I love the Fourth of July. My beloved and I had our first unofficial “date” on an Independence Day celebration in Fort Collins, Colorado many, many years ago. A song from Five for Fighting  called “Freedom Never Cries” is timely for this holiday. Writer/singer John Ondrasik has become one of my favorites. Ondrasik writes personal and powerful songs that resonate with me. “Freedom Never Cries” is a song about how we take freedom for granted. Ondrasik talked about the song in an interview posted at liveDaily. It was definitely a statement song that has a point of view. I think it kind of speaks to the fact that, I know at least for myself, we tend to only appreciate things when we need them. The chorus of that song says “I never loved the soldier until there was a war / Or thought about tomorrow ’til my baby hit the floor.” I know I never started thinking about my future until I had my
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Singer Dan Fogelberg was also one of my favorite songwriters. The song that I remember most is a song written about his dad called “Leader of the Band”. His father was a musician and he passed that talent down to Dan. Parts of the lyric made me think of my Dad in his final years.. The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul I thank you for the music and your stories of the road I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough And, papa, I don’t think I said ‘I love you’ near enough My Dad knew how much I loved him. Still I wish I had told him more. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me
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Father’s Day is here again and that day is always bittersweet. I am so grateful to be the father of three wonderful sons. I am grateful as I watch my sons being great dads to our grandchildren. But the day also reminds me how much I miss my Dad. I thought of him as I watched the news today. The current climate in Washington and the selfish agendas of our “representatives” would have driven him nuts. I could almost hear him ranting about the politicians and how we just need someone with common sense in our Nation’s Capital. He earned the right to rant. He was one of the incredible men and women who served our country during World War II. The flag from his military funeral is one of my proudest possessions. I find myself becoming more like my Dad every day. I dialed up a couple of his favorite songs that I have on iTunes as a musical version of
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I remember reading this headline at Yahoo News. Swearing at work boosts ‘team spirit, morale’ Wouldn’t it be interesting to be at that corporate pep rally? The story outlined the study. Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers. Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of East Anglia, and graduate Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and assessed its implications for managers. They assessed that swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye. The pair said swearing in front of senior staff or customers should be seriously discouraged or banned, but in other circumstances it helped foster solidarity among employees and express frustration, stress or other feelings. I live in
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I used to be quick to jump on Christians who failed morally. How could they claim to be a Christian and do something like that? I wondered how they got to such a low point in their journey. Perhaps a bit of insight came from a Texas storm. Strong winds toppled a 50-foot-tall tree in a friend’s backyard. But strong winds are a part of every spring in Texas. Why did this particular storm fell a mature tree? The answer came as my friend cut up the fallen tree—it had completely rotted inside. There was no way to tell when you looked at the tree. The bark covered the decay and the leaves were still green and pretty. But inside the tree was dying. It finally reached a point where there was not enough strength left in its core to withstand another storm. The example from nature is a metaphor for how we can topple as Christians and completely surprise
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Twitter makes cowards courageous. The anonymity of cyberspace makes the mean spirited downright evil. I have watched with sadness as Twitter trolls have destroyed or severely damaged people and institutions. Sometimes the venom is directed at those who simply have a sincere difference of opinion on moral issues. Nothing seems to generate more glee than a Christian leader or institution failing. Without fail the hypocrite word is used with smug satisfaction. And it is true. Let me make this personal since I can only speak honestly for me. I am a hypocrite. I do not consistently live up to the teachings of Jesus. I fail. I sin. That is why I need a Savior and not a self-help course. I am confident not in my holiness but in the holiness of Jesus. I remember hearing a pastor say that “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn’t keep us from comparing distances.” That is
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Real and honest relationships are messy. If you take the chance to be known and get hurt it is easy to build a wall. If you take another chance and get the same result it is easy to build an impenetrable fortress around your heart. And that is tragic. Sara Groves is a powerful lyricist with a great voice. That’s a very appealing combo plate. Her song entitled “It’s Me” is amazing. She captures the insecurities, old stories about our past and selfishness that leads to relationship meltdowns. And those moments seem to come out of nowhere. weather came and caught us off our guard we were just laughing and feelin’ alright had such a great time just last night we walked into a minefield undetected you took a tone and I took offense anger replacing all common sense oh run for you life all tenderness is gone in the blink of an eye all good will has withdrawn I am sobered
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