Blessing Blackburn NYC ~ Installment 3

“Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Wednesday, 12/30/09
11:10 am in Brooklyn, New York

Susan Boyle’s whirlwind visit to New York City during Thanksgiving week coincided with the release of her debut CD, I Dreamed A Dream. The captioned photos in Slideshow 3 tell the story of the exciting before-during-after progression of her first Susan-only live concert before huge numbers of fans. “I’ve always wanted to perform in front of a large audience.” Since her live televised performance on November 23, little more than a month has passed, and Susan’s own marvelous television program has aired in the UK and the USA, surrounded by several other televised appearances in various countries – including in Japan on New Year's Eve!

Meanwhile, Susan’s CD is racking up enormous sales records globally, all within the space of a mere month. One hesitates to report the milestones – golds, platinums, millions, this country, that country – because they become obsolete almost as soon as one hits the enter key. Susan herself celebrates back home in Blackburn. On any given day of her choosing, publicity is a snap – just open the front door, hoist a simple prop, and wait for the next global blog posts and press runs of a couple million. Her daily publicity machine does not require high-paid hairdressers, makeup artists and costumers – the beauty of Susan Boyle is that she is Susan Boyle.

Susan spent a traditional Christmas with family and friends in the Lothians in Scotland. Del and I spent Christmas a bit differently. Check the photos! We visited favorite holiday spots and lovely church services in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with time out on Christmas Eve for a bite to eat at the busy Rock Center Café in Rockefeller Plaza! Somehow, the hostess chose us ahead of another couple in line, and seated us at a rinkside window table that just happened to open up as we walked in. Dining right next to us were two people from Italy. They were so nice and friendly, and even used our camera to take our photo. I decided to ask if they had heard of Susan Boyle, and noted that she had sat right over there and had sung right out there. Yes, of course they had heard of her! Ilaria Dallatana and Francesco Facchinetti just happen to be the producer and on-air presenter of Italy’s X Factor! Oh, Simon! I predict an Italian invitation for Susan soon…

It was a joy to revisit the sites seen by our dear Blackburn/Bathgate friends Hugh and Mary, and the venues of Susan’s appearances. As one of the organizers of fan events in NYC (with many alphabetical thanks to Del, Diane, Jane, Marie, Marta and certainly not least Rhonda), I was happy to see Susan in various settings and to know that she deeply appreciates the warm welcomes that she has received here and elsewhere. She thrives on the genuine outpouring of love for her. I was so thankful to have my square included on the wonderful fan quilt (courtesy of Carol and Phyllis), and one of Del’s badges of Pebbles actually belongs to Susan now – spotted several times on her various coats and jackets both here and at home! It was so cute when she recognized the identical badge on Marie’s scarf and pointed to each of them!

My own NYC opportunity for a photo and a hug was truly unexpected – at the last minute someone asked me to hold the beautiful fan album made by Carolyn, which would be given to Susan during the amazing quilt presentation in the Rock Center Café. When the time came that Susan turned toward me, I leaned forward to say a short remark – and she hugged me. I didn’t even realize that her arm was around my shoulders until I saw photos and videos!

What I shared with Susan was this: “I just want to say that millions of people love you, and thousands of people are praying for you every day. God bless you!”

I am among the many who have been moved to pray for Susan since April. Since her visit to NYC, my daily prayer has been this prayer in the Bible, in Ephesians 3:14-21, with words for Susan specifically: “For this reason I kneel before You Father, from Whom Your whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen Susan with power through Your Spirit in her inner being, so that Christ may dwell in Susan’s heart through faith. And I pray that Susan, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that Susan may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to You Who are able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within us, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

During Susan’s own television special, she sang an incredible duet with Elaine Paige. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ogG9_FBWI At the time, and in many views thereafter, I was struck by the words. They were characteristic of Susan’s frequent theme and life experience of elusive love and heartbreak on a human level – a message that speaks so poignantly to so many. Yet the Christmas and New Year season marking His birth is a perfect time to reflect on a love that is altogether transcendent and intimate, and stunningly utterly real. The nativity of Immanuel, God With Us, reveals the love of Jesus and how He wants to be tenderly close to you. A rewrite of the words that Susan sang could read like this: “He moved His world to be with you because the gap between was too wide – He wants to be with you constantly – He is completely on your side.”

You might say, “Why me – the wee wifey?” Or, “How could He – look at me!” Dear one, that is the beauty of His gift, received by faith – it all depends on His love and grace, not on your own ability to earn it. All fall short, so He gave all.

Can the Susan Boyle phenomenon be explained naturally? I believe that she is His beloved, fashioned by Him for this time, unforgettably reflecting His love and care in a heartsick world. We all need that kind of love, do we not?

“…To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18b-19a)

Blessing Blackburn ~ The Sequel ~ Installment 9

“From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.” (John 1:16)

Thursday, 10/8/09
11:05 pm in Brooklyn, New York

We had planned to take a series of buses to Edinburgh Airport, thinking that it would be interesting to experience Susan’s mode of travel not only locally but regionally as well. Using Scotland’s nifty government-sponsored travel site, we plotted out the buses and routes that linked the various bus companies (plus trains and walks) from point to point. Good! The starting point was to be a short walk from the Burnview, and the ending point an hour or so later was to be the terminal at the airport. But we awoke to a stormy morning and realized that we would be soaked by the time we arrived at the airport, and probably wouldn’t dry out for hours. Thankfully, Colin was graciously available to call a taxi, so we departed the delightful Burnview Bed and Breakfast with extra gratitude and jumped into the taxi as soon as the driver arrived.

Well, well, well. It turns out this very driver had driven Susan herself in this very cab many times in the past! He lived in a neighboring village, but Blackburn was a regular service area for him. We were glad to pay the fare and tip as we were delivered, early and dry, to the terminal!

We had plenty of time to drink whipped coffee while waiting for the Delta counter to open. Once we were in line, a nice airline worker with a clipboard asked us the typical security questions, including whether or not we had any scissors in our carry-on luggage. My super-light packing did indeed include a small pair of scissors, and although the JFK security scan had not found this troublesome the Edinburgh team did – so I had to drop the scissors into a big transparent container bristling with unpremeditated weaponry. Well, the pen is mightier than the sword, so at least the laptops made it through security.

Settling into the T-Mobile wi-fi hotspot near our gate, I tried to log in to my previous account with the 30 minutes left over from July, but alas the time had expired almost immediately after the end of our first Scotland trip. So I paid another $8.33 for 60 minutes, and used about half of that to post a few messages and upload some photos to the blog before we were called for boarding.

Our international flight had free meals galore, so there was little time for snoozing between blogging and snacking. We arrived at JFK in fewer than 7 hours, quickly passed through customs wondering how we would have declared haggis if we had purchased some, and said our goodbyes as Marie continued on to San Francisco. Bless his heart, Del had anticipated our early arrival without baggage to claim, and he was waiting to pick me up as soon as I reached the curb outside. Within 25 minutes, we were home in Brooklyn.

A few days later, Susan’s CD version of Wild Horses hit the web, followed by the exciting news that she would be singing it the following week on the finals of America’s Got Talent. Wild horses could not have kept us from the Starbucks in Edinburgh, and they definitely will not keep us from buying enough CDs for a whole herd of family and friends! Marie and I will have to compare shopping lists as to who gives to whom.

Serendipitously, Marie was scheduled to be in Manhattan for a banquet the day before the AGT final, so we agreed that if our busy agendas could accommodate a joint viewing we would meet to watch Susan’s American debut together. Sure enough, the day cleared perfectly for us, and we decided even to post an invitation on the fan site and at the YouTube pub for anyone who could change their evening plans at the last minute and join us to Suevue in Manhattan.

Late in the afternoon on September 16, Del and I caught the subway, which near our house is an elevated train that later disappears underground. We decided to include photos of our little journey on the Blessing Blackburn blog, since we hope and pray that Susan will soon visit New York City! We saw her sights, and she can see our sights! We were thrilled that Susan felt so loved and welcomed in America, from the moment that she arrived at LAX, through her visit to Disneyland, during the filming of AGT, including her backstage interview for Today, throughout the fantastic news coverage of her astonishing performance, even to the point of 95+ percent approval on various enormous online polls.

We exited the subway at Broadway and Herald Square in front of Macy’s, walked along 34th Street past the Empire State Building, crossed Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, then walked several blocks up Park Avenue to the Union League Club where Marie and Betty were staying. They were hurrying back from uptown by pedicab, and when we met them Betty opted to return to her room to rest while we scrounged around for something to eat in Manhattan. Our initial choice, a nearby bistro, was packed, so we headed toward the food court at Grand Central Station, but opted instead for a classy Chinese buffet a block away. We dined and dashed (paying, of course!), in time for the start of America’s Got Talent featuring Susan Boyle.

In her small, tasteful room at the Club, Marie fired up the laptop so we could watch the proceedings on TV while simultaneously interacting with fans virtually partying together on the sites. Susan stole the show and the follow-up media coverage with her fabulous performance, and we were delighted that newyorkrican from the YouTube pub actually phoned us to chat about all of it! Walking back to the subway, Del and I noted that the Empire State Building happened to be lit up in Susan’s official website colors, and of course we had to stop in at the Starbucks on the ground floor to purchase a little sustenance for our journey home.

Now, a few weeks later, we await the Thanksgiving week release of Susan’s CD, thinking how fun it would be if Susan could actually be the featured singer on the Herald Square platform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is televised by NBC, after all, and they have previously managed to find a little time in their schedule for the Scottish songbird. The playlist for Susan’s debut CD, just officially announced, includes 3 classic hymns – How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace and Silent Night. These, along with the other 9 songs, will be sure to thrill millions, including Christmas shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally America’s single biggest shopping day.

The final months of each year are always special to me because of the sacred holidays commemorating God’s provision, particularly through Jesus. The gift-giving season is a reminder of how much He has given, and still wants to give. This year, virtually the whole world is watching His grace at work in the life of one humble Scottish maiden with a God-given voice. He gives for a purpose, and He has a plan for each one of us – a plan that may be completely unexpected, and more than anyone could possibly imagine.

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)