Stephen

Imagine This

Rick France 1994, Alternative, Hard Rock , , , , , ,
Imagine This

The self-titled debut of Imagine This is pretty difficult to define. Hard rock is what I generally think of first but it has an alternative feel and shades of disco and even some rap, but overall it just plain rocks. It also contains a couple of songs that were probably an attempt to get a little airplay on Christian radio. Usually when I grabbed this CD it was because I was in the mood for some good, hard rockin’ songs with catchy melodies and hooks. Most of the time when I would hit those slower, almost power ballad types of songs, I would just skip them and go on to the next track. “Bishop of Souls” was one of those songs. Little did I know that this song would become not only my favorite song on the CD, but it would be part of such a major impact on my life.

It was Thursday, September 1, 1994. I had recently been laid off from Von Roll only a month earlier and decided to start my own business. I was in my car doing something business related that I can’t recall, but I was listening to this CD when Kathy called me to let me know that her grandmother, whom I only knew as Mamaw, had passed away. She was 93 years old. As I headed back to the house I remember I first prayed for a little while but then decided to turn the music back on to distract my mind. The CD was right at the chorus of “Bishop of Souls” and the first thing I heard was this:

Oh, the Bishop of my soul is calling me home

The song instantly became real to me and over the next several weeks I listened to this song almost exclusively.

Kathy and I had only been married a little over six years at that time. Our house is on family property that Mamaw and Papaw had given her parents and they in turn gave her. I never knew Papaw personally since he passed away before I was a part of the family, but their house was just up the drive within a short walking distance and we pass by it every day. It’s a small house but full of big memories for the entire family. The Bobos are special. Mamaw and Papaw had three sons and two daughters, and I will not even attempt to tell you how many grandkids and great-grandkids. Kathy’s uncle James moved to Texas long before we were married and all of his kids were already grown and had families of their own, yet every year a good number of them would make the trek to Georgia, spread out amongst the family and we would have this huge family reunion at Mamaw’s house. Even when the Texas Bobos were not in town the Georgia Bobos would regularly get together at that little house.

We have so many pictures of the entire family sitting on that front porch; each photo revealing the family’s growth in age as well as numbers. We all could not fit in the house so that front porch and yard was our gathering place. In that yard around that big old oak tree we played wiffle ball, frisbee, passed footballs and baseballs while watching the kids play tag and other games. We ate, caught up on all the family news that we already knew anyways and just had some of the best times of our lives together. Mamaw would just sit and watch and laugh at our antics and the air was full of everyone’s laughter. The seats next to Mamaw were never vacant and on a constant rotation of family members of all ages.

Since we lived so close to Mamaw, we would visit her quite often. Kathy and the kids more than me but still I remember spending quite a bit of time with her. I really never got the chance to speak with her much because Kathy is a hair dresser so she does most the talking. Still I would watch her and listen to her. I loved to watch her play with the girls and Stephen. She had this big rubber ball that she kept and toddler Stephen would sit in the floor and pass it back and forth to her the whole time we were visiting. According to adult Stephen, he still has that ball. I also remember watching her softly applaud as Katie and Melissa would show her their latest dance moves they had learned. I found these acts pretty amazing because it was obvious to me at that time in her life that her hands were in constant pain.

From the pain, the Bishop of my soul is calling me home

What beautiful hands she had. Sure, they were old and wrinkled and as I said, I could tell by the way she would rub them and the look on her face that they were the source of much pain. Yet you could see in her hands years and years of working the land, preparing chickens from the coop to the stove to the table, dealing with James, Geneva and Harold (which was a full time job in itself from what I’ve heard), and feeding the road workers from the prison when they would stop to rest in her yard. Those hands did not have the luxuries of microwaves and instant pots. Yet those hands were so gentle with each of us. Those hands had spent hours on end flipping through one of the most well-worned bibles I have ever seen. I believe those hands had actually touched the hem of her Savior’s garment. Those hands were the hands of Jesus because she treated each and every person as if they were His hands. What Would Jesus Do? Mamaw didn’t have to ask that question; she just did.

I’d see her look at me
Her eyes were icons of a faith I’d never known

I don’t recall any particular conversation with Mamaw, but what I do remember are her eyes when she talked to me. She truly had a faith I’ve never known and you could see it in her eyes. When she talked to me it was as if she was looking way beyond me and deep into my soul. It felt like she was sitting in the lap of Jesus and in her mind she was talking to Him about me. You could feel her prayers when you were in her presence. She could be talking about anything that wasn’t even spiritual and yet I could sense God’s Spirit pricking me and encouraging me just by being there. Her eyes smiled all the time and they were the eyes of grace. No condemnation; nothing to worry about; just eyes of grace resulting from a deep seated faith. A faith that knew who she was in Christ and saw who I could be if I would just let go and take that leap of faith into His loving arms right there beside her.

Finally free from the shackles of a dying world
They say she sang with the voice of an angel that day

As I drove by her house on my way home today and I was listening to this song, as always it brought tears to my eyes. Not because of that porch sitting empty or the missing oak tree that lightning stole away from us and not because of the loss of Mamaw. She’s where we all truly long to be, with Jesus. She truly has escaped the cares and pain of this world and is singing with angels at this very moment. She is in the great cloud of witnesses right there with all our loved ones that have gone on before us cheering us on. I believe she is even still talking to Jesus about all of her family and lifting us up in supplication at this very moment. No, the tears now are because of my own shortcomings. I long to have the faith of Mamaw; I long to have the grace of Mamaw; I long to walk as close to Christ as Mamaw did. She was an example to us all of what being a Christian really is.

I have several of those grey haired ladies and men in my life with calluses on their knees from the hours they have spent in prayer and I am sure each one of you can testify to the same. Right now I ask that you think about those little ol’ prayer warriors from your past that you knew, loved and respected that have gone on before you. That one person that you knew you could go talk to about anything and you knew they meant it when they said they would pray for you. Picture that one in your mind and all the traits that influenced you when they were here with you and how they still influence you even today. Picture the Mamaw of your life. The writer of Hebrews 6:12 said to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Now imagine what this world would be like if you and I became imitators of “The Mamaw” you are picturing in your mind. Imagine what would happen if we began to show the love of Christ as Mamaw did. Imagine what your family would become if we began to practice the walk, the patience, the strength, the courage, the grace, the faith and the love of Mamaw. Imagine what impact the body of Christ would have on this world if we each put our faith into action like this. If we would just do this, we would probably find that it really is not that difficult to Imagine This!

Rick E. France

 

Tales Of Wonder – WhiteHeart

Rick France 1992, Rock , , , , , ,
Tales Of Wonder
WhiteHeart

WhiteHeart’s Tales Of Wonder. What a great album! I was already a long time WhiteHeart fan, but this one made me a true WhiteHeart FANATIC! I bought it as soon as it hit the stores in January of 1992, and I hardly listened to anything else for several months and beyond. I considered Tales of Wonder the bands defining work for many years however, Freedom is right there with it. I would be hard pressed to choose between the two as to which is their best work.

I was Youth Pastor at Promised Land Bible Church (PLBC) from 1988-1994 and we had named the youth group LightForce – a very 80’s name I might add. Since then I have helped with the youth at other churches and even been the “Youth Leader” in certain situations for a season, but PLBC was the last time that I was on staff at a church as a Youth Pastor and LightForce is definitely the group of teens that I hold dearest to my heart to this day.

In February of 1992, LightForce went on a ski trip to Sugar Mountain outside of Boone, NC. We did not have a church bus or van so we made the trip with a fairly large number of vehicles in order to carry all of the teens, chaperones and luggage. We started our journey late on a Friday night. Cell phones were not quite in vogue at the time, but we were fortunate enough to have some short range two-way handheld radios for each driver in our convoy thanks to the McKoy’s. Just in case we got separated. Which we did. Multiple times. Mainly due to the winter storm we encountered along the way that turned our six hour trek into about a nine hour adventure in wrong turns and road conditions.

At one point I began to get a bit sleepy, so I put Tales Of Wonder in and cranked it up. I was pumped up as soon as “Raging Of The Moon” kicked in. So much that I decided everyone needed to hear it. So I paused the CD, picked up the handheld radio and announced, “And now for your listening pleasure, THIS is my prediction for the album of the year!” I then started the CD over and placed the handheld radio in the speaker and held that button down for over 5 minutes until the song had completed. If not for my thumb starting to cramp I might have played the whole CD that way. I then asked everyone in the convoy, “How’s that for great music?”

The response was an overwhelming sound of static. No one was responding and after multiple checks I determined that everyone’s batteries must have died. I pulled up beside one of the cars and got the drivers attention and he unashamedly let me know that they had turned the radio off once they realized I was going to play the whole song. The same story was repeated later by every driver after they each randomly checked to see if I had completed my mission. The only explanation I can come up with is that it just didn’t sound as awesome through those little handheld speakers as it did in my car – at least that’s the story I choose to believe.

Anyways, we did finally make it to our hotel and everyone got a little bit of sleep before we got up and went to Sugar Mountain. Thanks to the winter storm we had an unexpected bonus of fresh, real snow on top of the man made base. Still, I had decided not to ski and just hang out at the lodge to help Kathy watch Stephen since he was only three at the time. Our group consisted of accomplished skiers like Jon and Carlton McKoy as well as intermediate and first timers. For the first timers, one of which was RJ Dunn, I had arranged a group lesson on the Bunny Slope. I left Stephen with Kathy in the lodge so that I could see how the lessons were going and when I got there RJ was nowhere to be found. I was told that he had skipped the lesson and went with Jon and Carlton to the top. The Black Diamond. The steepest and longest slope on the mountain.

Not long after I returned to the lodge, Jon and Carlton showed up but without RJ. They told me he was still at the top. So I sent them right back up to check on him and to bring him back. Later, they returned and informed me that he did not want any help and was going to do it on his own. Thus began the longest day of my ministry. The next time I saw the McKoy’s they informed me that he was still working his way down to the intermediate slope area. He was evidently skiing about 5 feet at a time before he fell down plus he was having to take extended rests by this time.

After what seemed an eternity he made it to the intermediate slope and I started getting more frequent reports from more skiers in our group. Evidently he was improving to 10 to 15 feet stints and had learned to stop himself by diving head first into the snow. The reports continued to come in for hours and everyone appeared to be taking great pleasure in the event, especially the fact that RJ refused to have anyone help him out what-so-ever!

Just over six hours passed and I was starting to worry that RJ was not going to make it in time for our scheduled departure. Then suddenly the door to the lodge swung open and in stepped Rudolph’s Abominable Snowman. The bibs we rented were all colorful blues, greens and reds, but I could not tell you what color he was wearing for the amount of snow that was packed on him. He had dug two holes out in order to see and another hole was carved out for his mouth. You could see his teeth in the depths of the snow and tell that he was grinning from ear to ear. He held his arms straight up in the air like he had just made a touchdown and yelled, “I Just Skied The Black Diamond!”

I immediately heard a female voice exclaim, “it only took you six hours too!” I have no idea who it was that made the comment. Whoever it was making her comedy debut, she brought the house down. Even those who were not in our group were cracking up but that did not deter RJ. He had done it. He had conquered The Black Diamond. From the looks of him he had brought a very large portion of The Black Diamond with him as proof.

The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful as we drove a bunch of sleeping teens back to Woodstock, GA, but the memories of that trip have lasted a lifetime. As I listen to this WhiteHeart CD I can’t help but chuckle at the sight of RJ walking into that lodge. I can still feel the relief of knowing that he was back safe and sound and I’m even a little proud of his self proclaimed accomplishment.

This music takes me back to those days with LightForce and it’s not just this particular CD that brings them to the forefront of my mind. Music was a major part of our time together and I can guarantee you that this is not the last story to tell involving LightForce but one of many. You see with LightForce there are many Tales Of Wonder.

Rick E. France

 

Diamond Days – Out Of The Grey

Rick France 1994, 2011, Pop Rock , ,

 

Diamond Days
Out Of The Grey

What can I say about Out Of The Grey? Smooth jazz influenced pop rock and with all due respect to Karen Carpenter, Christine Dente is my all-time favorite female vocalist. Throw in the exceptional guitar work of Scott Dente and you’ve got an artist that I never tire of listening to. I have everything from the 1991 self titled release thru the most recent 2015 release of A Little Light Left. Then there’s the solo work of Becoming and Ashton, Becker, Dente and Tumes, Ashton, Dente and Keaggy, King, Dente. Did I mention the lullaby’s with Michael Card? Let’s just say if the name Dente is on it I probably own it.

I had already become a fan of the husband and wife duo after their sophomore release of Shape Of Grace but with the release of Diamond Days I was encaptivated! Now let’s stop and think about this for a moment. I mainly listen to Prog Rock, Ambient Rock, Arena Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Rock, more Rock and don’t forget Rock. I throw in a little Jazz here and there like Miles, Metheny and Krall or the old Standards like Sinatra from time to time and even Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff but Out Of The Grey is Pop Rock. Pop Rock? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Definately not my style of music especially in the 80’s and 90’s. But there was that little bit of jazz sound in the chord structures that caught my attention and then there was that voice. I played this CD over and over from the day I bought it.

Stephen was 5 years old at the time Diamond Days was released in 1994. I took him to his first game at Neyland Stadium only months before. I was coaching his baseball team and it was post diapers yet before he started vying for his own independence. He was my shadow. He was at that perfect age where we spent a lot of time together. According to my wife it was a perfect age because she has always claimed I act like a 5 year old.

One Saturday morning the two of us were out and about and he was sitting in the front passenger seat beside me just talking away. If that horrifies some of you I’m sorry, but back then kids did not have to or want to sit in the back – unless it was the back of a truck. Nor did they have to sit in a car seat until they got their learners permit. They didn’t even have to have seatbelts on, but we both did so maybe you can breathe a little easier.

Anyways, I put Diamond Days in as we drove and during the song “All We Need” he asked me, “Who is this?” I told him, “It’s Out Of The Grey and I just LOVE her voice and he’s an AWESOME guitar player.”

After a few moments we pulled up to a stop light and I looked over and Stephen had this big ol’ elephant tear rolling down his cheek. I asked him, “What’s wrong buddy?”

He replied, “I thought you loved mommy?”

I literally felt my heart breaking in my chest. He was sitting there thinking I had betrayed his mom, his sisters as well as himself and I felt just horrible! We use the word “love” so flippantly in our language to describe so many different things. How’s a 5 year old supposed to know the difference? Well never fear, Dad is here to straighten this out.

I said, “Buddy, there are all different kinds of love. There’s the really deep kind of love that I have for your mom and you and your sisters. And then there’s the kind of love that is really just a strong like. You love to play baseball, right?” He sniffed a little and shook his head yes. “But it’s not the same way that you love your mom is it?”

He thought about it for a few seconds and much to my relief he finally said, “No”. It was one of those three syllable nos that goes from the root to the fourth and then suddenly ends on the octave. Here in the south we start adding syllables and singing them out at a very young age.

“You love to play Nintendo, but that’s not the same kind of love you have for your sisters is it?”

He said this time in a much more energetic way and with only two syllables, “No” skipping straight to the octave.

I continued, “When I said that I love her voice that means I really like the way she sings. It’s not the same way that I love mommy. My love for mommy is way beyond a like. You understand?” And he did! No more elephant tears and that infectious smile of his was back in place. I had evidently succeeded as a Dad once again if only for a day.

That night, Kathy had gone back to his room to tuck him in and before I got back there she returned to the living room and had a really strange look on her face. When I asked her about it, she said, “Stephen just told me that he loved me, but not the same way that he loves bugs and frogs.”

Oh the mind of a 5 year old. If only we could all grasp this kind of deep theology. Maybe that is why Jesus said to come as a child.

Yet the story does not end here. Fast forward to the year 2011. Stephen is now 22 years of age and he’s playing lead guitar and singing in a band named The Refuge with the Wauford’s: Erine (lead vocals), Emily (rhythm guitar), Ryan (drums) and Jeff (bass). Over the past few years I had been helping them out with arrangements, rehearsals and gigs and all. I had made up a CD of potential cover songs to help build their repertoire. As Stephen and I were driving to a game at Neyland, I was playing the CD to see if he liked any of the songs and the Out Of The Grey song “Disappear” from the (See Inside) album came on. After listening to a bit of the song Stephen asked me, “Who is this?”

Without missing a beat all I said was, “Well buddy, I just LOVE her voice and he’s an AWESOME guitar player.” This time there were no elephant tears. Just a slight smile along with the rolling of his eyes, but it was well worth the eye roll. I mean, how often do you really get to relive a special moment in time like that?

As I listen to this CD right now, I love her voice today probably more than I did in 1994, but now her voice also reminds me about my little buddy’s traumatic brush with my love for his mommy and it brings a smile on my face every time. You see, I love his mommy much more today then I did in 1994 too, and it’s not the same way that I love bugs and frogs either.

As the Golden Years of our life draw closer and closer, it’s nice to have another chance to listen, look back and relive if only for a moment those Diamond Days.

Rick E. France

 

 

And From The (see inside) Album Also Mentioned

Can’t Stand Too Tall – Rick Cua

Rick France 1990, Rock , , , ,
Can’t Stand Too Tall
Rick Cua

While Rick Cua’s “Can’t Stand Too Tall” is a Christian album and contains some really good spiritual content, not all of my musical memories are spiritual. Some are about family. This album falls into that category because as I listen to this album it always brings me back to TGIF! Yes, Rick Cua goes hand in hand with Uncle Jesse, Urkel, Balki, Coach Lubbock and Dominos. All of these combined bring me back to those wonderful Friday nights in 1990 when my children were young and family was a new and exciting adventure for me.

Kathy and I were married in February of 1988 and Stephen was born the following February in 1989. In the spring of 1990 Katie was finishing the third grade, Melissa the first grade and Friday night had become Family TV Night thanks to the TGIF lineup on ABC. It started with “Full House”, a show that made “you got it dude” a household catchphrase. This was followed by “Family Matters” and Urkel’s “did I do that?” and then “Perfect Strangers” with Balki’s “don’t be ridiculous”. The final show in the lineup that year was “Just The Ten Of Us” which was a spinoff of “Growing Pains”. Quite funny but I can’t recall a catchphrase from it. Maybe that’s why it didn’t last but a couple of seasons. However, the aforementioned catchphrases were constantly repeated all week long in our house over and over and over . . .

With these shows came our Friday night routine. A little before the shows would start we would move all the furniture and lay a blanket out in the middle of the floor. This was Dad’s night to cook so I would call Dominos and order a couple of pizzas. At that time, the closest Dominos was in Crabapple and they would not deliver to our house across the county line so I had to meet the driver in the parking lot of Chadwick’s Hardware. Before I left for the pizza I would put Rick Cua’s “Can’t Stand Too Tall” in the CD player and queue it up to track 6, “Crash The Party”. When I returned home with the pizza, someone would start the CD and the girls would start to sing and dance!

You see, at some point Katie and Melissa had come up with their own lyrics for this song. I’m not sure if they just misunderstood the words or if they just liked their version better, but they would sing, “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” I wish I could describe the dance, but let’s just say it was far removed from the ballet classes they so painstakingly took. Kathy and I would set the drinks out and lay the pizza boxes on the blanket all the while everyone was laughing and singing, “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” About the time the song was winding down I would stop the music, we would hold hands and pray over our food and then start eating pizza while singing, “Whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV.” We had the timing down to an art form.

The night had begun. We laughed. We talked. We snuggled in the floor together. It was great! I miss those days. I’ve gotten to relive them to a degree with my grandkids from time to time mainly while watching reruns of “Full House” but those days when we were such a young family are really special to me and I must admit the memories are strongest when I listen to this particular Rick Cua CD. Especially when I am alone in the car. That’s when the theater of my mind seems to be the most active for me.

I always feel like I am almost forcing myself to listen to the first few songs of this CD because I want to get to track 6 so that the memories will come flooding in. So the easiest thing to do is to start there and then go back and listen to the rest of the CD which means I get to sing “Pizza Party” twice every time and that’s a pretty good thing in my opinion. And no, I never sing “crash the party” or even hear Cua singing it – it is always the voices of Katie and Melissa that I hear and their dance that I envision in my mind’s eye. I guess as long as I have this CD, I will always be able to relive those days with my little girls and enjoy one more time if only for a little while, our little Friday night “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” 

As I listen right now knowing that my little girls are all grown up with children of their own, I pray that they will lock away deep in their hearts all the little things. I pray that they will not allow the world to try to drown out the joy of their time with their kids. I pray that they will remember that with all the chaos this world pours out on us, Christ will hold you up above it all and therefore you Can’t Stand Too Tall.

Rick E. France