More Magic from Mallonee

It's force-feeding time, again. For any of you loyal Realm subjects that would like to bypass having their arm twisted until they scream, "I love Bill M!" five times straight, please either move to the next post or go back and reread The Legend of the Christmas Chicken yet one more time. Okay, here we go. Early in this tune, Bill figuratively sets out the way our curse is played out under the Fall:

Now everyone's a junkie, and since daylight's such a pain,
we're all looking for some darkness, to stick into our veins.

However, when the song climaxes, Christ's redemption is portrayed:

What if it's for a purpose? What if we used our battered faith?
They say God He doesn't make junk & Jesus never makes mistakes.
He has never given up, on anything that He has made.
He will chase you like a lover, right through heaven's gate.

-- I Will Never Be Normal (After This)
from the Dear Life CD

Bill has made a career of writing and singing songs about the Fall and Redemption, and I'm not sure there's a better one lyrically than this. Sin stains us all, and those skeletons we've hidden in our closets really only enjoy the darkness. No matter how well we hide our dirty, little (or big) secrets, though, they end up manifesting themselves in ugly ways. And they don't mind killing us from deep inside, either, sometimes to the point that we regret our lives or at least how we live them. But at the end, Bill illuminates the hope that is found in Jesus. In the verse before the climax, he writes, "you gotta wake up and believe, that love's the better way." Then, he treats us to this last verse. As we persevere through the battles in our lives, a hidden purpose is revealed. The King of the Universe hasn't given up on you and, in fact, is prodding you, chasing you straight toward Him. For those of us who know the fallen parts of our lives all too well, this ending paints a beautiful picture -- we know we don't deserve it, yet the Savior's love trumps all. Goose bump city.

Oh, and one last shameless plug for Bill's new Christmas album, Yonder Shines the Infant Light, which you can read about right here. I can certainly vouch for On to Bethlehem and Sing Angel Choirs, two great, great songs. The others are either brand-spankin' new or somehow I missed them. Go figure. So -- if you're still reading this post at this point, then 1) I can safely say you need to garner a copy of this soon-to-be-released holiday masterpiece, and 2) you probably need some kind of therapy - but go ahead and skip it... I do. Regardless, my CD's on order, and it'll make for an even merrier Christmas. No doubt, the "Comment" box following this post will be filled with "thank yous" to me once all of you receive the orders you've probably already started placing. Yessiree, I'm looking for those comments to start rolling in any time now.
Bill Mallonee