Reason for the Season ( #BOTB & #IWSG )

       The Season is here again!   Time for fun, family, and maybe some holiday stress?   Fear not--no stress here.  I hope not at least.   Instead let us indulge in a couple of delights.  How about starting with...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 

The co-hosts for the December 1 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!

December 1 question - In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

      Generally I tend to be a fairly low-stressed person.  In regard to writing there is not much that might stress me.  It's not like when I was still in school and contending with deadlines.  A deadline can stress me if I'm not well prepared or under some sort of time constraint.  If I'm under pressure to complete a writing task by a specific time then the stress might hit me.  

        These days the pressure is typically not there--not to any serious extent.   Ask me about stress if I get some sort of writing job or a contract to produce written work.  For now that is not any consideration for me.

          What delights me about writing is the act of getting things out there for others to read. And when they read my work then that can result in great satisfaction for me.  If they don't like it then I might be disappointed or sometimes even annoyed.   Whatever the case might be, writing can be a great release for me and I'm delighted if my work receives recognition.

          Hope you enjoy my next bit of writing exercise...

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this                                                                                 post for more Battle action.

The Reason for the Season

         Since it's December I'm going to go with a Christmas theme for the Battle of the Bands.   The songs I have chosen are not exactly Christmas songs, but they are songs of praise to the entity whom we celebrate during this season--Jesus Christ.  

         It's very likely that you may have not heard these songs before or perhaps even the artists.  Both artists were significant figures in contemporary Christian music in the eighties. They are both artists that I have appreciated enough over the years to have bought a number of their albums.  Now I'll share them with you for this Christmas season...

Matthew Ward    "You Are All in All"  (1987)    

       Officially this song is by Second Chapter of Acts which consisted of Matthew Ward and his sisters, but Matthew cowrote it and is the singer.  The song comes from the album Faraway Places released in 1987.  Matthew Ward also recorded numerous solo albums over the years.  He is a phenomenal singer which is displayed in this recording.  It's a somewhat challenging song in structure and sound, but it's also very beautiful.  Hope you enjoy this "song for the Season"...

Leslie Phillips  "No One But You"  (1987)

        From the same year as the previous song comes a more mainstream sounding pop style tune from a young female artist who was sometimes referred to as "the Cyndi Lauper of Contemporary Christian Music" because of the similarity of the vocal styles.  Leslie's final Christian album was the critically acclaimed The Turning which was produced by the well-known musical artist/producer T-Bone Burnett whom she later married.  After that album she also changed her professional name to Sam Phillips and recorded a number of secular albums as well as appearing in acting roles in films. Take a listen to this song and see how you would compare it to the first of this Battle...

Time to Vote!
        
         A bit of a challenging song and another that sounds like a pop radio hit.  Which style do you prefer?  Which artist do you enjoy the most?   Of the two, which do you like better?  I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite.   Which version do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 



Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday December 8th

          In my follow-up post I'll not only announce which song recording won the most votes, but I'll also give some personal background regarding the songs and artists in this Battle.  Please vote and then come back for more in my next post.

         Do you get easily stressed?  What do you do to help relieve stress when it enshrouds you?   Are you getting ready for Christmas and the holiday season?