Should Melodies Be Changed?

Hhhmmm......an interesting question?  I have often thot when hearing bands of the 90's and now the 21st Century try to remake a classic song that you should have left it alone - that it the way the writer meant for it to be.

At church this morning, one of my all time favourite worship songs "I Love You Lord" by Laurie Klein was altered and even thot very subtly, personally, it didn't work for me.

So, I've since gone on YouTube and found some beautiful videos/slide shows for some beautiful arrangements of the song.  I'll share them with you a bit later on - you might enjoy them, too.

The writer Laurie Klein wrote that song in 1974 during a very depressed time - below is a link if you'd like to read the whole article, but a couple of highlights I thought were interesting:

• "It was a very hopeless time, a very depressed time," she summarizes. "I felt the poverty of my own life keenly at that point, both emotionally and physically."
• "That morning I was so empty," she says, recalling her time with the Lord. "I knew I didn't have anything to offer Him. I asked if He would like to hear me sing . . if He would just give me something He would be in the mood to hear."
• Now 47 years old, Laurie Klein is more driven by a thirst for intimacy with God than ever. 
• "We must be prepared to meet Him no matter who we're talking to or what we're doing, whether we're worshiping in church or worshiping with all the tasks that make up our day."

Personally, I really appreciate the atmosphere which fosters an intimacy with God and Holy Spirit.  If I can imagine only on a very small scale Laurie's feelings on that Autumn morning that God gave her this song, she was broken, dry and needing God desperately in a very quiet and solemn way - to fill her up totally in a way that we know only God can do.......sweetly, beautifully, gently, peacefully...........quietly drawing us by His Holy Spirit into His presence which in the end results in a sweet, sweet sound in His ears!  Hence, why I really appreciated finding these videos and singing along with the music and adding the harmony line that I often sang back in the day.   I hope you enjoy them, too.

First, here is the link to the whole story: 

http://www.ccli.com/worshipresources/SongStories.cfm?itemID=7

And now, a couple of YouTube Links where you can enjoy the song, too:





And another good one that I really enjoyed is an arrangement from the WOW Worship 1999 CD Series - CD1 

Number 11, sung by Kristina Hamilton.

I love all the pictures of candles and the comment on the youtube video says it beautifully:

"If you want to spend 3 minutes in candlelight and relaxation, please listen to this beautiful song, enjoy the pictures and feel the stress leave you! Let God fill you up with His peace - you wont regret!"  And then an interesting comment made by a listener on youtube was very appropriate "I love the video it is very good at breaking down the walls and being in His presence."

Yes, I believe it is important that we have quiet worshipful moments as an individual, but how much more powerful when we have beautiful, quiet, spirit-filled times of corporate worship as demonstrated so awesomely in this video as Michael W Smith leads a massive filled auditorium in the song "Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty".  Love the violin!  Enjoy!

What Makes A Procrastinator?

Hhhmmm......can I get back to you with an answer on that?  No wait, that's procrastinating..........lol


I have a poster which I've had since I was much younger (lol) and it captures me to a "t"....  I took a picture.

"I mean to work hard Lord, but I keep running across things that are more fun to do."

Interesting though, because we say that words have power.....so perhaps, was I solidifying the truth that I was a procrastinator by hanging it on my bedroom wall, even though it was really supposed to be just cute.


I like this quote I found which captures us procrastinators quite well, too, I reckon:


"To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.  ~Eva Young".


Food for thot I think.


Now, I had better stop getting distracted and get busy and do some of the stuff that I have been putting off all day.

Earthquakes - Geographical and Political - Canada and Australia

Well, it has been an eventful 24 hours - both geographically and politically - and both earthquakes - shaking up the countries of Canada and Australia.
Canada is not known as a common place to experience earthquakes.  There have been some in the past but are so small that they are not felt; but on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 shortly before 1:45 pm ET, they experienced a moderate one - 5.0 on the Richter scale.  The earthquake's location was the Ontario-Quebec Border Region and its epicenter was about 56 kilometres north-northeast of Ottawa.
The primary location it was felt was Ottawa - the heart of Canadian Politics and in fact, a live news conference on Parliament Hill was shaken up quite a bit and and another politician being interviewed, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, was moved by the impact, but managed to keep his composure.

(Pictured Above - Parliament Hill)

A different kind of earthquake has been felt here in Australia, but I dare say, based on the interview that I just watched of Prime Minister Rudd, I reckon he has kept his dignity and composure, too - you should hold your head up high I say.

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/9raw-gillard-to-challenge-rudd-for-leadership/xy62u91

I am by far a political expert, but I have always tried to follow the goings on and vote regularly*.  In fact, I can remember completing an assignment in High School in Geography where we covered a National Election and we interviewed the local candidate that was running for the Liberals (Canadian Liberals would be equivalent to the Australian Labors) at the time that Prime Minister Trudeau was up for re-election.

Politics - it is a topic that is sure to raise eyebrows, even make your blood boil and in our family, it can sure turn a everyday discussion into a heated debate! (We're up for it!)  But at the end of the day, it is sad when people in politics lose their ability to see the need for unity even if everyone doesn't agree - particularly, within your own party!  I believe that now, more than ever, we need stability in this country and bringing about a change in leadership isn't going to create that.

So, even if the players in this game reckon they have improved their chances of winning the next election by endorsing conflict within their own party by challenging their leader, I think they had better give their heads a shake and think again.  If they cannot run their own party, how can they expect the Australian people to have confidence that they can run this country!

*spoken by an Australian Resident without voting privileges....maybe it is high time I became a citizen!

All Flours Are Not Created Equal

I have to admit - one of the things that I have so enjoyed about baking in Australia is the self-rising flour.  Oh sure, you can probably buy it in Canada, but it is not as common - at least I never realised it if it was.
So, the beauty is you just bake with self-rising flour and omit baking soda and baking powder. Well, I haven't encountered any problems thus far.
For example, the recipe that I have recently discovered from Allrecipes for chewy chocolate chips was originally written for regular flour & add baking soda, but an Australian version is self-rising flour minus baking soda and voila - 'beautiful' (compliments of George & Gary from MasterChef) cookies!

Travellers' Beware!

Peter and I have been on vacation and have taken a few day trips which have been the 'ole - play it by ear deal.
Well, the funniest thing yesterday was finding our adventure could have been dampened a bit by the 'ole "CLOSED" sign.  Our first stop was to be at the Rustic Cabin.

But alas, God knew that we were meant to keep going and we ended up in Montville and enjoyed the most delicious Devonshire tea up in the mountains instead.
It was lovely - sorry, no pictures.  There was enough sun to keep us toasty and warm, too.
We wandered through the shops...well, I did most of the wandering.....lol  Peter took advantage of the "husband parking" offered on the main streets in a few locations - along with a few other boys, too, I might add.

He surprised me a few times by joining me in a couple of stores which was very nice.

As we are on vacation, we were not up with the roosters and hence, our get-away time was after brekky and hence, our Dev tea was enjoyed around noon hour.
So, we continued fluffing a bit too late in the afternoon and alas, you guessed it!
Sorry, the kitchen is closed....lunch is over and dinner has not yet started!

Too funny!  Well, not really 'cause my boy was really needing "some food in his gut" (direct quote!).
So, we both put our heads together and came up with a Plan B - I suggested fish and chips down the mountain - and he suggested we try Maleny - just a short detour from Montville and we found just the place!
Captain Merv's Seafood Cafe fit the bill perfectly and we are bit partial to the name, too - Miss you Merv but we reckon you were smiling down upon us!

We had the best fish and chips in a while and it really hit the spot, too!
God knows just what we need and when we need it!