No-Body
Guests
AllforMJ, thanks a lot for 'getting' my twisted sense of humor. I knew I could count on ya. 
Don't even worry about posting, family comes first. I ain't got any kids yet, so I can only imagine what it's like to have them runnin round the house and runnin THE house, cause at the end of the day, they do rule, right? No matter how much 'discipline' us adults might instill, they still get their way, don't day? I know the kid in me does that with my folks even at my age, so I can only imagine what it's like with teenagers, that's what u got, if my memory service right, ain't it?
Great to hear about them praise songs Michael was working on in 2004. Never really had a doubt about his faith in the Lord, he was living his faith a lot more than many of us who call ourselves Christian, but to imagine that put into music, simply heavenly......
As I said, do NOT get me started on the Bashir fellow. Life has strange twists about it, ya know? One day I might just give that sucker a piece of me mind and let me assure y'all that the particular piece I got in mind ain't nice. But since it it Christmas, let's comeback to more cheerful tones, shall we?
I am sure for many of us this Christmas will be special and many will be thinking with a lot of sadness about Michael. I DARE you to go beyond your pain. Cry all you want, if u must, let it all out, but after that 'session' sit and think and smile. I am sure Michael would not want you to be sad.
Try and remember only the good, celebrate his life, enjoy his work and above all, follow his example in being the best at whatever is your calling, whilst serving the Lord and helping those less fortunate. Earlier today I was going through a folder with pictures of his and I had made a selection with some favorites over the years, but I won't post them now, i'll leave those for another day. But I do want to post one which I think sums him up nicely.
To all of you who hurting beyond relief and apparently beyond escape – remember that he was one silly, funny man (e.g. the pic above – there wasn't anythin fake about them dirrrty arse mismatched socks, but somethin tells me that the hat and them shoes are placed wayyy 2 strategically for them not to have been 'directed' there lol) who happened to be one of the greatest artists to ever grace the face of the earth. But beyond all the fame and glory, he was a simple, sweet man trying to serve His Lord and use his talent, fame and money in the name of love. It is unfortunate he didn't always receive it in return, but as he has shown us all – we must NEVER give up in the face of adversity and we must always be ready to give a helping hand.
There is sooooo much that still needs to be done on this earth of (h)ours. All we need to do, is look around at the misery surrounding us. What Michael did above and beyond any other achievement was to point our attention to those very issues. Will we listen???
And now, for some Christmas music and lyrics, folks. Earlier in the morn I was looking for some gregorian music when I ran into this lil marvel. She's only three, but she is totally adorable doing her version of 'Sanctus' – an element of the Catholic mass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNiZ5xG4_M&feature=related
This is what she is singing:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, Hosanna in excelsis.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.* Hosanna to God in the highest,
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.* Hosanna to God in the highest.
Here goes a gregorian version of Our Lord's prayer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krrvQuesZRI&feature=related
A wonderful Christmas recording I discovered recently is – the Christmas guest, by Johnny Cash. With the risk of posting a scroll up in here, I will copy and paste the lyrics because they are too amazing not to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKaTL8KO7Lo
It happened one day near December's end,
Two neighbors called on an old friend.
And they found his shop so meager and lean
Made gay with thousand bows of green
And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine
And he said "Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away
The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said "I'm coming your guest to be."
So I've been busy with feet astir
Strewing my shop with branches of fern.
The table is spread and the kettle is shined.
And over the rafters the holly is twined.
Now I'll wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear
His step as He nears my humble place.
And I'll open the door and look on His face.
So his friends went home and left Conrad alone
For this was the happiest day he had known,
For long since, his family had passed away
And Conrad had spent many a sad Christmas Day.
But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas Guest
This Christmas would be the dearest and best.
So he listened with only joy in his heart
And with every sound he would rise with a start
And look for the Lord to be at his door.
Like the vision he had had a few hours before.
So he ran to the window after hearing a sound
But all he could see on the snow covered ground
Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn
And all of his clothes were ragged and worn.
But Conrad was touched and he went to the door
And he said, "You know, your feet must be frozen and sore.
I have some shoes in my shop for you
And a coat that will keep you warmer too."
So with grateful heart the man went away
but Conrad noticed the time of day
And wondered what made the Lord so late
And how much longer he'd have to wait.
When he heard a knock, he ran to the door
But it was only a stranger once more.
A bent old lady with a shawl of black
With a bundle of kindling piled on her back.
She asked for only a place to rest
But that was reserved for Conrad's Great Guest.
But her voice seemed to plead "Don't send me away,
Let me rest for awhile on Christmas Day",
So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup
And told her to sit at the table and sup.
But after she left he was filled with dismay
For he saw that*the*hours*were slipping away
And the Lord hadn't come as he said he would.
Then Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.
When out of the stillness he heard a cry
“Please help me and tell me where am I?"
So again he opened his friendly door
And stood disappointed as twice before.
It was only a child who’d wandered away
And was lost from her family on Christmas Day.
Again Conrad's heart was heavy and sad
But he knew he should make the little girl glad.
So he called her in and he wiped her tears
And quieted all her childish fears.
Then he led her back to her home once more
But as he entered his own darkened door
he knew the Lord was not coming today.
For the hours of Christmas had passed away
So he went to his room and knelt down to pray
And he said "Dear Lord, why did you delay?
What kept you from coming to call on me?
For I wanted so much your face to see.”
When soft in the silence a voice he heard.
"Lift up your head for I kept my word.
Three times my shadow crossed your floor
And three times I came to your lonely door.
I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet
And I was the woman you gave something to eat.
I was the child on the homeless street.
Three times I knocked, and three times I came in.
And each time I found the warmth of a friend.
Of all the gifts, love is the best.
And I was honored to be your Christmas Guest.
One last song – Tu scendi dalle stelle, one of the oldest, if not THE oldest Italian Christmas song. Composed by an Italian monk and saint in 1744, here goes a version with two friends of Michael's as far as I know – Andrea Bocelli and David Foster. Only Andrea is singing; i think this might have been a recent Christmas special done by David, i need to check it out. Anyways, here goes the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5cwh0XGL8
And here come the lyrics and their translation:
Tu scendi dalle stelle,
O Re del Cielo,
e vieni in una grotta,
al freddo al gelo.
O Bambino mio Divino
Io ti vedo qui a tremar,
O Dio Beato
Ahi, quanto ti costò
l'averci amato!
A te, che sei del mondo
il Creatore,
mancano panni e fuoco;
O mio Signore!
Caro eletto Pargoletto,
Quanto questa povertà
più mi innamora!
Giacché ti fece amor
povero ancora!
(From starry skies descending,
Thou comest, glorious King,
A manger low Thy bed,
In winter's icy sting;
O my dearest Child most holy,
Shudd'ring, trembling in the cold!
Great God, Thou lovest me!
What suff'ring Thou didst bear,
That I near Thee might be!
Thou art the world's Creator,
God's own and true Word,
Yet here no robe, no fire
For Thee, Divine Lord.
Dearest, fairest, sweetest Infant,
Dire this state of poverty.
The more I care for Thee,
Since Thou, o Love Divine,
Will'st now so poor to be.)
And to wrap this up, here is an image to remind us all of what Christmas is about.
Love and peace folks. God bless each and every one of you, today and always MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody.
Don't even worry about posting, family comes first. I ain't got any kids yet, so I can only imagine what it's like to have them runnin round the house and runnin THE house, cause at the end of the day, they do rule, right? No matter how much 'discipline' us adults might instill, they still get their way, don't day? I know the kid in me does that with my folks even at my age, so I can only imagine what it's like with teenagers, that's what u got, if my memory service right, ain't it? Great to hear about them praise songs Michael was working on in 2004. Never really had a doubt about his faith in the Lord, he was living his faith a lot more than many of us who call ourselves Christian, but to imagine that put into music, simply heavenly......
As I said, do NOT get me started on the Bashir fellow. Life has strange twists about it, ya know? One day I might just give that sucker a piece of me mind and let me assure y'all that the particular piece I got in mind ain't nice. But since it it Christmas, let's comeback to more cheerful tones, shall we?
I am sure for many of us this Christmas will be special and many will be thinking with a lot of sadness about Michael. I DARE you to go beyond your pain. Cry all you want, if u must, let it all out, but after that 'session' sit and think and smile. I am sure Michael would not want you to be sad.
Try and remember only the good, celebrate his life, enjoy his work and above all, follow his example in being the best at whatever is your calling, whilst serving the Lord and helping those less fortunate. Earlier today I was going through a folder with pictures of his and I had made a selection with some favorites over the years, but I won't post them now, i'll leave those for another day. But I do want to post one which I think sums him up nicely.
To all of you who hurting beyond relief and apparently beyond escape – remember that he was one silly, funny man (e.g. the pic above – there wasn't anythin fake about them dirrrty arse mismatched socks, but somethin tells me that the hat and them shoes are placed wayyy 2 strategically for them not to have been 'directed' there lol) who happened to be one of the greatest artists to ever grace the face of the earth. But beyond all the fame and glory, he was a simple, sweet man trying to serve His Lord and use his talent, fame and money in the name of love. It is unfortunate he didn't always receive it in return, but as he has shown us all – we must NEVER give up in the face of adversity and we must always be ready to give a helping hand.
There is sooooo much that still needs to be done on this earth of (h)ours. All we need to do, is look around at the misery surrounding us. What Michael did above and beyond any other achievement was to point our attention to those very issues. Will we listen???
And now, for some Christmas music and lyrics, folks. Earlier in the morn I was looking for some gregorian music when I ran into this lil marvel. She's only three, but she is totally adorable doing her version of 'Sanctus' – an element of the Catholic mass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNiZ5xG4_M&feature=related
This is what she is singing:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, Hosanna in excelsis.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.* Hosanna to God in the highest,
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.* Hosanna to God in the highest.
Here goes a gregorian version of Our Lord's prayer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krrvQuesZRI&feature=related
A wonderful Christmas recording I discovered recently is – the Christmas guest, by Johnny Cash. With the risk of posting a scroll up in here, I will copy and paste the lyrics because they are too amazing not to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKaTL8KO7Lo
It happened one day near December's end,
Two neighbors called on an old friend.
And they found his shop so meager and lean
Made gay with thousand bows of green
And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine
And he said "Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away
The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said "I'm coming your guest to be."
So I've been busy with feet astir
Strewing my shop with branches of fern.
The table is spread and the kettle is shined.
And over the rafters the holly is twined.
Now I'll wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear
His step as He nears my humble place.
And I'll open the door and look on His face.
So his friends went home and left Conrad alone
For this was the happiest day he had known,
For long since, his family had passed away
And Conrad had spent many a sad Christmas Day.
But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas Guest
This Christmas would be the dearest and best.
So he listened with only joy in his heart
And with every sound he would rise with a start
And look for the Lord to be at his door.
Like the vision he had had a few hours before.
So he ran to the window after hearing a sound
But all he could see on the snow covered ground
Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn
And all of his clothes were ragged and worn.
But Conrad was touched and he went to the door
And he said, "You know, your feet must be frozen and sore.
I have some shoes in my shop for you
And a coat that will keep you warmer too."
So with grateful heart the man went away
but Conrad noticed the time of day
And wondered what made the Lord so late
And how much longer he'd have to wait.
When he heard a knock, he ran to the door
But it was only a stranger once more.
A bent old lady with a shawl of black
With a bundle of kindling piled on her back.
She asked for only a place to rest
But that was reserved for Conrad's Great Guest.
But her voice seemed to plead "Don't send me away,
Let me rest for awhile on Christmas Day",
So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup
And told her to sit at the table and sup.
But after she left he was filled with dismay
For he saw that*the*hours*were slipping away
And the Lord hadn't come as he said he would.
Then Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.
When out of the stillness he heard a cry
“Please help me and tell me where am I?"
So again he opened his friendly door
And stood disappointed as twice before.
It was only a child who’d wandered away
And was lost from her family on Christmas Day.
Again Conrad's heart was heavy and sad
But he knew he should make the little girl glad.
So he called her in and he wiped her tears
And quieted all her childish fears.
Then he led her back to her home once more
But as he entered his own darkened door
he knew the Lord was not coming today.
For the hours of Christmas had passed away
So he went to his room and knelt down to pray
And he said "Dear Lord, why did you delay?
What kept you from coming to call on me?
For I wanted so much your face to see.”
When soft in the silence a voice he heard.
"Lift up your head for I kept my word.
Three times my shadow crossed your floor
And three times I came to your lonely door.
I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet
And I was the woman you gave something to eat.
I was the child on the homeless street.
Three times I knocked, and three times I came in.
And each time I found the warmth of a friend.
Of all the gifts, love is the best.
And I was honored to be your Christmas Guest.
One last song – Tu scendi dalle stelle, one of the oldest, if not THE oldest Italian Christmas song. Composed by an Italian monk and saint in 1744, here goes a version with two friends of Michael's as far as I know – Andrea Bocelli and David Foster. Only Andrea is singing; i think this might have been a recent Christmas special done by David, i need to check it out. Anyways, here goes the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5cwh0XGL8
And here come the lyrics and their translation:
Tu scendi dalle stelle,
O Re del Cielo,
e vieni in una grotta,
al freddo al gelo.
O Bambino mio Divino
Io ti vedo qui a tremar,
O Dio Beato
Ahi, quanto ti costò
l'averci amato!
A te, che sei del mondo
il Creatore,
mancano panni e fuoco;
O mio Signore!
Caro eletto Pargoletto,
Quanto questa povertà
più mi innamora!
Giacché ti fece amor
povero ancora!
(From starry skies descending,
Thou comest, glorious King,
A manger low Thy bed,
In winter's icy sting;
O my dearest Child most holy,
Shudd'ring, trembling in the cold!
Great God, Thou lovest me!
What suff'ring Thou didst bear,
That I near Thee might be!
Thou art the world's Creator,
God's own and true Word,
Yet here no robe, no fire
For Thee, Divine Lord.
Dearest, fairest, sweetest Infant,
Dire this state of poverty.
The more I care for Thee,
Since Thou, o Love Divine,
Will'st now so poor to be.)
And to wrap this up, here is an image to remind us all of what Christmas is about.
Love and peace folks. God bless each and every one of you, today and always
MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody.
