Sing and Be Happy

This post is taken from an article I wrote sometime last year for our church's quarterly publication:

Sing and be happy! When I think of the two words individually, “sing” and “happy,” I think they are one in the same. As humans, we are wired for music. Music is pleasing to the ear. We all may have different tastes when it comes to music, but generally people as a whole appreciate music in and of itself. As a young girl, I have always loved music and singing. Growing up in the church it was, and still is, one of my favorite acts of worship. I would sing along in Bible class and eventually begin singing familiar hymns during the worship service. Anytime the doors were open for a song service, I wanted to be there. Music has always been my go-to “therapy” when I needed some relief. No matter what was happening in my life, listening to music and singing along took away all cares. The song “Sing and Be Happy” is a song about singing to take away cares and put your focus on spiritual blessings and gain, rather than worldly gain.

          The Psalm quoted underneath the song title in the hymnal is Psalm 100:2: “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing” (NKJV). This serves as a general verse for the song, but the song itself is about turning to the Lord when you feel troubled and tired, when you are discouraged. As I read the words, I see the deeper meaning of keeping your focus on Heaven, and not on worldly possessions. There are many of us who may wonder why those living in sin are blessed with worldly gain when we are struggling to get by. Jesus says to us in Mark 4:19-20 that the cares of the world and the desire for other things chokes the word. However, those that hear the word and accept it will be fruitful. We have been blessed, and should not desire more earthly gain because it takes our focus away from the Lord. Those that love the world and the things in the world do not have the love of the Father in them, 1 John 2:15.

 Ephesians 1:3 says that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We must not forget that our true reward is the home in Heaven we will receive if we continue to walk in God’s light and do what he commands of us. We need to have trust in our Lord that he will see us through our troubles and trials. The last phrase in the third verse of the song states: “If we hope and trust Him each day, we shall have pleasures untold.”

          Singing praises to our Lord does not only uplift us, but our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Ephesians 5:19-21 gives us the commandment to sing spiritual songs and hymns to one another and make melody in our heart to the Lord. Our song service should be one that uplifts our brethren and pleases the Lord. Our minds must be clear and ready to accept the words of the song so that it will be pleasing to our Lord. If we can do these things, then we should all be able to sing and be happy. My favorite verse that helps me remember to put away the cares of the world and lean on God for strength and reassurance is Matthew 6:33-34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (ESV). When we lean on the Lord for our strength and go to him in prayer, he will ease our troubles. “Take new courage we cannot tell what the morrow may bring, when the dark clouds vanish away then your heart truly can sing” (Sing and Be Happy, Emory S. Peck).

When my head has so many thoughts I feel I might burst....I BLOG!!!!

As far back as I can remember I went to church. I don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't part of a church family. It was understood in my family growing up that we went to church on Sundays. Now as an adult, I make the personal choice to worship the Lord anytime I have the opportunity. I went through my "I don't want to go to church" phase as a teen and young adult. I think, to some degree, if you are raised in the church you go through something similar at some point in your life. I guess, for me, it was simply just curiosity of having the choice and wondering what I would do. That happened to me when I turned 22 and moved away from my family to a place where I didn't know anyone. I uprooted my life as I knew it the past 22 years and just started over. It was exhilarating to know I could start over and re-invent myself. I know many young adults dream of doing this, but few get the opportunity. Deep down I knew I would never "quit" going to church because it was so deeply rooted in my being. However, I was looking for someplace where I could get lost in the crowd. I found a great church close to where I lived and quickly made new friends. These friends were all at least 10+ years older than me, but they kept me accountable. It wasn't until I started working at the grocery store and making other friends that I started to venture off the path. It was a test that I failed at for a year or two. Then in the spring of 2009 I met my husband. I didn't even meet him in the church. He was a good guy who treated me right and started going to church with me. He was eventually baptized into the church before we were married in the summer of 2010. We knew that we wanted to find a church family that was close to where we were living so we could be active in worshiping the Lord together. We have since found that church family and are currently very happy worshiping and working with them.

In the past few years I've been struggling with reading, studying, and praying outside of the church building. I start the year saying, "Yes, this year I will stick to this daily Bible reading plan!" Yeah, ask me how that is going......Sure, I can read the passages that it says to read for the day. I just feel that I'm reading it just to say "I've read the Bible today." The months where I teach Bible class it's easier because I'm reading and studying my lessons to teach the kids. I've recently found out about myself that I do so much better with topical studies. I tend to gravitate toward Bible classes that focus on a topic rather than a particular book in the Bible. I just need to relate what I'm reading to an aspect in my daily life. So I started browsing Bible plans on my Bible app on my phone. Say what you will about electronic Bibles, but these reading plans have helped me be accountable about what I'm reading and have helped me really think about what I'm reading. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. What I've started doing is bookmarking verses that really speak to me. I've got them "highlighted" in my electronic Bible so I can go back to them whenever I want. I don't just do this when I'm doing my daily reading plans, but also during sermons and even social media posts. I completed my first reading plan a few days ago and have since started 2 new plans that I'm reading at the same time. There are numerous plans to choose from about a variety of topics. If you're looking for a good Bible app, I use the YouVersion app of the Holy Bible. You can read it in any translation you like and go back and forth between different translations. I've experimented with different apps, and this is by far my favorite.

I've got several blogs that I do, but I wanted one to share my thoughts on verses that speak to me and/or songs that are special to me. I just have all these thoughts running through my head about a particular verse, passage, or even song and I feel like I'll burst if I don't share it. My goal is to post once a week, but I'm human and don't always achieve my desired goals. Also, if you have a favorite verse, passage, or song please share in the comments. I'm always looking to add to my selection.