
Please take a minute to enjoy the dawn chorus by clicking the link below
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YD-U0THwqmI
I recorded this, one morning in Dunfanaghy, Donegal. Inspired by the beautifully evocative Irish movie, That They May Face the Rising Sun, I had walked eastwards along the backroad above the town. There I discovered an old graveyard. Indeed the graves were laid out correctly…….facing the east in anticipation of the resurrection!

Next to this ‘proper’ graveyard however, I discovered the ‘pauper’s’ graveyard with the following sign.


I found the song rising up in me,
A song for the pauper. A song for the queen.
For those trying to make ends meet in between
A song about riches that are way out of sight.
So we’ll sing it with all of our might.
So when I paused a few minutes later to listen to the birds rendering their dawn chorus, you can understand why this was the song that I joined in with…..
‘What would you do if I sang you a song
Bathed in heaven born of the earth.
What would you do if I said, “Sing along!
Sing along now for all that you’re worth.” ‘
On returning home, I was greeted with the sad news that our dear friend and brother Bill Millar, had just that morning, crossed over to join the heavenly choir!
On our last few visits home to Ireland we had been lead to join with Bill and the Millar family to worship in the early morning. It had been an outdoor/rural setting. We had been given the name Dawn Chorus for the gathering as we joined with all of creation to welcome this ‘new day’
The song “Yeshua” was recorded on the Trek album. The Reprise at the end of the album had a beautiful guitar accompaniment by the late Tim Lyles……. just honored in my last blog!
It speaks of this song being for ‘the pauper’ and also contains the verse,
A song for the boy always bottom of class
A song for the girl we always picked last
A song that can make us ALL winners tonight
So we’ll sing it with all of our might.
Here is the link to that reprise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvUk5PNlE4s
This was that same weekend that our own Rory McIlroy completed his Grand Slam Victory. This photo of ‘the Victor’ roaring (like the lion of the tribe of Judah) reflects his nickname Rors

In the photo below of Bill holding granddaughter Isabella he is wearing a ‘lion’ shirt with The King written on the sleeve!

Maureen wrote,
“The T‐shirt Bill was wearing when he passed over depicted a huge lion’s head. It reminded me of Aslan.”
That was also the same weekend our son Ben released on line his new album, with one of my songs that goes,…
‘You came to me. You wrote my life’s first page
And you were there when I stepped out
To act on this world’s stage’.
Bill’s role may not have been that of a winner like Rory on ‘this world’s stage’, but he sure was a winner from heaven’s vantage point!
(Interesting how with my tech limitations Bill’s picture popped up smaller (more humble?) than all the others I used)
Bill and Maureen shared the hope that we could ALL be winners in God’s Masterpiece and that God will indeed, as he hasn promised, restore ALL things.
This was why to the pastor’s surprise Maureen requested Psalm 67 to be read at the funeral service.
‘ I have never preached from this psalm nor ever read it at a funeral before!!’ He confessed to the gathered family and friends.
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us— so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
As Bill’s coffin was carried down the aisle the words and music rang out once again…
“Yeshua, Yeshua, Yeshua the song
……..and we’ll sing it for all that we’re worth! ‘
Here is the link to the full song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHZLpkIiivU
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