I was raised in a house with music…GROWING up, VERY few days
were without Mother singing and/or humming a hymn…I remember getting so
irritated that she would sing the SAME song over and over…sometimes the same
line…over and over…
My oldest brother, Bob, has a beautiful tenor voice. Brian,
the middle child, is blessed with a gorgeous bass voice. Mother sang alto. When she was young, she would sing often with
her twin sister, at revivals. Daddy sang
lead, although he could harmonize. I was
given an alto/soprano voice. Mother
would sing along with me when I young to teach me to stay on key while she
would sing harmony.
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| Art by Amanda |
I started taking piano in the third grade, along with Brian,
who only took a few years because he needed to do BOY THINGS…sad, really, because
HE was the one who had the gift for piano.
Mother searched for a teacher who was interested in teaching us to play
for our own enjoyment, and well, for CHURCH…LOL…She believed, and taught us
well, that ALL our gifts were to be used for the GLORY of GOD!
I have often said that I was born into the wrong generation,
because I much prefer OLD Songs…songs that I could understand the words…songs
that spoke to me…songs with a melody…songs with words that could inspire or
could share an emotion that I UNDERSTOOD…I am an old soul…
What I REALLY love and have come to appreciate are the OLD
HYMNS…I was raised on them…NOW that I have lived life and experienced every
emotion imaginable, these hymns speak to ME…I HATE how money has been wasted to
make them POLITICALLY correct~~HATE IT!
So much of the meaning has been lost and it has taken away one’s ability
to SEARCH for what that song means…It saddens me that so many of the young’ens
have no CLUE about the OLD HYMNS…Change is ok…it makes me sad sometimes, but LIFE
has to move on…I wish it could take along the GOOD STUFF with it a little bit
more…
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate some of the new songs and
ditties…I only WISH they could have found more than just ONE LINE to sing over
and over…sigh…
The old songs spoke of HELL…we don’t find churches speaking
much of HELL anymore…heck, SOMEBODY might get mad and leave or not feel GOOD
about themselves…AND WHAT is entertaining about that? We have dummied down God’s Word so that
EVERYONE will be HAPPY…heavier sigh…Sometimes we NEED to be pruned to grow big
and strong!! My parent’s sure didn’t hesitate to PRUNE me and I am SO THANKFUL
they cared enough to NOT always tell me I was right…that there were rules I HAD
to follow…that MY OPIONION was simply that~~my opinion and that in no way made
me RIGHT, but it also didn’t make me wrong, either!
I UNDERSTAND the POWER OF MUSIC…it is universal. I had a conversation with a friend, who has
his Doctorate from Vandy and taught at the college I attended and is a
part-time, well, he PREACHES… one day we were talking about our frustrations
with churches. I made the statement that
SO MANY PREACHERS THINK their sermon is the MOST important part of worship and
Well, no need to continue with what all we said, BUT he made the statement that
PASTORS are the most EDUCATED and most UNDERPAID workers…I sat there and
started to think of the 12 years I took piano, the 4 years of organ lessons,
the hours of practice I spent, the four years of voice lessons, the HOURS of
practicing for the singing group I was in…hmmmmmmm…I was at church EVERY SUNDAY
to play the piano, EVERY SUNDAY for choir practice, EVERY worship
service~~morning and night…staying after choir practice to practice special
music with the organist…music classes for children/youth…VBS director…Sunday
School teacher…class parties…YEP…I was OVERPAID…I didn’t receive a SINGLE penny
and NEVER did I get a thank you from the Pastors or from our board of Elders…and
when I quit, NOBODY cared at all…YEP…OVERPAID, but then, THAT is not why I did
it!! BOY HOWDY!!!
My Mother’s tattered Bible and several hymn books are within
reach of where I paint! They are my
reference books of WHAT is important in my life…the basis of WHO I am and WHO I
belong to!
NOW, that I am older, I UNDERSTAND why Mother sang the same
song/lines over and over…it was her PRAYER…she was asking and seeking
DIRECTION…I find myself doing the same thing…I have lost count of the many
times I have sung, “Lead me Lord, Lead me in Thy righteousness. Make THY WAY plain, before my face.”
Those who were raised on the old hymns, I simply need to say
a LINE and your mind will take off~~it doesn’t take much to rekindle the
heart’s memory…
I NEED Thee, O, I NEED Thee…EVERY Hour I NEED THEE…
Make Me a BLESSING, to SOMEONE today…
Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound…
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Tune my heart to sing
Thy Grace…
On a Hill, far away…
I come to the Garden Alone, while the dew is still on the
Roses…
Holy, Holy, Holy…Lord, God, Almighty…
All to Jesus, I surrender…(No. 316 in our hymnal as a child)
Down at the Cross where my Savior died…
Mercy there was great and GRACE WAS FREE, Pardon there was
multiplied to me…There my burdened soul found LIBERTY at Calvary!!!
When the Roll is Called up Yonder I’ll be there!
Wonderful Grace of Jesus…
Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see!
I MISS the old songs and I miss playing and singing…BUT
these TRUTHS are in my heart and my service has changed to another of my gifts…I
HOPE today that you will have a SONG in your heart…I HOPE that you will reflect
on the words you were taught as a child and NOT depart from them…AND if you
were not taught as a child, I HOPE that you will SEARCH because what you will
FIND will change your heart…
…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte
