Sunday's Song

So many amazing songs to choose from...
So many I'd love to share.

And usually it's a worship song that I share on Sundays, but today I bring you another Pub Favorite.

It's called The Last House on Our Street, and it's haunting. If I could give you an opportunity to actually listen to it I would...maybe I'll be able to figure out how to do that soon!

Irish music often reflects the era it is written in (it's not ALL drinking songs!) and there's often quite a bit of social awareness written into the lyrics (think U2 for example). I love that about it. This one is an example--written and sung in a rhythmic way that mimics a ball being passed back and forth, it sounds at first like a children's song...and it does seem to be written through the eyes of a child. But reading the words is heartbreaking when you realize what they're saying.

Like I said--beautifully haunting, and I hope you can get some portion of that from the lyrics below.

Blessings on your Sunday!

The last house in our street
The last house in our street is the one that we are living in,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
All the other windows have concrete curtains,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
The flowers in our garden are made of bricks end broken glass,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
And 'round the back we're growing an outside toilet,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
Wee Albert Mooney was blinded by a petrol bomb,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
The bombers said, We're sorry it must have been en accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
A big rubber bullet killed little Johnny Morrissey,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
A policeman fired it, it must have been en accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
God made the world and Belfast is a part of it,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
Sometimes I wonder if Belfast was an accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
There's a wall, so there is, between us and them, there is,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
Is there anyone can tell me that they didn't help in building it?
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
But the eyes of the world have concrete curtains,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me
Would you tear down the wall, would you open up the windows,
Would you open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
The last house in our street is the one that we are living in,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
All the other windows have concrete curtains,
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.

Ok, blog readers. It was driving me CRAZY that I couldn't find a version of this song on youtube. So I created my own. Please know--I'm not a professional (which you'll be able to tell by the mediocre chords I'm playing in accompaniment) and my voice isn't necessarily suited to this sort of song...but it HAS to be shared. So I'm sharing it. Be gentle, kind readers :0)

Oh...you won't really be able to see me in the vid. That was slightly by design. Midnight on a Sunday isn't necessarily my best look!



(by the way this is a private youtube video, so let me know if you can't see it and I'll send you a copy)

What a Weekend!

Hey all!

Here's today's wordle, a bit late:

Please visit Shannon to create your own!

And now for SWS:


Got my Mac...and lovin it!

I finally made my purchase and am typing to you all on my brand-new MacBook! There is a bit of a learning curve, but I'm doing all right. Today is a busy day of transferring files and photos...music...and doing the "real life" stuff like laundry and cleaning my kitchen.

Speaking of that real life stuff...I really should end this and go do some of it! Happy Saturday ya'll!

Bad Haiku Friday

My Friday will be
told in the form of haiku.
So read on below:

My fingers are cold
My whole body is freezing
Fall? Where did you go?

Going to the pub
Gonna hear some Irish songs
Drink a little too ;-)

(the drink should help me
warm my insides a little
or maybe...a kiss :-)

Thursday's Ten -- Bad Church Signs

Why Won't It Just.Stop.Raining??!

Ah Well.



I have a feeling the Thursday's Ten for today will be a recurring theme for me. Most of my friends know I "collect" these by now, and even go so far as to tell me when they've spotted them around town. What are they? Bad Church Signs.

You know the ones. They make you groan. They try to be funny (punny) or are just in bad taste.

You KNOW you've seen them. So share your favorite ones today on your blog!

Here are some pictures of actual church signs I've snapped in the last few months.

1. We spotted this one when we went to Texas. I made a trip down the sidewalk from the Subway we were eating lunch at much to the guy's chagrin!
(unfortunately it was way too dark to get a picture of the other one I found in Texas. "Church is a gift; assembly required.")

"Try not to look at the world through woes-colored glasses"

Punny.

2. From right here in Nashville, folks. In fact, this little church is nearly directly across the street from Driving Ms N's subdivision.

"Life is hard Afterlife is harder."
So uplifting!

3. Another from our favorite uplifting church. This message was posted right before Easter. Don't know about you all, but if I were looking for a church to attend Easter services in and saw this message I'd run...the other way!

"But he that believeth not shall be damned. St Mark 16:16"
I'm kind of amused that they include the "St" in there.

4. One of my friends is a worship leader at this church. I really, really hope he doesn't also help choose the message on the sign.

"God sent you a text, read it every day"
...groan...

5. On the way to our student retreat this fall, I found this church. Actually turned around and drove back to get a picture of this one!

"Be an organ donor give your heart to Jesus"
(Actual punctuation. Apparently the message will get out there whether we're grammatically correct or not.)

6. I don't even know where to begin with this one:

"Current Sermon Series: God's Good Vibrations - Psalm 23"
yeah. just gonna let that one speak for itself

7. This is actually the church I grew up going to, in Indiana. I was showing Anthony around town when we first arrived and was both mortified and excited to snap this picture.

"Exercise daily - Walk with the Lord!"
This could explain the obesity problem in that particular church...

8. Another one from my friend's church...this was actually a two-fer on the other side of the previous one...

"Worry is a darkroom where negatives develop"
another *groan* is necessary here

9. This one is especially cool because the message type (a red led display) quite matches the words.

"Exposure to the Son may prevent burning"
Oh my.

10. And finally, for those of you who like a play on words less obvious than "sun" and "Son"

"Praying will give you a calm-plex"
That really doesn't sound like a positive thing.

And as a bonus, this isn't a church sign persay, but we did run across it in TexasOk. I definitely don't expect you to have pictures, but I KNOW you've seen them. Or a quick google search will bring some up :0) If you'd rather do a Thursday's Ten about something else though, go for it! I'm easy...I just want you to play along too! Grab the button (code to your right) and sign Mcklinky!

Wednesday Weekend Recap

So much for getting this on at 9 pm central! It's 2 hours later, and I've been dealing with computer issues. Suffice it to say, this one is dying and I've got to get in to buy a Macbook (I'm making the change) asap!

Meghan, Laura,Izzy and I did the Oktoberfest in Nashville on Saturday early afternoon. The rain held off for just a few hours so we could enjoy being outside!

and eating

...and eating...

Sunday was a crazy busy day, ending with our trip to LP Fields to see the Titans and Colts first match-up of the season. Unfortunately, the Titans seemed to think that they could go home after the first quarter...

I told several friends that since I love both teams (after all, I grew up in Indiana and now I live here), I would have been happy with the outcome no matter who won. However, it would have been a much more fun game to watch had it been more of a game! Ah well.

On the way to the stadium with an hour til kickoff...tickets in hand...I didn't notice the sign in the background until I uploaded the pics...how ironic!
(if you can't read it, it says "dead end")

The courthouse was all lit up for Code Blue
A not-so-hot pic of the boyfriend and me
I was layered. Colts t-shirt, Titans long-sleeved tee, Colts sweatshirt, Titans hat. And a Code Blue t-shirt giveaway that we got when we walked into the stadium.

Crossing the river--more Code Blue lights!

Walking up the ramps to our seats: skyline

and big crowds below!

The Colts make their way onto the field

followed by the Titans
One of the many Colts touchdowns. I was going to get a Titans touchdown. But they never went for one. No, really. Not.A.Single.One
More football action

The final score
Most of the fans were gone...but we stuck it out to see everyone from the teams flood the field. A was ready to go by the beginning of the 4th quarter, but I wanted to stay to the end of my first football game, dangit!

This is What Happens...

When I forget to schedule a blog post the night before! Been crazy busy today!

Never fear...pics from Oktoberfest and Sunday night's football game are coming up in a few hours... as well a a recap from both, and more. Check me out around 9 pm Central ;-)

Titus 2 Tuesday: Lori

During this season of unemployment (or as I like to call it at this point "underemployment") I have been fortunate enough to maintain monthly appointments with my massage therapist.

I have always suffered with back issues, and since my insurance (because it's not a fantastic company group plan like I had when I was in the classroom) won't cover the pretty regular chiropractic visits I would need, I have, since I began nannying, had regular massages. Right before I lost my job I found Lori.

Lori was recommended to me by a friend, who told me that she first was a great massage therapist and most of all that she's a Christian...and that she will pray over you as she massages you.

So the timing of finding her was amazing. And somehow (only through God!) the money has been there each month to pay her. And the month that it wasn't she insisted that I come so she could give me a massage as a gift. Amazing.

I've felt amazing after each session, not only because of the healing massage, but because I know she was praying constantly as she worked.

When I saw her yesterday everything went as usual. At the end, as I was paying her and sipping a glass of water to rehydrate she said

"As I as praying over you today I very distinctly heard that I needed to tell you that God knows you've been faithful in waiting. That He knows and is aware of your trust in Him...and that great things are ahead. It's been hard, but you've made it look easy...and He knows that and wants you to know."

Oh, how I needed to hear that (without even realizing I needed to hear it!). God is amazing...love those little "notes" from him (to quote my friend Laura).

So thankful.

Monday's Memory: The One With Air Force One

I live really close to the airport in Nashville, and the school I taught at was just a few minutes from my house. One of the teachers on my team, Mr O, owns his own Cessna...so he naturally knows the flight paths in town.

We knew the President was coming into town that day (this was when George W Bush was in office) but since that was a fairly regular occurrence didn't really think much of it. Until Mr O came to my room during our planning time first period and told me a bit of insider intell. Apparently, the runway normally used for Air Force One was being repaired, so they would have to come in on the flight path directly above our football field!

So long story short, we let the kids watch the President come into town. I got a few pictures, although my camera at the time didn't quite have the zoom that I'm now used to!

Sunday's Song: For Sam

I always feel so helpless when someone is sick.
When that someone has cancer it's compounded.
It's why I'm growing my hair out. When your friend with cancer asks you if you'll donate hair to cancer patients with her you can't say no!

There was a day last week when my status on facebook was something on the order of

"is astounded by the number of people who constantly expend the energy to turn positives into negatives...perhaps we should all try the opposite for awhile"

A texted me a bit later wondering what had inspired it. I told him many things, including Ms N (of driving Miss N) and her tendency to make things sound worse than they are, and the tendency of many of my friends to focus consistently on the negative.

But mostly, I told him, it was because of my friend Sam.

Sam is an example of doing the opposite--turning his negatives into positives.

Sam was the director of music at the university I attended. Very shortly after arriving there, I became his kids (3 adorable girls) consistent babysitter. And Sam and Keli became like family. I spent many weekends at their house, did laundry for free in their machines, house and pet sat when they were gone...

We went to church together--Sam was the worship minister. Shortly after I bought my condo and had began attending and eventually joined the church I now attend, Sam and Keli accepted a position at another church in town. We kind of lost contact over the years, although I have called or emailed a few times.

About two months ago I began seeing confusing (to me) status updates from Keli on facebook...and then from their neice Lizzie who I went to school with...and finally I was directed to Sam's blog.

He's battling acute leukemia, the same kind that killed his father when Sam was still a teenager.

The blog subscription that I added that night left me in tears.

But over the last few weeks, I have been uplifted and encouraged daily by Sam and Keli as they update...and even the girls as they leave comments on the entries.

My status update that day was triggered by a post of Sam's explaining that he is not in remission as we all had hoped. And in the middle of the post he encouraged his readers—his friends and family—not to lose faith in the God he knows is working in this situation.

Powerful.

If HE can believe so adamantly, who are we to waver?

Sam has claimed a song as “his”, though many speak to him at the moment. However, the one he mentions often, the one he encouraged all of us to listen to, is one I already knew well. It’s by Parachute Band, and the title is simple…”Complete”

Sam’s not feeling great today—this second round of chemo is affecting him differently and he’s nauseous and feeling rather weak. There’s not a whole lot I can do but pray…and ask all of you to do the same. I’m not going to share the link to his blog here publicly, but if you would like to remain connected to his story and be uplifted by what he and Keli have to say, message me. I’ll be happy to share the blog address with you.

Today…for Sam

Complete

Here I am, O God
I bring this sacrifice, my open heart
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
It restores me again

So I lift my eyes to You, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let Your love fall down on me
I know Your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on, Lord
And by faith I will walk on, Lord
Then I’ll see beyond my Calvary one day
And I will be complete in You

Here I am, O God
I bring this sacrifice, my open heart
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
It restores me again

So I lift my eyes to You, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let Your love fall down on me
I know Your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on, Lord
And by faith I will walk on, Lord
Then I’ll see beyond my Calvary one day
And I will be complete in You

I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
It restores me again

So I lift my eyes to You, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let Your love fall down on me
I know Your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on, Lord
And by faith I will walk on, Lord
Then I’ll see beyond my Calvary one day
And I will be complete
Yes, I will be complete in
I will be complete in You

Read

Complete Lyrics

here.