Defining Music

I associate many phases in my life with the music I listened to during that time period. When I moved home from Indianapolis two years ago, the songs "Whatever My [Father] Ordains is Right," "Valley of Vision," and "Oh, the Precious Blood" were ones that I listened to over and over again.

For my birthday this year, my brand new friend Melinda gave me Andrew P's latest CD, "Counting Stars." I had downloaded one of the songs from it before I left home. What luxury to have the whole album to enjoy!

And I am enjoying it. Some songs were instant likes; others have grown on me. It took me a few listens to understand one of them, and I'm still not sure that I understand others. AP is like that, which is why I like him. He's deep and thoughtful, an artist in how he uses language. The songs' meanings often unfold in layers. Hey, anyone who states on the album jacket that his inspiration comes from people like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, and G.K. Chesterton has to be worth a try.

One of my tippy-top favorites right now, written by AP's keyboardist, Ben S: "God of My Fathers." The line that makes me happiest is, "God of my grandfathers, gone these many years now. I guess they're shining like the sun. And I envision them, grinning at the finish, and they smile, and they smile, 'cause they love to see me run." It makes me think of GranBeth, Grammie, Grandpa, and the many before them who would love to know what I'm doing now, and are certainly cheering me on.

"Fool with a Fancy Guitar," about true identity, is another winner. "Many Roads" is the one that's been growing on me, and "The Magic Hour" is one that I've only partially figured out. "World Traveler" is a fun twist on the expression. "Planting Trees" is good for moms and others involved in long-term investment.

Oh, okay. Just go listen to the album. More of the songs would be blue stickered than red, I think, with one or two possible x's, for those curious about musical style and familiar with FwdBI ratings.

So yeah, hearing this music in the future will probably always make me think of my early weeks here.

(Can you guess that I'm procrastinating on writing another Arabic dialog?)