Psalm 13

Psalm 13 is the text of my pastor’s sermon this week.

In searching for a song that would go with that text, I came across this gem.

Psalm 13 - Alisa Turner

I had never heard of Alisa Turner. She has had many opportunities to lament in her life - the loss of her father at a young age, a debilitating illness, and the tragic loss of a baby who lived little more than an hour after his birth.

Alisa reveals her psalmist‘s heart as quoted in “The Heartbreaking, Hopeful Story of Alisa Turner”

“I think the Lord created me this way, drawn in by the emotion that comes with music,” she says. “When I sit down at the piano, He always uses it to draw me back, to awaken the dreamer, and I always leave different than when I came. I leave different knowing He sees me, He is with me, He is my hope.”


If all goes as planned, a little group of us will gather at Sardis UMC in the Chastain Park neighborhood of Atlanta on Sunday, June 28, for the first in-person worship service in almost four months.

We will sit outside, and instead of leading singing I’ll use my trusty iPhone to play music. Three of the four songs are ones I picked that  blessed and encouraged me as I blogged about music during the fifty days of Easter. You can find out more about them by checking on the links below.

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Jesus Paid It All

Way Maker

Silence

Much of great music is silence - knowing when to rest.

Many scriptures are instructions to be quiet, to “be still and know that I am God,” yet we tend to rush past them.

Some years ago I found myself drawn more and more to Christian traditions of quiet and listening and began to take steps to slow life down a bit. It has been an uneven process. 

Ken and I are taking an Emotionally Healthy Spirituality course with a couple of old friends. Taking intentional time to listen to God is part of the course. Watching this video is a suggested part.

https://youtu.be/e5_vOr6mPCA

I loved it. It was such a relief to not have to listen to a sound track while watching a video! Christians have a bad habit of using sentimental chord progressions to manipulate emotions. There, I said it. It is kinder to say that the music sets a mood, but chord progressions - the order of the chords - can evoke a response in many people.  Play certain chords with a particular backbeat and watch a room full of people raise their hands. Play another set of chords and watch them bow their heads. Play music under the pastor giving an invitation to ...give it emotional emphasis? (I’ve never understood that one, but it is the constant habit in some churches.)

Music is a very effective way to move a service along. I say with complete sincerity that almost anyone in the church can step in and do my job of song leading on Sunday morning, many people can preach a sermon if the pastor needs to be out, but it is a complicated thing to replace our pianist/organist. The music cues the congregation to stand, sit, return from the congregational greeting, open their wallets at offertory...and we don’t have nearly as music-driven a service as many churches. A smooth wedding ceremony is usually due to musicians paying attention to the flow of the service and pastors paying attention to the musicians. 

But I digress. Silence is a wonderful thing, if you can find it. It is worth seeking out.