Psalm 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
To say that I love music would be a severe understatement. I am passionate about it. Music is such a huge and important part of my life, I can't imagine what my day to day life would look without it. (Just look at the name of my blog! :)
Whether I am driving, washing dishes, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, working out, writing, reading, or just lying on my bed thinking, I will usually have music playing, or be singing myself. Just ask my family...it is a part of just about every waking moment of my day. ;)
Music is fascinating, powerful, and entirely underestimated by many people. Let me say it again, because it is so true:
Music. Has. Power.
Music can inspire, encourage, and brighten a day. Conversely, it can cause depression, frustration, stress, and dark thoughts when used for evil. My entire mood can be changed for better or worse, depending on what music I am around. Don't get me wrong, I am always responsible to act and react in a Godly way, no matter the surroundings. However, music has such a great propensity to affect even the little areas of life!
Because music holds such power, we need to be very, very careful with it. The Almighty Himself is musical; He proves it in the nearly 600 Scripture references to songs, singing, music, instruments, and musicians. Music is a good and holy thing when used in a Godly manner.
However, for every good thing God has given us, Satan has made an evil counterfeit. So called "Contemporary Christian Music", or "Christian Rock", or any other form of worldly music tweaked the tiniest bit to sound spiritual, is not Christian. In any way, shape, or form. I'm being blunt here, but it's true. When all you do is take the world's fleshly music and change the words, there is no difference. I have seen videos of "Christian" concerts, that literally looked like a heavy metal performance. NO discernible difference, except you could maybe catch a random reference to God scattered through all the screaming, pounding thrashing drummers, and lights wild enough to give you an instantaneous migraine. It's really sad to me that so many Christians are fooled into thinking this is right and good. In Isaiah 5:20, it says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" What better example of this verse than music that feeds the old man, the unregenerate flesh, and calls it a holy thing!
As followers of Christ, it is our responsibility to discern between good and evil. To walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. I realize that many who are deceived by the modern "Christian" music movement are sincere in trying to worship God. However, you can be sincere in doing something, but be sincerely wrong in doing it. Music is something that has led many people astray, because it is important to us as humans. We are made in the image of God, and God loves music. Because of that, we are born with an innate appreciation for beautiful melodies and harmonies. Just watch a small child when there is music playing. They will almost always be wiggling or singing or banging along! Music is so close to our hearts that it's easy to become caught up in the emotional side of it without stopping to think about whether or not it is truly honoring to God.
An interesting thing to consider about the relationship between music and the way we were created by God: Just as God has three parts (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), so we have three parts--Spirit, Soul, and Body. The melody (tune) of music appeals to the spirit, the harmony (chords) to the soul, and the rhythm (beat) to the body. Satan's counterfeit godly music is dominated by the rhythm. The goal is to stimulate the flesh, not the soul or the spirit. True Godly music does have a rhythm, (obviously! ;), but it is not rhythm dominant. The goal of Godly music is to bring glory and praise to God, and to refresh and uplift the spirit. (Not the flesh).
Here are some important questions to ask yourself, with an open heart, about the music you listen to on a regular basis:
1. Does the Holy Spirit lead you to listen to this music? Rom. 8:14
2. Can you pray while listening to this music? 1 Thess. 5:17
3. Does it bring glory to God? 1 Cor. 10:31
4. Does it offend other Christians or cause them to stumble in any way? 1 Cor. 8:13
5. Does this music appeal to the flesh, or to the soul and spirit? What draws you to it? Rom. 8:5
6. Does this music create Godly joy in your life? Isaiah 51:11
7. Would you be comfortable letting your pastor, your parents, and the most Godly Christians you know sit down and listen to this music? (Wow, that's a hard hit!) Heb. 13:17, Prov. 24:6
8. What doctrines are being taught through this music? Titus 2:1
It is my sincere hope that you will prayerfully consider these thoughts. Please know that my purpose was not to offend anyone through this post, but if you are offended...maybe there might be something you need to change? Believe me, I KNOW this is a delicate subject, and it can be difficult to let go of long-held beliefs (or lack thereof), on the subject of what is or is not Godly music. I have faced struggles with this at various times in my life, and sometimes it is not easy even to discuss it with people, because it seems that there are so many different opinions on the topic! However, in James 1:5 God promises that He will give His wisdom to those who ask for it with unwavering faith. He will guide and direct your steps!
May the music we listen to, write, sing, and play be a source of encouragement and blessing to everyone around us. Especially The God who created music for us to enjoy!
Mykaela
Here we are, in the beginning of a new month!
WHAT?!!? *hyperventilates*
Ok, I'm good now. ;P Seriously though, this year has gone by SO fast!! Somehow even when there aren't any huge plans in place at the beginning of the summer, it does seem to really fill up quickly! :) Here are some things I've been up to this past month:
Reading...
Wings of the Wind, by Connilyn Cossette. This was the third book in the "Out of Egypt" series by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them!! They follow the journeys of different young women throughout the quest from Egypt to the Promised Land. I read the first two, and this one hadn't come out yet, so I had an impatient couple of months of anticipation for it. ;) I am way too cheap to buy books on their first release, so I always wait till the library gets them, which adds a bit of time as well. This book was worth the wait! Mrs. Cossette is one of my favorite authors now! :)
An Assembly Such As This and Duty and Desire, by Pamela Aidan. My friend Jenny recommended this trilogy to me, and I'm now into the third book. This lady wrote a series about one of the most famous literary characters of all time, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. :O Trying to write in the style of Jane Austen is a pretty tall order to fill, but Pamela Aidan does a marvelously good job of it!! There have been many times as I've been reading this series that I've totally forgotten that they weren't written by Jane Austen! She writes in a style so similar to her, and of course stays true to the original Pride and Prejudice, while filling in details and silent places (of which there are many), with her own story of Mr. Darcy. And let's face it...who didn't wish to know a little more about Mr. Darcy? ;P There are a lot of long spaces in P&P where we don't really know what's going on with him, (such as when he is in town during the time that Jane is also in town. What is he doing?! ;) Anyway, there is a bit of true to the period language, which is annoying, but there isn't too much of it. Just a caution for young readers. :)
I am currently in the middle of around 6 other books as well, but I am not sure if I can endorse all of them yet, so I'll save some for next month's favorites post. ;) On my reading list for the very near future is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I have heard SO much about that book and I'm really looking forward to reading it.
Visiting...
My grandparents in Salem, Oregon. We had such a lovely time with them, though it always feels a bit too short. ;) Both of our lives are so crazy, we don't get to see them but a couple times a year, so we try to enjoy every minute of it! We went to a park and a carousel, (and I got Oma to ride the carousel with me, which was super fun!!! :). We had our cousins over for a very jam packed evening of fun...I have 16 cousins on that side, though only 12 live in Salem. Counting our family's kids, there were 20 kids, and including the adults, there were 27 people there. ;D Like I said, pretty full place, especially since my grandparents' house isn't that huge. We always have tons of fun though. We went on a few nice walks, and shopped at Costco, and went to the Salem YMCA...I like our Y here in Wenatchee a lot better, but that's beside the point. ;P On our last night, we had a huge dinner out on the back porch, and then played ladder ball for a long time. I absolutely love that game!! It was such a blessing to be able to spend some time with them. :)
Camping...
For the first time in 7 or 8 years!! I hadn't been camping in forever, but while some of the kids were at church camp, we got the opportunity to have a free night's stay at a campground about half an hour away. We had a blast floating around in a shallow part of the river, playing volleyball, roasting marshmallows on the grill (absolutely no campfires are allowed here during fire season), and waking up at 5:15 when it got light. ;P One thing that was SO cool was that the tent my dad bought last year has a mesh top, so I could see the stars as I was falling asleep. <3
Listening to...
The Planet Earth II soundtrack. It's on Spotify, so I love listening to it as I work. (It's on YT too, but then I can't turn off my phone while it plays. ;P) Some of my favorite songs from it are Planet Earth II Suite/Main Theme, Garden of Ice, Starlings, and Flight over the Alps. You should go listen to at least those ones on YouTube. Like right now. Look, I'll even give you a link to the playlist!!!! LINK THAT YOU SHOULD REALLY CLICK ON. Can you tell that I just absolutely love this music? ;P
Taking pictures of...
Tons of stuff. ;P I got an iPhone 6 Plus for a very good price this past month (yes, I switched over from Android very reluctantly. No, I am not a full on Apple maniac. ;P) I admit they have some advantages for sure, but there are some things I really miss about Android, such as haptic feedback and the back button. ANYway, moving along... ;D One thing I love about my new phone is how good the camera is!! It has been really fun being able to take good pictures, and I've enjoyed playing around with editing on Snapseed. I'm not a photographer by any means, but having a nicer camera is sure fun!! :)
Thrilling with excitement about...
My upcoming missions trip to Fiji and Samoa in November!!!! I've refrained from saying anything on here about this until I was sure, but it does look like The Lord is working things out so I can go both to Fiji for the missions trip with my church, and afterwards to go back to Samoa with my dear friend Abby for a visit!!! She and I are sooo excited about both of these incredible opportunities, and would appreciate your prayers as we prepare for it. I have a fundraiser page that gives some more details about the trip, you can view that here.
Hiking...
In an area I never knew had hiking trails! Last week a church member took us up to Mission Ridge, about 20 minutes from my house, and we hiked up to two sparkling lakes in the mountains. It was an amazing time to go, because all the wildflowers were in full bloom. I have almost never seen any place so beautiful in my life, and I've been a lot of places! It was so peaceful and quiet. Some parts of the woods were bright and sunshine could reach to the forest floor, making tiny ferns and plants reach through the layers of pine needles. Other areas were dark and still, with black beards of lichen on the trees. When we got to the lakes, it looked like a painting with the trees mirrored in the perfectly glassy water and flowers of every color lining the banks. I saw a tiny snake with patterns like a fancy necktie gliding along the top of the water. On the way down, I gathered an armload of wildflowers, and you'd never be able to tell where I picked them, they were so profuse. It was such a stunningly breathtaking display of creation.
Going out...
To the park every weekend for outreach. Wenatchee has a massive amount of public parks, and one in particular usually has a lot of people walking around in the evening during the weekends. We have been going every Friday night and Saturday morning to witness to people, and have had some really good conversations. Besides getting to walk through the beautiful riverfront park! I love Wenatchee. :)
Insanely happy with...
My new rolltop writing desk that I bought on Craigslist. I love it SO. MUCH. Ahh!! I could just sit there all day!! ;D
Thankful for...
The perfection of summer evenings--When it's been hot during the day, and then it cools off, but the ground is still holding some of the heat, so it's the most comfortable weather there could ever be for watching the sunset...just wow. :O Kombucha. Old tv shows. Snail mail from friends. Unexpected letters telling me a poem I entered in an online contest went to the semi finals and they are going to publish it in an anthology?! Cookie dough. Having church in the park with a BBQ and potluck afterwards. Playing Settlers of Catan with the kids. Singing "Prince of Egypt" songs at the top of my lungs. ;P (That movie was my childhood, ok??) SUMMER.
Well, this post turned out to be a long one, so if you're still hanging out with me at this point, congratulations and thank you!! :D I hope each and every one of you is having a lovely summer! <3 Love,
Mykaela
I was wondering why I felt like I had just written a favorites post, and then I realized it was because my last one was so ridiculously late, I might as well have just combined it with November. But I didn't. So here we are. ;) I've been...
Reading...
Through the Bible in 30 days! (I posted on that here). Finishing the last verse in Revelation on November 30th was one of the most exciting, fulfilling things I've ever accomplished. It felt so, so good to know that I had stuck it through all the way! I've also been reading Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cossette. It's the first book in a series, and this author is a new one for me, but so far I am really enjoying it! The book is about a young Egyptian girl who makes the decision to take refuge with the Hebrews when they leave the land after the devastating plagues. Interesting plot line!
Writing...
My first Christmas song! I love Christmas so much, and the wonder of God being born as a man is so amazing to me, I figured it was about time that I write about it. ;)
Travelling...
To Salem, Oregon for Thanksgiving. I had a really good time there, as always. My extended family is extremely large, so we always have a Thanksgiving celebration in a nearby church. They kindly let us use their facilities, which include a MASSIVE gym and industrial kitchen. Since there are usually around 30 or more in our party, it's really nice to have a place like that to spread out, play ball, talk, eat, eat, eat... ;P
Munching on...
Pretzels in ranch. GUYS. THIS IS AMAZING. I can't stop, I need an intervention! ;D And my brother Malachi recently discovered that if you mix mustard and ranch, it makes an EVEN MORE amazing pretzel dip!!! We need to market this stuff. ;)
Listening to...
A LOT of Christmas music. Papa did me the wonderful favor of hanging a hook in the ceiling above my shower so I can hang my bluetooth speaker up while I'm getting ready in the morning. ;) After I listen to several chapters in the audio Bible, I turn on Spotify and hum along to my favorite Christmas playlists! :D It's a lovely way to start the day.
Wearing...
A ton of fuzziness. ;) I have a thing with soft, cozy clothes, and whenever I'm not working these days, I am wearing the coziest, softest things I can get. I have a genuine cashmere sweater that I got at Goodwill for around $4, and am LOVING it. While I could never afford cashmere at retail price, I love the fact that I can still get it cheaply once in a while! ;) Today before I went to work, I actually remembered to switch out my laundry, (don't judge) so when I pulled my furry socks out of the dryer, they were still hot!! Ahh. It's the little things. ;)
Practicing...
A song called "Do You Have Room". A lady in my church asked if I could accompany her on this song, and it is sooo pretty! The best version I can find at the moment is this one. Very sweet words, and the piano accompaniment lends itself to so much feeling and interpretation. :)
Laughing at...
Myself. ;P I got my wisdom teeth out a few days ago, and my dad got some priceless video. Once I got sobered up after the surgery, I was dying of laughter...it seriously was like I was 3 years old again, with no filters! ;) From thinking my stuffed animals had jealousy issues, to telling my dad the definition and pronunciation of "Challah", to laughing and crying hysterically because I "couldn't wipe the corner of my mouth...it's like there's a log in there!", the whole thing was ridiculous. Crazy stuff. You can watch it here. :P
Well, I hope you guys had a great November! We had our first snow yesterday, around 4 inches, so winter is upon us! :) What were your favorites this past month? Any extra special plans for Christmas? Have a great week!
Mykaela
P.S. Bonus points to anyone who knows the technical term for the coffee drink pictured at the beginning of this post! ;) I love pictures like this. They make me happy.
