A Musical Giveaway!

“I will never leave you, or forsake you

Know that I am with you; you will never be alone…”

These words can be heard flowing through our house at many different times of the week – during quiet time, on Sabbath morning, while rocking the baby, and whenever stresses mount. The words are set to the music of Jay Stocker on the album “Hidden in My Heart: A Lullaby Journey through Scripture”

This volume of scriptures set to music quickly became a favorite in our home as soon as we heard it over a year ago. The scriptures of encouragement and comfort that are set to absolutely beautiful music have blessed our family so much. I actually labored to these lullabies while delivering Emma at home. A second volume of lullabies has just been released and we already love that one, too.

The lullabies are not only for babies. Everyone in our family has appreciated them equally. As a musician. I really appreciate the musicianship put into these CDs. (For example, the singers are accompanied by a real orchestra rather than by synthesizers like so many lullaby CDs.)

I would love to share one of these albums with your family, so I decided to have a little giveaway this week. Two winners will receive their choice of either a hard copy CD or a digital download of either Volume 1 or Volume 2 of Scripture Lullabies. 

If you’d like to enter this giveaway, here is what you have to do:

1. Go to the Scripture Lullabies website and click on the icons of the two albums.

There you can listen to clips of songs from the albums.While you’re at the website, be sure to download your free full-length lullaby by clicking on the tab called “Free Lullabies”. Also, you can watch a short video about making Volume II HERE.

2. Come back to my blog and leave a comment letting me know which album you would like to win.

You can also tell me which song you like the best! (My favorite from Vol. 1 is “I Will Never Leave You” and from Vol. 2 “Wonderfully Made”)

3. If you’d like to have *2* entries into this giveaway, post about my giveaway on your own Facebook or blog.

Come back and let me know after you’ve posted and I’ll enter your name twice.

The giveaway will end on Sunday, February 12th at midnight. The winners will be posted on Monday, Feb 13th.

If you already own this album, feel free to enter to win a copy to share with someone else!

I’m so excited to have this opportunity to share this great music with you!

Creation Calls

This beautiful video is well worth clicking over to see. Gather your children around and marvel at some of the awesome works of our Creator…

 

“How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small…

…I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”

Psalm 104: 24-25, 33

Children’s Book Monday: Blue Moo

…We interrupt our regularly scheduled Children’s Book Monday review to bring you something a bit different, a bit zany, a bit fun…

Do your children love Sandra Boynton’s books? Her Pajama Time, Barnyard Dance, and Hey, Wake Up! have been favorites in our home for the toddler set for years. A few years ago, we discovered that Sandra also has produced four musical album/book sets and we love them! Today I wanted to share with you our favorite of the four:  

Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never.

Sandra’s trademark witty prose and descriptive illustrations that make her books great are present along with catchy music inspired by the jukebox music of the 50′s and early 60′s. This book/album is for all ages (and I’m not just saying that). Children love the catchy and upbeat music and funny lyrics, and children at heart will recognize many of their favorite artists from long ago singing away just as they did in the “good old days”. From Amazon.com’s review:

Put a nickel in the jukebox, assuming you can locate a jukebox, and that you remember what a nickel is. Here’s legendary Beach Boy Brian Wilson singing lead and 10-part harmonies on “Speed Turtle.” The incomparable Neil Sedaka crooning “Your Nose.” B. B. King brings you a wistful “One Shoe Blues,” Gerry and the Pacemakers offer “Mersey Lullaby,” and relative newcomer (in this seasoned company) Patti LuPone of “Evita” fame sings—what else—the “Rabbit Tango.” And then there’s the hit single from Boynton’s Your Personal Penguin sung by the impossibly cute Davy Jones of The Monkees. I mean jeepers, even Sha Na Na is here.

My kids love it because:

• The music is fun!
• The lyrics are funny!
• They can follow along in the book while they sing with the CD

I love it because:

• The music is fun and very catchy
• The lyrics are very witty as opposed to some (unnamed) children’s music albums that can be a bit mind-numbing!
• My children are exposed to a great style of music and great singers that they might otherwise not hear unless we can locate some old records
• The songbook is divided into 2 sections - the first has all the lyrics and illustrations and the second has real music to play (melody & guitar chords). Dan has been recruited to play many of these on his guitar and Abigail loves to play the melodies.

I’m not really one to buy music “just for kids” because I believe that children can and do enjoy the same music as adults. However, this album and the others done by Boynton are just excellent. They are comprised of REAL music and that makes a big difference!

Here is a 10 minute mini-documentary called Behind the Moosic: The Making of Blue Moo that we enjoyed watching after checking the book/album out of the library. It will give you a good idea of the type of songs and illustrations you can expect from this great album. 

(Be sure to pause the music on the sidebar first!)

Be sure to look for her other albums, too. They are all great!

Dog Train

Philadelphia Chickens 

Rhinoceros Tap

…We now return you to our regularly scheduled Children’s Book Monday…

Don’t forget to visit Elise for her weekly book review, too!

Happy singing (and reading)!!

For my past reviews, click HERE.

Gratitude

One of my favorites:

 

Gratitude
by Nicole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
‘Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You’ll provide in other ways
And if that’s the case . . .

(Chorus)

We’ll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger’s view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You’ll provide in other ways
And if that’s the case . . .

(Chorus)

We’ll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that’s the case . . .

(Chorus)

We’ll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

The Word is Alive

There are so many contemporary Christian songs out today that focus so much on us – our everyday struggles and trials, backsliding, lack of faith, etc, etc, etc. If I dare say so, sometimes I think that the focus is a little off on many of these songs.

“The Word is Alive” has a different focus. The subject matter is the Word of God itself – the place where we can find the answers to the questions and struggles that we have. The song gives honor to the Word, just like David did in Psalm 119.

I’m not sure if this song is played on the radio waves much, but it’s my favorite from Casting Crowns’ newest album, The Altar and the Door. (By the way, this is as wild as we get around here as far as music goes – both Dan and my rock music-lovin’ days are long gone!)

This video shows beautiful scenes from God’s creation as the music is playing. I hope you enjoy it!

[Be sure to turn my regular music off on the sidebar first! Lyrics can be found below the video.]

The Word is Alive 

Looking out from His throne
The Father of light and of men
Chose to make Himself known
And show us the way back to him

Speaking wisdom and truth
Into the hearts of peasants and Kings
He began to unveil
The Word that would change the course of all things

With eyes wide open all would see

Chorus:

The Word is alive
And it cuts like a sword through darkness
With a message of life to the hopeless and the frail
Breathing life into all who believe

The Word is alive
And the world and its glories will fade
But His truth it will not pass away
It remains yesterday and forever the same
The Word is alive

Simple strokes on a page
Eternity’s secrets revealed
Carried on from age to age
It speaks truth to us even still

As the rain falls from heaven
Feeds the earth before it returns
Lord, let your Word fall on us
And bring forth the fruit You deserve

With eyes wide open let us see

(Chorus)
The bible was inscribed over a period of 2000 years
In times of war and in days of peace
By kings, physicians, tax collectors, farmers, fishermen, singers and shepherds
The marvel is that a library so perfectly cohesive
Could have been produced by such a diverse crowd
Over a period of time which staggers the imagination
Jesus is its grand subject, our good its design and the Glory of God is its end

(Chorus)