God Bless The Child

In the late 80s, my pal Pam Dixon did me the favor of a lifetime and recorded me a mixtape full of Billie Holiday tunes. Though I had grown up with some of my parent's jazz records, Billie wasn't to be found their collection and I was instantly enthralled. 

It'd be hard to narrow down my favorite Billie Holiday song, but God Bless The Child most certainly is near the top of my list. 

She cowrote the song in 1941 after an argument with her mother over money and it begins with her take on Matthew 25:29. For everyone who has will be given more and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

It's easy to discern the exasperation she was feeling because her voice was such a magnificent instrument. Like so many her songs, God Bless the Child has a perfect vintage feel to it and I'll never grow tired of it.

Them that’s got shall get

Them that’s not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own

Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don’t ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own

Money, you’ve got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you’re gone, spending ends
They don’t come no more
Rich relations give crust of bread and such
You can help yourself but don’t take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own

He just worry ’bout nothin’
Cause he’s got his own

#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom

Indian Reservation

The very first record I got to call my own was a 45 RPM single of "Indian Reservation" by Paul Revere & the Raiders. I got it for my 11th birthday along with a nifty blue portable turntable (and "Where Evil Grows" by the Poppy Family).

Considering the current pipeline protests in North Dakota and the state of indigenous tribes here in Canada, the lyrics are still to this day pretty bang on. 

It's also cool that one of my life's purposes is to help bring tribes, tongues, people and nations into the Kingdom of God. Initially I thought that meant solely the refugees I was working with. But as I went on, the Lord impressed upon me He was referring to Canada's First Nation people as well. 

You might even say "Indian Reservation" being the inaugural item in my life of music was rather prophetic. 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands (Revelation 7:9)

They took the whole Cherokee nation
Put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife
Took away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan
Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
They took the whole Indian nation
Locked us on this reservation
Though I wear a shirt and tie
I'm still part redman deep inside
Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
But maybe someday when they learn
Cherokee nation will return, will return, will return

Bridge Over Troubled Water

I know no tune in the great American songbook that speaks to my heart more than"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in 1970 when I was ten years old and is one of the quintessential songs of my childhood and teens.

However it wasn't until after I became a Christian that it turned into my constant inspiration. I went up to the altar of my church for prayer one Sunday and as I stood with my eyes closed, God spoke to me as clearly as I had ever heard. 

"Your time has come," He said. Honestly, at first I thought He was telling me I was going to die. But then I got this niggling idea that it might be a song lyric. When I googled the words, there they were: lyrics to one of my alltime favorite songs. But they took on new meaning and were being sung from Jesus to me.

"Your time has come...to shine," He sang to me. "All your dreams are on their way."

I was, for lack of a better word, gobsmacked. And for the first time I began to truly grasp how Jesus had continually pursued me using music and lyrics.

What is even more fascinating is the fact Bridge Over Troubled Water was Paul Simon's first attempt at writing a gospel song. Its inception was an experience he has always acknowledged as divine. "I have no idea where it came from. It came all of the sudden," said Simon. "It was one of the most shocking moments in my songwriting career...it was considerably better than I usually write." 

Little did Paul Simon know that the Eternal God would use the lyrics to raise the hopes and dreams of a silver girl and new believer on the Canadian prairies over 30 years later. 

And it started a conversation with Him through music that has never stopped. 

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all (all)
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water // I will lay me down

When you're down and out // When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard I will comfort you
I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water // I will lay me downSail on silver girl sail on by // Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way // See how they shine

If you need a friend // I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water // I will ease your mind

#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom

Go ahead...Have a talk with God

I have a lifelong obsession with Stevie Wonder's Spirit-filled magnum opus Songs in the Key of Life. I have owned this record on vinyl, 8-track, cassette and several copies of the CD (the ones who "borrowed" it...you know who you are. Yes I'm talking to you Sulai). Not a season in my life  in my life goes by when I don't listen to this record and let it chart the way out of wherever I'm at. It's the ultimate road trip album. The perfect accompaniment to a late night bbq. It has songs for romance, for heartbreak, for dancing, for encounter.

It started when I was 18 and became utterly fixated on "Have a Talk With God"  during a break-up with my abusive and controlling high school boyfriend. I'd play the hell out of that song over and over up in my loft bedroom in River Heights and sing along with the lyrics, especially the refrain: When you feel your life's too hard // Just go have a talk with God. I actually had no clue how to communicate with Father God, and this was the closest I got until many years later. I now know this was my first experience with personal worship. Until this point, the closest I got was singing songs at St. Ignatius, the Catholic church I attended as a teen.

Truth be told I was so besotted with "Have a Talk With God", track number two on the first side of the double vinyl release that I barely listened to the other record. It wasn't until many years later that I discovered classic songs like "As" and "Joy Inside My Tears". 

Songs in the Key of Life is often designated by music critics as one the best records ever made. Prince, Elton John, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston all count it as their favorite album, and Stevie himself says it's the record he's most satisfied with. But for one River Heights teenager, its second song provided a crucial connection with the Most High that has managed to last decades.

There are people who have let the problems of today

Lead them to conclude that for them life is not the way

But every problem has an answer and if yours you cannot find

You should talk it over to Him // He'll give you peace of mind

When you feel your life's too hard // Just go have a talk with God 

Many of us feel we walk alone without a friend

Never communicating with the One who lives within

Forgetting all about the One who never ever lets you down

And you can talk to him anytime He's always around

When you feel your life's too hard // Just go have a talk with God 

Well He's the only free psychiatrist that's known throughout the world

For solving problems of all men, women, little boys and girls

When you feel your life's too hard // Just go have a talk with God 

When your load's too much to bear // Just go talk to God He cares 
I know He does

#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom

A monthful of music

Music. So much has been written about it. There's just so much to say. Albums, songs and their artists have led me through good times and heartbreak, marriage, singleness, pointed the way to the divine, taken me to soul exploding worship and helped to do so much work in my heart.

These days I'm in a reflective mode. My father passed away this past spring and my mother is ailing. What do I turn to? My Saviour of course, but I'm also drawn to the music of my childhood, the music I've listened to in the past and the music that is speaking to me now. 

I want to share a month full of music – savoury and delicious songs – that have moved me in one way or another, rocked my world and touched me in my deep innermost places. Just because. 

I grew up around my parent's eclectic collection of LPs, 8-tracks and cassettes. When I think of them, strangely it's Henry Mancini that immediately springs to mind. But I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash is unquestionably the most inspirational song of my childhood that has managed to chase me all through my life.

When I'm confused, down or just feeling meh, more times that I can count I will hear Johnny Nash's voice sing to me in my car, a coffee shop, a mall or a lounge. And I just know that I know in my knower that it's Abba reminding me that everything is gonna work out okay. And you know what? It always does. 

I think I can make it now the pain is gone

All of the bad feelings have disappeared

Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin for

It’s gonna be a bright bright sunshiny day

Look all around, there’s nothin but blue skies

Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s gonna be a bright bright sunshiny day

#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom

Many thanks for your generosity

Just a few of the gifts under the tree:
Cineplex gifts cards, a work parka
and tickets to the Nutcracker

I want to extend a great big thank you to my wonderful friends who generously donated cash and gift cards this Christmas. This  enabled me to provide some deserving folks with swell presents for themselves and/or their families including:

• Tickets to the RWB Nutcracker for the single mom/nursing student and her niece. It was their first experience at the ballet and both were thrilled. 
• Cineplex gift cards for the single mother who was robbed to take her four daughters to a movie over the holidays. Unbeknownst to me, this turned out to be a longtime family tradition.
• A brand new heavy duty work parka for the young Sudanese man on bail who works outdoors for a temp agency. 
• A gift card from Shoppers Drug Mart for a struggling Nigerian international student.
• The leftover cash will be used towards the purchase of a laptop for me.

The entire experience greatly encouraged my heart and brightened my Christmas in many ways. Again....

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. (Galatians 2:10) 

With a little help from my friends this Christmas

If you're feeling charitable this Christmas and would like to help out some dear ones in my hood mom sphere, following are some ideas on how to make their season special.

• A single mom/nursing student on a limited income who loves dance, but has never been to see the ballet. Perfect gift: a pair of tickets to any RWB production in the next year.
  
• A young Sudanese man on bail who is living with me and working doing temp work, often outdoors. Needed: a good new or used winter work jacket or down parka size large and a pair of gloves. 
  

• A single mom of four young adult daughters who was defrauded in early December. With help from friends and her church, she is playing catch-up on rent and bills but she has no extra money to buy Christmas presents. Needed: A gift card from Shoppers Drug Mart (or any store within walking distance) where she can buy some small gifts for her daughters.                            

• Me. I've had a catastrophic turn of events with both my work and home laptops, making it difficult to continue to write my book. Needed: I'm looking for a good used laptop, one that is portable and has decent battery life.

With much love, humility and gratitude,

Gaylene

Any questions, don't hesitate to contact me

204.786.2191

Email or iMessage: gaylenedempsey@yahoo.ca 

TextMe: 204.813.8616

PS: What can I give you? Well I recommend watching The House Without a Christmas Tree, a tv movie from the 70s I just discovered which is lovely and touching.