Music
It is all around us. Songbirds sharing their early morning melodies, the winding whistling through the trees behind our house, the rippling sound of water as it rushes down the creek bed, the rhythm of the washing machine as it thump-thump-thumps our dirty clothing clean, the slap-slap-slap of a toddler’s bare feet as he runs down the hallway to greet Daddy at the end of the day.
Yes, there are the Chamber Choir and the Symphony Orchestra and the Grammy Award Winners and the Christian Pop Singer of the day.
But there is also the boy who sits at the piano, methodically playing his not-quite-perfected-scales over and over and over again, and the sscccreeeeeeching of the violin as a daughter practices diligently each day after school lessons are over. The notes and technique may not yet be mastered, but their heart is in it!
My summary of Edith Schaeffer’s chapter on ‘Music’ is this: Make Music. Wherever you are. Because. Just Because.
My friend Nancy told me some time ago that she was having a wonderful week. The reason it was so wonderful? She was making music. After the children were tucked into bed at night she would sit down and play the piano, all by herself, no audience, purely for pleasure. She said it improved her mood and outlook on life and she had so much more to give to her family the next day. She decided she would give herself permission to do this on a regular basis. Very therapeutic. Her family often sings and plays together, but taking time to sit and enjoy her music just for her own pleasure restored her soul.
So, how can we incorporate music into our everyday lives? Sing! Play! Listen! We enjoy listening to Steve Green’s “Hide ‘Em’ In Your Heart” cd’s *my affil link* while riding in the car. Little Rebekah has taken it upon herself to load up the stereo most every day, with her choice of ‘pretty’ music (Bach, Chopin, Mozart). Does she have a discerning ear and exceptional taste in music? Maybe. Mostly she likes the flowers on the cover and music she can move beautifully to. Another child taps out a cadence while mulling over thoughts only known to him.
A passing comment from one of my children will often result in Mom breaking out in song, usually from a long-ago commercial jingle or old-timey song I heard on the radio in years gone by. (Do you do this? Please tell me I’m not the only one!) I enjoy music from eras way before I was born (yes, there was music before I was born, and I’m not talking about Baroque!) and a little rolling of the eyes from my sweet kiddos does not deter me – they enjoy it, really they do. They just don’t always admit it. I remind them they’ll probably be doing the same to their own children one day.
What would it be like, watching a movie without a soundtrack. I imagine there was music, a soundtrack of sorts, playing in the background while God was busy those very first 6 days – creating the heavens and the earth. Can’t you just hear that chorus of angels singing away while he worked and then applauding when He announced, “It is good”?
What about you? How will you make music today? Will you open your ears, open your heart, to hear the music around you?
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You can find the full list of posts in the series HERE.
What a lovely post! I love how musicality can be a part of our everyday lives, whatever our talents are or aren’t.
Thank you Barbara 🙂 There really is musicality all around us. I’ll be listening for it throughout my week.
Love that word, musicality! It sounds so . . . musical!
Oh, I just love this post! I love how you began with the atypical examples of music which are music indeed. I love that your children love “Hide ‘Em In Your Heart. (What better use of music than to hide His Word in our hearts? My children also love(d) these.) And I love that you break out in song with verbal prompts. My husband does this all the time…and although we all roll our eyes too, we do love it!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts…
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Cheryl. 🙂 This chapter has come around just when I needed it – thinking on making music and finding the ‘art’ of music my little world here has improved my outlook immensely.
What cracks me up is when I sing a song from, say, the 1970s and my kids say, “How do you know that?”
Ha Ha! that happens here, too, Cindy. Commercial jingles from my growing up years often pop in my head as well. That was a whole ‘nother lifetime ago.
Oh, Cindy, me too. I just tell them I know the “real version”. They only know the covers.
I love the thought of the angels providing a musical soundtrack for the creation of the universe.
Thank you for stopping by, Sherry. And for your sweet comment. I’m enjoying all the different perspectives from others on this chapter. Learning a lot!
My kids grew up listening to those Steve Green CDs. I loved the way he would say a little encouragement before each song. I can still hear his kind voice in my head.
Yes, I sing random things all the time. We might hear an old song playing somewhere, and when I start singing along the kids will say, “Mom, you’re weird!”
Thanks for stopping by, Linda! the hide ’em in your heart CDs have been a wonderful teaching and training tool over the years. I’m so glad we’ve had them available.
When the kids call me ‘weird’ I often say, “I’m just feelin’ groovy!”
Happy Mother’s Day!
I loved this post. I’ve Got a River of Life Flowin’ Out of Me – oh, yes, and I hadn’t heard this song in years, but now that you mention it, it will be singing itself in my mind, and I will sing along out loud!
My daughter sent me a container of Lily of the Valley bulbs to water and watch grow, for Mother’s Day. Of course that got me singing, “I Have Found a Friend in Jesus…The Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star…etc” Thank you for the joyful exhortations!
I’m so glad you stopped by, GretchenJoanna 🙂
lily of the valley bulbs – how wonderful! they are a favorite of mine. What a sweet and thoughtful gift from your daughter. Enjoy them!
And now I know what I’ll be singing this Mother’s Day – “I have found a friend in Jesus, he’s everything to me . . .”