Friday Fun for Your Enjoyment

It is another installment of funny stuff that I have saved just for this Friday post.  We start in the land of the potentially gross, so those with weak constitutions may just want to skip down a bit.  Recently scientists discovered hundreds of new strains of bacteria in samples they took from belly buttons.  There are several ways to look at this.  One is that the belly button really can be a very disgusting place (although to be fair that isn’t the case for everyone as one of the guys who was swabbed had no bacteria at all).

Science writers Carl Zimmer (who blogs at Discover) and Peter Aldhous (from New Scientist) each donated a swab, and while Aldhous’ sample failed to yield bacterial colonies, Zimmer’s sample was apparently flush with life. Some species in his microbiome have previously only been found in the ocean, he writes. Another one, a species called Georgenia, has only been found living in the soil in Japan. Zimmer has never been, he writes.

I will leave to science the great mysteries of how a Japanese bacteria gets in the navel of a scientist who has never been there.  I suppose that it will take a lot of navel gazing to unravel these abdominal mysteries. But enough with the puns.

Now, on to the category of irony can be so ironic.  I seem to remember the American version of this show, but the Netherlands iteration of “Worst Driver” had a rather more dubious result.  If you run over the show’s host, do you automatically win the competition?

In similarly ironic lines, part of California is trying to secede from the rest of the state.  Frankly, I would be happy if the whole state would stop trying to foist all their gibberish on us in the rest of the US.  The last good thing to come out of California was probably Ronald Reagan (no offense Steve).  If memory serves, our good friend Steve from theoldadam resides in the section of California that wants to secede.  Good luck with that out there.

Now for the cool band geek fun.  I found this the other day and I just love it.  A group of musicians who each play a part and get blended together to form a single piece.  This is way cool.  I think I might have to see if I can get a part in the next one.

It’s Not Easy Going Green – A Parody on Environmentalism

I suppose I am in a parody mood.  I need to get the video recorder out and have a little fun setting these to music.  This one is inspired by the news story about the cost of “lowering the earth’s temp 1 degree” and the absurdity of the environmental movement.  Enjoy and sing along in your head.

It’s not that easy going green
Having to spend more each day than the world has ever seen
When we realize that there’s not enough silver or gold
To take the temperature down even one degree

It’s not easy going green
It seems we spend money on too many ordinary things
Like buying food we need to eat each day
And paying our bills so we can drink some water
And buying gas so we can drive

But green’s the coolest sort of thing
And green can be sort of sneaky like
And green makes you feel guilty about the ocean, or pollution
Of the mountains, woods or streams

When green is all we’re allowed to be
It will make you wonder why, was there another way,
We could have been green and still been fine, let’s consider
There’s another way that we can see

I’m Ashamed to Be an American – A Parody

Update: I have now recorded a rough cut of the song for youtube.  Watch it at the bottom of the post.

So, I got a little annoyed reading the news tonight and a flash of inspiration hit me.  I decided to parody a song.  Not just any song, but that classic American standard by Lee Greenwood.  I am tempted to video it and throw it on YouTube, but I am holding back at the moment.  What do you think of it?  Should I record it and throw it further into cyberspace or should I trash it?  So, with apologies to Lee, here we go.

Chorus:

I’m ashamed to be an American, ’cause at one time we were free.

But we watched them take it all away as we stared at the TV

So, I guess I’ll throw up and so will you, when you see the news today

‘Cause we sure did get off track somewhere, I miss the USA

Verse 1:

If tomorrow all that we have lost,
Of the freedoms in our life.
Could be ours once again,
Would we find it worth the strife?

Or will we thank our lucky stars,
to be getting Federal pay?
‘Cause that’s costing us our freedom,
and they like it fine that way.

Chorus:

I’m ashamed to be an American, ’cause at one time we were free.

But we watched them take it all away as we stared at the TV

So, I guess I’ll throw up and so will you, when you see the news today

‘Cause we sure did get off track somewhere, I miss the USA

Verse 2:

Stolen elections in Minnesota,
A giant mess in New Orleans.
A few holdouts still in Texas,
But mostly bankrupt from sea to sea.

Detroit turned to a ghost town,
And DC owns Chevrolet
But if we want something left for our kids,
then its time we stand and say.

Chorus 2:

That we’re going to be real Americans, in the Constitution way

And we won’t forget what life was like, when DC was at bay

So, we’ll gladly get up and get involved, and make it start today

If it’s not too late let’s do our part, and save the USA.

Bringing Forth New from Old – A Matter of Taste

There is a trend in CCM to remake old hymns by tweaking melodies and adding lyrics and so forth. Some of the remakes are really good and some not so much. I suppose the opinion of which is which is more subjective than objective as art is generally a matter of taste (and we know there is no accounting for that). I linked the video above as an example of a recent “redo” that I think is actually very good. So good in fact that I decided to learn how to play it last week after hearing it for the first time.
It is good to bring forth both new and old treasures from our storehouses and sometimes it is even good to combine the two together.

A little encouragement

I was doing a little procrastinating while writing my paper tonight (I could call it a study break) and saw that my sister had posted this video on her blog.  This song is simply a wonderful reminder to me of the truth of God’s providence and redemption.  I pray that it encourages you in the same way that it has me.

P.S.  I apologize for my complete absence in the last week or two.  One of our computers here at the house died and I had to convert the laptop over for homeschooling, which has cut into the amount of time I can spend on the computer lately.  Most of my PC time gets devoted to schoolwork these days for that reason.  I plan to be back as soon as I get the part that I need to get the other PC back up and running.  God bless.

Writing from the Heart

The scariest thing about writing songs for me is turning them loose for other people to hear.  I have found a way to record songs “demo style” at the church using the same method that I use to record sermons essentially.  When I listen to myself sing on the recording I am reminded why most people don’t like to hear themselves on recordings.  I would think I should have gotten used to it doing radio all of those years, but I don’t know if you ever do.  Your voice just doesn’t sound right when you hear it in playback because you are hearing it from the outside.  For everyone else, it sounds exactly normal (it’s the way they normally hear it), but for the person who recorded it, it sounds funny.  I think this is the same reason that movies stars don’t watch themselves on film generally and why nobody likes to look at themselves in photos either.

But God has given me some inspiration to write a couple of songs lately, and while the recordings are pretty rough sounding to me.  I wanted to share one of them here if anyone who reads regularly was interested in hearing them.  I have titled this song “Drowned in a Flood of Tears.”  Fair warning that my piano playing isn’t the greatest and I know this has a couple of spots I want to fix and rerecord already.

Sing Unto the Lord a New Song

Although I don’t write about it much here, I absolutely love music.  Before I became a full-time pastor, I spent a lot of time leading worship in church or helping in worship in some way.  I love to play guitar and I am relearning the piano at a useful level again.  I spend a lot of my time playing songs written by Rich Mullins and worshipping God in awe of His love.  I have been getting these snippets of ideas to write songs lately.  I am not a big songwriter and I haven’t written a lot of songs, but the ones that have come together lately have been special to me.  I send them to my sister after I record them because I trust her judgment. Mostly, I just write them for me and sing them for the Lord.

Someday, I might get brave enough to let them out into the world.  A couple of my earlier efforts have been on myspace when I was part of a band called 4D back when I lived in the Black Hills, but they are the lone escapees at this point.

Church Hymnals Go High Tech

There is a new story out on the hymnal project that Lifeway has been doing.  They now have the online music tools up and running as well.  Our church actually purchased the hymnals last year and we enjoy them very much.  It has given our folks some new songs to sing that their pastor was already used to singing, and we actually replaced not only our hymnals but our old chorus books also with this one book.  There are some selections that I could have done without, but overall it was a well put together collection of older standards and quality newer songs.  I would love to use the digital stuff, but we don’t have much call for it in a church our size.  I already have copies of the previous hymnal for trombone, so I doubt I would need any of those.

I know that music has been a big source of contention in the church at times, although I haven’t been in a place where it has been a big problem.  I think it is because music is powerful and evokes memories as well.  Many complain about the newer music because there are no memories attached to them I suppose.  There are still some old songs that have an instant effect on me, because they remind me of people that are now with Jesus like my grandmother.  Or else they remind me of people that live far away from me now.  And sometimes they evoke reminders of ways that God has worked in my life.

In honor of the new high tech hymnal, I am going to list a few of my favorite hymns and praise songs.  You can join along in the comments.  I am interested to know what songs touch the hearts of those who visit here.

My list in no particular order:

1. Amazing Grace (This one is one of those that produces a wide range of emotions, and I love to sing every verse that the hymnal has)
2. Great is Thy Faithfulness (goes back to college and an amazing chapel service at JBU)
3. On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (This is one of the songs that always got sung while we were waiting for people to get ready for baptism in the church where I grew up)
4. I’ll Fly Away (one of the songs that my grandmother loved to sing)
5. Life is Like a Mountain Railroad (the first church I served as a youth pastor sang this song, because it was the favorite of the guy who led music for us for a while.  Besides, I needed a little one fun one and I didn’t want to include Drop Kick Me Jesus.)
6. I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (Frankly, it is a little shocking how many songs I really like out of the old Country Hymnal or whatever it is called.  I think it is because my grandmother’s group sang out of it so much.)
7. Trust and Obey (Don’t know what to say about this one.  I just like it.)
8. Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus (This one has to make the list thanks to my kids.  They developed a love for this song and love to sing it.  How can you not like that?)
9. How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (This is one of those newer songs that sounds like it has been around for a lot longer.  I taught this song to our church after we got the new hymnals, since it was included in there.  Absolutely fabulous lyrics in this one.)
10. There is a Fountain (Actually there are several songs along this line that I like, but this one stands out because I have had the joy of singing it with my sister in the arrangement that Selah did a few years ago.  I miss singing with her more than most anything else that I miss from living closer to family.)

OK.  That is my starter list.  What are some of your favorites?