Wonder as We Wander

Do you feel wonder at anything in life? A child’s voice, a song, a story, God’s gift of breathe and life…? Do you revel in God’s love as revealed through nature? Do you ever take time to simply dream, imagine, and create? When is the last time you pulled over to appreciate a sunrise/sunset? Can you remember the last time you colored a picture simply to enjoy creating something? Do you ever feel the desire to run through a field, climb a tree, or splash in a puddle? Do you allow yourself to sing out loud, even in the privacy of your shower?

Our God is a God of creation. He has gifted us with a world that literally shouts His name if we take time to hear it. He has gifted us with the ability to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch His gifts. He has given us the ability to dream and create with our own hands.

I know that many of you are already thinking things like…”I don’t have the skills needed to create.” “I don’t have time to waste.” “I’m too old to act ‘foolish.’ What if someone sees me?” To these excuses, I would urge you to make time, forget your age, and create without worrying whether your creation is perfect. Slow down, relax, play, and create. I think you will experience God when you do.

The Message of the Song Service

   I was wondering aloud Sunday with a friend about whether people in the congregation saw the progression that I saw when I put songs in a certain order. There's nothing super spiritual here and it might not even be interesting to anyone but myself, but one of the things I try to do every week is try to make sure that the songs fit the message and each other. I also try to put them in an order that progresses both musically and lyrically. For instance, this past Sunday we had a guest speaker so I wasn't able to plan the music service to compliment the message like I would on a normal week. So I spent time trying to put music together that would work well together and have a message together.
   We used the following songs, Come Thou Fount Come Thou King, Forever Reign, Crown Him with Many Crowns, and Jesus Draw Me Close. I pictured the progression like this...With the first song, we prayerfully admit our own tendency to wander and our utter need for God. Within the first song we ask for God to be present with us in this place. Then we move to the second song which recognizes God as the one who is all that we cannot be with Him. We claim the right to run into His arms as His children and we promise to seek Him and Him alone. Crown Him with Many recognizes the greatness and worthiness of our heavenly Father. We see Him as the Lord of all we see and even that which we don't see. Finally, in spite of the great awesomeness of the Lord, we ask Jesus to draw us close to Himself so that the world around us would fade away.
   I often see an arc in the music I choose. Sometimes it is not as strong. Sometimes I find mini arcs between 2 or 3 songs rather than every song for a service. Hopefully you found this look into a music guys head interesting. If not sorry...maybe next time. God Bless