I hope this grabs you as much as it does me. Meaning, just tears a hole into your chest and literally beats your heart for you for a couple minutes, so that you can just float on a delay-laden cloud made of melody in sheer ecstasy. Oh ya, and the cloud is glowing with tube warmth. (Wait, Edge’s tone doesn’t do that to everyone? I mean…um…me neither.) But seriously, I hope it inspires you just a little bit. With apologies to Greg Lake, who wrote a beautiful coming-of-age Christmas song. But with a couple subtle lyric changes, the song has changed from slightly hopeless to moreso ‘clinging to Christ’s hope despite the hopelessness around you.’ Meant a lot to me.
And as we reach the end of the year, and my favorite holiday, I just want to say thanks for reading. There’s a community of love, respect, and knowing that none of us has it all figured out, that I’m just stoked on here. Amazingly enough, I’ve never had to delete a comment. Knock on wood. (But only handcrafted Baltic birch with finger joints. And it’s ported.) So thanks, merry Christmas, and in the next few days, maybe try to make just one person around you feel God’s love from you. I don’t know if that’s actually thinking about what gift would make your wife or kid or family member happy, rather than buying another toiletry pouch with built-in shaving cream dispenser; whether it’s giving a homeless person five bucks; whether it’s taking the time to get the name of and thank the Salvation Army worker who’s been standing in the cold ringing the bell for 8 hours; or whether it’s smiling and saying merry Christmas to the checkout person who has to work on Christmas Eve…even if maybe they’re tired and double-charged you for the pineapple. People are actually receptive to God at this time of year, and a little love or a little hope might go a long way.
Sorry for the sap. God, love, and passion…with music to remind our souls of those things. And if that music is toneful (I’m thinking ’57 tweed Fender Champ with original speaker, a Melancon Tele in alder with quilted maple, and a good old Boss DM2……mmmmm), then all the better. Merry Christmas, my friends.
Splendid.
Karl.
Guitar for Worship 