MUSIC
Music is such a gift to me. I believe music is one of the gifts God designed into His world for our pleasure. I believe that to appreciate music is also a gift. I am blessed to have been born into an extended family that always enjoyed music. Whether it was praising God with hymns and songs in church or playing the harmonica and accordion at family gatherings, my uncles and others demonstrated their love of music to us “younger” folk.
When I got a little older, “modern” music was just becoming popular in the mainstream. I remember the local radio station would have a program they called “music for moderns” that would air from 3-4pm on weekdays only. I would intentionally make time to listen to that program hoping to hear the latest from the Beatles or some of the “one hit wonders” of the era. Another influence on me was my cousin Jake. He is very musically gifted. He could (and still can) play many instruments, but when he took up guitar, that was way cool. I tried but never got to the point of playing anything but the radio. My sister is very skilled at the piano and I remember many nights Jake would bring his guitar to our house and we would gather around the piano and have a great time pretending we were John Denver or Cat Stevens or others.
It was at this time in my life when God stepped in and started using the music I was listening to as a way to reach me. A new “genre” of music was just developing right about then. It was “Jesus music” or “Christian rock”. It had many labels and is now lumped into the category called contemporary Christian Music. God used people like Randy Matthews, Larry Norman, Chuck Girard and a few others to break the ground and bring “rock and roll for Jesus” into the light. Because this was so “radical” at the time, many of these artists were criticized and worse for their ministries. My cousin, Jake, and I could not get enough of it. If one of us didn’t buy a new album when it came out, the other did. We couldn’t wait to get each other’s albums and record them onto our recordable 8-track tapes. I actually have a void in my knowledge of “classic” secular rock music because I pretty much only listened to the Christian artists. That was at a time when I was a new Christian and God used the words and music of these individuals to keep me close to Him.
When God so perfectly arranged for me to meet and marry Carol, I was then blessed with a wife who cherished music. She was a gifted musician and loved to use her gifts to praise and honor God. I warmly remember many times when just she and I would be at the piano singing hymns and praise songs together. Our neighbors would comment how they were glad when it was summer and the windows could be opened and they could take walks and hear Carol’s piano playing (not my singing) throughout the neighborhood as they walked. They told me at the funeral home how much they will miss that, yep-me too. When our children were little and Carol was a “stay at home” Mom, she was looking for a way to contribute to the family’s finances. She came up with the excellent idea of teaching piano lessons. By doing that she could combine her love for children, music and teaching. As you can imagine, she was a superb piano teacher. Many of her former students have expressed their appreciation and fond memories of those times they came to Mrs. Vail’s house for piano lessons.
I am now blessed that our children have a love for music like their parents. They are so gifted musically. I remember a few Christmas services at our church when Carol’s Mom was playing the organ and Carol and Amy would be doing a four handed thing on the piano. Three generations, playing the Hallelujah Chorus together, and praising God together with their talents. God continues to minister to me with music through our children. It is exciting to see how the love of music and skills that Carol helped prepare in our children has had an impact across generations and cultures. Carol and our daughters, Amy and Sara, have each traveled to Cuba to teach and share their musical talents at a youth retreat for the area churches of that island country.
Now it is 2007 and for some reason I will never understand, God allowed Carol to be taken from me. I am most certainly at the lowest point of my entire life as a result. But even through this deep grief I can sing. I still have a song in my heart. In a small way the songs in my heart work to neutralize some of the grief. At the funeral we sang a song Amy wrote called “In Your Presence” and others and even then God was using music to calm me and to speak to me. Since that day, when I listen to music, usually Christian music but not always, there are songs that just shoot right to my heart. As He did when I was a young Christian, God is still using the gift of music to keep me close to Him. God wove this thread of music into my life as a child and it has been a tangible lifeline to Him even now.
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of music in my life.
Music is such a gift to me. I believe music is one of the gifts God designed into His world for our pleasure. I believe that to appreciate music is also a gift. I am blessed to have been born into an extended family that always enjoyed music. Whether it was praising God with hymns and songs in church or playing the harmonica and accordion at family gatherings, my uncles and others demonstrated their love of music to us “younger” folk.
When I got a little older, “modern” music was just becoming popular in the mainstream. I remember the local radio station would have a program they called “music for moderns” that would air from 3-4pm on weekdays only. I would intentionally make time to listen to that program hoping to hear the latest from the Beatles or some of the “one hit wonders” of the era. Another influence on me was my cousin Jake. He is very musically gifted. He could (and still can) play many instruments, but when he took up guitar, that was way cool. I tried but never got to the point of playing anything but the radio. My sister is very skilled at the piano and I remember many nights Jake would bring his guitar to our house and we would gather around the piano and have a great time pretending we were John Denver or Cat Stevens or others.
It was at this time in my life when God stepped in and started using the music I was listening to as a way to reach me. A new “genre” of music was just developing right about then. It was “Jesus music” or “Christian rock”. It had many labels and is now lumped into the category called contemporary Christian Music. God used people like Randy Matthews, Larry Norman, Chuck Girard and a few others to break the ground and bring “rock and roll for Jesus” into the light. Because this was so “radical” at the time, many of these artists were criticized and worse for their ministries. My cousin, Jake, and I could not get enough of it. If one of us didn’t buy a new album when it came out, the other did. We couldn’t wait to get each other’s albums and record them onto our recordable 8-track tapes. I actually have a void in my knowledge of “classic” secular rock music because I pretty much only listened to the Christian artists. That was at a time when I was a new Christian and God used the words and music of these individuals to keep me close to Him.
When God so perfectly arranged for me to meet and marry Carol, I was then blessed with a wife who cherished music. She was a gifted musician and loved to use her gifts to praise and honor God. I warmly remember many times when just she and I would be at the piano singing hymns and praise songs together. Our neighbors would comment how they were glad when it was summer and the windows could be opened and they could take walks and hear Carol’s piano playing (not my singing) throughout the neighborhood as they walked. They told me at the funeral home how much they will miss that, yep-me too. When our children were little and Carol was a “stay at home” Mom, she was looking for a way to contribute to the family’s finances. She came up with the excellent idea of teaching piano lessons. By doing that she could combine her love for children, music and teaching. As you can imagine, she was a superb piano teacher. Many of her former students have expressed their appreciation and fond memories of those times they came to Mrs. Vail’s house for piano lessons.
I am now blessed that our children have a love for music like their parents. They are so gifted musically. I remember a few Christmas services at our church when Carol’s Mom was playing the organ and Carol and Amy would be doing a four handed thing on the piano. Three generations, playing the Hallelujah Chorus together, and praising God together with their talents. God continues to minister to me with music through our children. It is exciting to see how the love of music and skills that Carol helped prepare in our children has had an impact across generations and cultures. Carol and our daughters, Amy and Sara, have each traveled to Cuba to teach and share their musical talents at a youth retreat for the area churches of that island country.
Now it is 2007 and for some reason I will never understand, God allowed Carol to be taken from me. I am most certainly at the lowest point of my entire life as a result. But even through this deep grief I can sing. I still have a song in my heart. In a small way the songs in my heart work to neutralize some of the grief. At the funeral we sang a song Amy wrote called “In Your Presence” and others and even then God was using music to calm me and to speak to me. Since that day, when I listen to music, usually Christian music but not always, there are songs that just shoot right to my heart. As He did when I was a young Christian, God is still using the gift of music to keep me close to Him. God wove this thread of music into my life as a child and it has been a tangible lifeline to Him even now.
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of music in my life.
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