Categories
Life

Restoration

Featured song: Touch Of The Master’s Hand, by Wayne Watson from his 1980 album, Workin’ In The Final Hour.

It must be hard to keep television new, fresh, and able to retain eyeballs. Even in this day, when the landscape has been shattered from three or four standard networks into a thousand pieces, multiple specialty channels that cater to each individual viewing preference, sometimes those specialty channels have to re-invent themselves to survive.

Take The History Channel (now called just “History”) as an example. Although it started with programs that were more of a documentary nature, it has morphed into a combination of non-historical reality shows (Ice Road Truckers, for example), and it’s most populars programs, those dealing with antiques. Although the format was preceded by the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow,  History’s Pawn Stars, which started in 2009, features the various unusual items that are brought into a Las Vegas pawn shop, often discussing the background and value of the merchandise. It is amazing how much people expect to get for the items they bring in, and sometimes it is amazing to see what is actually paid for the items that the pawn shop does purchase.

A parallel program that History began to run in 2010, American Pickers, chronicles the experiences of two midwestern (Iowa!!) antique dealers who travel across the United States looking for “rusty gold” stored away in old warehouses, garages, and outbuildings. These “pickers” know from experience what types of items are likely to be valuable to collectors, and what it will be possible to re-sell for a profit.

The latest offering from History in this fascination of antiques is American Restoration, which began to air in 2011. Featured originally on the Pawn Stars show as a resource for fixing up and restoring items purchased by the Las Vegas pawn shop, this spin-off show goes into some detail as to how they take an old item and restore it to look like it is new.

History went further with one special in which they combined the three shows, calling it “The Pick, The Pawn, & The Polish”. Rick, of Pawn Stars contacts Mike and Frank of American Pickers to find a specific old car he wanted to give to his father. With some difficulty, they locate one, bring it to Las Vegas, dicker a price with Rick, who then turns it over to Rick’s Restorations (the American Restorations tie-in), who does the full restoration to bring it back to like-new goodness.

The fascination with these shows lies, I am sure, in seeing all of the old stuff that people have in storage. It also brings to mind the thought that there just might be something really valuable up in the attic. It’s part of the appeal that antique stores have had for many years, and online stores like eBay have been able to use to create an online powerhouse.

So what is the “Joy” connection?  Wayne Watson’s song featured here today is about an auction with a “rusty gold” violin that nobody wants to buy, until an expert with a trained eye takes it and shows the audience that it truly is valuable, despite its appearance. I am getting more battered and old myself as time passes, and I could end up in a heap of other old battered people, looking valueless. But Jesus knows about the “rusty gold” in all of us. He can come, see the value that I have, wipe the sin and grime off of me, and show me off as the beautiful person that He gave His life to redeem. And it does not happen because of anything that I can do. Just like the violin could not clean itself off, tune itself off, or even play itself, it is totally the work of the Master to show off what each of us can be and do.

Although the audio is not as good as I would like (I cannot find a new copy of the original Wayne Watson song to use), this old antique song was dusted off from its “download” from the radio, way back in 1982.

Well, it was battered and scarred
And the auctioneer felt it was hardly worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin
But he held it up with a smile

“It sure ain’t much, but it’s all we got left
I guess we ought to sell it too.
Now who’ll start the bid on this old violin?
Just one more and we’ll be through.”

And then he cried, “One, give me one dollar
Who’ll make it two?
Only two dollars? Who’ll make it three?
Three dollars twice, well that’s a good price.
But who’s got a bid for me?

Raise up your hand and don’t wait any longer
The auction’s about to end
Who’s got four, just one dollar more?
So bid on this old violin.”

Well the air was hot, and the people stood around
As the sun was settin’ low
From the back of the crowd
A grey-haired man came forward, picked up the bow

He wiped the dust from the old violin
And he tightened up the strings
Then he played out a melody pure and sweet,
As sweet as the angel sings.

And then the music stopped.

And the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low
He said, “What is my bid for this old violin?”
Then he held it up with the bow

Then he cried out, “One, give me one thousand
Who’ll make it two?
Only two thousand? who’ll make it three?
Three thousand twice, well that’s a good price.
But who’s got a bid for me?”

The people called out, “What made the change?
We don’t understand!”
Then the auctioneer stopped,
And he said with a smile,
“It was the touch of the Master’s hand!”

Now you know, many a man with life out of tune
Is battered and scarred with sin
And he’s auctioned cheap to a thankless world
Much like the old violin

Then the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
They never understand
The worth of a soul when then change is wrought
Just by the touch
Of the Master’s hand

Again, he cried out, “One, give me one thousand
Who’ll make it two?
Only two thousand? who’ll make it three?
Three thousand twice, well that’s a good price.
But who’s got a bid for me?”

The people called out, “What made the change?
We don’t understand!”
Then the auctioneer stopped
And he said with a smile,
“It was the touch of the Master’s hand!”

It was the touch of the Master’s hand
It was the touch
Of the Master’s hand

Go here for the artist’s web site
Categories
Life

Wounds

Featured song: Friend Of A Wounded Heart, by Wayne Watson, from his 1987 album Watercolour Ponies.

The pain of aloneness can be unbearable. And anyone who feels truly alone knows the truth of the phrase, “alone in a crowd”. It is more than being apart from people; it is being apart from people even when they are in the same room with you. That feeling of isolation, when you don’t have the connection with others that you need.

It doesn’t matter how or why it happens. It might be your fault, it might be the fault of your friends, it may have no clear cause. But the reality is that you do not know how to fix things, and you do know that the loneliness is so hard to go through.

You try to put a good face on it. You put up walls to make it appear that you don’t care, when inside you feel like you are dying. And the longer you live with it, the more hard your heart becomes, scar tissue that you try to build on to make it hurt less.

Sometimes you know of things you can or should do to fix it, but you feel unable. Sometimes you have tried and tried to fix things, but your efforts failed, or were rejected. And still you are alone.

The presence of a friend who cares for you is what you want, but even in the best of circumstances, this is not guaranteed. That friend is just as flawed as you yourself are, and the failure of a friend may be worse than the lack of a friend in the first place.

How can there be a solution to this problem? The place to start is by not depending on other people. Instead, you need to turn to that friend who truly will never leave you. In Hebrews 13:5b, we are promised by God, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” This is a promise that you can be sure of. Jesus will always be there for you, even when every other friend has turned away.

Wayne Watson tells this so well in the song featured today. Listen to it, feel the words, hear the truth of what is said. Ask Him to reach into that wounded heart you carry within you, and touch it with His healing and His love. Ask to have your heart made new.

Smile
Make ’em think you’re happy
Lie
And say that things are fine
And hide
That empty longing that you feel
Don’t ever show it
Just keep your heart
Concealed

Why
Are the days so lonely?
I wonder where
Where can a heart go free?
And who will dry the tears that no one sees?
There must be someone
To share your silent dreams

Caught like a leaf in the wind
Looking for a friend
Where can you turn?
Whisper the words of a prayer
And you’ll find Him there,
Arms open wide
Love in His eyes

Jesus!
He meets you where you are
Oh, Jesus!
He heals your secret scars
All the love you’re longing for
Is Jesus
The friend of a wounded heart

Joy
Comes like the the morning
Hope
Deepens as you grow
And peace,
beyond the reaches of your soul,
Comes blowing through you,
For love has made you whole

Once like a leaf in the wind
Looking for a friend
Where could you turn?
Oh, you spoke the words of a prayer
And you found Him there
Arms open wide
Love in His eyes

Jesus!
He meets you where you are
Oh, Jesus!
He heals your secret scars
All the love you’re longing for
Is Jesus
The friend of a wounded heart…

He meets you where you are
Oh, Jesus!
He heals your secret scars
All the love you’re longing for
All the love that you need
Is Jesus
The friend of a wounded heart

Oh, the friend of a wounded heart
Oh, the friend of a wounded heart
Oh, the friend of a wounded heart
Oh, the friend of a wounded heart

Categories
Heaven Life

Changed

Featured song: Changed In A Moment by Wayne Watson, from the 1985 album Giants In The Land.

Yesterday, June 6, 2010, Dana Key died suddenly. He was a founding member of the Jesus music duo Degarmo & Key, along with friend Eddie DeGarmo. At the time he died, he had been pastor of a church in Cordova, Tennessee. Along with many others, I am saddened by the news of this loss.

As I myself get older, the news of someone’s death in my age group (Key was 56, just two years older than I) seems to have greater impact than it did in the past. I’ve always had the attitude of “that could be me” when I hear such news, as I have no illusions to my own immortality or indestructibility. Working as a physician, I see disease and death often happen to people who are not “old”.

If you’ve read past entries in this blog, you know that one of my fond dreams is about Heaven, and what it will be like. That threshold we all have to cross, however, is that of Death. It can happen unexpectedly (auto accident) or after a known illness (cancer), but it comes to all.

What Dana Key knew, and what all believers in Jesus should know, is that the life that will be there for us after death is completely outside of our imagination. As written in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” And as much as this life has things in it that are beautiful, enjoyable, or wonderful, the things in heaven will be way beyond anything that we know here.

To commemorate the passing of Dana Key, I am not playing one of his songs. I am picking one by Wayne Watson that seemed appropriate. It deals with the concept of the second coming of Jesus, but is just as applicable to the transition from earth to heaven that happens to us one at a time.

Changed in a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
Taken up into Glory
Seated at the feet of God the Father
Singin’ with the angels, Allelujah!
Any moment now, we could be changed!

I have heard it for some time now
This life will soon be done
That our striving will be over
And the world will soon be one
That the Lord Himself will call us
That the trumpet blast will sound
And the graves will all be opened
And holy feet will leave the ground

Changed in a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
Taken up into Glory
Seated at the feet of God the Father
Singin’ with the angels, Allelujah!
Any moment now, we could be changed!

Oh, I remember praying
In the happy days of youth
For the world to keep on turning
There was so much left to do
There were battlefields to conquer
There were mountains left to climb
And dreams to be realized
But now I’ve changed my mind

Some of the goals that seemed unreachable
Are finally in my grasp
Some of the dreams most unbelieveable
Have come to be at last
And although I’ve had a better life
Than I ever thought could be
There is a better day a-comin’
When He comes back for you and me!

Changed in a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
Taken up into Glory
Seated at the feet of God the Father
Singin’ with the angels, Allelujah!
Any moment now (any moment now)
Any moment now (any moment now)
Any moment now, we could be changed!

Any moment now, we could be changed!

Any moment now, we could be changed!

Any moment now, we could be changed!

Categories
Life

Mothers and Time

Featured Song: Watercolour Ponies, by Wayne Watson, from the 1987 album of the same name.

Mother and babyToday is Mother’s Day, 2009. It is, I have heard, one of the busiest days for telephone traffic of nearly any other day of the year.

Some recollections of mothers are, sadly, not positive. For those people for whom this is true, I express my condolences. I myself had a childhood that was made more enjoyable by the closeness I had with my parents, and it was my mother who held the household together. She loved we three children deeply, and was very selfless in her care. I am grateful for the life she provided for us, and love her all the more for it.

From the point of view of being a parent, I have learned many of those things about children and parenting that I believe she told me once I would understand “some day”. And one of those things is the relative speed at which life seems to run as an adult compared to the time it took to pass when I was a child. I posted here about the tendency to “turn around” and suddenly finding that the early years of your children has come and gone in a flash of time. It seems like not such a long time since my two children were babies; about twenty years later, they are both in college and facing the future of their own adult lives.

For a mother, then, there is the sweetness of holding a baby, the joy of playing with the young child, the busy time of handling their school years, the even faster pace of high school, and then they are gone. Your relationship is changed, and although still parent to child, it now (hopefully) takes on some of that of “friend”.

To the mothers in the world, living and past, I dedicate today’s song. Wayne Watson’s lyrics give a picture of a just a small aspect of the life of raising children.

There are watercolour ponies
On my refrigerator door
And the shape of something I don’t really recognize
Brushed with careful little fingers
And put proudly on display
A reminded to us all of how time flies

Seems an endless mound of laundry
And a stairway laced with toys
Gives a blow by blow reminder of the war
That we fight for their well-being
For their greater understanding
To impart a holy reverence for the Lord

But baby, what will we do
When it comes back to me and you
They look a little less like little boys every day
Oh, the pleasure of watchin’ the children growin’
Is mixed with a bitter cup
Of knowin’ the watercolour ponies
Will one day ride away

And the vision can get so narrow
As you view thru your tiny world
And little victories can go by with no applause
But in the greater evaluation
As they fly from your nest of love
May they mount up with wings as eagles for His cause

But baby, what will we do
When it comes back to me and you
They look a little less like little boys every day
Oh, the pleasure of watchin’ the children growin’
Is mixed with a bitter cup
Of knowin’ the watercolour ponies
Will one day ride away

Watercolour Ponies, 1987, Wayne Watson