Newsletter July 30, 2008
From the Director of Music Ministries. . .
Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and
you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
In the journey and adventure that is called parenting, many books and pamphlets are written to help a parent down the proper path. Never in any book or pamphlet I have read does it speak of 3:00 AM car rides to pick one’s child up from a marching band field trip.
Meka handles all of the late night and early morning issues with Kale. There is good reason. I sleep like a rock. If I have to get up early, I usually set the clock at least two hours earlier so that I can function properly.
Picking Avery up at 3:00 AM was on me though. I dreaded the thought all day. I slept restlessly knowing the alarm would soon wake me. Alas, at two o’clock, it did.
I hit the snooze.
At 2:10 it woke me up again.
I hit the snooze . . . again.
At 2:20 it again interrupted my slumber.
Delaying the inevitable no longer, I rose and began the process of getting out the door. Making it to the car, I sat down and fastened my seatbelt only to realize…
I did not have the keys.
Unfastening myself and staggering back to the house, I was greeted by my wife at the door with the keys and a chuckle.
As I drove the ten minutes to the school, my mind was numb and cloudy. I determined that the radio was needed to keep me company or I might end up in a ditch. I turned on “Music Through the Night,” a Moody Broadcasting show that plays in the wee hours of the morning.
As the radio played, songs from the past and present flooded the airwaves and my soul. Almost immediately I felt refreshed by the words of hymns and choruses sung in praise of God. Those songs, more than any pastor’s words or cup of coffee, ministered to me in my time of need.
I can’t begin to count the number of times in my life when songs have been brought to mind at the exact time they were relevant. Songs that strengthened, corrected, nurtured, taught, and refocused me. The Psalms were written to be sung, and one main reason, I believe, is so they would be remembered in one’s daily walk.
Sometimes I picture David as a shepherd boy, out in the hills alone in the wee hours. He sang songs to God, for God, and of God. But those same songs gave him the same peace that I received in the early morning hours in my car.
Many music activities are starting back in the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t been involved in the music programs of the church now is a great time to start.
The Sanctuary choir will sing this Sunday in the worship service, and practice will begin Wednesday evening, August 6, at 7:00 PM. If you are looking for a time of fun, encouragement, and singing praise to God then come join us.
Handbell Ensemble begins this Sunday, August 3, at 4:30. If this is a group you are interested in joining, please contact me as soon as possible.
Children’s choirs will begin again on Sunday, August 17, at 6:00 PM. There is need for adult helpers for the choirs. If you can assist, please let me know.
Music is a gift to both those who give and receive it. Come be a part of the music ministries here at CPC as we lead God’s people before His throne.
Jeremy Gaines