And I felt a surge of emotion at the joy that my family has brought to me. How much having kids has changed me as a person; how having children has been the most challenging and fulfilling thing that has ever happened to me. How amazed I am – every single day – at the wonderful wife and children I have. And I wondered about, and wrestled with, the travails and struggles of my extended family and the pain and joy that has brought to my mom, dad, sister, myself, etc. through the years.

And of course, it was then that I began to feel the loss of the family who had lost their husband, their father, their uncle, their friend. And as I had these thoughts, a chorus from a Mumford & Sons song came into my head:

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And when the service was over and we returned to our car I had to listen to the song (over the complaints of my children) and struggled to hide my tears.

You can listen to the song – and read the lyrics – below I know it may seem a dark song to some, but I think it is both powerful and insightful; a reflection of the present and a hope for the future..

12 Mumford And Sons – After the Storm

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After The Storm

And after the storm,
I run and run as the rains come
And I look up, I look up,
on my knees and out of luck,
I look up.

Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won’t rot, I won’t rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won’t rot.

And I took you by the hand
And we stood tall,
And remembered our own land,
What we lived for.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And now I cling to what I knew
I saw exactly what was true
But oh no more.
That’s why I hold,
That’s why I hold with all I have.
That’s why I hold.

I will die alone and be left there.
Well I guess I’ll just go home,
Oh God knows where.
Because death is just so full and man so small.
Well I’m scared of what’s behind and what’s before.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

However, I use Panodora and through this have stumbled on a number of artists.  One of the favorites I found this way is The Weepies. I enjoyed their music so much that I created a channel just for them.

Fast forward to today. I found a link on Facebook to a music video which then led to a bunch of other videos. And in this process I started watch videos from The Weepies.

I am not sure why but I had never really trolled YouTube for music videos prior to this. And I don’t believe I had ever watched The Weepies on YouTube.

Today I did and learned for the first time that the video to perhaps my favorite Weepies song, Can’t Go Back Now, features muppets/puppets. As the kids these days text WTH? Muppets? Really?

In the grand scheme of things this is really not a big deal. I still love the song and will continue to enjoy it. But man sometimes the internet can be cruel.

Such a cool song deserved better than this.

Times are hard, it’s a hard time
But everybody knows all about hard times.
The thing is, what are you gonna do?
Well, you cry and try to muscle through
Try to rearrange your stuff
But when the wounds are deep enough,
It’s all that we can bear,
We wrap ourselves in prayer.

Our family had a nice Christmas at home thanks the the generosity of family and friends.  In these difficult economic times it is important to remember what is important.

It is traditional around here to post one of my favorite Bruce Cockburn songs.  It isn’t really a Christmas song (for that go here) but it tells the story very well.  So here it is:

The Cry of a Tiny Babe
(from Nothing But a Burning Light)

Mary grows a child without the help of a man
Joseph get upset because he doesn’t understand
Angel comes to Joseph in a powerful dream
Says “God did this and you’re part of his scheme”
Joseph comes to Mary with his hat in his hand
Says “forgive me I thought you’d been with some other man”
She says “what if I had been – but I wasn’t anyway and guess what
I felt the baby kick today”

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

The child is born in the fullness of time
Three wise astrologers take note of the signs
Come to pay their respects to the fragile little king
Get pretty close to wrecking everything
‘Cause the governing body of the whole Holy land
Is that of Herod, a paranoid man
Who when he hears there’s a baby born King of the Jews
Sends death squads to kill all male children under two
But that same bright angel warns the parents in a dream
And they head out for the border and get away clean

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

There are others who know about this miracle birth
The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth
For it isn’t to the palace that the Christ child comes
But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums
And the message is clear if you’ve got ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It’s a Christmas gift that you don’t have to buy
There’s a future shining in a baby’s eyes

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

Independence Indiana

She sucks on the bottle
holds it in her hand
thinks it’s shaped like a woman

She’s seventeen
not yet a woman
but the beer is cold
and it tastes like freedom

And she likes it
It feels good
This is Independence Indiana
And she likes it
It feels good
Life may never be as sweet again
In Independence Indiana

If you ask her
she’ll tell you high school sucks
and people say she’s just like her mother
but she’s got a boyfriend
and he’s got a car
they just can’t keep their hands off each other

And all her friends seem hell-bent
on getting out of town
they say “I’m moving up
And this place just drags me down”
And she’s about had enough
of waving brave goodbyes
the greyhound bus
the sighing brakes
nothing else makes such a desperate sound

She sucks on the bottle
holds it up to the light and thinks
“beer is so underrated”
But she’s got a boyfriend
and he’s got a car
life just ain’t that complicated

Paul Simon, Suprise

Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you’re just a halfway decent man.
I don’t pretend that I’m a mastermind
With a genius marketing plan.
I’m trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop will do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I’m through.

- from Paul Simon, Wartime Prayers.