A New Song

Psalm 96:1-2 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Singing has always been a great joy in my life. I am blessed to be able to sing and praise God every Sunday with our church band, Crossroads. My husband, Danny, is our lead vocalist and guitarist; David, our drummer, sings both lead and harmony; Rob rules the bass, and I sing harmony, add a second guitar if desired, and play rhythm instruments. We are still grieving the recent departure of Anita, our soprano, as she resigned her position as music minister at our church. She did promise to rejoin us in the future and, believe you me, we're holding her to it! For now, though, it's just the four of us.

We have been a consistent group for five years now. In that time, as you might well imagine, we have amassed quite of repertoire of praise songs - over one-hundred and still growing. When I tote Danny's and my songbooks into church, I count that as my weight-lifting exercise for the day! We have practiced together diligently throughout the years, so much so that a Sunday morning review and rehearsal before the service is more than adequate preparation for us. This is never the case, however, when Danny selects a new song for us to learn; then, it's time to listen to it on YouTube and attend Tuesday evening practice ready to hammer it out.

While learning new material has its challenges, the rewards are exceedingly great. Our collaboration and encouragements offered as we practice a new song serve to bind us more firmly together, more like a family than just a band. We share a mutual thrill of excitement when we've mastered a song and anticipate its presentation to the congregation the following Sunday. We may drag ourselves to practice after a long day at work, weary and unenthusiastic, but the moment we begin to play and praise, our worries and cares melt away as readily as snow in the spring sunshine. We are renewed, re-energized, and reawakened to the joy the Lord takes in a new song.

When Lent began this year, many of you decided to give up "old songs" and try singing new ones. Has this helped you to grow more fully in the gifts God has given you? Are you strengthened in your walk with Him? How difficult has it been to forsake old habits and adopt new disciplines? Are you praying more? Caring more? Discovering a deeper, more abiding faith? Let me, and others, know how your Lenten journey is going by leaving your comments below.

In the meantime, if you would like to hear Crossroads' songs, old and new, tune into our website at www.kumcrossroads.shutterfly.com.

Blessings!