Where as a typical morning, upon waking, I would go out for a run. The past couple of days this hasn't been the case. We have been getting a bit of snow. Not a lot, but enough to cover our driveway.
This morning wasn't really different from other mornings with snow, except for that fact that I was hit on the head by the Holy Spirit.
Conviction is good for our hearts.
My "normal" routine of shoveling, probably like yours, is to start at the edge of our garage and slowly make my way down to the street. This morning was just that. I started scooping off the inch or so of white powder and kept moving along. I wasn't paying attention to much. Just enjoying the quiet of the morning.
Shoveling the driveway, of course, is just part of the routine. There is our front walk, that leads to our front door and our sidewalk in front of our house. And our neighbors house. Bruce.
For some reason, Bruce doesn't like to shovel his sidewalk. Or driveway for some reason. This morning while shoveling in front of Bruce's house, I started thinking, "Bruce never really thanks me for shoveling his driveway... I wonder why... Here I am, breaking my back, for what? For this? Bruce needs to thank me for doing this service for him. I mean, he has a snow-blower, why doesn't he use it. Here I am shoveling! Bruce, you need to thank me for all that I am doing for you."
Then he hit me. Not Bruce, but the Holy Spirit. It was like a 2x4 to the head.
I immediately remembered a conversation that my son and I had a month or so ago. We were talking about tithes and offerings. Giving and then also receiving. The one thing that I remember, my son saying was,
"We don't give to get. We give because we have been given much."
Boom. There it was.
What was I thinking? How horrible of me to think of giving to get. I was immediatly convicted of not serving/loving my neighbor. I was cut to the case. God used the words of my son to bring me to my knees.
"Oh God, I am sorry. Please forgive me."
As I drove to work this morning, Bruce was out snow-blowing his driveway. We both exchanged waves. He's a good man. I am thankful for him and for the sidewalk that connects our two houses.
Around this time, last year, I wrote a post about the best albums that snuck out in 2011. So, without committing to doing anything annually, I decided to post another round of great albums. These are albums that you should take note of, not because they are great sellers, but because they are great music.
The Choir - The Loudest Sound Ever Heard
After three decades together, iconic alternative rock band The Choir is
set to release their 14th studio album. The Loudest Sound Ever Heard,
will release May 15th, 2012 on their own Galaxy21 label.
As
one of the few bands left standing from the 1980’s SoCal music movement
wave that swept nationwide more than 30 years ago, The Choir continues
to make their renowned atmospheric music married to lyrics stirred by
life’s inspirational lessons in the context of real relationships -
love, despair, light, dark, hope, and recovery. Comprised of original
members Derri Daugherty (lead vocal/guitar), Steve Hindalong (drums),
Dan Michaels (saxophone/lyricon), and Tim Chandler (bass), The Choir
thrived in the creation of The Loudest Sound Ever Heard.
Buy here.
Josh Garrells - Love & War, The Remixes
An EP of B-Sides & Remixes & Additional Content connected to the
full length album "Love & War & The Sea In Between".
Free download here.
Keith & Kristyn Getty - Hymns for the Christian Life
Keith and Kristyn Getty continue to write modern hymns for the church,
but this collection comes from the challenge to consider not just what
we sing on those occasions when we’re all together, but how the shared
lyrics of our faith speak into all the moments in between.
Musically, Hymns for the Christian Life
reflects both Celtic and American folk traditions, bringing old and new
world together - much like we lean on the rich legacy of Church music
we already have to create songs for the life of the Church today. This
is their most personal album to date as it explores themes such as work,
family, money, community and social action.
Buy here.
Heather Headley - Only One in the World
Acclaimed by Billboard as "one of the great entertainers of the day,"
Tony award winner and multiple Grammy nominee and winner Heather Headley
returns to the stage after ten years in the role of Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard: A New Musical - and returns in force with a new record stylistically encompassing her R&B roots and bigger than life Broadway flare. Only One In the World includes Whitney Houston’s famed songs "Home" and "Run to You" from The Bodyguard
wonderfully recreated in Heather Headley style along with other
well-known favorites such as "Mountain High, River Deep" and "Chicago."
Heather
does not disappoint fans of new music either, as the record includes
four never-heard songs. Following critically acclaimed performances on
her top selling and Grammy award winning Gospel record Audience of One (2009), certified gold debut CD, This Is Who I Am (2002), and her second critically acclaimed album, In My Mind (2006), Only One In the World continues the legacy of musical excellence and grace that is unmistakably Heather Headley.
Buy here.
Newworldson - Rebel Transmission
Canadian quartet Newworldson return with their fourth full-length album, Rebel Transmission,
teeming with fun, sunny melodies and an upbeat style. Adding elements
of funk, soul, roots, and pop to their unique musical brew, the multiple
award winning group offers positive lyrics of encouragement and faith
on "Learning To Be the Light," "Sweet Grace," "Shake Holy Spirit," and
more..
Buy here.
Bebo Norman - Lights of Distant Cities
Throughout his discography, singer-songwriter Bebo Norman has been
applauded for laying it all on the table. Lyrically transparent and
musically vulnerable, Norman’s music provides a common ground for the
songwriter and the listener to collaborate in a discourse on life’s
curious details, and how those day-to-day unknowns play into the greater
mystery of faith.
With Lights of Distant Cities,
Norman continues to stretch the musical arrangements to his often
worshipful melodies. "You can't understand light unless you understand
darkness, because that's where life is most often lived - somewhere
between the two. It's messy and it's beautiful all at the same time,"
Bebo says.
Here is an interview that I did with Bebo.
Buy here.
Owl City - The Midsummer Station
A long way from his first experimental online musical posting,
singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young explores new
sonic avenues on his first-ever collaborative effort. Packed with
catchy, pop-influenced electronica, The Midsummer Station incorporates
drone, ambient and post-rock, along with musings about faith.
Buy here.
Rend Collective Experiment - Homemade Worship
A movement of friends is a hard thing to package. When something happens
locally that is real and sincere, it probably doesn’t need the hype
that the music industry can sometimes bring. The Rend Collective
Experiment started in 2004 as a group of confused 20 somethings trying
to figure out life, God and community. Then in 2007 it grew into a
collective of musicians and artists trying to share with the world what
they were learning.
Music grown out of an “organic environment” and a bond
between the members, not only as artists but as friends and family. They
are about journey music that follows God’s heart and is for all, not
just the religious!
A huge part of the ethos of Rend Collective Experiment is found in Amos 5
- “Away with the noise of your songs… Let justice roll like a river.”
Its about generating money that can help those who are less fortunate,
not making them charity cases but standing with the poor and oppressed
in solidarity as one family. At the minute they have committed to give
the profits of sales to a project in Gulu which we believe in greatly.
Is this not the “fast” that God requires of us?
Buy here.
The Vespers - The Fourth Wall
2012 sophomore album from the Nashville-based Pop/Folk/Country quartet.
With two sisters on lead vocals and two brothers filling out the sound,
the foursome are distinguished by an arsenal of instruments and the kind
of harmony only siblings can create. On The Fourth Wall, they create
infectious Folk-Pop with both the buoyancy of youth and deeper spiritual
themes. Most of the songs have the energy of a live show because the
band polished them on the road, where they also came up with the album
title. The fourth wall, in theatre terms, is the invisible wall between
the audience and performers.
Buy here.
