Making Music!

Now that we are in the full swing of the holiday season, it is kind of hard to not think about JOY… wouldn’t you agree?  Whether you are looking for it or not, whether you feel like it or not…  it’s all around us!  It is in the songs we hear on the radio, the advertisements we see in the newspaper or online, in the movies we are watching and in just about every type of store that we walk into!

Whether you’d consider yourself to be a religious person or not, you can’t deny that this is a season that makes its impact… and its bounty on JOY!  The church talks about it, does their best to share it and basically sells it in all their increased seasonal programs and outreaches!  Santa sells it as does Coke, Pepsi, eggnog and a whole array of alcoholic beverages!  When is the last time that you saw Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer without a smile under his LED nose?

So… if you’re into it or not… it is difficult to ignore it and maybe, even be captivated by the sense of hope that seems to come along with it.  Psalm 9:2 as written in my favorite God’s Word © translation of the Bible declares:

“I will find JOY and be glad about You. I will make music to praise Your name, O Most High.” 

I found myself thinking about JOY… and talking to the dog… while Fiver and I were out walking along our neighborhood golf course both yesterday and today.  The weather has been so nice that I dug out my shorts and… as I look out into the cul-de-sac right now… I’m noticing my neighbor in his driveway with the top down on his new Camaro!  It is supposed to stay unusually warm for the next few days and maybe even break a December high temperature record tomorrow!  So, even if the weather isn’t cooperating for a typical mid-western Christmas, the same influx of holiday JOY is still abounding!

But shorts and warm weather aside, I began to ponder the different affects that JOY has had in my life over the years.  I would go as far as to stake my reputation on the truth of Nehemiah 8:10 where their leader declared to the distraught Israelites when they returned to their beloved city of Jerusalem and observed the destruction before them, saying

“Don't be sad because the JOY you have in the LORD is your strength."               (God’s Word ©)

I have repeatedly discovered that JOY gives me a solid foundation of STRENGTH in times of hardship, sorrow or indecision... and sometimes… just a little boost of adrenaline to get me through the day!  That same JOY that gives me strength also ALWAYS leads me into the knowledge of how intimately that the Lord knows and LOVES me… and not to sound like a broken record… but it was that knowledge of His deep and personal LOVE for me and Piper, that got me through the roughest of times during Piper’s and my final journey together.

And another unique and enjoyable characteristic of JOY… and in particular… the JOY of the LORD… is that it makes you want to make MUSIC unto Him♫!  Once again, David wrote in Psalm 9:2, another special verse that Piper had circled in her Rhema King James Bible, that when we find JOY, we’ll make music in order to praise the name of the Lord.

My mom had a nice voice and she’d be more than happy to tell you about the popular trio that she sang with in her high school days, and of how she loved being a part of the St Eugene’s Cathedral Choir for over ten years and all about their performance at the Vatican in Rome.  She also was pretty proficient on the piano, having taught my siblings and I on the ivories… although it didn’t seem to stick with me as I liked to sing the songs we were learning, instead of playing them. 

But my dad on the other hand… Well… as my mom would laugh and say, “He’s tone deaf!”  He enjoyed singing… but when he joined in with others… it wasn’t pretty… but it didn’t stop him!  Piper always maintained that she could teach him how to find and stay on key! I think that as far as my dad was concerned… he was adhering to the scriptures and that made it all okay in his book!  After all, Psalms 100:1-2 tells us to:

“Make a joyful NOISE unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (KJV)

Piper, as everyone who had ever known her… or has read this blog… was a JOY machine!  Whenever things went sideways at home during homeschooling or family times or when the kids had friends over… she’d start singing praises unto the Lord.  And it wasn’t like anyone realized what she was doing because it just seemed to flow naturally out of her… as if it was an extension of who she was… which it was!

Whether it was just her saying or singing “Praise the Lord!” or a simple praise song she or I had written, or a currently popular song we sang in church, she’d start singing and before you knew it… everyone had joined in and peace and order prevailed!  And in her free time, she loved to sit down at her piano and play Praise and Worship choruses, old hymns or classical masterpieces.  It was her personal signature to the music she praised the Lord with.

As the effects of Alzheimer’s took their toll upon her, she got to the point where she couldn’t figure out the music sheets anymore… and as our kids would tell you, she was excellent at sight reading a new piece of music.  She just seemed to have a special talent to pick up a song she’d never seen or heard before and play it well within moments!  She was never too proficient though, at playing by ear… until the Alzheimer’s interfered with her abilities.  But, when she couldn’t read the music, she would just sit at the piano and play melodious songs that she made up as she played!  It was like the music of worship was so embedded in her, that it would find any way to come out!

I could sit for hours and listen to her play.  When she was healthy, I was always amazed at how she could maneuver and stretch her little fingers over the keys of the piano!  (I still recall her brain specialist in San Francisco commenting on how tiny her fingers were.)  I was even more amazed when she played without the music as those beautiful tunes were definitely coming out of her heart and NOT through her physical cognitive abilities!

I think the real reason that most people say that the Christmas season is their favorite time of year, is because of all the JOY that surrounds us!  It may not all be sourced in the Christian JOY that we enjoy and express our faith by, but it is still a God-given force that can empower people to be less self-centered and more aware and able to reach out with a helping hand to those around them.

As I stated earlier, JOY is one of the major forces in the foundation of my entire life.  It is what drew me to God in my elementary years.  It is the force that drew me to Piper and thereby brought me into a very personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It has and continues to get me through the upside-down times, it encourages me to go beyond my comfort zone and helps me to be a light in the lives of others around me. 

JOY is the music of my life!

What about You?  How does the FORCE and POWER of JOY touch and empower your life?

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING God’s best in your lives!