The Blessings of Christian Hope

Pierce Pettis and Eric Fiedor wrote an incredible Christian hope song with beautiful images to our lives on earth interweaved with our daily walk & struggles in life. My church group ACTS has covered it a couple of times and I have shared it with Pierce enough to know that he would be fine to broadcast this video on youtube. I don't claim trademark to anything in the song or the video... just a mere guitar player. If a photo obtained thru google search is found to be a problem we will remove this.

I did also not do this to sell ACTS music, but rather introduce you to a wonderful song that you can find on iTunes by Pierce or a fantastic cover by Carolyn Arends. Please for your sake, and your congregations, look this song up, buy it and cover it during lent..... this is what it's all about Christians... not arguing over some verse or theological point. We're saved, and we should have the hope for our future in heaven.



I’ve Got a Hope
Eric Fiedor & Pierce Pettis

Man is born to trouble
All the days of his life
As the sparks fly upward
From bonfires at night
They fill up the heavens
With pin points of light
And I've got a hope
That is not in this world

Time, it is turning
Like a plow in the field
It roots up the earth
And what's hidden is revealed
Sowing the future
While the past, it is sealed
I've got a hope
That is not in this world

Half of the battle
Is only with myself
While the other half
Is something I can't help

Lest I should stumble
I try not to forget
That every hair is numbered
Every footstep, every breath
And this life that I'm living
It will not end in death
I've got a hope
That is not in this world

I've got a hope that is not in this world

©9/21/00 Cal IV. Publishing/Slapfight Songs (ASCAP) all rights reserved

And we're all lucky enough to have a chance to hear Carolyn live doing the song

The Blessings of Charity and Faith...

We are the World 1985 and one of the most successful joint efforts of musicians and while they didn't save the world they did generate resources and one fantastic video. It was fun to look back, but let us not forget charity is something to live daily and locally. Yes I know they have an updated one for Haiti... another great cause. Here's my bias, I won't know anymore than a few on that video.



When I started this blessing thread it was going to end with Faith, Hope and Love; and I knew the Faith song that has been in my bones recently. David Tamulevich of Mustard's Retreat forwarded his song "Simple Faith" to a collection of friends of Christine Kane, and I had the chance to hear it for the first time. (I too was on that collection.) Wow it has instantly become a favorite of mine. Simple Faith is on their "MR7" 2005 cd and has Jan Krist or Kerrie Porter singing a beautiful female harmony. Here is a great review of the cd.

I love how they describe the song as laws to live by :

"...There is no Hell to fear. No judgment day drawing near
Trust that inner voice you hear, everyday
Life's not a goal or race, it's about heart and faith
And living a life of grace. Everyday..."

Then how about this endorsement:

" I have heard the song. Simple Faith, and think its wonderful......It's a fine album, my friend. Congratulations." - Peter Yarrow, Peter, Paul & Mary

I highly recommend you buy at least the song on iTunes for inspiration for when you need it...

A lenten blog journey...

I'm definitely appreciated for walking to a different drummer at church, and after I posted Tom Russell's Ash Wednesday song to my blog on Ash Wednesday.... then Thursday had Thursday's Child, and Friday a JJ Cale song called Friday... you get the picture... I decided to post a song a day in my TheZemmyShow.blogspot blog for all of lent. Each week I would change the theme. This week it belongs on this blog because it's about Blessings.... I will use this blog to catch up on all the blessings so far...

The Blessing of Grace:

Grace is defined in Christianity as the free and unmerited favor or beneficence of God. Free, ah yes I can appreciate that, and unmerited, yep I resemble that. Funny it did take me a long time to appreciate the word when I heard it used more frequently when I moved from Roman Catholic to ELCA Protestant.

This week's daily song blog is going to look at blessings, and with Grace I needed to go to one of my favorite folk / country songwriters, Pierce Pettis. Pierce is also a Christian and is not shy to use it in his songs. In state of Grace he takes on growing up Christian in his home state of Alabama where the tension of racism is also real.



The Blessing of Everyday Miracles....

Let's just say this could the blessing of new life, old life, that toaster and coffee maker working in the morning, and a warm shower. When I was looking for a video of Sara Grove's song, "Everyday Miracles"... I came across this wonderful video; and while I'm normally not known to post heartwarming stuff... this one is too cute and also too on track to the theme not to post it. The video in front of church tagged to the end of this is fun to watch too.

Seeds for Serving and Sharing

“We are just seeds in God’s hands,
We start the same, but where we land
Is sometimes fertile soil, sometime sand
We’re all just seeds in God’s hands.” By Pat Alger

Oh this song has talked to me for a long time, so when our Natural Church Development team agreed to hand out Seeds for Serving and Sharing it immediately came to my mind. Yes we’re going to hand out seed money of $10 to each family or individual to turn it into a loving project of serving and sharing. While a goal would be to reap a harvest for many of our service ministries we have going through out the church a month later; the real mission is working within a group with that is hopefully crossed generational to nurture the gift. As the song reminds us, we are the fertile soil that our gifts and children have landed.

Cash, so the church is going to give ME cash? Yes, we are looking for you to join groups and create FUNdraising ideas that for say the cost of the ingredients or supplies you reap the harvest of say a bake sale, a work project, or event. Feel free to start organizing teams and pooling your seed money together. The money will be handed out the weekends of September 13 & 20, and we’ll have more to say about it the two weeks prior. This joint project between our NCD group and the Mission Support team will then recap the stories as the money plus as it returned in late October, in a service updates thru October and on the weekend of November 8th.

We willl add more ways to foster passionate Spirituality & loving relationships within small groups to this blog as time goes on. We hope you find ways to do God’s Work with Your Hands.

Ellie & Leela Grace

I saw this tonight... and just had to add the Grace Sisters dancing to the blog.... Maybe next time




Here's the original post....


So I am officially old, when I remember first meeting Leela and Ellie Grace, they were some where around 9-13 and they touring with their parents. Five years ago I had a wild Idea when they were scheduled to play at the Great River Folk Fest, I invited them to play at our church. Oh they are not known as Christian artists, but the love, peace, and traditional hymn like sound that they bring; I knew the congregation would love them. They did, and when they came back to the Festival... I threw out the invitation again. Wow... no preparation of which song they would play, they were all wonderfully PERFECT. I couldn't let them leave without a photo op.

You shouldn't let them leave without checking out the beautiful harmonies, and rich traditional sound in their many originals.



or Leela's bouncing video with her rich song of healing "This is my Family"

Seeds by Pat Alger

I so love this song... I believe I first heard it covered by Nanci Griffith but I did end getting Pat's version on a CD of a songwriters behind the songs. I wanted to put a video of the song on our church blog, but there wasn't a version of it in YouTube... now there is... run out and get Nanci's cover... nothing beats a pretty voice and and a pretty lady over this old fool... either way the song rings out as tops.

The official video... watch this one.

and if you are really serious about us placing a good showing... go sign up to comment. http://www.godsworkourhands.org/login.php

Plus once you are there vote for this one... Tim Kolek's parents Don & Sue put an excellent video together and it's a wonderful ministry too.