(This is a trick, to see who among them reads this column.) 15-501, which get me to Chapel Hill without having to deal with interstates 95 and 40. Medicare, which I am not on, but will if I can live nine more months. Social Security, which I like a lot more on the fourth Wednesday of each month now than I did on payday during those 46 years of hard labor. He will read this, so I’ve got to include him.
I am not so deceived to believe that it’s me, so thanks to Titleist for making the Pro V1, and TaylorMade for the CGB irons and the M2 driver.īoots. At 64 years, I hit a golf ball just as far and much straighter than I did as a 28-year-old. They have given me plenty of joy through the years, but also have made me proud of how they went about the task of winning. Good health, and the cow whose tissue has kept my heart beating.ĭean Smith, Roy Williams and Mack Brown. YouTube TV: Switched to it a year ago, and save about $170 a month and the only inconvenience is when my Tar Heels play on RSN. That my 87-year-old parents are alive and well and that I have their genes. Some other things that I am thankful for: For perspective, watch “Gunsmoke,” which was set only a bit more than a century or so ago, and notice how dusty it was, and that everyone is hot and sweaty, in need of a shower, and always dodging bullets and arrows. Looked at another way, there are about 7.7 billion people on Earth, and 330 million of them live in this country, putting the odds of such good fortune at about one in 24.īut it gets better: You were born and live during the best time to be alive, when technology pretty much brings everything within reach of your fingertips with the help of Alexa or Siri and you can access all that in the comfort of a climate-controlled environment. There are 195 countries, and you hit life’s lottery when you are born and live in the United States. This is why people are backed up trying to get into this country, not trying to leave it. Keith and I are overwhelmed with the response this song has had, and we are just grateful to God that He should use it to build up His church in this way.So I am sitting in comfort at my parents’ home on Thanksgiving morning thinking about what to write about and out of nowhere, a light shines: Itemize the things that I have to be thankful for.īut in advance of that, I will point out what probably every single person reading this shares and should be grateful for: You were born and live in this country, which despite her faults, remains the world’s best when it comes to freedom, wealth and opportunity – and that applies to everyone, although in different doses depending on other cards you have been dealt and how you play them. I wanted to write a fourth verse that was about us – but not just as an emotional response, but as a undeniable statement of the power of Christ to sustain us in this life. The verses came in a fairly linear way, but as the third verse developed, I was getting pretty excited as I thought about the amazing implications of Christ’s finished work on the cross. The only thing I could think was to base it on the eternal theme of the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
And I began to feel the pressure to write lyrics that were of a comparable standard! And the first melody on it really hit me – it was tuneful and memorable, and yet had gravitas and real emotion. Keith promised he would send me a CD with a bunch of melodies he’d been working on, and to be honest I thought no more about it. We had been introduced by a mutual friend at a worship conference, where we had a coffee together and talked about our backgrounds, musical influences, and motivations to write. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, Christ alone was actually the first song Keith Getty and I wrote together.
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music (Adm. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!īought with the precious blood of Christ. What heights of love, what depths of peace, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.