Scenes From Not So Long Ago

By Michael L. Alumbaugh, © 2009

I never knew quite why I wrote this. I remember walking down the isle of our local grocery store with the tune running through my head and the words just came.

I suppose attending the funeral of a church friends miscarried infant might have spurred the thought. Or perhaps it was just my grieving the murder of the unborn in our country in the name of convenience.

It’s sad how we speak of freedom but then kill the innocent allowing the guilty to walk away. Well, maybe their consciences will be tweaked if they run across this song. But for those who have lost a child, or to those men who lost a wife through child birth, I dedicate this song to you. May God give you peace and comfort.

 

A broken heart and broken dreams 

On a dark and bleak December. 

With broken hopes and a broken soul 

And words I can’t remember.

  I’m all alone it seems with nowhere to go 

With my broken heart and broken dreams 

And scenes from not so long ago.

She was fine and she was mine

 That spring until the winter. 

I praised the One and praised His Son

 For the good times that He sent her.

  But now I’m all alone it seems with nowhere to go 

With my broken heart and broken dreams 

And scenes from not so long ago.

 We picked a name, the baby came. 

Now our family was a threesome. 

But things went wrong and now they’re gone 

To leave me all a grievin’.

  Now I’m all alone it seems with nowhere to go 

With my broken heart and broken dreams 

And scenes from not so long ago.

 The time has flown, no more alone

 And still without a reason. 

But though they’re gone, I’ve learned a song 

To praise in any season.

  I’m not alone now it seems with nowhere to go 

With a mending heart and growing dreams 

Though the scenes aren't so long ago.

Broken Shattered Dreams

By Michael L. Alumbaugh, ©1980, 2005, 2010

This song was written on our second wedding anniversary when my Bride and I traveled to Pensacola, Florida to enjoy the sun and the surf.

During one of our morning walks, I came across various leftover items buried in the sand from some late-night beach part. I recalled their clamor in the twilight moments causing us a bit of restless sleep.

Later that day I heard them arguing and slamming things in their hotel room next door. I concluded that what they searched for during the night was all but wasted the next day. Broken relationships and a dissatisfied life was all that remained.

The words of the prophet address their hopeless journey;  "We wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us." - Isaiah 59:9b - 11

Well, it seems like we're preoccupied

By making memories and passing time

But we keep singing them old blues.

So we look for some alternatives

That might relieve our minds,

Then we stumble 'round

In a midnight cruise.

Now the streetlights pass so slowly,

And the radio just signed off,

And you just killed off that final can of booze.

You see, you're living on the edge

Of your broken shattered dreams

And it cuts you to the bone.

'Aint that the truth.

So you keep on chasing rainbows

And promised pots of gold

But your hands have

Come up empty once again.

Oh, it seem to me a tragedy

If all we seem to do

Is uncover all the tracks

Of where we've been.

Then the good times come along

And we try to make them better.

But when they're gone

They seem so few and far between.

You see, you're living on the edge

Of your broken shattered dreams

And it's cutting at the truth

That lies within.

What if someone came along

And took away your time,

Would your memories redeem

Anything at all?

Would your years of wasted moments

And your miles of running scared

Give you any lasting peace,

Or would you fall?

Well, you say you need those memories

Of friends, of times, of tears.

That's the only way to make

Those moments last.

Well, I know you are persuaded

'Cause you've never heard the truth

And now you're living in a

Broken, faded past.

And your nows are thoughts of yesterday,

Your tomorrows are last year,

And you let the sand continue to shift by.

You see, you're living on the edge

Of you broken shattered dreams.

Now your wound begins to bleed

And then you cry!

All those lies . . . All the lies . . . All the lies!
Ohhh . . . the lies!

What if someone came along

And gave you back the sand

That fell between the fingers

In your grasp.

Would you change your way of living?

Would you change your style of life

If you had a new beginning

From your past?

Well, it seems they were preoccupied

By making memories and passing time

But they kept singing their old blues.

Then, the awaited Son of Time Himself

Came humbly to their cries,

To collect their broken pieces

And make them new.

But their hearts had become hardened

And their eyes had become blinded.

Times 'aint changed,

They're just like me and you.

We'd rather live on the edge

Of our broken shattered dreams

Then to let Christ take our hearts

And make them new.

We'd rather live on the edge of

Our broken shattered dreams

Then to let Christ take our hearts

And make them new.

How 'bout you? . . . How about you? . . . You.
Ohhh . . . 

The Extra Mile

By Michael L. Alumbaugh, © Oct. 2, 2005, 2010

It was a Sunday afternoon on October 2, 2005. I needed to practice for our Praise Band at Cowboy Church in Benton. As I walked through the living room, I mentioned it was Ray's birthday and Garry's approaching.

My Bride asked if I had a birthday present for Ray since I would see him in a couple of hours. I said “No.” She suggested I write a song for him. (No pressure.) So I walked into the bedroom, closed the door, opened the guitar case, tuned up, and the Lord did the rest. In about an hour I had a present for my friends!

I played it that evening and watched a former Marine cry.

 Dedicated to my beloved wife, my mother, our longtime friend Garry, and my pickin’ buddy Ray on his 59th birthday. Happy Birthday to us all! (Ray*, Garry and all who, knowingly or unknowingly, have invested in my life!)

PS: * Ray, I remember in the fall of 2004 when Christina and I got stranded on the highway in our ’85 Honda. We were on our way to practice with you.  How refreshing it was to see you as you pulled up to rescue us!  Hope sprang eternal as we sat at the Pizza Hut and saw you walk in.  And for all the other blessings which inspired this song, most of all thank you for being Christ to me with that unconditional love only He can give through you.  (To love the unloveable.)  Happy Birthday!”

When I think about the different ones
Who’ve touched me on life’s path
There’s just a few who seem to bring a tear.
Now time is quickly passing by
I’m numbering my days
Remembering the best part of my years.


You came along and walked the extra mile.
You came like springtime on the wind.
You loved me when I needed it the most.
I’m so glad that you’re my friend.

Now my friend, you’ve loved me at all times
‘Cause you love the One I serve
And you overlooked those faults that seem so plain.
You joy with me when I rejoice,
You just believe the best
You carried me when I’m bearing pain.

You came along and walked the extra mile.
You came like springtime on the wind.
You loved me when I needed it the most.
And I’m so glad that you’re my friend.

You stuck close to me when everyone had gone.
You gave me hope to end the day.
You are the Light that shines upon my darkening path.
You are the Truth, the Life, the Way.

So faithfully you wounded me
But that’s what mattered most,
Or I’d never found the shelter of your fold.
But your Word’s a healing ointment
Poured o’er this stubborn heart.
You paid my debt and then you saved my soul.

You came along and walked the extra mile.
You came like springtime on the wind.
You loved me when I needed it the most.
And I'm so glad that you're my friend.

You came along and walked the extra mile.
You came like springtime on the wind.
You loved me when I needed it the most.
And I’m so glad that you’re my friend.
I’m so glad that you’re my friend.
You’re my Saviour and my friend.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. – Matt. 25:34 - 40
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. – Matt. 5:41
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. – Prov. 17:17
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.-Prov. 18:24
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. – Pro. 27:6
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. – Pro. 27:9
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. – Mark 9:41