THE WONDER OF BRENDA

Happy Hallmark Card Day...will you be my Valentine? I'm not the obligatory return card...just because your mother made you buy me one...but will you be my Valentine?

Oh I know...hearts, arrows, candy, Saint Valentine, cards with mushy sentiment, chocolates, expensive gifts, going out to eat...all the trappings of a programmed people.

Some live for this day...while others loathe this day. Those who have someone put the day on a pedestal...while those who are alone...avoid the day like a plague.

I remember the day that Brenda Sue Williams walked into my life on a Sunday afternoon in 1969...in a garage on Nancy Avenue in Murfreesboro Tennessee, as the band I was in...THE BLIND DISTORTION (aka THE BLACK ROOM)...was practicing. Here we are in 2011...still together...still in love.

Valentine's Day is merely one day...another day...that I get to express my love to the woman that God has place in my life.

While February 14th is just another day...like the 364 that precedes it...I appreciate the special quality of this day to focus on L.O.V.E.

"Love me tender...love me true...never let me go...I will spend my life with you and I love you so..." (Elvis Presley)

"I will spend my whole life through...loving you...yes loving you." (Elvis Presley)

"She loves you yeah yeah" (The Beatles)

"Love, love me do...you know I love you...I'll always be true...so pleeasse, love me do...oh yeah...love me do." (The Beatles)

Back on June 15 1959 there was a song released by Ray Peterson...called The Wonder of You. Ray...who had a 4 octave voice range...had hits like Tell Laura I Love Her, Corrina Corrina, Goodnight My Love and others. I had the honor of getting to know Ray and his lovely wife Claudia through church. Ray past away on 1/25/05...and Claudia leads the worship dance team (Praise In Motion) as Springhouse Worship and Arts Center. Elvis Presley asked Ray if he could record The Wonder of You...and Ray responded in the affirmative...after all you are Elvis...to which Elvis responded..."You're Ray Peterson."

NOTE: If you get a chance...check out the album...THE OTHER SIDE OF RAY PETERSON...in my opinion...far superior to his "big hits".

NOTE: Ray was also a true RUMINATOR attending THE RUMINATOR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS. He would come in...kiss me on the cheek...call me a sweetheart...and then open up his Bible and moo and chew on the Cud of the Word of God. I miss Ray.

Ray once told me (an others)...that he sings The Wonder of You as a worship song unto the author of love.

THE WONDER OF YOU (Baker Knight)

When no one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You gave me strength to carry on

And you try to show...your love for me
(Elvis version: And you're always there to lend a hand)
In everything you do
That's the wonder....the wonder of you

And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I'm a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything

I guess I'll never know the reason why
You love me like you do
That's the wonder...the wonder of you

I guess I'll never know...the reason why...you love me like you do...That's the wonder...the wonder of you.


When I hear the song THE WONDER OF YOU...of course I think of Ray, Elvis, and the Lord...but I always, always, always, think of Brenda.

NOTE: Brenda and Phillip got to go down to Florida and went to the Yankee Training Camp one year...and also was able to go to a Ray Peterson concert...that was fantastic.

Well...I have said all of the above to say this.

"God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were YET sinners...Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:8)

"For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal..everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. IN this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." (I John 4:7-12)

In the fall of 1970...Brenda Sue Williams introduced Rodney Lewis Boyd to the Author of Love. I remember like it was yesterday...when we were parked in her driveway at 426 4th Avenue Murfreesboro Tennesse..."What do I have to do to be saved." Her good Baptist girl instincts kicked in...and she led me down the Romans Road to Salvation...and I accepted the Lord...I received the Lord into my life...and my life has never been the same. I walked the aisle at church next Sunday...got baptized...and the rest is HIStory in our lives.

Brenda has stuck by, supported me, prayed for me, lifted me up, encouraged me...and still does to this day...as I stumble along on this journey...seeking God's will. That's why the song THE WONDER OF YOU...always makes me think about Brenda.

Valentines Day may be just another day....but it is a special day...like everyday is a day that we should be loving the Lord...but Sunday is a special day...to gather together and celebrate.

I love you Brenda.

Love and Wonder Kisses
Rodney "Loves St. Brenda" Boyd