This week we will use the following songs to corporately express our worship to God and prepare our hearts and minds to hear from Him:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Praise Him and Lift Him Up) by Gary Oliver. Our version adapted from the Alvin Slaughter arrangement found on his album God Can!

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed traditional hymn by Isaac Watts and Ralph E. Hudson. Custom arrangement.

For All You’ve Done by Reuben Morgan. From the Hillsong album For All You’ve Done.

Lay It Down by Matt Maher on his album Empty & Beautiful.

At The Cross by Darlene Czech and Reuben Morgan on the Hillsong album Mighty To Save.

All songs are available for individual download on itunes, Amazon.com or on CD at most Christian music retailers.

Ratt “Lay it Down” Riff

I am bursting at the seams with love and am completely overwhelmed with the love God has for me.  This weekend was a tough one.  One of battle after battle.  Not listening or entertaining the lies and distractions that desperately want me to believe that I’m not enough, that they won’t want me to come back, that I need to lose weight, that he’s gone, and that their actions say they don’t care, etc. Rather, holding fast to His words of truth and promises by reading His Word and prayer while laying things at the cross.

Yet, God turned the tide and came like a rushing stream last night and this morning.  My fellow interns prayed for me as I let the tears fall down my face.  I sat vulnerable, broken, and honest about the hard weekend.  Afterward, strengthened by prayer, God provided a source of life, of passion.  The timing worked out that I stayed up late editing a curriculum for the Leadership Summit classes.  I devoured every word and came alive.  I could barely sleep. When I woke up to see the sunrise, I found myself drawn to Isaiah where verse after verse captured my heart.

Isaiah 58:8-9 “Then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring forth and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.’”

Isaiah 61: 10 For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.

Isaiah 62: 4 But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”

As I write, tears flood my eyes and stream down my face because I am so broken by His love. So broken to feel the love of God.  That even through everything, He keeps saying, “And I’m madly in love with you” and to show you that I’m going to give you an amazing gift today:

My heart broke in July when I had to say good-bye.  I cried so many tears and prayed so many prayers for him.  Each Friday still made my heart happy, but not like when he was there to give me a hug. Today, I got that hug I’ve been wanting for months. He played with my hair, I met his new family, I held him in my arms, I said I love you over and over, we sang Hakuna Matata, and he jumped up on my shoulders.  All the things that I loved and missed.  Yet, he stole my heart all over again and brought tears to my eyes when I heard the sweet words:

“I missed you too”

]]> http://bahava.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/lesson-of-the-day/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:39:57 +0000 bahava http://bahava.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/lesson-of-the-day/

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m learning and re-learning things.  Part of this includes wrestling with how things will look and seeking guidance from Him and others.  Today, turned out to be one of those days where I learned a bit more and made the lesson a little more tangible, real, and sink in.  Since I’m into those dictionary definitions lately, we’ll start there:

let go: relinquish one’s grip, allow to move, stop holding onto

To go along with this definition, there’s this little handy story to go along with it.  I have a watch that I decide to give to you.  I give the watch to you and put it on your wrist.  Except, I decide I want to look at the time so I take it back and then put it back on your wrist.  Or maybe I just hold onto the watch while it’s on your wrist or keep touching the watch while you’re wearing it.  Awkward, I know!  Basically, if I keep doing this then I haven’t really given you the watch.  We’re more sharing the watch or I’m trying really hard to get the watch back.  So, if I want to “let go” of the watch, I must actually give it up and not peek at it or take it back for a few minutes, for a second or for any amount of time.

The same thing is true with the things that we lay down at the cross for Jesus to take care of for us.  We have to trust Him with the valuable item and let Him have it completely.  He gets to do whatever He wants with that watch whether He changes it into something else or gives it to someone else or even lets us have it back some day.  We can’t hold onto the watch or try to keep tabs on what He’s doing in and for the watch.  At this time, for me, this tangibly means that I have to let go of communicating, checking blogs, asking others, and I need to genuinely and continually trust Jesus with the whole situation and lay it at the cross (He even gave me a physical reminder by leaving the outline of my cross necklace thanks to some happy sunshine).  Laying it down and actually letting go is hard, but once again worth it in the end because then I’m not focused on what I’ve “let go” at all.  I only fix my eyes on Jesus who can give me whatever He wants in whatever timing He likes.

Two little things I wrote last night.  I am in a new place doing new things…I’m going to find more of God and be changed.  Period.  So when the past started haunting me last night, this was my attempt to say “NO.”

A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

Thank you Lord for this pain that is showing me how good You are.

How much better, how much stronger, much more everlasting.

Thank you Lord for this ache that is lighting my path to You

And showing me how to run again, a desperation for what only You give

Thank you Lord for the chains that make me find my strength again

Finding faith and hopefully surrender till sweet release

Thank you Lord for shaking what can be shaken

Until only You remain

Sometimes I don’t want to thank You

Because things seemed so right and good

But then, this is when it becomes a sacrifice

This is when it becomes love

So teach me Lord, to thank You more

Thank You Lord for a place unfamiliar and alone

I’m finally free to redefine me

Thank You Lord for the deepest struggles to fight

Because I’ll taste the sweet things on the other side

~~~~

As I take these anxieties

And lay them at your feet

As you set them on fire

Could it be a fragrant offering?

Adorei!

Cooler Song. Ein Ohrwurm.

Tonight, as a study break, we sang, “Lay it Down.”

Almost the whole song consists of those same repeated words.
I lay it down.
I lay it down.
I lay it down,
at Your feet.
I lay it down.
I lay it down.
I lay it down,
at Your feet.

As we sang, I tried to mentally lay everything down. My finals. My friends. My thoughts about my schedule for move-out. My thoughts about boys. My thoughts about anything other than God.
I lay them down.
And then, *flit* *flit* *flit*, thoughts about things other than the Almighty God fly back into my brain.
I ask Him to help me lay them down.
And we do.
And then they flit back. And I ask Him to help me again.

I can’t say I ever succeeded in completely focusing on Him during the worship. One might blame it on too much caffeine and an over-crowded schedule, but we all know those are just excuses.

He did grant me a beautiful picture, though. Look at it with me.
I lay it down. We lay it down. The whole Church body. We stand in concentric circles around the throne of God, bathed in reds and golds and yellows. With every repeat of “I lay it down” in the song, we each lay something before the throne. Around and around and around it goes. I lay down more and more. Each saint beside me lays down more and more.
The whole church.
Before our King.
At His feet.
The whole communion of saints.
Laying everything down.

And oh, picture: What can God do with a whole Church laying everything down before Him?!

I didn’t get around to reviewing this album when it first came out, but I want to do a review on it while it’s still fresh.

The album is ‘Living Thing’ and the artist is Peter Bjorn & John. You may remember the song ‘Young Folks’, it was played everywhere and I’m still hearing around the place, well this album is a lot different in style to the song so be warned…

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Peter Bjorn & John - "Living Thing"

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Peter Bjorn & John are a Swedish indie-pop band that have made their name from their release of the song ‘Young Folks’. They have released five albums, including this. “Living Thing” makes use of funny/strange beats that sound different to most other music, the beats actually make it sound similar to R’n'B music, but the song are a bit more clever.

The strength of the band is to make intelligent, yet deceptively simple pop songs. They are prepared to experiment with different styles and effects, which is very refreshing.

The song ‘Nothing to Worry About’ is a song that is influenced heavy by hip-hop, and the indie twist they give it is genius. The little things that are include make this track, especially the echoing steel drum that is featured throughout the song. It’s essentially a three note bass line, which is extremely minimalistic, even for this band, but again, the twist they give it is just amazing.

My personal favourite is ‘Lay It Down’, it mat never get airplay on commercial radio, as it features a fair bit of language, although that didn’t stop Spiderbait when they released the single ‘Fucken Awesome’. I love the way they transform a potentially simple arrangement to a really intriquite and complicated one. Plus it’s about as catchy as ‘Young Folks’, which I thought was an impossible song to replicate in terms of catchiness.

The album is one of those albums that is going to be one of your most listened to albums, without being your favourite, It’s got songs that you can listen to anywhere, at any time and it is a honest and interesting album. I would definitely recommend people to listen to it, because I for one really enjoyed it.

I’ll finish with an excerpt of a triple j review with Bjorn that sums up the album perfectly, “New album is spooky, dancey and I would say interesting in a not boring way. We tried to make everything what it doesn’t seem to be. Like a guitar should sound like a synthesizer and a snare drum should sound like an umbrella opening or stuff like that. Just messing up your mind.”

Artwork from the “Lay it Down, Golden Filter Remix” which you can download here.

For those of you who are not familiar with Peter Bjorn and John, you need only to click on the below to trigger your memory.

Their 3rd album, Writer’s Block knocked us out with the flighty sweetness of that one song. Their fifth musical effort is of a slightly different thing altogether. It’s got heavy pounding, pulse biting beats that probably stands for the violent regurgitations of their romantic frustration, constantly assaulting the listener like  expletives hurled at you with excellent timing.

Before we go further into the album, let me just disclose some good facts about who Peter Bjorn and John are. After listening to “Young folks”, it is easy to mistake these guys as a group of 2 bespectacled young men dressed in shirts buttoned up in all their gingham glory, with an irritating habit of flipping their fringe in a really sensitive manner. But Peter Bjorn and John is really 3 guys instead of 2 (perhaps they could not find the comma that should have been there when they had to confirm their name, and decided to just go ahead without it ), all of whom look  threatening enough and better suited to rob a bank than writing glorious pop-rock ditties.  They are also from Sweden, which explains for that Scandinavian whine which we all love.

Living Thing Cover Art – all the pictures are made of letters of their own names.

The main thing about Living Thing is that, it is never going to be as good as “Young folks”. Most of the songs begin with a grand promise to be THAT song of the year, but always stops just a few steps away from greatness.  “Living Thing” sounds like a rehash of Hot Chip’s “Bendable, Posable” and “Stay this way” has this sweet,  affecting tune that wraps around your head, building up to a dramatic, tear-jerking climax that never really happens.  They even bravely attempt to create their own Indian chorus in the vein of Slumdog Millionaire.  “Nothing to Worry About” stands out with a fancy piece of choir work that would not seem out of place in an A.R. Rahman soundtrack. Still, it is disappointing in the sense that it makes you wonder whether all the songs would have sounded much better if an additional variable is introduced, or if they were sung by Lykke Li instead.

The closest they get to recreating the brilliance of  ”Young Folks” is in “Lay it down”, which sounds like the communal effort of a gay choir,  cursing and clapping and slapping each other’s butts. It’s happy,  fun and a little  vulgar, as with most great things.

“Hey shut the fuck up boy!! You are starting to piss me off. Take your hands off that girl!! You have already had enough!”

It’s like a brilliant reference to the LOST love dynamic. JACK! SHUT THE FUCK UP WILL YOU! NO MORE “SHOWING SAWYER HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION” PREP TALKS! AND TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF JULIET! BECAUSE SHE BELONGS TO SAWYER! AND TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF KATE TOO! SHE BELONGS WITH THE DOUCHY MILES! AND HURLEY! YOU BELONG WITH SAYID! WE NEED TO SEE BOTH OF YOUR LUCIOUSLY CURLY MAN LOCKS IN THE SAME SCENE!

Peter Bjorn and John
Living Thing
7 out of 10

Download the first single, “Lay it down” by clicking the above picture.

I have always loved Peter Bjorn and John.
Watch their new clip, ‘Lay It Down’.

Awesome stuff.

Hey! Shut the fuck up, boy! You are starting to piss me off. Take your hands of that girl, you have already had enough.

in anticipation for their newest album, living thing, two remixes have been dropped. one for “inland empire” off of seaside rock and “lay it down,” a new cut. anyway, cop these and cop their single “nothing to worry about,” somewhere on the internet.

pbj on myspace.

download:

pbj – inland empire (friend mix)
pbj – lay it down (golden filter remix)

-grizzly, bjorn and john

Al Green - Lay It Down

The first time I ever actually wept about a girl was while listening to an Al Green song. She chose her cats over me and, for obvious reasons, out the door she went. I spent the next few days like a teenage girl (a teenage girl with a serious drinking problem – which, remarkably, exists) listening to For The Good Times over and over again. It was sweet release from all my drama, just the way soul music is meant to be. I lived whatever pain I needed to, and then I moved on. That’s the gift of soul music.

The Reverend Al Green has been the undisputed King of Southern Soul for as many years as I’ve been alive. He’s been making faces (and panties)wet since the 60s and shows no signs of slowing up. You can hear the heartbreak of a life well lived in his voice. The pain must lead to eventual happiness and so, as surely as he can make you shed a tear, he can lift your soul higher than you’d ever dreamed possible.

Like many of my favorites from the 70s, I had assumed that the best was over for Al, but this is just not so. With the release of Lay It Down, he has made me a believer all over again. From the title track, which features Anthony Hamilton, to the simple sentiment of Standing In The Rain, Al Green has shown us all, yet again, what music is supposed to be about.

The tracks where the Reverend is all on his own hearken back to the 70s with simple organ parts, sparse guitar and poignant brass. He sings like a man on the brink of bursting with emotion. When he’s reserved, he sounds like he’s teetering, and when he lets loose, he gives you everything, on each and every track.

For me, the standout track on the album is a duet with Corinne Bailey Rae. Strings and brass and a perfectly simple rhythm section allow the two to explore the emotional content hidden in the melody. Having recently lost her husband to a drug overdose, Corinne singing, “I want to take a little time/before I fall in love again,” makes the track just that much more heartbreakingly beautiful. Their voices mesh together like two lovers in a hotel room in Paris who know they’re seeing each other for the last time before the war.

A glass of red wine, some candles, and Al Green to share with the one you love, or think about the one that got away.

Jackson Free Press

June 4, 2008

When a music icon decides to break back into the mainstream, the popular strategy is to enlist a hot producer who can help update his or her sound for the current mainstream, while often peppering the resulting album with the hot artists of today. Of course, this is often met with disastrous results. The best you can hope for is what Aerosmith got with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” It made them famous again, but also alienated their longtime fans who didn’t remember the band sounding like a bunch of Marys. 

Al Green took a similar path in his new record “Lay it Down,” enlisting ?uestlove, of The Roots, to produce. For those unfamiliar with ?uestlove as a producer, he was a driving force behind several of the most important hip-hop records of the last 10 years, including all of The Roots’ records and Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate.” Furthermore, he was one of the brains behind the best R&B record of the decade with D’Angelo’s “Voodoo.”

At his best, ?uestlove is able to seamlessly cross genres, and has meshed hip-hop and R&B better than just about any other producer. He understands his artists’ influences, even if the artists themselves aren’t familiar with them, and records their albums accordingly.

So what did ?uestlove do with Al Green, who is a major influence among all of his artists and one of the undisputed pioneers of his genre? He reverses precedent, and rather than trying to add some fresh flavor, he goes back to the exact sound that made Al Green the icon that he is—underscore “exact.”

Most of “Lay It Down” makes you feel like you just climbed out of a time machine in the 1970s. Everything—from the muffled drums on “Stay With Me,” to the horn inflections on “No One Like You,” to the organ tone on “What More Do You Want From Meԗsounds like it could have come from the same recording session as “Let’s Stay Together” or “Love and Happiness.” 

For the obligatory guest appearances from today’s top Billboard artists, ?uestlove included Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend. He makes them cater to Al Green’s sound rather than vice-versa, while never allowing them to overpower Green.

The problem with the production is that if you are listening to an Al Green record that sounds like it was recorded in 1971, then you want the singles’ quality to resemble that of 1971 Al Green, when he released “Tired of Being Alone” and “Let’s Stay Together” back-to-back. While there are a few songs on the record that you wouldn’t mind being put into radio rotation—namely the title track and “Take Your Timeԗthere’s nothing that you could insert onto his greatest hits record without it sounding slightly out of place.

I give credit to Al Green and ?uestlove for doing this comeback album right. They stay true to the formula that made the artist great while never letting the production or guests overshadow the star of the show. And while the slight decline in creative juice may have resulted in this album missing the “classic” label it was shooting for, it is still a good escape to close your eyes and take yourself back three decades to a time when R&B that featured horns, organs and nuance was able to top the charts.

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/rob_in_stereo_reinventing_a_legend_060408/

Photo by CheckOneTwo

Remember:  Good things happen when you Drop the Dubya.

Speaking of Al Green, I’m hearing excellent reviews of his new album Lay it Down, produced by ?uestlove.  Check out what’s happening with Reverend Al right here.

I volunteer in student ministry. I work with the girls. This involves leading the Wednesday night Sophomore girls small group and then this past year I started a mentoring program for 9th and 6th grade girls. Gamma Sigma Chi exists to promote accountability between these two pivotal age groups. The Big Sister/Little Sister bond that is forged helps our older girls remember that there is someone looking up to them. The bond reminds them that they are an example by what comes out of their mouths, how they act in all areas of their lives and in their appearance, etc… The friendship also encourages our younger girls to remember that they have someone looking out for them, and that as they grow each year there will be younger girls beginning to look up to them as well.

I fully expect that it will take a full cycle; approximately 3 years, to see the true impact a program like this can have, and I can’t wait for that day! When the Big Sister (9th grade) is a Senior in High School, the Little Sister (6th grade) will be a Freshman. The Big Sister will then be able to spend that year helping her Little Sister as she takes on the responsibility of being a Big Sister to an incoming 6th grade girl. I truly believe that a program like this can help change the face of a youth group; specifically how the girls treat themselves and each other. I am excited to see girl leaders rise up out of this program.

The whole idea for Gamma Sigma Chi was something that God had to work on me, in me, all upside down and around me for a long time. I resisted– (shame on me) for over a year even AFTER I acknowledged the need. I just could not see how I was going to be effective, and then of course, I had to recreate the speeches Moses gave about why it could not have been him either. Finally, after my wilderness journey and choosing to soften my heart and embrace my Holy discontent, I was blessed with the idea of creating a sorority of sorts.

I felt it was/is important, to cultivate a sense of belonging to something! We girls tend to need to BELONG, FIT IN, FEEL ACCEPTED at a much deeper rooted level than boys. Because this is true, the choices we make in order to do so can sometimes be painful, even devastating… spiritually, personally, socially, physically — you name it! Although I have only sons, my heart hurts for the girls in our current culture and I just want to help them understand that they have value, they have worth and they can make a difference and Live a Crumby Life… just by choosing to be different!

Aren’t we all called to be different, set apart… to no longer conform? It’s the same calling for EVERYONE and its okay to encourage our youth to do just that! In fact, enjoy the shock and awe when you do! Most of them think we just don’t care about them at all and as long as we don’t have to deal with them then we could care less about what they are doing. That has to change.

Last night was our annual cross building event. Set up around the student center were five tarps that had broken pieces of tile in the center, paint, markers and paint brushes. As the students came in they were asked to take a sheet of paper that had 6 sections on it; each titled after the name of the song that would be playing during that specific activity. I found a spot on the floor with a group of students and as the first song, Healer, began to play I watched as each one chose a piece of broken tile and began to write on it, paint it or draw on it what represented to them the thing they were holding on to from their past. What one thing did they need to lay at the cross and release?

I chose my own piece of broken tile and as I finished decorating it I watched as student after student made their way to the wooden cross in the center of the room. I followed suit. Five more times we repeated this process, decorating a new piece of tile based on the question asked as each new song began to play.

I Want a Broken Heart – What is it that I am wasting my life on that is worthless? What can I surrender?

Only You Lord – What is it that I am holding on to that I think “I can handle” or “I’m in control”… What is it that is causing me to deceive myself?

Breathe – Total and complete surrender! Acknowledge my dependence and surrender myself to being rescued!

The Wonderful Cross – Remember and reflect that a bridge was provided for us so that we never have to be alone!

Be My Glory – What can I do with my clean and restored heart and the freedom that it brings?

At the end of the sixth song, the cross (which had been covered with grout) now bore each broken piece. Covered by about 55 students and 10 leaders who each placed 6 pieces on it, it will stand in the student center for this next year, a reminder of what we HAVE and CAN lay down.

When the students left, several of the leaders began to look at the different pieces of tile. Sadly, it was easy to spot the first pieces of tile that were placed on the cross as words and phrases like; LACK OF PURITY, PORN, CHEATING, WHY DO I HATE EVERYTHING and EVERYONE, SEX, MY THOUGHTS, popped off the tile and stung our eyes. Pictures drawn of drinking and smoking, a drawing of a girl with hardly any clothes covering her. My heart broke all over again for all of the students but for my girls in particular…

Don’t be fooled, I’m not speaking of an isolated occurrence; this is everywhere — in every school, in every youth group, in every church… BUT, there is hope! It does not have to be this way. Blinders can be stripped away and truth can be spoken into the lives of our students. Truth that is spoken without words even! Truth In Motion Everyday! How we spend our TIME… living it, being there and choosing to be intentional about what we leave behind, both at the cross and in others lives.

Ruby red… her lips were on fire
A do me with a kiss if you please
Tell me what’chor sweetheart desires
Tell me how you want it to be

‘Cause if it’s love you want
Then you won’t mind a little tenderness
That sometimes is so hard to find

(Lay it down)
Lay it down
Make it alright
(Lay it down)
Lay it down
I’ll hold you so tight
(Lay it down)
Oh… before the morning light
It’s gonna be alright

Oh… lay it down
Come and lay it down tonight

Tell me how you feel when we make love
Tell me is it real or just make believe
You will never know what’chor made of
‘Til you open up your heart to receive
‘Cause if the love you got that same old crime
We’re talkin’ tenderness that’s so hard to find
And I’m gettin’ behind you

(Lay it down)
Lay it down
Make it alright
(Lay it down)
A lay it down
I’ll hold you so tight
(Lay it down)
Yeah… before the morning light
It’s gonna be alright

Oh… lay it down
Come and lay it down tonight

Do you remember them times talkin’ in your sleep
With a pocket full’a rubbers you never could keep
From your best friends lover you dreamt about then
When you pullin’ up the covers the voices in your head

Say if you want it bad
Don’t ever let it slip away

‘Cause if it’s love you want and tenderness… yeah

(Lay it down)
Lay it down
Make it alright
(Lay it down)
Lay it down
I’ll hold you so tight
(Lay it down)

Oh… before the morning light
It’s gonna be alright

Oh… lay it down
Gonna lay it down tonight
Gonna come around tonight
You gotta lay it down

I have to do a lot of driving for work between Atlanta and a little town called Americus in southwest Georgia (about a 2.5-3hr drive). The perfect antidote to the long drives for an information craving nerd like myself has been podcasts by the BBC which you can download to your computer or ipod/mp3 player off their website. The BBC is just plain better in terms of their comprehensive news coverage compared to anything the US mainstream media puts out. Plus, my colonized eurocentric brain tells me those british accents make anything sound more classy and refined! They could be talking about a bag of booboo and I’d probably still be listening. Also, the new Al Green album, Lay It Down, produced by ?uestlove of the Roots and James Poysner, goes hard as well. The Reverand Al is back to his soulful basics, and sounds great.