Singin'

"She looketh well to the ways of her household..." Prov.31:27

What does your family do to bring its members closer together? What do you do? Do you make an effort to reach out and let your family members know that you love them?
What does your family do for good wholesome fun?

Welcome to Family Fridays!

Last night, as I was eating supper, I kept wondering to myself "what are you going to post for 'Family Fridays' tomorrow? What does this family do?" I mean, I know we make an effort to become a close-knit family, and we love to have fun together, but when I really sit down to think about what we do specifically, my mind draws a blank. Sort of like when your mother asks you to cook supper, and you can't think of a thing to make, despite the fact that you've cooked hundreds of meals. (Well, okay, maybe not hundreds...)

My answer was handed to me right after supper. ...Or, rather, sung to me. One of my brothers spontaneously started singing a southern gospel song as we were getting up to leave the table. The song calls for several different voices, to sing high and low parts. My older sister joined in right away, making us all laugh when she tried to lower her voice to match our brother's.

Mom and Dad had already left the kitchen, but the six of us children were still there, and we automatically started singing and laughing. Before long, one brother had gone to fetch his guitar, and we were giving ourselves a mini concert, right there in the kitchen. I don't know if something was in the food we had just eaten, but we were all extremely happy and full of laughter. Something happens when all six of us start singing together.

I have tried before to explain it in writing, but singing with my family simply defies my descriptive powers. We are almost always singing something about our Lord, which binds us together even closer. It may be a lighthearted praise hymn, but when I meet my siblings' eyes as we sing, I see deep feeling inside them.

We aren't the most talented family in the world. Several of my siblings play many instruments very well, but none of us are outstanding.

But that really doesn't matter. We're playing for our own enjoyment, for each other, and for our Lord.

Singing - real singing - today is rare. I guess, what with radios, TV, computers, phones, and so many other noise-making machines, folks don't realize what's missing. But when I read Psalms, I see so MANY commands to "praise Him!" with our voice. And Ephesians says it very strongly:

Verse 18: "...be filled with the Spirit; (then a list follows, describing what a spirit-filled person is like. What's first on the list?) speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord..."

So, in short, one way my family has a ton of fun, and obeys scripture, is by singing together.

What do you do? Share it with us!