The other night I was reading her a weather book before bed, these are the things we do at my house, and I told her that sometimes hurricanes kill people. That's probably not the smartest thing to do as a dad, but I am dumb. She was quiet for a minute and I thought I had scared her until she said, "If I was a hurnacrane, I would just go around the town and break everyone's legs."
I thought that was hilarious and I knew right then, that one day, L.E. would be an awesome Christian. How did I know? Because we love rain.
Seriously, ever since a fellow named "Jesus" talked about the living water, we have been aggressively liquifying God's love. What does the weather forecast look like when it comes to Christian music? Rain, sweet, glorious, love-flavored rain. Here are a few popular praise songs:
Bring the Rain
Fall Like Rain
Fire from the Rain
Grace Like Rain
Healing Rain
Let it Rain
Love Rain Down
Pray for Rain
Rain Down
Stand in the Rain
When the Rain Comes
So what? Big deal. What's my point? Well, if this whole book thing does not work out (so far publishers are rejecting my request of a wheelbarrow full o' lettuce for my shoe fetish) I am going to start a band. We are going to be called the "RainRiverWaterH20Wet." Our first album is going to be all about water. Our second will be about fire, which we Christians also love.
Please buy it when it comes out.
we sang a song this week that featured both hurricanes and rain...
ReplyDeleteHey She would love my book Microbursts! You can read more about it on my blog.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
DaNella
Oh, yeah - we love us some precipitation at my church, too.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing quite like a worship team member's thought process when belting out a soulful chorus of 'Holy Spirit, Rain Down' after guzzling a water bottle or two and running back out on stage for the next set.
Splish. Splash.
All this water stuff - are you a Baptist?
ReplyDeleteIf not, why not?
My all-time favorite Christian rain song is "Ready for the Rain" by Phillips, Craig and Dean.
ReplyDeleteYou know, PCD, I too am ready for the rain. Ready for the chance to grow. It IS those showers from above that make the rivers flow...
Even their voices sound like rain. It's mystical.
When is the post about amazing contemp-Christan pop music coming? (ie: Phillips, Craig & Dean, Point Of Grace, Sandi Patty, 4Him...) Really, musical giants. =)
is there any way that i can preorder those albums?
ReplyDeletemy 6 year old is obsessed with tornadoes currently. in a not good way...like every time there is a slight breeze, he asks if it's going to rain because he thinks rain means storms and storms means tornadoes. i like your daughter's attitude. maybe she could talk to my son and calm his fears.
ReplyDeletei think Scott Hodge's church actually made it rain on stage recently.
Nate -
ReplyDeleteRight now, if we get three drops of rain, my daughter declares that "it's tornado rain" and then watches for funnels.
Jon
There's another song you probably haven't heard of, its called "Puddles of Grace" and the chorus is about "splashing" in said puddles. I actually enjoy the song, but you're totally right about the rain thing. Of course, its a homophone to "reign" which makes for some fun, if not overused, wordplay.
ReplyDeleteI can already see the "infomercial" for the CD...maybe you can get the "Oxy Clean" guy to pitch it for you? Bet your bad would really "clean up"! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious. I personally don't really get all the rain songs. It's a nice analogy but soooooo overdone! Especially when we start stretching it, and we start singing more about weather than about God... weirdness.
ReplyDeleteWhat about rivers? There's:
ReplyDeleteThe River is Here
Take Us to the River
Shall We Gather at the River
Deep River
Like a River Glorious
When Peace Like a River Attendeth My Way...
And we can't forget that most deeply meaningful of Passion songs:
"We're gonna dance in the river, yeah, yeah
We're gonna dance in the river"
For that matter, I've never figured out "Over the mountains and the sea / Your river runs with love for me." Wouldn't that be down the mountains and into the sea?
We might also broaden the pool (pardon me) to include waves of mercy waves of grace, and streams of mercy, never ceasing.
I will add the ubiquitous joke, eternal forecast: reign forever and sonshine.
ReplyDeleteMeghan S.
I hesitate to commment because I probably just missed a post somewhere, but what the heck do lettuce and shoes have to do with your book? All I know is you shouldn't leave either one out in the rain!
ReplyDeleteMy tangential comment is this:
ReplyDelete"Cry-you? BWAHAHAHAHA! You are So. On. Target."
Never has there been such a whiny main character.
Lovin' L.E. and the hurnacranes. Make it rain, L.E.
My mom likes Caillou so much she watches him by herself sometimes. That's...something.
ReplyDeleteCry-you is the best nickname for him ever.
One of my favorite songs is by the group Dryve and is just called Rain:
ReplyDeleteChorus:
Rain down on me
Give me the eyes to see
Rain down on me
I will believe
great rain song.....
I just realized I typed "bad" instead of "band" in the comment I left....ha! ha!
ReplyDeleteRight now, it's raining IN my office. Thanks for 'making it rain', Jon, thanks a lot.
ReplyDeletei've seen it in the lightning
ReplyDeleteheard it in the thunder
and felt it in the rain
my lord is near me all the time
lines from a song from my youth group, ages ago. i love storms and the heavenly power they let us glimpse.
good job reading all kinds of books. give her implicit permission to explore all kinds of interests.
imo boundaries make kids secure, much more than shielding them from the truth does. when she asks questions, a truthful answer is all she needs. more details will come if she has more questions and more fully-developed interests.
good parenting, jon.
A church near where I live made it rain on stage for their Good Friday service. That is a very strong devotion to rain. Nothing says "dying for your sins" like rain on stage.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget "Send your Rain O Lord." And then there's my all time favorite: "There is a fountain filled with blood" which isn't about rain really, but has nice, if not graphic, imagery of "sinners plunged beneath the depths" of the blood.
ReplyDeletethis whole rain song thing is very funny to me and i love this post just like every other post but im pretty sure my favorite part of this whole thing is where jon said "wheelbarrow full o' lettuce for my shoe fetish."
ReplyDeletethat alone was funny to me but then someone commented in question of what luttuce or shoes had to do with anything.
i decided to be the one to explain. lettuce for my shoe fetish is in reference to a song by Fergie: Glamorous. The lettuce is money and Jon does have a shoe fetish--for white pumas i believe.
im still laughing at you jon. i enojoy the music references hidden here and there.
Anna -
ReplyDeleteYou are so right on so many accounts. Awesome. That is why I throw those in there. Thanks for catching them
Jon
"cry-you" i like it! my little brother loves that show, and i just cant understand why a kid would enjoy it?? maybe it's thereputic, they can watch someone whine about everything and get it out of their system without actually engaging in a cry fest themselves. haha
ReplyDeletejim marting: i didn't know anyone but myself and my high school girlfriends knew about dryve!! l.o.v.e. them, thought i was in a very small minority and i am so glad to know i'm not.
ReplyDeleteBoy bands are evidently strongly influenced by Christianity, as every boy-bandish song I have ever heard contains the phrase "like rain" somewhere inside it.
ReplyDelete"Cry-you", priceless Jon. I'm glad that someone else shares my opinion of that whiney cartoon character.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget "Flood" by Jars of Clay.
Abby
I go to Bethel Atlanta for church, and for the next thirty days we are entering a time of intensive prayer. Contending for rain on Atlanta. Rain on schools, businesses, and families. That during this recession we'd be seen as a city that advances and doesn't recess.
ReplyDeleteWhen Sonny Purdue held a prayer meeting to end the drought, the rain came. But God has been saying that that rain wasn't the answer. that was a sign that the answer is still coming. That was a physical representation of what is about to happen in the spiritual. and we are contending for that breakthrough.
As we pray for rain on the city, we are praying for fire on us as believers. Fire is all consuming, like when God answered Elijah by consuming the alter, the water, and the offering in one second. We want all believers in Atlanta to be completely consumed in the fire of God. So join us as we pray that God would soak Atlanta in His presence!!
"My soul longs for you, my soul longs for you...nothing else will do, nothing else will do...And I believe you will come like the rain, and I believe you will come like the rain!" my soul longs for you, misty edwards
yall have mentioned "making it rain" at church, concerts, and stuff like that. i have no idea what you're talking about! do they actually pray for God to make it rain inside and it really happens, or is "making it rain" just an expression? i'm confused...
ReplyDeleteI was afraid of tornadoes and hurricanes when I was a kid...but grew out of it and majored in meteorology--go figure! If you get a crowd of Christian weather buffs in a group, pretty much every Bible/song/etc. reference comes up in conversation at least once (more often when Job 38 comes into play)
ReplyDeleteGreat post =)
Hey, what about the Biblical flood? I remember singing in church
ReplyDelete"It's gonna rain, rain, rain, 100 Percent, chance of RAIN!"
Glad you liked the Cry-you reference ;)
will "RainRiverWaterH20Wet" be the primary worship band at "TruthPointeRiverNorthCrossChurch"? and will the c.d. feature a special appearance by a worship eagle?
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty awesome. Going around town and breaking legs I mean. I'm not a big fan of water... does that make me a bad Christian?
ReplyDeleteIn my defense, I do over compensate by being overly obsessed with fire?
I should stop.
Before I became a pastor, I used to lead services at a mental hospital in my home town. Most of the time, all the residents participated just fine. However, one day, I was singing, "There shall be showers of blessings..." Before I got to the chorus, one fellow stood up, grinned really big and began urinating in the middle of the floor! It ended up being a really short service that day. And it is remarkable how many times that comes to mind when we sing a song about rain.
ReplyDeleteBut, seriously, don't you hate it when you really have to go and all the songs seem to be about rain or rivers?
Ummm, well I can't say much since my daughter's middle name is Rayne. I think it's pretty and I grew up in Seattle, so I like the rain. I didn't really mean for it to be Biblical, but people at church always think it is. It's true about Christian rain songs, though, very true.
ReplyDeleteLove this post. My pastor buddy Jeff wrote the title track for a worship CD called "Invitation". The first line of the song is: "Can you feel His mercy falling, falling down like rain?" One more reason to give him grief -- awesome.
ReplyDeleteI bet there is a really good Highway Video that would go really well with the rain songs...and hurricanes. Media gurus...where for art thou?
ReplyDeleteCry-you is totally banned at our house. Why? Because I CAN'T STAND the whining. My poor deprived kids. hehehe.
ReplyDeleteSo, at the risk of being struck by lightning let's combine God's favorite word with the liquid love.
"Lord, God we JUST pray for your love to JUST pour down on us like rain, Father God. Lord JUST flood this place with your love tonight. Father, we JUST want to swim in your mercies as you JUST shower us with your loving kindnes. Amen."
my son discovered cailou the other week...i was interested to see b/c i had heard you complain about him on other posts...i thought it couldn't be as bad as you said...unfortunatley i am wrong...it is bad...he is the whineist (sp?) cartoon ever, and (sigh) my son loves him...so i endure b/c from 12:30-1:00 everyday my son sits transfixed infront of the tv...and sometimes a little whining is worth a 1/2 hr. break! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in Seattle. (Okay, I'm in Federal Way, but saying I'm from a proper city sounds so much more legit.) We have a longstanding tradition here of calling rain "liquid sunshine". I'm serious.
ReplyDeleteThere are even songs that have allegedly have nothing to do with water that feel obliged to mention it:
Chris Tomlin's "update"* (blech!) of "Amazing Grace": ...and like a flood, His mercy reigns...oh, reign/rain...I see what you did there, Chris. Real clever.
Mercyme's "Word of God Speak": ...would you pour down like rain / washing my eyes to see...
The Newsboys "He Reigns": it's the song of the forgiven / drowning out the Amazon rain.
Casting Crowns' "Who Am I?" not only mentions being "a wave tossed in the ocean", but: the voice that calmed the sea / would call out through the rain. Then, of course, there is their song "Praise You in The Storm".
I could list these songs forever. I work for my church's worship leader. Yep.
*Christians love making old songs modern. "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" became "The Wonderful Cross", Tomlin assaulted my ears with his horrible chorus for "Amazing Grace"; Jars of Clay released an entire album called "Redemption Songs". Sometimes these Hymns: Remixed projects work. Most of the time, they destroy a beautiful thing that makes me think of the smell of old hymnals.
Is it ok that I'm a little bit sad you didn't work in a "Purple Rain" reference?
ReplyDeleteYou're daughter is hilarious...the mini mafia of meterology...
Is it ok that I'm a little bit sad you didn't reference "Purple Rain"?
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is hilarious, ... the mini mafia of meterology!
Can I be in your band?
ReplyDeleteTiffany- we talk about rain like God raining down His presence, His glory, His blessings...so not physical rain. But God's been saying recently that the physical rain is a sign of what He wants to do in the spiritual. A physical representation for whats about to happen spiritually in Atlanta. Its about to get rocked. Its about to get drenched and soaked in God's presence and His glory and His blessing. We're about to claim new territory (deut 11:24) in the Spirit. God is just so good and He wants to show up mightily in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteTwo things: I can't stand Cry-you. I have banned him from the house. I will put up with just about anything. But that kid needs a good dose of discipline. Or maybe smaller tear ducts.
ReplyDeleteTwo: It isn't just Christian songs that love rain and fire. I am a fan of the Grateful Dead (I know, sinny sin sin), but "Smells like rain" and "Fire on the Mountain" are big.
The Christian rock bands really like fire more....bands like "Day of Fire" (who has a rain song) and albums like "Physics of Fire" (by totally scary death metal maniacs Becoming the Archetype.
I could go on forever. Since I love setting things on fire, and it is always nice to be able to put them out, I love both these themes.
My friend Lark sent me this link to inform me that my term Cry-you was catching on. I just couldn't think of anything else to call it. Maybe I should copy write it. Glad you all like it.
ReplyDeleteMegan -
ReplyDeleteI couldn't remember who had first told me that "cry you" bit. I just tweaked the post to give you a shout out.
thanks for the heads up
Jon
Jon, here in Sacramento we have a few rappers who like to rap and preach, specifically about this subject. One of them has a song called "Water Bottle" and the other has a song called "When the Storm Comes" (Minister RMB). Perhaps your band name could also include "water bottle" and "storm"? These are simply suggestions to make you look cooler, in which you already are!
ReplyDeleteI'm thirsty...
For that matter, I've never figured out "Over the mountains and the sea / Your river runs with love for me." Wouldn't that be down the mountains and into the sea?
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, i can't believe i've never seen it til now. seriously, i'll never be able to sing that song again until somebody explains what these lyrics are supposed to mean.
also, the band Thrice did come out with a four-volume album of Fire, Water, Air, & Earth. all we need now is Heart (Holy Spirit?) and Captain Planet (Jesus?). but it is a good album, don't get me wrong.
You forgot "Praise you in this storm" by Casting Crowns! Awesome post...
ReplyDelete