Voiceover

Dear Friends,

I had the unique experience of losing my voice last week.  Not figuratively, but literally.  I felt it coming (or going, rather), but it didn’t really hurt so I tried to push through.  Of course, let’s go to dinner! … Yes, I am free, let’s talk! … I have a story, want to FaceTime?  Obviously, this was not wise.  I was quite humbled the next few days.  I had a lot to say, but there was no sound.

I had the joy of visiting my #bff in Cambridge, UK and meeting her new people.  There was a moment I found myself singing an amazing hymn I had never heard before (excerpt below).  If you haven’t been to a gospel-driven church in the UK, I highly encourage it.  These folks sing like they mean it.  I have a lot of favorite parts about this situation, but another one is that no matter how loud I sang, I heard British coming out.  This might sound weird, but I felt so welcomed and encouraged by this voiceover.  It was Ephesians 5:  “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

We should really take seriously the opportunity to voiceover each other when we sing as a group.  We have a responsibility to build up the “one another” whose souls are dry, whose voices are absent, or whose accents are improper.  I have heard a man share his testimony including, “I heard everyone singing around me, singing to God.  I was thinking either they are all crazy or I am the crazy one.  I kind of moved my mouth at times, but at some point, I was singing with them.  I decided to follow Jesus.”

Sincerely,

Katie

“O wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord”
Frances Jane (Fanny) Crosby, 1887

Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!
True wisdom its pages unfold;
And though we may read them a thousand times o’er,
They never, no never, grow old!
Each line hath a treasure, each promise a pearl,
That all if they will may secure;
And we know that when time and the world pass away,
God’s Word shall forever endure.

Greetings

Dear Friends,

Who enjoys the 2-minute “Greet your Neighbor Time” during church?  I know some of you love it.  You see it as a challenge:  How many people can I greet before they start singing?  How far across the room can I get?  You find yourself energized after this brief break from sitting and listening in the pew.

Who dreads the 2-minute time?  Hurry up and sing.  Pleasantries are painful.

I admit I tend to dread it, but I have found value in this extroverted behavior.  Acknowledging someone for 3 seconds can be meaningful.  The key is love.  John writes a postcard of his own:  “Dear friends, since God loved us that much, surely we ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:11-12).

God loves the grandma with the limp fish handshake and the strong-armed business man with the paralyzing grip.  No matter how old or young, these people are my brothers and sisters.  I don’t have to be fake and bubbly.  I can be soft-spoken and sincere.  It’s okay for me to feel awkward and look forward to sitting down.  But it’s not okay for me to ignore people or hide from them.  Jesus died for the Church.  I can at least smile and say, “Hello.”

May Christ’s love compel us.

Sincerely,

Katie

Sunday Singing

Dear Friends,

This afternoon I enjoyed a concert by our university singers.  I sat in the very back row, looking out over the crowd and onto the stage. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sound.  The quality was impeccable.  The tone was pure and warm.  Each syllable was articulated clearly and crisply.  These people were well-trained.  The transitions from dissonance to harmony gave me chills.  It was easy to worship God in these moments – to thank Him for music and hearing.

But after the first song, an older gentleman came in late and sat down next to me.  This distraction would have been brief and insignificant, except for the sickening smell he brought with him.  I tried to refocus on the music:

“Hide not thou thy face from us, O Lord, and cast not off thy servants in thy displeasure

for we confess our sins unto thee, and hide not our unrighteousness.

For thy mercy’s sake, for thy mercy’s sake deliver us from all our sins…”

– “Hide Not Thou Thy Face” Richard Farrant (1535-1580)

As I held my breath to attempt to enjoy this song, I tried to imagine:  How much does our sin stink to God?  When we come to Him in prayer or worship without confessing our sin, we must smell like skunks and spoiled milk and garbage or worse!  I guess I never realized how important the spiritual shower was before.  What a gift we have in Jesus that we can be considered righteous before God (Rom 10:4)!  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

How often do you shower?  Once a day?  Twice?  We should admit our mistakes and short-comings to God and ask for forgiveness at least this often.  It’s for our good!  And it makes sense – the Body of Christ (that’s the Church) should bathe regularly.

Sincerely,

Katie