What Songs Should We Sing in Church?

For as long as I can remember, I always loved music.  Instrumental.  Vocal.  It all resounded so deeply within me.  Growing up, I listened to a lot of music. I’d sit in my room, pop in a cassette into my stereo, and then record myself singing onto a cassette player. I’d play that cassette over and over again critiquing myself.  I think my mother was concerned about my music choices as I listened to a lot of George Michael, Janet Jackson, and Michael Jackson.  I distinctly remember that she had a book titled something like, The Devil’s Music.  I knew she was reading it because of me, and frankly at that time, it made me chuckle.

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Can I Wear Jeans to Church?

My brother never wanted to come to church.  Even though both he and I had attended church regularly in our childhood, he quickly abandoned the notion of ever returning to church when he became an adult.  Despite us gently inviting him on holidays or special occasions, his answer was always no, and we respected that.

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Fearing the Lord

I have spent nearly all of my 50 years as part of the church.  I first began attending church when I was quite young.  My mother was saved after my dad had left her, and we began attending a local Baptist church in the area.  I remember spending a significant amount of time there.  It became a home and place of solace for our broken family.  We met many friends who truly became like family to us.  They showed us the love of Christ in very practical ways.  They met physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. They opened their homes and hearts and have influenced me for the good even as an adult.

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Rushing Past Thanksgiving

There has always been the banter back and forth about when to put up a Christmas tree.  Only in December.  The day after Thanksgiving.  A few weeks before Thanksgiving.  And anywhere in between. I am a first week of December kind of gal.  But the purpose of this post is not about staking claim to the right time.  It’s about rushing past both Thanksgiving and thanksgiving.

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Weathering the Storms

My area has seen a fair amount of rain over the past week.  Rain is normal and needed especially during the hot, humid days of summer.  But the intensity, ferocity, and duration with which the rain fell was far from normal.  Day after day, night after night, the rain deluged the area.  With floods, mud, compromised basements, impassable roads, intense lightning, and downed trees many were left asking, “When is this barrage going to end?  There is only so much more the ground can hold.”

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