Worthy Is The Lamb

Happy Easter to All  🐰. Blessed Resurrection Weekend 🙏➕. Happy Passover 🐑. Today is a quiet day. It is Good Friday in Barbados. It was never my favourite holiday. Too solemn. Too mournful.

 

                             Were You There - Selah (Source: eliott9697, 2013)

A Time to Rejoice

Then I realised it is not a time to mourn but to rejoice.  In the last few years, I came to an understanding of the nature of the Messiah. For decades, I attended church. I heard sermon after sermon. I believed he died and rose again. But he didn't die. He gave himself as a sacrifice - "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1: 29). That's the difference. 

                    Worthy is the Lamb - Hillsong (Source: Worship Videos 24/7, 2012)

The Lamb of God

We see Christ with mortal eyes. He was Emmanuel - "God With Us". He did not die. He gave up his spirit (John 19: 30). He said it himself in John 10: 17-18 that he would lay down his life and take it up again. In Luke 23: 46, he is quoted as saying: "Father into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this he breathed his last."  He released his body to death. Death did not claim him as it would a mere mortal. In spite of the disfigurement from the whipping, the lack of blood in his body (he shed ALL of it that day) he lived for 6 hours in that state before releasing his body to death. It is an incredible belief and not everyone understands the significance of him "dying" in the way that he did. Listen to Joseph Prince as he ministers on the subject. If you do not know who Joseph Prince is, he is a pastor in Singapore, who wears jeans, leather, even zippered jackets as he ministers. No collars. No robes.  He breaks down the Christ's sacrifice.

              [Calvary Animation Video] What Happened At The Cross - Joseph Prince
                                             (Source: nocturnal 18, 2014) 

The Risen King

I know millions of people see Jesus as a great teacher and healer, but not as God manifested as man or resurrected as the Saviour of the world. Some who go to church, especially young people, may not quite "get it", but gradually insights came for me as I meditated on the Word and even did some formal study, also as I listened to various speakers and certain songs. 

Todd Dulaney's The Anthem reminds me of the victory claimed in this risen king.

The Anthem, Todd Dulaney (Source: ToddDulaneyVEVO, 2015)

Good Friday...the Passover...they are the price of love.

Shalom.

#Wakanda4ever!

Greetings to the reader(s) from the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Brazil, Ukraine and the Phillipines. It is really humbling to know there are people reading my posts from such varied places. Hope you visit this page again.

Now, I don't usually go to the cinema for action movies. I wait and get the DVD. Invariably I enjoy them, but I don't go to see them at the cinema anymore. Even the chic flick, Wonder Woman (which was really good), I waited for the DVD.

Then came The Black Panther, which rocked Barbados, as it did wherever it was shown. The trailer was intriguing enough. Still, I would not have gone to the cinema to see it.

                           Black Panther Trailer 2 (Credit: FilmSelect Trailer, 2017)

However, it is my golden jubilee year and I was blessed with a free ticket for being a good customer! 😀 I could not let it go to waste so off I went and enjoyed it to the max. 

It was so good to see Africa portrayed as a place with superior technological innovation, to see women warriors, to see spectacular vistas, to see Africa portrayed really as the motherland of mankind. 

Actually the way women are portrayed is empowering for women everywhere. We see the Queen Mother, the tech genius of a younger sister, the female General and the all-female warrior guard and the gutsy girlfriend (not a new concept, but Lupita's portrayal is so impressive for the blend of fierce independence and tender loyalty to T'Challa). For many, it seems surprising that women are held in such high esteem in Africa but African society was quite matriarchal traditionally. Patriarchal societies are western cultural traditions, not African. Hear some of its cast on the role of women in the film.

                    Black Panther – The Women of Wakanda  (Credit: Variety 2018)

Then there is the costuming, which was spectacular. I loved everything about this work, from a design perspective.

Still, there is negativity from those who do not understand traditional African culture's reverence for the ancestors, or the shaman tradition. But, the success of this movie is due to the stellar cast, the narrative. It is liberating for everyone as it shows a glimpse of an Africa that escaped colonial rule and the resulting whitewashing of Africa's story.

Here's to Panther Power! #Wakanda4ever!
 

Speak Life...

On pondering my subject for today's post, I realised tonight is the Oscars and the red carpet looks were glamourous and sophisticated.

Anyone who's read certain previous posts know that I love that kind of look. You also know I am trained in fashion design - albeit at junior college level. I got the chance to do fashion writing for a time. I really miss that. So, from time to time I'll feature fashion.

I also saw The Black Panther this weekend and was enraptured by the costume design. I thought of writing about that too. 

But I wanted to share this young man's testimony. This is the song that catapulted him to worldwide acclaim, in which he affirms that "all things are working for my good":  

                     Travis Greene, Intentional (Source: TGreeneVEVO, 2015)

I heard he'd fallen from a building as a child, which was confirmed by this testimony.

                        

Then he came with another inspirational song, "Made A Way", which emerged in the midst of all of the angst being experienced across the United States last year given the rising racial tensions.

 

 Travis Greene, Made A Way (Source: TGreeneVEVO, 2017)

Honestly, I don't know which one I prefer.  Hopefully, someone will be inspired by these songs and his testimony. 

For the sceptics, my Dad said when he was 5 years old, he almost drowned. He recalled feeling like he was floating 20 feet up and he said he sensed that if he floated another five feet it would be too late to reconnect to his body in the water. Then he was plucked out of the water by a teenaged girl - not Christ, unlike Travis. He too lived to tell the tale. If he had died, I would not be here to post this today.

Last year I awoke after about an hour sleeping in bed. I heard my Mother, who lives with me, moving around in the corridor but I couldn't move. I've had a couple of episodes of sleep paralysis before, so I wasn't bothered. Until I began to feel disembodied. Then I went cold all over. My memory verse a couple of weeks before was Psalm 91: 16, "With long life I will satisfy them,/ and show them my salvation." Of course, I replaced "them" and "they" with "me" - but the only version I recalled was one line from Israel Houghton & New Breed's song, "With Long Life" so I recited that alternating with "The Lord is my shepherd" from Psalm 23, the rest of which I also could not remember. Eventually the feeling passed and I've lived to tell that tale. If that was the end of the line for me, I would not have had the chance to share this, in this media. Although it was the month of May and about 24 degrees Celsius (75.2F), after I felt myself again I was so cold I had to wrap myself in a sheet, like a mummy is wrapped up - but with my face out of course.

Here is a lyric version of the Israel & New Breed song that inspired me to speak life into my cold body and there is a link to a live performance.  

 

       Israel & New Breed, "With Long Life" lyric video (Source: The7Meek, 2011)

So there are some of us, who have these unusual experiences. A few live to testify. We can't tell anyone what to believe, but given my firsthand experience I believe there is a part of us that will live on after our physical bodies return to dust or become ashes if cremated. How prepared are you for that?

 

Voices To Love

Well, it's the month to celebrate love. So, I'm going to show love to my readers by shouting out (as we say in Bajan parlance for recognising/greeting) readers from Indonesia, Grenada, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, Germany. I am humbled that even one page of my writing is read by persons of such diverse nationalities and cultures. 

I'll just share a couple of my fave ballads on this occasion, but first here's to a gutsy young man, Wesu Wallace who wowed the judges, inclusive of Will.i.am at the Voice UK edition's Blind Auditions in which the judges do not see the contestant until a decision was made to keep him/her or not. This clip has made the rounds on local social media and we wish him well. So much singing talent in Barbados! I hope you enjoy it as much as we and the judges did. 😊

                                                    Credit: The Voice UK, 2018

Now, to a couple of ballads for the occasion. If you think I'm old school, well...I am. From the search for the next "The Voice" of the UK to the songstress known as The Voice, the incomparable Whitney Houston. I love more than 90% of her ballads, but this one is just timeless for me: "I Have Nothing" from The Bodyguard soundtrack.

                                                Credit: whitneyhoustonVEVO, 2009

In trying to decide which other ballad to feature I thought of Luther Vandross, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Boys II Men - so many beautiful love songs by them all. Then I settled for NSYNC and "This I Promise You". If this sounds like a musical history lesson, google to your hearts content. If you like music that's easy on the ears, you'll enjoy them all. 

                                               Credit: NSYNCVEVO, 2009

Finally, I'll share a regional hit that was a fave on wedding lists over the year - so I understand. He's Nathanael and he hails from Trinidad: "For Better Or Worse".

                                         Credit: RiddimcrackerTM  Chunes, 2016

A Happy Valentine's Day to all.

Reflecting On The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow

This is the weekend of a national holiday in Barbados. January 21 is the birthday of the national hero, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow (1920-1987). So, I'll reflect a little on his contribution to Barbados.

The Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow was the first Prime Minister of Barbados. He was the country's national leader at the time when Barbados successfully gained independence from Great Britain in 1967. 

The era of the 1960s saw the rise of remarkable national leaders throughout this region. They were known for their no-nonsense approach to matters of equality and imperialism. Here is a reported comment from his First Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposal presented in Parliament in 1962: 
  
"I think that we in the West Indies should not be afraid to speak our minds. I think that we in the West Indies should not be looking around for somebody to lead and work out our own political and economic philosophy and I do not think that it pays any West Indian politician to either look too rapidly in the direction of Europe or Asiatic countries for our basic philosophies of life.”     (Barbados Nation, 21 January, 2016)

Check this clip from the Errol Barrow Freedom Fighter (2016) trailer in which a frankly-speaking leader throws down the gauntlet on perceived capitalist exploitation.

                    Errol Barrow: Freedom Fighter Trailer (Credit: Dave Weekes, 2016)

However, much of the credit for this island's social engineering is attributed to his visions, although all political administrations have made a contribution to Barbados' socio-economic development over the last 51 years. This clip from the Barbados Government Information Service captures his contribution to this island state.

Barbados National Heroes Explored - The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow - Episode 2 (Credit: thebgis, 2015)

Known for his outstanding oratorical skills, one of my fave excerpts is his speech given before the United Nations in December 1966 - the month after the first Independence Day was celebrated.

"We shall not involve ourselves in sterile ideological wranglings because we are exponents not of the diplomacy of power, but of the diplomacy of peace and prosperity. We will not regard any great power as necessarily right in a given dispute unless we are convinced of this, yet at the same time we will not view the great powers with perennial suspicion merely on account of their size, their wealth, or their nuclear potential. We will be friends of all, satellites of none.”        (Barbados Nation, 21 January, 2016)

One of the more charismatic of Barbados' national leaders, he has been honoured in song by more than one local artiste. This is one of my faves:  

                Errol Walton Barrow Tribute- Kid Site (Credit: Carson Howard, 2009)

Today, Barbados is at a crossroads - approaching national elections. What will be the vision of the next leadership of this island?

Saluting Soca Royalty

Well, it's 2018. For some the new year begins with trepidation. Who knows what it will hold? For others it's a time of anticipation...new possibilities, new adventures, new achievements. I'm usually rather blasé about it. Still to have reach the age I've reached, that's an achievement. So, this year, I'm going to use this blog to encourage, to inspire sometimes and certainly to showcase local talent. 

Thank you to everyone from the different parts of the world, who've been viewing these posts. I see viewers from the UK for the first time. My writing's not viral, but it's good to know someone sees these posts - and views more than one sometimes. 

Today, I'm going to highlight the work of three of Barbados' cultural ambassadors, so honoured for their body of work over the last 20-plus years and their contribution to national culture - albeit our Crop Over festival. I've highlighted their work before so I hope these are as enjoyable.

Our Soca Queen 

This young lady has been making music since her teenaged years, when she was one of the lead singers of a popular band on the local hotel and nightclub circuit, Square One. Then in the 1990s, they forayed into Crop Over as a group. In 1996, their Crop Over hit and that year's road march tune, "Ragamuffin" with Alison on lead vocals took Barbados and the region by storm. In 1998, Alison led on the song "Faluma", which was rendered in the language of the Saamaka tribe of Suriname. That was another huge hit across the Caribbean. Then in 2004, Alison left the band and pursued a solo career. Here she is with "Faluma" and the 1992 Caribbean Song Contest-winning duet with John King, "Hold You In A Song".

 

              Faluma/Makelele, Alison Hinds (Credit: alisonhinds, 2012) 

 Hold You In A Song, Alison Hinds and John King (Credit: Bajanbloom Bloom , 2010)

The Lyrical Master

Stedson "Red Plastic Bag"/"RPB" Wiltshire is a multiple winner of Barbados' national calypso competition, during the annual Crop Over Festival. He first won as a young man in 1982 with "Mr. Harding" and "Sugar Made Us Free". He continued to win the title several times over the next 30 years before moving on to the more recent Sweet Soca competition, which he has won as well. 

Here he is with the song that marked his move into ragga soca, "Ragga Ragga" - a social commentary on the then emerging dancehall movement's effect on party-goers of the day. It was the first song, by him, expressing sentiments with which I agreed 100%! 😀

          Ragga Ragga, Red Plastic Bag (Credit: Clayton Mann, 2012)

This one won road march (the most played song on the road for the parade of costumed bands, Grand Kadooment) in 1987! He strung together the name of almost, if not, all of the places in Barbados named Hall as he sang about the disappearance of a fugitive from justice, Winston Hall (now deceased).

Can't Find Me Brother, Stedson "Red Plastic Bag" Wiltshire (Credit: Scorpio Petey, 2008)

The Maestro

Dr, Anthony "Gabby" Carter is another multiple calypso monarch having won a title or two in each of the last 5 decades. His vocal orchestration is one of his unique features. Very few calypsonians subsequently have been able to replicate his vocal skills - no matter how fine a rendition they give . Here he is with the classic, "Jack", which won the road march title in 1982. Today, he still rocks the house with it when performed nationally - and every bajan can sing along word for word with great verve.

          Jack, Anthony "Gabby" Carter (Credit: Bajanbloom Bloom, 2012)

Today (January 7, 2018) tribute was paid to these three artistes as they were officially celebrated as Barbados' cultural ambassadors.

Here's to you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing my readers a most fulfilling 2018 with success in your careers and personal life. May this be a fabulous year for you in which you achieve the goals you set and you overcome any challenges you may face. 

It blesses my heart to see I have readers from places like Austria, Ukraine, France and Haiti. That's awesome. Je vous souhaite une Bonne Année mes amis.

The year-end is a time for reflection and review for some. So, just for my readers not living in Barbados, I'll share five of my fave local songs of the year (well, one is regional).

Crop Over is Barbados' annual summer festival featuring lots of fetes, music (soca, calypso etc.) competitions and ending with a parade of costumed bands that are judged for Best Band on the Road (in terms of creativity, representation of theme, colour, durability). For the young-at-heart, it's a great experience. My first 2 faves are taken from the 2017 festival.

First up is this sweet, melodious rendition by a talented, young man, Marvay, who has the antidote for those stressful days. Enjoy these scenes of life in Barbados in his lyric video...

             Marvay ~ Antidote (Credit: JulianspromosTV | 2018 Music 2017)

 Next up is the calypsonian dubbed the "Lyrical Master", Red Plastic Bag, one of Barbados' cultural ambassadors. He won the year's Sweet Soca Competition during Crop Over with this performance. Check here for the nicely recorded version in full effect. I think he wears white as well as he wears red. 😀

     Red Plastic Bag ~ Boat Ride (Credit: JulianspromosTV | 2018 Music 2017) 

Now to my favourite genre...

This was gibberish to me until I saw this lyric video, still I couldn't resist the melody and sang along with the hook-line every time I heard it from day 1. Carry on de beat boi!

               Blessed Messenger ~ Praises Tun Up (Credit: Nicholas R. 2017)

Of my personal three faves for the year, there's no video of Sherwin Gardner's "Trouble" other than a clip so I'm choosing another Trinidadian native, who now lives in Barbados and is married to a Bajan. Blessed Messenger, Sherwin and this lady, Sherry Ann Maughan, all hail from Trinidad and Tobago. 

               Sherry Ann Maughan ~ Shine (Credit: Sherry Ann Maughan 2017) 

The final song in my "countdown" of 2017 faves is this one by fellow Barbadian, Nicovia. Love it to bits and it's a toss-up between this and "Trouble" for my all time year's favourite. They were both in the top 2 of a couple of stations I listen to.

                                   Nicovia ~ Tek Ova (Nicovia 2017)

One love people...blessings...