What now for Paul Potts?

Read this review. You'll also want to follow the posted links.

Beautiful

I've heard this on the radio. I've watched it several times. It still makes me cry.




Paul Potts went on, not surprisingly, to win "Britain's Got Talent". Here he sings after being announced as winner:

Worship Music

Times, they are a-changin'. This has become obvious in our cozy little church on Sunday mornings. Some people seem to be of the "it's about time!" mindset, while others preferred things the say they were, and still others have adopted a "wait and see" attitude.

We now have an actual "band", with drums and guitars and everything. But we also have a piano and organ playing --- and this works much better than I had thought it would. We are learning "new" music and trying new things. And, in the eyes of some in the congregation, it's a mixed bag.

Part of me is a bit anxious about this. Musical preferences and ideas about what should and shouldn't be part of the Sunday morning service --- these things can run deep and highly emotional. As I have been pondering all this, it has been causing me to think much more about the entire concept of worship, especially how much we have limited ourselves in many churches by too often equating worship with the music. At the same time, we sometimes act as if we have forgotten that the object of that worship is God, not us. That seems the only explanation for complaints of, "I didn't get anything out of that worship service" or "The worship experience did nothing for me". Even worse are what some have called the "worship wars", when people argue bitterly over styles of music.

I've been listening to the song, "The Heart of Worship" and pondering the words:

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the things I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the things I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

I wish I could say that I now have some brilliant insights that will solve the worship dilemmas in churches throughout the land, but I don't. But I did find a lot more to ponder in Kim's post today, and would recomment it highly --- The Upward Call: A few thoughts about Christian music - Part 1

Speaking of iTunes

Of the stuff I have added to my iTunes library in the last couple months, here are the Top Ten in terms of what I've been listening to the most:

1. Hound Dog -- Elvis Presley (It's our beagle's theme song)
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough -- Diana Ross
3. Through the Years -- Kenny Rogers
4. Unforgettable -- Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
5. Saturn -- Stevie Wonder
6. Sailing -- Christopher Cross
7. 16 Minute Advanced Walker Interval Workout -- Prevention Magazine (my morning warm-up via my iPod)
8. Testify to Love -- Avalon
9. Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again -- Barry Manilow
10. Blowin' in the Wind -- Bob Dylan

I've been in a rather nostalgic mood lately, which explains all the songs harkening back to my youth.

Cool stuff

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. Do I have an excuse or explanation? Not really.

I haven't done a "Cool Stuff" post in ages. (I haven't done a post in almost ages, but that's another thing.) Today I'm inspired, because I've decided that iTunes is about the best example of cool stuff around.

Here is what I've been doing with iTunes:

• Putting some of my favorite CD's on my laptop
• Using my laptop to play music, wirelessly, over our stereo
• Creating all sorts of playlists by genre, mood, event, season, activity, etc., etc.
• Downloading nostalgic music from the iTunes Music store
• Downloading free podcasts on a variety of topics
• Uploading music and podcasts to my iPod

Today I downloaded a cool little Dashboard Widget that helps me figure out the bpm (beats per minute) of songs, and I used it to help categorize my workout music by intensity/speed of workout (slow, medium, fast).

How I ever managed to live without iTunes is a mystery to me...well, actually not. I had no idea what I was missing. Now I'm enjoying making music a much bigger part of our lives as a family.

My iTunes Top 15

These are the songs that are getting the most play so far this year on my iTunes/stereo set-up, with the number one song listed first.

Amazing Grace -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
Flame Of Love -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
O Lord You're Beautiful -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
Amazing Grace -- Hayley Westenra -- Pure
There Is A Redeemer -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
Son Of Man -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
We're All Alone -- Rita Coolidge -- Delta Lady - The Rita Coolidge Anthology
Yesterday -- The Beatles -- 1
Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) -- Chris Rice-- Short Term Memories
I Love You, Lord -- Eden's Bridge -- Celtic Praise
Never Saw Blue (Full Length Drums Mix) -- Hayley Westenra -- Odyssey
In The Lord -- Taizé -- Songs & Prayers From Taizé
For The Sake Of The Call -- Steven Curtis Chapman -- Greatest Hits
He Is Good -- Steve Green -- Morning Light
Most High God -- Kevin Ellings -- Judah Fire

My Top 10 Songs of 2006

Here is what is playing most often on my computer so far this year:

1. Never Saw Blue --- Hayley Westenra
2. Amazing Grace --- Eden's Bridge
3. Angels Watching Over Me --- Hack Bartholomew
   
4. Amazing Grace --- Hayley Westenra
5. Homesick --- MercyMe
6. Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) --- Chris Rice
   
7. I Can Only Imagine --- MercyMe
   
8. Home --- Natalie Grant
   
9. I'll Fly Away --- Alison Krauss
   
10. We've Only Just Begun --- The Carpenters

Today I finally installed some stuff that added our stereo to our wireless network, so that I can beam songs from my laptop to the stereo without having to worry about hooking up cables. Pretty cool!

Top Songs of 2006 (so far)

This is what I've been playing most often through iTunes on my computer:

1. Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) --- Chris Rice
2. Angels Watching Over Me --- Hack Bartholomew
3. Amazing Grace --- Eden's Bridge
4. Home Tonight --- Christ Rice
5. Hapsichord Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1058 (First Mvt.) --- Christianne Jaccottot, Harpsichord; Württemberg Chamber Orchestra
6. Amazing Grace 2000 --- Hack Bartholomew
7. Never Saw Blue --- Hayley Westenra
8. Homesick --- MercyMe
9. There is a Redeemer --- Eden's Bridge
10. I Love You Lord --- Eden's Bridge
    

My new top five list

Here's my latest top five on iTunes:

1. What Child is This? --- The Wakefield Players
2. Christmas Light --- The Wakefield Players
3. O Come, O Come Immanuel --- The Wakefield Players
4. Christmas Bells of Germany
5. Let it Snow, Let it Snow --- Bing Crosby
   

What I've been listening to...

These are my most recent "Top 5" according to iTunes on my computer:

1. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! --- Bing Crosby
2. White Christmas --- Bing Crosby
3. Let Me Call You Sweetheart --- Bing Crosby

[What's with all the sentimental Bing stuff??]

4. Christmas Eve --- Celine Dion
5. I'll Be Home for Christmas --- Bing Crosby

Noticeably missing, of course, are any real Christmas songs. I have been listening to those, really I have...they just haven't made my top 5 on iTunes, in part because I play the "real stuff" more often on my stereo, not on my computer.

Cool stuff

Some stuff that I think is cool, in no particular order:

1. iTunes on a Mac iBook or PowerBook. Son #1 has been busily putting our family music CD collection into iTunes, so he could hook his cute little laptop up to our stereo and entertain us with assorted playlists of music. So cool!

2. iPod Shuffle - I resisted the iPod craze until this came along. Now I'm doing some of my workouts to my own private soundtrack. I enjoyed listening to hours of worship music on a recent train trip. This tiny, affordable iPod is super-easy to use and, no, you don't have to play the music randomly.

3. Single Serve Coffee - The website is cool, but so is the Senseo coffeemaker I've been enjoying for some time now. I just discovered Cool Beans and am eager to try their coffee pods. If you are in the UK, or don't mind ordering from there, you'd probably be interested in CafePods. (They do ship to the US.)