Blessed Am I

My sweet mom is 91 years old today, and while she isn't feeling nearly as chipper as she did in this picture from last year, she is hanging in as best she can. Mom has her good days and bad days, but every day we are grateful for all the love and support she has given us through the years. Our mother has a generous heart, and we are the beneficiaries.

Below are the lyrics to Blessed Am I, written with my mother as inspiration. I thought it seemed just right to print them here today. The sheet music can be found on the website of Lindy Kerby, who took my heartfelt words and composed the loveliest melody imaginable. We were introduced to one another years ago by Janice Kapp Perry and have collaborated on several songs since that time. This one is generally sung for Mother's Day.

On this day, however, Blessed Am I is a happy birthday song for Grace Darlene Robbins, whose daughter I am grateful and proud to be. 

Blessed Am I

©1996 Lindy Kerby (music) Susan Noyes Anderson (lyrics)

I came to a world that was cold and unknown.

You reached out to hold me and made me your own;

and you made me strong, and you filled me with love

and whispered that I was a gift from above.

Blessed am I; my mother is you,

sharing His love in all that you do.

Each gentle smile is an answer to prayer.

Deep in my heart, you'll always be there;

deep in my heart, you'll be there.

Your love is the truth that I came here to learn.

You listened and counseled with love and concern;

and you understood me when other hearts failed,

when you were the reason my spirit prevailed.

Blessed am I; my mother is you,

sharing His love in all that you do.

Each gentle smile is an answer to prayer.

Deep in my heart, you'll always be there;

deep in my heart, you'll be there.

I thank you, dear Mother, for all that you are –

no softer a moonbeam, no brighter a star,

no stronger a mountain, more constant the sea –

No other could be such a mother to me.

Blessed am I; my mother is you,

sharing His love in all that you do.

Each gentle smile is an answer to prayer.

Deep in my heart, you'll always be there;

deep in my heart, you'll be there.

💗 Happy Birthday, Mom. 💗

You are loved,

dearly loved,

by all of us.

xox

=)

Turning 64!

Thanks to The Beatles for giving me a tune to customize for my hubby in celebration of his advancing age... ;)

TO THE BIRTHDAY BOY – NOW YOU'RE 64!

Now that you're older, losing your hair,

I don't mind at all.

You will ever after be my valentine.

Happy birthday; we're doin' fine.

When I stay up till quarter till three,

you don't lock the door.

I'll always need you; sometimes, I'll feed you.

Now you're 64!

(Sure, I'm older, too.

Still when May comes around this year,

I'm just 62.)

You're mighty handy, changing a bulb

when my light is gone.

So I'll watch your movies by the fireside,

praise your car when we take a ride.

You tend the garden, yanking up weeds.

Who could ask for more?

I'll always need you; sometimes I'll feed you.

Now you're 64!

Shall we keep on renting beachfront houses down in Newport Beach,

our old heads to clear?

(Steep at half the price!)

You'll have grandchildren on your knee…

"J," Carli, and Bryce.

Send me no postcard; drop me no line.

Never leave my view.

Keep on saying all the little things you say.

Love me truly, day after day.

Help me with numbers; fill in tax forms.

Mine forevermore.

I'll always need you; sometimes I'll feed you.

Happy 64!

I LOVE YOU!

=)

Sue

Quick update on the poetry website: It's almost ready to go online, and you will be the first to know when it does! Thanks for being so patient with me while I'm gone.

for more T posts, click below

Classic Walking

CLASSIC WALKING

©Susan Noyes Anderson

My body is electric when

I'm walking to Vivaldi;

I shed years and pounds in minutes

moving to Rossini's beat.

Every step inspires new feeling;

I am on my way to healing,

floating on a starry ceiling

when Ludwig directs my feet.

I go marching with Franz Schubert;

Haydn is my soul's delight.

With Tchaikovsky I'm in heaven;

I could stroll with him all night.

When I trip the light fantastic

with Wolfgang, it's orgiastic.

Walks with Bach are more scholastic,

for the subtle appetite.

I'm a mover and a shaker,

overcome with joie de vivre.

Gliding up the steps with Brahms

is sheer, symphonic ecstasy.

What an unexpected treasure!

I could not begin to measure

the unmitigated pleasure

classic walking brings to me.

for more magpies, click below

Devotional: A Child Was Born

A Christmas lyric by Susan Noyes Anderson
All Rights Reserved

I wonder just how Mary felt, when visited one day,

by Gabriel, who understood the role that she would play.

in bringing forth the Savior and nurturing with care

the precious little baby she would soon be called to bear.

I wonder what was in the mind of Joseph as he prayed.

Though he could not find shelter, he pressed forward, unafraid.

The road to Bethlehem was long and hard; the birth drew nigh…

but Joseph knew, and Mary too, the Father would provide.

Alleluia, the voices joined through all the years.

Noel, noel, the Son of Man was born.


 

Ring, Christmas bells, as music swells

in joyful hearts of men set free…

We were lost, but now we’re found eternally,

and it all began that sacred Christmas morn.

I wonder if the shepherds spoke or uttered not a word,

as heavenly voices filled the air and every soul was stirred.

One star stood out from all the rest above a manger bare;

the Light of all the World in Mary’s arms was cradled there.

I wonder if the animals were gathered all around

and sensing His divinity, looked on without a sound.

Created by His hand, perhaps their natures were subdued

in reverence as they shared the comfort of that stable rude.

Alleluia, the voices joined through all the years.

Noel, noel, the Son of Man was born.

Ring, Christmas bells, as music swells

in joyful hearts of men set free…

We were lost, but now we’re found eternally,

and it all began that sacred Christmas morn.

I wonder why the world has not remembered Christmas Day.

His sacred birth is often lost in meaningless display.

A Child was born, a Child was born…the Savior came to earth

to live for us and die for us; come celebrate the birth!

Alleluia, the voices joined through all the years.

Noel, noel, the Son of Man was born.

Ring, Christmas bells, as music swells

in joyful hearts of men set free…

We were lost, but now we’re found eternally,

and it all began that sacred Christmas morn.

for more D posts, click below

The Sweet Smell of Success: CLASSIXX

Tyler Blake (my nephew) & Michael David – Classixx

Success is sweet, and my nephew, Tyler Blake, is about to experience a whole new level of it. He and Michael David, aka Classixx, have put out some very cool singles over the years and hit it big with lots of remixes, but they tour so much it's taken them a while to release their first full album. That's all about to change, though, because their highly anticipated LP (Holding On) drops May 14th. Already, the reviews are good...and this one from the Huffington Post is especially fine. I hope you'll take a minute to read it. (Be sure to pass up the first section about Rhye and scroll down to the second part of the article, titled Classixx.)

Here, for your listening pleasure, are a couple of tracks from Holding On. Club music isn't my genre, but these California guys have a vibe that's as chill and mellow as a summer day. And listening to them is sure to make you happy.

for more S posts, click below

for more happiness, click below

CCR & 3 Dog Night? Outta Sight!

Three Dog Night was in rare form Friday evening.

After 42 years, the whole group is still together. And they sound great!

 Credence rocked it too, but only two of their members were originals.

 We LOVE this mountain venue near our home.

 The place is a winery by day and a theater by night...

 with lots of ambience (and a bit of magic) to spare.

Great views, too.

Except for this one, of course... *sigh*

We had lots of fun, but Friday had to be the coldest June night in California history, and I am not kidding. The wind was blowing like crazy, and the chill off the ocean was unbelievable. I had on my warmest coat with the hood up, was covered head to toe in a stadium blanket, and still froze to death. Human icicles filled the audience, and it is a testament to the talents of Three Dog Night and CCR that everyone stayed to the bitter(ly cold) end.

I suspect no one was sorry, either. (Just suffering from hypothermia.)

No worries. Frostbite was a small price to pay for the music Dave and I fell in love to...One Is the Loneliest Number, Mama Told Me Not To Come, Easy to Be Hard, An Old Fashioned Love Song, etc. from Three Dog Night...Suzie Q, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Down on the Corner, and so forth from CCR. Boy, did it ever take us back, waaaaay back, and we left with a heap of some old-time feeling that everything we could ever dream of lies before us...the one I used to think only the young can feel. 

Clearly, I was wrong. (Just call me Suzy Q.) Maybe the prospect of Dave's retirement at the end of this month is giving us some good joss!

=)

FROM

TO

IN ONE EASY LISTEN. . .

I've got lots going on today...lots to do before spending a weekend with my parents, intersected by a family wedding on my husband's side. It looks to be a great weekend, and I've even managed to find a fairly flattering outfit for the black-tie reception, miracle of miracles. (My body needs some overhauling lately...)

Soooo, before I set off on a breakneck-paced day that includes cleaning my house from top to bottom, getting my hair cut, and running a list of errands as long as my arm, I thought I would share a moment's respite with you from my favorite respite-giver, James Taylor. If that man can't take a person from rattled to relaxed, I don't know who can, so be sure to turn up your volume and embrace him via my playlist.

And isn't this just the prettiest picture ever? (I'm even going to honor you with the lyrics!)

The water is wide, I can't cross over. 

And neither have I wings to fly. 

Give me a boat that can carry two, 

and both shall row, my love and I.

=)

PS. I always like knowing that my love is rowing with me. Pretty soon, he'll be doing that full-time! (Retirement clock now reads 38 days and counting.)

Monday Motivation

This song is probably overdone, but its message isn't. And the unique violin version below is the most evocative I've heard. Simply stirring, and I hope you'll take time to listen to it this Monday morning. (Thanks, Mom, for sending it.)



"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux.

Whatsoever Things Are Lovely...

I mentioned last week that our good friend passed away, and though I didn't take any photos of his funeral, my mind took some beautiful pictures and my ears heard several stories that will always be with me. I'd like to share one of them with you this morning.

I know I am not unusual in having a ward family that looks after one another, yet the level of caring and compassion never fails to amaze me. On the last Sunday of a great man's life, the high priests in our congregation were just beginning their quorum lesson when the teacher was inspired that the entire group should leave the church building, drive over to our friend's house, and give him the sacrament. They did so, and about fifteen men arrived at the door to provide that service. They were ushered into the room where their fellow quorum member lay in a weakened state, and they gently assisted him in partaking of the sacrament a final time before leaving this earth. Afterward, they stood around the bed and spontaneously sang his favorite hymn, "O My Father." I am told that our friend was clearly moved, but no more so than his wife, who says she will never forget the spirit of love that filled the room. Needless to say, my husband will regret forever that his attendance at the singles ward precluded his being there for such a beautiful moment. An interesting aside is that a neighbor who is not a member of our church heard the music through an open window and was deeply moved by the sound of male voices singing so tenderly to their brother in the gospel. She felt the spirit of that loving encounter in her own heart and could not believe how many men had come to offer gentle comfort in such a way.

Music is one of the most powerful, uplifting forces in the world. Used in its purest form, this divine medium can ennoble, move, comfort, delight, embrace, energize, and heal us. I spent most of yesterday writing an Easter program for our singles ward, and my internet search for those sacred strains that might bring my words to life was good medicine for a grieving soul. Listening to mp3's of hymns devoted to the Savior and His ministry of service and sacrifice filled every empty space in my heart with joy, reverence, and gratitude. A deepened awareness of the magnitude of Christ's suffering and the glory of His resurrection brought me that peace which passeth all understanding, and music was the conduit.

"...and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall be in your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus. Finally...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:7-8).

Today I am thinking about music, and dear friends, and eternity.

And somehow, all is well.

Old Friends

Please turn your volume up so you can hear my Playlist

as Simon and Garfunkel sing their beautiful song to you.

Old friends, old friends,

sat on their parkbench like bookends.

A newspaper blown through the grass

falls on the round toes

of the high shoes of the old friends.

Old friends, winter companions, the old men

lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset...

The sounds of the city, sifting through trees,

settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends.

Can you imagine us years from today,

sharing a parkbench quietly?

How terribly strange to be seventy.

Old friends, memory brushes the same years,

silently sharing the same fears.

Old friends.

- Paul Simon

Last night, my husband sat with an old and dear friend, whose time on earth is coming to an end prematurely. He treasures the hours spent with this good man and mourns the reality that their time together will be far less than they had expected. This morning, I want to celebrate the value of the beautiful relationships we create in this life and the loving friends who make them possible. We are grateful for a sure knowledge that, while our mortal days are limited, the bonds we form here are eternal, in and through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ (who is, of course, the oldest and dearest Friend we could ever imagine).

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

for more F posts, click below