Quality Music and Books

The Lutheran denomination as a whole has a long-standing history of excellent teaching and fine music. I offer no opinion as to exactly what constitutes the best, but rather have some thoughts about the impact created in worship relationally between the two, and following from that the significance they have in the development of our faith, progressing then to how the impact music and worship as a whole have upon our everyday lives. 

• How does music impact worship, and how does music change our memory of a worship event? 
• Does music combined with words create a faith experience more profound than words are able to do on their own? 
• How then does a music and faith worship experience change our day-to-day journey through life?

If you do now or have had a relationship with young children, when experiencing them in an environment in which they are comfortable it is not that uncommon to hear singing.  It may be a familiar nursery rhyme sung to the related tune or a sing-song melody as with speaking on pitch, but children as a matter of course enjoy relating what they know musically.  I recall my children performing very common tasks and at the same time verbalizing the activities to a melody known only to them.

We don’t hear as much about it nowadays, but I think there are young people still being encouraged to keep silent during group singing even though we know that with the correct training virtually no one need be called “tone deaf.”  As a musician I am still told by men and women that in their youth a teacher told them to take up an instrument and be silent during group singing.  I always encouraged all to sing in church, for it is the music which is within the soul that God hears.  I find such sounds accompanied by the deep emotions of the heart exquisitely pleasing.

Our first encounter with music in the Holy Bible is in the Old Testament, the most familiar, of course, being contained in the Psalms.  Every feeling, experience and emotion can be found here, and with this sounding out of life events we should never wonder whether it is correct to share with God the depths of our feelings whatever they may be.  Peaceful contentment to excruciatingly painful anguish are contained within this book: anger, rejection, heartbreak, desire, longing and love—all of these and more make the Psalms timeless in their relevance to life experience.

The Psalms, however, are not the only book of the Old Testament where music is found.  Doing a simple biblical concordance search using the word “song”, I see the first entry is Exodus 15:1, the successful crossing of the Israelites out of Egypt with the parting of the Red Sea.  A popular praise song I learned in the 1970s had a rousing melody and beat—straight from the Bible, I would sing this song learned during worship all the coming week with gusto as I went about my daily chores. (The Horse and Rider: Music © 1950 by Mills Music; Words & Music: Anonymous, I. Miron & J. Grossman …www.tug.org)

There are also the grand oratorios of old, now not done much if at all in contemporary worship settings. These have a high amount of drama and excellent music presentation that should not be discounted, especially by churches with larger choral capabilities.  I am thinking particularly about Mendelssohn’s Elijah.  I participated in performances of this work when just out of high school, and now over thirty years later I can still hear the music while at the same time getting a visual image in my mind of Elijah urging the people to call out to Baal, of his chariot taking him to Heaven, and of God’s comfort in the soothing “Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord.”

Another oratorio far more familiar is The Messiah written by Georg Friedrich Handel.  The Hallelujah Chorus alone can now be found printed in many hymnals, and has been adapted for playing by nearly any instrument at any ability level.  Other pieces from this work have been simplified for choirs of limited capabilities as far as skill and time to learn the music.  It may seem to many that the Hallelujah Chorus is the epitome of sacred music, but for me I find the Amen fugue at the end of the work just as, if not a more exhilarating experience.

Whether written 400+ years ago or a newly composed praise song, words contain what are of greatest importance as measured by relevancy and theological soundness.  Even so, what will carry the impact in memory is the correct well-crafted tune married to the correct text.  When tune and text come together in excellent harmony there is no stopping the impact a song can have upon the life journey of those with whom it comes into contact.

One of the best-known examples of this will be the hymn, “Just As I Am” used by the Evangelist Billy Graham during his rallies as the call to commitment song.  Would Reverend Graham have been as successful without this song?  The answer is we don’t know.  What we do know is that now Christians and non-Christians alike are very familiar with it through continuous exposure over time, and that the marriage of tune and text is one that has worked very well for the purpose intended.  I can tell my readers that I have witnessed other songs used with varied success, but none as effectively as this one—married with the message of God as spoken by Billy Graham.

What I am suggesting here, where I am going with my thoughts, is to encourage those who speak for Christ—whether Pastor, Evangelist, Theologian, or Christian Leader—is to not discount the impact music may have on your message.  It is a highly effective tool—not in itself, but when joined with words that solidify what you want people to carry with them as they go on their way through life.  There is a reason why Dwight L. Moody traveled with Ira Sankey, his hymnwriter.  There is a reason why the Wesley Brothers wrote hymns to accompany their messages.  Isaac Watts turned Psalms and Scripture into hymn, changing for all time Christian worship music.

Martin Luther knew the hymn’s importance and we have fourteen he wrote of which A Mighty Fortress (Ein feste Burg) is still used today by multiple denominations.  J.S. Bach wrote a cantata for every Sunday of the church year, bringing home the biblical texts appointed for the day.  Certainly, now as time through the centuries has progressed some hymns have fallen away, others stayed the same or evolved in some fashion, and new genres of Christian music have developed—and this is as it should be.  Christian worship music is the music of the faithful people, and needs to speak to them when and where they are at in time.

On this point I take a different position than some in regard to the style of the music used, for I am not a traditionalist or purist, nor do I insist upon any one rule for all to follow.  I believe that music and text need to be relevant to the group using it, theologically sound, relational to its purpose, and well-done in performance.  (Please note that I use the word “performance” not in the theatrical sense but instead defined as a work used by a single person or group and relayed to other people.)

In order for clergy to achieve a good effect of the message:music-as-a-tool relationship there needs to be excellent communication between him- or herself and music leaders. Secondly, there must be time to formulate both the message/sermon/homily and the music.  It takes approximately the same amount of time to prepare well-planned and executed music as it does to prepare a sermon, sometimes through physical practice and sometimes through study and practice.  Too often I have experienced and heard from fellow musicians about how the pastor wants to choose the hymns and doesn’t do it before Friday, or doesn’t have the text/theme of the message ready before then either.  If this is the policy to be in place, then there should never be a complaint about what happens with the music two days later on Sunday. 

Clergy without a good musical background will do well for themselves to have available either a trained church musician on staff or as a resource.  Again, there must be a good marriage between text and music.  A hymn chosen for its words without musical consideration may fall flatter than a communion wafer in worship, up-to-and-including no one singing at all because the music doesn’t fit or is completely unsingable by the participants present.  Here time can be your friend.  Try out the hymn—sing it through.  There may be alternative tunes, or there may be the perfect hymn in a different hymnal or songbook other than the one initially chosen that will work as well if not better.

Take as an example the hymn Amazing Grace, perhaps the best-known hymn of all time.  The tune to which we sing it is named New Britain (variant), originally from the 1800s as found in the American hymn book, Southern Harmony, though the words were written in the 1700s.  New Britain is a Common Meter tune, or 86.86.  You can see how important the realtionship is between words and notes by singing Amazing Grace to different common meter hymn tunes such as O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (Azmon), While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (Christmas) or O God, Our Help in Ages Past (St. Anne).

Tradition, location, denominational affiliation—all three of these and more factor into the right tune with the right text when using hymns.  With praise songs time will tell as to their survival and with what will be the best music to use when singing.  Generally speaking, time eventually demonstrates what is relevant for the ages and what is relevant for the moment.  I would even venture to state that music that has stood the test of time, as far as western Christianity and in particular Protestant Christians, is an important element among those that binds all Christians together in unity over the centuries, and at least since the Reformation.

It is also important to note the importance of the reverse relationship between the hymn and the message.  Just as the hymn and praise song can enhance the memorability of the message given during worship, the message can impact the words of the hymn in such a way as to make them relational to the lives of listeners in a very meaningful way.  A hymn that might otherwise have been sung through in a dutiful manner becomes a hymn that is thought about, prayed and remembered for its impact—stored away until brought forth by the Holy Spirit at the right time and place to witness or when needed for encouragement.

Then next question is whether music and text together create a faith experience beyond words alone?  Here it would not be prudent to say always, but certainly there is no doubt that the two elements together have impact. 

The first point are those hymns that are so familiar to everyone as to be included in many hymnals in their original form without editing—even by those who feel it important to change words for gender or era. 

The second point is the relationship between some hymns and event-of-use.  For example (not including church year/holiday hymns) I offer those hymns still in current frequent use as well older but not-as-old for funerals: How Great Thou Art, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, On Eagle’s Wings (Joncas), Because He Lives (Gaither), Amazing Grace, etc.

A third point are the hymns related to daily life that come to mind when triggered by a scene or event (a memory mnemonic).  For example, more often than not when I look out my window either at home, work, or while driving, the hymn “How Great Thou Art” comes into my mind.  One I often think of in the morning is “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and when our children were young “Jesus Loves Me” was sung frequently.  I can also point out that I use hymns and praise songs daily during my devotions and prayer time.  When my friend’s husband was soon to go home to be with Jesus we sang hymns to him and could see that he was listening. 

This third point, hymn and music related to everyday life, is very subjective.  I doubt that any two Christians will give the same response as to which songs are important to them.  That being said, I hope my point in regard to the importance of music in a Christian’s life, in this instance the source being the Word and worship setting, has been made.  It follows an historic tradition back into the biblical times of the Old Testament.  People of God express their faith through song, and through this song the depth of God in their lives.  For as children of God we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit until through every part of our being is contained fully with His love—not only in this life, but in even a greater way when we join with the angels beautiful music in Heaven, praising our Saviour and Lord for eternity.

In conclusion we might see the Word and music coming full circle: God’s Word comes to us through Scripture and teaching.  The message through teaching can be given greater emphasis (a memory mnemonic) through a good marriage of tune and text in theologically sound related material, especially when coordinated with worship leaders and well done.  The texts of hymns and praise songs in turn are given greater impact because of the related teaching, having an impact upon the faith of believers—a tool for growth and a help in everyday life.  Hymns used as devotional material and prayer return to God when prayed and sung in everyday life events.

Angels All Around
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other. … Matthew 24:31 KJV

See the King on His throne
Light and peace from Him flow
All around Him angels sing
“Glory to the Saviour King!”

Will they show me how to fly
Let me join them in the sky?
Will they see my tears of joy
When I cry out, “Holy! Lord!”

Now it’s time, here they come
Angels sent to guide me us home
All around angels sing
“Praises to our Saviour King!”

Will they show me how to fly
Let me join them in the sky?
Will they see my tears of joy
When I cry out, “Holy! Lord!”

Kneeling now before His throne
Thanking Jesus for His love
Then His angels lift me high
Let me join them in the sky!

“Alleluia!” is my song
Praising Jesus all day long!
Now forever I will be
With my Saviour ever free!

This evening I must begin by telling you that if I was asked to put human nature into a nutshell I wouldn’t know what to do.  My faith leads me not to use the first thoughts that come to mind but rather to turn them into a positive act through prayer, and this I do.

I don’t wish to re-hash this topic, but will put forth one commentary directed to all and as a reminder to myself also.  This is important, folks.

Without a doubt hurtful and abusive words spoken when undeserved, or in our current age communicated by electronic means, are among the most painful ways to inflict wounds upon another, and they don’t go away in a moment for the listener.  They last.  They can destroy emotional well-being and affect the lifetime of a child.  The pain, thought gone, can come back with the right stimulus. Word can destroy others as they have in school violence.   

This stuff about vocalizing in any way without thought as to the consequences is nothing new.  There is a reason that so much is said about the “tongue” in the Bible.    The book of Proverbs (as it is called in the Christian Bible) whose verses frequently are about the “tongue” was written around 5,000 years ago.

First, if you are the bearer of the words, I ask you, please don’t put yourself in a position of regret after saying something that cannot be taken back.  It is not a fun place to be.

Second, if you are the receiver of the words, though it may seem impossible I urge you to pray every time the hurt returns.  It is a healthy way to heal.  Then, keep strong and don’t revisit the situation—often it will be the case that the word-bearer will have no remorse over what was said.  This is not sad for you, it is sad for abuser.  Then leave it with the Lord.

Third, before anything like this happens to you, now is the time to remain steeped in God’s teachings through Scripture.  Study the Bible, read it often and make it a comfortable, predictable place to be.  Then, should you be hurt by words or in any other way, the Lord will speak to you by reminding you of the Scripture verses so familiar to you that pertain to your situation.

When you have been wronged it often brings to the hurt person feelings of shame and guilt.  Why this happens, I don’t know.  What I do know is that they don’t have to remain.  Pray, meditate, and turn it over the One whose love will never fail.  However, should your feelings remain in a state of disruption—pain, hurt, sadness, shame, guilt—and don’t go away then it is time to seek the help of a professional who is trained to help people work through situations such as this.

May the Lord God of all that is bless you and keep you in His care.
Until we meet again …. Babamarusia

There are 12 minutes left in this day, and so I wish you a good evening.  Tonight I have some thoughts to share, and because I am a Christian, I suppose they can be called “Christian Thought.  However, whether you find much substance in my thoughts– well, that’s for you to decide.

This evening was the opening of my week at Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.  In four classes there will be, I think, forty people in attendance in the morning, and it is my great privilege to be among them.  The class that I will be attending is The History of the Book, 200-2000, and it will be taught all in one week. 

Impossible?  Well, I will soon find out if it can be done in one week and then I will let you know.  Being in the class is a privilege, meeting so many learned people in one place and hearing a few of their thoughts is a privilege, and to talk about and be with books nonstop for one whole week is awesome!

At the same time as all of this privilege and happiness, I would like to take a portion of time and write of something of a more serious nature.  It is a “portion” of time, because it is not a subject that anyone should dwell upon at great length in one sitting–for two reasons.  First, because it is not healthy, and second, because as part of human nature the subject is “just the way it is.”

When you were in high school did you read a book titled, “Lord of the Flies?”  Did you ever see a movie titled, “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio?  I am not recommending you read the book or see the movie, though I did both, because I didn’t enjoy either one. 

What is interesting is the common threads in these two stories, and they are the power of the group and the real lack of morality that can become all too evident in human nature.  I would like to give you a few examples.

Have you ever had a lie or something not completely true about you?  Have you wondered why the person said what he or she did?

Have you ever had that untruth then involved in a game of “telephone” where it is passed on from one person to another?

Has this “rumor” been believed by others without even those you thought good friends getting the facts?

You know what?  It hurts.  What hurts most is that the so-called “friend” believed it, isn’t it?  Look at the book of Job in the Bible.

Now the difficulty continues.  Because, you see, we as Christians are called to forgive–to wipe the slate clean–and our behavior has to reflect that.  We must be courteous, respectful, pray for them and love them with God’s unconditional love.  Hard at first, easier as time goes, and not impossible. 

Should any of us then put ourselves in a position to be hurt again?  I can think of only one reason to do that, and it is if and when God needs you to do it.  For example, there are parents who have suffered great sorrow when their child dies tragically and they have turned it around and not only forgiven but turned it into a ministry in association with the one who caused the death. 

Then there are those who will pile insult and abuse upon other insults and abuses when you are already down and out cold.  They will keep kicking and punching for a second count of ten after the first count is done.

Let me tell you, folks, it hurts.  It hurts even more when the abuser is a friend, a brother or sister, or a parent.  But, it does happen all to often.  Yes, you can explain it away with the psychological implications but it won’t hurt any less.  Look at the book of Job in the Bible.

There are the times when you have been in error.  You have said that you are sorry, and then you said it again, and then again in another way.  Still, the other person is still telling you how bad you are.  Now they have enlisted the group.  Pretty soon, you have been raked over the coals, chewed up, spit out, and then the dog ate you for dessert after dinner.

Here is what you can’t do:  (1) It will do absolutely no good to hash over in your mind where you went wrong, because you didn’t.  (2) Others telling you about people they know who went through the same thing–forget this too.  Their mutual pain is not going to change the fact that you feel bad. (3) Damage control, attempting to set the record straight–do you really want people who behave in this manner as friends?  Do you?

No, we are not talking about the kind of slander that hurts you job-wise or financially.  We are speaking of the friend, people-you-know kind.  Do you want those who believe the untruths told to them without getting the facts as friends?  Shouldn’t your character and experience with the ones on the attack against you–shouldn’t it count for something?

Last but not least today;  When you do what someone wants you to do and he/she calls your behavior “Unchristian.”  This is low.  Really low.  If you don’t have your “full armour of God un, you may be in for some trouble.

There are instances of this happening in the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ the most important one of all.  This even may not take away the initial, spur-of-the-moment emotional pain, but with Jesus there is a clear cut way to handle situations such as these and it works.  There is someone always there with whom you can share your frustration, anger and sorrow.  There is someone there who will help you pick up the pieces.

Look again at Jesus’ Great Commandment:  “Love as I have loved you.”  The resulting question is to ask how Jesus loved others. Jesus loved unconditionally, he loved faithfully, he forgave, and he was there to pick up the pieces when it was needed.  Jesus had the facts, not rumors. 

You see what we have right above this paragraph?  Here is a blueprint for what true friendship and compassion really are.  Where in the above scenarios did Jesus’ love play a role?  When did he judge anyone without have the door of forgiveness open too? As for rumors–here our story is backwards.  It was Jesus who did the suffering, not his accusors.  It was our Savior who taught us what real humility is–and it is always easy, my friends.

God be with you till our next meeting,

                 babamarusia

This evening I have been browsing the internet.  I have a Christian radio station and the music is a nice background for a quiet evening of meditation and thought. 

Before I begin, I would like to offer a thought for you.  When Scripture speaks of rest it is not only speaking of rest from turmoil, trials and temptation.  It is speaking of rest from any need.  If you are tired after a long day what could be more refreshing that time spent with the Lord? 

Well, onto the topic at hand, and it is another version of the usual — Christians denying and judging each other.  Now perhaps I have lost some of you already because there is no squirm room in your thought.  Maybe it is your call from the Lord to dwell on certain topics on which I don’t spend a great deal of time, and that is the way it should be.  We all have our roles given us during our Christian walk here on earth.

My path is to dwell in the here and now with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and non-believers as well.  It has been laid upon my heart to begin my witness through action and demonstration at the point where I meet people.  I make suggestion, and I pray for my actions to be Godly and true.  However, I don’t force anything upon anyone, because for me this isn’t the way.

The God I witness is the God of love.  Please understand, there is no doubt in my mind that there is a place of damnation as well as a place of eternal glory.  What I don’t do is threaten anyone with hellfire and burning.  You may say that my ministry is bogus, all washed up and down the tubes, and I will respect your viewpoint.

However, the Saviour that I share through the way I live my life and witness is that one that gave a new commandment, as a matter of fact it is called the Great Commandment, and that is “to love as I have loved you.”  Because this is what I follow, I cannot justify threatening the fires of hell and then turn around and offer salvation because “Jesus loves you.”

Again with a qualifier that it is a necessity to put one’s self in an unjustifiable predicament of danger, I believe that God is perfectly well-equiped to handle those who would turn their backs on His love, those who very vocally deny Him, and those who cause harm to anything in this world.  For that reason, I generally don’t see the need to give voice to anything other than the message of God’s love.

Please don’t think me a “perfect goody-two-shoes,” I don’t always handle myself in the way I wish to be. That isnt the topic here.

Moving on from this but still on the same topic, all Christians are united in our common Holy Spirit.  It’s there in the Bible and I invite you to look it up.  Where in the Bible does it say that we are to throw everyone out of Heaven unless they believe exactly as you do?

Shoud you insist upon believing that you have the corner on the market in knowing God’s will, you may be in for the biggest surprise of anyone when He returns.  Being so judgmental, though well intended, well… I think you can fill in the blanks.

It has been a very long day of travel, and now the station is praying.  It’s an excellent time to extend my rest.

God bless you now and always,
    …. babamarusia

In sixteen minutes, from the moment I begin to write, it will be 12:01 a.m. and July 4, 2008 will come to a close.  We call it independence day, the day our United States of America began.

As a country we have come a long way.  No longer is hard work what it used to be.  Very few of us have any idea of what that really is.  Then again, maybe our forebearers didn’t either.  The lives they lead with no refrigeration, plumbing, motorized equipment or internet–they most likely could never in their wildest dreams have imagined any of what we have.

I don’t recall as a child, teenager or young adult what would come to be.  My first plane trips were in airplanes with rotary spinning things on them.  The first television I saw was when I was four years old and it was in black and white.  In junior high school we experienced our first electric typewriters and pantyhose.  In high school I took shorthand.  My first years in college–all of the research I did was in the library using a card catalogue.

I am part of the generation of women who lived on both sides of the modern woman.  Birth control was a totally new item and the majority of young ladies my age assumed they would be the wife in a traditional home as a homemaker.  …and then it all changed. 

Certainly some things changed for the better and some things still have a ways to go.  I am not so sure that all changed for the best, nor am I convinced that what people my age (55) and older see as terrible in young adults all new, never having happened before.

I believe that young adults as a whole are made up in such a way as to think they are invincicble, that they can conquer the world.  How else would they be able to start families, go to war to protect our country, or think the new creative possibilities that they do if they felt doomed?  Unfortunately, for most of us, reality sets in far too soon as to what the world is all about.

Yes, of course you can justifiably argue and be convincing when stating that the young are also very oriented inward and often extremely self-serving.  What you cannot and should not do, however–though we do–is to sit back in our comfortable recliners for a lot of moaning and groaning over it with added whining and pining about what could be without admitting that we parents are the ones who raised them and assumedly trained them to behave in such a manner.

In old fashioned terms it is the pot calling the kettle black.

In biblical words it would be to say that we shouldn’t be judging that for which we ourselves will be judged.

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Wherever you are in the world, there is someone with a new beginning. 

Some will be happy events– a wedding, new home, a brand new baby comes into the world and into your heart.

Some will involve loss– finding out you have cancer, that you have a chronic, slowly debilitating disease, or your job has ended.

Some new beginnings will have the possibility of hope, some will show great promise, and then again–some will bring great sorrow.

What can you do when a near and dear person won’t stop drinking and you know it will eventually kill him or her?  … and there is nothing you can do.  What about the same with drugs or other destructive behavior?

What can you do when someone you love with your whole heart and soul and mind–more than you love your own life–comes at you with anger and venom or rejection?

These types of events are all to real, happening somewhere all of the time.  They are events that you cannot control or resolve, but you still have to live with them and go on.

There are three choices–you can crumple like a piece of paper being crushed, you can give in and become part of the problem, or you can stand firm and grow in maturity and compassion from the experience.  With any of these three choices you can still be loving that person, for truly loving someone never ends–but with the first two choices where will you be if all of a sudden the one hurting you comes back and says, “I’m sorry. I need you to help me.”

You see, that’s where the rub lies.  If you don’t take care of yourself there will be no hope for either of you to restore the relationship in the future.  My solution is the God and His Word found in the Bible.  Whatever yours is, if you can’t figure it out for yourself you need to find help who can help you.

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In the morning I am flying east from Minnesota to the University of Virginia for one week.  I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity of attending a session of Rare Book School.  The privilege is compounded by having two of the finest instructors possible, one of which is Mark Dimunation, head of the Antiquarian and Rare Book Division of the Library of Congress.

This is something I could never have imagined being able to do not that long ago.  I can tell you that I truly want to attend, for flying is one of my least favorite activities in this whole wide world.  I like to keep my feet a lot closer to the ground than a jet will allow me to do.  I am pretty much a home-body and like my solitude and quiet.  New surroundings have never been my cup of tea.  To tell the truth, if you would like to pray for my peace of mind I would appreciate it very much.   I must thank my very supportive husband who is taking a week’s vacation from his job to work at the store so that I can go.

There has been a pre-reading list for the class of several books full of fascinating information, and I have already learned many facts that I can use in bookselling, and also information for my thinking and research.

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Coming back to the subject of change, we have been experiencing change ourselves.  We are currently praying for a new store location to be occupied in 2009, hopefully very near to where the store is now in Osseo, Minnesota.  We are also in-between church homes.  My desire would be to return the church we have been attending, but events make it very difficult to even think of going there right now.

We Christians are sinners for sure, and certainly not always the nicest people around.  We can’t get along amongst ourselves within one church body, we can’t get along among denominations.  Sometimes I wonder why God looks down upon with favor to do His work. 

I see this as a very real problem within the church body, and I pray for unity among us.  Brothers and Sisters in Christ–all of us, united in Spirit and living within the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We need to remember that love builds up and doesn’t destroy.  We need to remember that our strength and support comes from each and every brother and sister, and to stand with Jesus in ministering to this world is impossible unless we do.

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Lastly, I ask you to pray continually for our country and our leaders no matter which way you lean politically.  Our hope always needs to remain by putting everything in the hands of Jesus, to make Him the captain of all that we do and think.

Pray for our military and those behind the scenes.  Pray for the families of service men and women. 

The freedoms and opportunities that we have and enjoy–we have them in this country.  My ancestors came here in hopes of a better future for themselves and their children, and it has come about to be so.

Still, there are those in this country who are not treated with equality, and their American dreams are being denied.  Please pray for them and for our leaders to have it placed in their hearts to bring about changes to end the injustices.

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There are times in every Christian’s life when God does not feel as present within our hearts.  That is how it has been these last couple weeks for me.  Though I continue to pray and meditate upon His word, I feel no response.  I tell you this because I want you to know that those “dry times” happen to us all.  When it does come about, it is important to call upon His promise to always be there and remain faithul.

May the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ keep you in His care now and always.  Amen.
….babamarusia