New Music

So I added some different music to my player on the sidebar, but have moved it off the side bar so that you can scroll down the list (it was getting half of it cut off on the side). There is some fairly old stuff there that I listened to back when I was in high school. The second song on there, 3 minute song, is one that Shine FM is playing a lot. At first I thought it was a bit silly, but the more I hear it, or rather once I stopped to really listen to it, I realized I really like the message of the song. Give it a listen. The others are songs that I liked a lot and hadn't thought of in quite some time. See if you recognize any and leave a note about your favorite.

I, personally, am having a very hard time choosing a favorite. Michael W Smith's, This is Your Time is an extremely touching song "about Cassie Bernall, one of the students who was killed during the Columbine massacre. She was killed when one of the shooters reportedly asked her if she believed in God, and she said yes—although some reports of the killings indicate that a different girl who was shot but survived was asked that question. In the music video for this song, the beginning shows a real video of Cassie talking about her religious beliefs and how she wanted to spread the word of God.)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_W._Smith. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. It really got me to thinking about whether or not I would be able to face death for my faith in God. But that's another post for another time.

Desert Rose by White Heart has a great tune that first caught my attention. This song talks about God's faithfulness to us even when, or maybe especially when, we feel all alone in our desire to serve Him. It's a very encouraging song that always brought me a great sense of peace.

Worlds Apart by Jars of Clay is another song that first grabbed me because of it's tune. This song always helped remind me that every day, every choice I make, every moment I live I need to choose to follow Jesus and live my life for Him. It also helped me to realize that I could always come back to God, even when I screwed up and didn't feel that I deserved His mercy and forgiveness. Being "broken on my knees" touched my heart and made me want to pray for God to help me live for Him.

I guess these would be my top three from this list, but all the songs on there are excellent (in my opinion) and worth your time to listen to.

A little while ago, I also changed the player from auto-play to manual start. Now you have to press the play button if you want to hear the music. My wife was complaining about some of the songs I had on before, but she is always on checking for updates (even when I'm in class and couldn't possibly post)--but it's great to have a fan base, even if it is a base of just a few. I also turned off the randomizer (I'm not certain that's a word, but it is now) so it will play straight through the list every time you check the site. You can change the song manually to begin where you left off if you like.

Feel free to turn on the player anytime you are at work or home and don't want to use your own playlist, or don't have your own to listen to. I want to check my sitemeter and see some of you on the site for half an hour as you enjoy the tunes.

Oh, and by the way, I know there isn't a lot of interest on my school blog, but I changed the music there as well. For the next while it will be featuring a variety of swing and jazz music. I've got some tracks from Swing Kids, Ella Fitzgerald, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (the few that are clean enough for grade 6 students to listen to), Benny Goodman, and of course, Frank Sinatra. Again, you can choose the songs you want to listen to if you don't want to listen straight through. My favorite on this list is most definitely Bei Mir Bist Du Shon by Janis Siegel. This one is from the Swing Kids soundtrack. These songs are great for a bit of a pick-me-up of energy and will have you bopping along to the beat. Be free and dance a bit. I had a student working on her blog this afternoon after school and I had this playlist playing in the background and had to consciously contain my terribly horrible singing voice from spontaniously breaking into song. They are catchy and will make you want to move. Let me know what you think. Heck leave a comment on that school blog as well. No one will know who you are and it might spark some other comments.