I'm Telling!

Wrapping up the series, “Stuff Christians Do,” the pastor talked about the call for Christians to share their faith. As I listened to the sermon online, I couldn’t help but think about my situation in this past week….

We had planned to go to Pennsylvania, in the area where the founder of White’s Residential and Family Services found the wealth to begin this amazing ministry to children, teens and families. Dana, my husband, was going to be able to share with the people in the town of Jim Thorpe, how lives were still being transformed by the dream of a man that they knew primarily as an entrepreneur and inventor. Josiah White’s dream, dating back to 1849 when he came to Wabash, Indiana, was to bring hope to kids whose lives seemed hopeless.

After our work in PA was complete, the plan was to continue on to Washington D.C. and attend the wedding of our nephew and his bride. As it turns out, the trip got cut short because I was having a difficult time with arrhythmia. My heart beat was either too fast or too slow and I was too tired to talk. If you know me, that doesn’t happen very often!

Upon the recommendation of the doctor, I ended up coming home in the middle of the week and spending the night in the hospital to undergo tests and make sure that I wasn’t at risk for something life-threatening, and thankfully, I am NOT. However, there would be No wedding. No family. No week of relaxation we were both so looking forward to.

You’ve probably heard someone talk about how our disappointments are often turned into Divine appointments. Well, that is exactly what I feel happened to me in that hospital. In a twenty-four hour period I was able to share little bits of Truth, small bites of the message of Jesus with two x-ray techs, 2 EMTs, 4 nurses, 1 nurse’s assistant and a doctor. I didn’t quote scripture. I didn’t site chapter and verse of the message I shared in a sentence or two. I just let God’s love flow from me to them and wasn’t afraid to tell them that the part of my heart that really mattered was getting healthier every day.

So many people try to hide their decision to follow Jesus because they don’t know what to say or fear offending or are afraid they will be asked a question they don’t know the answer to. I have a remedy for that. Just be YOU. That’s all I was doing. I am not a preacher or evangelist or pew jumpin’, Bible thumpin’ kind of woman. I am just a woman who has been loved and showered with amazing grace… a woman who is happy and content with the life God has given me… a woman who loves the Word of God… a woman who is anxious to give the same hope and help to others as I have received… a woman who is flawed and says dumb things and talks when I should be quiet and sometimes quiet when I should talk. I haven’t been to seminary. I can’t remember a lick of Biblical Greek (sorry Prof. Atkins), but I have a story. I have a connection to God that is my very own. It brings me peace. It gives me joy.

Of course, the fact that everyone was working on my heart with all their poking and prodding did open doors for me to share some issues of the heart. It gave me the opportunity to simplify the message as Jesus did, and tell them that if we would simply follow Jesus directive to love God and love others, the world would be a better place. It gave me the opportunity to let them know that, even when you feel lousy, you don’t have to be grumpy and sad, because the heart where Jesus lives is going to live forever. Did I say those words to anyone? No! I just smiled and cared about them and their lives. When you do that, people just start to talk to you and then you never know where the conversation will go.

Jesus was kind to the woman at the well when the culture would have dictated that he judge and flee. Jesus was a friend to those He taught. Jesus taught by living what He believed. When we do that, opportunities will come for us to plant the right seed at the right time that someone else will water and cultivate. Or maybe you will be the one to cultivate the seed planted by another. Fix your heart and mind on Jesus and walk with Him. He will guide you to be one who changes the world… for someone… someday. What you were given may be personal, but it is not private. It is meant to be shared. That is the very way God designed our faith to be. You may be the one to plant the seed that will transform an entire family or change the trajectory of a marriage or even save the life of a downcast soul. 

Don't be afraid of what you don't yet know. Be afraid, rather, of what might be lost if you don't share what you do know.

Buddy and the Bible

One of my favorite Christmas Movies is the one where Buddy, the overgrown elf, leaves the North Pole to find his father and ends up saving Santa by singing... loud and long.  I am not at all worried about saving Santa, but I love the thought of all we gain when we engage on a musical level. I taught my children and my grandchildren songs that spelled out their name, so by 2 years old, they could spell their own name. Of course, they didn't understand that putting letters together in the proper order was "spelling" or how to hold a pencil and write those letters, but they did know that "Gramma loves her Lola, L-O-L-A, Lola" and "There was a Mama, loved her girl and Emily was her name-o! ...E-M-I-L-Y..." and there is one for all of my precious littles.

Buddy the Elf isn't the only one who knew that singing was important, though. Educators know that children learn the alphabet, because it is put to music. They learn to count with a myriad of counting songs, they learn their colors in Spanish with a song. Put the color words in a rhyme and add a melody and your children will know how to spell every single color word by the middle of their Kindergarten year. If you put it into rhyme, and give it a good meter, it just clicks and stays in our head. Forever! "B-L-U-E spells blue...."  The days of the week, the months of the year... you name it! If you put it to music, they will learn it.

Parents sing lullabies to their children to sooth them. My kids remember me singing "My Favorite Things" to them as I rocked them. What a beautiful way to help them focus on the wonderful things in life, rather than the difficult things that weigh them down. Science has explored the impact that certain sounds have on the brain function and have even discovered a mood stabilizing effect of certain tones. I have a friend who plays classical violin while her daughter does her homework because of the research that indicates it increases the cognitive function of the brain.

In my younger years, I had a decent alto voice, but it is all crackly and grandma sounding now. However, I still muster up the courage to use it when I am with the children because their little minds soak it all up and store it in their memory. Sunday I sang with the 2-4 year-olds, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do..." and they joined in the singing and the motions, in spite of the sound of my voice. Maybe you think your voice is awful, but you sure can teach valuable lessons if you just use it!

Right about the middle of your Bible you can find a book of songs. And if you knew how to sing them in Hebrew, you would see that they have rhythm and rhyme. You will find songs (called Psalms) about defeat and discouragement, songs about victory and joy, songs about fear and songs of gratitude to God. Even in ancient times, people realize that putting truths, stories, anecdotes to music would enable people to memorize them. They didn't own a Bible or encyclopedia (remember those?). They couldn't look up the words in Google or lyrics.com, yet it was critical for teaching their people, so they put it to music so it could remain in their hearts and minds and be passed from generation to generation.

As a child I memorized Psalm 100. It has a beautiful message of why we sing, as followers of God. You can listen to the message Pastor Chris shared on this Psalm at https://thecreekonline.net/media. It's a great message! Here it is in the New International Readers Version (NIrV), the Bible we give the children entering 1st grade at Mill Creek Church...

Shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on earth. 

So that a crackly voice doesn't exempt you from it!

Worship the Lord with gladness.

Joy grows where joy is expressed

Come to Him with songs of Joy.

He is the creator of joy, so thank Him!

... realize that the Lord is God.

He made us and we belong to Him.

We are His people.

We are the sheep belonging to his flock

Regardless of what is happening in your life, never forget that He is walking the path with you.

He has invested much in you

Give thanks as you enter the gates of His temple.

Give praise as you enter it's courtyards.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Your gratitude to Him is not a private matter, but to be expressed with other followers of God.

The Lord is good. 

No matter what circumstances are plaguing you,

even if the sky is falling all around you,

even when you feel like you are going under,

remember that GOD IS GOOD.

His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.

He loves you NOW and ALWAYS, and nothing can ever change that.

No matter what obstacles litter your path, 

He is still there loving you.

Music and singing are a significant part of teaching our children about the God we want them to know, in a manner they can remember. And the Bible instructs us to do exactly that! You can go to just about any store where music is sold and load up your phone, or buy a CD or whatever works for you, and play it while your kids play or work or ride in the car. Turn the dial to Christian radio and allow those words to penetrate their minds and hearts. Let music fill the air and the message of God's power and love be lodged in their (and your) memory forever. It will totally change the climate in your home. Try it and see!