Music as a form of Worshiping God

In part compiled by and in part written by

Julie McPherson

Words from my Heart:  What I have to say in this article on music is a result of much personal study and prayer.  I am praying that you will find this to be informative and a blessing to your personal Christian walk with Jesus.

            If for any reason anyone is reading this with closed ideas and has already made up their mind on what they believe regardless of any evidence of possible new light, then please don’t bother reading any further.  I am truly hoping this can only be a blessing to somebody and not a means of making somebody defensive and angry. 

            If anyone’s name or any company logo is used in this article, it is not with the intent of harm or judgement as to their personal intent or motives.  Only keep an open mind to the fact that the Bible does say, “By their fruits, you shall know them.”  Matt 7:16   I believe these wise words from God were given to us to make us wise in our choices of who we imitate and follow. 

If you are at all comfortable with this idea, please take a moment to stop and pray before you read any further.

May God bless you!

Worshiping God in Truth: Definition of Worship:  Homage or reverence paid to a deity.  ---- to venerate, revere,  reverence, extol, honor, hallow, exalt, praise, admire, adore, adulate, glorify, deify, idolize, be devoted to, pay homage to, bow down before, kneel before, put on a pedestal, and magnify.

Wow, do we do this for God? 

When thinking about God, we should always keep in mind our position in comparison to His. 

God is Huge

            “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; what is man, that thou are mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him?”  Ps.8:3,4

We are so small and insignificant compared to Him, yet, this huge God came down to us and actually, for the love of us, gave himself to die in our stead.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Ps.33:3,4

Question now: Does a God like this deserve our utmost respect, adoration, and reverence?

Most everyone will agree that He does.  However, we often add the “IF” we can pay homage however we feel we can pay it best, according our own personal talents, creativity, and possessions.  Is this honouring God?

It is part of our human nature:  For example, often when I go out with my children to buy a present for someone who is having a birthday, they choose a gift from the store shelf that they personally like but does not necessarily fit the person to whom the gift is going to be given.

I also get many gifts from my children that I appreciate but are really not “Me”, if you know what I mean.  I get pictures of airplanes, race cars, and other motor vehicles.  While I appreciate these innocent things, there are times, when I ask them to show their love to me through obedience to MY desires.  An example of this might be, “Please, take your shoes off by the door when you come in.” There are times, also, when I stop them in their loving adoration to me, tell them I appreciate, but please don’t do that again.  This would be like my children deciding to burn a pile of leaves in the yard while I am visiting the neighbour.  I know it is detrimental to their well being, perhaps even to the well being of the whole neighbourhood,  so even though the motives and intents of the heart may be right, it is not necessarily the perfect way to honour me.  Asking me how they could best show there love to me would probably be the safest and most satisfying honour ever.

I think, God, being all wise, would want no less from us.  He invites us to learn “What is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  Rom 12:2

So when it comes to worshiping God, He made sure that there were some examples in the Bible written out in detail to illustrate, that He is truly specific in his desires to be honoured His way.

In the story of Cain and Abel, we have the first two brothers, ever.  God had already instructed them on how he wanted them to worship Him, by building an alter and sacrificing a lamb which would point to the sacrifice of the coming Messiah in the future.  Cain, unfortunately, chose to disregard God’s specific instructions and do things his own creative way.  He was a tiller of the ground and was proud of his hard work so he brought vegetables and fruits before the Lord and laid them upon the alter.  It was creative!  I’m sure it was beautiful with a multitude of colours!  It was in the name of the Lord!  It was even a sacrifice to give it!  However, it was NOT according to how God had asked to be worshipped. Gen 4:3-8  It would be like one of my children deciding that taking off their shoes by the door was really just a principle so let’s not get so specific.  We’ll keep the house clean by dragging a mop behind us everywhere we go without removing our shoes.  Do I feel honoured and respected? No

Another example would be Nadab and Abihu, the son’s of Aaron.  These two men were priests, consecrated specifically for LEADING the children of Israel in the worship of their most powerful king, God.  Their position was sacred and solemn, yet they made light of their duties and got their own creative ideas to use fire which God had forbidden.  So, “they offered strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not.”  The consequences were severe, death!  Then Moses, who was the leader of Israel, reiterated God’s desire to his spiritual leaders saying, “I WILL be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I WILL be glorified.”  (emphasis supplied)  Story from Lev. 10:1-3

This next example includes a much broader and extensive story.  We start with the story of the Sanctuary that God had asked the children of Israel to build.  He was very specific in His instructions for each detail of construction, placement of furniture, procedures, attitude and dress of those attending, as well as how things should be handled.  He reminded the people to be ever mindful of the Holiness of God. 

Years Later, when the children of Israel were well established in the promised land, King David reigned over them. In his great love for God and reverence for his sanctuary, He wanted to bring back to the City of David and to the Sanctuary, the Ark of the covenant. It was a piece of Sanctuary furniture that had been displaced for the last twenty years.  It was the very piece whereon God’s presence resided.  Having this Godly presence was very important to David.  Story found in II Sam 6

However, King David failed to consult God, in his zeal and perhaps because the Philistines had successfully carried the Ark in a cart before, when they brought it back after stealing it, or perhaps he thought to do things the easier way,  He had the Ark loaded unto a new cart.  It is Interesting to note that God, much earlier, through Moses, had instructed the Israelites in exactly how they were to carry this precious piece of furniture but now it was disregarded as unessential.  Old fashioned perhaps?  Regardless of what the reasons were, it was not handled as God had instructed.  As a result as they traveled over the rough terrain, the Ark tipped and a man named Uzzah reached up to steady it.  Again, the consequences were dire and poor Uzzah died.

It is also interesting that King David and all the people played on all manner of instruments before the presence of the Lord as part of this whole procession.

In my study of the Ancient Sanctuary, I discovered that some of those instruments were   never played in the Sanctuary but were instruments more for party celebrations and for after war victory processions or prophesying processions but not for Sanctuary services before the presence of God.  **

Note the instruments used: II Sam 6:5

Thankfully King David recognized that something was not right and he felt very badly.  He stopped the procession, found a temporary home for the Ark, sent the musicians home, and pondered.  He inquired, “How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?”

You could continue reading the story in II Sam 6: but let’s turn to I Chron 15: where we find the second half of the story retold, only in more detail.

Notice that right off the bat King David scrapped his own creative ways of doing things and fully adheres to God’s original commands this time. 

1. Verse 2 – David said, “None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God and to minister unto him for ever.”  Verse- 13 “For because ye did it not at first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us for that we sought him not after the due order.”|
2. Verse 14 - He had the priests sanctify themselves.  In other words, make sure they in were in pure and holy standing in body, mind and spirit before God.
3. Verse 16 and forward – The music was appointed, Sanctuary music.  It wasn’t less joyful, but it was no longer party music. ***
4. Verse 17 – They offered sacrifices in repentance of sin and gratefulness.  They offered 7 bullocks and 7 rams.  The seven representing perfection.
5. Verse 27 - He wore a linen ephod which appears to be a garment that those appointed in God’s Temple services wore.
6. Verse 29 – So joyful was this whole occasion for David that he played his harp and danced before the Lord with all his might.  I can imagine his joy was so full that he could not contain himself and leaped and jumped for joy.  I really don’t know what his dancing was like.  Do you suppose he would go to the extent of making this whole experience so Completely Holy unto the Lord and then perform a sensual boogie or a well practised salsa in the presence of all his people and God himself?  I doubt it but I do believe that whatever it was, we know he was leaping for joy!  Read II Sam 6: 14, 16

What an incredible story of worship.  “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov 14:12

There are more examples of God’s way verses our way in the Bible, but I leave those for you to study out. 

We must however realize, that with God, it isn’t about what we think He wants, but rather it is about what he has asked us to do in honouring him through worship.   It is about honouring His desires.  If we choose our own way, how then can we call that worshiping HIM?

“You shall not do all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes;”  Dt 12:8

Nature and Music

I don’t claim to know much about music or the science behind it but it doesn’t take a whole lot of digging amidst the mountains of music material to find that most scientists who have studied the different affects of different kinds of music, regardless of culture, or origin, all seem to come to a similar consensus.  So basically, although, I didn’t perform my own experiments on mice and men, it was easy to come to some pretty educated conclusions.

Starting with the most obvious contention in the music world, I want to explore the rhythms.  All music has rhythms and without them there simply would be no music.  The most common patterns of rhythm beats are 4/4 and 3/4 time.  We would count it out as 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 or 1,2,3,1,2,3.  Naturally occurring emphasis would be on the down beat which is the 1^st beat. So it looks like this: 

1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4

1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3

This is a familiar rhythm to all of us regardless of who we are, where we come from or our culture.  It is in our very bones, quite literally.  It is the natural rhythm of all nature. 

It is interesting that scientists have been able to record all aspects of nature and find this very rhythm.  The music of the birds has been studied extensively. Simeon Cheney recorded pages of bird songs in his Book, Wood Notes Wild, and Xenos Clark also recorded a fair number in his book, The American Naturalist.  Another study done by David Rothenberg recorded the symphonies of the great whales and Professor Don Gurnett of the University of Iowa studied the electromagnetic radiation of celestial objects by converting that radiation into sound.  I am fascinated by the fact that from all these different studies, and more, it has been concluded that all natural sounds produce music, from the dripping faucet, the swinging door, the whining clothes line disturbed during a storm, inanimate objects, and even the rhythms of the human body, but, they all follow the same rhythmic pattern that is found in classical music.  No where in God’s creation can we find a rhythm with a different emphasis. 

In taking a look at rock music we find that the 4/4 or 3/4 timing may be the same but the emphasis is on the unaccented beats or, in other words, the backbeats.  It can be played along with, or it can replace the natural emphasis.  It looks like this.

1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4

1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3

It is the exact opposite of the natural rhythms that God created into every visible and invisible part of creation.  Rock music simply does not exist in nature and I have come to understand, from my research, that it messes with nature to the point of being detrimental.

There have been numerous studies done with plants, animals, and humans alike to measure the effects of unnatural rhythms.  In 1973 Dorothy Retallack experimented with plants and recorded her findings in her book called Sound of Music and Plants.  She subjected her plants to several different kinds of music with both natural rhythms and rhythms with the emphasis on the backbeats.  She found that the plants exposed to rock music tended to thrive less, lean away from the source of music and die more frequently then those who had no music or those who were exposed to music with nature’s inherent rhythm.   This, people may say, is way to simplistic to be of any value to man, but as simple as it may seem, the study has been repeated enough times, with the same results, to indicate that there is value in the fact that for nature to flourish then the God ordained rhythms of nature must be firmly guarded.

Similar experiments were conducted on mice.  In 1987, a couple of scientists named Gervasia Schreckenberg and Harvey Bird discovered that mice that were exposed to the unnatural rhythms of rock music actually suffered from significant brain damage.  There was significant evidence of decreased intelligence and attentiveness and an increase in aggression.   

But here is where the importance of this whole subject begins to rest upon our own shoulders with much more weight and responsibility.  It has been observed in humans, who also have that natural rhythm created by God to keep the body functioning at optimum quality, “that there is scarcely a single function of our bodies which cannot be affected by musical tones.”  (Quoted from David Tame, writer of The secret Power of Music)  David Tame also referenced Julius Portnoy in his book as saying that more then any other influence on our bodies, music can “change metabolism, affect muscular energy, raise or lower blood pressure, and influence digestion.”  Unfortunately for us, who are bombarded with it everywhere we go, rock music has a detrimental affect on both the mental and physical aspects of our well being. 

In 2004 Ibrahim Basoglu et al. performed a series of experiments to determine the influence of rock music on the high school students.  He discovered that “the precision of voluntary action decreased in pop music and increased with classical music.”  In other words, the coordination of the students was negatively effected by being bombarded with rhythmic sounds that were contrary to the natural rhythms of the body.

Josep LaVoie and Betty Collins are names of more researchers who did experimental studies on students and reconfirmed the results of the negative affects only this time, discovering that “memory retention was significantly lower in the rock music condition.”

 And so the research goes on and on.  There is the study by Weidinger and Demi who found that people’s psychosocial behaviours were negatively affected.  Researchers named Harris, Bradley and Titus all discovered inappropriate behaviours being more often displayed.  Wanamaker and Reznikoff discovered emotional disorders and many other changes in the brain functions of those who listened to rock music.

But one more thing to take note of: Dr. Weinberger found that the rhythms in rock music can cause the body to produce a higher level of two hormones, cortisol and epinephrine.  Both of these are necessary hormones for dealing with stressful situations, and the body produces them for the fight of flight reactions.  The blood flow increases to the muscles, there is an increased level of oxygen to the brain, and increased blood sugar content.  This may not sound very detrimental, but when this is experienced in a non-stressful situation, it creates a natural high, and a feeling of euphoria in the listeners; “Oh, that sounds nice”, you say?  The problem is, it can also create headaches, palpitations, arrhythmia, and hypertension.  Both those hormones are also immune suppressants and inhibit digestion. 

One of the greatest dangers associated with these hormones is that they are addictive.  As high levels of cortisol and epinephrine are maintained for great lengths of time, the brain and muscles become dependent on them, desiring that those levels continue to be maintained; and, as with any other drug, the body eventually develops a tolerance thus requiring the listener to consistently progress toward music with greater intensity of the rock rhythm.*(Information from this section, comes from research done by Bill Fortenberry, Rock and Roll The sound of Music or the Noise of War, http://www.av1611.org/rock/rock_noise.html)  I encourage you to read it and research into all his footnotes.

So, here is my take on this whole thing.  We, as Christians are interested in, not only the spiritual health of our fellow man, but of their physical well being also.  We want them to desire Heavenly things in their hearts, but have quality of life on this Earth, so we teach them.  We teach them not to smoke.  We teach them how to eat healthfully.  We teach them not to drink alcohol.  We teach them about God, the creator of all good things, and His love for them.  What are we teaching them in regard to the detrimental affects of going against the natural rhythms of our bodies, and of all nature?  Does our concern stop here?

It would be well to study what God has created and discover the all pervading principles in nature that make for a thriving environment, a little Heaven on Earth.  In the fourth commandment of God, we are reminded not to forget, who the creator of nature is.

Ex 20:8-11   Then in Psalm 19 we read, “The heavens DECLARE the glory of God; and the firmament SHOWETH his handiwork.  Day unto day UTTERETH SPEACH and night unto night SHOWETH KNOWLEDGE.”  It seems to indicate that God created nature and the laws that govern them for the very purpose of teaching us what is right because after describing some rhythms and circuits of nature, the Psalmist goes on to say in verse 7 and on, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:  The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.   The statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:  The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes.”  And all this we draw from Nature?

 Verse 10 and on, “More to be desired are they then gold, yeah then much fine gold….  Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” 

Verse 12 and on, “Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse thou me from secret faults.  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me.”

 "But ASK the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and THEY WILL TELL you; or SPEAK to the earth, and IT WILL TEACH you, or let the fish of the sea INFORM you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:7-10

The Rock and Roll

1 Thess 12:21 “Prove all things.

I once read an interesting question that wasn’t so much from a quizzical mind as it was from a mind bent on dropping pebbles into the shoes of those who cannot think beyond syncopation.

If rock music does not occur naturally, where does it come from?

I want to look first and formost at the “Worldy” rock music.  It would seem strange, then, to start with a man named Little Richard.  He was considered one of the several founding fathers of rock and roll and he started off with Gospel Rock, but his music included much, much more then just Gospel.  Here is what he claimed, “My belief about Rock’n’roll is this: I believe this kind of music is demonic…  A lot of the beats in music today are taken from voodoo.”  He believed he was “directed and commanded by another power, the power of darkness, the power of the devil, Satan.”  He also said, I was one of the pioneers of that music, one of the builders.  I know what the blocks are made of because I built them.” 

Robert Palmer, contributing editor of Rolling Stone magazine and chief advisor for the “History of Rock’n’Roll” broadcast said, “The idea that certain rhythm patterns or sequences serve as conduits for spiritual energies, linking individual human consciousness with the gods, is basic to traditional African religions…the fundamental riffs, licks, bass figures, and drum rhythms that make rock and roll can ultimately be traced back to African music of a primarily spiritual or ritual nature.  In a sense, rock and roll is a kind of voodoo.”

In reading these two passages, I took careful note to the fact that they were both talking about the rhythm of the music, not the lyrics.

But now for a few minutes I want to look away from the rhythms of the music and look at  a prevailing tenor of attitude in this, society’s all pervasive, music industry.

Listen to the words of both statement’s and songs.

David Bowie in Rolling Stone magazine (Feb. 12, 1976), stunned the music world, when he stated:
"Rock has always been THE DEVIL'S MUSIC . . . I believe rock and roll is dangerous . . . I feel we're only heralding SOMETHING EVEN DARKER THAN OURSELVES." (Rolling Stone, Feb. 12, 1976)

In the song "The Conjuring" by Megadeth, the REAL mission of rock is clearly heard:
"I AM THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE A SALESMAN, if you will . . .
Come join me in my INFERNAL DEPTHS . . .
I've got your soul!" At the end of the song they chant "OBEY"!

Rocker Frank Zappa (who discovered the awful truth December 4, 1993 the second he died) proudly boasted:
"I'm the devil's advocate. We have our own worshippers who are called 'groupies.' Girls will give their bodies to musicians as you would give a sacrifice to a god." (Peters Brothers, What About Christian Rock, p. 17)

 One of the most popular groups in rock history is Slayer. Slayer sing of themselves, as:
"Warriors from the gates of hell . . .
In lord Satan we trust."  

The group Kiss leaped on stage as rock'n roll demons  puking blood, breathing fire and screaming "God of rock'n roll, we'll steal your virgin soul." In their song "God of Thunder", they command young people to kneel before Satan:
"I'm lord of the wasteland, a modern day man of steel
I gather darkness to please me and I COMMAND YOU TO KNEEL
Before, The God of thunder, the god of rock'n roll
I'LL STEAL YOUR VIRGIN SOUL!"

The group Venom reveal the real reason for their music, as they sing:
"We're not here to entertain you . . .
I PREACH THE WAYS OF SATAN
Answer to his calls!"

I will not continue any further because the list of quotes like these would grow very long.  I am sorry to have to say it but it is truth, these people are heathen.  They truly are devil worshipers.  They don’t hide the fact.  The disturbing thing to me is that, before there was Christian Rock, there was first secular rock, whose very builders admit to getting their orders from Satan. 

I have heard Christian people say, “It doesn’t matter!  You can’t really understand the words anyway, so that makes it all right.”  I’ve heard, on another occasion, a Christian say, when the meaning of the rock group KISS was defined (Knights in Satan’s Service),  “I guess we’ll just have to ignore the name so we can keep listening to the music.”  Is that for real?

Again, I reiterate, These rock bands are made up of Satan worshipers.  The Bible clearly points out that we should not worship as the Heathen do.  “Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee, and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods?  Even so will I do likewise.  Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God:  for every abomination to the Lord which he hateth, have they done unto their gods.”  Deut 12:30,31

This music, both rhythm and words, is part of the worship of false gods.  The Bible tells us of the Story of Moses coming back into the camp of Israel after having spent a long season in communion with God.  As he descended the mountain with Joshua by his side, they heard a huge ruckus.  Joshua thought that perhaps war had broken out but Moses, having been raised and steaped in the culture of Egypt for the purpose of making him King, recognized it as music.  It was not the distinct sound of godly music, but rather it sounded more like war.  The Bible says, “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do.” Lev 18:3

I’ll have to confess, though, after researching Christian Contemporary Music and their bands, the attitude, style and rhythms are much the same.  The words may be different but the problem with this kind compromise is, there is no clear place to draw the line.  Where can one find “healthy” backbeat rhythms?  Where does “good” rock’n’roll start, and detrimental to both mind and body begin?  The Bible says, “For God is not the author of confusion” 1 Cor 14:33.  “"You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you” Deut 6:18 

Are There Drums Mentioned in the Bible

Yes, there are drums in the Bible mentioned.  They are called Timbrals, and Tabrets.  In Ez 28:13 we find that God created tabrets in Lucifer.  I have no reason to believe that in creating Lucifer, God chose to do differently from all the rest of creation in creating a different rhythm to follow, however, the freedom to choose was inherent with the responsibility of leading the rest of creation in worship through music.  I believed Lucifer served God in a beautiful way using those tabrets in rhythm with the rest of creation to honour his maker until he chose not too.  Then he exercised his freedom of choice and decided to oppose God, his laws, and to destroy all that was for God, he created his own methods of worship to honour himself.  He went against the laws of nature that God created and established his own rhythms to dance to. 

Do I believe that rock rhythms started in the 1950s?  No, they started much, much before.  The Africans have used them for centuries in their religious rites and witch craft.  The Egyptians used them to call on their God’s.  The Heathen nations around the Israelites used them during their sacrifices.  In one archaeological site I read that the Heathen nations bordering the Israelite lands would use the kettle drums and tabrets to drown out the cries of the children who were being sacrificed.  However, the site confirmed that the only drums ever found in excavations amongst the Israelite communities has been the timbrals or tabrets which were small hand held frame drums.

In researching musicology sites and music history, there seems to be sufficient evidence to lead one to believe that these instruments were played primarily by the women during celebrations, weddings, parties, after war victories and in processions.  I believe these instruments were used in worship of God because there is clear evidence of that but it certainly was never in the earthly Sanctuary.  Perhaps because they were played more by the illiterate women and women did not hold positions of any kind in the temple.

When I read Psalm 150 in the Bible, I am filled with an awe for God yet again, in his concern for the worship of all man kind and all created things.

Verse 1 and on – He says to praise him in is sanctuary.  Praise him for his Mighty power.

                            Praise him for all he has done and how great he is.

Verse 3 – Praise him with the trumpet. The Psaltery and Harp (These are instruments that were used everywhere but especially by the educated.

Verse 4 – Praise him with the timbrel and dance (this is referenced in the Bible to a pipe or flute).  This warms my heart because, he is making sure the women and the illiterate are not left out. 

Praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Verse 5 – Praise him upon the loud cymbals: and on the small symbals which were like high sounding finger clappers.  These were used in the sanctuary and by the way, God never said that worship had to be quiet, (Only there is much indication if you study it out that the melody should be the predominant force in the music) he only indicated that it should honour him.

Verse 6 – Let everything (all of creation) that hath breath praise the Lord.  And you praise the Lord! 

Yes, we are instructed to praise.  And instruments of any kind are not in and of themselves evil in anyway.  But there IS a way to worship.  There are rhythms that honour and rhythms that destroy the creation of God.  Why would we decide to drum to a different beat then all the rest of creation that is already singing their praises to God?

We would be out of sync. 

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth." (Psalm 96:11-13).

"All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and Your saints shall bless You" (Psalm 145:10).

We are to be praising God in sync with all the rest of nature.  Our praises should be beautiful!

"Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds," (Psalm 148:3-4,7-10).

Why do we rebel against this idea of singing with those who are already singing and want to create our own way?

The Lord Jesus said that if men should refuse to praise Him and "should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40). Yet even though the whole creation--in its beauty, complexity, and providential orderliness--gives continual praise to its Creator, men perversely have "worshiped and served the creature (or more aptly stated, the creation) more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Romans 1:25).

How poignant, then, is the final verse of the book of Psalms: "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise you the Lord" (Psalm 150:6).

NOTE

I have done my best to put all my thoughts and the thought of others that have spoken to this subject down on paper with as much clarity as I can.  I have not used any EG White Quotes for the purpose of showing that first and foremost the Bible clearly show God’s plan for us, however,  I am a Seventh Day Adventist and Ellen White was a prophet that the Seventh Day Adventists believed and have accepted as such.  She has written much on this subject and if you were to study, you would find that she is backing up the Bible 100%.  I hope you take the time to read what she has to say.  I also hope that you give this subject much prayer.  God Bless you!

“Moreover, it's been known for literally millennia in high cultures (and from the beginning in so-called primitive ones) that some kinds of music, and some elements of music, are mood-altering - powerfully so, in fact. Only those who wanted to justify their musical tastes at all costs have ever argued otherwise.”  (quoted from a music historian, John Wheeler  from http://musicofthebiblerevealed.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-29T22:35:00-07:00&max-results=7)

Life as we know it

I guess you are all wondering what is going on in the far North.  Well here it is in picture form.

 Need money for Christmas so it is mitten making time.

Here Ian joins the crew by cutting them from felted old sweaters.

 Here is Jacob pinning them to be sewn together.

 Here is Caleb running the machine like a pro and 500 miles per hour.

Getting ready for Christmas and being very creative about it.

Ian had the idea that we should made a big tree out of old wool sweaters that were not good for mitten making.  So we did.  Here is the result and pictures of the boys having fun decorating the living room.

The final result for our "classy" living room.

Making trees out of wool sweaters?  Hmmmm!  I wander how strange we can make next years tree.  This could be our new fun family tradition!  Yeah, I like it!

Ian has been digging himself out an igloo.  

 He is making a small hole in the top so that he and his brothers can start a little fire and roast marshmellows inside. 

 It better be a pretty small fire.  Candle size maybe?

That's it for now folks.  Lots going on but can't write about too much of it.  Just keep praying for us all.

Copying my Sister

My sister posted a recipe on her blog for these special potatoes and so I tried them for supper tonight.  I crushed a lot of raw garlic, added some other seasonings, a little salt and olive oil to mine.  Mmmm!  They were a hit.  I made these gluten steaks too and served with salad.  Yummy supper!

The Latest

I guess you are all wondering what is going on up here in the great white North.  Well, it is not so white but there is a little snow.
The boys have been keeping busy with a whole variety of activities and school.  They are doing well and I'm loving the new school program called Time4learning.  There are a few things I don't like but for the most part it has been a life saver for me and the boys.
Last week the boys enjoyed a class put on in town on how to make small movies.  It was a 5 hour class and they enjoyed every minute.  The did it with their homeschool buddies and they had to sit down together, come up with their own script, write down each different scene, be the actors, filmers, directors, and editors.  They were given little i-p*d touches* to use.  They had so much fun!  Here are the links to each of their little movies.

This is Isaac's

http://vimeo.com/31512757

This next one is Jacob's but he is not to impressed with it.  He says his buddies

were just not into knowing how to be very dramatic.  He was a bit disappointed 

and it doesn't help that they didn't want any sound in it.
http://vimeo.com/31502376

Here is Caleb's.  These kids were older and really love to play around with the 

sound effects and other visual effects.  
http://vimeo.com/31499290

And... besides all that, we were very busy last week getting our whole house

rearranged.

The living room now houses the office again.

This is Art's computer corner

And my new computer corner

And the boys school area

And this is where the office used to be.

And here is the boy that now occupies this room.

Oh happy day!  He's home!  This is why I am called momof4boys!

And this is what I have to put up with and still keep my feminine sanity around here. 

(I am soooo out numbered)

Sorry, not a great picture of Art but he was holding his head back and it looks like he has a double chin.  He doesn't!

Ian is home, looking for work and wanting to make some changes in his life.  He is starting with some health related habits.  The first few days were pretty a hard for him but he seems to be doing really good now.  I hope he keeps it up.

Please pray hard for him.

So now with all the changes, the boys room has taken on a new look also.  With everything that used to be in the office room (now Ian's room), we had to find a place for it.  So here is what their room now looks like.

Library and gym

dressers, toys, maps and TV for Wii* and videos

So... where do they sleep?  

Right here in the walk in closet.  Built in beds for each boy!  perfect!

As you can see we still have some flooring to put in and proper curtains and other details to take care of but at least we all fit!  

Well, that's it for now.  Bible study is still going strong and is very exciting.  We will be diving into the sanctuary message pretty soon.  I'm pretty excited about that.  

God is blessing!

Fox Hunting with My Camera

Just thought I would show you some pictures of the fox I kept chasing around with my Camera today.  Poor guy was really not afraid but still stayed at a safe distance.  Last week I saw him when we were all out at the Wildlife preserve.  He is not one of the fenced in animals but seems to like to hang around there.  He hears the children playing outside when we have homeschool meet and invariably comes to see what is going on.  He hangs around and watches all the kids.  He looks like he wants to play but is not quite brave enough.  He is so beautiful though.

 Caleb actually took this picture and I took the fuzzy one.  :0)

You Sabbath Keeping Christian, You!!!

Hello there after a long time,
Life has been really busy here.  We've been doing a lot of sewing of mittens and hats and doing school and running into town for skating and over to the Wildlife preserve for homeschool meet and the list goes on.
The boys are doing very well at their school and being pretty consistent at getting it done everyday.  They've been enjoying their new online program and it has kept their interest so far.  We have three desk top computers which they have been using but it has become a problem when they have paper work to do as well, and there is no space on our small desks for monitor, key board and notebooks.
Well, our local Staples store put their small notebook computers on sale for about $100 dollars off and we decided it was time to jump.  That meant that each child needed to find $200 dollars to buy himself a computer.  200 x 3?  that kind of money doesn't usually just happen around here but I told the kids they had 10 days to find it.
Well, God was on our side and he sent a long day of snow flurries while the boys and I sewed mittens and hats from recycled wool sweaters.  When we went to town on Wednesday, people were cold enough to realize winter had indeed arrived.  Within an hour the boys had sold everything and we went to Staples and bought computer number one.   At home we sewed some more and by Friday we went to town and within another hour were able to purchase computer number two.  Back home again to sew some more and by Monday the boys had computer number three!  Hurray!  God is so good and they are so happy!
Now the next project is to get a few more dollars and buy some much needed curriculum for writing composition and Jacob wants another math program.
I guess by now you are wondering why I titled this post the way I did.
Yesterday the boys ran into a great learning opportunity that took them all by surprise but made them really sit back and think.  Every Wednesday all the homeschool kids in the community get together to skate and play hockey and other games.  The boys have a lot of fun and are really fast and great skaters.  They love chasing the puck and do pretty good at it.  However, there is one boy amongst the homeschooled kids that is always there for everything whether it be swimming, skating, art lessons or whatever.  He is big and he makes a point of being a bully to almost anyone but especially to Caleb.  The kid can't stand to lose and while Caleb can't either, he is usually a pretty good sport about it and won't complain if he does.  This kid however, sees Caleb as a small in stature, big threat. 
While they were playing hockey yesterday, apparently this kid was getting one goal after another so the other team decided to kick it up a notch and really get down to business and make some points for their side.  Caleb stopped a slap shot in mid air and stole the puck, slamming it into the net of the opposing team.  Big kid was angry and took slice at Caleb with is hockey stick but luckily missed.  Caleb got the puck again.  Big kid was beside himself and some of the mothers around told him to chill but he didn't.  Mothers pulled their kids from the game until the only one left playing was Big kid who skated around in circles with the puck.  One mother called him over and had a talk with him about his behaviour and then called Caleb to figure out what happened.  Caleb said he was tired of being bullied and didn't want to take it anymore.  Caleb was a little hot under the collar by this time.  He's been hit, and pinched and kicked and called all kinds of things from this kid and he's tired of it.  Well, after being talked at for a while, Big kid took off and wouldn't hear any more but when opportunity presented itself, he approached Caleb and decided to attack where he thought it might hurt the worst.  So very sneeringly he said, "You, Sabbath Keeping Christian!!!"   LOL
Caleb later said to me.  "Mom, that wasn't very nice, the way he said that!" 
Jacob burst out laughing and said, "You should have been like, ""Hey, Thanks for noticing!"".  laugh, laugh, laugh.
That evening our Bible study group at church studied God's forgiveness to us and how we should experience it and then in turn be like Jesus and be willing to take our enemies to Jesus and beg him to not hold their sins against them on our account but to rather be willing to take their place in hell, if need be, so that they can be saved.  Of course God would see that kind of love and recognize it as Jesus living through you and Heaven would never be taken from you but the very attitude of that kind of love produces complete forgiveness for even our worst enemies.
Caleb thought about it.  He realized Christ's name was at stake here if he blew it.  It was the first time the kids realized that people were actually watching them as more then just another kid, but as Christian kids.  He repented that evening for getting hot under the collar and being angry.  Jacob and Isaac also realized suddenly their roles as Christian kids in the community was to share Jesus simply by acting like Jesus would no matter what the situation.  It was a great lesson.  Perfect learning opportunity.

And so,  just for information sake and continued seeking of your prayers.  We had an awesome Bible Study/Prayer group last night.  The prayer time was Spirit filled and for real!  I was truly blessed.  10 people came.  Keep praying for us. 




 

Sad!!

I'm sad!  Yet another friend of mine has died.  Danny was a good, single father of his five year old, Autistic little boy.  He died today in a logging accident.  My heart is broken for the fact that he did not get to see his boy grow up.  He did not get to be the father he always wanted to be for very long.  His son is left without a daddy.  What will happen to little Timber?
Oh Lord, come quickly!!  This world is so unfair!