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I really like this video clip of Joe Cocker singing this song. Wish I could do this song justice and sing it, but I can’t. I will spare you.  Anyway, here it is. Hope you like it…

I was sitting in Starbucks today drinking a cup of coffee and reading the news.  Soon, I started to hear the words to Hallelujah, as performed by Jeff Buckley, come over the speakers. I was mesmerized as I listened to the melodic tune strummed on the guitar. I didn’t catch much of the lyrics except for a word or two here and there, but the “hallelujahs” were unmistakable. Jeff’s voice on the recording was pitch-perfect, and so soothing to my soul that I knew I had to find it. All I had to go on was “hallelujah,” but it was not hard to find.  A simple Google search was all it took to find, and I’m glad I did.  His music is listed as “folk and alternative rock,” but this song is far from your typical rock music genre in my opinion.  You can listen to and download it here:

Here is a music video of Jeff performing the song on You Tube, but I don’t feel it is his best performance of the song. His performance recorded on his album Grace sounds better to me (above), and is the version I heard in the coffee shop.

This song is difficult — not difficult to follow or understand, but difficult to listen to. Why? Not because it was not performed well, or that the music is bad, but because of the emotion Jeff puts into it. It’s as if he is expressing the pain in his own heart of a lost love. The lost love of God? Perhaps. Or perhaps the love of someone he once shared it with. Whatever the reason, this is a heart-wrenching story of a love that once was and is no more, or can’t be found. It is sad. For to know love and lose it most certainly can make one’s life miserable. “It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.”

Here are the lyrics to the song. I had a hard time understanding some of the words, and reading the lyrics while listening to the song helped.  The lyrics were written by Leonard Cohen.  Some of the lyrics refer to King David, and is sad, to say the least. Of course, King David was “a man after God’s own heart.”  I’m not sure what the other lyrics are about, but it appears that it may be about a lost love.  Many commentators of the song agree that the lyrics refer to Bible figures, and a lost love. The song is featured in the movie Shrek (covered by John Cale in the movie and by Rufus Wainwright on the soundtrack). You can read more facts about this song at songfacts.com.

Hallelujah

Lyrics by Leonard Cohen

Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who’d OUT DREW YA
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen in the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah <<(held for a long time)
Hallelujah

Be Still and know that He is God

I never heard of JesusTV.com until today. I watched this vid, and wanted to share it with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  God Bless!!!

Warning! Don’t watch this if you care about children!

I always thought that the poem, “How do I love thee?” was by Shakespeare, but I learned today that it was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I was just slightly surprised. Apparently, it is a common misconception*. Well, I have always loved this poem, so I took the time to look it up so I could post it here for anyone who may happen to pass by this way. This is how I feel about the one I love…

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

A man was sitting by the fire, reading his paper when he hears a small, faint knock at the door. The man, irritated by the interruption, goes to the door to see who is there and sees a snail at the door. In frustration, he picks up the snail and hurls it across the yard. A year later, the man hears the same small, faint knock at the door, again, and goes to the door. There was the snail, again. The snail looks up at the man and says, “What was that all about?”

Joshua Luke on his Birth Day

Our 10th child, Joshua Luke, was born on February 23, 2010 at 8:45 AM at home.  My oldest delivered the baby, and the cord was wrapped around his neck. She said he “was blue when he came out.” She unwrapped the cord, and he started to breath. Soon, the paramedics arrived, and took my wife and baby to the hospital. Where was I? Well, I wasn’t there. My wife and I are separated; have been since June 19, 2009, but that is another story.

Anyway, you can see more pics of Joshua on the Number 10 page.

Someone I care for dearly shared this with me. Now, I want to share it with you:

You have always done so much for me
I miss your love and tender embrace
The love you express is genuine
Memories of you, I cannot erase.

I miss your eyes of unspoken love
They sparkle as diamonds in the sun
Your smiles will never be forgotten
I think of you ’til the day is done.

Your gentle touch is greatly missed
The words of love you’ve always spoken
Will be held forever in my heart
The bond we have cannot be broken.

I will always love only you dear
I’ll be waiting ’til you again return
Time is passing very slow each day
There’s so much I still must learn.

The friendship you and I still share
Quickly blossomed into true love
Our hearts blend when we’re together
Our love is given from God above.

You’re Special and I miss you!

Victory in Jesus. Yes, today I got victory. We all face personal battles in our lives from time to time, and today was no exception. Whether anyone else agrees with me is not important; it wasn’t their battle. It was mine, or should I say — it was God’s.  David faced the giant in his life, a literal one. Although we may not be facing physical, giant people, we will face spiritual giants. They are just as real as Goliath was to David. When we face these “giants,” we cannot defeat them on our own; we have to put our faith and trust in the Lord for He will fight our battles for us if we trust in Him. That is not always easy to do, especially when it feels like the world is crushing down upon us. I also think of the story about Ester, and how she and all the people of God had to put their faith and trust in God to deliver them out of the hands of the enemy. The enemy sought to destroy all the Jews, but with God’s help they were able to defeat their enemies. If God be for you, who can be against you?

Words and Music by E.M. Bartlett

© 1939 – Administrated by Integrated Copyright Group, Inc.

All rights reserved

But thanks be to God, which giveth us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Corinthians 15:57

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.

Chorus:
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,

He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow’r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t
To me the victory.

Repeat Chorus

I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there
The song of victory.

Repeat Chorus