Music to Worship By

Tonight I was listening to classical piano music as I had my quiet time with the Lord.  I do this often as I have noisy neighbors and it helps me block out their TV's and video games and focus my mind.  As I began to read (Psalm 78), the song playing was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.  The cadence of the sonata fit so well with the cadence of the Psalm and I began to think about how so many psalms were the worship songs of the day. And I felt a stirring in my heart... the words seemed even more moving with the music behind them.

I know right now I could share my thoughts on modern Christian Music, and believe me, I have my opinions, but tonight... I'd rather be lost in the beauty of worshiping the Lord in song and thinking of how it connects all of God's people through time.  How did it feel to the Israelites to sing these songs we see printed in our Bibles?  How did David feel when he composed them?  How did he feel when he danced before the Lord?  I know that tonight my heart was soaring as I read about the many times God rescued His people, and sinking as I read of their lack of faith in Him... their testings and trials and exiles, and then at peace while pondering how He saved them, and us, all undeserving and yet so loved.

Listening to or playing the Moonlight Sonata is a frequent occurrence in my home.  I love that song and there is just something so soothing about it, it always calms my heart and mind, whether I am stressed out or anxious or sad... but now it will have even more meaning for me.  From tonight forward, when I hear or play it, it will remind me to think on the Lord's deliverance and delight in the One who created Song.

And sometimes, you just need a nap

Last week was a rough week physically.  It was the first week of Session so it was crazy-busy (not a bad thing) but when you're fighting a migraine, it's grueling.  I did well keeping the pain mostly at bay and staying pretty focused through the week (praising God for friends who were praying for me!), but by Thursday night, I was crashing.  I fell asleep right after supper, I just couldn't keep my eyes open, even though I knew there were so many things to do.  Friday I was exhausted but by the Grace of the Lord I was able to get everything done at work and even managed to do some cleaning at home (much, much needed lol.)

Saturday I awoke to a lot of pain... pushing so hard during the week finally caught up and I spent a lot of the day feeling guilty I wasn't getting more done.  But you know, it finally hit me that sometimes you just need to rest.  And why is that so hard to do?  Is it an American thing?  To feel like if you're not doing something productive every minute of every day you're lazy?

Didn't God command us to rest by giving us the Sabbath?  "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work."  ~Deuteronomy 5:12-14

So I rested.  And you know what?  Everything that needed to be done this weekend is done!  God provided abundantly, as He is so good to do!

At the end of the day

At the end of the day, it's over.

This morning I was preparing for what I knew was going to be a crazy-busy day.  And I was mostly dreading it.  I felt like there was way too much to do and way too little time to do it in.  As I was doing my hair and make-up I was already dreaming of what it would be like to be back home, curled up under my Snuggie, reading or playing on the internet.  I couldn't wait till the end of the day, for the day to be over.

And then suddenly that thought running through my head took on a whole new meaning.  At the end of the day, the day is over.  Done.  No going back.  Only forward from here.

How many days have I wished away?
How many days have I wished to have back?

It was more than a bit of a wake-up call, and before I'd even had my coffee!

Live each moment.  Even the bad ones.  Or the stressful ones.  Or the annoying, frustrating ones.  The moments  - even the ones where I drop my mascara wand into the litter box - are life.  And I don't want to miss any of them.

Especially since I seem to be one of those people who just have really random things happen to them on a regular basis... like the time I got out of my car in the parking lot at work to find a driverless SUV rolling straight past me.

Or the time that my Mom was catching mice with a live trap and one of them got its tail caught as it was flipped into the box.  We - Mom, Dad, and I went to spring it loose and the mouse, making the most of the opportunity, took a flying leap out of the box - straight at me.  Being startled, I caught the mouse, who promptly bit me, causing me to fling it into the air.  It nicely flew right over my Dad's shoulder, and hitting the ground, it took off running.  Eventually we did catch the traumatized mouse and the poor thing was released into the wild.

And I don't want to take those experiences for granted.  I am blessed by them, because they still make me laugh when they cross my mind.

"The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away. ... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  ~Psalm 90:10, 12

I am realizing more and more the meaning of those verses.  Learning to number each day, rather than wishing for the next moment.

It's all about the timing

I have a cat.  

A beautiful, cuddly, sweet, loving, and sometimes kinda frustrating cat.  

I adopted her in 2003 and I'm not exactly sure of her age but she's at least 11.  And recently my girl has developed arthritis. So every day I give her about a tablespoon of wet food with her Cosequin (like Glucosamine, only for cats) mixed in.  Mocha has always eaten dry food, and has never really liked the wet kind, so finding a flavor she'll eat (and I can stand the smell of) has been it's own adventure, but once we did... she loves it.  She loves it so much that nearly every time I go into the kitchen to make a meal, grab a snack, or even sometimes just to get some water, she sits at my feet, looking up at me expectantly.

"Is it time? Is it time? Is it time?"  She knows what she wants so badly, but I know she can only have it once a day, and that I need to give it to her around the same time every day.  She just knows she wants the treat!

So often as I watch her watching what I'm doing and I'm trying to get her to go do something else because I know it's not time yet, I can't help but think about God's timing.  How many times have I sat expectantly at His feet, begging for something I want so badly, thinking that it has to be time for my treat.  And yet He knows when to give me exactly what I need.

And I wonder... when I'm begging, and He knows why there is delay but I don't... does it break His heart a little, like it kinda breaks mine not to give Mocha what I know she longs for?  He knows what's best for me, just like I know what's best for her (at least in this instance), but it's still hard for me to wait till the proper time.  Is it hard for God not to give us the things we are begging Him for, even when He knows that giving them to us would do us more harm than good?

I do know that He desires to give us good gifts, and He wants us to ask Him for them (Matt. 7:7-11).  So I think I'll just keep sitting there at his feet, expectantly, and learn to trust that in time, He will give me exactly what's best for me.

The First Day

I realized this morning that today is...
the first day of the week
the first day of the month
the first day of the year

Or a new day, a new week, a new month, a new year!

That's a lot of newness
A lot of reason to begin again
A lot of ways to experience God's promise that His Mercies are new every morning.

I'm not a person who makes New Year's Resolutions, I usually think that it's better to make changes all year as needed.
 

but this year... all the "news", all the "firsts" today made me think about all the ways I'd like my life to change this year.  And I'm excited.  I think it's going to be a great year!