Reckless Forgiver
The band Jars of Clay sings about a “Reckless Forgiver” (listen to the song here) on their album Inland. I leave it to your imagination as to who it is that truly forgives recklessly. I may not be fully capable of reckless forgiveness but I certainly could be more generous with my forgiveness. Reckless Forgiver(Composed…
Continue readingSisters Brothers
I listened to the new “Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors” album, Medicine today. Drew Holcomb is an American singer song-writer who just happens to be married to Ellie Holcomb (nee Elizabeth Bannister), the daughter of singer, song-writer, producer extraordinaire, Brown Bannister. I like the recording a lot and there are some really good songs on…
Continue readingComing Back Home
One of my favourite bands is Downhere. They write great songs with smart lyrics and always challenge their listeners to think about relationships with God and with others. “Coming Back Home” from the Ending is Beginning album is a song about repentance. Here are the lyrics. “Coming Back Home“ (Performed by Downhere) (Listen while you read.) …
Continue readingWhere Can I Go?
The band Petra released an album in 1977 called Come and Join Us which contained the song, “Where Can I Go” written by Bob Hartman. It is another creative meditation on Psalm 139:7-12. Where Can I Go (Words and music by Hartman Robert M; Published by Word Music, LLC) (Listen while you read) I could…
Continue readingFollow-Up To Itching Ears
Yesterday I included the lyrics to a song that addressed the concept of itching ears, as described in 2 Timothy 3:4. This idea of people being told what they want to hear and being attracted to churches by fine words is not limited to churches that have been converted to discos. Those of us who…
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Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil
For those of you who loved Steve Taylor in the 80’s, he’s back; and back in style. The creator of such music as “Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud’s)” (1984), “On The Fritz” (1985), “Lifeboat” (1985), and “This Disco (Used To Be A Cute Cathedral)” (1985) has released a new album. He used a Kickstarter campaign to…
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Homes and Angels
My friend and fellow song-writer, Mike Charko, was in a store the other day when a song came over the system. He heard the melody of the hook and thought to himself, “That sounds a lot like one of our songs!” He didn’t hear the name of the band and so after a bit of…
Continue readingApril Wine
April Wine is one of those under-rated bands of 70s rock.1 The Canadian band were regularly heard on Canadian pop stations in the 70s and a few American stations caught-on to their sound. They toured with such bands as Nazareth, Rush, and the Rolling Stones. They had a following of their own and at their peak sold…
Continue readingLife is This Simple
“Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.”– Thomas Merton, Spiritual Master: The Essential Writings; Orbis Books, 2001.
Continue readingThe Problem with Debate
High school debate teams are a useful method of teaching critical thinking, logic, etiquette, English and Humanities; but, beyond high school, the strict rules of debate largely go unheeded. View any political debate (there are plenty to be seen on YouTube) and you will soon understand that the structure of such debates is loose, judges…
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