Lift Up Your Hearts!

This Christmas, Heather and Jon gave me a collection of contemporary "praise and worship" CD's. This was a welcome gift, not because I like that form of music, but because I don't. Knownig that familiarity with a song often induces fondness, even when the style is one I dislike, I was determined to give this music a chance to grow in my heart. It is so pervasive in churches now that not to be able to worship in its presence is a distinct handicap. Therefore one of this year's Lenten disciplines was to listen daily to my new CD's.

It is having the desired effect. I still can't say I like the genre, but those particular songs have now become enough a part of me that I should be able to worship if we sing them in church, at least if the volumne is kept at a reasonable level.

Here's a lovely piece of serendipity: On Easter we will be singing two of these songs, Lord I lift Your Name on High (Rick Founds) and Holy and Annointed One (John Barnett). I will be able to sing them because I've been hearing them for a month! (I usually have problems with the odd rhythms, but presumably they have been drummed sufficiently into my head by now.) What's more, when the choir asked for time to rehearse (it's hard to lead a song you don't know) I found myself in the unaccustomed position of knowing a praise song that the others didn't. Was that the sound of hell freezing over? (More likely the sound of hell groaning because a stumbling block has been removed, at least partially, from worship.)