Sun Rising

Yesterday was my last-ever fast food shift.

 

It doesn't feel real yet. There's still a part of me that expects to have to get up at 5.45am on Tuesday morning, because I have, every Tuesday, for nearly four years now.

I have a new job, in the theatre industry. I'm not on stage (or even backstage), but it's still theatre-adjacent, and it may very well be the closest I'll ever get to a sustainable career in the arts. I get to sit down on the job now -- that's a novelty. In fast food there literally is no sitting. There's barely even just-standing. You're always doing something, carrying something, stocking something, cleaning something, and you're always moving at full speed. Do that for 40 hours a week and... well, let's just say that my body hurt more after one fast food shift then it EVER hurt after any of the long weeks of dance rehearsals over my 20+ year dance career. The theatre is also paying me more to sit on a chair at a desk than fast food ever paid me to run myself absolutely ragged every single day.

I had been looking to switch careers for several years already. I was burnt out of fast food by June 2022, but held on to the job because I know now how hard it is to get a job in this economy... especially for somebody with a brain as broken as mine. I didn't want to leave until I knew I had something lined up. That didn't happen for almost two years.

After a year and a half of unsuccessful job-hunting, I injured my back pretty severely, and I'm pretty sure the restaurant only put up with my ever-increasing need for time off because even though I could hardly walk, I was still their fastest worker. (My doctor forbade me from doing any kitchen duties, and they had to schedule three people to take my place there. Prior to my injury, I worked the kitchen alone every morning.)

That back injury was a blessing in disguise.

When I finally got a doctor's note to cut my hours (which in itself was an adventure for another post), that finally left me with enough time (and more importantly, enough energy) to actually job hunt, and to actually follow up on leads and applications. And after two years, as we stared down the barrel of homelessness due to lack of income, I finally got a job -- an upgrade in nearly every way, in an industry and at an organization I liked and believed in.

As I walked home yesterday from my final fast food shift, I had sort-of-accidentally started playing Connie Scott's Forever Young album. And as I trudged through the final blocks of that final walk home, these words lilted over a bed of gentle keys into my ears...

You that are weary and in need of rest

You that are brokenhearted and oppressed

You shall find comfort here...

 

There'll be an ending to the twilight zone

There'll be a sunrise like you've never known

Morning will soon be here...

 

(from The Coming Dawn)

 

The sun is indeed rising. I can breathe for the first time since I was in Mary Poppins (July 2018). Maybe this is what hope feels like.

For years I was in a stupor -- get up, trudge to work, give everything I had, my soul, my spirit, for pennies with which to pay the growing bills, trudge home, stare at the wall in a fruitless attempt to find the energy to live, go to bed, dream of every possible horror life had to offer (if I even dreamt at all), then do it all again. I moved slowly, in a fog. The world around me was grey and cold and hard.

And now I'm waking up.

Let's Get Upset -- A Playlist (AKA Belated Music Day)

Over the past few weeks I've put together a little 'Rally for Parental Rights/General Freedom In This Country' pump-up playlist. For your enjoyment, I've posted the details below.

(Note that it's not really in any kind of order because the list got kind of big kind of fast and I didn't want to mess around with that much copying and pasting right now. Also, all links go to YouTube.)


Let's Get Upset
DeGarmo & Key, 1989 Power Discs (The Pledge)
Let's get upset
And turn this country upside down
Let's get upset
With Jesus' help we'll turn this land around...

Get On Your Knees And Fight Like A Man
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
Get on your knees
And fight like a man
He'll put up strongholds if you just believe He can
Your enemy
Will tuck his tail and flee
Get on your knees
And fight
Like a man

This Means War!
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
This means war
And the battle's still raging
War
And now both sides are waiting
The Victor is sure
And the victory's secure

Apathy Alert
DeGarmo & Key, 1985 Power Discs (Commander Sozo & The Charge Of The Light Brigade)
My heart goes searching for a place to hide
I hear a voice of warning down inside
Apathy alert
I hear the voice inside shouting to my heart
Apathy alert
It's time to do what's right
It's time for me to do my part

Stand In The Gap
Petra, 1988 Star Song Records (On Fire!)
Stand in the gap
Coming boldly to His throne of grace
Stand in the gap
He will hear you when you seek His face
Put your weapon to its use
And believe it will produce
Stand in the gap
Until all hell
Until all hell breaks loose

Angel Of Light
Petra, 1981 Star Song Records (Never Say Die)
Angel of light
You're telling me wrong is right
But you only bring darkness to my soul

Don't Let Your Heart Be Hardened
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
Don't let your heart be hardened
Don't let your love grow cold

Pray For Rain
PFR, 1992 Vireo Records (Pray For Rain)
I pray for rain to come
And wash away what has made me numb...

Great Expectations
Steven Curtis Chapman, 1999 Sparrow Records (Speechless)
Lord we come
With great expectations

Who Owns You
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Tell me you owns you baby
Tell me you owns you now
Tell me who owns the key
To your captive heart
Tell me who owns you baby
Tell me do you even know...

Armed And Dangerous
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
Armed and dangerous
God's enemies will scatter
Armed and dangerous
We'll see the darkness shatter...

Underground
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
Persecution only makes us grow
They've got my number it's no surprise
I'm here and wearing no disguise
...
I won't go underground
I won't turn and flee
I won't bow the knee
And I'm not ashamed of the cross I claim

I Am On The Rock
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
I shall not be moved
Cause I am on the Rock

Greater Is He
Peter Furler (feat. Phil Joel and Bill Furler), 2011 Sparrow Records (On Fire)
Greater is He that is in us
Then he that's in this world

Lost The Plot
Newsboys, 1996 Star Song Records (Take Me To Your Leader)

I'm Not Ashamed
Newsboys, 1992 Star Song Records (Not Ashamed)
I'm not ashamed to speak the name
Of Jesus Christ

Stay Strong
Newsboys, 2003 Sparrow Records (Greatest Hits)
Stay strong you are not lost
Come on fix your eyes ahead
Our Father's dawn will light our day

God Is Not A Secret
Newsboys, 1996 Star Song Records (Take Me To Your Leader)

Freedom Battle
Michael W. Smith, 2000 Reunion Records (Freedom)

How Long?
Michael Card, 1990 Sparrow Records (The Way Of Wisdom)

Wake The Dead
John Schlitt, 1995 Word Records (Shake)
There's too much to do to just walk away...

Free The Fire In Me
The Imperials, 1988 Myrrh Records (Free The Fire)
Like a torch that's passed for eternity...

Causin' A Commotion
Greg Sczebel, 2009 Soultone Records (Love & The Lack Thereof)

Activate
DeGarmo & Key, 1985 Power Discs (Commander Sozo & The Charge Of The Light Brigade)
Who's gonna show the world that more excellent way
Who'll be black and white
When everyone wants to be grey
Who's gonna go and tell them that Jesus still lives
Who's gonna go and tell them that He will forgive
Fill my heart
With strength from above
Lord take away all of my apathy
And give me the courage to love

If God Is For Us (Who Can Be Against Us?)
DeGarmo & Key, 1989 Power Discs (The Pledge)

D.O.A.
Connie Scott, 1985 Image 7 Records (Spirit Mover)
Satan may be strong
But our Lord is stronger still
So put His armour on
And take up His sword and shield...

Slow Fade
Casting Crowns, 2007 (The Altar And The Door)
It's a slow fade
When black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade
Choices are made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade

Bye Bye Babylon
White Heart, 1989 Sparrow Records (Freedom)
Now people study me
I'm a part of history
Oh did we leave them another Babylon...
If God is not your strength and song
It's goodbye
Babylon

Revival In The Land
Carman, 1989 Benson Records (Revival In The Land)

Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Avalon, 1997 Sparrow Records (A Maze Of Grace)

If My People Pray
Avalon, 1999 Sparrow Records (In A Different Light)
If My people pray
Reach for Me with hearts
That are broken
I will not forget what I've spoken
Come and seek My face...

WAR
John Piper, 2007 Desiring God Ministries (1031sermonjams.com)

Make War
Tedashii (feat. Flame), 2010 Reach Records (Identity Crisis)

Truth
Lecrae, 2008 Reach Records (Rebel)
If what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me, what if my truth says yours is a lie?
Is it still true?

Rebel
Lecrae, 2008 Reach Records (Rebel)

Whole World
Petra, 1986 Star Song Records (Back To The Street)
And He's still got the whole world in His hands
Tonight
And only He knows where the sparrow lands
Tonight
And nothing in this world can stop His plans
Tonight...

Shakin The House
Petra, 1986 Star Song Records (Back To The Street)
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken from within
Better have your house in order when the shaking begins...

No Weapon Formed Against Us
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)
No weapon formed against us shall prosper
All those who rise up against us shall fall
I will not fear what the devil may bring me
I am a servant of God
Yeah
I am a servant of God

Bema Seat
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)

Pied Piper
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)
Pied piper
Wanting them all to follow you
Knowing not where you lead them to
But all the time you're leading them astray...
(This one's for you, Minister Lukaszuk.)

Them
PFR, 1996 Vireo Records (Them)
And the band marches on and on and on without slowing
And the leader leads them on and on and on without knowing
Never looking back to see the mess that they have left behind
...
It's all too clear the wealths of violence and sexual perversion
Offer more than just some innocent psychological diversion...

Tumblin' Down
David Meece, 1985 Myrrh Records (7)

Over You
David Meece, 1993 Star Song Records (Once In A Lifetime)
There's nothing there's no one there's no other lord over You

Run
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
Run
Oh run
Through the mouth of death to the Risen One
Oh run

Dancing With The Enemy
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)

Raise These Arms
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
Now it's time we stop pretending
Time we get up on our feet and say
Hey hey...
I will raise these arms
In the field and in the vineyard
With the servants of the Lord

How Long Will Be Too Long?
Michael W. Smith, 1990 Word Records (Go West Young Man)
How long
Will we drink from the chalice of indifference?

Raging Of The Moon
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Thank God the world's been saved
Marx is in his grave
The hammer and sickle lay broken on the ground
If we're through with history
Then why this misery
...
Oh we must awaken...

Vendetta
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Vendetta against
The raging world
Vendetta against
The lies we've heard
Vendetta led by love not hate
It's the only way
The pattern breaks

More Sold Out
White Heart, 1987 Sparrow Records (Emergency Broadcast)
Are they working harder at what we think is wrong
Than we are at what we know is right
Sold out
They might be sold out to sin
Sold out
Better take a look inside, what do you see
Are you and me
More sold out to Him?

Excuse Me, Forgive Me
White Heart, 1993 Star Song Records (Highlands)
Excuse me forgive me
I'm certain that you do see
...
It's one or the other
No they're not together

Power Tools
White Heart, 1989 Sparrow Records (Freedom)
You gotta open your eyes
You better know who's making all the rules
Is he a man of God
Or just a baby with some power tools?

Go Down Nineveh
White Heart, 1982 Home Sweet Home Records (White Heart)

Heroes
White Heart, 1985 Home Sweet Home Records (Hotline)
Who's gonna stand up

Keep Fighting The Fight
White Heart, 1985 Home Sweet Home Records (Hotline)

Counsel Of The Holy
Petra, 1988 Star Song Records (On Fire!)

The Flame Passes On
White Heart, 1993 Star Song Records (Highlands)

No Other Hope
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
There is no other hope but You
(No one else to cry to now)
No other thing that we can do but turn to You
There is no other trust and truth
(No one else can help us now)
There is
No other hope but You

To The Glory Of God
David Meece, 1989 Star Song Records (Learning To Trust)
To the glory of God
Next time I fly it will be
To the glory of God
I want my whole life to be
To the glory of God

The Unknown Soldier
David Meece, 1985 Myrrh Records (7)

The Battle Belongs To The Lord
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)

Salvation Belongs To Our God
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)

Godpleaser
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)
Don't want to be a man-pleaser
I want to be a Godpleaser
I just want to do the things that please the Father's heart...


People of Canada, we are not yet living in a censored country. Make the most of that freedom while you still can so that it stays that way.

Music Day

Seeing as Christmas Eve is tomorrow I thought this song would be appropriate.

Title: O Holy Night
Artist: Connie Scott
Album: Christmas In Your Heart
Year: 1988
Label: Image 7 Records
iTunes here; YouTube here (the song starts at about 0.05).

In case I don't post before then, Merry Christmas!

Photo by Kate

I Don't Understand

For years -- over a decade actually -- I've wanted to be a dancer.
That has been my main goal in life since I was five.
Then, of course, it was a childish dream completely founded in a princess fairy tale mindset. But I started taking ballet lessons at age six and by age seven I had considered the angles and the work involved more thoroughly and had come to the adult-like decision that yes, I was going to be a dancer. Yes, it would be hard work, and yes, it would be a long time before I could see it come to fruition. But there was no doubt in my mind.

I was going to be a dancer.

And I am still going to be a dancer.

My family, however, thinks otherwise.

You see, I made the mistake of starting to take pictures of things that I wanted to remember. So when I got old and grey I could show my grandkids the places and the people I'm telling them about. So whenever I get lonely and sad I just pull out the pictures and relive the good times.
Naturally, I wanted the pictures to be as clear and well-taken as possible, so I learnt a little about aperture and shutter speed and other tricks of the trade.
I've been taking dance for more than ten years now, but my family took this little bit of photography knowledge and blew it completely out of proportion.
So now I am going to be a professional photographer and I'm going to do studio portraits and I'm going to run my own business and I'm going to do twenty weddings a year and I'm going to win win win win WIN every photo contest they can get their hands on and I will become a household name and other photographers will simply beg to go on photo excursions with me, the great Canadian photographer.

It's like a nightmare.

We've been at a great deal of family/neighbourhood gatherings recently, and many people ask, 'so what are you up to?'
I say, "Dancing mostly -- taking ballet lessons and looking for a tap class somewhere (do you know how freaking hard those are to FIND?) and I'm working on a lot of choreography."
"Oh cool."
Then, just as they may be about to pursue that train of thought, my mother and/or grandmother comes in.
"Yeah, and she also REALLY likes TAKING PICTURES and she's thinking of starting a photography BUSINESS here in the next couple weeks and she's REALLY GOOD and lots of people COMPLIMENT her on her great pictures so she's REALLY SERIOUSLY thinking about DOING THAT." (Insert murderous glare at me here for 'forgetting' to mention this obviously vitally important matter.)
And then, because most people have some idea what goes into photography and haven't the faintest clue what's involved in dance, they naturally seize on the topic they feel a little more knowledgable about -- photography.
It has gotten to the point where my mouth tastes bitter when my relatives start talking about photography.
I don't want to be a photographer. Sure, I mentioned perhaps starting an online shop and selling a few prints to make some money until I could get the choreography/dance thing going, but that was only ever meant to happen 'on the side.' Photography is not my vocation, and it never has been. I may be good and I appreciate that they think so, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life clicking a stupid button.

And their I-know-what-goes-on-in-your-head-better-than-you-do attitude has completely ruined any joy I did get out of taking pictures, capturing memories. Aside from some Northern lights this past week, I haven't touched my camera in several months, because now I know that every single second they see a camera in my hand is only fuel for the fire -- their argument is, "Well, I never see you dancing, and you're always taking pictures, so I thought that's what you wanted to do."

Yeah, well, you try testing out the timing in that one part in Spirit Mover when you're in the middle of the mall. A camera takes up a space the size of your hand. A dance takes up two or three of those little shops, depending how big your movements are.
And these two are completely different things. Sure, they're art, but the fact is, with the camera, I'm only recording memories and things I find either beautiful or interesting. With dance, I want to express emotion and beauty and marry it to my love of music and the stage.

I don't understand how they can have misunderstood all this so badly. Ten years of dancing should not trump a couple of library books on photography. It just shouldn't.

Music Day

(I remembered...)

This week I narrowed it down to Connie Scott or Lecrae. Connie Scott is definitely older material, but I've been featuring her a lot lately.
So I'm going to go with Lecrae this week.

I first heard Lecrae on a (now off the air) hip hop show late one night on the local Christian station. I found the song I'd heard (Far Away) on the iTunes Store and bought it.
It wasn't too bad -- in fact, it's gotten me through quite a few tough moments since then. However, I didn't buy any of the other albums. Since I knew almost nothing of Christian hip hop or rap, I was a little reluctant to invest the money into a album that I may or may not like.
Then came my birthday.
My grandmother takes all her grandchildren aged twelve or older shopping for their birthdays. This year, we made a stop at the local Christian bookstore to check out what remained of their narrow selection of music.
It was actually quite a good day for that place -- at one point I had nine CDs in my hand. But I could only afford one, and after extensive consideration, I finally decided on the Rebel album.
Now I'm a bit of a theology nerd -- something instilled in me by a former associate pastor at our church. So when I listened to the CD that night, I was thrilled out of my mind to hear good theological arguments and witty lyrics set to modern music pouring out of my speakers.
Deciding on a favourite to feature here today is even more difficult than usual (this is one of those 'seriously, get the whole album' posts), but I'll close my eyes and link to just this one song:

Title: Truth
Artist: Lecrae
Album: Rebel
Year: 2008
Label: Reach Records
iTunes here, YouTube here.

Restless...

This is me rambling a bit, just so you're aware.

The last few weeks have been torment for me.

It's as if I had forgotten Jesus is going to return and suddenly I remembered... and it terrifies me.

Since I claim to be a Christian, I'm supposed to be ready. And I don't feel that I am. And that in itself terrifies me even more, because then obviously I don't find Jesus as precious as He should be to me. Or maybe I don't know Him at all; maybe it's all head knowledge from a lifetime of attending church.

Perhaps there's a huge glaring sin that's separating us. Once you're God's child, sin doesn't completely cut you off from God, although it does strain the communication.

But I don't know if I'm God's child to begin with.

I 'prayed a prayer' when I was five, and then sort of renewed my commitment a couple years ago as I was beginning to understand more of what it actually meant to be a Christian. But does that count? As much as I think about pleasing God and trying to do as much as I can in obedience to His word, I feel I don't do anything... that I'm just going through the motions of life.

But what more does He want me to do today? I'm pretty sure I know what He'd like me to do in the semi-near future, but what about now? What about today? This moment? What can I do this very hour, minute, second, that will bring glory to His name, no matter if no one else notices or cares? In my daily life, how can I live it to the fullest for God?

I think the church in general has, over the years, built up this misconception that the only way you can serve God is to go live in the remote jungles of Africa and preach to an entire tribal group that formerly participated in witchcraft and cannibalism and human sacrifice. And it makes everyone who God hasn't called to that sort of thing feel either 'less Christian' or free to sit on the couch and watch televangelists all day while other people do the 'dirty work.'

Nobody makes note of the fact that the mission field is all around us. That God can call you to be an accountant or something and still serve Him by doing that while at the same time being open about your faith and reflecting Christ to your spiritually-lost family, friends, and neighbours. Because the church seems to have decided that this sort of thing isn't important, I and everybody else have no idea where to start glorifying God in our normal daily routines. And that's a tragedy really.

What was that Jesus said? 'Go into all the world and make disciples of all men.' All men. Not just the remote tribesmen of Africa or India or Central America somewhere. All men, in all the world -- including first-world countries like Canada and the US.

But we feel unequipped for that. We had led ourselves to believe that you must be special and have been visited by an angel in order to do any mission work. (This just occurred to me... why do we want an angel to tell us to do this when Jesus Himself gave the command? Who has greater authority than Jesus to give such a command? Answer: no one. The big guy Himself, if you will, told us to do this. So hop to it. (This applies to me and everyone else, by the way.))

And this ties in to the other part of my fear.

I have many unsaved relatives and a few unsaved friends. The difficulty is, most of them would, if asked, call themselves Christians because most of them, at some point in time, did attend church. How can you show them they may not be Christians after all? I can't even know that for sure... maybe they are. Maybe if they died, they would end up in Heaven. But maybe they aren't, and maybe they would end up in Hell, forsaken by God for eternity (Think about that a minute. Eternity -- literally forever, no end, no 'undo' button).

The less spiritual fruit you see in their lives, the more you worry about their eternal destiny... and the more likely they are to be offended if you broach the subject. You want to avoid being hypocritical, especially when you yourself are struggling with a number of things, but you also genuinely worry about the condition of their soul. If Jesus came right now, where would they end up? And would He look at me and say, 'I gave you a chance to show Myself to them. Why didn't you?'

How can you answer that?

You can't just walk up to them and start preaching at them. They'd never speak to you again. But you also can't just stay silent because you have no idea how long they have and you really do want them to end up in Heaven.

There's this old Larry Norman song that talks about Christ's return. One line says 'I wish we'd all been ready...' and that's been my thought for the past couple of weeks. I want everyone in the world to be ready. I don't really have a lot of enemies, but even if I did, I wouldn't want them in Hell either.  Jesus told a parable about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (not the one He rose from the dead -- that guy was real). Lazarus sat outside the rich man's gate and begged for bread, but the rich man never helped him. When they both died, Lazarus, because he trusted in God, went to Heaven. The rich man, because he didn't know Jesus, went to Hell.

And as the rich man was tormented in Hell, he saw Lazarus enjoying Heaven with other people who had followed God and he pleaded with Lazarus and Abraham to help him. They said they couldn't -- the rich man had had his whole life to make his choice and now he was stuck with it. Then the rich man begged them to send someone to Earth to tell his brothers to avoid Hell at all costs. And Abraham said, 'There are people on Earth who know Jesus. Your brothers must listen to them. Because if they won't listen to the Christians, they won't believe someone who's risen from the dead either.' (This is all paraphrased... find the official version of the parable in Luke chapter 16 verses 19-31.)

You know, that's us. We are the Christians that the rich man's brothers need to listen to. They can't listen if we leave the job to somebody else because eventually we're going to run out of 'somebody elses.' Notice how the rich man didn't say 'Woo-hoo, I'm the first one here for the big party in Hell!' He pleaded that his brothers would be warned so they could avoid this terrible place. Misery does not love company in the case of Hell.

So we owe it to all the lost who have already died to let as many people as possible know what they're heading for and that there is an alternative. We can't force them to make the decision of course, but we can give them as much information as we can and love them as God does.
And pray.
Maybe sometimes that's all we can do. But maybe sometimes God asks us to do more, and we have to do it.

Don't think I'm preaching at anyone reading this. I'm not. I'm just trying to sort of my own thoughts. (That's why it probably seems to go off on half-thought-out tangents. Also, it's very likely that I didn't explain something as well as I could have, or that I've got something completely the wrong way. Check this against the Bible if you've any doubts or questions.)

If I could have one wish

I know just what I'd like to find

If I could have one dream

Come true before my eyes

More than a pot of gold

More than a pathway to the stars

More than anything I know

I want Jesus in your heart

      ~ Connie Scott, Jesus In Your Heart

(from Spirit Mover; Image 7 Records, 1985. The song is on iTunes here.)

Music Day

Since it's Canada Day and Canada is my native land, I thought it would be appropriate to feature a Canadian artist for this week's music day.

It's been a challenge though... I can only think of two Canadian artists that I like. One of them I'm not really that familiar with, and the other, my favourite, barely makes an appearance on the iTunes Store.

Key word: barely.

I never thought I would say this, but thank goodness for greatest hits albums. I searched this artist on the Store and aside from her (amazing) Christmas album, iTunes also carries one greatest hits album. Unfortunately for me it contains mostly her earlier material and until I get my hands on a decent record player I can't listen to the full versions that we already own of those songs so I don't even know what they're like. There were a couple of songs I do know (from cassettes) but though they're excellent songs, they weren't quite what I had in mind for today's post.

Then, as I was previewing the album to see if I recognised some from the mix tapes my father makes; it came to one song whose title I didn't recognise... but the song I most definitely did.

I don't know if it was mislabeled on the Store (which wouldn't surprise me), or if the artist/label themselves changed the track's name sometime (which isn't likely), but either way I give you:

Title: The World's Last Night (original title; labeled The World's For You on iTunes)

Artist: Connie Scott

Album: Forever Young

Year: 1989

Label: Image 7 Records

It's here on iTunes, and can you believe it's not on YouTube?

This is an amazing song. I know I say that almost every week, but seriously, this time it's true. Connie Scott has a beautiful voice and this song really makes use of it. The children's choir at the end is a nice touch too.

In fact, my plan is that once I've finished the rough-sketch choreography of Michael Card's The Edge, this song is next.

One Thousand

I started my first iTunes library in July 2007 on a computer that I'm not even sure works anymore. That music library has since been copied to two other computers (including the Zombie) to continue its expansion and (in part) to two iPods. I'm not sure what the first song was that I ever put into iTunes, but I've narrowed it down to one of three Michael W Smith songs (most likely).
However, I can now tell you what the one thousandth song is -- Do You Hear What I Hear? by Connie Scott. I copied it off the cassette tape and added it to iTunes less than ten minutes ago. It's actually quite exciting to reach that little milestone. Now if only I could get the Zombie working so I can sync the iPod touch and its many remaining gigabytes of free space... (the home of 693 songs; last synchronised on 23 August 2010).

In other news, The Late Great PFR on CD came in the mail today! (You know, the one I stupidly paid thirty dollars for.) Finally I was able to listen to the second half of the album. And I must say, aside from Pray For Rain and Merry Go Round, it didn't seem nearly as good as the first half. Perhaps it was because I was expecting more of the hardcore rock that had pretty well dominated Side A. It'll probably grow on me though; after all, I've only listened to it once.

A Gem From Kate's Music Library

Merry Christmas everyone! (Christmas Eve to those of us in the west.)
I've arbitrarily decided that my music recommendation day will be Friday. Don't ask why.
Well okay, it might perhaps possibly be so I can post two Christmas songs before December ends and the 'legal' period for Christmas music is over.
Today's song is 'One Small Child' by Connie Scott. Unfortunately doesn't appear to be on YouTube (gasp!), but you can buy it from the iTunes Store here.
Seriously, go buy it. It'll be the best dollar of your Christmas money you will ever spend. (Until next week anyway.)
I'm not too familiar with a lot of Connie Scott's work (I've heard some, years ago), but the Christmas album is beautiful. Sure it has some eighties overtones, but we can all use a little eighties music in our lives, right? (Says the child of the nineties...)
Enjoy!