Sing

(Since there ain't no one who does it like Julie Andrews...)

Singing. It seems so obvious, but outside the Sunday morning church building atmosphere, maybe singing doesn't come to mind much. 

In the last month or so, singing has been a game changer for me. It started when I came upon these verses: 

"But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, are my fortress,

 the God who shows me steadfast love."

Psalm 59:16-17

Putting on worship music (I'll share some of my favorites soon) and singing along helps the atmosphere of our home feel more pleasant, and it helps me keep my attitude in check. Singing silly songs to get smiles out of Hosanna or to make Ransom laugh feeds the delight I have in my children. Singing worship songs to them conveys truth, truth that may stick better than if just spoken without a catchy melody.

At the ladies retreat this weekend, there was a woman who told the story about how her 38 year old husband unexpectedly died, leaving her in a new-to-them town, with a new house, alone to raise their two kids when previously he had been the only one working. There was a day when she was curled up on the floor in her closet, feeling the pain of loss, and she sang. She worshiped Jesus even in that lowest point if grief. To the women at the retreat she said satan doesn't know what to do with a Chistian who has has suffered deep loss and pain and still praises God. She brought up Paul and Silas in Acts 16, men who'd been flogged and thrown in prison and still sang, worshiping their Savior. Then, to quote Sara Groves's lyrics about the story, "The dungeon shook and the chains fell off," and the prison guard put his faith in Jesus and he and his family were saved. 

All of this is to say, good things come of worshiping Jesus through singing. So go & sing a catchy song to Jesus and let it get stuck in your head. Sing it in the car, to your kids, at the grocery store, while you're doing the mundane tasks of life, and especially when you don't feel like it.