Worth a Listen: TobyMac's "Speak Life"

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



I asked my teenage daughter to help me come up with some videos to share here for "Worth a Listen."  Fortunately, we both like the same kind of music.  I love this song so much, and while I normally don't like lyric videos, this one is beyond great.  It's also the official lyric video from Toby Mac, so that helps.

Probably my favorite lines from this song:  

Lift your head a little higher
Spread the love like fire 
Hope will fall like rain
When you speak life 
With the words you say

Raise your thoughts a little higher
Use your words to inspire
Joy will fall like rain
When you speak life with the things you say

Okay, I just want to put all the lyrics here.  Go listen to the whole song, and smile.  Then speak life.

Worth a Listen: Britt Nicole's "Headphones"

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



Yes, I am a hopeless Britt Nicole fan.  This is another great song and video from her.

Delivering Unity Campaign--Are you a Locavore?

You know that trend to be a "locavore" when it comes to food, sourcing your food as locally as possible?

How about your Catholic news?

From the page describing the Delivering Unity campaign:

Those who contribute to the campaign automatically receive 26 biweekly print issues of The Catholic Post mailed to their home. Bishop Jenky encourages all who are able to give beyond the traditional $25 subscription investment – even if only $5 or $10 more – to consider doing so as a practical way to evangelize inactive Catholics or to provide Catholic reading for households struggling in this economy.

The editor of The Catholic Post Tom Dermody (referred to often as "my editor" here) is multitalented, as he narrated and appears in this video, "Ignite Your Faith," and he also wrote the background music for it.

I really enjoyed watching this video, and it inspired me to make our family's annual Lenten donation to this campaign.  The online form couldn't be any easier to fill out.

 I hope it will do the same for you if you are connected in any way to the Peoria diocese.


Do you receive the print edition of The Catholic Post?  Consider giving a gift to the campaign to ensure that you always receive a copy, and offer others within the diocese the opportunity to receive the newspaper.

Worth a Listen: Royal Tailor's "Make a Move"

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.


Royal Tailor was one of the bands at Winter Jam, a concert series my teen and I attended (along with some of her friends) last month.

Worth a Listen: Come to Me by Jamie Grace

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



We are more than excited at our house for Winter Jam, a concert series coming to our area later this month.  

Jamie Grace will be one of the artists.  I hadn't heard this song when I was looking for something to post, but it's worth a listen.

Worth a Listen: Remember Your Chains by Steven Curtis Chapman

Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen".  Explanation here. 

Several weeks ago, I had an encounter with an acquaintance that left me really sad about her views.  Suffice to say that even though I pitied her, I was tempted and did indulge in feeling superior for several moments.  Then I realized, oh, hey, I pretty much was this person at her age (early 20s).  Later that night, this is the song that came into my head.
After this, I just had to laugh at myself for feeling (and trust me, I'm using the air quotes here) "better than" someone when I'm 30 years older and wiser.  Recognizing pride, especially spiritual pride, really should lead us to laugh at ourselves, don't you think?   I'm pretty sure St. Francis de Sales has a great quote about this, but I can't  find it at the moment.  Anyone else know it? When I searched for a video of the song, I found this nice reflection from Steven Curtis Chapman about how he came to write the song.  ("It's why we have to keep preaching the gospel to our own hearts"--what a great turn of phrase). Beautiful. The entire song is worth a listen as well; I've just bought it on iTunes, and I encourage you to do the same.

"Minor Revisions" for the Advent-Stressed

For the love of Christmas, I just cannot seem to keep up with Advent and Christmas.  Am I the only one?  I feel completely behind on everything this year.

Blog-wise, I will spare you just how many half-started posts I have in progress right now.  Here are just a few:  1. gift books for Christmas for adults, 2. gift books for children, 3. Christmas-themed books we love at our house, and many, many more.  It's December 20 and there are just a few days left for those posts to have any meaning, so I fervently hope to get at least a few of them finished.

What have I been doing with my online time since I was able to sit down here about half an hour ago?  Watching Episode 1 of "Minor Revisions,"  the online reality show about atheist to Catholic convert Jen Fulwiler.  Local readers will remember that Jen spoke at Behold 2011, the Catholic women's conference, and she also was a featured blogger at Behold 2012.  This was thanks to Bonnie Engstrom of A Knotted Life (who is doing such an excellent Advent series on her blog) reminding me about the second episode online tonight.

I was traveling last Thursday night, so unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch the first episode, only available online live.  Fortunately, there was such a demand for watching it online that the producers posted it on YouTube for a short time.  So I'm taking the opportunity to watch it now.  It is super well-done and enjoyable.  Here it is, in case you haven't seen it.




I can't tell you how eager I am to read Jen's memoir when it is released, and I trust it will be just as great as reading her blog and seeing her on "Minor Revisions."

Worth a Listen: Mac Daddy by TobyMac

Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen".  Explanation (of a kind) here.


We really enjoy this song from TobyMac's newest album.  Cute!

Worth a Listen: O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Sixpence None the Richer

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.


We are well into the first week of Advent, and I hope to share some good Advent (not Christmas yet!) songs to help keep us in the Advent frame of mind.

I've enjoyed Sixpence None the Richer since my husband introduced the band to me in the 90s, and other than Leigh Nash's voice, I like best the way they got their name.

What are you doing to mark Advent this year?

Worth A Listen: Forgiveness by Matthew West

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.




For some reason, every time I hear this song I think about Confession.

It's time to make an effort to go, as we head into Advent and Christmastime.   Advent or just before Advent is a great time to schedule a time to get to this great Sacrament.  Consider yourself reminded, and I will do the same.

Worth a Listen: Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig & Dean

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



I had another song cued up for this morning (I'll save that for another Wednesday), when at Mass this morning, I head the first reading proclaimed.

I immediately thought, I know the song I should feature!  I can actually be liturgically appropriate for today.  So I rushed (unsuccessfully) to get home before 7 a.m. (when the other song was scheduled to post), to post this one instead.

The first reading, like all this week in the days leading up to the feast of Christ the King this Sunday, is from the Revelation to John.  Here is part of it:

The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
were covered with eyes inside and out.
Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come."
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks
to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down
before the one who sits on the throne
and worship him, who lives forever and ever.
They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

"Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created."

And I thought of a song we are hearing on the radio a lot these days, "Revelation Song."   The video above, which features a bit of the song, shows the band describing how the song is powerful in moving people.  I agree.

Our family tries to read the Mass readings in the morning, taking turns reading.  Our kids sometimes bicker about who gets to do what, lest you imagine a holy scene at the breakfast table.

Every few weeks, a reading or responsorial Psalm will remind us of a song we hear on our local Christian radio station.  I do like this, as it helps reinforce how steeped we are in Scripture as Catholics, and how worship music and some Christian music can aid our prayer life and knowledge of Scripture.

(A humorous aside:  just yesterday, the kids read the Mass readings as I was driving my teenager to a friend's  house, and when she finished the Gospel about Jesus encountering Zaccheus, I immediately launched into, "Zaccheus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he.")

This week, as we lead up to the Feast of Christ the King, the Church's readings point towards the last things, the end of the world, to prepare us for the beginning of the liturgical year with the first Sunday of Advent.  My theologian husband told me once that there's an old church tradition/hope that the Lord will return in glory on the feast of Christ the King.

One of the band members says in the video about the song, "We felt passionate about the song. When I hear that song, whatever circumstance I am in, it takes me to that place.  And where is that place?  It's in the presence of Jesus Christ."

As Catholics, we have the knowledge that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.  So when we visit Jesus, whether in a time of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or just a quick prayer time at a Church, we are in a very special way in that Presence.  Meditating on this song, too, can help dispose us to worship:

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

Worth a Listen: Blessed John Paul Autotuned

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



HT Hell Burns, the blog of Sister Helena Burns.  The maker of this video is asking for suggestions about other videos to autotune, and some of the commenters suggested Cardinal Dolan's prayer at the end of the Democratic National Convention.

This reminds me a little of a video (I didn't actually realize it was a video until I Googled it.  I have the audio version in iTunes from way back when BXVI was elected, and a French girl living with us at that time shared it with me).

Worth a Listen: "Busted Heart" by For King & Country

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.

LIFE Runners Marathon, Part 1: High Five!

This post is unofficially subtitled, if you don’t like photos in a post, you might just want to come back in a few days, after I share over the next few days some of the many experiences running my second marathon earlier this month, and my first time as part of the LIFE Runners team.   This has taken me much longer to post than I expected, but I think readers and friends will enjoy hearing about my experience.

You may be thinking this is a little far afield from books, my primary focus here.   And I do promise that some of this relates to books--promise!  And I will do a round-up of great pro-life and running books that I’ve reviewed in past years, as well as have a Q&A with a fellow LIFE Runner who authored a book recently about his cross-country run.

But for now, it’s all about the marathon and LIFE Runners; definitely on-topic as far as I’m concerned.

I have been training for since early in the summer, and only several weeks ago discovered the group LIFE Runners and that the group was doing their annual race weekend in St. Louis, just a few hours away.  I wrote about changing my plans here, and so I signed up for the LIFE Runners team as well as the St. Louis Rock’n’Roll Marathon.

LIFE Runners was founded in 2008 by two Air Force Lieutenant Colonels--Rich Reich and Pat Castle, to “pray, raise funds, and run...All In Christ for Pro-Life!”  The group has a goal for a major race or race series each year, and have been running them since 13 LIFE Runners ran the 2008 Chicago Marathon.  The group has grown to the 252 who ran in the St. Louis Race series, the largest charity group (by far) there.   Runners agree to raise funds for one of several local charities, and run wearing a LIFE Runners t-shirt while running the race. Impressive!

I confess I was a wee bit intimidated by all the military active duty or veterans, since I’m  not ... military... but the LIFE Runners is very diverse, and everyone was very welcoming, and I was glad for high level of organization and great experience of pro-life solidarity that they created.

The expression “High Five!”  comes from Pat Castle (one of those Lt Cols) , the president of the group, and he is super-motivating, to say the least.  High-fives abound, whether on the LIFE Runners website, the Facebook page, or in person from Pat.

Now, I’m going to use the expression “high five” in this post a lot, and I want to make perfectly clear that I am in no way making fun of “high five.”  I think I did first smile when I heard and saw all the “high fives,” but I quickly realized the genius of it; how it brings us together and encourages in a genuine way.  I feel confident that the other LIFE Runners are smiling along with me and nodding.  It’s just a great expression in so many ways, and captures Pat’s personality and LIFE Runners in general.

We made this a family trip, and I have to high five! my husband and kids for being good sports about various issues with the weekend.

We arrived very late Friday night, so Saturday morning was dedicated to a little sleeping in as well as going to the health and fitness expo to pick up my race bib as well as check things out.  Now, one of the things about big race expos, as many articles  and books will tell you, is that you tend to overspend and buy weird things you would never normally buy, like crazy running tights or hats with strange messages on them.

I kept saying to Joseph and the kid, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on them or me, because we ended up buying a few things, but fortunately none of them were particularly crazy.

The free samples were a big hit.  Unfortunately, we kept finding our 9-year-old at this free sample booth, looking with puppy dog eyes at the young women handing out samples. He was not successful (high five! sample ladies), I’m happy to report, but I couldn’t resist a photo and a laugh, as well as endure our teenager saying, “Don’t encourage him!”

There was just a little time to grab a quick late lunch and head over to the Cathedral Basilica for the LIFE Runners gathering before the 5 p.m. Sunday Vigil Mass.

While I’d been in Facebook contact with the LIFE Runners team, I had never met anyone in person or knew any of them, so I’ll confess to being nervous.  But the group was welcoming, and I had no trouble making friends.

We started with a group photo.  According to the LIFE Runners website, there were 252 LIFE Runners in St. Louis, making it by far the largest charity group running the races.  A large contingent was there for the pre-Mass photo:

Then Pat Castle gathered us for some high fives (really!) and talks.  First was a blessing by Bishop Paprocki of Springfield.  Pat Castle is here introducing Bishop Paprocki:

.

Next we had a talk by a priest from Steubenville, who it turns out was a fellow marathoner.

Finally, Karla shared her experience of having an abortion at age 15 and healing after many decades, and shared how important it is to be a witness to life.  This is at close range becuase the cathedral’s bells started to go off during her talk, so Pat Castle brought us all in close to Karla, which made it that much more intimate an experience, and beautiful and healing for all of us.

Mass was next in the beautiful Basilica, and another large group there for Mass was a Society of St. Francis de Sales, who happens to be the patron saint of journalists.  I thought that was neat coincidence for me.

Here's one of the many beautiful mosaics inside the Cathedral Basilica.

After Mass, we went over to a gathering space next to the cathedral for a pasta dinner served by the Knights of Columbus.  As we waited in line for buffet, diners could pass by booth set up by various groups, in particular the three charity beneficiaries of this year’s LIFE Runners races.  Our kids enjoyed getting to chat with the staffers at the Thrive booth.  Thrive is one of the beneficiary charities for the LIFE Runners this year.

What I loved was getting to meet the brewers from Two Lawyers and a Priest Brewing, who brewed a special beef for LIFE Runners. High five, Catholics who brew beer for pro-life!  They were giving away bottles in a kind of silent-auction method, and I’m happy to say that I did get a bottle, though I’ve not yet had the chance to enjoy it.  I’m going to split it with my husband.

So much was memorable about the dinner and program.  Jennifer Brinker writes about the LIFE Runners and the weekend more at the St. Louis Review.

Bishop Paprocki, one of the LIFE Runners (and a seasoned marathoner) received the first LIFE Runner of the Year award.  His remarks were amazing--he spoke about the Communion of Saints and how he feels more connected to them during distance running.  In particular, he told a moving story of how he lost his father between the time Bishop Paprocki qualified for the Boston Marathon and ran the Boston Marathon, and how he felt the presence of his father during Boston.

I think it is difficult for me to convey how good his short remarks were; I’m not sure if it sounds trite; he is an excellent preacher and captured this beautifully. I have definitely felt that "communion of saints" feeling, when I ran a half-marathon less than a year after my father passed away.  There really is something unique about distance running, not just in a physical way, but in a spiritual way.  I’ll write more about that tomorrow and the next day.

That’s it for Part 1 of my LIFE Runners marathon experience--high five to me for finishing it before the end of 2012!  More tomorrow.

Worth a Listen: Demand Your Dignity

Normally, I share here great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen."  Today, it's this video.  Awesome! 

Take two minutes to watch this, and then share it with a young person you know. 

Worth a Listen: "He Said" by Group 1 Crew (featuring Chris August)

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen").  Explanation (of a kind) here.



My favorite part of this music video, apart from Blanca's hair (love!) are the Scripture verses on various objects (mirrors, lampshades etc.) throughout.

Worth a Listen, Marathon Edition: Nick Cannon's "Can I Live?"

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen")



For those who only know Nick Cannon as the host of America's Got Talent, did you know he had a career as a music artist and actor?  He probably still does for all I know, but I am not in the know about those things.  The first time I ever heard of Nick Cannon was when people were sharing several years back this video for  this song.

Now, for someone who has been active for several decades in the pro-life movement in one form or another, I was truly and utterly thrilled to see someone do this kind of song well.

That's because (and maybe true for you, too) over the years I have been at many a pro-life banquet or other gathering with a heartfelt song that didn't quite move hearts the way we all desire a song to do.  This song does, in my estimation, or at least it tells a compelling story.  And always tears me up a little bit, and seems appropriate to share during October, Respect Life month.

This helps me to segue into my big announcement that I am running my second marathon later this month.   How exactly does that segue?  Well, I will be running the marathon as part of the group LIFE Runners.

For those who know me, to actually announce I'm doing a big race in advance is not my style, but I wanted to get out the word about this great group. In fact, when I ran the marathon last year, I didn't tell anyone about it (except my hubby) until afterwards.

To be honest, I really didn't like running a marathon, so some may be asking (including my dear husband) why I want to do it again.  There are various reasons, but mostly just so that I can have a somewhat more positive experience, physically.  I finished, but it felt really, really hard, (unlike a half-marathon, which I consider a fun and do-able distance).  I was signed up to do the very same trail marathon I did last year.

But then I happened to hear a LIFE Runner (I think Dr. Pat Castle) on EWTN radio several weeks back talk about their weekend to run the St. Louis Rock 'n Roll Marathon--there are already more than 300 LIFE Runners signed up to do this event (either the full or half-marathon).  When I realized it was so close, and the same weekend as my marathon, I had a long talk with my husband and we both thought it made good sense to switch over.

I am very excited to get to meet the other LIFE Runners, though a little intimidated because checking out the board, many are military people who are probably super-speedy runners, unlike myself.  I was wondering if I shouldn't ask the LIFE Runners to change one of the Scripture verse mottos from "Race so as to win" to "Race so as to finish" which happens to be my motto when it comes to running long races.

Dr. Pat Castle, a board member of LIFE Runners, who heartily welcomed me when I joined the group, asked me to promote here that people can still join Life Runners and do one of the races on the weekend of October 20-21.  Visit LIFERunners.org for more information or to sign up.  It couldn't be easier, and took me just a few minutes.  If you're already planning to run a fall long race,

I'll also be raising money for the pro-life charities pegged by the group, something I don't normally do, since I consider running enjoyable and don't like to ask people for money.

My LIFE Runners t-shirt arrived in the mail the other day, increasing my excitement level.  Now I need to ensure I can finish in the 7-hour time frame.  That shouldn't be an issue, since I finished my first, not-pleasant marathon last year in just over 6 hours.  I've also done a lot more training this year than last for the marathon distance, so I hope for a better experience, even if my time does not improve greatly.

Just to bring it back to the music, I do have a marathon playlist for my iPod app, and "Can I Live?" is on it.

UPDATE: I have set up my fundraising page for one of the LIFE Runners beneficiaries, Good Shepherd Children and Family Services in St. Louis.

Are you doing anything special this month for Respect Life Month?  Anyone else doing the marathon or half-marathon as a LIFE Runner?  I'd love to connect!

Worth a Listen: TobyMac and Jamie Grace

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen")

As I (over) shared last week, I'm not keeping under wraps any more my love of great Christian music.  Lately we've been listening to the new TobyMac release, which debuted several weeks ago at number one, the first time a Christian release has done so in 15 years.  We especially enjoy "Me Without You," but it's only been a few days since I downloaded the new album, so I'm sure we will have other favorites.

Here's just a portion of a live performance of a Jamie Grace song that features TobyMac.  

Do you have a favorite TobyMac song?  I think mine is "Lose My Soul."

Worth a Listen: 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman (The Unashamed Version)

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen")

I often catch up on blogs on our first generation iPad after reading to the kids at night.  The only downside is that it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to leave a comment.  This is fine because I am often just doing a quick check-in, but frustrating when I do want to comment.

Recently, on a post I can't now locate on Dorian Speed's blog (yes, that's her real name!), various commenters, mostly fellow Catholic bloggers, admitting (some in a sheepish way) that they can't abide Christian music.  This isn't the first time I've seen this sheepishness, and it just makes me laugh.  A large portion of people have this consensus that Christian music makes them bleed from the ears.

When I read these kind of comments or see those kinds of posts, I think, I am just not cool enough for school.

You see, just started here on the blog in the last few weeks "Worth a Listen" to specifically feature Christian and Catholic artists, songs that our family loves.

And so I wanted to comment, (perhaps in a whisper,) um, hey, some people really, truly, like Christian music, and find it helpful in their faith and family life.  But I also feel a wee bit embarrassed because so many people have such an aversion to it.

Then I thought, you know what?  I'm letting my freak flag fly.  Not ashamed anymore.

I'm a sold-out, singing-along-with, iTunes library full-of, Christian music fan.  I was CCM (that's contemporary Christian music) before CCM was even considered nerdy.  I'm a total, 100 percent, Christian music geek here, and proud of it.

I'm sure I will be writing a lot more about my love of CCM in coming weeks and how it can co-exist with an intelligent, robust Catholic faith life.

For this week, I decided to feature a very popular song right now on Christian radio, Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons."  Here's what I love best about it:  when it comes on in the minivan, hearing my kids sing along (and one, who shall remain nameless, sing in a fake Australian accent): "Bless the Lord, oh my soul."

Worth a Listen: Group 1 Crew's "Live it Up"

(Sharing great songs that are inspiring, uplifting and/or are otherwise "worth a listen")

I discovered Group1Crew earlier this year when they played at WinterJam.  They were easily my favorite group who played there, and there were a lot of good musical acts there.  This is a montage video of their "Live It Up."  Dare you not to dance while you hear this.