I Love Hymns. I Love Worship Choruses.

I love hymns. There... I said it. I am unashamed to say it. I'll shout it and sing it if I need to. Today, I am praising God with a favorite, "When Morning Gilds the Skies"(Caswall, Barby).

I love worship songs/choruses. There... I said it. I am unashamed to say it. I'll shout it and sing it if I need to. Yesterday, I worshiped by singing, "Overcome" (Jeremy Camp).

For so long, the "worship wars" of modern Christian churches divided the Body into camps that, when biopsied with careful scrutiny, showed a serious disease. That sickness, which is the root of all spiritual sickness, is the exaltation of "I." Our world is full of this: Loreal caters, "I'm worth it!" Frank Sinatra crooned, "I did it my way" and more examples than I can list here.
But what is wrong with personal preference? Not a thing. Not a thing, as along as it does not disrupt the community and unity of the church. That very hymn that opens your weekly church service may resonate with long-absent worshiper returned after many years. That repetitious praise chorus strikes a chord with the college student who is wondering if there really is a God and does God love her? The next time we think about complaining about the musical packaging of God's Word, we should ask ourselves, "Could this hymn or song be used by the Holy Spirit to reveal God to someone, to teach biblical truth, to encourage or to exhort someone?" Let us pray that our worship music will do these. Let us rejoice that believers come in all shapes and sizes (and with all musical preferences). How beautiful is the Body of Christ!
Make us one, Lord, make us one. Holy Spirit, make us one. Let your love flow so the world will know we are ONE in YOU (Cindy Morgan and John 17:21).

Be this the eternal song, through all the ages long, may Jesus Christ be praised! 

Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of all our praise, You overcame. Jesus, awesome in power forever,  awesome and great is Your name, You overcame.

Joys of Moving, Joys of Stuff

 OH MY!! It has been 18+ months since I've visited this blogsite. For a while, I DID NOT WANT TO blog. Then, the excitement of new jobs and moving to NC consumed us as we readied and sold our Brentwood home, said good-byes, and moved to Lake Junaluska. We finally bought and moved into a house, here, two weeks ago. After a week of family house guests, it is eerily quiet. I should be unpacking the 70+ boxes in the garage but--I DO NOT WANT TO!
Moving is exciting. Moving is scary. Moving is exhausting. Moving is creative. Moving is reflective. Moving is sad. Moving is hopeful. Moving is painful. Moving is joyful. Moving is cleansing. Moving is opportunity.
The most outstanding aspect of moving this time around has been the discovery/realization of an exorbitant amount of our stuff. Unnecessary stuff. Stuff that remained unopened from the previous move from NC to TN 11 years ago; yet, found its way to this home. What's up with that?!
Living in a rental house for seven months, using only half our "stuff" and leaving the rest in storage, begs a LOUD and CLEAR question: Do I own this stuff or does it OWN ME? As I look through the laundry room door to the garage and see the mountains of boxes, I think I know the answer.
My Dad was a wee-one during the depression (late 1920's). Growing up. my siblings and I often shook our heads and tried to overlook his packrattedness and stinginess, blaming these on the "lack of's" he experienced as child.
But, now, what's our excuse? Will hanging on to these things make our lives better: things such as the kids' report cards, early artwork, piano recital programs or a trivet given us when we left a church, or a box of Christmas cards from 2010? Is the fleeting moment of joy I experience when I come across these things (once every ten years) worth the space they consume and the dust they collect?
We thought that offering much of this stuff to our children would be a good way to clean out. Surely, they would want to keep their own memorabilia but, NO, they would have nothing to do with it. "How selfish and unappreciative," was my first reaction to their refusal. But, deep down, I admire my kids and many others of their generation. They seem to weigh carefully the stuff they allow in their lives, just as they are much more aware of the earth's limited resources, recycling, re-using, etc.
Oh well... I'm procrastinating now and feeling a little more motivated to tackle the looming 70-headed cardboard monster awaiting me in the garage. May God give me the wisdom and strength to save that which needs saving and let go that which needs letting go of. Oh--and, Thank-you, Lord, for this opportunity. Use it for Your Glory.