I was first exposed to Frou Frou (and subsequently Imogen Heap, now one of my favorites) through the movie “Garden State” (Zach Braff’s (J.D. from Scrubs) first attempt at directing).  This was probably the only time that I have ever specifically wanted to see a movie solely upon hearing a song from it.  Not gonna give a ton of info on this one… just a video montage of clips from the film set to the song.

The Afters are a Dallas-based band that are on the INO label (MercyMe, Skillet, P.O.D., Derek Webb, Addison Road) and had pretty good success with their first “major-label” release, I Wish We All Could Win. Their song, “Beautiful Love,” became the theme song for an MTV show and they went quickly from being locally recognized to sudden “overnight success.” I met them in Colorado at GMA a couple of years ago and after hearing them live decided that I just HAD to have the album. The song, “Wait,” was the one that REALLY captured me… great album in general, but that song did it for me. The Afters have just released a new album entitled Never Going Back to OK (which means, of course, that any Afters fans of Tulsa will just have to drive to another state to see them and have a pretty fun song and video that has been making its rounds on MySpace… appropriately entitled, “MySpace Girl.” Anyhow – here is a YouTube video of a live performance of the song “Wait.” It is certainly not the best performance I have heard of it and I much prefer the album version, but it gives you some idea about it.

I met some wonderful people today at the Dallas Life Foundation.  Ten of us from the church went to volunteer our time and energy to serve food, wash dishes, and minister to the people living there.  One of them that I met was named Calvin Holmes.  Calvin and I shared lunch and conversation and I learned a great deal from speaking with him.  He was born in Denver sixty years ago and has lived a full and interesting life.  He joined the Army at the age of seventeen and was stationed in Louisiana where he began to experience prejudice for basically the first time in his life.  He can vividly recall some trying moments of living through a time of racial tension and unrest.  Calvin said that he has worked at nearly every job under the sun, including carpentry work, truck driving, working at a print shop, and being a cross-country bus driver (from which he is now retired).  He intends to go on vacation to Denver on the first of June and, if I understood correctly, he hopes to not come back as most of his family still lives in the area.  We discussed music as well… he said he is a “big fan of Madonna’s music.  Calvin accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior several years ago and he said that he doesn’t worry about much any more.  He described it as not just “cleaning out his closet, but really getting in there and dusting it all out.”  He also said that he thought “a person’s character is reflected in their eyes.”  I think he’s probably right about that for most people (does that change the way that you look at a person when you speak to them?).  One thing I can say about Calvin is that he has an awful lot of light bursting out of him and it was a sincere blessing to meet him.  Calvin also introduced me to a guy named Will.  Will loves comic books and drawing and music and just has a general passion for life.  I believe that his ultimate desire is to draw for an occupation… he’s been studying for that purpose.  I’m looking forward to speaking further with Will about a few things.

I also met an awesome family… the Bishop’s and Woerner’s (and Joseph… whose last name I didn’t catch) basically originate in the Maryland area near Baltimore and have also lived in the eastern Tennessee area.  Their son, Michael, had his last name (Bishop) tattooed on his right arm… they seemed to be a very tight and loving family.  Once again, there was light and life just absolutely flowing from this family and I look forward to speaking with them again.  I am working out details to do a concert/service at the DLF on a Monday night in the near future and I am very excited about the ministry that the foundation is doing.

Woud you pray for each of these people with me?  Father, thank you for Calvin Holmes and the life that he lives in You.  Help guide Calvin in your truth and in your path and help him to continue to shine Your light into the lives of everyone that he meets.  I pray that you will bless him in his endeavors and that you will make clear the direction that you desire for him to take in his life.  Thank you also for the exuberance and passion that I saw in Will today.  Help him to take his gifts and use them for Your purposes and for Your kingdom.  Bless him.  And thank You so much for the loving family that I met.  Keep them steadfast in Your will and as close or closer than I saw them today.  Bless them, guide and direct them.  Give each of these people a sense of peace and comfort.  Thank you for allowing each of them to change my life in a positive way just a little bit today.  Thank you for the grace that covers all of us and bonds us all together through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.  It’s in His Name that I pray for these… Amen.

So, I have decided to begin a series of sharing with each of you some of my most favorite songs… they may be recent favorites, all-time favorites, or even rotational favorites. I am doing this for a number of reasons… many of which are very personal, but I feel that I NEED to do this to help me better understand some things about myself. I will try to give you as much information about each song as I possibly can… or at least what it is about the song that has impacted me so greatly. When I feel like it, I will provide info on the artist/composer/singer as well as lyrics and, when available, a sound or video clip. Perhaps you will be exposed to some stuff with which you are unfamiliar… if not, you will gain some form of insight into the music that keeps me ticking. Without further ado…………

Sufjan Stevens (pronounced Soof-yahn) is an incredibly gifted and complex individual. I won’t waste time trying to give you my version of his bio… click his name and read it at his label Asthmatic Kitty. He will end up having several songs on my list, but since I was listening to “Abraham” this morning, I will speak of it. The song appears on the album, Seven Swans, released on the Sounds Familyre label. You can currently purchase the album on vinyl from the label, on CD elsewhere (like Amazon), or on iTunes (here is the link to the song).The song deals with the story in Genesis 22 of Abraham taking his son, Isaac, up Mount Moriah to sacrifice him because God asked him to do so. God sent an angel at the last minute just as Abraham was about to kill his ONLY SON and provided a ram instead to complete the sacrifice until the day when God would send His ONLY SON, Jesus, as the ultimate and final sacrifice.  This story is important for a number of reasons and I think Sufjan does a fairly good job of covering a good deal of them in a 2 1/2 minute song. Enjoy the video and words…

Abraham.
Worth a righteous one.
Take upon the wood. Put it on your Son.
Leg of Lamb.
There is none to harm.
When the angel came you had raised your arm.

Abraham.
Put off on your son.
Take instead the ram until Jesus comes.