I wanted to come on and thank my blogging friends and followers and wish YOU all a wonderful and thankful day… maybe by writing something profound…. but I have to admit by the time I got here, once the dishes were washed
and all had gone as successful as possible with about four different families, extended and such, all connected by marriage or somehow~ all under the SAME roof….with the usual eggshell walking and family dynamic tensions~ In the end… I felt blessed and yet pretty weary for the wear (having to have worked Wednesday and then knowing that I was back to work for another 8 hours bright and early tomorrow) I have to admit, I didn’t feel too inspired…
And so thought I would just share something I had already written. Sooo, I was going through some of my old poems and songs, and I found this one. It made me realize that I sometimes forget that I am nothing without Calvary. And so as we go around the room and rattle off what we are thankful for…. I am glad I am not so tired to remember the gift that Jesus gave us…. our everlasting life….on a hill far away, on an old rugged cross. And even when I am grouchy or fail to be exactly the person I wish I could be, or don’t get it right… even when others see me as clueless because I don’t see their point of view in exactly the same way… (can ya tell I had a taste of family dynamics along with a helping of cranberry sauce??! smile…)
“HE” sees me soooo differently, not because I am or deserve it… or did anything special other than to simply believe… And for THAT~ I am so grateful! 
HOW could I have ever felt uninspired??
About 25 years ago or so, I wrote this song with a friend. We really thought that we were going somewhere. Who knows where “somewhere” ever is? Today was Thanksgiving and I had 20 for the celebration. At first, I was overwhelmed but then I got into it. My daughter peeled 10 pounds of potatoes! Later, when I realized that we had no center pieces, she actually gathered all the candles I had in the house, filled glasses with popcorn and went out and hunted down some pretty cool looking pinecones… and then for free… with what we had in the house, she made these beautiful centerpieces that looked like they had been ordered!
My husband went and got tables and chairs… my sister who is usually the first to leave, stayed and helped clean till the very end… everyone pitched in. I got up at 4AM and I am just checking in to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who I have met here that I am truly thankful for. And the fact that I am so unworthy of all I have and yet HE blesses me anyway!
Here is the poem…
Little Jewel
Just a pebble in my own life
scarred and scratched upon the sand
but then you found me worthy
it’s still hard to understand
You refined the roughened edges
brought a glow for all to see
and yet you used my broken life
Jesus, all in spite of me
Chorus: I can hear you softly saying Little Jewel shine for Me Little Jewel shine for me
So unworthy in my own eyes
still uncut within your hands
like a jewel amidst the pebbles
hidden in the rocky sand
So unworthy in my own life till you died and set me free so you died for just a pebble made a jewel on Calvary!
(repeat chorus)
Words by Diane Griffin ’85 Music by Linda Hurst
coastalmom
Apr 09, 2013 @ 18:49:04
Oh, and the picture of the centerpiece is lovely. Very nice handiwork.
Apr 09, 2013 @ 18:48:14
Is there a recording of this to listen to? There is a meter and flow that I’m not used to seeing in your writing. It works well. I don’t hear music in my head while I read the words and that makes me extra curious because I’m sure it would work and work well.
Apr 09, 2013 @ 22:02:49
LOL. Brooke would appreciate your complimenting her centerpieces! We had NOTHING to work with at the very last minute!!!!
As for the music… I wish I could find a place for you to listen.
I emailed you a scan of Dedication but I don’t have one of Little Jewel.
Linda did put out a CD a few years ago called Pearls of Wisdom and had Dedication on it. It was kind of funny we hadn’t talked for years, I had moved 4 hours away and we kind of had lost touch. I needed to ask a question for Brooke who needed voice lessons for an audition she was going on. The CD just happened to have just gone out to be listed on CD Baby and she had to tell me that it went out without any credit to me. (probably thought I was kind of a bad joke coming back as a blast from the past) She kind of seemed flustered explaining to me that there was a lot of red tape including little ole me in the credits. Later I spoke to someone else who records music and they told me it wouldn’t have been any hassle at all to give me recognition for the words on that one song. Oh well… live and learn right? I still value our friendship for the joy it brought me when it did. I have begun to see the people in my life from a totally different perspetive. I so idolized my friend for so many years…. she went to Viet Nam with Bob Hope, was on the Dean Martin Show as one of the Gold Diggers… Knew Ricky Nelson and Elvis! I was star struck by her and her husband. And they were there for me when I needed my faith rebooted so it is all good! Anyway, I wish I knew where to find Little Jewel for you. And I can’t hum it! LOL. When I die, I want a good voice! By the way the meter was probably different because I worked from the melody she gave me… that was also one fingered to make it easier for me to follow.
Apr 10, 2013 @ 00:57:26
A lot of artists are not credited for work they do on other people’s projects. The guitar solo on the Beatle’s “Let it Be” was done by Eric Clapton. Clapton and George Harrison did a lot of soloing work for each other’s recordings with no credit ever given. Sometimes in situations like that you don’t want people to know.
You absolutely should have been credited for writing the lyrics; in fact, in my mind, you should have received a paycheck if the CD made any money.
Apr 10, 2013 @ 03:00:41
I really was not worried about the money back in those days. I think we were probably doing much better than she was and she needed it, I always gave her what I could back then anyway… It was about the principle and the half truth. Having my name on the CD would have meant more than any money I could have made.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 02:00:20
It is so nice to hear someone else who can speak about their Spiritual faith without fear! Your lyrics are beautiful and I bet the song was too, and true as well. Your Thanksgiving sounds like it was wonderful but hectic. Family “dynamics” were always a large part of our holidays too. This year I went to my daughter’s for her first Thanksgiving at her place (about 45 mins. away) Even though there were only 5 of us (including hubby self, daughter, fiance and fiance’s brother) it was so nice and calm… Well, except for when the little Hawk flew into the screened porch and the pups totally freaked out… not to mention my daughter almost had a stroke… LOL. Mom and dad saved the day as I grabbed the 2 pups and took them around the corner while dad got the Hawk out of the porch… LOL.
I’m a fan of yours now as well….
Nov 26, 2012 @ 02:15:12
You use your words so well… and had me falling off my chair laughing. We live up by a lake and I remember one evening, around dusk a bat flew into our house and it was like an Lucy and Ethel comedy as my hubby and I tried to get it outta there…so I GET the stroke part…Also, I have read about those hawks getting at those pups going on walks in the Hollywood Hills where my daughter lives sooo you guys really did save the day!
As for my faith…. it is a constant journey…
Thank you for finding me back!
Nov 24, 2012 @ 00:24:56
Beautiful! What great lyrics with a powerful message!
Nov 24, 2012 @ 07:17:59
Thank you for taking the time to read and your continual support!
Nov 23, 2012 @ 11:35:15
This is so beautiful…why have you locked it away for so long?
Nov 23, 2012 @ 12:07:49
Yeah, For a few years, I wrote lyrics with a friend while she wrote the music. She read one of my poems and asked me to take a stab at lyrics. Most are just silly old poems… I have hundreds, some in journals and others on another blog….
Every now and then I go back and stroll through them…That is the gift we have in being writers. We get to go back on a journey and see where we once were and sometimes even learn from ourselves…some are just embarassingly bad but they still remind us of where we were when we wrote it… some, we wonder WHAT were we thinking… lol. Thanks for always reading Yaz, I am thankful for you!
Di