(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of Brandon Heath’s I’m Not Who I Was from the Brandon Heath album, Don’t Get Comfortable. It also contains Brandon Heath’s I’m Not Who I Was lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

Brandon Heath’s major-label debut single, Our God Reigns, was an anthemic worship anthem that set radio airwaves on fire. How could one possibly follow up such a majestic song? For Brandon Heath, the trick was to go naked and heartfelt. With I’m Not Who I Was, Brandon paints a stark palette of honesty in this song of confessional redemption. Such bare emotion is rare and welcome in this day and age, and I’m Not Who I Was may well usher in a new era of storytelling from the soul.

“The thing I find most amazing in amazing grace is the chance to give it out.” Brilliant.

Listen to Brandon Heath’s I’m Not Who I Was mp3

I’m Not Who I Was lyrics after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains streams of Mandisa’s Only the World, off the Mandisa album True Beauty. It also contains Mandisa’s Only the World lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer Mandisa mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

American Idol Season 5 finalist Mandisa Hundley’s new single is titled Only The World. The Only The World CD single will be available for purchase online May 22 via Sparrow Records. Mandisa’s debut album, True Beauty, follows on July 31.

Fans will remember Mandisa for her off-the-hook performances of I’m Every Woman by Chaka Khan, Never by Heart, and I Don’t Hurt Anymore by Dinah Washington. The Season 5 finalist competed alongside eventual winner Taylor Hicks, and other finalists Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, and Paris Bennett.

Mandisa’s Only The World debut single has already been serviced to contemporary Christian radio. The Only The World CD single out on May 22 will include the title track of Mandisa’s debut album, True Beauty. Producers who worked on Mandisa’s debut album include CCM hitmaker Brown Bannister, most popular known for his work with Avalon and Steven Curtis Chapman; Andrew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders, whose roster of musical talent includes India.Arie; Christopher Stevens, most renowned for his TobyMac production; and Shaun Shankel, collaborator of Amy Grant.

Mandisa performed at the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards April 25 with Kirk Franklin and TobyMac on Lose Your Soul. She is scheduled to perform at several major summer Christian music festivals.

We also encourage you to purchase Mandisa’s Only The World legally on iTunes or your favorite digital single store. Visit MandisaOfficial.com or www.myspace.com/mandisa for more information.

Listen to Mandisa’s Only The World mp3

Mandisa’s Only The World lyrics after the jump.

Looking for the lyrics to Mandisa’s True Beauty? Click here!

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(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of CC Jones’ Worth It All from the J Moss album, Worth It All. It also contains CC Jones’ Worth It All lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

With an earnest delivery reminiscent of Jennifer Knapp and a songwriting style that is naked in its honesty, CC Jones is a refreshing new find in Contemporary Christian music. Her debut album, Worth It All, says much in its devotion to Christ and is readily radio-friendly. The carrier single off the album, the title track, was written by Jones after realizing what was in store for her once she returned to the Father. A failed suicide attempt and an ever-increasing awareness of an unimaginable love makes this modern-day love song to God even more real and worth listening to.

Listen to CC Jones‘ Worth It All mp3

Lyrics to CC Jones’ Worth It All after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of J Moss’ Operator from the J Moss album, V2. It also contains J Moss’s Operator lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

James Moss, or J Moss, is one of the most dynamic forces in gospel music today. As one-third of superstar gospel production team PAJAM (together with Paul D. Allen and Water Kearney), he’s done some spectacular work with Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, Hezekiah Walker, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, Kelly Price, and Patti LaBelle, among others. His new album, V2, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, and has remained there to date for five consecutive weeks. Moss’ Operator is a clever hiphop jam, combining spiritual lyrics and verses with the secular need to call someone (in this case, God!) for help.

Listen to J Moss’ Operator mp3

Lyrics to J Moss’ Operator after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of Chris Tomlin’s How Can I Keep From Singing from the album, See The Morning. It also contains Chris Tomlin’s Every Time I Breathe lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

Christian singer Chris Tomlin’s latest single, How Can I Keep From Singing, is exploding at Inspo radio, up a notch this week to #2. His previous single, Made to Worship, topped that chart. A song of wonderment at God’s glory, How Can I Keep From Singing is set to become another standard at Inspo radio, and possibly worship services across the globe. As far as setting CCM radio ablaze is concerned, Tomlin still can’t do no wrong.

Listen to Chris Tomlin’s How Can I Keep From Singing mp3

Lyrics after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of Big Daddy Weave’s Every Time I Breathe from the album, Every Time I Breathe. It also contains lyrics of Big Daddy Weave’s Every Time I Breathe. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download.)

Christian rock band Big Daddy Weave may have some hard-rocking songs up its record sleeves, but its ballads still earn it tons of airplay. (Kinda like MercyMe). Their latest radio single, Every Time I Breathe, is a powerful long song to God for His omnipresence and mercy.

Every Time I Breathe is now #4 on Radio and Records’ Christian AC chart. Every Time I Breathe increased in airplay by over 160 spins over the previous week, earning it Most Increased Plays status for that week on that chart. Another hit in the making for Big Daddy Weave? You betcha.

Big Daddy Weave Every Time I Breathe mp3

Lyrics after the jump.

Read more

If you have not decided yet on a party list for the upcoming Philippine elections, please allow me to humbly recommend two party lists that, in my humble opinion, deserve your vote: CIBAC and Abakada Guro.

The first party list I recommend - the one I’m actually voting for - is Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC). CIBAC is a multi-sectoral organization whose legislative agenda revolves around fighting graft, corruption and government cronyism. It won two seats at the last election, and Representatives Kim Bernardo-Lokin and Joel Villanueva, son of former Philippine presidential candidate and solid Christian Eddie Villanueva, have passed priority measures benefiting us via its anti-corruption agenda.

Among them: the Freedom to Access to Information Bill, the Access to Frontline Services Information Bill, the Anti-Red Tape Bill. the Anti-Marital Infidelity Bill, and the Public Attorneys Office (PAO) Bill.

There are benefits of voting for a party list with a track record, and CIBAC has that track record.

The second party list I urge you to consider is Abakada Guro. This party list envisions itself as party list representative of teachers, school workers, and the education sector. As you know, there is a palpable decrease in the quality of Philippine education, and legislative efforts must be concerted and driven to ensure the competitiveness of our schools vis-a-vis the global community. Abakada Guro’s website details its battle plan - specifically to use legislation to protect, assist, and empower school teachers all over the country.

Remember: once your kids are of school age, your school’s teachers actually spend more time with them five days a week. I believe qualified, satisfied, well-educated and well-trained teachers translate into improved student performance, and I believe Abakada Guro has what it takes to help make it happen.

(A note to Abakada Guro, if ever you find yourselves here: fix up your website. The typographical errors are numerous and embarrassing. Hello, “Memebers”? Take your online presence seriously, Sirs; for many Filipinos, this is the only way we’ll ever get to know about you. Others may not be so forgiving, expecting topnotch content from a website defending educators.)

If you’re not particularly enthused about voting for Abakada Guro but would like to support a party-list representing the education sector, two others are running: AVE, or the Alliance of Volunteer Educators, and A TEACHER, or Action for Teacher Empowerment through Action Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms. While I don’t have information on either party list thanks to a lack of information online, I’m sure their intentions are pure and their platform is solid.

If you haven’t decided on a party list just yet, please visit the websites of these two party lists to learn more about them and why I humbly think they deserve your vote. Thank you.

I officially started my Slim4Him weight loss program February 19, 2007.

Today is May 9, 2007, and these are my statistics.

Start: 103 kg (227 lbs.)
Current Weight: 95 kg (209 lbs.)
Goal: 75 kg (165 lbs.)

That means I’ve lost 18 lbs in roughly 11 weeks. That’s 1.7 lbs. a week. Actually, the first two months, weight loss was virtually non-existent, despite the vaunted power of the South Beach Diet. It was only when I started having regular exercise with twice- to thrice-a-week visits to the gym that I’ve shown some kind of improvement. Guess that’s the final nail in the diet-equals-weight-loss coffin; without exercise, when you go off that diet, you’ll gain it all back. Hwek hwek hwek.

I was starting to wonder if my 18-pound weight loss was starting to show. Today, I visited the office’s Finance/HR department to interview a prospective writer and the ladies there peppered me with compliments on how thin I looked! Praise GOD! With encouragement like that, I’m sure I’ll get there. I’ve already lost 18 lbs total since I started; that’s more than 25% of my total weight loss goal by the end of the year. If I keep at the one-pound-a-week setup, I should lose approximately 32 more lbs. by the end of the year, totaling 60 lbs!

Thanks, by the way, to my gym buddy, Kim, for keeping me motivated! (Dennis, our schedules stink. We’ve hardly worked out together at all!)

American Idol Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has set a record with the debut of her single, I’ll Stand By You, sung live during the American Idol Gives Back television special. The digital single debuted at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first iTunes exclusive to debut in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10. I’ll Stand By You, a revival of the Pretenders original, is Underwood’s second Top 10 single, after her #1 debut single Inside Your Heaven.

I’m still hoping Before He Cheats, her third single from Some Hearts, will be able to rustle up enough airplay to reach the Top 10. It peaked at #11 last week.

The version of I’ll Stand By You we’re streaming for you isn’t exactly Carrie Underwood’s iTunes version; it’s a high-quality grab of the audio played during her video segment that night (which I imagine is still the version downloadable from iTunes). It’s still of excellent quality. Thanks to rJ for the song.

Carrie Underwood’s I’ll Stand By You mp3

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains streams of The Cover Girls’ Wishing On A Star. GannsDeen.com does not offer mp3’s for download.)

In 1992, freestyle girl group The Cover Girls released Wishing On A Star, a remake of an original by Rose Royce. Lifted off their third album, Here It Is, the Michelle Valentine-fronted Cover Girls took Wishing On A Star to #9, making it the group’s second Top 10 hit and first gold record. It was one of my favorite tracks of 1992.

The Cover Girls’ Wishing On A Star mp3

Lyrics after the jump. Read more