At Least You Can’t Hear Me!

The genea-bloggers are caroling!  footnoteMaven over at footnoteMaven will be hosting all of the carolers real soon! Please go visit her site.

For my carol, I’ve chosen “Mary, Did You Know” – the Kenny Rogers/Wynonna Judd version.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered,
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know
your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby,
you’ve kissed the face of God.

The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know,
that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding, is the great I AM.

(You can watch this video at YouTube.)  This song is on Kenny Rogers’ “The Gift” CD and was released in 1996.  It was written by Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry.  Lowry was asked by his church congregation in 1984 to write a song for Advent.  In Christianity Today, he said,

I tried to picture Mary holding the baby Jesus on the first Christmas morning and wondered what she was thinking about that child. She knew he was special—the Virgin Birth was her first clue—but could she ever imagine all the things that he would do while he was here?

Buddy Greene supplied the music for the lyrics six years later and the song was complete.  Besides Lowry and the duet of Rogers/Judd,  it’s also been recorded by about 30 artists including Rascal Flatts,  Reba McEntire and Kathleen Battle.

The first time I heard this song – several Christmases ago – I was in my room wrapping gifts, and felt such a peace settle over me as the music and lyrics touched the depth of my soul.  As a mother – and a mother of a son – I am inspired and awed by Mary.  I find myself wondering if, despite the knowledge of who and what her son was to be, she wanted to shield and protect him, just as any other mother would do.  I hear the words “baby boy”, and remember how I used to gaze at my newborn son many years ago, wondering what he was to become and knowing that there were so many opportunities for him and dreams for him to follow. 

Merry Christmas!

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Music of My Life

Last week, Tim Abbott from Walking the Berkshires posted a challenge that asked, What were the 10 most influencial albums of your formative teenaged years? I’ve read several genea-blogger posts and know that once I list the music that shaped my life as an adolescent, I’ll appear as the teeny-bopper I really was!

So without further ado:

• Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies & Welcome to My Nightmare
• Barry Manilow – Tryin’ to Get the Feeling
• Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic & Get Your Wings
• Osmonds – The Plan
• Rick Springfield – Wait for Night
• Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever & Spirits Having Flown
• Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive
• Original Soundtrack of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
• Original Soundtrack of the Who’s “Tommy”
• Kiss – Alive & Destroyer
• Elton John – Elton John & Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
• Bay City Rollers – It’s a Game
• The Beatles – White Album

Okay – so there are actually 18 albums!  I also had a few singles that shaped my formative teenage years:

• Led Zepplin – Stairway to Heaven
• Cher – Dark Lady
• Rick Springfield – Weep No More
• Bay City Rollers – The Way I Feel Tonight
• Kiss – Beth
• Eagles – Hotel California

See, told you – teeny bopper!  The albums, I’d hear at least once a week & the singles – probably every day!

In all fairness, I enjoy most types of music (just not behind country 100%!)  Music has always been a big part of my life.  My favorite morning is to put on some music, pick up a good book, pour myself a steaming cup of coffee and settle in to enjoy the music of my youth.

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Music of Your Life

Have you given any thought to how music has shaped your life?  What was your first concious thought about the songs that surround you?  What was your first record/CD/downloadable song?  What type of music did your parents or grandparents or even great-grandparents listen to?  Do you have memories of them listening to music – and what type?  Are there people in your family who enjoyed dancing? What type of music did they (or do they) dance to?

My parents and grandparents listened to the Big Band Sounds.  I grew up watching the “Lawrence Welk Show” at my grandparents every Saturday night.  My mom still has the old 78s of lots of the older music.  So I developed a healthy appreciation for that music. 

The first song I remember that “took me away” was “Aquarius” by the Fifth Dimension.  I loved that song, memorized that song, and wanted it played on the radio as often as possible.  After that it was probably “Raindrops Keep Falling” by BJ Thomas, theme song for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  Knew all the words and sang along. 

My parents loved to dance and I think if my mom had her way, she’d still be dancing all the time.  She liked the ballroom style, the 40s jitterbug, and even square dancing.  All of this was brought back to me yesterday as I sat listening to a jazz band concert.  Especially when they played Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood”.  In my mind’s eye, I could see my mom jitterbugging to this song – smiling, laughing and having a great time.  It’s how I believe she did dance for I was born way after this song was popular and rarely did I see my parents dance.

What music shaped your life – directly or indirectly?

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