Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in
his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his
surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him
with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with
the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with
resounding cymbals. Psalms 150:1-5 (NIV)
For as long as I can
remember, I wanted to learn to play the piano. I remember learning little songs
on my toy piano when I was very young. This piano had the same sound as the one
in the Peanut’s cartoon; kind of an off-pitched clinking sound. I spent hours learning nursery rhyme songs and little ditties on my miniature instrument.
Our family budget would not allow the purchase of a real
piano, so I was not sure the dream of learning to really play would ever come
true. God did have a plan for me, however. When I was 12 years old, someone in
the neighborhood of our church, donated an old upright piano to our family. I
remember the day the old upright was finally in our home.
I was so excited to get to play on a real piano. It
wasn't long until I was lost in the beautiful sounds of each note and chord,
when with lessons and much practice, I learned to master this instrument. Our
family would gather around the piano, with my brother on the guitar and dad on
the harmonica and my mom, sisters and little brother raising their voices in song. It was so much fun!
I was eventually able to use this gift God gave me, to play
in churches, schools, weddings and funerals. I played for children in band and
vocal competitions. I played for talent shows and choirs. Every time I was
asked, and I had an opening in my schedule, I would play. God had given me a
gift, and to play was my offering back to Him.
Some churches use an entire orchestra while other's use only voices. We can use our instruments to praise God and all methods are beautiful when it's done in true devotion. Whether it’s a flute, banjo, guitar, drums, organ or
maybe just our hands, feet, and voices, we can play our music in praise and worship. In jubilation we can praise Him,
because God is the maker of laughter, joy, dancing feet, beautiful smiles and He is the omnipotent, holy, and glorious Music
Maker.
Dearest Lord,
Thank you for all the instruments, including our voices. Help us to be joyful in your presence as we
praise You with music.
In Your Name,
Amen
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