While today I am departing from "Brand New Day" songs you can see I'm still circling the idea/theme of our days. :)  Addison Road is a fave band of mine.  I like their sound, I like their lyrics, I just like them!  What do you do with your days?  Do you do anything meaningful, anything of lasting value, or do you waste them - just going through the motions?  Oh sure I think we all have a day here and there of going through the motions but overall - what do you do with your days?  We are given days, and the minutes and moments in them, to invest into.  To be part of purpose, to be hands and feet for others, to speak value into a life, there's so much good we could do with our days. Just think.  Today is a brand new day (ha! had to throw that in...) and this brand new day could be our day to impart purpose, meaning, value.  Think about it.  And then do something about it! :)  This Could Be Our Day

Van Morrison rounds out this week of "Brand New Day" songs.  It's been fun to hear all the different versions of brand new days. :) This is a live rendition from Morrison and I hadn't heard it until this morning.  I like it. Morrison taps into the figurative brand new day instead of the literal.  And while I want to say more about the song I am so distracted by the Royal Wedding and the brand new day and life Prince William and Kate have just begun that I'm just going to sign off.  :) Brand New Day

The great Diana Ross sings this song (penned by Luther Vandross) as part of her contribution to the 1978 film "The Wiz" starring Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and others whose names escape me right now and I'm too lazy to look up! :) The movie, The Wiz, was one of several versions around about the Wizard of Oz.  It was the black version and posed a much different take, if memory serves me correct, as pretty much all of them do.  There was one a couple of years back on the sci-fi channel.  I tried watching it but couldn't.  It was way too weird.  :)  Anyway.  Back to today's song.  I really like this song, the lyrics for sure.  The tune is pretty good too! Very upbeat!  But I really like the message of the song.  Take out the whole OZ thing and there is some deep truth in the song about freedom and beginning again.  "Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully. Just look about. You owe it to yourself to check it out. Can’t you feel a brand new d

Day 3 of the same song title but totally different song and artist!  :) If you think you've heard this song before you may be right.  Apparently it was used for Target.  I don't recognize it but that means nothing! This song is very fun and upbeat, just what we all need to get through Wednesday!  I really like the simple lyrics that speak of normal, everyday things and yet they speak of a good day that's getting better.  Tim Myers has some talent but I listened to several of his songs to get an idea of him and they all sound mostly the same.  Like pretty much EXACTLY the same.  "Different lyrics to the same notes" exactly the same.  So while I like "Brand New Day" I think I would tire quickly of hearing the same song for an entire album.  :)  But this song?  Serves my purposes and is very fun! Happy Wednesday and day 3 of a brand new day! Brand New Day

Uh, Beth?  You did this song already...yesterday.  You okay?  HA!  I'm just fine - same title, different song and artist! :)  Sense a theme for the week?  Admittedly I live in a bit of a bubble so Joshua Radin may not be new to you but I have never heard of him or his music until this morning.  Yesterday when I was pulling up on YouTube "Brand New Day" I saw a bunch of artists who have songs with the same title so I thought I'd check into some of them this week.  So we'll see how many days I can pull the same title but yet different song/artist.  :)  This morning when I pulled it up Joshua Radin presented himself, I listened, I liked, and so he's the featured artist today!  I love a guy who can play the guitar with seemingly no effort.  It's like they are connected and it flows so beautifully.  Radin is that kind of guitar player.  First thing I thought of when listening to this song is the word from God in Psalm about weeping that will last through

It's a brand new day.  Aren't you glad that we get new days?  Like literally!  And figuratively!  In Lamentations it says that his compassions and mercies are new every morning!  Yippee!!  I picked this song for two reasons.  1)  I needed the reminder today that it's a brand new day.  Like I've said before, poor Mondays.  They get such a bad rap.  It's unfortunate that I happened to wake up today, on a Monday, out of sorts.  It's not Monday's fault but it sure would be easy to blame Monday!  :)  The only part of today's song that applies to this reason is, "I can hear you say it's a brand new day."  Actually considering how my day is going I really need that message tomorrow as well in hopes tomorrow doesn't repeat today!  Ha!  2)  I'm still emerging from my "losing streak" that hit me so hard I haven't been able to speak from the past couple of years.  And I have often needed the reminder from God that it's a

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia! Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia! But the pain which He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation hath procured, Alleluia! Now above the sky He's king, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia! Sing we to our God above, Alleluia! Praise eternal as His love, Alleluia! Praise Him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

"Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:50-51) "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place."  (Hebrews 10:19-20) Ever since I was young one of the parts of the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus that always sat in my heart and I pondered was the gift of access.  Jesus gave us access, through his death, to the Most Holy Place - i.e. the Holy Spirit.  A place previously that was only granted permission to one priest once a year.  The Holy of Holies was a sacred spot in which the priest offered up sacrifice on behalf of all people for their sins.  With the death of Jesus and the Most Holy Place being exposed through the tearing of the temple curtain we all were grant

We're all broken.  We are.  Don't bother trying to deny it, excuse it, dismiss it, get defensive about it.  Just accept the reality that we are ALL broken.  Once you have accepted that then there is the next step of acceptance.  We are all broken and in need of a Savior.  We are.  Don't bother trying to deny it, excuse it, dismiss it, get defensive about it.  Just accept the reality that you can't do it on your own and you need a Savior.  Now here's where the story, for each person, gets interesting.  We all need a Savior but a lot of "us" don't like Jesus. I'm not sure why.  Maybe because he says he is the only way, he is the only truth, he is the only one to offer everlasting life. This seems to tick people off.  So many people have turned to other people, things, etc for salvation. See, we all need a Savior but some of us try to find that Savior in eating, TV, sports, alcohol, drugs, gangs, other religions that don't offend us as much, scien

I don't know what it is about this song but I LOVE IT.  From the first time I heard it I just fell in love with it.  I suppose it is the lyrics, the music, the heart in it, the message, the thankfulness it brings up in me toward Jesus who saves and saved me.  I get moved to tears EVERY SINGLE TIME I hear this song.  That's awkward when you are on a treadmill in a gym with other people btw. Just sayin'. :) Michael W Smith has had, and continues to have, a BRILLIANT career.  One of the first to provide the masses of Christians with contemporary Christian music he has spanned the years by managing to stay mostly up to date!  The past few years have found him mostly providing the Church with incredible worship music.  It's my favorite "phase" of his.  While back in the day I listened to his pop stuff I eventually got tired of it, perhaps due to an increase in good music finally coming out of Christians.  But when he started coming out with worship I started liste

Shhhhhhh.  I know a "secret" about Red.  What?  You want to know what it is?  Well, I guess they won't mind.  I suppose I can tell you.  You know how the band Red tours bars and such?  Is on the secular top 40?  Played on metal stations?  You know?  Well...well...they are...CHRISTIANS!  GASP!  :)  Ha!  So the band Red pretty much rocks.  I began my love with them during this song's airplay.  Interesting sidenote: Red uses and endorses Westone Music Products - the company my hub works for - and they stopped by Westone a year or so ago in their big ole tour bus and Lanny got to meet them.  Pretty cool.  Down to earth guys who love Jesus and play/sing hard rock.  :) But back to the song.  So, it's a love song...I think.  I'm always unsure if it is a love song between man and woman or between us and God.  Because I'm in a happy and satisfying marriage I have always looked at it as a song between God and I.  Whatev.  So many of the lyrics communicate my hea

Audrey Assad?  Huh?  Who?!  Audrey Assad the gifted, the amazing voice, the talented songwriter that's who!  :)  Not new to the music scene but new enough that not many have heard of her.  She's a Christian and so her songs come from that place of faith.  Good good stuff.  I picked this song because of the picture it paints.  God is a master renovator, remodeler (yes it's a word in my world let it go!), transformer of lives.  We wander around trying to find a home to fit into and he has built us one.  The one we build ourselves usually gets washed away by the storms of life because we build on sand.  But God is the cornerstone and our firm foundation.  When we plant ourselves on him the storms of life can't move us.  (See Matthew7:24-27)  We are homeless until we make him our home.  The House You're Building

This'll get your blood pumping!  David Crowder apparently has a love for bluegrass and is so unique and funky that you can't help but smile and be happy listening/singing.  I figured on a Monday we needed something to get our blood pumping!  :)  Originally done by Hank Williams it was known back in the day as a camp revival song of sorts.  I love it (doesn't surprise you does it?).  It makes me think of Saul when he was traveling the Damascus road and Jesus met him there, blinded him, and saved him.  He had to become blind in order to see the light.  He got a name change and became one the most most well-respected apostles ever to spread the good news of Jesus.   All of us need to have our own Damascus road experience with Jesus.  And in figurative, or maybe literal in some cases, ways we all need to be blinded by Jesus in order to see the light.  We might not all get new names for others to hear and know but God names each of us according to what/who he knows we really a

Happy Palm Sunday! Today is the day we, in the Christian church, celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem.  Today is a day of celebration but the rest of the week is one of confusion, fear, and the appearance of defeat but really ultimate victory.  As Jesus entered Jerusalem, on the back of a donkey, the crowds applauded him and publicly shouted out who he was - King of kings and Lord of lords.  The people, including children, laid down their cloaks and waved palm branches and held a good "old-fashioned" parade for Jesus Christ.  It is called the triumphant entry because of the public acknowledgement of his status, of who he really is.   As we head into a week that the Christian church has chosen to collide with the pagan holiday of Easter we have choices to make.  Will we, today, praise Jesus and yet at the end of this week turn from praising him and instead praising chocolate bunnies and colored eggs and a bunny?  I don't necessari

Happy 40th Birthday to my Sunshine! :)  I guess this song generally refers to men - women relationships but I have always heard it sung in the context of parent - child relationships or in this case friend to friend relationship! One of my besties, Sara Lynn Pfaff, has the smile and personality of sunshine in my life (and I suspect in the lives of others as well...).  I call her my Sunshine and I often will sing this song to her (chorus only) over the phone, type it on her FB wall, etc.  Sara's laugh, her beautiful smile, her amazing personality, her generous heart and her love for God make her pure Sunshine.  I love this woman deeply.  Sara and I are besties by God's grace alone, we have quite a friendship testimony.  Ask either one of us about it sometime, we are happy to share!  Today is Sara's 40th birthday.  She begins a new chapter in the story of her life as she begins a new decade.  I'm excited for her because I believe God is going to do some amazing, une

While I haven't heard the full song in a years every so often parts of it randomly play through my mind.  I love this song.  I love Extreme.  I especially love the guitar playing in this song.  (I dated a guitar player all through high school which explains my affinity for the guitar.)  Can we please just talk about how amazing Nuno Bettancourt is?  I mean c'mon.  The guy knows how to play guitar! In fact, he's so amazing I've included a clip of him playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" today as well.  :) But about the song.  I love this because the writers of the song, Nuno and Gary Cherone (lead singer of Extreme), nailed the whole relationship thing.  It always has to be more than words.  Words mean nothing if actions don't back them up.  I also love this song because it's "stripped down" - acoustic - and everything about it is compelling.  Vocals, lyrics, music.  Yeah, this song is amazing no matter what year we are in! Timeless... More

So back in their heyday I sure did love Skid Row.  Okay, fine.  I still dig them!  Sebastian Bach can hit high notes like nobody's business.  The guy that immediately comes to mind that could do that these days is James Durbin from this season's AI.  James could totally pull off Sabastian's high notes.  Anyway.  Something about Skid Row I always liked.  I don't know if it was a combo of their music and their songs or what but their sounds just gets me!  Sabastian has gone on to do a bit of acting alongside of his music.  He was in Gilmore Girls off and on for a few seasons and I must admit I was thrilled to see him!  I felt like a giggly Skid Row fan getting a glimpse of the star.  HA! You know a lot of the bands of the late 80's/early 90's got a lot of grief for being "pop" rock and all but go below their big hair and bad makeup and there was some definite talent.  Sebastian Bach falls into the talent category for sure.   I Remember You (Remember Y

My friend Rick asked me if Jim Croce was "before my time". HA! Okay well he might of been but I never would have known the difference since this is the music I grew up on! :)  Now I will say that I know Jim from "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" so today is a two-fer! I've made today's song, officially, the song Rick jotted down for me but I've also included Bad Bad Leroy Brown.  :)  Confession:  I liked Bad Bad Leroy Brown when I was younger because I could say "damn" and use the song as an excuse.  Tee hee hee.  Seriously!  But back to the official song of the day, which I have never heard but really like!  The song makes me think of the question I heard recently (or maybe read - either way), "In a relationship, does one love more than the other?"  Does one person in the couple love more than the other?  Maybe?  But maybe it's a two-way street.  Maybe one loves more in some ways and the other person loves more in different ways.  This song

Today's song is for my official teenager, Mikaela.  :)  She loves this song and I do too.  And interestingly enough she loves this song for the same reasons I do!  See, Mikaela gets it - so far.  She gets that true beauty comes from inside.  She's always telling me about things her friends say to her and what she says back to them.  This is such a "sticky" age.  Girls trying to figure out body issues and who they want to be versus who they are, etc.  Lanny and I pray that Mikaela always has the healthy mindset and perspective about her looks and body that she has right now.  She uses makeup because it's fun, not because she must have it.  She understands that when she looks in the mirror she's looking at the body God designed and she has choices to be a good steward of it.  She gets that in order to take care of yourself you have to eat but what you eat is important.  That's all the external but Mikaela gets the internal.  She understands the scope of puri

So my friend Jason sometimes plays this song on repeat, playing it over and over.  There's a lot of things you can take from this song.  I'm gonna go the route of the actual day of Monday.  Poor Monday, it gets such a bad rap!  In the song they sing, "Damn* your mood swings..." hahahahaha!  Isn't that just like a Monday?  It takes on many moods throughout the day.  And mood swings can be exhausting.  The thing about them is we are never observers of mood swings, we seem to always be active participants in some way!  So happy Monday, here's to the least amount of mood swings as possible!  :) Monday Monday Monday *So sorry for the possible offense of that word or the fact that in the video the monkey is, well, flipping off what I assume to be the day Monday.  

Isn't it strange how a song enters into your head even though you haven't thought of it or heard it in months or even years?  That's what happened with this song.  Late last night I was laying in bed and suddenly this song began playing in my head.  My favorite parts of this hymn are the lines, "Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer....Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer....Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations! Son of God and Son of Man! Glory and honor, praise adoration, now and forevermore be thine!"  I adore singing this hymn with people of like mind and heart, I adore singing it on my own when I'm contemplating the wonder of God, I love the tune of it, the praise of it.  Written off of Psalm 45:2 which says, "Thou art fairer than the children of men" it extols Jesus as the perfect one.  And he is the perfect one.  This alternately offends people and compels people.  Needing someone to save us from ourselves offends but when we cross from offens

This song makes me think of my hub.  I am forever telling him how blind he is! Everyday he's telling me how beautiful he thinks I am.  He's nuts.  :)  He gets "mad" at me when I don't thank him.  *Rolling eyes* But I think this is the song he would sing to me because he really believes it.  What I have done to deserve a man who thinks I'm beautiful at every stage of life - fat, thin, first off in the morning, late at night and all the in betweens is beyond me!  I did nothing to deserve him so I guess he is another example of God's grace in my life.  :)  Lanny believes I am beautiful just the way I am and I believe he is still as blind as a bat!  HA!  But this is a great song and I love a man that thinks his woman is beautiful no matter what.  Because it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so much of what we possess on the inside makes us beautiful on the outside.  There's that movie, Shallow Hal, that I actually really like because i

This is a great song.  And Lanny suggested it today, he likes one version in particular but I couldn't find it on YouTube and aren't savvy enough to make my own video so it's the original which is GREAT!  I love the original by Johnny Nash.  The original is always the best as far as I'm concerned.  :)  I think Lanny suggested this because he isn't tethered any longer to O2 and IV tubes, etc.  There is something about being freer once you don't have those tubes holding you back.  :) In the Bible God talks a lot about new days and such.  This song reminds me of those particular verses.  Everyday God's mercies and compassions are new for us, everyday is a gift from him, we aren't to think about future days just the day we are in.  (Lamentations 3, Psalm 118, Matthew 6)  Have a great day! I Can See Clearly Now

Mandisa.  What a voice!  Thanks to one of my bestie's, Jodi, for putting this song on my radar.  It's just what I need, and perhaps you do too, to uplift me and get me through today and looking at tomorrow!  Best words to utter are, "Oh, my Lord...." and then fill in the blank with what you need.  He will fill it according to his knowledge of you.  He will raise you up, lift you up, rescue you, give you the grip you think you have lost.  I love this song, the tempo, the affirmation of God's goodness.  Great song to get you through this day!  Thanks RoJo!  Oh, My Lord

My good friend, Brandon, is driving from the East Coast to the West Coast this week in a move that has been in the making for a few years.  He's going west to pursue dreams he has been patiently building.  And the west is where he will begin to really realize his dreams.  All week I've had the phrase "Go West Young Man" stuck in my head when I think about the courage Brandon has to make this move.  I'm so proud of him for taking the chances and the risks anyone has to take if they want to see their dreams become reality.  Brandon is a movie dude.  He reviews them, he talks about them, hosts an insanely cool Oscar party every year and now he's gonna write one!  I love this song because it seems like the soundtrack to Brandon's road adventure this week, traveling west to pursue the dream.  So B, go west but just know I'm also expecting the great American novel to come from you at some point as well! :) Go West, Young Man

I was born in 1974.  This song had already been around for 2 years! :) Yet I grew up hearing it and I know it well.  I am forever grateful to my parents for raising me up on "oldies"!   So Stevie Wonder. Wonder is pretty much right on!  He's so amazing.  He and Ray Charles are two of my fave's and in part because they haven't allowed anything to get in the way of their talent and sharing that talent.  Stevie has a great voice, plays the piano like a dream, and moves to the music with such joy that you can't help but be happy also!  There's so many songs I could have picked to showcase from Stevie, and I will probably put him back on the experiment, but this one?  I had to pick this one because I have so many people in my life who are like sunshine to me.  :)  One of them I actually call "my Sunshine"! You Are The Sunshine Of My Life  (Album - 1972) You Are The Sunshine Of My Life  (Live in London - 1974)

So my friend Elena reminded me that she and I, on our way to school in our High School days, would love listening to Nelson.  :)  And we honestly loved Nelson, didn't we Elena?  So today's song is dedicated to Elena because we had such fun driving to school together.  Nelson is compromised of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the sons of Ricky Nelson.  Just for kicks I've included a song of Ricky Nelson's for today so you get the complete picture.  :)  Anyway, Matthew and Gunnar both got a lot of grief back in the days for their long blond locks and looks.  Regardless of their looks they do hail from a great musician and they have the chops.  They are great musicians!  Imagine my surprise when I looked them up online and saw they were still playing, touring, creating.  So I've also included their most recent song from their most recent release.  I will say...they look WAY better today than they did in 1990 when Elena and I would sing at the top of our lungs with them!  :

Oh there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sickened and make whole and the balm is Jesus.  For whatever may ail you Jesus is the cure.  I don't say that lightly or flippantly.  I have seen Jesus be the cure.  I have seen ailments of body, spirit, and soul be touched and healed by the only one who could do it.  There is a balm and he is for all of us, we just need to call out to him.  There Is A Balm In Gilead  (Deborah Liv Johnson) There Is A Balm In Gilead  (Mahalia Jackson)

I went to bed last night with this song on repeat in my head so I figured it had to be today's song to end this theme week. :)  I actually haven't heard this song in ages but back in 1992 when it came out I loved it.  I still do.  It might have been playing in my head and heart because of the current "in sickness and in health" part of our marriage that Lanny and I are walking through.  I've been thinking a lot about those wedding vows this week while watching him in ICU.  And this song backs up those wedding vows.  I love George Strait, Lanny calls him Wilbur Crooked.  Tee hee hee  George is the essence of country music.  He exudes it before even opening his mouth.  He is everything good and right about country music.  His voice is smooth, his abilities as a musician is amazing, and ladies c'mon - he's pretty sexy.  :) Lanny won't mind me saying that because it is Lanny that I live my life with and sleep with every night!  I cross my heart and prom

Oh my gosh.  I cannot believe how difficult it was to find authentic Garth Brooks on YouTube amongst the gazillions of covers done! Sheesh!  I don't want covers, I want the real deal!  I cannot help but love Garth Brooks.  I have several of his CDs and I love him!  He's another one whose voice carried me to and from my job at The Glen Eyrie back in the day.  This song was especially impactful winding through the dark roads of The Glen toward the Castle. I have very clear memories of listening to it while driving those roads. So strange what kind of memories stick with us.  By now it won't surprise you that one of the reasons I love Garth and this song is because of the story it tells.  The comparisons are great.  Garth.  One of the best, maybe ever.  The Thunder Rolls