M10 show week #153

 

So we're really gonna do this this week?

Yep, I'm feeling good, actually got an M10 together on a Wednesday for a change, got target year 1971 set up, ready to go!

Ah wish I knew what gets inna you...

Well, last week it was a case of "miss two work days with bum back", combined with, "Have to work part of an overtime day when I came back".  I'm still not quite over the back, or being whupped from it this week, but I did get a good nap in, and I'm ready.

Man, gettin' old is a b...

Buddy...

Well, ya are older than me when I left, by half the age I got to... scary!

Yes, sir, 21 years difference.

Pays ta have a doctor who cares...

And to be content in all circumstances, as Paul said in Philippians 4:11.  Anyway, we got two debuts this week, plus one from last week, so have at it!

Okay, so last week, this'n came in at 9, drops ta ten this week.  This is French Kicks and, Said So What...

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So this week in 1971, Cashbox had the Jackson Five at the top with Mama's Pearl, a tune that got to #3 in Canada, and-as usual with Motown- zip in Australia (but don't feel bad, first time I played it for Laurie, she didn't remember it either).  Probably my second favorite J5 song.  In Canada, their white Mormon equivalent, the Osmonds, ruled the roost with One Bad Apple (which just fell out of CB's top spot), which got a #35 in Australia.  Down Under, it was the across the board #1 from the beginning of the year up here, George Harrison's My Sweet Lord.

Our big mover list has six songs move up double figures this week! We kick that list off with two that moved up 10 spots:

6- Chicago, Free.  Maybe easier to remember the opening line (I just wanna be free), it flew up to 37, but then would slow down.  It stopped at 20 here, 14 in Canada, and just tipped their hats at #99 in Australia.

5- Sammi Smith, Help Me Make It Through The Night.  The country classic, its 10-spot jump landed it at 33 this week; it would peak 9 here, 4 Canada, 6 Australia.

4- Up 11 to # 38, Cat Stevens and Wild World.  Absolutely my fave from the Cat, it had a big gap between the CB and Billboard ranks.  Peaked 18 CB, 11 BB (which is more in line with how it played in Ft Wayne), it was another #14 in Canada- but was not a Cat hit that charted in Australia.

3- Up 14 to #40, Brewer and Shipley's One Toke Over The Line.  I was just reading how it came about.  They were getting stoned (no, really?) and someone mentioned that they were about one toke over the line.  A clever line, they turned it into a goof-around song, but when forced to play it opening for Melanie one night, the record company told them, "Put it on the album", and there we are.  Cracking the Australian charts at 40, it would get 8 on CB, and 5 in Canada.  

"Ey, you stoners!"

2- A 16 notch climb to 28 for Marvin Gaye and What's Going On, #1 on CB, but mysteriously only 69 in Australia and 76 in Canada...

"Ey, you stoners!"

Now cut that out!  Go on and play the next clip- to build suspense, as you say...

You bet!  Here's a cool country metal tune all ya stoners will like!  This is Austin Snell...

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Makes ya wanna go fer a ride, don' it?

Maybe when my back is back to top speed!   And now, the big mover this week in 1971- a 17 spot leap to 39 for...

...Andy Williams and Love Story (How Do I Begin)- a #9 here, 6 in Australia, and 5 in Canada!  Okay, we have one more song to play...

Before ya pick yer favorite of the week?

Suspense, amigo!  

Yeah, yeah, yer back all right!  Comin' in at 6, Geowulf's latest...

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And to round out my big buddy's excitement, I chose my fave for the week at #3- CCR and Have You Ever Seen The Rain- where it peaked on CB, and got to 6 in Australia, and topped Canada!

And as for the mutant 2-week M10...

 Last week, Gold Rush by Lucius held at 10, dropped out this week. 

Japanese Breakfast dropped 2 to 8 last week with Kokomo, IN- and stayed there this week, extending a now 11-week run.  

Shannon and the Clams climbed a pair to 7 last week with Wax And String, dropped out this week.

Shilpa Ray climbed a pair to 6 last time, one more this week to 5, with Portrait Of A Cat Lady.

Maggie Rogers was up 2 to 5 last week with So Sick Of Dreaming- 2 more to 3 this week.

The Vapors and Hit The Ground Running went up one to 4 last week, and held place this week.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers dropped from top spot to 3 last week, and down to 7 this week, with Never Be You.

Neil Young moved into the runner up spot and stayed there, with Tell Me Why.

And moving up for his first #1 last week, making it a 2-week run this week...

....Matt Berry and Silver Rings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, we go for two in a row!

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham Plank by Plank part X

 

I closed last time with "Shake and bake in Sodom", so you might be expecting one of my dissertations on the myths surrounding the cities destroyed by God due to their evil.  But there's a different shake and bake God wants us to see- a theme that Paul often brought up in the New Testament: finishing well, or not.  You see, surrounding the story of the fiery fall of Sodom and Gomorrah are two men who give us examples of both, through their prayers.

In my morning studies today, I was in Daniel 9, reading the prayer he offered when he found out Jeremiah's timeline for the restoring of Jerusalem ( a story that would easily make this post longer than last time!), and I noted in my mind the similarities between it and another prayer we studied a while back- Nehemiah's prayer before facing the Persian king.  And the prayer that Abraham offers to God for the sparing of Sodom follows the exact same pattern.  These are three men who finished well, and it will help us all to look at this prayer, er, plank by plank.

Plank one: the glory of God

Gen 18:23  Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 

Gen 18:24  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 

Gen 18:25  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 

Abraham focuses on the glory of God in the first plea- God is Holy, and would never do wrong.  He puts God on the high pedestal.  And God grants the petition- for 50, Sodom would be spared.

Plank two: My humble position before God

Gen 18:27  Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 

Gen 18:28  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

He acknowledges his lowly position before God- "but dust and ashes".  In the prayers of Daniel and Nehemiah, this spot is filled by recognizing their sin, and the sin of their people.  In this case, it isn't Abraham's sin at issue.  Still, he humbles himself before the Lord, and this petition is also granted.

Plank three: just ask

Gen 18:29  Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 

At this point, it's just straight to the petition.  Ask, and you shall receive; and again, the plea is heard.  But if you know your Bible, you might know that phrase I lifted from Jesus above truly translates to "Ask, and keep asking...", and thus...

Plank four: keep asking

Gen 18:30  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 

Gen 18:31  He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 

Gen 18:32  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 

So he asks three more times- sandwiching in between two "Let not the Lord be angry"s one "as long as I've gotten this deep".  There is no need to be shy about asking the Lord over and over.  The stories of heaven are filled with prayers that were prayed over a whole lifetime, only to be answered after the petitioner has passed on.  However, there comes a point...

Plank five: be sensitive to when God's answer is no

Gen 18:33  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. 

Before Abraham could whittle it down to five (which would have gotten him down to Lot, his wife, and his daughters, and a plus one), God WENT HIS WAY.  You have to know that there is a point in some cases where God flat says NO.  And then you should just let it go.

Now on the other hand, let's look at Lot's prayer.  Lot prayed?  Sure, look here:

2Pe 2:6  if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 

2Pe 2:7  and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 

2Pe 2:8  (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 

So yeah, Lot had been praying for the salvation of the people of Sodom.  But see, the problems are many here.  First of all, Lot wasn't willing to just get away from the problem- which he could have done- he apparently kept praying for the sinful around him to 'get better'.  He was praying for his comfort and convenience, but not seeking God's glory.

Secondly, he should have seen where his good intentions were getting him:

Gen 19:9  But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 

All his good deeds, all his prayers, were getting him was, "Look at this guy judging us!  He's not one of us!"

Third, his desire to "make things right" led him to some horrible compromises with the world of Sodom:

Gen 19:7  and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 

Gen 19:8  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 

Fourthly, those compromises shattered his family:  His sons-in-law laughed at him (v14), his wife turned from him to her destruction (v26), his surviving neighbors didn't want him around (v30), and his own daughters played him for a fool (vv31-38).

I've often made comments about "soap opera prayers":  Only praying when you're in deep enough, and then trying to make a deal (which, by the way, Lot also tried in vv19-21).  But just being 'sincere' isn't enough either.  Your prayers need to focus on the glory of God, and how your petition might increase it.  And if not, the results shouldn't be a surprise...

Gen 19:27  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 

Gen 19:28  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 

And just one more thing:  Recognizing what prayer was answered.  Of all Lot's prayers, he got nothing.  On the other hand...

Gen 19:29  So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. 

Catching up pictures

 As you might have guessed, "the Muse hasn't been around lately", and I guess I'm getting tired of dead grass, snow, and ice.  But I did manage to take some pics in the last couple of weeks, so...

February 21- two Fridays ago...

Dashing thru the snow... ho-hum...

You'd think it might be halfway warm- not so

But enough to start the ice-melting process

"Frozen over?  Don't want nothin' to do with it."

Big animal crossing on South canal...

...but Misty was interested in this one-tracker... probably it was a raccoon

Why does my shadow look like the Michelin Man?

Sunday the 23rd,  we took the north loop...

...I just couldn't shake the blues long enough to take pics... even when we found a nice pair of pants with a nice belt, along with a new-looking checkered shirt, buried in the snow.

Monday the 24th it got warm enough to eliminate most of the snow...

Laurie going to work

Mud-DY!

Misty getting mad there's no snow to eat...

...Oh, wait

Took this just to figure out what it was.  Still don't know.

Now we leap to this past Friday...

Warm, but windy in the extreme

That's a plastic bag, clocked at 25 MPH

That? No idea

That's new

Still not windy enough to discourage the discers

That will give you an idea of the wind, even in the woods

The one patch of snow left in Allen County

Her ears pinned back by the wind

Doggie ahead

Time to go off roading

Blowing so hard I almost missed the shot

SOMEone had to jump in before we got to the landing

...as well as at the landing

And that brings us to today- last chance for a walk without rain for the next couple of days

Though the clouds might make you wonder about today...

We took the North loop again, just to see if anything new was happening- apparently not

Windy again though, in spots

First time we've been through most of a winter without this lightpole being clobbered twice

However, for the second straight year, they did clobber the fence up by the road

They took the bushhog to the Woodbridge side all the way up

Another new bench.  That outfit was gone, though.

Surprised to hear the Redwings letting loose already

Misty explores the latest section of bank sliding into the river

Me and Scrappy used to cross here all the time- this is Misty's first, though