Amy's Song - David Harsh

Deborah Jabs (1960 - 2011)

The day you slipped away
Was the day my pain arrived
And I wonder how my life would be
If you were still alive
There's an emptyness within me
That is crying out your name
And no matter what I ever do
I will never be the same

Chorus:
And all I want to know
Is are you happy now?
Are you in the arms of Jesus
Can you see my life somehow?
As I sit here making wishes
That time will not allow
Please tell me
Are you happy now?

I think about the memories
And the time I had with you
And I laugh about the games we'd play
And the things we used to do
There is so much left to tell you
That I never got to say
And there are words I wish I'd never said
That I cannot take away

I can't wait 'til I can see your face again
In the house of our Father
Where the joy will never end
I can't wait to hold you close to me
And tell you that I love you
We'll be together in eternity

So as I walk along without you
In the years that still remain
I will think about you often
And smile through the pain
'cause there's a part of me that's missing
When you left and went away
But a part of you remains in me
And I know that it will stay

---

I really like the feeling and sentiment of this song, even if David Harsh and I disagree concerning what happens to a person when they die.
You can listen to David Harsh sing this song on YouTube here.
You can read the on-line Bible study, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" here.

Remain faithful,
Dave

Hero

by Steve Taylor
from the album Meltdown

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photo by megan @ flickr

---

When the house fell asleep
there was always a light
and it fell from the page to the eyes
of an American boy
in a storybook land
I could dream what I read

when it went to my head I'd see
I wanna be a hero
But the practical side
said the question was still
when you grow up what will you be?
I wanna be a hero
chorus:
Hero
it's a nice-boy notion that the real world's gonna destroy
you know it's a Marvel comicbook Saturday matinee fairytale, boy
Growing older you'll find
that illusions are brought
and the idol you thought you'd be
was just another zero
I wanna be a hero

Heroes died when the squealers bought 'em off
died when the dealers got 'em off
welcome to the "in it for the money as an idol" show
when they ain't as big as life
when they ditch their second wife
where's the boy to go?
gotta be a hero
(chorus)

When the house fell asleep
from a book I was led
to a light that I never knew
I wanna be your hero
and he spoke to my heart
from the moment I prayed
here's a pattern I made for you
I wanna be your hero

---

About The Song
From Clone Club News Flash Spring/Summer 1984:

"['Hero'] is the most personal song on the album. I remember as a boy I'd pull a book out from under my bedcovers after my parents had turned out the lights and read by streetlight outside my window. My favorite books were biographies of presidents or generals or kings and queens, but as I'd grow older and read more in-depth accounts, I'd discover that my heroes weren't all they were made out to be. Yet the more I read about Jesus, the more I realized that He was the one hero who wasn't going to disappoint me, and that I could pattern my life after Him."

"Role models may vary in quality and consistency, but all are ultimately born to disappoint. Jesus is the only hero worth having." - Steve Taylor

An Empty Chair

written by Steve Dickerson
performed by Hand Picked

I could never hope to tell the joys of Heaven.
There are wonders more than I will ever know.
But the Lord wants me to live with Him forever.
It's the only place I really want to go.

Chorus
When the angels start to sing
Hallelujah to the King
It will be a chorus far beyond compare
Then the greatest and the least
Will be seated for the feast
But there'll be an empty chair
If you're not there.

---

photo by Shellylyn

---

I expect to meet the saints from all the ages
And I'll see the ones I've loved that's gone before
We'll forget the years of trial and tribulation
As we share in Heaven's joys forevermore.

Chorus

I'll explore the wonders of the new creation
As I'm looking for the friends that I once knew
And I hope that I will find you there in Heaven
There's a special place intended just for you.

---

Hand Picked offers several FREE Christian Bluegrass MP3 downloads of their music, along with more information about the group, on their website.

- Dave

Close Your Eyes

by Buddy Houghtaling
from the album Mercy Road

When I was just a little boy
I'd be out playing ball
Til the time the sun would set
And then I'd here my mother call
I'll go and put my glove away
Make sure I'd brushed my teeth
Give my folks a kiss good night
And try to go to sleep
But sometimes sleep just wouldn't come
As I'd replay the game
My mom would come and rub my back
And I'd hear her gently say

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photo by wheat_in_your_hair

---

Close your eyes
Time to rest
I know your team got beat today
But I know you did your best
The day is gone
Night is falling
And I'll be calling when the sunlight hits the sky
It's okay child.
Chose your eyes

Later on in life
I was sleepless once again
When the girl I thought would be the one
Said I think we'll just be friends
My mom would try to comfort me
Try to make it be alright
Told me some day I would meet the one
That'd love to be my wife
As I lay there in the darkness
The world right at its end
I remember momma coming in
And I heard her words again

Close your eyes
Time to rest
Just leave it all in God's hands
It'll work out for the best
Day is gone
Night is falling
And I'll be calling when the sunlight hits the skies
It's okay son
Close your eyes

So many things she taught me
Went around inside my head
As I stood there in the hospital
Beside my mother's bed
She fought to live so valiantly
But her strength was getting low
The heaviness within her eyes
Said that it was time to go
She seemed to ask permission
As if she wasn't sure
I kissed her gently on the cheek
And I said these words to her

---

photo by Tim Samoff

---

Close your eyes
Time to rest
In showing us a mother's love
Know you're the best
The day is gone
The night is falling
But He'll be calling when the angels fill the skies
It's okay, Mom
Close your eyes
I'll see you there with open eyes

---

This song is from the album, Mercy Road, by Buddy Houghtaling, and can be purchased at his website.

Buddy performs from time to time on 3ABN television.

I admire Buddy for being able to share and perform this song. As teary as I can get just listening, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to perform a song about your own mother's death. But, praise the Lord, when a loved one dies in the blessed hope and we can have confidence that we will meet them when the angels fill the skies (1Thes 4:16-17)

It seems quite fitting that the next song on the album is Precious Lord Take My Hand.

- Dave

If I Had A Dime for Every Time...

Just Like Me by Sweet Comfort Band
from the album Hearts of Fire

---

If I had a dime for every time
I've had you on my mind
They would stretch on down the highway
In an endless line
If I had a dime for every time
I've thought about us two
I could buy myself a lifetime
Just to spend on you

---

photo by twoblueday

---

And maybe you could care for someone
Just like me
Maybe you're in need of someone
Just like me

Now I told you how I hold you
In my highest esteem
I hope you don't disapprove of me
If I'm not what I seem
As a matter fact fact
I've been holding back
The way I really feel
Cuz I've been afraid
Of what you might say
If my heart had been revealed

And maybe you could care for someone
Just like me
Maybe you're in need of someone
Just like me

Well, I'm no Knight in shining armor
I'm No prince charming, I agree
But what lack in might and valor
I'll make up in honesty

So, here I go
I will try to show
How much for you I care
But the value that I place in you
Is far beyond compare
You mean more to me
Than the eye can see
But your heart can understand
That I'm talking of the kind of love
To a woman from a man

And maybe you could care for someone
Just like me
Maybe you're in need of someone
Just like me
Maybe deep inside you're feeling
Just like me
And maybe you could marry someone
Just like me

---

Love, if not expressed, dies.

The wife was in tears and ready to leave the marriage. The counselor asked, "Don't you love your wife?" "Of course," the husband replied. "I told her the day I married her and if anything changes I'll let her know."

Have you told your spouse that you love them lately?
Better yet, have told them that you're happy that you married them?
Better yet, have you proposed lately?

Deborah,
Would you marry me?
I still do!

Arise, My Love

by Michael Card
from the album The Way of Wisdom
(adapted from the Song of Solomon)

---

Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's the season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.

---

photo by steelight

---

Who is it that appears like the dawn?
As fair as the moon, as bright as the sun?
Show me your face, let me hear your voice.
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.

Set me like a seal on your heart,
For love is unyielding as the grave.
The flash of it is a jealous fire,
No flood can quench,
For love is as strong as death.

Arise my love and come with me
Before the dawn breaks and the shadows flee.
You ravished my heart with just one glance
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.

Do not arose or awaken love
Until it so desires.

Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
The Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.

I am my love's, my beloved is mine.
Arise and come with me. "

---

A very brave friend of mine sang this song to his bride while she walked down the aisle to him at their own wedding. It was quite a romantic gesture. He was so moved that he could hardly sing. I learned that day that I probably didn't want to do the same thing on my own wedding day. I do, though, sing it to my own well-beloved from time to time just to say:

Deborah, I still do. Arise my love, and come with me...

Two Different Worlds

from the album Ten Commandments
by Steve Hamby

All of my closest friends think I'm a fool
They laugh and call me names and sometimes they're cruel
I try to live my life by His Golden Rule
By all of their standards I know I'm not cool

---

photo by Code Poet

---

They try to make me think I'm not what I could be
I could have glamor and gold and then they'd be pleased
But I just don't have a need for their diamonds and pearls
They say I'm crazy and in my own world

Yes I'm in my own world where Jesus is king
And only his true sheep will know what I mean
I could have anything like diamonds and pearls
But I know I'm livin' in two different worlds

Sometimes they ask me why I live this way
I like to tell them the promise He made
That there is another world too good to be true
And He tailor made it for just me and you

And we'll have our own world where Jesus is king
And of his true sheep will be at his feet
We can anything not just diamonds and pearls
And that's why were livin' in two different worlds

---

This song strikes so close to my heart. All of my life people have told me that I could accomplish this or I could achieve that if I would just stop being so persnickety. "It's a gray area," they said. Stop being so peculiar. Just check your conscience at the door. Abandon your family. Make choices for self.

It's the tyranny of the "got to's." You've "got to" do what it takes. You've "got to" do it now. You've "got to" seize the moment because they'll pull out the Captain's chair for you only once....

- Dave