Monday, April 14, 2008

A Kindred Spirit

I got the nicest surprise in the mail today. Linda from Mocha With Linda sent me a copy of How Sweet the Sound. It is a book written by George Beverly Shea and it contains the stories behind over 50 hymns, as well as reflections by Bev Shea and Billy Graham, among others.

In a word: priceless.

It's no secret that I love hymns. I love the theology, the arrangements and the memories that I associate with them. I love the simple and the complex, the old and the new. Nothing pleases me more than the sound of perfectly blended four part harmony praising God through song.

I believe that the people who write music for the purpose of glorifying God are inspired by Him. How else can you explain the lasting power of Christian music? I feel as though I need to clarify that I feel the same way about contemporary music, although my first love is the traditional hymn. I am just as moved by Praise You in This Storm or Jesus Bring the Rain, as I am by There is a Fountain or The Way That He Loves.

So, I am settling in for a lovely evening of reading and reflecting. I think I might start it off by sitting down at the piano and playing a few hymns. My heart just overflows with joy when I hear my children singing when I play, not even aware that they are doing it. They have heard the melodies so many times that they automatically hum along.

Thank you Linda. You bless me in so many ways, and you made my day. Thank you for my wonderful book that I will always cherish. When we get together in June, I'll have to get you to write an inscription in it!

9 comments:

Crystal said...

What a sweet and thoughtful gift! Happy reading (and playing!)!!

Greatfullivin said...

What a precious gift! I hope you get a chance to share a few of the stories with us...I would love to hear them!

luvmy4sons said...

You are so blessed by being able to sit down and play. I wish I could do that. And though I have two sons who can...it's not the same. So glad you were blessed. You needed a pick me up with hubby gone and all!

Mocha with Linda said...

Now you're going to make me cry! It was my absolute delight to send it your way. I could think of no one else who would enjoy it as much as I did, other than you!

Love ya!
Linda

Alana said...

What a thoughtful gesture, hope you enjoy it!

Delia said...

Hi Xandra!

I did the drawing for the book "When Zeffie Got A Clue" by Peggy Darty and you won!

I sent an email to your gmail address, please let me know if you didn't get it.

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, how nice!!

And you play piano...maybe I missed that (have you mentioned it in a previous post?) but it's so cool discovering more things about my blogging friends :)

Buffi Young said...

How sweet was that!! hearing how these songs were written is truly inspiring isn't it? That was SUCH a thoughtful gift!! I LOVE to hear my kiddos sing too. Silas is going to be our little worshipper. He just oozes with it. You know how you can see which children are bent toward it....well..he definitely is bent toward music. Guess his name Silas (Paul
& Silas) is fitting for him!! I'm so excited to see what God does with him. Thanks for sharing about your special book!!!
Love ya,
Buffi

Leah said...

Even though I'd consider myself more of a fan of contemporary music now, I love the hymns, too. It takes me back to my childhood, and the memories of church and people in that era. Priceless! =)

Funny, but "The Way That He Loves" sounds SO familiar to me, but I can't grasp the tune completely. I'll have to Google it so I can listen to it.