Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Mercyland"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Phil Madeira – Mercyland

Phil Madeira's website is http://philmadeira.net/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "The UnAmerican"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Matt Morris – The Un-American

"The Un-American"

The un-American
Needs a personal Jesus
Private insurance
An obedient wife
The un-American
Should really stop complaining
He oughta take a trip to Disney
Get his head on right
Buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new
It'll be alright
Buy a new buy a new buy a new
That should fix the un-American
A threat to security
Feeding on literature
From a socialist state
The un-American
It really breaks my heart
To see a promising citizen deviate
Buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new
It'll be alright
Buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new buy
That should fix the un-American
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh oh
The un-American
Could be your own neighbor
He could be talking to your children
Sleeping with your wife
Oh what if you're the un-American
Oh what if you're the un-American
Oh what if you're the un-American
Oh if you're the un-American
Oh
Buy a new buy a new buy a new buy a new
It'll be alright
Buy a new buy a new
And it'll be alright
Be alright

Matt Morris' website is at http://mattmorris.net/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "A Better Way"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is Spencer Day – Better Way

Too many people seeking power and fame
Steppin on anyone that gets in the way
And I dont know how they want to play that game
But I wanna find a better way

Too many people livin on the street
Too many people taking more than they need
Dont wanna complain about society
I just wanna find a better way

Refrain:
(Coz) this is a time for an evolution
This is a time for a compromise
And I know it hurts to grow
But the status quo, oh

You know it always comes with a price
Im talkin bout change in the way we re livin
Im talkin bout more than the left to right
We gotta comprehend, it s not us or them
Its the human race tryin to survive

Too many people waging holy jihads
Too many killin in the name of a god
Too many people tryin to do his job
And we gotta find a better way

Too many soldiers marchin off to war
Too many nations tryin to settle a score
When every battle only leads to more
We gotta find a better way

Repeat Refrain

Chorus:
Ohhh, we re gonna find a better way
I know we re gonna find a better way
And I know you heard it before but Ill say it once more
Coz we re gonna find a better way

Instrumental
Repeat Refrain
Repeat Chorus

Fade:
(We re going to find a better way)
(We re gonna find a better way)

Spencer Day's website is http://spencerday.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "City of Immigrants"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Steve Earle – City Of Immigrants [With Forro In The Dark] (reminds me to see that of God in everyone, as we Quakers say).

"City Of Immigrants"

Livin' in a city of immigrants
I don't need to go travelin'
Open my door and the world walks in
Livin' in a city of immigrants
Livin' in a city that never sleeps
My heart keepin' time to a thousand beats
Singin' in languages I don't speak
Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of black
City of white
City of light
City of innocents
City of sweat
City of tears
City of prayers
City of immigrants

Livin' in a city where the dreams of men
Reach up to touch the sky and then
Tumble back down to earth again
Livin' in a city that never quits
Livin' in a city where the streets are paved
With good intentions and a people's faith
In the sacred promise a statue made
Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of stone
City of steel
City of wheels
Constantly spinnin'
City of bone
City of skin
City of pain
City of immigrants

All of us are immigrants
Every daughter, every son
Everyone is everyone
All of us are immigrants - everyone
Livin' in a city of immigrants
River flows out and the sea rolls in
Washin' away nearly all of my sins
Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of black
City of white
City of light
Livin' in a city of immigrants
City of sweat
City of tears
City of prayers
Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of stone
City of steel
City of wheels
Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of bone
City of skin
City of pain
City of immigrants
All of us are immigrants

Steve Earle's website is http://steveearle.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "If Only Avenue"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Ron Sexsmith – If Only Avenue

With the luxury of hindsight
The past becomes so clear
As I look out on the twilight
My days have become years
It's strange, as people we're prone to dwell
On things that we can't undo
And we're liable to wander down
If Only Avenue

In the company of distance
We see where it all went wrong
And we know what we'd do different
Should the chance come along
But change is easier said than done
It's a difficult thing to do and soon
You'll be taking the next right on
If Only Avenue

If only
You hadn't used up all your excuses
Now there's nobody else to blame
And that's when they call your name

"It's down at the end of lonely street"
Neath a moon that keeps shining blue
And we live with our thoughts alone
If Only Avenue
Oh why have I wandered down
If Only Avenue

Ron Sexsmith's website is http://www.ronsexsmith.com/

"...I ate crostatas for breakfast...": Poem

Crostatas by Charlie Smith

in rome I got down among the weeds and tiny perfumed
flowers like eyeballs dabbed in blood and the big ruins
said do it my way pal while starlings
kept offering show biz solutions and well the vatican
pursued its interests the palm trees like singular affidavits
the wind succinct and the mountains painted blue
just before dawn accelerated at the last point
of departure before the big illuminated structures
dug up from the basement got going and I ate crostatas
for breakfast and on the terrace chatted
with the clay-faced old man next door and said I was
after a woman who’d left me years ago and he said lord aren’t we all.


Most Recent Book by Smith
Jump Soul: New and Selected Poems
(W. W. Norton, 2014)

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Good Light"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors – Good Light

Wasting time and wasting money,
you've been acting like a fool.
You spend your whole life fighting for a guarantee,
when all you really need is a friend.

Hey, there's a good light, shining in you. There's a magic in your eyes.
Hey, there's a good light, shining through, and I need it tonight.

You've been looking for rhyme and reason.
The confusion is dragging you down.
You got lost in the chaos.
You got lost in the ashes and dust.
What you needed was someone to trust.

Hey, there's a good light, shining in you. There's a magic in your eyes.
Hey, there's a good light, shining through, and I need it tonight.

We're all stumbling through the darkness.
No one can stay there and still make it through.

Hey, there's a good light, shining in you. There's a magic in your eyes.
Hey, there's a good light, shining through, and I need it tonight.

Drew Holcomb's website is http://www.drewholcomb.com/

Six Cheerful Couplets on Death: Poem

Six Cheerful Couplets on Death
by Michael Blumenthal


Most things won't happen, Larkin said,
But this one will: We will be dead.

The saddest thing, in each context,
Is knowing that we could be next.

Some take the bus, some take the train,
Some die in sleep, the rest in pain

But of one thing we can be sure:
All die imperfect, each impure

Some wishing that they had been better,
Others worse, but no one deader.

Shoes left, like Buddhists, at the door:
Those won't be needed anymore.

"Six Cheerful Couplets on Death" by Michael Blumenthal, from No Hurry: Poems 2000-2012. © Etruscan Press, 2012. From the Writers Almanac. (buy now)

...a prayer utters itself...

Prayer by Carol Ann Duffy


Some days, although we cannot pray, a prayer
utters itself. So, a woman will lift
her head from the sieve of her hands and stare
at the minims sung by a tree, a sudden gift.

Some nights, although we are faithless, the truth
enters our hearts, that small familiar pain;
then a man will stand stock-still, hearing his youth
in the distant Latin chanting of a train.

Pray for us now. Grade I piano scales
console the lodger looking out across
a Midlands town. Then dusk, and someone calls
a child's name as though they named their loss.

Darkness outside. Inside, the radio's prayer—
Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre.

"Prayer" by Carol Ann Duffy, from Mean Time. © Anvil Press, 1993. (buy now)

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "With God on Our Side"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Buddy Miller – With God On Our Side (Buddy's cover of Bob Dylan's song)

Oh my name it is nothin’
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that the land that I live in
Has God on its side

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
l’s made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don’t count the dead
When God’s on your side

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side

I’ve learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It’s them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God’s on your side

Through many dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side

So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war
Copyright © 1963 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991 by Special Rider Music

Buddy Miller's website is http://buddymiller.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Lakes of Canada"

Innocence Mission

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is  Karen Peris – Lakes Of Canada (The Innocence Mission)

Lakes of Canada

Look for me another day.
I feel that I could change,
I feel that I could change.
There's a sudden joy that's like
a fish, a moving light;
I thought I saw it
rowing on the lakes of Canada

Oh laughing man, what have you won?
Don't tell me what cannot be done.
My little mouth, my winter lungs,
don't tell me what can't be done.

Walking in the circle of a flashlight
someone starts to sing, to join in.
Talk of loneliness in quiet voices.
I am shy but you can reach me.
Rowing on the lakes of Canada,
rowing on the lakes of Canada.

Oh laughing man, what have you won?
Don't tell me what cannot be done.
My little mouth, my winter lungs,
don't tell me what can't be done.

Look for me another time
Give me another day
I feel that I could change

Rowing on the lakes of Canada

The Innocence Mission's website is http://www.theinnocencemission.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God"

I have a started a project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Today's hymn is Van Morrison's "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God" (it's not available on Spotify, sorry.

"When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God?"

The sun was setting over Avalon
The last time we stood in the west
Suffering long time angels enraptured by Blake
Burn out the dross innocence captured again

Standing on the beach at sunset all the boats
All the boats keep moving slow
In the glory of the flashing light in the evenings glow

When will I ever learn to live in God?
When will I ever learn?
He gives me everything I need and more
When will I ever learn?

You brought it to my attention everything that was made in God
Down through centuries of great writings and paintings
Everything lives in God
Seen through architecture of great cathedrals
Down through the history of time
Is and was in the beginning and evermore shall be

When will I ever learn to live in God?
When will I ever learn?
He gives me everything I need and more
When will I ever learn?

Whatever it takes to fulfill his mission
That is the way we must go
But you've got to do it your own way
Tear down the old, bring up the new

And up on the hillside its quiet
Where the shepherd is tending his sheep
And over the mountains and the valleys
The countryside is so green
Standing on the highest hill with a sense of wonder
You can see everything is made in God
Head back down the roadside and give thanks for it all

When will I ever learn to live in God?
When will I ever learn?
He gives me everything I need and more
When will I ever learn?

Van Morrison's website is http://www.vanmorrison.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Hymn"

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.  

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

For today, since it's Sunday (or Firstday as we ole Quakers say) here's Peter, Paul and Mary – Hymn  I've loved this song since I first heard it (and quickly learned to play it on the guitar) back in the '60s.

"Hymn"

Sunday morning, very bright
I read Your book by colored light
That came in through the pretty window picture

I visited some houses
Where they said that You were living
And they talked a lot about You
And they spoke about Your giving

They passed a basket with some envelopes
I just had time to write a note
And all it said was I believe in You

Passing conversations
Where they mentioned Your existence
And the fact that
You had been replaced by Your assistants

The discussion was theology
And when they smiled and turned to me
All that I could say was I believe in You

I visited Your house again
On Christmas or Thanksgiving
And a balded man said You were dead
But the house would go on living

He recited poetry
And as he saw me stand to leave
He shook his head and said I'd never find You

My mother used to dress me up
And while my dad was sleeping
We would walk down to Your house without speaking

Noel Paul Stookey's website is at http://www.noelpaulstookey.com/

Peter Yarrow's website is at http://peteryarrow.net/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Holy Wars and Politicians"

Jan Krist

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video (when available) here.

Up today is  Jan Krist – Holy Wars And Politicians

"Holy Wars And Politicians"

We try to sort through the unthinkable

not get caught up in the undertow

if and when to compromise 

We say we know what the truth is here 

We say we know the other guy 

only uses the word truth to dress a pack of lies. 

 Chorus 

And God’s name gets dragged into the rhetoric 

and claims get made on heaven’s will 

and a thousand sacrificial lambs get killed 

O God may your will be truly done 

on earth as in heaven 

and save us all from Holy wars and politicians. 

Can you hear my heart is beating 

like a screen door in the wind 

There’s a fear that this whole thing 

might somehow come unhinged 

Tsunami to the left of us 

falling sky off to the right 

they say “you gotta put the fear of God in ‘em 

to set the balance right” 

So can you tell me where the truth resides 

with so much spin and so many lies 

And which argument would Jesus buy 

if Jesus wore my shoes? 

I pray for peace, I pray for mercy 

I pray forgiveness for us all 

for it’s the innocent among us 

who are set to take the fall.

Jan Krist's website is located at http://www.jankrist.net/

Our Great Big American God: A Review

Our Great Big American God

I really wanted to like this book. And I did enjoy it... just not as much as I hoped I would.

I loved the premise -- how we 'Mericans have created God in our image -- or some version of what we think God should be like. I was hoping it would be as good as Stephen Prothero's "American Jesus" (which does much of the same sort of thing, with the Americanization of Jesus.)

Turner gives a lot of information and presents it entertainingly and well. I think many people will really like this book and find it informative (especially the chapter about the "invention of the rapture" (my title) given the release of the new "Left Behind" flick). Maybe I've read too much US religious history to have found this a fully satisfying read -- the problem of having a seminary education that focused on church history.

The other reason I didn't love this book was (and this is hard for a professional smart-ass to say) that it was a little too clever at times. Too many snarky/smart remarks/asides. Yeah, like I have room to talk. Especially since I'm writing the "Bad Quaker's Guide to the Good Life" (although the official title is "The Humble Stumble Toward Grace") -- which is tongue firmly in cheek. This book reminded me that wit is good, too snarky is off-putting to many people, and so humor mixed with whimsy is best. I hope I can find that balance in my book.

Do I recommend this book? Yep. Especially for those who want to see just how our culture affects our faith (would that it was vice versa) and how much of America's "old time" religion is just a tad over 100 years old.  It is also helps us ponder whether God has a hard time recognizing Himself (American!) in our cultural mirror.  I suspect God does.

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "The Gospel of Carlos, Norman and Smith"

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video here.

Up today is  Rickie Lee Jones – The Gospel of Carlos, Norman and Smith

Didn’t you hear?
Black is a criminal,
White is a crime,
Poison is the pen
Writing down this children’s nursery rhyme.
Didn’t you see him standing next to me?
The seeds of change have grown,
We don’t have to hide anymore.

Lololololololo, that means trouble from the other side,
Lololololololo, maybe the trouble of a hopeful heart.

It doesn’t take much to see
If you’re looking for an enemy,
Greed and apathy
Spell the letters of our name.
You sit and laugh at other people,
Making money off their shame and sorrow,
Waiting for tomorrow to fix itself.

Lololololololo, that means trouble from the other side,
Lololololololo, maybe the trouble of a hopeful heart.

It’s a dark night to feed a stranger,
I don’t have enough to feed myself.
I keep trying to believe in believing
In something I can’t see
From where I stand,
I pull it with my faith,
With the smile on my face.

It’s gonna take a lot more
Than you might be used to,
Who’s to blame for not standing up for them
When it was not in style?
When hope is the color of a man
The color of love is the color that can
Stand for something.

Lololololololo, that means trouble from the other side,
Lololololololo, may be trouble of a hopeful heart.
Lololololololo, the trouble of a hopeful heart,
A hopeful heart, it could be a hopeful heart.

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "A Light in the Window"

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video here.

Up today is  Carrie Newcomer – A Light in the Window

A Light in the Window 

There is always a light shining in the darkness. 

Looking out at the night 

Beyond the driver’s wheel,

Curving hips made of snow 

In the winter fields.

There’s a house set way back 

Where a lamplight glows,

Like star out in the cold,

Filled with people I'll never know,

Who left a light, 

Left a light in the window.

What would I change if 

The choice were mine? 

I was doing the best 

I knew at the time.

And every door that opened 

And door that closed,

All the things that made me grow,

Sent me off down another road,

Off to search for a light, 

For a light in the window

.

Now what's old has already passed away 

But the new is too new 

to be born today.

So I'm throwing out seeds 

On the winter snow,

As a sharp wind begins to blow,

Standing here on a new threshold,

I can see a light, 

There's a light in the window..

The world is made of stone,

And the world is made of glass.

The world is made of light,

And its moving very fast.

We pass from mystery to mystery 

So I won't lie 

I don't what happens 

When people die.

But I hope I see you walking slow,

Smiling wide as sunrise grows,

I drop my map with a 

thousand folds,

In the distance I see it 

glow,

I can see a light, 

There’s a light in the 

window.

Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer

Carrie Newcomer's website is at http://www.carrienewcomer.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "All My Favorite People are Broken"

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints."

I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video here.

Up today is Over The Rhine – All My Favorite People

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me, my heart should know
Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just want to hold you and let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner
We lean on each other, try to rise above
We are not afraid to admit we are all still beginners
We are all late bloomers when it comes to love

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me, my heart should know
Awful believers, skeptical dreamers, step forward
You can stay right here, you don't have to go

Is each wound you've received just a burdensome gift
It gets so hard to lift yourself up off the ground
But the poet says we must praise a mutilated world
We're all working the graveyard shift
You might as well sing along

Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me, my heart should know
As for your tender heart, this world's going to rip it wide open,
It aint gonna be pretty, but you're not alone

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me, my heart should know
Awful believers, skeptical dreamers, you're welcome
Yeah, you're safe right here, you don't have to go

Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me, I should know
Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just want to hold you and let the rest go

Over the Rhine's website is at http://overtherhine.com/

Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints: "Show Me The Place"

I have a started a new project in conjunction with my "The Humble Stumble: Lessons on Simplicity, Stillness, Fashion and Faith from a Bad Quaker" book. It's on Spotify -- "Humble Stumble: Hymns for Imperfect Saints". http://open.spotify.com/user/1272246762/playlist/44GFZ4SnDCBCVwX9uMOdHU
I'll add a "hymn" a day.

These are not "hymns" in the traditional sense. Rather they're songs that have spoken to my soul in a spiritual sense -- even if they are not "spiritual songs" per se. Though my bias is that that our hearts hunger for beauty and meaning and when artists create something that sings deep in our souls, well, they've created a "hymn," even if it was unintentional.

Suggestions of songs that have spoken deeply to you are welcome!

I'll also post lyrics and video here.

First up is Leonard Cohen's "Show Me the Place."

LEONARD COHEN
Show Me The Place

Show me the place where you want your slave to go
Show me the place, I've forgotten, I don't know
Show me the place for my head is bending low
Show me the place where you want your slave to go

Show me the place, help me roll away the stone
Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone
Show me the place where the word became a man
Show me the place where the suffering began

The troubles came, I saved what I could save
A thread of light, a particle, a wave
But there were chains so I hastened to behave
There were chains so I loved you like a slave

Show me the place where you want your slave to go
Show me the place, I've forgotten, I don't know
Show me the place for my head is bending low
Show me the place where you want your slave to go

The troubles came, I saved what I could save
A thread of light, a particle, a wave
But there were chains so I hastened to behave
There were chains so I loved you like a slave

Show me the place
Show me the place
Show me the place

Show me the place, help me roll away the stone
Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone
Show me the place where the word became a man
Show me the place where the suffering began