Month: December 2015

Hang A Shining Star

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

christmas-star

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. ~ Matthew 2:10

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight

Have you ever seen something that made your heart leap with joy? Maybe, it was a loved one returning from a long trip. Perhaps the first time you saw your child. Or maybe, for a returning soldier, the sight of his or her family awaiting in the airport.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on, our troubles will be miles away

And when you see such a sight, your everyday troubles do just seem to fade away, don’t they? Because, at that moment, we are struck with something beyond ourselves. We realize what’s truly important.

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Yup, these are the blessings most dear to us; the gatherings of family and friends during the holidays. They take us back; to where we’re from, where we’ve been and to where we really long to be.

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
So hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

The real magic and meaning of Christmas happened at night, when a star could lead the way. And so it goes, even to this day. All of us are seekers, searching in vain for something that’s right there in front of us, shining brightly. It’s funny that so many of us only see it at Christmas.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on, our troubles will be miles away

The original recording of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” was brought to us by the incomparable Judy Garland in the 1944 musical, Meet Me  In St. Louis. But this version by Chrissy Hynde and the  Pretenders has always been one of my Christmas faves.  It was featured on the very first A Very Special Christmas album in 1987, a series which now has 16 volumes and has been going – and growing – strong for 28 years.

averyspecialxmascover

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

This first issue was dedicated to raise funds for the Special Olympics and shipped over 4.5 million copies in the U.S. alone.  According to the AVSC website the series has netted over $116 million in proceeds to the Special Olympics to date, fostering programs for special athletes in 10 countries around the world.

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
So hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

So, while you are decorating your home or tree this year, please remember the real shining Star of it all, the greatest gift ever given to mankind; our Lord Jesus. And that His greatest blessings to us are the relationships that we have with friends and family. And I hope all will gather near and dear to us again this year, to enjoy the holidays once more.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Something To Hide?

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hiding-in-plain-sight-19

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ~ Ephesians 4:25

You had something to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn’t you
Now you’re not satisfied
With what you’re being put through
It’s just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth

Now there’s the dilemma: not whether or not to tell one another the truth, but when and how much of it? I mean, I don’t think we set out to be bald faced liars; I think most of us start with good intentions and want to be honest if not completely open (wait is that really being honest?) in our relationships. But, for a variety of reasons,  most of us fall short of being completely truthful in all things. And therein the difficulty lies (pun intended).

Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilized
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you’d only lied
It’s too late to change events
It’s time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth

Wait, let me un-ring that bell. Maybe in our desire to be truthful we actually handicap ourselves and our relationships. Could that be true? Sometimes there are things better left unsaid? Or, is the foundation built on half-truths and kept secrets just as shaky as one built on outright lies?

Whatever the case, I know we all feel a strong need to be tell the truth, hard as it sometimes may be to do so. And yes, God forgives us, but that doesn’t remove the consequences we face in this world.

Never again is what you swore
The time before
Never again is what you swore
The time before

Live and learn is what they say…and we swear we’ll do better next time. But we never do. As Elvis (Costello) sang: “History repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same defeats.” And the wheel rolls round and round forever.

If you’re looking for answers here, I don’t have them. I just know we have to try to do better. I know the truth is what God wants from us, but my experience says that there are times when things are better left unsaid. Times where damage is caused by words spoken that you can’t erase. I think there are times we must bear our own burdens and keep it to ourselves…with God’s shoulder to lean on, of course.

Now you’re standing there tongue tied
You’d better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You’ll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth

Depeche+Mode

Depeche Mode was a beautifully crafted group from the New Wave and second Brit Invasion of electronic pop in the early 80’s. They have always been one of my favorites from this genre and have certainly stood the test of time, forming in 1980 and still going strong today. They have had over fifty singles charted in the U.K. and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. “Policy Of Truth” was not one of their biggest hits, but to me was the “sleeper” hit from their 1990 album, Violator, a mainstream smash that catapulted them to international success. “Policy Of Truth” only made it up to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, but went all the way to #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

A few interesting tidbits about DP include:

  • The band’s original name was “Composition Of Sound”. Before they really got started they renamed themselves “Depeche Mode” after a French fashion magazine (depeche mode means fast fashion), because it sounded cooler.
  • They never had a drummer and didn’t try to hide it, often placing their drum machine on a riser right in the middle of the stage, in concert.
  • At age 17, Dave Gahan earned his place as lead singer by auditioning with a strong rendition of his rock idol David Bowie’s “Heroes”, which also happened to be a favorite of founding members, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore.
  • Dave later moved to New York and found his kids attending the same school as Bowie’s; they bumped into each other several times attending school plays and events.

Truth and deceit in relationships continued to be a theme in DM’s songs, including hits like “Personal Jesus”, “Long Time Lie” and “Secret To The End”, but “Policy Of Truth” always rings most true to me.

Check out the original here: