- Mercy Music - Brad's Blog

Are You Acting Childish Enough?

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:09:36 -0800

I have a friend who lives in Brazil and works as a missionary saving street children from sexual exploitation. We "Skype" at least once a week and talk and pray together. This friend LOVES music and the effect that music has on the world. He LOVES the vision of Mercy Music and was very "instrumental" in the birth of our vision. I thank God for my friend.

I was in South America with this friend several years ago. We were at the top of a very tall structure in the midst of lakes and trees, overlooking God's incredible beauty. I had my guitar and we were singing songs and all of a sudden my friend began to run around this circular "stage," jumping and singing and laughing like a child. I was so blessed by his freedom!

I prayed with my friend today and asked God to give him a great sense of freedom in approaching life and faith like a child. We both laughed as we remembered our "mountain top" experience several years ago.

As I hung up from our chat today, I ran across this encouragement. For my "Musicianary" friends, may this encourage you to LOVE your instrument, the gift you've been given and to find JOY in practice as well as performance, and to SERVE the world's suffering with the gift of music!

Work should be considered as play, not as work. Work should be considered as play, just a game. You should not be serious about it; you should be just like children playing. It is meaningless, nothing is to be achieved; just the very activity is enjoyed. You can feel the distinction if you play sometimes. When you work it is different: you are serious, burdened, responsible, worried, anxious, because the result, the end-result, is the motive. The work itself is not worth enjoying. The real thing is just in the future, in the result. In play there is no result, really. The very process is blissful. And you are not worried, it is not a serious thing. Even if you look serious, it is just pretending. In play you enjoy the very process; in work the process is not being enjoyed -- the goal, the end, is important. The process has to be tolerated anyhow. It has to be done because the end has to be achieved. If you could achieve the end without this, you would drop activity and jump to the end. But in play you would not do that.

The businessman is not playful. Be more and more playful. "Waste" time in play. Even if there is no one, you can jump and dance alone in the room and be playful. Enjoy. But your mind will go on insisting, "What are you doing, wasting time? You can earn something out of this time. You can do something, and you are just jumping, singing, and dancing. What are you doing? Have you gone mad?

Try it. Snatch whatsoever time you can get out of your business, and be playful. Whatsoever. You can paint, you can sing, dance, play an instrument, anything you like -- but be playful. Look for no profit out of it, see no future in it, just the present. And then, then you can be playful inside also. Then you can jump on your thoughts, play with them, throw them here and there, dance with them, but not be serious about them.

Mat 18:2 NKJV - Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

Mat 18:3 NKJV - and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 18:4 NKJV - "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 18:5 NKJV - "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Mat 18:2-5

Have FUN and God bless us everyone!!

Brad

One Glad Morning...

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:29:56 -0700

The old hymn goes,

"One glad morning when this life is o'er I'll fly away

To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away

I'll fly away, O glory

I'll fly away

When I die, hallelujah, by and by

I'll fly away!

This morning I had the pleasure and privilege of doing some music at an Assisted Living Home with Megan Isaacson. MeganIsaacson.Com

There was quite a crowd of about 15 or so residents...ranging in age from 60 to 100. They had all been gathered in the living area of this beautiful residential home that had been transformed into an Assisted Living Center. There are many, many homes like this in the Denver area. Did you know that?

Think back to the songs you heard when you were in high school...when you were falling in love...what was you and your lover's favorite song? These are the songs we sang for these folks...

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey

You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

There was one old fellow that gave me a nice smile as we began to sing...but as we sang this particular song his face curled up a bit and the tears began to flow...I sensed that maybe he was mourning his life-long companion that had gone on before him...I believe my hunch was right when we closed with that hymn, "I'll Fly Away."

As I introduced the song I said, "One glad morning...one day the pain will all be over...no more struggle...and we will be re-united with our loved ones."

I looked over and Leonard was weeping this time...

The elderly are in need of comfort and encouragement as much, and maybe more than the rest of us. Today there were smiles, winks and songs to sing. There was the presence of Christ in the music. Many sang, some flirted with me (who wouldn't!?), Megan ministered and all were blessed. Sheesh...I feel like saying, "God bless us, everyone!"

One of the Core Values of Mercy Music is to bring a sense of dignity as we serve others with the gift of music.

God bless you today,

Brad

MercyMusic.Org

Where is My Joy?

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:52:59 -0700

I am working on the classical piece, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

Listen

It was penned by J.S. Bach and as is typical with many of Bach's works, it has a fast moving melody and a strong bass line. I have played it in a healing music setting when there is a need to start a session out with a song that is a bit more "up." This technique is called "entrainment." If a patient is a bit agitated, or has a heartbeat faster than normal resting rate, then it can be helpful to start with a song that is faster and more lively. This way the music healer can "match" the heart rate and then begin to bring the tempos and timbre down, in which the heart rate will normally follow and the patient will experience more peace.

I have felt for a while that I'd like to do the melody a bit slower...maybe change the time signature so that the song could be used for a more peaceful setting. So I decided to look up the "lyrics."

The song was based off of an old German hymn...

Well for me that I have Jesus, O how strong I hold to him
That he might refresh my heart, when sick and sad am I

Jesus have I, who loves me and gives to me his own
Ah, therefore I will not leave Jesus, when I feel my heart is breaking

Jesus remains my joy, my heart's comfort and essence

Jesus resists all suffering, He is my life's strength
My eye's desire and sun, my soul's love and joy
So will I not leave Jesus out of heart and face

I will meditate on these beautiful lyrics with guitar in hand and see what happens!

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you!

~Brad~

"I don't want to cry myself to sleep anymore"

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:14:13 -0700

Personally it only happened a couple times when I was a little boy. But I remember the depth of pain that I was feeling when it happened. I remember the deep sorrow, my chest heaving, everything seeming like it was dark, the sense of hopelessness. Can you recall a time when you cried yourself to sleep?

When I asked Amy (not her real name) what I could pray for her she said through tears, "I just don't want to cry myself to sleep anymore." She sobbed as I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and asked God to help her through her pain. When I was done praying she confessed that many times the pain was too much and she had thought about suicide. She thanked me for bringing the band to play music for them. She said that she has always really enjoys it when we come. That it makes her feel really good. "I wish I could feel this good all the time."

Excelsior Youth Home for Girls is a treatment center for girls ages 11-18. ExcelsiorYC.Org. The reality of losing one of these precious, young ladies is so real that Excelsior does head counts every 15 minutes. In fact, one of my friends had a daughter at Excelsior and almost lost her. The head count saved her life as she was found in a bathroom bleeding from self inflicted wounds.

Mercy Music has been going to Excelsior for 3 years now. Every time we take a team of Musicianaries into this center we are blessed beyond measure. The girls LOVE the music and this last visit we had enough time to sit down on the auditorium stairs and talk with all the girls that wanted to. A good portion of the girls came up, sat down and shared some of their stories with us.

"I'm just SO angry all the time. I don't want to feel like this anymore." - 16 yrs old

"I have been addicted to meth for so long, I'm clean now, but I am going home soon and I'm worried about getting around my old friends and doing meth again." - 17 yrs old

"I have been here for 3 years. I keep coming back because I just can't figure out how to live with my family. I'm scared. I want to feel better. I feel better when you guys come." - 15 yrs old

The girls heard one of our Musicianaries relate to them through the tears of her own pain. The sobs and cries began to ring out in the sanctuary as my Musicianary friend shared with them... "I have been where you are...I have felt the pain, I too wanted to end it all and take my own life. But I cried out to God and He got me through. And I'm so glad I didn't do that because I would not be here with you wonderful girls right now!"

As this incredibly talented Musicianary began to sing a song she wrote, the girls could only respond through tears of healing..."

In this time of pain who will comfort me

Cast me not away and help me to believe

I am not forgotten, I am not forsaken

I am your beloved and you hear my cry

You care for the broken

Bring hope to the hopeless

Abba please help me know

That you love me

When the last amplifier and guitar was packed away in the big, brown van, we gathered in a circle to express thanks to God...we were overwhelmed with our heavenly Father's love for them. It was so much more than just a concert. It was an evening of shared hurts, sorrows, joys, victories...an evening of resored hope. An evening where through the gift of music, there was a tangible comfort and encouragement for these beautiful daughters.

Brad

MercyMusic.Org

Hack and Eva

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:41:45 -0700

I grabbed my guitar and my songbook this morning and headed out to an Alzheimer's Home. It's a gorgeous day here in Colorado but these residents for the most part don't get to enjoy that part of life. Most of them are not able to get around anymore...lots of them are dealing with dementia. The loss of brain cells. To the point to where you don't know who others are (like your husband) and you may not even know your own name.

Such is the case with Eva. When Chaplain Nate and I walked in a saw Eva sitting in a chair near the lobby he said, "Good morning, Eva!" Her response was, "Who's Eva?" He smoothly replied, "Well, I came here looking for a lady named Eva and she looks a lot like you!" Then she mumble something incoherent. He introduced me to her and I went to shake her hand and she pulled away. She then looked me in the eye and I gave her the biggest smile I have. Her eyes brightened and with a wry smile she shook her finger at me as it to say, "Just who do you think you are, buddy?" We asked the staff if they could get her moved over to the common area so we could play some music for her. They put a strap around her waist to help get her up and brought her over to sit down on the couch. She continued to talk but nothing made sense...

I got my guitar out and began to play a familiar tune..."you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey..." She began to tap her fingers together, looked up at me and gave me a great smile. As the songs continued others residents made their way into the area...tapped their toes, clapped their hands...Eva would connect with me once in a while and then become startled as it seemed she was hallucinating. For the next hour we sang as Eva and the others enjoyed being "present" and connecting with the songs.

An old fella showed up and said he was looking for his wife. His name was Hack. He saw Eva and said, "Oh, there she is!" She looked at him and did not know him. I thought of that movie, "The Notebook." Ever seen it? You should. This old timer continues to come see his wife even though she doesn't always know who he is. When he sat down next to her she looked at him, then she looked at me and smiled...she pointed toward Hack as if to say, "This is a good looking guy that just sat down next to me!" I think at that point she knew who he was but was not able to speak anything intelligible to him.

I introduced myself to Hack and asked him how long he and Eva had been married. He chuckled as if to say he would have to think about that. Then he told me they have been married 62 years. "62 years!?," I said. "Wow!" "Congratulations!" "Tell me, Huck. What's the secret to being married for that long?"

"Don't die," he said.

I like a man who can keep a sense of humor even in the midst of life's valleys. I was privileged as a Musicianary today to bring some encouragement and comfort to a few people who are suffering. There are so many...

Enjoy every moment today. God bless your moments.

Brad

Buck

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:34:46 -0700

This is Buck...he was LOVIN' the music that I brought to the Care Facility today. After an hour of sing-along songs and some cowboy tunes it was time for this Musicianary to go...as I began to pack up my guitar he looks at me with surprise and says, "Well, where ya goin'!??" He was not ready for the music to end!! It made his day, along with several other residents and staff.

Three Thousand One Hundred and Twenty

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:21:07 -0700

Finish Line Ministry

I played music for a Memorial Service this morning. It's a quarterly thing that happens at a local retirement community. As I pulled up, I had to maneuver my old van around two fire trucks and an ambulance. It's a regular occurrence at these places. Fire trucks and ambulances. As the automated front doors swung open for me, I watched some of the residents sitting in the lobby area observing the scene in the parking lot. I wondered what they must think...how it must feel to sit there and watch the same scene repeat itself; emergency vehicles racing in, sirens wailing. What kind of feelings must they have? Watching friends die. All the while knowing the next wail could be for them? I'm reminded that a godly lady once told me that I am called to the "Finish Line Ministry." I could imagine no other place where the ‘finish line’ were so clear as here.

The memory of her words inspires me. "Finish Line Ministry." I like that. It gives me direction, clarity and renewed vision. It reminds me that I am called to love others with the gift of music entrusted to me. I am a "Musicianary."

Get Up Already!

We are memorializing 18 people this morning. For each one of them the staff offers a rose to the family members or friends that are present. At one point, Chaplain Nate (with Vistacare Hospice - great folks) gives an opportunity for people to say something about their loved one. "If anyone would like to say something about one of these dear loved ones, now is the time to do that," says Nate.

So this old guy speaks up quite boldly, "Yes I would!" Did I mention that this guy was old? He stood up from the second row. That took a while. With the help of the chairs in front of him for support, he makes his way to the front of the small room. He moves with confidence. Very slow confidence...really...very slow. It was a long time before he got to the end of his row of chairs. Considering the effort, I am thinking that this old timer has something very important to say about someone very important to him.

“My Outstanding Wife”

We hold our breath as Alfred makes it past the table with the roses on it, which thankfully holds his shaky hand as he passes by. He tells us that we need to know how outstanding his wife was. That he was married to her for over 60 years. How she was born in the early 1900's and put herself through college to become an outstanding teacher. What an outstanding orator she was. How good with her hands she was. Now I realize why it was so important for him to move to the front of the room to speak. He did it out of respect for his now departed beloved. He said that he really appreciated the rose that was given in her honor because it reminded him of the fact that every week he would place a single sweetheart rose on his bride's dresser. Every week. No note. No card. Just a single rose. A "sweetheart" rose. Did I mention every week? For 60 years. If you have not already done the math then let me help you. Three Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty roses. He spoke of her with such respect and honor. I had to start wiping the strange moisture that was forming in my eyes so I could see this old timer clearly. And so did everyone else in the room. Later, after the service was finished I overheard him telling someone that he did not realize how outstanding she was until after she was gone.

Three Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty. I think that today I will pause and ponder how outstanding my wife is. And my friends. And my kids. And my family. My mother. And I think I will remember how blessed I was today to be able to hear Alfred's sweetheart rose story. I'll give thanks that I was able to sing a song to these folks today.

I'll write more later. I'm going to the florist shop now.

Vincent the Yeller

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:14:10 -0700

His name is Vincent. He is 67. Not that old these days. Heck, Ronald Reagan was 70 when he was sworn in as our 40th president and served until he was 78.

So Vincent had a cardiac arrest a couple of years ago. Went without oxygen for too long... but he didn't die. I'll bet some days he wishes he did. Now he involuntarily pees in his wheelchair. Has to have nurses help him do everything. Must be humiliating. No longer lives at home but at a home.

When his brain went without oxygen it caused some sort of dementia. Not sure how or why, but it causes him to cry out...to yell...I'm told that he can be very clear thinking at one moment and then cussing and yelling the next. He is aware of this and it frustrates him. He tells Chaplain Nate from the hospice that he feels like evil comes around him when it happens. I'm thinking that maybe that's why he wears a big cross and a rosary around his neck...

So I thought that some music might bring him some peace. The nurses wheeled Vincent into the "sun room" and he sat there with a blank stare. I sat down and started to softly play. As I took a breath to sing the smell of urine was strong...it was a bit uncomfortable. And then I thought of Jesus. I thought of how Jesus touched the lepers...the infected...the insane. I'll bet a leper didn't smell very good. Rotting flesh? Nope. Probably not.

"Know any jazz?" Vincent says. So I played "Georgia." "I love that song" he whispers. He closes his eyes as I sing...the music seems to be moving right into his soul.

"No peace I find...just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind."

He yells out...and then he looks at me as if to say, "Are you going to stay or did I scare you away?" I just keep singing...

"I see trees of green

Red roses too, I watch them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..."

Vincent begins to sing along with me...more like a whisper/grunt type sound, but he is singing. He is comforted by the music.

It still smells in the room. But there is peace.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:16:29 -0700

Locked up for your protection...As I drove up to the Memory Care Center it was a neat, clean looking building, just like the picture above, except with a beautiful white fence around it. I quickly realized that the white fence was not for aesthetic purposes, but was a locked border for the safety of the residents that might tend to wander..."Ginger," the happy and smiling brown Labrador met me at the gate and ran before me to the door, as if to welcome my presence and say, "We've been waiting for you!"

The gathering... I arrived with 3 other "Musicianaries," talented and gifted musicians that recognize a calling to use their gift of music to bring hope, happiness and healing to those that are hurting. We arrived an hour before our scheduled start time, but the staff was so looking forward to the morning of music, they were already wheeling and walking the residents into the common area.

As we plugged in guitars, set up conga drums and checked the volume on the piano, some of our new friends watched with smiles and anticipation. Others sat quietly in chairs, some dozed off and some just had blank stares on their aged faces. "Eric" was being helped in by a nurse and obviously did not want to be there...as he was mumbling under his breath the whole way and certainly did not want to sit down in the overstuffed chair. He reluctantly gave in to the young nurse.

As I shuffled my music stand and plugged in my small amplifier, I had to work around the gentleman seated in the chair that was positioned in front of the electrical outlet. He was slightly hunched over as he was sleeping...all of the commotion did not disturb him one bit.

"When you're smiling... when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you." As we began to play and sing, warmth and love began to fill the room...even the scowl on Eric's face began to ease and when I asked our grateful audience to show us their smiles, most of them responded the best they could. I looked directly at Eric and gave him my happy face...he looked at me and cracked a wry smile...there we go...the musical mission was beginning to fulfill it's purpose.

"Unresponsive..." Remember the gentleman I had to work around to plug in? We will call him William...well, as the music began to fill the room William woke up. But for the first several musical selections he just sat there with a blank stare. Unresponsive. This is typical for many Alzheimer's patients. Unresponsive to life...to stimulus...to family members. But there is a magic in the music...a magic that goes beyond human understanding and reaches into the dark caverns of the heart, mind and spirit and calls forth those that have withdrawn from the world around them. As David, Al and I gave Lorraine the musical accompaniment, she waltzed over to William and began to sing to him...and as she held out her hands he roused, took her hands, stood up...she gently led him to the middle of the room as the staff broke out into laughter and smiles...William began to twist his hips around...and around...his face lit up and the look in his eyes was that of a young schoolboy. William even "eyed" a couple of the ladies as he danced and danced...and even though the feet were barely moving, you could see that "on the inside" he was dancing with as much passion, energy, grace and charm as anyone ever has.