CD will be released on March 22nd and contains the following tracks:
Worship leader Mack Brock walked away from a high profile position at one of the nation’s biggest megachurches to follow God’s call for his life. In an interview with The Christian Post, Brock, who led worship at Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a decade, describes what it was like for him to resign to embark on a solo music career.Brock was leading worship and producing albums for Elevation Worship when he felt God was leading him elsewhere and he was obedient.
You can pre-order for the EP and get the single “I Am Loved”.
There will be a lyric video live day-of release (3/8), HERE
Follow Mack on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing the product/product information. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did/will receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
This week, I also received Jeremy Camp’s new CD, The Answer. I thought the lyrics to the title track summed up a lot of what is on my mind and I am sure on the minds of thousands of others.
So many questions, the world is reaching
So many hurting, so many lost
With all this thriving, who can we lean on?
Creations crying, out from the dark
Another song on the CD that I think many will relate to is, Never Stopped Loving Me. It reminds us that no matter if you go astray or through a dark period, God never stops loving you. He is always there for you, and that is a very comforting.
Many of the tracks on this CD, have that recurring message in them. In Love So Great, the lyrics say:
You made a way when I was so lost
You came running when I could not
You gave your life to show me true love
And took my chains and gave me freedom
Word of Life, is another powerful song and I think it will speak to many in these times. You can view the video below.
I can see You when the night is closing in
And I will trust You when it seems that there’s no hope
And I hold tight to the promise You have given
‘Cause this I know and I am confident
The Answer was just released on October 6th and is Jeremy Camp’s 15th career album in 15 years. Since his debut album, 2002’s STAY, Camp has established himself with numerous landmark accolades including four RIAA-Certified Gold albums, more than 4.5 million albums sold, a GRAMMY nomination, three American Music Awards nominations, multiple ASCAP awards, 41 radio No. 1’s, a Gold digital single (There Will Be A Day) and a multi-platinum DVD.
“What’s been amazing about The Answer is that all of the songs were inspired by just being present,” Camp shares. “There was no song where I was sitting there and had this epiphany when I was writing. In every writing session, any idea literally just came in the moment. I was praying the whole time, ‘Lord, give me opportunities to combine these things that You are doing in our hearts.”
Camp continues, “When things get tough our first initial reaction is to say, ‘I don’t know if I can handle this.’ I can just tell you there is nowhere else to run. We can turn our backs on the Lord, but that’s where the problems are. There is pain and there is hurt, and Jesus literally offers peace, He offers hope and joy, and He offers the words of eternal life. This song is to encourage others to stick to the only true source of life who gives us all we need – Jesus Christ.”
Giveaway:
Jeremy Camp, The Answer CD Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
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Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
The seasons of the year can be a lot like life. Sometimes we are going through tough times that seem to not want to let up. Those times can feel similar to the most harsh winter we feel will never end. Then, through the snow-covered ground, a tiny crocus appears to give us hope for spring and the rebirth it brings.
Worship leader Kari Jobe feels that even when our souls grow weary and dark in the thick of winter that God is always at work. The slow and unexpected green breaking through the frozen ground signaling the first signs of spring show us that. Kari Jobe who just released her fourth album, The Garden, invites listeners to drink of the wellspring of hope she’s found in the midst of unimaginable tragedy.
This new album is rooted in a series of personal transition and remarkable grief for the singer and her family. Over the course of the last two years, Jobe got married, moved from her hometown of Dallas, Texas to Nashville where they bought their first home and had a baby.
Jobe was a four months pregnant when her sister, Kris gave birth to a stillborn daughter, James Ivy. Jobe says the loss shattered her heart and wrecked her. She tried to walk in peace when she did not feel peaceful. Aching for her sister, Jobe was also anxious about the safety of her unborn baby. She welcomed her son Canyon Carnes last February.
While she celebrated the birth of her son, her sister’s loss weighed heavy on her heart. As Jobe held her son, she looked out her kitchen window to see the first signs of spring. Taking a walk in the garden she noticed what only God could produce: thick, green ivy lacing its way overhead that quickly reminded her of her niece’s namesake.
“Ivy is the most resilient plant there is. It can grow in the harshest of climates; it can grow in the harshest of situations,” Jobe explains, adding, “I’m standing in this garden. There’s ivy growing, and I just started to realize, ‘God, You’re moving in a way that is different than what I asked for, but You are moving.’ He’s at work and doing things we can’t see.”
The experience yielded the title track for Jobe’s new album and fresh healing for her soul. “Those seeds were planted years ago for it to be the way that it was that day for me, because it wasn’t just last year that they planted all this beautiful ivy. That took years,” she observes. “Something in my spirit started to rustle. Life was coming back. What felt dead in my heart was starting to wake up. It was like I’d been in this place of being numb in my walk with the Lord, but something just started blooming in my heart.”
Her unanswered questions began to grow into songs. As Jobe declared God’s goodness over her own circumstances, He began to transform her heart. “These raw things were coming out of my mouth, so I just started writing,” she shares. “I Will Sing,” written while she was still pregnant, became the first song she penned for this album. Jobe spent the next several months pouring out her emotions one track at a time. She and her husband wrote together frequently, and Cody adds vocals on numerous tracks.
In addition, Jobe co-wrote with acclaimed songwriters, including Jacob and Amanda Cook of Bethel Music, Brooke Fraser Ligertwood, Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, Mia Fieldes, Martin Smith and Josh Silverburg, among others.
“The garden is true intimacy with the Father, and it’s a place where He intended for us as humankind to be surrounded with His creation. There’s life in things that He’s created,” she offers. “I want to lead people into intimacy with the Father. It’s something that’s so important as we walk through stuff in our lives.”
Today, Jobe and her family continue to discover restoration through glimpses of God’s goodness. “The healing that He’s been bringing to my family and the way that He’s met us in our pain, it’s made me realize how many people are going through really intense pain and disappointments and trials,” Jobe offers. “There’s a lot of people who have lost babies or family members out of traumatic experiences. My eyes have been opened to that in a whole new way.”
“Everyone who’s seen something grow out of the dust realizes God was up to something in the midst of pain and questions. He never promised that it would be easy or that it would be pain-free, but that He would never leave us or forsake us,” Jobe offers, adding, “I’m more aware of His presence than I think I’ve ever been.
This is a beautiful album that will remind you even through the dark times, that God is there working, even if you cannot see what that is yet. I think everyone will take something from this album and the beautiful music and songs are calming and give hope to our lives.
Would you like a chance to win a copy of this CD? If so, enter the giveaway below. You can purchase it HERE.
The Garden CD Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
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You can get a free download of the song, Children, Go Where I Send Thee by clicking HERE!
Elizabeth Mitchell & Friends – Peggy Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Dan Zanes, Aoife O’Donovan & more – explore the Ruth Crawford Seeger Christmas songbook on ‘The Sounding Joy’ from Smithsonian Folkways
GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Elizabeth Mitchell releases The Sounding Joy, an exploration of Christmas and solstice songs from the American folk tradition. Drawn almost exclusively from the often overlooked but deeply influential songbook of revered composer and anthologist Ruth Crawford Seeger, these songs evoke an era before mass media and the commercialization of Christmas, when sacred song, dance, contemplation, and gathering were prized above all else during the holiday season. Mitchell’s fifth album for Smithsonian Folkways, The Sounding Joy
http://www.folkways.si.edu/
While recovering from surgery four years ago, Mitchell spent a Thanksgiving weekend thinking about the project that would eventually become The Sounding Joy. A longtime fan and champion of Ruth Crawford Seeger’s work, Mitchell soon found herself thoroughly immersed in Seeger’s third and final songbook, American Folk Songs for Christmas. Seeger, mother of musicians Mike and Peggy Seeger and stepmother of Pete Seeger, died from cancer at age 52 in 1953, the very same year American Folk Songs for Christmas was published.
The guest artists on The Sounding Joy are impressive. Amy Helm leads a rousing version of “Last Month of the Year” through a groove and vocal quartet style that invokes the early Staple Singers with guitar figures reminiscent of Malian desert blues. Natalie Merchant lends her vocals on the haunting “Joseph and Mary (The Cherry Tree Carol),” and also contributes an essay to the liner notes, while writer/artist Brian Selznick (author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) provided illustrations for the album package.
Although the songs presented are specific to the Christian tradition, Mitchell’s husband Daniel Littleton cites the inclusive nature of the project, describing the assembly of musicians as an “ecumenical summit” of sorts, with participants of many religious and non-religious backgrounds coming together happily to bring the songs to life. Mitchell sums up the spirit of the album best in her notes: “However you and your loved ones celebrate the last month of the year, I hope it is filled with the sounds of joy.”
Smithsonian Folkways is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings! Two lucky blog readers will win their own Sounding Joy CD! Thank you to Smithsonian Folkways for the review CD and for sponsoring this joyous giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.
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Alastair Moock, one of Boston’s folk luminaries and an award-winning family music recording artist, will release a new album, Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids. Inspired by his family’s experience with childhood leukemia, the new album includes songs for children with cancer, and for all families who like joyous sing-along songs.
Last July one of Alastair Moock’s twin 5-year-old daughters was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia). “It felt like we were drowning.” says Moock. “For the first week or so, my wife and I walked around the hospital in a trance. Then I went home and got my guitar.” Over the course of the next hospital-bound month, Alastair and his daughter Clio, sang and wrote songs together in her room. “It was amazing how her mood brightened in those moments. The effect was tangible.”
After Clio returned home and cancer treatment became the new normal for the Moock family, Alastair continued to write songs about the experience. “Singing together in the hospital was transformative, not just for Clio but for me. It reminded me how powerful music can be,” says Moock, “and I wanted to bring that experience to other kids and families going through the same thing.”
Singing Our Way Through:
Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids
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A crowd-funding campaign through GoFundMe raised more than $27,600 for Singing Our Way Through in early 2013, soaring well past the initial goal of $10,000. Funds from this campaign will support distribution of the album as a free resource for patients and pediatric oncology programs around the country. Already, Alastair has donated to Boston Children’s Hospital and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang camp in CT. CD sales will further support Moock’s effort to get these tunes in the hands of kids and families with cancer.
There is a seriousness of purpose to the songs on Singing Our Way Through, but also a great deal of joy. In songs like “When I Get Bald,” Moock demonstrates his ability to be both playful and pointed at the same time. “There’s so much you can’t control about cancer,” says Moock, “but what interests me most as a writer – and a parent of a kid with cancer – are the parts you can control. Being bald is cool if we choose to make it cool.”
Guest artists for Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids include blues legend Chris Smither, folk singer Aoife O’Donovan (vocalist for the 2013 Grammy-winning Goat Rodeo Sessions, Best Folk Album), Mark Erelli and family music artists Rani Arbo, The Okee Dokee Brothers (2013 Grammy winners, Best Children’s Album) and Elizabeth Mitchell (2013 Grammy-nominee, Best Children’s Album).
Suggested retail price for Singing Our Way Through is $15. Supporters are invited to suggest children’s hospitals and other childhood oncology programs for album donations and appearances by visiting www.singingourway.com.
Sugar Mountain PR is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win a copy of Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids! Thank you Sugar Mountain PR for the review copy and for sponsoring this special giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.
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Well, the good old summertime is here and if it means road trips for your family, there is a great CD that can make that time a lot of fun. Putumayo, American Playground CD is filled with sing-along music that will have the whole family joining in. Familiar tunes like She’ll Be Comin’ Around The Mountain, Oh Susannah, and This Land is Your Land will make getting from here to there a song filled, toe tapping song fest. So pick up the new CD and have a great summer of music, singing, and making great memories!!!
Kicking off the sing-along fun is the traditional “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain,” from Seattle-based roots artist Johnny Bregar, recorded especially for this album. Texas-based country-Western artist Aaron Watson (with Elizabeth McQueen) delivers a super sunny version of the classic “Blue Skies.” Other featured artists are some of the top names in family music: Dan Zanes (with Barbara Brousal) performs the bluegrassy folk tune “Saro Jane,” Elizabeth Mitchellsings “Keep on the Sunny Side,” Buck Howdy delivers a cowboy-style “You Are My Sunshine,”Victor Johnson extols “This Little Light of Mine,” Randy Kaplan covers Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young”(originally written for his own child), and Phil Rosenthal and his band invite everyone to sing along with Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land Is Your Land.” Kids and parents alike will also enjoy singing along with tunes like “Oh Susannah” (Diane Taraz) and “We All Need More Kindness in This World” (Guy Davis), an example of an original song that is sure to be an immediate family favorite for its singable, positive refrain.
American Playground includes 20 pages of colorful liner notes, including charming photos of children at play, historical kid-friendly information about the songs that enhance the great American story, plus details about each featured artist.
Putumayo Kids has been collecting and presenting smart sing-along songs for the whole family since the release of World Playground in 1999. The kids’ label of Putumayo World Music has released more than 20 colorfully packaged CDs in the Playground series, attracting worldwide acclaim and numerous awards. Last year, Putumayo Kids announced the first-ever digital availability of selected recordings, including the upcoming American Playground, available for purchase through the LeapFrog App Center. Additionally, a SiriusXM Satellite Radio show, The World Playground with Putumayo, featuring Putumayo Kids music, is broadcast on Saturdays at 10 am EST on channel 78.
“Putumayo Kids was created to inspire children to learn about the world through fun, upbeat collections of music. After moving to New Orleans in 2004 and raising my own American kid, it’s been fun exploring the broad world of American kid-friendly music,” says Dan Storper, founder and CEO of Putumayo Kids. “American Playground is a great addition to our other American-themed releases such as , Sing Along with Putumayo and Acoustic Dreamland. There is a lot of interest internationally in American music, and North American families will enjoy recalling and singing these songs together.”
For more information about Putumayo Kids releases, visit www.putumayokids.com
Putumayo is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win their own Putumayo American Playground CD! Thank you Putumayo for the review CD and for sponsoring this great sounding giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.
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Hootenanny Track List:
Hootenanny
Let’s Be Friends
Try
Be Yourself
Your Sweet Smile
Brand New Day
We Are All One Kind
Come On By
Space Monkey
Don’t Play With Your Food
Ice Cream Soup
Fearless Bill
Groovy Day
Begin The Day Again
The inspiring I Have A Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fills the pages of this large book with beautiful paintings by Kadir Nelson to illustrate the pages. It also includes a CD of Dr King, Jr’s original speech. This book and CD is a great way to share with your children the significance of why we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Perfect in the classroom, this book has the iconic words we all know against the beautiful paintings of Kadir Nelson. This is a very inspiring and powerful read. I love sharing this book with my kids and helping to educate them on the great leaders and the mark they’ve left on our country and our lives, even though they are no longer with us. A great read to mark the upcoming holiday.
From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King: “My father’s dream continues to live on from generation to generation, and this beautiful and powerful illustrated edition of his world-changing “I Have a Dream” speech brings his inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace to the youngest among us—those who will one day carry his dream forward for everyone.”
On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave one of the most powerful and memorable speeches in our nation’s history. His words, paired with Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson’s magnificent paintings, make for a picture book certain to be treasured by children and adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 50 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation’s past.
Random House is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win their own copy of I Have A Dream. Thank you Random House for the review book and for sponsoring this great giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. Open to US residents.
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As a parent, I know how important it is to teach children from the youngest age possible about feelings. Their feelings, the feelings of people around them and healthy and appropriate ways to express their feelings. Sometimes it’s hard to explain things to a young child in a way they will understand and identify with. When I find a product that allows me to open a dialogue with my children about issues that are complex, I feel the need to share. Recently, I was sent, “Meet the Feeling Friends” Book and CD to review. This book is written by Karen D. Cuthrell (KK) who co-created the Feeling Friends nearly 15 years ago, in an inspired response to her young daughter’s need to express her inner feelings open and honestly. Each Feeling Friend evolved as a loving guide and conduit for sharing even those hard-to-reveal emotions.
Journey to Feeling Free Island and join KK as she introduces you to her bakers’ dozen of delightful Friends – characters that symbolize the array of primary feelings considered universal to humanity; love, joy, worry, anger, sadness, happiness, loneliness, grumpiness, shyness, panic, caution and confidence! This book and CD empowers children to identify and express the feelings that hide inside them waiting to be recognized and understood. They give parents and children the vocabulary to talk to each other about feelings. “The Feeling Friends characters are animals and insects presented in real-life situations that teach children about feelings and healthy ways to express them. They are good for children,” says school psychologist Kathy J. Philyaw, Ph.D.
Meet the Feeling Friends book and CD allows each Feeling Friend to reveal his or her identity while experiencing the benefits of sharing feelings. The Feeling Friends thrive in the ideal climate where honesty, truth, mutual respect, appropriate timing, and expression, come together to create security and acceptance of feelings – for ourselves and others.
In this delightfully illustrated book you will meet characters like, Worry the Fear Worm, who like his name worries constantly. Angie the Angry Tiger uses words when he gets mad. No hitting, punching, kicking or biting, even when he’s angry there’s never any fighting. You’ll meet Lotta Love the LovaRoo and Joy Bird who sings songs of joy. Ida the I-Can-Bee is not afraid to follow its dreams and Flutter the Shy Butterfly who has a great big voice inside her. Your child will absolutely love learning about these characters, and this book is sure to be a springboard that will stimulate a young child to talk about their feelings.
I am feeling very excited to let you know that The Feeling Friends is sponsoring a give-away on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win their own “Meet the Feeling Friends” Book and CD. Thanks to The Feeling Friends for this great review set and wonderful give-away that makes me feel happy!!! Open to US residents.
“Meet the Feeling Friends” Book and CD Give-Away on Mommy Ramblings!!!
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If you like what you heard, I have good news. DADDY A GO-GO is sponsoring a give-away on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win a copy of the Grandkid Rock CD. Thank you DADDY A GO-GO for the review CD and for sponsoring this rockin’ give-away on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US Residents.
DADDY A GO-GO, Grandkid Rock CD Give-Away on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
Mandatory Entry-Visit DADDY A GO-GO ,and listen to the song clips of Grandkid Rock and let me know your favorite. Leave your answer in a comment on this post. (If this entry is not done, all others will be deleted.)
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Good Luck Everyone!!! Give Away Ends November 5th at 12am EST. Winner will be selected by Random.org.