Mysterious ways

I prayed for something this morning that I didn’t really want, but knew would be good for me and guess what? God made it happen. It's not surprising that He answered my prayer, the miracle is that I had the guts to pray for it. I must be growing up.

I am SO glad it’s Friday!
This weekend is Palm Sunday and my Gospel Quartet is scheduled to sing at the 8:00 service. We sing on Easter Sunday also, which I’m really looking forward to – I love the Easter songs even more than Christmas Carols. Which makes me wonder, why do we sing Christmas carols for 4 weeks out of the year and Easter songs for only one day? Maybe it’s because there are hundreds of Christmas Hymns, but only 6 (I counted the ones in our Hymnal) Easter hymns. Easter is really a far more significant holiday on the Christian calendar than Christmas is. Christ’s birth was only the beginning, Part 1 if you will, of God’s greatest gift to the human race. His crucifixion is Part 2: “He died on the cross to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.” (Jim Eliot) Part 3: His resurrection assures us that sin, damnation and death have been conquered and even though our bodies may die, our forgiven souls will live forever. Shouldn’t we be singing about this for more than one day?
And speaking of Hymns, I want to recommend the singing group Selah. They have 3 cd’s out right now that I know of. They have made some contemporary arrangements of old hymns without losing the attitude of reverence, which so often happens when someone tries to make a hymn more “hip.” The group is Tod Smith, his sister Nicole Smith and Allan Hall. Tod and Nicole are the children of missionaries and grew up in the Congo, so they include some Congolese music and if you can listen Yesu Azali Awa (it means Jesus is Here With Us) without wanting to get up and dance for joy, you need to take your pulse. They also have a beautiful arrangement of You Raise Me Up, which Josh Groban fans will recognize and appreciate.
Hymns are another important part of the Music of my Life, which I started last week and promised to continue, but haven’t done yet, because the new sod season is here and I’m getting busier and busier every day. Maybe next week.
Anyway, I wish everyone a glorious Palm Sunday and many blessings during the Holy Week ahead!