There's Beauty in the Bellow

Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. Proverbs 8:30-31 Isn't this what poets, artists and writers are supposed to do?

I came across this hymn: God be in my head and in my understanding; God be in my eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at my end, and at my departing. Setting by Sir Henry Walford-Davies

Adrienne Sandvos says in a piece for Radiant magazine (based in Orlando, for Christian twenty-something females). We tend to fall back on song when we want to worship. It’s easier, I suppose, than employing other art forms which require a whole lot more materials than a voice and the memory of the song you want to sing. But relying on those songs is like ordering the exact same dish every time you go out to eat. There’s a whole world of food out there, and you keep settling for spaghetti. In the same way, seeking variety in our worship allows us to connect to God in a totally different way. What she doesn't point out is that we draw our worship practices from observing worship in the Bible, specifically formal worship. (David's dance at the return of the ark was not formal worship.) We aren't "falling back" on music, we are following the pattern laid out for us. Generally the church has taken the second commandment as a warning against the visual arts in the san...

Passing one of the local churches here in South Carolina, the signboard says "Is it safe to die?" I don't know--I never thought of whether death is "safe" or not. And also, will the Church ever reach a point where she can emphasize the resurrection, ascension, victory and reign of Christ over the passion and crucifixion? Of course, we can only speak of the humiliation of the Christ with such complacency because of His triumph. But we also need to work harder at realizing what His kingdom should look like and how we are to emulate it. My music professor tells us we should all be interested in singing because we are going to spend eternity singing and so why not start now? My grandfather is listening to various opera arias--Madame Butterfly and Figaro's pompous trilling incredible ode to himself in the Barber of Seville.

John Lennon's "Imagine" is playing on Pandora. Has it occured to nobody that the song's imaginary world is boring ? As in neither hot nor cold so I will spew you out of my mouth.