Ron Block wrote a new post, Rise and Walk 1 year ago
Rise and walk. He was saying this to a man who had lain there begging in dirt and filth for years. It was ridiculous to expect any action at all. To require such a man to rise, and even walk, was beyond any sense […]
Ron Block commented on the post, Wrestling the Giant: Why I Deleted Instagram 1 year ago
Wendell Berry’s comment on writing poetry is the same with times of true worship. The moment my focus goes from God to my own feelings, I’ve lost my grip on the worship. The moment I am Instagramming about this or that family scenario, I’m out of the family scene.
This is why it is probably best to take photos quickly (if we take them at all)…[Read more]
Ron Block wrote a new post, Trouble Go Down: "O, How I Love Jesus" 2 years ago
When we were rounding out the record at the end of the process Jeff mentioned this hymn written Frederick Whitfield in 1855 and recorded it as a short interlude to go after “Come Away With Me.” Jeff on piano, […]
Ron Block wrote a new post, Trouble Go Down: I Am Hidden Away In The Bosom of Christ 2 years ago
The song “I Am Hidden Away In The Bosom of Christ” began with Rebecca Reynolds’s poignant lyrics that speak of having peace and assurance in troubled times. She sent them to me in an email, and one day I was u […]
Ron Block replied to the topic Summer book club: The Great Divorce in the forum The Rabbit Room Forum 2 years ago
Here are a few:
What is the view of sin presented in TGD?
What is the view of salvation/deliverance?
How does grace deal with human choice?
What flesh-patterns are presented in the Ghost characters?
Why would anyone choose misery and suffering when eternal bliss is offered?
How do we live in Heaven or Hell here and now, on Earth?
To which…[Read more]
Ron Block commented on the post, Artists of a Large and Wholesome Vitality 2 years ago
Thanks, Jilly!
Ron Block wrote a new post, Artists of a Large and Wholesome Vitality 2 years ago
I saw a quote-photo posted on Twitter the other day:
“I dread writing poetry, for, I suppose, the following reasons: a poem is a terrible journey, a painful effort of concentrating the imagination; words are a […]
So good–thank you!!
Thanks, Jilly!
Love this- thanks for wording this reminder so well…
I can’t believe that I’ve never heard this perspective on creative work before. I shared this post on Facebook, and many people (both artists and non-artists, if there is such a thing) expressed their gratitude and said it was just what they needed to hear. I know it was just what I needed to hear.
I’m (appropriately enough) thankful for this perspective. What I especially liked is how it also made me consider how I approach “non artistic” endeavors (specific moments in climbing and the start of each day of parenting came to mind as I read).
Thanks for your great words, Ron. I’m reminded of your earlier comments about a sense of discovery and adventure. And how important the sense of sufficiency is. Sometimes it’s enough to just let those strings oscillate on their own, outward, forever, and to feel that wooden box vibrate against your chest (talk about your sympathetic resonance!). There’s music there, simple and free.
Ron Block commented on the post, Hutchmoot 2.0 2 years ago
I used to go to Christ Community, from about 1991 until around 2001. Though I’m sad for us to leave Redeemer, because I have such great memories there, CCC is a great facility, lots of room for Hutchmoot (Our kids went to Jennifer’s writing classes there for awhile).
Plus, on an utterly selfish note, it’s less than 15 minutes from my h…[Read more]
Ron Block commented on the post, The Mad Truth of <em>La La Land</em> 2 years ago
Jennifer, you nailed the heart of the movie. I related to La La Land a lot, having grown up in Southern California wanting to be a bluegrass banjo/guitar player and having many people try to talk me out of it. “No one plays banjo! Why don’t you play something else?” “How will you ever own a home or raise a family?” It has been a life of joys,…[Read more]
Ron Block commented on the post, On Being "Original" 2 years ago
This is such a good subject to put “out there.” When I do workshops, I often ask the students, “Do you transcribe Earl Scruggs?” What I often hear is, “Well, yeah, but I just sort of learn the song but do it my own way.” I say, “Well – if you transcribe Earl’s way exactly, and then J.D. Crowe’s way exactly, and Sonny Osborne’s way exactly, then…[Read more]
Ron Block commented on the post, My True Name 2 years ago
More thoughts – when Eustace tells Puzzle, “If you’d spent less time saying you weren’t clever and more time trying to be as clever as you could…”
When we believe a false name, “I AM: Not Clever,” we manifest it.
But it’s equally true in most cases that we waste a lot of effort and thought and time trying to disprove the false name.
Ron Block commented on the post, My True Name 2 years ago
Beautiful post, Jennifer. I especially like that you point out we are named before we ever see the manifestation of the name in our lives.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about names I have accepted that aren’t mine – names from childhood and onward – and reversing the curses of those names by meditating on my true names (really we all…[Read more]
Ron Block wrote a new post, Trouble Go Down: Alight Thou In Me (featuring Ellie Holcomb) 2 years ago
One day Rebecca Reynolds sent me these poetic lyrics combining the imagery of a dead leaf falling to the ground, evensong floating out from a cathedral, and sunlight through stained glass, evoking thoughts […]
Ron Block wrote a new post, Trouble Go Down: Everything Broken and Everything Beautiful 3 years ago
Rebecca Reynolds and I began writing songs together in August, 2011, and in Spring of 2012 she sent me these image-filled lyrics, inspired partly by an early morning she spent on Lake Barclay duck hunting […]
Ron Block commented on the post, Five Reasons To Buy Kate Rusby’s Life In A Paper Boat 3 years ago
“Reason Number 6 for me is Big Brave Bill. Who couldn’t love a kettle-wielding hero?”
I could have gone on but concise writing is very important to most people. I love Big Brave Bill, too.
Ron Block wrote a new post, Five Reasons To Buy Kate Rusby’s Life In A Paper Boat 3 years ago
Kate Rusby, if you’ve never had the good fortune to hear of her, is a fantastic singer and songwriter from Barnsley, England, in Yorkshire. I first encountered her music when Alison Krauss & Union Station played s […]
The lyrics for “The Witch of the Westmorland” sold me. 🙂
Reason Number 6 for me is Big Brave Bill. Who couldn’t love a kettle-wielding hero?
“Reason Number 6 for me is Big Brave Bill. Who couldn’t love a kettle-wielding hero?”
I could have gone on but concise writing is very important to most people. I love Big Brave Bill, too.
YES to all this. Kate and her band have long been favorites in the Peterson house, ever since we fell in love with Little Lights. If you can track down her live DVD, you must! It wakes up in me the sehnsucht that Ron mentioned, in a way that very little music ever has. Thanks for writing this, Ron. Still geeked out that you get to play with that gang.
Have downloaded this album and listened to it this morning on the way to school. Every word Ron Block says is absolutely true (not that you need me to tell you that.) So beautiful. So good. Thanks for bringing this to us, Ron.
Thank you for sharing her! I just love her music. As a landscape painter I have to say she sings the landscape she is rooted in. It gets into the earth.
Ron Block replied to the topic The Perfect Lyric in the forum The Rabbit Room Forum 3 years ago
If we’re talking perfect lyrics, this is a brilliant chorus from Florida-Georgia Line. I am moved to tears just typing these:
Hey hey hey hey
Where’s my party people
Oh oh oh oh
Monday’s so far away
All my party people
Oh let’s go
Well come on
Yeah we’re gonna rock rock
Do a lotta shot shots
Someone tell the clock clock
We ain’t gonna…[Read more]
Ron Block replied to the topic The Perfect Lyric in the forum The Rabbit Room Forum 3 years ago
If we’re talking perfect lyrics, this is a brilliant chorus from Florida-Georgia Line.
Hey hey hey hey
Where’s my party people
Oh oh oh oh
Monday’s so far away
All my party people
Oh let’s go
Well come on
Yeah we’re gonna rock rock
Do a lotta shot shots
Someone tell the clock clock
We ain’t gonna stop stop
Hey hey hey hey
Where’s my…[Read more]
brooke and
Ron Block are now friends 3 years ago
Ron Block wrote a new post, Trouble Go Down: Come Away With Me 3 years ago
“Come Away With Me” began with Rebecca Reynolds’s beautiful lyrics inspired by the Song of Solomon, and I added the chords and melody. Like the Song of Solomon, “Come Away With Me” is a depiction of God’s lov […]
I just listened to the whole album and it is fantastic! This song is no exception, the music was all well written and Rebecca has a way with words as we all know. Rebecca, I remember you had some misgivings on this song so know and rest assured that it is all the more special because of its yearning. The older we grow the more we long for those everlasting arms to enfold us.
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These lyrics are so good. I have no sensible comment except to say that they are supremely satisfying and that Rebecca Reynolds is a magical ninja lyric-writer.