Monday, April 27, 2015

A True and Lasting Peace: Prayer-Meditation April 27, 2015





Most high, omnipotent, good Lord,
Praise, glory and honor
 and benediction all, are Thine.
To Thee alone do they belong, most High,
And there is no man fit to mention Thee. 

 Praise be to Thee, my Lord, 
with all Thy creatures,
Especially to my worshipful brother sun,
The which lights up the day, 

and through him dost Thou brightness give;
And beautiful is he and radiant with splendor great;
Of Thee, most High, signification gives.

Praised be my Lord, 
for sister moon and for the stars,
In heaven Thou hast formed them

 clear and precious and fair. 
Praised be my Lord for brother wind
And for the air and clouds and fair 

and every kind of weather,
By the which Thou givest 

to Thy creatures nourishment.
Praised be my Lord for sister water,
The which is greatly helpful

 and humble and precious and pure.
Praised be my Lord for brother fire,
By the which Thou lightest up the dark.
And fair is he and gay and mighty and strong.

Praised be my Lord
 for our sister, mother earth,
  Who sustains and keeps us
And brings forth diverse fruits

 with grass and flowers bright.
Praised be my Lord 
for those who for Thy love forgive
And weakness bear and tribulation.
Blessed those who shall in peace endure,
For by Thee, most High,

 shall they be crowned.
Praised be my Lord

 for our sister, the bodily death,
From the which no living man can flee.
Woe to them who die in mortal sin;
Blessed those who shall find themselves

 in Thy most holy will,
For the second death shall do them no ill.

Praise ye and bless ye my Lord,
 and give Him thanks,
And be subject unto Him

 with great humility.

"The Canticle of the Sun"
Saint Francis of Assisi 




Countryside near
Assisi, Italy












Lord, make me an instrument 
of Your peace.
 Where there is hatred,
 let me sow love;
 where there is injury, pardon;
 where there is doubt, faith; 
 where there is despair, hope;
 where there is darkness, light;
 where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,
 grant that I may not so much seek
 to be consoled as to console;
 to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love;
 For it is in giving that we receive;
 it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
 it is in dying that we are born again
 to eternal life.
 "Prayer of Saint Francis" 





 "Prayer of Saint Francis" 






How little we know
 what God has in store
As daily He blesses
our lives more and more.
I've lived many years
and learned many things,
But today I have grown
"new spiritual wings",
For pain has a way
of broadening our view,
And bringing us closer
in sympathy, too, 
To those who are living
in constant pain
And trying somehow
to bravely sustain
The faith and endurance
to keep on trying
When they'd almost welcome
the peace of dying.
And without this experience
I would have lived and died
Without fathoming
the pain of Christ crucified,
For none of us know
what pain's all about
Until our
"spiritual wings"
start to sprout.
So, thank You, God,
for the "gift"
You sent
To teach me that pain
is heaven-sent.
"Eagles Wings"
Helen Steiner Rice



"But they who wait 
upon the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up
with wings like eagles,
they shall run
and not grow weary,
and they shall walk,
and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31



"Therefore then,
since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses,
who have borne testimony
to the Truth,
let us strip off
and throw aside
every encumbrance,
and that sin which
so readily clings to
and entangles us,
and let us run with
patient endurance
and steady and active persistence
the appointed course
of the race
that is set before us.

Looking away
from all that will distract
to Jesus
Who is the Leader
and the Source
of our faith
and is also
it's Finisher
bringing it to maturity
and perfection.
He, for the joy
of obtaining the prize
that was set before Him,
endured the cross,
despising and ignoring
the shame,
and is now seated
at the right hand of
the throne of
God.
Just think of
 Him Who
endured from sinners
such grievous opposition
 and bitter hostility 
 against Himself,
so that you may
not grow weary
or exhausted,
losing heart,
and relaxing 
and fainting
in your minds."
 Hebrews 12:1-3


Rocca Maggiore 
Assisi Italy



Lord,
I am overwhelmed
by the extravagance
of Your love!
For like the sower
in Your parable,
You never looked back
to see where the seed
of Your ministry
was falling.
You knew
that where it 
was received,
it would bear fruit
of its own kind.
Thank You, 
Holy Spirit,
for preparing my heart
to receive the seeds
of such a lavish
love.
A prayer by
Catherine Marshall


Friday, April 24, 2015

April Love Song





 


I Love You,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
"Love"
Roy Croft











"The End Of The Quest"
 Sir Frank Dicksee
(1921)

The fountains mingle
with the river,
And the rivers,
with the ocean;
The winds of heaven
mix forever,
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world
is single;
All things by a 
law divine
In one another's
being mingle;
Why not I with thine?

See! the mountains
kiss the high heaven,
And the waves
clasp one another;
No sister flower
would be forgiven
If it disdained
its brother;
And the sunlight
clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams
kiss the sea:
What are all
these kisses worth,
If thou kiss not me?
"Love's Philosophy"
Percy Bysshe Shelley





Paolo and Francesca da Rimini,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
(1867) 


To know for an hour
you were mine completely-
Mine in body and soul,
my own-
I would bear
unending tortures
sweetly,
With not a murmur
and not a moan.
A lighter sin
or a lesser error
Might change through hope
or fear divine;
But there is no fear,
and hell has no terror,
To change or alter
a love like mine.
"Ad Finem"
Ella Wheeler Wilcox







Lady In Red
Vladimir Volegov

Today, dear heart,
but just today,
The sunshine over all,
The roses
crimsoning the air
Along the garden wall!
Then let the dream
and the dreamer die
Whate'er shall be, shall be-
Today will still
be thine and mine
To all eternity.
 "Her Answer"
John Bennett





A clip from
the classic western series,
"Cheyenne"
(1955-63)
Clint Walker sings
"Love's Old Sweet Song"


"Just a song at twilight
when the lights are low,
And the flickering shadows
softly come and go;
Though the heart be weary,
sad the day and long,
Still to us at twilight
Comes Love's old song,
Comes Love's old 
sweet song."
 " Love's Old Sweet Song"
J.L. Molloy 







Out where the moonlight
silvers the bay,
Out where the stars
all their wonders display,
Come let us sail,
oh, come let us go
Over the deep
where the summer 
winds blow.

Dear to our hearts
though mountains may be,
Here is a night
for the wave and the sea;
Never before was
ocean so fair,
Moonlight and starlight
are calling us there,
Moonlight and starlight
are calling us there."
 "Moonlight and Starlight"
Stephen C. Foster

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Happy Birthday Glen Campbell





I cannot let this month pass by
without paying tribute to
one of the greatest
American country/pop artists
that ever lived!


Happy Birthday
(one day late)
to the legendary
Glen Campbell!






Glen Travis Campbell
was born on
April 22, 1936
 in Billstown, Arkansas



A natural talent,
as a young boy,
Glen started playing the guitar
without the ability to read music.

He gives credit to 
his Uncle Boo
for teaching him
how to play guitar.

In 1954,
Glen moved to New Mexico
where he joined his
uncle's band called,
Dick Bills and
 the Sandia Mountain Boys.



While living in Albuquerque,
Glen appeared on
his uncle's radio show
and performed on
K Circle B Time
a local children's program
on KOB television.

In 1958,
Glen formed his
own group,
the Western Wranglers.

In 1960,
Glen moved to LA
where he was part 
of the group
The Champs.
But Glen was
also in great demand
as a session musician,
and during this early
period in his career
he played on
recordings by
such legendary singers
 as Nat King Cole,
 Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
not to mention
Bobby Darrin, Nancy Sinatra,
and an up and coming
pop band called,
The Monkees!



In 1967,
Glen recorded the song,
"Gentle On My Mind".
Not only was this
beautiful ballad
 an overnight sensation,
but I tend to think
of it as
Glen's signature song!



"Gentle On My Mind"
(1967)

 
This song was followed
by another big hit,
the heartbreaking,
"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"
This song always makes me tear up!



"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"
(1967)







In 1968,
Glen won the
Grammy of the Year
for the song,
"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"




I was first introduced to
the golden voice
 of Glen Campbell
as a little girl
 growing up in
the late 1960's and early 1970's.
Along with Petula Clark,
The Beatles, The 5th Dimension,
 Jerry Vale, Herb Alpert
and The Tijuana Brass,
and The Carpenters,
I use to listen to Glen 
singing his songs
 on my parents' 
big television/stereo
console in our living room.
I also remember his
 television variety series,
"The Glen Campbell
 Goodtime Hour"
which aired on CBS
from 1969-72.
 
 Glen performs
"Folsom Prison Blues"
with the legendary
"Man In Black"
Johnny Cash



In 1969,
Glen starred in 
the western drama,
"True Grit"
with John Wayne
and Kim Darby.



One of Glen's biggest hits in the 1970's
was the song, "Rhinestone Cowboy"






That 70's Song
Glen sings his hit song, "Southern Nights"
with fellow country singer, Jerry Reed.




Glen and his wife, Kim









In 2005, 
Glen was inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame


An Honor Well Deserved!




Only several years
after being inducted into
the Country Music Hall of Fame,
Glen Campbell was
diagnosed with
Alzheimer's Disease.

 One of Glen's last live
performances at the
Hollywood Bowl
June 24, 2012




In April 2014,  Glen was placed in a long-term
care and treatment facility for
Alzheimer's patients.
My heart goes out to Glen and his family.
A devout Christian, he and
 his wife have actively embraced
the teachings of Messianic Judaism
for over 20 years now.

I pray our Healer, Adonai
Jehovah Rofecha,
will restore Glen to
perfect health of
mind, body, and soul.




"My times are in Your hands."
Psalm 31:15


Happy Birthday Mr. Campbell!
God Bless You!



You are in my thoughts 
and prayers
always!




An Encore Performance...
A Country Classic...



"Let It Be Me"
Glen Campbell and daughter,
Debby Campbell
(2009)

Postscript:  Glen Travis Campbell was called home
to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 8, 2017.
May he rest in peace.