Thought for Today
Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Luke 15:25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations!
“An earworm or brainworm, also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome, is a catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about. Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) is most common after earworms, but INMI as a label is not solely restricted to earworms” (en.wikipedia.org)
I awoke this morning with an earworm. My mind was focusing on a song from the movie The Sound of Music. That movie first played in 1965, the year before Greta and I were married. In the first few years of our marriage, we saw the movie countless times. It became so ubiquitous in our lives that many years later our granddaughters gave Greta a DVD of the movie as a Christmas present. This morning, as I first woke, my mind was playing a loop of Julie Andrews singing about her favorite things.
“Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, cream-colored ponies, crisp apple strudels, sleigh bells, schnitzel, wild geese, blue satin sashes, snowflakes” are all certainly enjoyable thoughts (at least in their proper seasons and in small doses).
Songs and singing are very important elements of our worship, our lives and our relationship with our Creator God. A significant portion of my role as pastor is to coordinate the hymns we will sing with the message I will deliver in my sermon.
Certainly, not all of us are musically inclined. While I love music, I have no discernable musical talent. Greta will attest, however, that my lack of talent does not deter me from singing loudly and often. I am especially inclined to sing aloud in church, in the shower and in the car (only when I am alone). Out of respect for those who are musically inclined, I do switch off my microphone while I sing in church.
But, this morning, I am particularly focused on that Julie Andrews song, My Favorite Things. Do you have favorite things? I certainly do. I have favorite songs, favorite foods, favorite flowers and even favorite numbers. Favorite: "one that is treated or regarded with special favor or liking . . . especially : a person who is specially loved, trusted, or provided with favors by someone of high rank or authority” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary) Fundamentally, there are things that each of us prefers over other things. I even have a favorite singer . . . but, it’s not Taylor Swift (don’t tell our granddaughters, I don’t want them to disown me)
I have always teased our grandchildren that each of them is my favorite. The truth is that grandparents are not bound by the ‘laws’ of word definitions. Each of our granddaughters is my favorite granddaughter . . . even when they are together with me.
As I thought this morning about favorite things, I remembered what I wrote yesterday that “there are no limits to God’s love.” Does God have favorites? I believe so. God’s favorite is God’s Creation. That includes everything within God’s Creation, including God’s children. I am God’s favorite. You are God’s favorite. More than “Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, cream-colored ponies, crisp apple strudels, sleigh bells, schnitzel, wild geese, blue satin sashes, snowflakes,” you . . .and I are God’s favorite!
Stay safe, bask in God’s favor, trust God,
Pastor Ray