Make Me an Instrument by Blair Bodine

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eBIt3Mhq0SI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Make Me an Instrument
by Blair Bodine

Make me an Instrument of your peace
Make me the music of a melody
I’ll be the bass, I’ll be the fiddle
3 part harmony, make me the middle

Make me a flute or a clarinet
Make me a tune you haven’t finished yet
I’ll be a harp, made out of golden wire
Save me a spot in the Sunday choir

I’ve  got this voice, I wanna use it
I’ve got one life, I’m gonna set mine to music
And a choice, about how my time is spent
So, Lord, make me an instrument!
Oh, Lord, make me an instrument!

Make me the sound of a violin
Make me a solo on a mandolin
I’ll be the strings in a symphony
Give me a bucket, I can make a beat

I’ve  got this voice, I wanna use it
I’ve got one life, I’m gonna set mine to music
And a choice, about how my time is spent
So, Lord, make me an instrument!
Oh, Lord, make me an instrument!

Let me be the chorus that brings you back around
I can be the silence where you feel all their sound
I wanna be the reason that this song is sung
I wanna keep believin’ when the song is done

So, make me an instrument of your peace
Make me the music of a melody
I’ll be the bass, I’ll be the fiddle
3 part harmony, make me the middle
                oh make me the middle

I’ve  got this voice, I wanna use it
I’ve got one life, I’m gonna set mine to music
And a choice, about how my time is spent
So, Lord, make me an instrument!
Oh, Lord, make me an instrument!

Stepping Stones

This is a post from Sara, a woman who inspires me greatly!!

She writes:

"No moment from my God is a rock of burden. It is just a rock wanting to be broken apart into stepping stones."

http://gitzengirl.blogspot.com/2008/10/stepping-stones.html

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen
listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q

performed by Rufus Waynwright, Jeff Buckly and
Leonard Cohen—there are several versions

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

*(Leonard Cohen’s version starts here)
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The Holy Dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above
and all I ever learned from love
was how to shoot out someone
who outdrew you

It’s not a cry you can hear at night,
It’s not somebody who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

(Most versions end above, Leonard Cohen’s version continues below)
You say I took the Name in vain
I don't even know the Name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The Holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Note: 3/5/10
I’ve been obsessed with this song today. The melody completely draws me in. The lyrics are pretty. I believe the original author was Leonard Cohen; however, it’s been covered by a variety of artists and lyrics have been added or manipulated. I can’t say exactly what the original intent was with all of these lyrics. But, it’s beautiful. Clearly there is an allusion to King David, the Psalms, and Samson in the Bible. It conjures up images of a loving, albeit, strained relationship with God, mostly. But there is a carnal feeling to it, too. As I listen, I conjure up images of a sweaty run or bike-ride, a sob in the rain, raw physical affection, or falling down on one’s knees dirty and bloodied from a harrowing experience (e.g. birth, miscarriage, battle, a terrible accident). Sometimes our experience of God is so full and fresh, it’s exhilarating and palpable. And we all have those experiences where our faith wanes and we feel terribly alone. But that is a Holy place too. I think this is about those waning times—those times of longing. We can praise God in both of those places.

Hallelujah is a Hebrew word, meaning, “Praise Yaweh”. It’s primarily used in praise and thanksgiving. The author speaks of the “cold and broken Hallelujah.” I interpret the Cold, Broken Hallelujah as those time when we cry out for God but feel He is a million miles away—when we ache for His presence, but can’t seem to feel it. When we want to yell and scream. When we embrace, tearfully.
I’m curious what you think? Any different interpretations or thoughts? I’d love to hear what others come up with. Love listening to this and the various versions. Feel free to comment, if you like.

The Old Rugged Cross, Historical Links to Sturgeon Bay

These are snippets from a few sites online. Just thought it was interesting, as my friend Bev posted part of the lyrics today.

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
Bernard was a Methodist evangelist involved in a series of revivals
from Wisconsin to New York State while carrying with him the words of
this poem of the cross. During the travels he worked on the hymn with
friends. It is said to have been completed on December 29, 1912,
while in a revival in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. A well known Gospel
composer helped him touch up the music and harmony while Billy Sunday's
great song leader used it first and made it widely used well known.
The Old Rugged Cross is probably the most beloved of the old hymns of
the 19th century.
http://www.ministrytoday.org/pastors/p-hymns.htm

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
Most popular Christian hymn, completed by Rev. George Bennard during evangelistic meetings Dec. 29, 1912, to Jan. 12, 1913, at the Friends Church, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. First sung the last day as a quartet in the church parlors and as a duet at the final service that night from penciled words and notes.
http://www.cardcow.com/69212/memorial-to-the-old-rugged-cross-sturgeon-bay-wisconsin-sturgeon-bay/

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
From Marc De Bruyn (emdebe@village.uunet.be) - September 7, 2003
"The Old Rugged Cross" was composed by Rev. George Bennard (1873-1958), a Methodist minister, in 1913. It was written in Albion, Michigan (where he conducted evangelistic services and operated a music company and tract society), or Pokagon, Michigan (where the hymn was first sung publicly at a revival meeting), or Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; all three towns claim to be the birthplace of this hymn, that has become an all-time favorite.

"The Old Rugged Cross" became an instant hit, but it did not make Bennard rich: he sold the rights to the Rodeheaver Company of Winona Lake, Indiana for $500, and the copyright was renewed for about $5,000 years later. Bennard also wrote numerous other gospel songs, but none matched the quality of "The Old Rugged Cross", which has stood the test of time and is one of the most famous hymns ever written.

"On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, / The emblem of suffering and shame; / And I love that old cross where the dearest and best / For a world of lost sinners was slain / So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, / Till my trophies at last I lay down; / I will cling to the old rugged cross, / And exchange it some day for a crown / O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, / Has a wondrous attraction for me; / For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above / To bear it to dark Calvary / So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, / Till my trophies at last I lay down; / I will cling to the old rugged cross, / And exchange it some day for a crown / In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, / A wondrous beauty I see, / For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, / To pardon and sanctify me / So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, / Till my trophies at last I lay down; / I will cling to the old rugged cross, / And exchange it some day for a crown / To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; / Its shame and reproach gladly bear; / Then He'll call me some day to my home far away, / Where His glory forever I'll share / So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, / Till my trophies at last I lay down; / I will cling to the old rugged cross, / And exchange it some day for a crown"
http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/songs/Old_Rugged_Cross.html

Hammer and a Nail

because sometimes I spend too much time in my head.. ;-)

lyrics by Emily Saliers  of the Indigo Girls

Clearing webs from the hovel
a blistered hand on the handle of a shovel
I've been digging too deep, I always do.
I see my face on the surface
I look a lot like narcissus
A dark abyss of an emptiness
Standing on the edge of a drowning blue.
I look behind my ears for the green
Even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail
Learn how to use my hands, not just my head
I think myself into jail
Now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose.
I had a lot of good intentions
Sit around for fifty years and then collect a pension,
Started seeing the road to hell and just where it starts.
But my life is more than a vision
The sweetest part is acting after making a decision
I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts.
My life is part of the global life
I'd found myself becoming more immobile
When I'd think a little girl in the world can't do anything.
A distant nation my community
A street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring.

The New Colossus, as incribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, 1883

Strange Fire

Full texts are below the paralells listed:

The Indigo Girls write: mercenaries of the shrine, who are you to speak for god? with haughty eyes and lying tongues and hands that shed innocent blood. who delivered you the power to interpret calvary? you gamble away our freedom to gain your own authority.

From Proverbs 6:
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.


Lyrics from Strange Fire by The Indigo Girls

strange fire
i come to you with strange fire, i make an offering of love, the incense of my soil is burned by the fire in my blood. i come with a softer answer to the questions that lie in your path. i want to harbor you from the anger, find a refuge from the wrath.

this is a message of love. love that moves from the inside out, love that never grows tired. i come to you with strange fire.

mercenaries of the shrine, who are you to speak for god? with haughty eyes and lying tongues and hands that shed innocent blood. who delivered you the power to interpret calvary? you gamble away our freedom to gain your own authority.

find another state of mind. grab hold. strange fire burns with the motion of love.

when you learn to love yourself, you will dissolve all the stones that are cast, you will learn to burn the icing sky and to melt the waxen mask. yes, to have the gift of true release, this is a peace that will take you higher. i come to you with my offering., i bring you strange fire.

this is a message of love. love that moves from the inside out, love that never grows tired. i come to you with strange fire.

Proverbs 6 (New International Version)

Proverbs 6
Warnings Against Folly
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,

3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!

4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.

5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man. [a]

12 A scoundrel and villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13 who winks with his eye,
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,

14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up dissension.

15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;
he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

This is my Song

This beautiful Hymn was sung for us in church today, July 4, 2010, by Ann and David Harsh and AnnEllen and Ken Boettcher. It’s so beautiful; I had to find out more.

The following are the lyrics listed in our United Methodist Hymnal (#437). Music by Jean Sibelius (1899) and Words adapted by Lloyd Stone(1934). It’s a prayer for peace, here and everywhere.

This is My Song

This is my song, oh God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, oh God of all the nations;
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my prayer, o Lord of all earth's kingdoms
Thy kingdom come on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him.
And hearts united learn to live as one.
Oh hear my prayer, o God of all the nations.
Myself I give thee; let thy will be done.

So moving are these lyrics. Truly, as we celebrate our own independence, let us pray for freedom and peace everywhere.

Here is a link to an article about the song from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia_Hymn

Here is a beautiful rendition of the hymn by The Southwest American Choral Director's Association Collegiate Choir in 2006.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjuxePRyCo&feature=related

And here is a link of the hymn being sung by the Indigo Girls with Missy Higgins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD1t6tzbp-Y