Caregiving Callers Share Favorite Songs

Peter Rosenberger. He's been a caregiver since the Cold War.

Live on American Family Radio, this is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. This is the show for you as a family caregiver.

And willingly, knowingly between somebody who has an impairment and even worse, disaster. How are you doing? How are you holding up? What's going on with you? What gets you through the day?

What strengthens you? This is the nature of our show. We're like nothing else out there on the air. And I'm bringing you 35 years of experience to help you stay strong and healthy as you care for someone who is not.

You want to be a part of the show? Today we're going to talk about a topic that is near and dear to me. Those of you who have been listening for a while know this. It's music. It is the power of music. It is the healing properties of music or what it does for us. And if you have a song that is meaningful to you, it doesn't have to be sacred song, it doesn't have to be a hymn, it doesn't have to be whatever song that is meaningful to you. As a caregiver that you listen to, most of us though that have been doing this for some time usually find a hymn that has meant something to us. But if you have a song that is strengthening to you, comforting to you, that was something that maybe you listened to for the last time with someone that you cared for, whatever stories behind that song, I'd love for you to share it with us. There's a very specific reason we want to do this today.

If you have a particular song, if I can play it, I'll try to play it for you. If I can't, we'll muddle through. But I'd like to hear the story behind it. Why this is important to you. And what this means to you. We're going to go into a lot of things today about music. Scripture has a lot to say about music. Martin Luther used to say that next to the word of God music elevates the soul. So we're going to get into that.

A little programming note by the way. If you go out to our website, hopeforthecaregiver.com, you'll see the podcast is embedded into the website and lots of different episodes you could access and be a part of. I had one that I did last week, an interview with a friend of mine who's an oncologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. And we talked about cancer in caregivers and what we can expect as a caregiver if your loved one gets a diagnosis of cancer. Chemotherapy and so forth. And so if you are facing that kind of thing and you'd like to just get a little bit more inside information from a physician, go out there and take a listen to it.

It's a great interview and it just kind of gives you a little bit of understanding of what to expect and what may or may not happen with your loved one through this process. But an educated caregiver is an empowered caregiver. And that's what we're all about here on this show. Is educating you so that you're not flailing through these things.

I spent a lifetime flailing through stuff and playing catch up and still struggle with that. Gracie's had 80 plus surgeries, 150 smaller procedures. Over 100 doctors have treated her in 12 different hospitals. I mean, you know, this is a monumental task to try to keep up with all this. And so the more educated we become and this is what drives me on the show here is to help educate my fellow caregivers. Not just on the medical science because we're not called to be doctors, we're caregivers. We have a different role to play.

But the more we understand about what's going on, the less fear it has over us. And so this is one of the things I do as well on the podcast, which we open up to interviews and conversations with folks that I think bring interesting perspectives and stories and so forth. So anyway, that's just a little programming note. And today is the, I believe it's the last day of Purim, which is the, I tell you what, if you know what that is, you can give us a call as well.

888-589-8840. I think it's important that we recognize these things that are in the Jewish calendar. And you're certainly welcome to tell us that as well. But if you've got a song that has been meaningful to you, that's the topic today, a song for you that takes you back somewhere or that sustains you through something. We all know a lot of the familiar hymns, but the power of music is like nothing else on this earth, save for the word of God. It is extraordinary what music can accomplish.

And I'll give you an example. I've talked about this a lot with a lot of film buffs and I am one of them. If you go back and look at the movie Star Wars, try to imagine what that movie would have been like without John Williams' amazing score. It would not have been the same. I think it's fair to say that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg owe quite a bit to John Williams.

Think about the movie Jaws. What would that movie have been like without that? In fact, when the actors were filming that movie, Richard Dreyfuss was dissing it before it came out saying it was just going to be a horrible movie.

Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi, thought he was just embarrassed by Star Wars. And yet John Williams comes up with this amazing score, Indiana Jones or whatever, and I just go through the list of all these wonderful scores to movies. And it just shows you the power of music. But this is nothing new in our society because this has been going around for a long time in scripture, and I'll give you a couple of them. Psalm 150, one through five is maybe one of the more famous ones. He says, Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power. Praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet. Praise him with the harp and the lyre. That's L-Y-R-E, lyre, not politician lyre. L-I-A-R.

I'll just throw that in there. Praise him with the timbre and dancing. Praise him with strings and pipe. Praise him with the class of cymbals. Praise him with resounding cymbals. Pretty much covers the orchestra right there. And this is a commandment from scripture to praise God with these things. That's why when we hear these orchestras, these massive orchestras play with such passion and so forth, it does something.

It elevates our soul. And singing and music is such an important part of our journey as caregivers. And I can tell you that there have been many times when I've had drives back and forth to the hospital in the middle of the night and you hear a song on the radio that just kind of helps you process out what's going on. Or I'll go into a hospital room and Gracie's been in a lot of pain and she's been struggling and she can't sleep and so she's singing to herself just to get through the night.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. And she's just over and over with these songs. Because you remember the fable writer Hans Christian Anderson who said, he was famous for saying, where words fail, music speaks.

And I love that quote. Sometimes we don't have the words, but we have music. And we have songs that hang onto us.

There are certain songs that I play today that I can't hardly get through. If I play the Navy Hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save, it makes me think of my father who spent more than three decades in the military. And he's a retired Navy chaplain. And I love that hymn. And if you go back and just play it, and any time I hear the Navy Choir sing that from Annapolis and so forth or anywhere, it just stirs your heart. My mother, Abide With Me, one of her favorite hymns. And if you don't know that one, it's beautiful. I put it on my CD. It's a beautiful hymn.

Abide With Me, Fast Falls Even Tide. And so I can just go through the line of hymns or songs that have come along at critical times of our life and to form the soundtrack. It doesn't even have to have lyrics. Sometimes it could just be the instrumental of it. And then you go back and listen to some of the things. There's pieces from Maurice Ravel that I love his work. Adagio for String, Samuel Barber was played when Roosevelt died. And it was also part of the soundtrack in Platoon.

And you would know it instantly. And it's just incredibly evocative music that just does something to you. What does something to you? What's a song?

What's a hymn? What's something that does something to you as a caregiver and comforts you, strengthens you, elevates you, moves you? 888-589-8840.

888-589-8840. We'll be right back. Hey, this is Peter Rosenberg and in my three and a half decades as a caregiver, I have spent my share of nights in a hospital, sleeping in waiting rooms, on fold out cots, chairs, even the floor. Sometimes on sofas and a few times in the doghouse, but let's don't talk about that. As caregivers, we have to sleep at uncomfortable places, but we don't have to be miserable. We use pillows for MyPillow.com.

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Now I have a reason for living. Jesus keep giving and giving, giving to my heart. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver here on American Family Radio across the country on multiple networks, the Truth Network, His Radio Network, and we're glad to have you as a part of this show.

I am Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for the family caregiver. It's about family caregivers and is hosted by a family caregiver.

888-589-8840, 888-589-8840. We're talking about music. What's a song that means something to you as a caregiver that somehow has a story behind it? I'd like to hear it and I'm going to go to Linda in Texas. Linda, good morning. How are you feeling Linda? I'm doing great Peter. How are you?

Well, I think I'm just doing lovely this morning. Tell me what's on your mind. Tell me about a song. A song, How Big is God. How big is God.

Yes. Now why is that song important to you? Well, it got me through caring for my mother, pretty much watching over myself through cancer, and that was stage 4 lung cancer. This was in January of 2016 and that gave me two months to live. I didn't know that. I didn't know it was on borrowed time. But they told my daughters and my husband I had two months to live that I needed to get my affairs in order and then now I'm back caring for my husband with Parkinson's.

And he's still big enough to do all of that. I told my family when I was diagnosed with cancer, I said, I don't want you to worry. I don't want anybody to worry because the Lord has and I have been talking and I'm sure you know what it means to talk. People say, you mean he's talked to you audibly?

No, he didn't. In my heart, I heard this conversation. But he said, you're going to go on a journey and don't worry because it will be a long journey, but you will live and not die. And those words were like imprinted on every inch of my body inside and out.

I heard them resound every minute of my life with every breath and I had no problems. And when they said your diagnosis is cancer, I said, so let's get on with what we have to do, you know? And my oncologist was just beside herself.

She could not believe she finally had somebody that could look at it and not worry, even though I went in in a wheelchair in my pajamas and couldn't hardly hold my head up. But, you know, the Lord said a journey, so I didn't question. I love the lyrics from that. As winter chills may cause the tiny seed to fall, to lie asleep to awake by summer's rain, the heart grown cold will warm and throb with life anew. The master's touch will bring the glow again. How big is God? How big and wide is vast domain to try and tell these lips can only start. He's big enough to rule his mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart.

And I can see where that would have been a strong comfort to you during your journey. Oh, man, you know, if you could write the words, also the love of God, those two almost walk hand in hand. Stuart Hamblin wrote that song and he ran for president. Of course, he was successful.

This is back in the 50s, I believe. But Stuart Hamblin wrote another song. And see if you know this one that's equally big to it.

Do you know what that is? It is no secret what God can do. What he's done for others, he'll do for you. And that's another great song of his. So, Linda, I thank you very much for sharing that. That's exactly what we asked for this morning, just what's a song that sustains you and carried you and was strong for you.

And I appreciate you sharing that very much. So let me go to Debbie in Ohio. Debbie, good morning. How are you feeling? Good morning.

Praise God. I'm feeling well. Thanks for asking. Well, good to hear that.

Tell me about you were a caregiver for decades. What's a favorite song? What's the song that meant something to you? So the Holy Spirit brought three songs to mind. There's just been so many throughout the years. So I hope you don't mind if I share the names of three different songs.

Three different ones is fine. But what's the one that first comes to your mind? Great is thy faithfulness. Oh, I love that one. Love that.

Yes. And it just just sometimes I just get so flustered and muddled in my mind. And I can't think of all the lyrics, but that refrain comes to me. And I'm just so grateful when he brings that refrain to my mind and I'm able to hum it to myself and my and my mind in the midst of the other circumstances that are going on, whatever they are regarding caregiving or other trials in my life.

And again, that song is just really ministered to me throughout the decades. I love that. And this is my favorite lines. When you go into strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. I just love that. I just that that is my favorite line from that song. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

And I think that is that is such a powerful statement for us as caregivers. And I think I was in two different keys on that. You have to forgive me that it's early in the morning. I give me two others real quick because I got a lot of folks that are that are wanting to share their their songs. Give me the two others.

OK, well, I'll just give you one other. This one is a little bit more contemporary. It's called Thy Will by Hillary Scott. And I will by Hillary Scott. Thy Will.

Like the first the first part of the lyrics say, I'm so confused. I know I heard you loud and clear. So I followed through. But somehow I ended up here. I don't want to think I may never understand that my broken heart is a part of your plan. When I try to pray, all I've got is hurt. And these four words, thy will be done. So it's just for me, it's a testimony that, Lord, I thought I was walking in your way. I thought I was this was, you know, doing what you wanted me to do, caring for the children you've blessed me with. But somehow I ended up in a situation with children, you know, adult children with disabilities and undesired divorce, financial difficulties, health struggles.

What's going on? But ultimately, Lord, thy will be done. Thy will be done. And it's like if you read the lyrics, the lyrics, I mean, the refrain is just thy will be done. But the lyrics just speak. It's like I'm it's me speaking to the Lord.

I don't understand. But thy will be done, Lord. You know, there's a there's a scene in scripture, a passage in scripture where the Lord came down and talked to it. Some people say that it was the pre-incarnate Christ came down and talked to Abraham and looked at Sodom and Gomorrah, you know, said, what's going on down there? And he was going to go down there. And Abraham knew it was a wicked city and he tried to negotiate with God. He said, will not the judge of the universe do such and such? You know, he wanted to get him down to if you had 10 people in there, would you destroy it?

You know the story. But I love that moment when when Abraham is recognizing that God is God, he's Lord and his will be done. And he accepted and he didn't argue anymore. And he just he just trusted that he was the Lord of all. And a pastor friend of mine said, you know, if he's Lord at all, then he's Lord of all. And I love that phrase. And and so that's that's a great way of just, you know, of also that that concept of thy will be done. Thy will be done.

Jesus told us to pray like that. Thy will be done. And and so thank you for that. And it sounds like you have clung to that through through many dangers, toils and snares in your journey. And again, it just shows you why these songs are important.

And, you know, but I go back to Great is Thy Faithfulness. That one has sustained Gracie and I through. You know, I can't even hardly get through that song when I'm playing it for congregation and so forth. And Gracie or Gracie's singing. I've done it as a solo piece for her, but it was congregational singing.

And I just I can't even hardly get through it. And it's such a powerful song. And so thank you for bringing that to our mind, Debbie. Let's let's go to the R.J.

I like this one, R.J. in Pennsylvania. R.J., good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning, Peter. How are you? I'm fine. What's going on? How are you feeling is the question. You got to answer it.

Well, I will. I woke up at seven thirty. I turned on AFR. You mentioned music.

I'm a huge movie and music fanatic. The reason why I'm calling in is my stepfather passed away to Alzheimer's back in 17. I dedicated a song to my mama, my grandma, and the song I dedicated to my father was Landslide by Stevie Nicks. You know, Fleetwood Mac, because I know that song of that in the beginning of that song. This song was for you, Daddy. And my dad hated rock and roll music, Peter.

He hated it with a passion. He was a bluegrass boy growing up. And I played that.

I dedicated Landslide by Stevie Nicks to my father some four years ago. I love that. I love that phrase. Well, I've been afraid of changing because I built my life around you. But time makes you bolder.

Even children get older and I'm getting older, too. And take my love, take it down, I'll climb a mountain, turn around, and if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills, well, the Landslide, bring it down. And that is a powerful song. Your father, what did he think about when you dedicated that to him? Did he ever enjoy the song? He crashed his head like he didn't understand it. Like I said, he hated rock and roll music. Well, bluegrass will do that to you.

And I don't want to get any letters from him. But I appreciate you sharing that. We've got to go to a break.

RJ, thank you for sharing that. And this is, again, the visceral power of music. It transcends time.

It's something extraordinary that happens. And these songs are important to us in very critical times. And we hang on to them and it helps us through the healing process. It helps strengthen us. It helps comfort us.

It helps us cry and get those tears out of us. All of those things. What is yours? 888-589-8840. There's no wrong answer.

It's just whatever's with you. 24 7 emergency support, increasing safety, reducing isolation. These things are more important than ever as we deal with the challenges of COVID-19. How about your vulnerable loved ones?

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Mycompanion247.com. He'll give you hope for tomorrow, joy for your sorrow, strength for everything you go through. Remember he knows, he knows the plans he has for you. Welcome back to Hope the Caregiver here on American Family Radio.

This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for you as a family caregiver. That's Gracie from her CD Resilient. You know how much music means to Gracie and to me. It's been a part of our lives long before she had her wreck, long before I was ever a caregiver. And both of us started playing and singing music at such an early age.

We both studied it formally and it has sustained us. There was a tremendous gift from God to have that music in our lives and it sustained us through more heartache than I can possibly describe for you this morning. And last night Gracie and I were just talking and I turned to Alexa and I said, play Jesus is My Treasure by Gary Chapman.

Gary Chapman has been on my show a couple of times. It's one of my favorite songs of all times. Jesus is My Treasure. There's a treasure at the end of this narrow road I'm playing. I wish I could play it. I mean it's a simple song.

It's not complicated to play but I can't do for it what Gary did and it just does. It is just an amazing song that somehow just takes me back. I can remember being at a concert and hearing him up on the stage back when he and Amy were touring and Amy Grant were touring and hearing that song, Jesus is My Treasure. And I love that song. And so I ask you today as audience, what's a song that has meant something to you, that has carried you through things, that has sustained you?

And why is this important? And let me give an apology by the way to all the folks who are listening on streaming on Facebook on our Hope for the Caregiver page on Facebook. There's a default mechanism that will not properly do every time and I have to manually set it when we stream live of the microphone and the board and so forth.

And I cannot seem to get Facebook to do it. And so you will hear me but you won't hear the callers and I apologize for that terribly. And so I fixed it so if you want to watch it on Facebook Live you can see it and I have a keyboard. I think I'm the only radio host in the country. There's a live show with a keyboard set up that will do stuff and so we'll run that through. We'll play songs for you.

If I know the song I'll try to play it for you and if I don't we'll try to just muddle through it. But 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840 if you have a song that has meant something to you. And here's one from John in Mississippi. John, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. Oh great, great. Tell me about the song. The song?

You bet. I'm 71 now but in the 70's and 80's when I was younger the worship leader at our Baptist church would every now and then ask me to sing a special on my acoustic guitar. And there was one song that I had to really concentrate not breaking down and crying during the chorus. The song was written by Dallas Holmes and the song is Rise Again. That's it?

Yeah, I remember that one. Go ahead. Oh, what a great song. The verses set the groundwork for an explosive chorus. And I'll rise again and I can't sing anymore.

I never could sing. And that song just meant, you know, my goodness, I keep trying to words, you know. Yeah, I love the opening.

Go ahead. I remember, you're going to get a hoot out of this, John. When I was young, a friend of mine and I went to a church, my best friend in life. We've been buddies now for 45 years and we were at this church in Atlanta and this girl got up to sing that song and she had a good voice. I mean, she was a good singer.

She's at the piano. But the song has a big range and you know that. I mean, it starts off kind of low and it gets really high. But she was down in the basement when she started this thing. I mean, way down in the lower register. And so, you know, we're 15 years old and when you're 15 years old and something strikes you funny in church, you can't hardly get through it. I mean, you're just slapping yourself, pinching yourself, sticking a pencil in your leg, anything to keep from laughing out loud in church. Because when she started off singing, she was way down there low. She went, go ahead.

Just go ahead. And we were just, I mean, tears were coming out of our eyes. We were trying not to laugh so hard. It was very disrespectful.

We should be ashamed, but it was still funny. But I love that. Cause I'll rise again. Ain't no power on earth gonna keep me down. That was a great tune from Dallas Hall. A great song. And I love that. I had to keep myself together when I got to the chorus. I can understand that.

That's what that song's all about. And, you know, what can I say? I can't find a word to describe just how my heart just exploded and still does just talking about it, you know. Well, that's great. Well, thank you for sharing. I did get through it. You bet. Well, I bet you did.

Well, thank you for sharing that. Thank you for listening and calling in. And you got your guitar close by? No, my acoustic is not close by.

Why? You wanted me to? I can't hit those high notes anymore. No, but after you hang up, after you hang up, why don't you find your acoustic and play a little bit and just sing it to yourself? How about that? Just hum along with it. Oh, yeah. That's a good idea.

No problem. You bet. I've never known anybody to pick up a musical instrument that regretted it. Yeah, especially when you praise the Lord with it.

Absolutely. I started out in the early 60s in high school playing rock and roll. I wasn't saved yet. But I learned to play the guitar when I was 10. But in 1970, I was saved and asked Christ to be my Lord and Savior. And He's still working on me.

He'll never stop working on me. But no, yeah, you give it to the Lord, my goodness, there's nothing better. Well, thank you very much for sharing that with us. And I appreciate you calling. And after you hang up, find your guitar and just hum along with that.

And I bet it'll take you all the way back to the 70s when you play it. And I appreciate that very, very much for you calling there. Thanks so much, John. Let's go to, let's see, Linda in Tennessee. Good morning, Linda. How are you feeling? I'm feeling blessed.

I've been thinking about it for several weeks now and I just I'm tickled to death to make it through. My, my memory comes from years ago. I was a little girl and my grandfather was a deacon in a tiny little country church. And the hymnals that they had was a heavenly highway hymnals, heavenly highway hymnals.

Yes. And there was a song in there that was one of my grandfather's favorites. And I remember the chorus of it was Where We'll Never Grow Old. Where We'll Never Grow Old.

That one I don't know. Never grow old, never grow old, to a land where we'll never grow old. And that was, it always... Sing that again. Try it again for me.

Try it again for me. Sing it again. Never, never grow old.

Never grow old, never grow old, in a land where we'll never grow old. It's worth a look for it. And I had one of those, a copy of that book. It was one, it was so old that it had shaped notes. Oh, I know the shaped notes. That's how people learn how to sing, what notes they're supposed to sing with the shaped note songs. And I never could, I never could read that very well.

There are people I know that can just blister down that. And I never could read, I mean, I didn't read music, but I could never quite get the shaped notes. I didn't spend a lot of time, I didn't grow up reading shaped notes with it. And so, but I'll have to look that one up. But now tell me why that was so important to you. Besides your grandfather, it just takes you back with the hymnal or what?

Yes it does. Well it takes me back to a time, my grandfather, he was probably the deepest spiritual person that I had in my life at that time. And I was born and raised in a missionary Baptist church. And my grandfather took the time to set me on his knee and teach me about the Bible and teach me about everything. Everybody else seemed to always be too busy doing this or doing that and chores, but it just always touched my heart. And it was probably the basis of why, when my children were little, I would, instead of singing them just a lullaby, I'd sing Amazing Grace to them. And if my son, well they both live in different states than I do.

And he has contacted me a couple of times and he remembers all of that. And I hope that all of the children can be touched by something that makes such a special memory for them. Well I think you've done your part to do that and lay that down and I think they'll remember you singing Amazing Grace. Who did you care for? You said you've been a caregiver, now who did you care for? Well for several years I did home health, I worked in nursing homes, I've worked and I've sat with people and my husband is, he's not exactly in the best of health and I'm still a caregiver for him. You know, Linda, this may resonate with you being in nursing homes, I've played in a lot of nursing homes and gone over there and I've played for folks who were not necessarily engaged mentally, with dementia and so forth.

And they would be standing, oh when you play him, they would know it. And they'd be looking out the window, completely listless, but they'd be mouthing the words. I mean their eyes light up and you can just see the light around them when you sing to them. And they say with dementia patients that music is one of the last things to go. Kim Campbell, she's the widow of Glen Campbell.

They used to live just down the road from us there in Nashville when we lived in Nashville and she was on my show time or two. We talked about that, that was one of the last things to go for Glen with Alzheimer's was his music, it was a big part of his life. We've got to go to break. Linda, thank you for calling on that and thank you for introducing us to that song. I appreciate that very, very much. This is Peter Rosenberg and this is Hope for the Caregiver. 888-589-8840, we'll try to get to your calls, we've got a full bank here, but a lot of people are moved by music. And I just wanted to talk about today, songs that have meant something to you as a caregiver. 888-589-8840, we'll be right back.

Hey, this is Peter Rosenberg. Have you ever helped somebody walk for the first time? I've had that privilege many times through our organization, Standing with Hope, when my wife Gracie gave up both of her legs following this horrible wreck that she had as a teenager. And she tried to save them for years and it just wouldn't work out and finally she relinquished them and thought, wow, this is it, I don't have any legs anymore, what can God do with that? And then she had this vision for using prosthetic limbs as a means of sharing the gospel, to put legs on her fellow amputees and that's what we've been doing now since 2005 with Standing with Hope. We work in the West African country of Ghana and you can be a part of that through supplies, through supporting team members, through supporting the work that we're doing over there.

You can designate a limb. There's all kinds of ways that you can be a part of giving the gift that keeps on walking at standingwithhope.com. Would you take a moment and go out to standingwithhope.com and see how you can give.

They go walking and leaping and praising God. You can be a part of that at standingwithhope.com. Welcome back to the Hope of the Caregiver here on American Family Radio.

This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for you as a family caregiver, 888-589-8840. There's nothing else like what we do, Hunter, because we're all about strengthening the caregiver's heart and it always starts in the heart. If your heart is squirrely, what happens to your wallet? What happens to your body? What happens to your mind? What happens to your spirit?

I bring you 35 years of experience of this and I understand what the real battle is. It's always in the heart. If it's a matter of the heart, it's covered in Scripture and it speaks to that. There's nowhere in Scripture where it talks about my unique situation as a caregiver, for example, taking care of Gracie through all of her surgeries and amputations and all that kind of stuff. So I don't have that kind of roadmap, but the Scripture is filled with places where it talks about despair, heartache, sorrow, loss, grief, resentment, rage, anger, disappointment, fatigue, all those kind of weariness. It's all there and that's where we start on this show and part of my journey and part of the journey in Scripture is the comforting and strengthening and encouraging part of music. David used to play for King Saul when the evil spirit would come up.

Basically, Saul was mentally deranged at times. And when David played his music, it would calm him down. And music has this incredible power to transcend things.

It's like the last caller said, when you hear certain songs, it just takes you back and it transcends time even. Let's go to Cheryl, Louisiana. Cheryl, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. I'm very, very blessed. Well, today would have been your husband's birthday. Yes, he was 77. Is that correct?

That's correct, yes. And your song is What a Day That Will Be. That was his favorite song. We sang it at his funeral. That is such a great song.

What a day that will be. I can't sing very well, so you'll have to bear with me. But that is a powerful, powerful hymn.

When we look forward to all of us standing there, when we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory as it says when we all get to heaven. And tell me about your journey as a caregiver with that song. Did you like that song before he sang it at the funeral? Was that one of his favorite songs?

That was one of his favorite songs from way back when. We had been married 50 years when he passed away. But he was the only man that I dated that cared whether I was saved or not. He cared about my soul. He was a soul winner. And he would share a track with people quite frequently, but he suffered terribly from depression. And it really is a real illness. It is indeed.

Well, he doesn't suffer from it anymore, does he? That's right. That's a wonderful one. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, and I'll look upon his face, the one who saved me by his grace.

And that's a very special song, and I thank you for sharing that with us this morning. Would I be able to share something else? I've got a whole bunch of folks trying to get in, and we've got just a few more.

Can you do it in about 30 seconds? I'll try. Lamentations 3, 19-26, remembering my afflictions and misery, I recall and have hope it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man should both hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Beautiful. I love that passage. And if you look at Lamentations 3, a little bit past that, it says, He does not willingly afflict the Son's men. Who he causes grief, he also causes compassion. And that is a great passage in Scripture, and I appreciate you sharing that with us. He's having a great birthday with his Savior today, and I thank you for sharing that with us.

I really do appreciate it, Cheryl. I've got to run to Jason in Ohio. Jason, good morning. How are you feeling? I'm feeling good. How are you? Well, I think for the shape I'm in, I'm in pretty good shape. What's the song, real quick?

There you go. My favorite song was written by a friend of mine that I used to play the organ for her. I'm a church organist, and she passed away in the 90s. Her name was Doris Akers, and the song that comes to my mind for when I'm... I know who Doris Akers is. Yeah, yeah, but there was a song she wrote called, Lead Me, Guide Me, that I just felt was a beautiful song.

I don't know if you know that one or not. I think her most favorite song was Sweet, Sweet Spirit. Sweet, Sweet Spirit, yes.

I don't know Lead Me, Guide Me. And you were friends with her? I was her organist. You were her organist.

What a treat to be able to do that. There's a sweet, sweet spirit. Who does not know that song? She wrote a lot of songs.

She did. Sometimes when I need comfort, there's a song that says, Lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with thee.

Lead me, oh Lord, lead me. Man, that is wonderful. That is wonderful, Jason.

That is wonderful. I've got to learn that one. One more time, sing it one more time. I know we've got to get other calls, but sing it one more time. Lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with thee. Lead me, oh Lord, lead me.

I'd have to work up those chords. I've never heard that one before, but that is a beautiful song. You can find it on YouTube. I'll find it.

I'll find it. Jason, thank you for sharing that with us. I really appreciate that. What a treat that you were the organist for Doris Akers, who wrote Sweet, Sweet Spirit.

And I thank you for that very, very much. David in Georgia. David, good morning. Real quick here, how are you feeling first? Good morning, sir. Fantastic. It's actually the first day off in 14 days, praise the Lord.

Well, take the rest of the day off. Tell me about your song. Well, it's probably a little bit more contemporary song than normal Christian music, but it helped me. That's all right.

There's no wrong answer here. It could be a Gregorian chant. It's just as long as it's important to you. What is it? It's called Strong Tower by a group named Cutlass. Very powerful, wordy, and from the first chord, it distills you full of energy to give you hope.

And those moments where you just feel like I can't take anymore. It's a very wonderful song. It's more of a kind of a rock and roll song, but as the chorus says, you know, you are my strong tower shelter over me, beautiful and mighty in my everlasting King. And it's just very empowering at a time in my life when I was transitioning from secular music to Christian music. And I tell you, every time I get that knock on the door, that phone call that seems like it's going to just take over your world, I've got to play it back to back, and I find myself in the middle of the field just opening up 100% and just standing behind that because it's very empowering, very uplifting and very supercharging to tell you, you know, he is my strong tower, and he is going to see me through all of this, you know. It's a wonderful song.

Indeed. Is that the one that has, when I wander through the desert and I'm longing for my home, all my dreams have gone astray. And I'm stranded in the valley and tired and all alone.

It seems like I've lost my way. Oh, yeah, that is a... It is very... I listen to it as loud as I possibly can. I'm telling you, it's very empowering and distills me.

Something to do... I know the sound and light of it. No, I love that.

That's great. Because you are my strong tower, and clearly you've been in situations where you needed to sing that to yourself very often. You are my strong tower, a shelter over me, beautiful and mighty, everlasting king. You are my strong tower, a fortress when I'm weak. Your name is true and holy, and your face is all I see.

It's all I see. It's very empowering and very... It's a type of music song that will snatch you out of a down descent and set you right on the right way.

It does for me. It's not for everyone, but it's just very empowering and very uplifting. I love it. I love it. Well, listen, thank you very much, David, for sharing, and thank you for listening on this show today and for sharing that with us.

It's a great one. We'll go to Brian in Virginia. Brian, good morning. How are you feeling? Good morning. I'm feeling awesome. How are you? I'm all right. Tell me the song real quick. Is it Give Thanks?

Is that it? Give thanks to the holy one. Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ. Give thanks.

His son. Yeah, I love that. And now let the rich say I am strong.

The poor say I'm rich because of what God has done. Yeah, that is a great one. Yeah, I... That is a great one.

Who did you care for? Well, my girlfriend, she had a stroke, and I helped her through that, and she got all her, you know, limbs working again and talking right again, and then she had a massive stroke and ended up going into a nursing home, and they had to feed her through her stomach, and I kind of went downhill and went into a treatment center, and when I got out after three months, I went back to my... Well, Brian, listen, we're out of time. We're going to the end of the show here. I'm sorry to have to cut you off, but we're out of time here, and I want to hear more about that.

Please call us back and let us know the rest of the story, but in the meantime, go out to hopeforthecaregiver.com. You can see our music and everything we have out there. This is John Butler, and I produce Hope for the Caregiver with Peter Rosenberger. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife, Gracie, and recently Peter talked to Gracie about all the wonderful things that have emerged from her difficult journey. Take a listen. Gracie, when you envisioned doing a prosthetic limb outreach, did you ever think that inmates would help you do that?

Not in a million years. When you go to the facility run by CoreCivic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country that you put out the plea for, and they're disassembling. You see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs. And arms, too. And arms. Everything. When you see all this, what does that do to you? Makes me cry, because I see the smiles on their faces, and I know what it is to be liked someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out. Of course, being in the hospital so much and so long.

And so these men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one band said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea. I thought of peg leg. I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and sea legs and all that.

I never thought about that. As you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that they're helping other people now walk, they're providing the means for these supplies to get over there, what does that do to you, just on a heart level? I wish I could explain to the world what I see in there. And I wish that I could be able to go and say, this guy right here, he needs to go to Africa with us. I never not feel that way.

Every time, you know, you always make me have to leave, I don't want to leave them. I feel like I'm at home with them, and I feel like that we have a common bond that I would have never expected that only God could put together. Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith-based programs that CoreCivic offers? I think they're just absolutely awesome, and I think every prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because the return rate of the men that are involved in this particular faith-based program and the other ones like it, but I know about this one, is just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much.

That doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken to help other broken people. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limb, whether from a loved one who passed away or somebody who outgrew them, you've donated some of your own for them to do. How do they do that? Where do they find it? Oh, please go to standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Thanks, Gracie.