GIVE-AWAY - James Loynes' Latest Inspirational Album, How Can I Keep From Singing?

This week, James Loynes , (another contributor to Famous Family Nights) is giving away a copy of his latest CD, How Can I Keep From Singing?

James was born in Wales, UK, and currently lives in Southport, England. He is a music professional who tours with BBCs live stage tours, directs dramatic productions, sings for charity events, and for British national television.

On his website at www.jamesloynes.com he comments, “I'm very excited to announce my latest album, How Can I Keep From Singing? For those of you that know me well, you'll know the answer to that question is, I can't . . . I just love to sing! The album features inspirational songs by songwriter Sally DeFord (plus a song of my own), some wonderful instrumentalists, and two duets with LDS singer Allyse Smith Taylor.”

The tracklist for How Can I Keep From Singing? is as follows:

1. Write Thy Name Upon My Heart
2. Heaven's Embrace
3. I Come To Him
4. How Great Is the Miracle
5. For Me Alone
6. Everywhere I Go
7. If the Savior Stood Beside Me
8. I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe
9. A Believer's Prayer
10. Sweet Is the Work
11. Abide With Me
12. Cast Your Burden On the Lord
13. Whole Again
14. Because He Lives
15. How Can I Keep From Singing?

James and his wife Francesca founded United Voice, a choir of a hundred-plus, which performs in the country’s top concert venues including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the Cathedral at Blackburn, Lancashire. James runs his own school of music where he is a vocal coach. He previously worked with Sally Deford to produce a Christmas album,
His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful.

(Watch this space for surprise announcement next week.)

James also has a blog at jamesloynes.blogspot.com/, and below is an excerpt from an entry this summer:

On the 29th August, my choir United Voice North West performed their Summer Showcase. The concert was a mixture of songs they have performed in past concerts and things they have been working on at weekly workshops . . .

The show was a resounding success and everyone there left feeling uplifted... music just does that, doesn't it? Well, some music anyway! The Mayor of Sefton, Councilor Alf Doran and the Lady Mayoress, Councilor Gillian Cuthbertson were both present. After the Concert, the Mayor gave an extremely complimentary speech saying, "As Mayor, I am invited to attend many events, but I can honestly say that this has been one of the best musical events I have been invited to.” He then went on to thank the choir and request two encores.

How Can I Keep From Singing? can be purchased in the UK from James’ website, and from the Latter-day Book Store in Chorley and Godstone at http://www.facebook.com/l/1e2c5;www.ldsbookuk.com, and in the US at http://kunaki.com. I have to admit, I've just ordered a copy from the US store and can’t wait for it to arrive. I purchased James’ Christmas CD last year and was so impressed with his voice. Quality music all round.

GIVE-AWAY RULES:
Mention this week's give away on your blog (linked back to my blog), OR on Facebook (click on Anne Bradshaw and add me as your friend if not already), and then return and leave a comment here on my blog (with a link back to you).That's it!

This give-away runs for a week, ending Wednesday, November 18th, and there will be a reminder at the top of my blog each day. The winner gets chosen from the comments. The prize comes direct from James in England.

© Anne Bradshaw

Excerpt from Famous Family Nights

I've been asked by many to post an excerpt from Famous Family Nights online. Choosing one story from ninety-one is really difficult. I love them all. In the end, I decided to go with Jeffrey Denning's entry, since the holidays are a time when servicemen everywhere deserve extra special attention and gratitude.

Jeffrey J. Denning, CPS, CMAS, is a counterterrorism specialist and former Federal Air Marshal. He writes an Aviation Security blog for The Washington Times and has been featured on CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, Fox News, CBS, documentary films, and radio stations around the world. 

Iraq Home Evening

My mom had six children and, unfortunately, a pretty rough divorce. Even to this day, I distinctly remember coming home one Sunday afternoon from Primary, overwhelmed by powerful feelings of joy, comfort and peace. This incredible feeling of the spirit coursed through my heart and mind because of a new song we learned that day in Primary: "Families Can Be Together Forever." But my parents are divorced and I have a broken family that won't be together, I remember thinking. Yet, I had hope for the future—my future family.

Despite the challenges of raising six children mostly on her own, my mom had the drive to keep the Lord's commandments and the courage to hold Family Home Evening even at times when she was alone. It was a struggle, no doubt. As rowdy children, we certainly didn't make it easy for her. In fact, we missed holding regular Family Home Evening sometimes for several weeks in a row for one reason or another, but our mother was determined. I'm certain that she wanted to completely give up at times, but she didn't. I recall her energy to recharge and restart again and again. It was her determination to be obedient that served as a more powerful example and lesson to me and my siblings than the less-than-perfect Family Home Evening gatherings.

Many years later, after starting a family of my own, I was able to incorporate those same powerful lessons that impacted my childhood. My wife and I immediately began the tradition of singing "Families Can Be Together Forever" with our children from the start.

While working shift work as a police officer, living in Jerusalem and working as a U.S. government contractor, traveling out of town as an undercover Federal Air Marshal, or serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserves, my wife has been the glue that has held our family together. Whenever I was home, we held regular Family Home Evening. And, fortunately, although my wife was all alone and faced with many pressures and burdens of her own, she was committed to holding Family Home Evening by herself whenever I was gone. While in Iraq, she sent me a video recording of several things from home—among them was a video-taped Family Home Evening, with our rowdy, screaming children who didn't seem to be paying attention at all.

During one of the most stressful, trying and difficult times of my life, towards the end of my year-long military deployment to Iraq, I was able to call home one day. My sweet companion was anxious to share some exciting news with me and she put our youngest daughter at the time (then just two-years-old) on the phone. Before I left for Iraq, our baby girl couldn't even say "Daddy," but on the phone she sang to me the entire song of "Families Can Be Together Forever." My heart melted. Welling tears of gratitude for my wife and love for each of our children accompanied my effervescent smile.

Today, it fills my heart with great joy and gratitude to gather as a family every Monday night. I'm forever grateful that my wife taught our children when I couldn't be around to help her. Most importantly, I've learned that while no family is perfect and no Family Home Evening goes quite the way we'd like them to, if we try our hardest to do what's right, the Lord will make up where we lack.

© Anne Bradshaw

Amazing Sand Art by Ilana Yahav

Using her hands, sand, and a glass top with a light beneath, Ilana Yahav creates beautiful art. Enjoy!

Don't Miss Latest Peek in the Past Post

Meet me over on Writing Fortress today for another Peek in the Past. This month my post is titled "Horses, Cricket, and Harvesting Mice."

"Let Us Be Men"

This is a beautiful message from D. Todd Christofferson, one of the Savior's latter-day Apostles.

A true man makes sacrifices in order to honor his commitments. Even though he will give much, the blessings he receives outweigh the sacrifice.

Feeling Angry?

I received another email the other day from Dr. Stan Gardner's Your Daily Health Secret and it mentioned anger, so I thought it worth sharing on my blog because it's something from which we all suffer now and again.

Since Dr. Gardner loves to have his messages forwarded, feel free to spread the word about him and his website as his information can help a lot of people around the world.

Anger is a cause of disease. Anger poisons the secretions. Who has not felt the mouth become dry, and then bitter, under the effect of anger? Long-continued anger produces a breaking down of muscular and nervous systems, often causes acute and finally, chronic dyspepsia, insanity and death. Jealousy is a cause of disease. It unsettles the nervous and digestive systems, disturbs the circulation of the blood, irritates the brain and is an associate cause of insanity. ~ Bernarr Macfarland Macfadden's Encyclopedia of Physical Culture (1928)

Dr. Gardner's adds: "Our emotions manifest themselves in our physical bodies. Life is too short to get caught up in emotional conflict. Remember the Serenity Prayer--
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."

Get more timely information on healthy alternatives at www.stangardnermd.com.

Choose This Day

Henry B. Eyring, a disciple of Jesus Christ, urges us to seek God's help to overcome complacency and discouragement and find joy in serving Him today.

Amazing Grace Performed by Il Divo in a Roman Coliseum in Croatia

Click HERE for some of the most uplifting music you'll ever hear. Il Divo at their best! Be prepared for chills after the bagpipes.

Here is the background to Il Divo's splendid music (taken from an email I received this week):

The four guys performed "Amazing Grace" in the beautiful arena in Pula, Croatia.  There is also a city with the same name in Sardinia where there are also some marvelous archeological sites.

But this coliseum (smaller but better preserved than the one in Rome) where the concert and recording were done is one of the most well-preserved Roman coliseums in the world.

Now, the four male singers in the group called 'Il Divo' are from four different countries. Moreover, they come from four different musical disciplines but have discovered a new unity of purpose.  BTW, 'Il Divo'  in Italian literally means a male (singular) 'prima donna.'  They are: American tenor David Miller; Swiss tenor Urs Buhler; Spanish baritone Carlos Marin; and French pop singer Sebastien Izambard.

This group was initially brought together in 2004 by Simon Cowell after intensive worldwide auditions.  The virtuoso blending of operatic techniques with both romantic and popular tradition has taken the world by storm.  They have sold over 22 million albums, the first three  of which were 'Il Divo', 'Ancora,' and 'Sempre,' the last two translated into English are 'Again' and 'Always.'

Lastly, the group decided to work with only one producer, a longtime collaborator named Steve McCutcheon (aka Steve Mac).  A musical genius, Mac is able to create beautiful orchestrations by experimenting with differing styles and arrangements.

A Husband’s Nightmare

I don't know who wrote the following story, but thought it worth sharing for the sake of a smile.

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the count er, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?"

"Yes," was his incredulous reply.

She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

O May My Soul Commune with Thee - Jesus Christ

This beautiful movie produced by LDS Principles is worth watching over and over - and definitely worth passing along to others. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is singing O May My Soul Commune with Thee in the background. Enjoy!


For more information about Christ go to www.mormon.org.

O may my soul commune with thee
And find thy holy peace
From worldly care and pain of fear
Please bring me sweet release

O bless me when I worship thee
To keep my heart in tune
That I may hear thy still, small voice
And, Lord with thee commune

Enfold me in thy quiet hour
And gently guide my mind
To seek thy will, to know thy ways
And thy sweet Spirit find

Lord grant me thy abiding love
And make my turmoil cease
Oh, may my soul commune the thee
And find thy holy peace

Alma 37:36-37 (from The Book of Mormon)
36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Worried About the Flu? Listen to Singer Debbie Coon

I received the following timely facts for preventing or minimizing current flu trials. The first part is general. The second part is an email from singer, Debbie Coon, who was recently highlighted on this blog when she gave away her latest CD, You Are Loved (Click HERE to hear her glorious voice on the video).

Debbie’s father was a certified Doctor of Lymphology, a Naturopath, and Chemist. He lectured all over the world on the Lymphatic system, on health and disease at the cell level. He taught his family simple self-help and speed- healing techniques. Thank you, Debbie, for sending all this excellent information.

• 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
• 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).
• 3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
• 4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with Cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
• 5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
• 6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

As a singer, I can't afford to get sick. I have something's I would like to share with all of you. Colloidal silver is an amazing daily immune defense. It comes in a spray bottle, nasal spray, and regular. You can use this for all kinds of viral, germs, bacterial, yeast, cold sore or whatever infection. It's mild, not irritating to sensitive membranes such as sinus. It can even help prevent a sore throat if you catch it at the beginning. It's tasteless! You can gargle and swallow it and it's beneficial. There is a lot more to know about the wonderful benefits of colloidal silver. You can find it now at just about any natural health food and vitamin store. Ask for not more than 10 ppm. More than that is less strength.

I have never had a flu shot because I have several friends that get them regularly and now suffer from arthritis, and chronic fatigue. Then they get the flu any way. Detoxify your body so it can fight back. My remedy is an old one. At lemon tree harvesting, freeze as much fresh squeezed lemon juice as you can. I freeze about 1 and1/2 cups at a time to make a half gallon of lemonade. I freeze as many as I can so I can share with friends and family.

Never use white sugar to get well! I sweeten equal parts lemon juice to maple syrup. I've used agave to sweeten when I ran out of maple syrup (a note from Anne – I use vanilla liquid Stevia – healthier sweetness minus any sugar). Add a dash of cayenne. To make it extra beneficial for flu fighting, use a blender to mix in a fresh garlic button. My mom calls it, The Bomb.

You can give your body a rest from food, and drink this all day. I choose it over most beverages because I really like how it makes me feel. REALLY HEALTHY! If you want to know more about the lemonade cleanse, there is a little yellow book called, The Master Cleanse, by Stanley Burroughs. Cancer and disease survive in acid bodies or where there are acidic pockets in the body. The lemonade cleanse brings your body to the proper ph balance (note from Anne – although it sounds like a contradiction, the type of acid in lemons actually makes the body more alkaline).

The last thing I would like to share is that we all need to get back to eating only what God made. Read your labels! God's food doesn't come with a label. My grandparents and oldest of their siblings are living in their late eighties and ninety's. They eat raw fruits and vegetables, vegetable soups, potatoes. They eat fish and meat that isn't full of all the additives used today. They don’t eat food colorings either. By the way, did you know that a “natural flavoring” is MSG? And food colorings are used as preservatives?

May God bless you all with health, peace, and happiness.
Debbie Coon ~ "You Are Loved" ~www.debbiewestcoon.com

Note from Anne: Visit Dr. Mercola.com HERE for his latest comment on how CBS "Reveals that swine flu cases are seriously overestimated."

Piano stairs - TheFunTheory.com - Rolighetsteorin.se

I couldn't resist posting this fun idea today. Enjoy :-)

My Review of G. G. Vandagriff’s Latest Mystery, The Hidden Branch

When it comes to writing intriguing mysteries, G. G.Vandagriff and Agatha Christie have a lot in common. Both authors have the gift of piquing the reader’s curiosity and creating elaborate and entertaining plots that give nothing away before the end. But to my mind, GG scores extra points because of the fascinating genealogical connections she weaves through her Alex and Briggie series.

I’ve now devoured all four books in this series (Cankered Roots, Of Deadly Descent, Tangled Roots, and Poisoned Pedigree), so reading The Hidden Branch was like catching up with old friends.

I was soon lost in the latest adventure, which takes place in an area I love – Huntington Beach and Balboa Island, California. I could picture each well-written scene as it unfolded. Alex, the main character, kept me guessing almost as much about her fiancé as she did about the mysterious death of a client. I don't want to give too much away, so will simply say The Hidden Branch is a book you don’t want to miss.

To quote from G. G.’s website at ggvandagriff.com :

The family my heroines are investigating is Armenian . . . and has many quirks and loveable characteristics, except, of course, for the murderer. Briggie, everyone's favorite grandmother, not only takes to the surf, but has several brushes with the law and a very surprising development in her life. Alex's love life, as usual, is anything but smooth, and undergoes serious convolutions. Meanwhile, she tries to find out why someone in this happy Armenian family tried to kill her and almost succeeded.

G. G. Vandagriff also writes a twice-monthly column for
Meridian Magazine.Click HERE for current excellent article. She has many titles to her name, including The Arthurian Omen, and The Last Waltz. She also authored Deliverance From Depression: Finding Hope Through the Power of the Atonement.

For more information about G. G., visit her website at ggvandagriff.com . Her books are published by Deseret Book, and are on sale at Deseret Book and other LDS bookstores everywhere. G. G. is another contributor to Famous Family Nights.

© Anne Bradshaw

GIVE-AWAY WINNER - Dawn’s Early Light by Laurie LC Lewis

The winner of Dawn's Early Light by Laurie LC Lewis is Miranda who posted about the give-away on her Facebook page HERE.

Congratulations, Miranda! Please send me your mailing address so I can forward it to Laurie Lewis. You can find my email address on my website by clicking on www.annebradshaw.com.

Thanks so much, Laurie, for this super give-away. And thanks to everyone who took part in this contest.

Please return in three weeks for next give-away. I'm having a break while we move house. Blog posts will continue while moving, but not the give-aways. But be sure to watch this space as we have a GREAT new CD prize coming up Wednesday November 11th.

Cabbage Family - Reduce Cancer Risk

I received an email the other day from Dr. Stan Gardner's Your Daily Health Secret entitled "Cabbage Family--A Head Above the Rest," and thought it would be a good thing to share on my blog.

Since Dr. Gardner loves to have his messages forwarded, feel free to spread the word about him and his website as his information can help a lot of people around the world.

Ancient Roman healers used a cabbage paste on cancers to cure them. Up until recently, this would have been labeled folklore and dismissed. Now scientists have found they can prevent tumors from developing in laboratory animals if they put a cabbage paste on their back. At least 3 substances have been discovered in the cruciferous family that reduce cancer risk: indole-3-carbinol (I3C) which reduces the harmful estrogens and converts them into the protective one, sulforaphane, antioxidants. One-half of the nutrients are removed if it is boiled--eat as much raw as possible. There are many different varieties--try green, red, savoy or bok choy. They keep a long time in the refrigerator before spoiling.

Dr. Gardner adds, "All the cruciferous vegetables have the same anti-cancer properties. They are great to mix in with your vegetable variety--broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts."

Get more timely information on healthy alternatives at www.stangardnermd.com.