Sing A Song

Today was a gorgeous spring day.
The kind of day where the car windows just have to be down.
The breeze has to be blowing through your hair.
The music has to be a bit louder.
OK…much louder.

I love to make iPod mixes…worship, instrumental, singer/songwriter…but today was POP.
I had so much fun singing along…drumming on the steering wheel as I drove.
Come on…you do it, too!
You know exactly the kind of day I am talking about.

This mix was all the songs from my high school and college days.
To my amazement, I remembered every word.
I haven’t listened to some of these songs for quite a while.
They are still there in my mind.
They have not gone away!

To be honest, I still remember the Oscar Mayer Bologna song…and most of the songs from old TV shows.
I remember years ago at a women’s Bible study, I suggested this as an idea for one of our fellowship days.
There was so much laughter and competition as we put the women in teams…and attempted to see which team remembered the most songs.
What fun!

As I was unpacking groceries today, I realized that music really does help us remember.
Think of the ABC song; the singsong technique we use to teach our children the number of days in each month; advertising jingles…
In our house, our last name…”Gallagher” was put to music, so my children could easily learn how to spell it.

Music touches the heart…yet engages the mind as well.
That combination seems to cement what we sing into our brains.

Needless to say, as parents, we have to be very aware of what our young children are listening to, since songs get rehearsed in their minds.
The message of the songs will be played over and over.
That message becomes a part of them, after a while.

As Christian parents, we desire to hide God’s Word in the hearts of our children.
What better way to do that than through music?
Music that has Bible verses as lyrics can be a wonderful tool, since what is being sung and rehearsed is Truth.

There is a place for all types of music…with discretion.
Nothing I listened to today was offensive, but I heard things that made me think…we really sang about that?

Steve Green, a Christian music artist, was interviewed years ago.
He and his wife have two grown children.
I remember, when asked what kind of music he allowed his children to listen to, he said,
(and I’m paraphrasing…)
We have horizontal and vertical music in our house. Horizontal music includes different genres, with popular songs as well; but vertical music points to the Lord. Vertical music is what my wife and I want our children to listen to before going to bed so that their thoughts on on Him.

I always appreciated that wisdom.
They didn’t say no to other types of music, though there was much discernment.
But they stressed the importance of filling the mind with thoughts of Him.

Vertical music that points heavenward.

Do you ever think about how many times God talks about singing in His Word?
In doing a quick search, there are over 1150 verses that are related to music in some way.

One of my favorites is Zephaniah 3:17:
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Imagine…God sings over us!
He delights over us.
He quiets us with His love.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:3)
God gives us the gift of music.
That is why we sing…to praise Him.
With every note, every chord…whether the music is horizontal or vertical…if our heart belongs to Him, the music becomes praise.

Only God could connect our hearts and our minds with a melody.
We sing and praise Him here with the song He gives us.
We will sing and praise Him in heaven.

The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord. (Isaiah 38:20)

So, go ahead.
Roll down your windows.
Sing and make music and praise His name.
Sing the new song He gives you.

Go ahead.
Drum on the steering wheel.
We have much to rejoice about.
Much truth to tell.
Rehearse His Words…commit them to memory.

Sing a song.