To the beat of a different drum

This song spoke to me again the other day, reminding me that I am indeed a warrior, but I am also a child.  And I do go running home when I fall down.

As Christians, we are soldiers.  The battle belongs to the Lord, but He has chosen to clothe us in His armor and let us stand in the fight.  Most of the armor we wear is defensive, although we do participate when we use the “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,” and when we “pray always with all prayer.” (Ephesians 6)  It’s not as glamorous as the colorful depictions of cavalry charges from centuries gone by.  Most of us don’t even go out to fight; instead we fight by living everyday lives through His strength, which upsets the Enemy very much.

Probably few would look at us and say, wow, I want to join them, that’s so inspiring.  I’m okay with that being a first response, and I will endeavor to show them otherwise as time goes on.  Most of the world will laugh and turn away, but that’s okay.  I’m used to swimming up stream.  I’ve pretty much always marched to the beat of a different drum.

How Beautiful

Twila Paris has always been one of my favorite singers, and she has probably had the biggest influence on my voice and songs of any female singer/songwriter.  I sang two of her songs at a recent coffeehouse where my dad and I were providing the music, and this is one of them.  Like Twila, I have gained a strong sense of the unity that is meant to be found in the body of Christ, and I am always finding new depths to this beautiful song.

 

It’s the Thought that Counts

Twila Paris was my childhood singing role model.  Actually, I still copy her quite a bit, both in my singing and my songwriting.  This is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs (as different than Christmas Carols), and I think everyone should listen to it before going out to do any more Christmas shopping.

I dare you to get it stuck in your head before you are bombarded by all the materialistic songs playing in the stores!

‘Tis the Season to be Singing

In my book, it is always a season for singing, but Christmas time just doubles my vocalizing for some inexplicable reason ;)!

I’ve always loved Christmas songs, especially carols.  I remember the excitement of my first years as part of our church Christmas plays, pageants, or choirs.  Some years we had a play based around Christmas, and I sometimes got to act, which I also enjoyed, but I loved the years we had a choir.

Standing on stage for the performance looked nothing like all the rehearsals.  For one thing, rehearsals tended to be during the day, while performances were in the evening.  Speaking or singing to a darkened sanctuary sent a tingly feeling up my spine.  And then there were people out there!  Sure, I knew there would be people, but the size of my church never came home so dramatically as when I got up to perform in front of a couple hundred eyes.

I still have fond memories of the first solos I sang for Christmas.  One year, I sang “Away in a Manger” as a trio, but the next year, they chose a different girl to sing with the two sisters I had performed with previously.  I was then asked to sing a verse of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” all by myself.  After being disappointed in not getting to sing in the trio again, I was floored and a bit nervous to get a whole solo!  Later, I was also asked to sing a trio with my two siblings.  While I wasn’t that much of a singer back then, I meant what I sang, and I did my best, two things which cover a multitude of wrong notes or mistakes.

I’ve sung solos in each church after that, sometimes in Christmas cantatas, sometimes in Easter cantatas, and sometimes just for fun.  My favorites, however, are the Christmas songs.  I didn’t think of singing Twila Paris‘s “It’s the Thought” until much too late to pull it together this year, but maybe next year I’ll have the time.  For this year, my solo in the Christmas cantata is enough.

Although carols are my favorite, there are a select few other Christmas songs I like.  Bing Crosby’s version of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” is fabulous, and I was caught by something in an old rendition of “Silver Bells” that I like.  I’ve even gotten to like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” after seeing the Fred Astaire movie of that name.  Of course, my favorite modern Christmas song is Mark Lowry‘s “Mary, Did You Know?”  That’s because my father sings it most years, and although he doesn’t sing it like Lowry, his version is as good or better!

Christmas time is a great time to sing because the songs of Christmas revolve around . . . you guessed it, Christ!  I can’t imagine anything better to sing about than God’s gift to mankind.  Sure, there are a lot of parts to that gift, from the manger to the empty grave.  I love to sing about them all, but as I like to say, my favorite song is the one I’m singing right now!

The Body of Christ

Have you ever been blessed by Twila Paris’s song “How Beautiful”?  It’s a beautiful song about the phenomenon commonly known in Christendom as the body of Christ.

How Beautiful the hands that served
The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty road and the hill to the cross
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sins and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes
How Beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure love so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How Beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

I heard that song as a young girl, but I didn’t understand the concept then.  I was part of the Body even then, and I understood that all Christians were God’s people, and that we sometimes referred to them as the Church or the Body of Christ.  What I didn’t get then was that we are God’s representatives, the face by which the rest of the world knows Christ.

The song made so much more sense after I read Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and In His Image, by Dr. Paul Brand and Phillip Yancey.  This pair made the Apostle Paul’s analogy, comparing Christians to a physical body, come to life.  We are not only Christ’s hands and feet, but his lips, his skin, his blood.  The analogy, while not perfect, goes much further than I originally gave it credit for.

Some Christians are lungs, they breathe in the fresh air of the Spirit.  Others are like blood vessels, carrying the oxygen (truth) to all other parts of the body.  Most importantly, we as Christians function like skin.  We are the organ through which God touches the world and the people therein.

The analogy is amazing, the books are eye-opening, and the song is an outpouring of love not only for the Body, but for the Head, who is Christ.  In this day and age when Christians are so divided, so willing to go separate ways over such little details, I cannot help but wonder what the Body looks like to the world.  And why God would continue to allow us to bear his name.  It’s only through his grace that we are his representatives.  God grant us more grace that we can act more like our physical analogy, a body whose parts work together for the good of the whole.

My Preference in Christian Music

I grew up with hymns in church; that was almost the only Christian music I knew, although I’ve heard quite a bit of Keith Green, Twila Paris, Phil Keaggy, and Randy Stonehill. I remember hearing a lot of Twila in particular.

On the whole, however, I did not hear much contemporary stuff, though I’ve picked up a few names of a few singers and bands. When my family recently began attending a new fellowship with contemporary music, I got a little bit of a culture shock.

Over the last six to eight months, I’ve gotten used to the new music, though it’s not my choice of relaxing listening material and it’s not what I choose to sing around the house. I prefer hymns and older choruses that have doctrine worked into the text. Most of today’s music seems to be worship or praise choruses, and not only are the lyrics a bit hard to follow sometimes, but the tunes begin to sound alike after awhile. Granted, that theoretically makes it easier to pick up and sing a new song, but I like something a bit more distinctive – music that will stick in my head.

I’m not saying that contemporary Christian music is bad. Just that most of it does not fill my requirements. Twila Paris remains one of my favorite singers (granted, she’s more my parents’ contemporary than mine). I’ve learned a few new songs that I do like. For instance, one of Jeremy Camp’s called “Beautiful One.” I used that to make another Animoto, which can be seen here, BEAUTIFUL.

I guess I’m going to be slow to abandon the old favorites: “I’ll Fly Away,” “There Is A Redeemer,” “Lion of Judah,” “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus,” “This World is Not My Home,” “Create in me a Clean Heart,” “Be Thou My Vision,” “Spring Up, O Well,” “The Lily of the Valley,” and many more. They’re also great done in Smoky Mountain Style.