrase into ordinary conversation 3 different times with 3 different groups of people.
Some of the original "what a things to say" besides the almighty dollar were, The Stevenson Expressway (A Chicago road), People don't floss like they used, to, and one of my favorites, I don't like blank (whatever person , place or thing just mentioned) they supported the war movement.
It's a totally random game that when played well is oblivious to all but the player, and when played poorly is a staple of group conversation for a very long time.
"What does this have to do with parades?" you might ask. A few weeks ago I was subbing in one of my favorite classes. It was the class in fact, that I had been a long term sub in for the 1st semester of the 2022/2023 school year. I have a great deal of familiarity with these students and they have a great deal of familiarity with me. The class is comprised of 6th graders and 7th graders and one of the 6th graders tends to sneeze 5 or 6 times in a row on a frequent basis. On this particular day, after the 3rd or 4th sneeze I responded with the quip, one more time and you get a parade.
I'm not sure how that phrase came to me. True, I just made it up, but, I was definitely thinking something along the line of when you do something multiple times you get a prize. I don't think I was remembering the below scene from A Few Good men, it is in my collective unconscious .
One way to celebrate One More Time and You get a parade day is by playing a version of What a Thing to say with your friends, family, classmates or co-workers. This could be done virtually or in person. Each person writes one phrase down and then they are distributed. Then each person has to use that phrase in a conversatToday'ion throughout the day. Another way is to try to make up your own expression and use it in the course of the day.
April is a month that starts with foolishness, but One More Time and You get a Parade say insures that foolishness doesn't end on the first.
Today's Song is Off Again On Again Love By Allen Levi
I generally put a video on of the song, but as far as I know there are no videos of this song, so here is a link to it on Spotify.
With this song, my playlist is now up to 15 songs.
It is already 9:15 P.M. in Chicago and this is the latest that I've posted in the challenge so far this year. I now must go, and work on tomorrow's. When I finish this one, I might not get a parade, but I will be caught up. That is certainly something to turn a phrase about.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 12th Yuri Gagarian is the first man in space
63 years ago today the Russians beat the U.S into space again. This time, Yuri Gagarian became the first person in space. This You Tube video shows some footage from the event.
Just in case you don't read Russian, the text below the video translates into English as:
On April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the first time in the world, with pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on board. For this feat, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and starting from April 12, 1962, the day of Gagarin's flight into space was declared a holiday - Cosmonautics Day.
On September 27, 2010, by decision of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, April 12 was proclaimed the International Day of Human Space Flight, which will be celebrated annually at the international level.
I decided to copy a couple of the you-tube comments and show them in Russian , and then in Russian printed phonetically in English and then finally translated by google translate into English.
The first comment is from @elenadushyna8975 from 1 year ago
Все молодцы!! И Королев! И Гагарин! И все остальные неизвестные, кто причастны к этому великому событию!!!
Vse molodtsy!! I Korolev! I Gagarin! I vse ostal'nyye neizvestnyye, kto prichastny k etomu velikomu sobytiyu!!!
Well done everyone!! And Korolev! And Gagarin! And all the other unknowns who are involved in this great event!!!
The second comment is from LarussaShudrova from 8 years ago
Спасибо за воспоминания! Спасибо! Помню, какую испытала гордость за страну, когда передавали по радио сообщение о полёте человека в космос. В душе всё пело.
Spasibo za vospominaniya! Spasibo! Pomnyu, kakuyu ispytala gordost' za stranu, kogda peredavali po radio soobshcheniye o polote cheloveka v kosmos. V dushe vso pelo.
Thank you for the memories! Thank you! I remember how proud I felt for the country when they broadcast a message on the radio about man’s flight into space. Everything was singing in my soul.
What strikes me about the coverage and the comments is the great sense of accomplishment. I lived in Russia for 2 years from 1992 to 1994 right after the Soviet Union was dissolved. It became clear to me fairly quickly is that people are very similar regardless of what country they are from and being proud of your country is certainly not something the U.S. has a monopoly on.
The song of the day is Keep Me Running performed by Ashley Cleveland
Randy Stonehill wrote and performed the song on his 1976 album Welcome to Paradise. The below video features a young Stonehill performing the song.
Stonehill turned 72 earlier this year and I made this post to celebrate.
To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
Last year at this time I commemorated Sir Randy Stonehill's 71st birthday by sharing 71 of my favorite songs of his on this blog. As he is adding a candle on his birthday cake this year, I am upping my 71 song salute to a half gross. I was able to see Randy at 2 concerts since he turned 71. One with Phil Keaggy last Fall, and a few weeks ago I crossed the border into Missouri to catch an epic solo concert.
In tribute to that performance I am including every song I can find on the internet that he performed at that concert. All of the songs he perfformed on March 2nd in St. Louis are listed in Bold Letters (Just in case you don't know what Bold Letters look like, they look like this.)Many of his songs can be found on Spotify. Songs I could not find on Spotify, I found on BandCamp. Songs I could not find in either place I pulled from you-tube or Patreon.
1. Irresistable Future - Mystery Highway
2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings
3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood
5. Christmas Song For All Year 'Round - Welcome To Paradise
6. I Love You - Born Twice
7. Norman's Kitchen - Born Twice
8. Bad Fruit -The Sky Is Falling
9. Still Small Voice - Celebrate This Heartbeat
10. Christine - Between The Glory And The Flame
11. Can Hell Burn Hot Enough - Until We Have Wings
12. Light Of The World - Equator
13. First Prayer - Welcome To Paradise
14. Keep Me Runnin' - Welcome To Paradise
15. Stop The World - Celebrate This Heartbeat
16. Sunday's Child - Mystery Highway
17. Love Beyond Reason - Love Beyond Reason 18. Ramada Inn (Live) - Until We Have Wings 19. Everything But Love - Stonehill 20. Didn't It Rain - Until We Have Wings 21. One True Love - The Sky Is Falling 22.Until Your Love Broke Through- Love Beyond Reason 23. Celebrate This Heartbeat - Celebrate This Heartbeat 24. The Hope of Glory - The Wild Frontier 25. Modern Myth - Celebrate This Heartbeat 26. Can't Buy A Miracle - Can't Buy A Miracle 27. Leonard Has A Toaster - Lost Art Of Listening 28. Glory And The Flame - Between The Glory And The Flame
29. Stand Like Steel - Return To Paradise 30. Hand of God - Thirst
31. Barbie Nation - Wonderama
32. Old Clothes - Until We Have Wings
33. Charlie The Weatherman - Stories
34. Try Havin' Some Faith - Spirit Walk
35. Turning Thirty - Equator
36. Lazarus Heart - Lazarus Heart
37. This Old Face - Lost Art Of Listening
38. Baby Hates Clowns - Thirst
39. Strong Hand Of Love - Welcome To Paradise
40. Stormy Winds- Uncle Stonehill's Hat
41. Die Young - Between The Glory And The Flame
42. Who Will Save The Children - Celebrate This Heartbeat
43. Arriving to Depart: Not yet on album
(Pulled from You Tube video from Jan 24 concert, song begins at approximately 19:00)
44. King Of Hearts: Welcome To Paradise
45. That's The Way It Goes (Live) - Edge Of The World
46. Shut De Do (Live) - Equator
47. Jesus - Breath Of God
48. Big Ideas (In The Shrinking World) 49. Beginning Of The Living End - Lost Art of Listening
50. Broken Places - Spirit Walk 51. Hymn - Love Beyond Reason
52. Billy Frank - The Lost Art Of Listening
53. Venezuela - The Sky Is Falling
54. What Do You Want From Life? - The Wild Frontier
55.Brighter Day - Can't Buy A Miracle 56. Get Together - The Wild Frontier
57. Ready To Go - Welcome To Paradise
58.Rachel Delevoryas - Wonderama
59.In Jesus Name - Lazarus Heart 60.Last Time I Saw Eden - Spirit Walk 61. Everything You Know (Is Incorrect) - Thirst
62.I've Got News For You (Paradise Sky Version) Welcome To Paradise -
63. When I'm Afraid Lazarus Heart
64.When I Look To The Mountains - Celebrate This Heartbeat
65.Mercy In The Shadow Land - Lost Art Of Listening
66. Backwards On Her Bike - Mystery Highway 67.Cosmetic Fixation - Equator
68.A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept - Lazarus Heart
69. The Keeper Of The Bear - Thirst
70. I Don't Ever Want To Live Without You - Return To Paradise
71. One Last Song Before I Say Goodbye - Not yet recorded on an album
72. Life is Tough, God Is Good - Spirit Walk
Happy Birthday Randy! I encourage anyone who spends time listening to these songs to buy some or all of them on Band Camp. Also you can sponsor Rand's ministry on his Patreon page.
The beginning of a new year is a time of looking back and looking forward at the same time. In that spirit, I will be writing about the best 2 books I read for the first time in 2023, and also list ten books I am either currently reading or planning to read soon in 2024. The best 2 books I read in 2024 were A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
In September I wrote a little about Levi here. Levi has been many things in his career a lawyer, an independent singer song writer, a judge, a bee keeper, just to name a few. He weaves many of those experiences into his first novel. My favorite album of Allen's is Rivertown, a musical love letter to the history of Columbus Georgia. Theo of Golden is also about a river town. The fictional southern city of Golden is an additional character among many finely developed characters. But the characters and the setting take a back seat to the story which is about kindness, community and redemption. Theo of Golden and is available in multiple places, including Rabbit Room, Amazon, and at Levi's website.
In preparation for the launch of his book, Levi wrote several pieces on his blog about writing. In one, he talked about the novel A Gentlemen in Moscow by Amor Towles. I was intrigued, so I borrowed it from my local library.
A Gentleman in Moscow is about a man who is under house arrest for over 20 years in a Moscow Hotel. It takes place almost entirely in the hotel, you would imagine this would make for one claustrophobic read, far from it!
Towles like Levi successfully makes the setting a pivotal character in this book. The 2016 novel will soon be a television series on Showtime. I was sad to finish both of these books and am looking forward to rereading them again soon. Which brings us to our Next Ten ....
This will generally just be a list of 10 books, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I will also be entering a small update on my progress in my quest to read Fellowship Of The Ring before my 60th birthday,.
Dreyer's English - Benjamin Dreyer
Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
Concise Theology - J.I. Packer
1984 - George Orwell
Write Better - Andrew T. Le Peau
Royko - F. Richard Ciccone
Fellowship of The Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
I obtained the book from my local library, although my son has since informed me that he has several copies he could lend me. I have finished the first chapter.
The Periodic Table of D.C. - Melanie Scott
Theo of Golden - Allen Levi
A Gentleman In Moscow - Amor Towles
Note: I have already completed one book on this list since, I started writing this post a few days back. When I have finished reading 4 more books, I will post a new Last 5 Next Ten.
Keith Green would have turned 70 today. Here's a clip of Randy Stonehill talking about the behind the scenes story of the classic tune Your Love Broke Through.
*Note* I originally wrote and published this post on Friday September 8th 2023 and I inexplicably deleted 1/2 of it and then deleted the rest trying to fix it. If I could explic it, it wouldn't be inexplicable.
The post contained below is what I wrote Friday, to the best of my growing faultier by the day memory.
Love, Dave
On the first Thursday of each month, An internet community gathers to explore the spiritual ramifications of a given topic or to make their own spiritual observations off the topic. This months host is Patricia Franz of the Reverie Blog Her entry is Life At The Speed of Grace.
I really enjoyed her post. I liked her idea that grace is shorthand for God. I especially liked her poem featuring an adieuing owl and a blooming cucumber. I spent a good deal of time reflecting on Grace and the idea of God's grace and here are some of my reflections.
Allen Levi is my friend. He is also one of my heroes. I have only met him 4 times and these have always been at concerts he's playing. Yet I consider him a friend and kindred spirit. In my opinion Allen is a jack of all trades, master of all. He is a former lawyer, a former judge (with a 20 year gap between these occupations). He left law in the early 90's to become an independent singer songwriter. During that time he took a year off from singing, writing, and touring to be his brother's caregiver as his brother was dying, of cancer. He wrote an excellent book about his brother called The Last Sweet Mile. He has also written a fine children's book based on his song Oliviatown.
Recently Allen finished his first novel. It is called Theo of Golden and is available for preorder at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Kindle. His website has a link to a sample chapter. Levi also is or has been a beekeeper, bird enthusiast, book reader (volunteers each year to regularly read to a grade school class) and blogger. And those are just the things I know of that begin with the letter B.
I say all this because when I began reflecting on Patricia's post the first thing that popped in my head were Allen Levi song lyrics and since Mr. Levi isn't the household name that I think he should be, I needed to answer the question of who Allen Levi is before I could begin in earnest. And earnest I am; so begin I shall.
As I mentioned Allen Levi is one of my heroes. The lyrics that popped in my mind when I started reflection on Grace, is from his song. "Most of My Heroes".
The 2nd verse starts:
All of my heroes are rich in imperfections. All of my heroes are richer still in grace.
Levi continues
They are people who are weak and bruised and broken, But they know somehow they'll make it through the race.
Grace has been defined as unmerited favor. It is one of the main manifestations of God's goodness. We grow in grace as we grow closer to God. This is probably the reason why Franz says grace is shorthand for God. Levi makes a similar point in the song's chorus:
Most of my heroes are very simple people. All of my heroes look a lot like you.
Accepting God's grace in your life is a transformative process. The more grace we receive the more we are changed and the more we attribute that change to God. Consider Levi's powerful yet whimsical bridge, . . .
And if you brag on them like I'm trying to do, I can bet what they might say to you. They'd say "thanks a lot.", and blush as if it's just not true.
The book of Hebrews spends an entire chapter (eleven) talking about the heroes of the Old Testament. The same phrase is used over and over again in the chapter to describe how these heroes operated and that phrase is by faith. Without God's faith in God those heroes would not have done the things God made them able to do.
When I think of my spiritual journey, I think of grace, I think of faith and mostly I think of Jesus, In Chapter 12 of Hebrews, the author segues from the Hall of Faith to Jesus himself :
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The spiritual journey I am on is one of faith and one of grace. I am being perfected on this journey by Jesus. He is my hero and as I grow in faith through his Grace I will grow to look a lot like Him.
On this Day March 12th, 1951 fellow baby boomer and my favorite singer Randy Stonehill was born in California. He turns 71 today and to celebrate I will link 71 of my favorite songs (and yes, I have that many) of his here on this very happy birthday post. Many of these songs can be found on Spotify. All of these songs are available for purchase at Bandcamp. Note: Songs are listed from the album they originally appeared. The song is not always being played from that album.
1. Never Can Repay - Born Twice
2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings
3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood
4. Starlings - Return To Paradise
5. Christmas Song For All Year 'Round - Welcome To Paradise
6. I Love You - Born Twice
7. Norman's Kitchen - Born Twice
8. Bad Fruit -The Sky Is Falling
9. Still Small Voice - Celebrate This Heartbeat
10. Christine - Between The Glory And The Flame
11. Can Hell Burn Hot Enough - Until We Have Wings
12. Light Of The World - Equator
13. First Prayer - Welcome To Paradise
14. Keep Me Runnin' - Welcome To Paradise
15. Stop The World - Celebrate This Heartbeat
16. Sunday's Child - Mystery Highway
17. Love Beyond Reason - Love Beyond Reason
18. Ramada Inn (Live) - Until We Have Wings
19. Everything But Love - Stonehill
20. Didn't It Rain - Until We Have Wings
21. One True Love - The Sky Is Falling
22. Until Your Love Broke Through- Love Beyond Reason
23. Celebrate This Heartbeat - Celebrate This Heartbeat
24. The Hope of Glory - The Wild Frontier
25. Modern Myth - Celebrate This Heartbeat
26. Can't Buy A Miracle - Can't Buy A Miracle
27. Leonard Has A Toaster - Lost Art Of Listening
28. Glory And The Flame - Between The Glory And The Flame
29. Stand Like Steel - Return To Paradise
30. Hand of God - Thirst
31. Barbie Nation - Wonderama
32. Old Clothes - Until We Have Wings
33. Charlie The Weatherman - Stories
34. Try Havin' Some Faith - Spirit Walk
35. Turning Thirty - Equator
36. Lazarus Heart - Lazarus Heart
37. This Old Face - Lost Art Of Listening
38. Baby Hates Clowns - Thirst
39. Strong Hand Of Love - Welcome To Paradise
40. Curious - Uncle Stonehill's Hat
41. Die Young - Between The Glory And The Flame
42. Who Will Save The Children - Celebrate This Heartbeat
43. We Were All So Young - Edge Of The World
44. King Of Hearts
45. That's The Way It Goes (Live) - Edge Of The World
46. Shut De Do (Live) - Equator
47. Jesus - Breath Of God
48. Big Ideas (In The Shrinking World) 49. The Gods Of Men - Love Beyond Reason
50. Broken Places - Spirit Walk
51. Hymn - Love Beyond Reason
52. Billy Frank - The Lost Art Of Listening
53. Venezuela - The Sky Is Falling
54. What Do You Want From Life? - The Wild Frontier
55.Brighter Day - Can't Buy A Miracle
56. Get Together - The Wild Frontier
57. Ready To Go - Welcome To Paradise
58. Sing In Portugese - Wonderama
59.In Jesus Name - Lazarus Heart
60.Last Time I Saw Eden - Spirit Walk
61. Everything You Know (Is Incorrect) - Thirst
62.I've Got News For You (Paradise Sky Version) Welcome To Paradise -
63. Awfully Loud World - Can't Buy A Miracle
64.When I Look To The Mountains - Celebrate This Heartbeat
65.Mercy In The Shadow Land - Lost Art Of Listening
66. Backwards On Her Bike - Mystery Highway
67.Cosmetic Fixation - Equator
68.A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept - Lazarus Heart
69. The Keeper Of The Bear - Thirst
70. I Don't Ever Want To Live Without You - Return To Paradise
71. Finish Well - Spirit Walk
Happy Birthday Randy! I encourage anyone who spends time listening to these songs to buy some or all of them on Bandy Camp and give Randy a gift for the wonderful music he's been giving to us for a half-century.
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![National Hairstylist Appreciation Day](<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg#/media/File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg" alt="Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg" height="2960" width="2350"></a><br>By RKO Radio Pictures - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/moviescomefrom00seld#page/n193/mode/1up">The Movies Come from America</a>, photo preceding page 101, Public Domain, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65503629">Link</a></p>){kind=link}