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~Songs of the Week 2018 - Captive~
Here it is! The complete Song of the Week playlist for 2018! This is a special one for me, for it chronicles relevant songs that I listened to during some radical moments in my life. Listen to it in order, and experience my 2018 in song~ 💙
~Final Song of the Week for 2018~
He'll wipe every tear from our eyes And make everything new Just like He promised Wait and see...
I find this song represents a lot of what I learned in 2018. Thanks @calebhyles for blessing me with this album~ 💙
Retrospective Note 2020: This song. This album. After Troy (my little brother) passed away, Caleb gave me a copy of this album by Steven Curtis Chapman, released a year after the tragic loss of his adopted daughter Maria, who was only 5 years old. Released after a YEAR. Listening to the lyrics of the album, you get the raw reaction of his loss, expressed in many different ways. The three that come to mind, are confusion, sorrow, and joy. Joy. Why would joy be in an album covering such a raw subject as this?
Because death isn’t the end. As painful as it was to lose her in such a way. As painful as it was to lose my little brother in such a way. Me and Steven know that in the end, they’re where we all belong. As Caleb explained to me, death isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. Life and all its joys are merely a glimpse into what heaven will be. Death is a reminder that this is not our home.
But that doesn’t mean the pain we endure is invalid. It’s a process, and even now, it’s hard to fathom that beautiful truth. I’m sure Steven still has moments where he mourns, and I do too. For my father, it comes out in sorrow, and for my little brother, it comes out in frustration. But through all those emotions, joy is what lifts me back up. Joy is knowing that I’ll see them again. Joy is knowing that there’s more to this life than living and dying. Joy is that touch of heaven in the middle of all the darkness.
2018 in biblical numerology (as cool as it is, take it with a grain of salt) means perfect (20) captivity (18). It’s interesting looking back at this year, for I spent a lot of my time lost in nostalgia. It was the year I lost touch with my creative side, and though I did start streaming which was the highlight of that year and the one thing I kept up with, I still found myself depressed after the stream was done. I spent my days napping. I spent my days wishing I could go back to high school and try things all over again. I spent my days lost in the past, held captive by my regrets. That dragged me down even into the next year, which you’ll see me get into as I start to archive 2019.
But how does all that tie into the song above? How does the song represent all I learned in 2018? Well, it took the loss of my brother to finally SEE just all I was missing outside my regrets and “what-could-have-beens”. I attempted going back to college. I tried drawing again. I started to brain storm ideas for a future YouTube project. Though a lot of those decisions never came to fruition, it was the first time in awhile that I had felt that creative spark again, and it wouldn’t be the last. Not only that, I finally began to SEE that God truly does have a purpose for us all, and that He can use my passions for His bigger picture. I finally began to SEE that this is only the beginning, and while I’m here, I need live my life to the fullest, and let Jesus free me from the captivity of my sins and regrets.
Despite all that, 2019 would be my hardest year mentally. It’s one thing to know something, but it’s another to truly believe it...
~Song of the Week~
Oh, sing for joy, sing for joy, every girl, every boy For the highest of Kings has come down for you and me To bring us light, yeah, to save our lives Christmas time...
Merry Christmas everyone, from me and my wife, to you and yours~ 🎄💙
Retrospective Note 2020: As I mentioned in a past post, Christmas used to be my favorite holiday, but as I got older (mostly through my high school years into my twenties), it wasn’t so much anymore, especially due to the incident one Christmas mentioned here. It was the last Christmas I ever spent with my father, and even typing about it now chokes me up.
Seriously, Christmas was a big deal in our household. Funny enough, the fondest memories I have of my Dad were during this time. His clever way of decorating the house was unlike any you’d ever seen before. No joke. You seen anyone use Coke cans that they collected over the years as ornaments? We still have them too. We’re talking 90s into the 2000s, and they look as great as they did when we first got them. All the songs we’d listen to and all the movies we’d watch during the season were all tied to my Dad. ESPECIALLY his collection of Elvis Christmas music. It’s hard to listen to certain songs now without thinking about him. I do miss him.
Meeting and later marrying Jessica, has helped bring back that joy I once had for the holiday, even though it is taking some time still. It’s her favorite holiday, and even though it’s tough, I do everything I can each year to move forward, and remember just how wonderful it really is. I can be such a Scrooge sometimes, but I’m trying harder each year not to be. Deep in my heart, I do love Christmas. That same passion my Dad had for the holiday is in me too, and that’s where this song comes in.
My wife shared this song with me, and it breathed new life into my soul in regards to the holiday. The way it sounds musically, alongside the joyous lyrics rejoicing in our Savior’s birth, lifted those burdens off of my shoulder. It took me back to a time when this season was oh so magical, and I hadn’t felt that in years. I remembered all those good times, and felt... forgiven. Music really is a powerful thing.
I don’t think there will ever be a time where I won’t choke up listening to certain Christmas songs I grew up with, for they will always remind me of Dad. But, I know in my heart Dad forgave me, for he did tell me so on his death bed, and I know ultimately, that I’m forgiven in the eyes of the Lord, for He knows my heart, and He knows I didn’t mean any harm that last Christmas.
I need to let go of that regret.
I want to feel the magic of Christmas again.
I miss my Dad.
~Song of the Week~
I could never say hello You're just too much to take I'll just hide away And try another day...
My good friend Robby's songs are always so rich with imagery not just in his lyrics, but in his guitar playing especially. Each note paints a scene, and I adore that about his beautiful music. Free download in the video's description~ 💙
~Song of the Week~
Try to keep up around Try to keep up in a road Try to make it better, better together...
Heard this play along side a dance sequence at a show last Friday. It's been stuck in my head since. I love this new find~ 💙
Retrospective Note 2020: Funny, I always thought the chorus said, “Gotta keep hope around, try to keep hope in a row”. After discovering this song, it seriously helped me stay motivated at my job (my church named themselves after the word “Hope” btw. Oh, and if you missed past posts, I was a janitor at said church. There were lots of things getting me down there). If I was feeling heavy from all the madness of keeping up with the workload, I’d repeat those lyrics in my head, although misinterpreted. Hey, it’s the little things right?
A SOLID collection of my top 100 songs from 2018! It features songs I've put on heavy rotation like Bowie's "Black Tie White Noise", and includes songs yall have shown me through my streams! In a way, it's a "Best of ScreenPlay: LIVE" playlist! Enjoy~ :D
MWS and The Beatles are a constant for me, whereas this year, I took time to discover Bowie's HUGE discography, as well as relive my 2000s childhood with MB20 and Lifehouse. Thanks for joining me on my musical journey through 2018! Share your results~ 💙
~Song of the Week~
Bound by love One flesh to be An unbroken ring...
Jess’ best friend from high school got married this past weekend, and this was the song they shared their first dance to~ 💙
~Song of the Week~
I always dreamed of having a voice like Gary Puckett. I remember hearing his music on the oldies station as a kid, and though I wasn’t into this era of music then, I would always stop and listen. This was one of my favorites, though listening to it now certainly goes to show how naive I once was. Alas, I rediscovered his music this week, and hearing this one again reminded me of those days, and I simply couldn’t resist sharing it~ 💙
