Silly Songs with Jim!

Last night was another one of those evenings in which I was in kind of a crazy-silly mood!  I was getting everything ready to go to a friend’s church’s bible study, and was busily trying to get everything ready for my wife and the young nursing student who was to care for her in my absence.  I am not sure if it is a family tradition from my mom’s side of the family or not, but I wanted the house to be clean (or at least demonstrate some semblance of order…) when she came.  It was like my grandmother cleaning her house before the maid service came over to clean in her later years!

I was feeling pretty wiped out to begin with as we had spent the previous afternoon with my son and his wife and our two granddaughter’s at their house an hour or so away from where we live.  We had a blast at their place, but all the effort to get there, the travel and the extra activity played on number on us!  But I had already committed to go to the bible study and had made arrangements for my wife’s helper, and I felt compelled to see it through.  I knew that I would probably feel a lot better after the fellowship and the Word.

So after straitening the house, sweeping and washing the floor, vacuuming the downstairs bedroom and the study and cleaning the bathroom, I cooked Piper’s dinner, fed the dog and got everything else ready for her time at home.  Then I ironed a shirt and got myself presentable for my night out!  When that was all completed, I walked my wife around the house a few times and then sat her in a kitchen chair so I could catch my breath before the help arrived.  Needless to say, I was feeling a little rummy at that point and as I guided her to the chair I found myself loudly singing funny songs to her! Then I suddenly burst out laughing as I, once again, realized that all the windows in our house were wide open!

I’ve probably mentioned before that we live in a neighborhood of cluster homes.  Each of our little homes in the beautiful park-like setting are connected to four other houses by their backyard fences.  Our kitchen and deck is probably about 10 -12 feet away from one of our neighbor’s kitchen windows!  And I am sure that she and the other three families who live by us got an earful of silly songs by Jim!  Even my wife began to laugh as I told her my current revelation… and that made my senseless tune worth every note!

Music has always been an important part of our lives.  One of the things I miss about my wife is her sitting at the piano and playing, which she was able to do up to about a year ago.  When we were first married I used to write a lot of songs which we would sing at the Baptist church we attended for the first eight years of our marriage.  I also wrote songs and led worship for the youth group at that church, as well as at various youth camps.  Then through the ensuing years both my wife and I wrote songs for the children’s groups we led as well as leading the praise and worship for four different congregations and another youth group or two under our ministry care.

The height of it came as we helped to develop a youth band with the last group we ministered to.  The band was led by our older daughter and it was rewarding to see the torch being passed on to our kids as our younger son and daughter also played in the group.  Over the last few years I have hardly touched my guitar, so I guess the singing of silly songs to my wife is helping to meet that need!  It also helps to initiate a joyful and praiseful atmosphere in our home as I normally transition from the silly songs to praise and worship melodies.

Well, today was no different.  As I knelt down at my wife’s side this morning and watched her peacefully sleeping, I smiled and softly began to sing:

♪ “Good morning, good morning, good morning!

    Good morning Piper Kaye.

    Good morning, good morning, good morning!

    How are you today?”  ♫

Then after a few choruses of that tune, I was struck with revelation and sang out: “Well, I’ll tell you how you are!” and I grabbed our healing scripture confession sheet off the bed stand and read to her what God says about how she is!  It was really amazing in that up to that time she had kept her eyes closed, but as soon as I read from I Peter 2:24 saying “You are healed by Christ’s stripes” her eyes immediately popped open and she broke out into a wide smile!

Now you just try and tell me that God’s Word doesn’t have an effect on our lives!  I think the singing prepared the atmosphere in my wife as well as in our home to receive God’s truth!  So… why not be a little crazy today?  Why not throw open every window in your home and begin to sing silly, joyful ditty’s that will lead you into the praise and worship of our King?  You may find your whole neighborhood opening their eyes to the truth of God’s Word!  At the very least, it will make you laugh and bring joy and thankfulness into your life!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and sing to yourself…  ♪ “What am I expecting today?” ♫