March Musicale 2008

Every Spring, the Palmyra United Methodist Church holds its "March Musicale." The March Musicale is a musical revue featuring singers and instrumentalists from Palmyra UMC and other churches in the area. I have been a participant in the March Musicale every year since 2005. This year I performed two songs: Life's Railroad to Heaven , an old-time gospel song, and Take a Pill, a little ditty I wrote myself about the state of modern medicine. Rebecca and I performed two songs together: You Are My Sunshine, the classic hit by Governor Jimmie Davis, and I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry, a relatively recent hymn written by John Ylvisaker.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from this year's March Musicale. I do, however, have three pictures taken last year. Enjoy!

Here's to Good Luck!

Dear Friends,
I received a "chain letter" email today. It claimed that if I did not forward the message to at least 10 of my friends within 3 hours, something bad would happen to me. On the other hand, the more friends I forwarded the message to, the better luck I would have. So that got me thinking. If I posted the message on this blog, there would be potential for many people to read it--not only through Blogspot, but also for those who read this blog via Facebook! What an easy way to avoid calamity and ensure some good luck!

So in the name of good luck, I "forward" to you the following poem.

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
Remember to always say what you mean.
If you love someone, tell them.
Because when you decide that it is the right time it might
be too late.
Seize the day. Never have regrets.
And most importantly, stay close to your friends
and family, for they have helped
make you the person that you are today.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
May all of you be blessed with the good luck that comes from forwarded emails!

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed!

In order to celebrate the day, let us recall a beautiful hymn written approximately 484 years ago by Martin Luther (here translated by Richard Massie).

Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands

Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands,
for our offenses given;
but now at God's right hand he stands,
and brings us life from heaven;
wherefore let us joyful be,
and sing to God right thankfully
loud songs of Alleluia! Alleluia!

It was a strange and dreadful strife
when life and death contended;
the victory remained with life;
the reign of death was ended.
Stripped of power, no more it reigns,
and empty form alone remains;
death's sting is lost forever! Alleluia!

So let us keep the festival
whereto the Lord invites us;
Christ is himself the joy of all,
the Sun that warms and lights us.
By his grace he doth impart
eternal sunshine to the heart;
the night of sin is ended! Alleluia!

Then let us feast this Easter day
on the true bread of heaven;
the Word of grace hath purged away
the old and wicked leaven.
Christ alone our souls will feed;
he is our meat and drink indeed;
faith lives upon no other! Alleluia!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May each of you have a blessed Eastertide!
Clayton and Rebecca Peak

Today's Jeopardy! Question

One of my all-time favorite TV game shows is Jeopardy! created by Merv Griffin. As a young child I enjoyed watching the original version hosted by Art Fleming. After a several year hiatus, I was glad when it came back in 1984, now hosted by Alex Trebek.

If you've ever watched Jeopardy!, you know that the show follows a "reverse quiz" format. In other words, the contestants are given the "answer," and then they have to come up with the correct "question" that fits the given answer.

So in that spirit, here is today's Jeopardy! answer (and the question that goes with it).

Answer: When I sit down on the toilet, when I step into the shower, and when I head down to the basement.

Question: When does the telephone usually ring?

Podcast Vacation

Dear Friends,
For those of you who regularly read this blog, either directly from the web or through imported notes on Facebook, you know that I have posted a link to an audio file recorded by me (a.k.a. a "podcast"**) each week for the last couple of weeks.

I am sorry to report that the podcasts are going to take a vacation for at least a couple of weeks. Right now is crunch time for many pastors, myself included. With Holy Week and Easter coming right up, I must use "Ockham's Razor" and "cut away" any thing that competes with the top priorities of my time and attention.

But don't worry, the podcasts will be back. As St. Paul wrote, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Clayton

**I realize there may be some debate over the precise definition of "podcast." Some folks define it specifically as a program/episode of something (whether that be a short devotional or a feature length movie). I myself take a more general approach. For my purposes here, a podcast is any kind of audio/video file sent over the internet for people to download and listen/watch.

Attitude Adjustment

Dear Friends,
Here is a wonderful piece I received from a friend. What inspiring words of wisdom!

Enjoy,
Clayton

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Attitude -

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today?'
So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?'
So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'
So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

'YEA!' she exclaimed, 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly . . .

Leave the rest to God

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass . . .

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Submitted by: Michael Feudner,

Old Joe Clark

Dear Friends,
Last week I began my "podcast ministry" with a recording of me reciting Psalm 24. Today we're moving up to the next step. This time, I have recorded myself playing the banjo. This is my first attempt at an instrumental recording with my new Samson microphone. I've created two links to the podcast. You can either click on the Title Bar at the top of this message, or you can click HERE.

Some notes about the recording. I am playing the old folk song Old Joe Clark in the "clawhammer" style. I used a "flat" recording setting (i.e., no reverb or any other type of effects were added). Even though I say "take 12" in the recording, it was actually take 14. That doesn't include, of course, the several times I played through the song before turning on the microphone.

I hope you enjoy it. I welcome your feedback. And for any of you sound techies out there--if you know of ways I can brighten/liven up the sound of my recordings, I would love to know how. I am still a novice at this and am still just feeling my way through.

Clayton