An Inspirational Story Wrapped in Faith and Music

Gayla Tighe's fall last July 23rd hasn't kept her from returning to her love of the piano. Read her full story here.

She is 57, and music has been her life, her ministry, her way of serving God. Last Easter, she played the pipe organ and piano at all three services at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

"It's not about me," she says. "It's about giving people a glimpse of God through the music that I play." -- Des Moines Register

 

Near-Paradise Experience

I have written about death in this blog before. Go back to the February, 2010 entries. Today, I got this link from my parents. It's a 20-minute message that follows the reading of the Beatitudes. Jeffrey Thompson, a Georgia lawyer, talks about his "near-death experience," but his recounting of a surgery gone terribly wrong is more a near-paradise experience to me. His four takeaways? God loves you more than you ever could know. Commit yourself to be a better person. When you're in Christ, there is no sting in death. Share your Christian faith and promise with others.

Jan. 30 Sermon/Thompson from Trinity UMC on Vimeo.

³⁹One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? ⁴¹We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Hidden Gems

Year after year, we sing the familiar carols. I love "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Can't get enough of "O Come, All Ye Faithful!" And there's nary a dry eye when the lighted candles come out for "Silent Night" at the late church service.

It wasn't until a trip to England in the 1980s that I began to discover that great Christmas music isn't limited to the standards. Here's one you won't hear much on the radio or in the stores:


And my favorite verse:

What can I give him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him —

Give my heart.

Receive the greatest gift the world has ever known this holiday season. And give back your heart.

Golden Words from Girardi on NCAA Silver Honor

"The Evil Empire." The team that's got no gray area for fans ... you either love them or hate them. In baseball, the description fits only one team ... the New York Yankees. How much sweeter a 2009 World Series win would have been for my Philadelphia Phillies had they knocked off the Bronx Bombers, avenging the four-game sweep of 1950 and giving me year-long bragging rights with many of my college friends at Syracuse.

I always love those times when the childish behavior of being a male sports fan gives way to real life, and this morning was one of those times. I urge you to click on this link, then click in the "Words of Wisdom" video box. The first words you hear will be those of Joe Girardi, current Yankees manager, and one of six star-studded individuals who will be honored this year with the very prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards. Some guy named Bo Jackson is getting one, too.

For Girardi, life boils down to James 1:2-3

²Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

The words of the other five honorees are inspirational as well, so don't stop after Girardi. Unfortunately, I'll never be able to look at him with "The Evil Empire" in mind ... wait, make that fortunately.

Faith

Life for the Norton family changed in a big way the afternoon of October 16, 2010.

While covering a kickoff for Luther College, freshman Chris Norton suffered a serious neck injury that, at first, gave him a 3% chance of ever walking again. The story has gained national attention not just because of the severity of the injury but because that same day Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand suffered a major neck injury that left him paralyzed. The college football world continues to pray for both young men, and the inspirational comeback of Chris Norton is chronicled daily by his family on a Caring Bridge website.

Chris's father, Terry, posted an entry today. Here's an excerpt:

I should be in bed trying to get some sleep but I had some things on my mind.  I was thinking about the word "faith".  Sometimes we like to use words that sound "catchy" but really have no substance or meaning to us.  I have been involved in sports all of my life and have watched people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk.  They use words like "heart", "competitor", "winner", but what I have found is that we all look good and sound believable when things are going well.  It is easy to talk about these things when things are going our way, and we are "front runners".  But where these words really have meaning is when things don't follow our plan, when things don't go like we want them to, or when we are truly faced with adversity and the wheels are falling off. The world is full of good "intentions".

When I talk about "faith", it is not a general I have faith in the future, or faith in good luck, or faith in my own abilities. My "faith" is based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  And because of this faith, I welcome what tomorrow has to bring for us.

 Bring on tomorrow!

"Oh Happy Day"

Why, on a 1990s trip to Lexington, did a friend and I make the time for a trip to Claiborne Farms? To see a grave? Of a horse? Because this was the greatest race horse of all time. Secretariat ended a 25-year Triple Crown drought in the most dramatic way. Two come-from-behind wins at Churchill Downs and Pimlico, and then the eye-popping 31-length win at Belmont Park. Go see the recently release movie if you get a chance. You'll get an inspirational story with lots of laughs, and you'll even get a spiritual bath. At a couple of points, the gospel song, "Oh Happy Day" rings throughout the theater.

(Oh happy day
Happy, happy day)
Oh happy day
Oh what a happy day
When Jesus washed
When He washed
When my Jesus washed my sins away
Talking bout a happy day

Oh happy day
Talking bout a happy day
When Jesus washed
I'm so glad He washed
When Jesus washed my sins away

Oh what a happy day
He taught me how to watch to watch and pray
To live rejoicing every day
Each and every day
My Lord
Oh what a happy day
Oh happy day
Oh what a happy day
When Jesus washed
I'm so glad He washed
When my Jesus washed all my sins away
Oh it was a happy day

Oh happy day
Lord what a happy day
When I get to heaven
I'm gonna spread the news
Jesus washed my sins away
Yes it was a happy day
All because Jesus
Oh You are my happy day
Cause one day You washed
I'm so glad that You washed
Yes one day You washed all my sins
You washed my sins away
What a happy day

He taught me how to watch to watch and pray
To live rejoicing every day
Each and every day
My Lord
Oh what a happy day
Oh happy day
Oh what a happy day
When Jesus washed
I'm so glad He washed
When my Jesus washed all my sins away
Oh it was a happy day

I can remember goose bumps when I stood in front of that animal's grave, but that was nothing compared to the goose bumps of "I'm so glad he washed; When Jesus washed my sins away."

Hallelujah!

Thanks to a friend, who sent this to me. Not until I read the Bible in a year (thanks to an online "pacer") did I know from whence Handel's words came. Try Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 40 and Psalm 24:7-10 for starters, and, of course, Revelation 19 and 11 for the words of, just maybe, the greatest piece of music ever written ... certainly one of the most beloved. Enjoy a "Random Act of Culture" and don't miss the comments below, either. Most are reactions to the inspiration of it all, but rage can be invoked even in the most inappropriate moments. I prefer to leave it to G.F. Handel's own words when he talked about the writing of Messiah:

I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God Himself.

From the looks on some of the people's faces in Center City Philadelphia's Macy's (formerly the old Wanamaker's ... with the largest pipe organ in the world), I'd say God was really showing off on October 30th.