Sunday, December 22, 2013

I wonder...

I wonder as I wander...



In the spirit of Christmas, thought I would share... Don't know why, but I had never heard this beautiful song until this year.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933.[1][2][3][4][5]
While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police.[1][5] In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song:
A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins.... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.[2]
The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance, and Niles left with "three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea".[2][5] (In various accounts of this story, Niles hears between one and three lines of the song.[2][4][5][6]) Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas.[2][3][5] His composition was completed on October 4, 1933.[2] Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina.[2][6] It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934.[4][6]




"I Wonder As I Wander" lyrics


I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky


When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.


If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God's Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King


I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cpoUgTI9ZE




May you all have a Blessed Christmas, as we honor the birth of THE King, our Savior, Jesus Christ.




Stickman

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Stickman... "World Traveler"!

Hello Friends,

Wondering where I've been?!? Well, truthfully, I've not been far... pretty much been right here in Maine. I do get out and about, but "physically", I'm NOT a "World Traveler". I did get out for a bit, this Saturday, past. I had the honor, once again, of providing transportation for Craig "Hoosier" Clapper, who completed his Appalachian Trail Thru-hike on Friday.

***A BIG round of applause for Hoosier, as it is a tremendous accomplishment to hike the 2,185.9 miles of rugged trail in a year!

I picked up Hoosier at the Appalachian Trail Lodge, in Millinocket, scooted over to the Appalachian Trail Cafe (yum!) for a bit of breakfast, then headed for Stratton, where he had left his vehicle with Sue, at the Stratton Motel. We had a wonderful time, chatting about the Trail, lessons in life, and the like. Hated to see you drive off, Hoosier, as I was really enjoying your company! I suppose that we will meet again, Lord willing... God Bless your travels, as you continue on in your journey! Read Hoosier's Journal... "Hoosier" at Trail Journals.com!

Speaking of journey... although the ol' Stickman hasn't had much opportunity to travel any great distance lately, he did some interesting "browsing" the other day. In navigating the 'blog site, I saw that I could look at various statistics. One thing I found very interesting was a list of the countries which had viewers of my blog. I was not surprised to see that there were folks from the United States, or even the United Kingdom that had visited me. I was surprised to see MULTIPLE visits from people in Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Ukraine, Japan, and China! Whowouldathunkit!?!

I guess that even if I don't leave home, with todays' technology, I should expect "company from away" to show up at my house anytime! Of course, you're ALL welcome, no formal invitation needed! I'll keep the coffee on.

God Bless the steps of your individual journeys,

Stickman

Friday, August 23, 2013

Wandering... but not lost!

“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R.Tolkien

Hi folks, it's been awhile since I have posted up. I would like to apologize for my long absence, and ask forgiveness for wandering so far away with no explanation. I am not sure that I even have an explanation, but I assure you that it was not intentional that I walked away... I just started walking, and the direction I took was "away".

Although I wandered, poking around on life's trails that ascend to the heights, descend to the lowest valleys, and take sudden turns that reveal the previously unknown, I knew that I would someday return "home".

There have been SO many things that I have experienced since we last chatted, some that have made great memories, and some that have also stretched me a bit. I don't need to go into the telling of the journey in whole right now... there is too much to tell, and I'm not sure that the teller would adequately tell. Perhaps it is best to just walk together for a while, and talk of things as they nudge me to speak of them.

The path I am on right now includes being part of the Praise and Worship team, alongside my wife, Cari, at the wonderful Church we attend. Pray for us all, that we might be used of the Lord to help bring the congregation into a place of praise and worship for our wonderful Savior!

Another section of trail has blessed me with being able to lend my support to Craig "Hoosier" Clapper.

http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=14243

Hoosier will be jumping back on Trail, shortly, and if all goes well... I will be able to be a help to him after his completion of the AT, as he summits Katahdin!

Other stuff... other stuff... but, now, we must walk. My heart is with the hikers, especially those on the AT. (My heart is with you, also, as we are ALL on "the journey", together!).

My latest wandering took me to Caratunk, delivering a load of lumber up to Pleasant Pond. Coming back down from the Pond, I arrived at "the 'tunk". Across from the Post Office were a dozen or so hikers. More hikers were making their way up the road from the Kennebec River, where they had been shuttled across by the Ferryman, Dave Corrigan. I pulled over, getting out to wish them well, congratulate them for persevering to make their way this far North.

As we exchanged bits of hiker pleasantries, Marie Beane, the Postmistress extraordinaire, of Caratunk, stepped outside to warn me... "Kelly, you CAN'T go with them!". We all had a great laugh, and I admitted that I surely would like to join up with that little band of hikers... but, for now at least, that is a trail I cannot take.

Praying that all of YOUR wanderings are Blessed, whether on trail, or off...

Stickman