James is here with another music show, playing some of his favorite retro Christmas music!

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer – The Waikikis

O Holy Night – Andy Williams; The Andy Williams Christmas Album

Gently Rock His Cradle – Jimmie Davis; A Country Christmas

Adeste Fideles – Pat Boone; White Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Johnny Mathis; White Christmas

That’s What I’d Like For Christmas – Harry Secombe; White Christmas

Silver Bells – Robert Goulet; This Christmas I Spend With You

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S – Perry Como; Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music

O Come, All Ye FaithfulDino Martinelli; Dino Martinelli Plays Music For Christmas

The Holly And The Ivy – Mr. Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band; Hometown Christmas

Jingle Bells – George Wright At The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ; Merry Christmas

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – The Don Les Harmonicats; Christmas With The Don Les Harmonicats-The World Famous Harmonica Band

Deck The Halls – The World’s Greatest Jazzband; Hark The Herald Angels Swing

Sleigh Ride – Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra; Christmas Wonderland

White Christmas/I’ll Be Home For Christmas/Home For The Holidays/Happy Holiday – Lester Lanin And His Orchestra; Christmas Dance Party

On this show, Steve and James find out the history behind the Christmas classic O Holy Night – and there’s James’ own ukulele version!

James is back with some more music only shows. Playing the best in retro and podsafe christmas Music!

White Christmas – The Waikikis

Silent Night – Allison Crowe; Tidings

Joy to the World – Burl Ives; Christmas At The White House

The Twelve Days Of Christmas – Doug Boldt

It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas – Yuletide Favorites Barbershop Style

The Little Drummer Boy – The Ray Conniff Singers – Grants: A Very Merry Christmas – Volume 1

An Old Fashioned Christmas – Billy May And Orchestra; A Christmas to Remember

The Christmas Song – Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians; Christmas Time-The Spirit Of Christmas In Song

Mary’s Little Boy Child – The Jack Halloran Singers; Christmas Is A-Comin’

Do you hear what I hear? – Living Strings & Living Voices; White Christmas

What Child Is This?/The Coventry Carol – The Medallion Orchestra And Chorus-Directed By John Paul Krance; The Sound Of Christmas-Deck The Halls

Jingle Bell Rock – The Three Suns; A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeern – Big’ Tiny Little; Christmas With ‘Big’ Tiny Little

Hark, The Herald Angels Swing! – The World’s Greatest Jazzband; Hark The Herald Angels Swing

Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly/The Wassail Song/Good King Wenceslas – Lester Lanin And His Orchestra; Christmas Dance Party

Christmas Comes But Once a Year – Bryan Duncan & The Nehosoul Band; A NehoSoul Christmas!

On today’s show James and Steve tell the story of the Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas. James also plays a version of the song on the ukulele.

Phillip stood in the rubble of what used to be his together life. He faced a devastating announcement from his wife that she was leaving him. The preceding months had been a
step-by-step walk, away from the very principles that made his marriage seem rock solid. A betrayal of trust, an uncaring word and the refusal to admit anything was wrong were among the most devastating.

Is it any wonder that God consistently compares our relationship with HIM as a marriage? We walk along insisting everything is just fine, ignoring how God is speaking to us, betraying HIS trust in us, living how exactly how we want. And then we wonder where the relationship went. This morning God calls us back to proper relationship direction.

This time on the Lifespring! Why Christmas Show Steve and James find out the history behind Silent Night and there’s also James’s version of the carol on the ukulele.

This time on the Lifespring! Why Christmas Show Steve and James find out the history behind Silent Night and there’s also James’s version of the carol on the ukulele.

LSWC11-03: Lifespring! Why Christmas Show 3

On today’s show, James finds out the the story behind one of the most popular Christmas Carols Joy to the World and he also gives us his take of it on the ukulele!

Welcome to the 2011 Lifespring! Why Christmas show! This year Steve and James will be finding out about some of the stories behind popular Christmas carols and songs. And James will also play them on his ukulele for your pleasure (we think!).

Today James starts off with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

On This Episode

Adrina Thorpe

Singer/songwriter Adrina Thorpe continues her amazing story of her struggle with physical pain, her faith in God, and how He has continued to encourage her in some very personal and intimate ways, ways that were specifically tuned to speak to Adrina so that she would know it was truly Him speaking.

After the interview, you’ll hear a song from Adrina’s newest CD, “Halflight and Shadows“. The song is entitled “Walk”

Mareena Webb

My first daughter-in-law…the wife of my firstborn son…the mother of my first grandchild, is an amazingly gifted photographer.

Mareena has decided to create a presence for her photography business on the internet, and asked me to invite you to see her work. Her foray onto the net is in its infancy at the time of this recording, so her website is on blogspot, but I’ll be helping her build her own site soon. In the meantime, check out her website here.

If you’re in the southern California area and want to have images captured in beautiful and creative ways, Mareena is your photographer!

Bryan Duncan

Someone who has been on the internet for a long time, and who has become almost family to me is Bryan Duncan. A pioneer in Christian music, Dove award winner, platinum and gold albums, you‘ve heard about Bryan here before.

Bryan is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign right now, as I record this on November 19, 2011. It goes until December 17, 2011. The goal is to raise $40,000 for his next CD. He’s offering some very cool stuff to those who contribute, including the opportunity to be listed as Executive Producer of the new CD!

Richard Mylander shared the following story:

“On my way to a conference in Colorado I was driving uphill along a major interstate, when I overtook a freight train going the same direction at a slower speed. The train was being pushed uphill by two locomotives that sounded as if they were straining at full power. I’m a flatlander from the Midwest. ‘Is this how trains move in mountainous terrain?’ I wondered.

“A few minutes later, I gradually came alongside the front of the nearly mile-long string of cars. There I found five more locomotives pulling the train. Seven engines in all! Where I come from, I rarely see more than three.

“That train was a lesson for me. I had been under serious strain for some time. I was feeling tired and was wondering whether I could persevere under the pressure.

“’How like God’, I thought. ‘When I am pushing a load uphill with all the strength I have and feel like my energy level is depleted, He wants me to know that He is in the lead, pulling with power far greater than mine.’”

In these difficult times, it is good to be reminded that we are not alone, that we do not have to bear the burden by ourselves.

In Psalms 22:19 David wrote:
“O LORD, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!”

God is our strength! in Hebrew, God is our Eyaluth.

I don’t know about you, but my strength is not up to the task of getting me through this life alone. I NEED God’s eyaluth.

You may be saying, “Steve, you’re just weak. That’s fine for you, but I don’t need anybody or anything to get me by. I’m a self made man. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”

My friend, I have a response for you. The late journalist Sydney J. Harris wrote, “Knowing your own strength is a fine thing. Recognizing your own weakness is even better. What is really bad, what hurts and finally defeats us, is mistaking a weakness for a strength.”

And the apostle Paul said, “…when I am weak…that’s when I am strong.”

When Jesus is our Savior, when we belong to Him, when we acknowledge that we need His strength, when we call out to Him, then He hears us. He is our Eyaluth, our strength.

An Interview With Adrina Thorpe

Adrina Thorpe is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. I’ve known her now for about six years. She has a sweet, clear voice and the heart of a poet. Her music first came to my attention in the early days of podcasting, and she was one of the early stars of this medium. I found out she lived not far from me, right here in southern California, so I asked her to come to the Lifespring! studios in December of 2005 and do an interview with me. Since that show aired, we’ve kept in touch over the via email.

Not too long ago, Adrina sent an email newsletter out to her fans in which she told a story that brought tears to my eyes. You see, Adrina has suffered for years with a condition that causes her a great deal of pain. In her letter, she talked about her faith in God, her pleading to Him for healing, and how He has spoken to her in response. It’s a story I thought you should hear.

The drawing given to Adrina

Brought to  you by:

The Final Episode of our interview with Steven and Maryanne Abbate

Steven and Maryanne talk about how their marriage survived the loss of their fifteen year old son, Luke.

In addition they discuss how their family and priorities have changed, and their reasons for opening their lives for public view.

I have so much admiration for them for opening up their lives as they have done, but they truly want others to be helped by their experiences. And it is good to know that, even through the human frailties, God will lift us up and help us to make it through. It can be a long and painful process, and both Steven and Maryanne said that they are still working through some of the aftermath of such a great loss, you heard two people who still love God and trust Him.
Thank you again, Steven and Maryanne, for your generous gift of time to me and the family of Lifespring! listeners.

Music On Today’s Show

From The 5th Quarter Soundtrack

Trenna Barnes – Reach Out Your Hand

Adrina Thorpe – Fly Fly Fly

To purchase the songs through iTunes click here.

For more info on organ donation click here.

Music On Today’s Show

From The 5th Quarter Soundtrack

Stacy Earl – “Live and Breathe”

Black Mercies – “Less Than Zero”