Compassion

Compassion

           Have you ever had a moment when something just struck you?  When you were going about your typical everyday routine, and something made you just stop in your tracks?  I had one of those moments several weeks ago.

            Living near to Atlanta, I’ve been to the downtown of the city on numerous occasions.  Were it not for the FOX Theater, the excellent museums, and other remarkable attractions, it wouldn’t exactly be a place that would bring me a sense of excitement.  Like most other major cities, it has its crime, its shadowy dark alleys, and graffiti-marked bridges and buildings.  But it’s a big city.  It’s what you expect to find in a city of its populace rank.  Another familiar sight on the streets of downtown Atlanta is homeless, unemployed residents. 

            I live with my family outside of Atlanta, tucked away in the suburbs and away from all that comes with living in a big city.  To me, Atlanta is Atlanta and my home is my home; they’re two very different worlds.  And they’re very distinctly separated.  What you find in Atlanta is not what you expect to find in my small town, and what you find in my small town is not what you find in Atlanta.  That’s just the way it is.

            My mom and I were driving home from my riding lesson several weeks ago when we stopped to pick up some groceries.  As we were driving out of the shopping plaza, I noticed a man sitting on the curb and holding a “Will Work For Food” sign.  It made me stop in my tracks.  It shook my little world.  Here was a sight I had often seen in Atlanta, but right in my small town?  It hit home for me… literally.

            Immediately I was reminded of one of my favorite songs, What If She’s an Angel by country singer Tommy Shane Steiner.  This song has always made me stop and think- the lyrics are so thought-provoking- but after that incident, it strikes me even deeper.  The song describes three scenes: a man standing on a corner holding a “Will Work For Food” sign, a woman living in an apartment with an abusive husband, and a little girl with cancer.  Each verse ends posing a “you can…” reaction to the situation, an apathetic standpoint that most people unfortunately take in the situation.  The chorus goes on to pose the question of what if these people in these situations are angels sent from Heaven as a test to make sure we’re doing our job to help each other in our times of need.

            Okay, if you’re anything like me, you want to crawl under the table at this point.  It’s all right to feel that way; conviction is a good thing.  In fact, if you don’t feel the Holy Spirit’s prick of your conscience, you’re in a very dangerous place to be.  And God is compassionate to His children in their mistakes and short-comings.  “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.” (Ps 103:8&9)  “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Ps 103:13&14)  Crawl out from under the table now; we have good news!  Even with all our faults, God understands our weaknesses and the nature of our human flesh and He still loves us, still forgives us, and still gives us another chance to do it right.  The important thing is that we allow the Holy Spirit’s conviction to motivate us to do something about our mistakes and make a difference in how we live.

            When I listen to this song, it forces me to evaluate my heart.  It forces me to ask myself, “Do I really have Christ’s compassion for others?”  I admit, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t always like the answer on some days.  These kinds of people in these kinds of situations are exactly the type of people that Christ ministered to though: the hopeless and desperate, the hurting, and the sick.  “Jesus went through all towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to the disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” (Mt 9:35-38)  But are the children of God really answering that call to become workers in the harvest field?  Do we really have His heart for not only the other disciples, but for the crowd as well?  It takes courage to be sure; the crowd can be fierce, cruel, and ruthless sometimes.  It’s easy to have compassion when you don’t actually have to get involved in the drama of the situation, when you don’t have to act on it, but let’s be honest… compassion without action is not genuine compassion. 

            I close encouraging you to do two things.  Number one: look up the song What If She’s an Angel.  Whether country music is your type of genre or not, I’m confident you’ll be able to find something in the message of this song to walk away with.  (As a clarification though, I am not endorsing all of Tommy Shane Steiner’s music.  As with all of my song suggestions, my recommendation only pertains to the song I specifically mentioned.)  And challenge number two: pray for compassion and a heart for others and move in that area when the Lord prompts you to.  Use discretion though; we do live in a dangerous world.  Some situations are not prudent to find yourself in, despite your good intentions.  No situation is too dangerous for prayer though even should your common sense advise you not to enter into the situation physically.  If the Lord prompts you to minister to someone in their time of need though, be swift to do His will.  It may not always be convenient for you and fit into your schedule, but I confess, I have ignored that still, small voice within before, and I can assure you that it will be an opportunity that you will regret having not taken advantage of.  Don’t be hardened by a calloused and dulled heart.  Show the love and compassion of Christ to someone today.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

*If you enjoy reading my posts here on Heart-chords, you may also enjoy checking out my new blog where I plan to share more of my writing works.  (www.theavidauthor.blogspot.com)  On The Avid Author, you’ll be able to follow my latest writing projects; read some of my earlier works including songs, poems, and short stories; get tips that I find helpful for writing well; find excerpts of my longer pieces; and soon you’ll even be able to watch a book trailer and an interview with the author (me) of my first complete novel.  On The Avid Author, you can find a cute short story called “The Balloon” that corresponds to the message of Compassion.

Photo courtesy of: Copyright (c) <a href='http://www.123rf.com'>123RF Stock Photos</a>

~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3

  

Fatherhood

Fatherhood

The man sighed heavily as he sat in the waiting room of the hospital.  It had been hours already since they had arrived and his wife had gone into labor.  Finally he had left her side for a few minutes to walk outside and get some fresh air.  The anxiety was too much.  It shouldn’t be taking that long, should it?

           Rising from his seat, he made his way over to the nearby row of windows and stood gazing down at the parking lot below where the sun was just beginning to cast its morning rays as it peeked over the horizon.  Above the sunlight had already painted the sky in its array of dawn colors.

          He sighed again as his thoughts returned to his wife.  What if something was wrong?  Why was it so difficult?  Why was it taking so long?  Were there complications?  A noise came from behind, the sound of a door.  He turned and saw a nurse approaching where he stood.  Noting the smile on her face, relief and overwhelming joy suddenly replaced the prior anxiety.  Fatherhood.

Fatherhood is a beautiful thing.  It truly is.  It is a high occupation and calling instituted and designed by God.  Unfortunately, so many take the responsibility of being a father lightly as well as the concept of fathering.  In my opinion, at the very moment of conception, fatherhood begins and that man becomes responsible for a very real and very living child.  If he is man enough to father the child, he needs to be man enough to be a father to it.

Fortunately, I was blessed with that kind of father.  I was thinking last night of how I was going to begin describing my dad to the readers of my blog and the first words that came to my mind were, “Wow.  He is incredible.”

Incredible is an understatement though.  I cannot begin to express how much of any influence my dad has been in my life, my conception of the meaning of family, and the development of who I am today.  If it were not for my father, I would not be the person that I am.

My dad has taught me so much.  As much alike as I am to my mom, I’m truly much more like my dad than I realize.  He’s taught me to face life with courage and not to back down and be afraid to try new things.  He’s taught me to be bold in my opinions and my faith.  My admiration for him grows every day when he comes home telling us about his day at work and I watch as he brings his faith into his workplace unashamedly.  I inherited his ease of words.  Though he doesn’t write much, he has a remarkable gift of words when he takes the time to write and even verbally, his intentional and deliberate use of words is so moving.  I’ve also gained his ability to conceal my emotions.  I can’t remember the last time that I saw my dad cry, and I find that I too rarely display my deep emotions in the presence of anyone.  But when my dad prays, if I’m teetering on the edge of crying, his words always bring my tears in a torrent.

He’s taught me to work hard and to apply myself whole-heartedly at whatever task is before me.  He daily displays the sacrifice of love as he goes off to work as the breadwinner of our family so that my mom can stay home.  He models for me the love of my Heavenly Father and sets a standard for me of what a godly husband and father should be.  Ever since I was a little girl, he’s shown me that I’m a princess, a treasure, and that I’m special and should be treated by any boy as such.  He displays for me the characteristics of a godly man and what it means to be a real man in the truest sense of manhood- a man’s man.  He’s taught me leadership as he guides our family as the godly head of our home.  He’s taught me how to dream.  I remember many years ago he told me to “dare to dream even when the world around you can’t.”  I’ll never forget those words.  They have motivated me more than he knows.  He believes in me and encourages me.  Even now as I begin the journey of attempting to start my career as an author, he continues to support me, telling me that he knows I’m “gonna make it” despite the intimidating world of publishing houses and agents and the book-market.

My dad has faithfully always provided for our family even when it was difficult to do so.  I can’t remember a time in my life when we were ever at a need for necessities.  He provides for our family not only financially, but also just as importantly, he provides for our family emotionally.  He supports us through hard times, joined my mother in raising and nurturing my siblings and me, and I have never doubted once in my entire life that my dad loves our family- my sisters, my mom.  That he loves me.

I’ll never understand everything that goes through a father’s mind, but after recently writing a story from a father’s perspective and being forced to ponder the emotions of a dad, I certainly appreciate perhaps more than ever now my dad and the sacrifices that he makes.  He was such an inspiration in that book as I modeled the character’s family life and interaction with his wife and children after the life of my own father.  In that novel, I asked myself, “What are the characteristics of a true hero?”  After completing the novel and the journey of discovering the answer to that question, I can honestly say that my dad is a hero.  He’s my hero, and I’m so proud to be his daughter.

Last year, a movie called Courageous came to the theaters.  If you have not seen the movie, I highly encourage you to do so and to support the producers Sherwood Pictures in their attempt to make Christian family movies with a strong godly message.  The story has a powerful theme of godly fatherhood.  Its soundtrack also has some great songs about fatherhood, but truthfully, I most liken my father’s life and his heart to the song Family Man by country singer Craig Campbell.  In fact, it’s one of my favorite songs in general.  It gives such a beautiful depiction of family life and the motivation of a family man.  And that is my father.  My dad’s world revolves around the Lord and his family.  We are the motivation for why he does what he does, why he works as hard as he works, why he pushes himself to be all that he is.  I’m so proud of him.  Below is a list of the other father songs I have in the collection on my iPod.  Many of them are father-daughter songs, but not all of them are.  The asterisks indicate my favorites.

Drive by Alan Jackson

*Family Man by Craig Campbell

It Won’t Be Like This For Long by Darius Rucker

Always Be Your Baby by Natalie Grant

Watching You by Rodney Atkins

*Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy) by Rodney Atkins

*Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman

My Little Girl by Tim McGraw

Just Fishin’ by Trace Adkins

                Last night I stopped and pondered what my life would be like without my father.  My mom has had a tremendous influence in my life as well, but I concluded that without my father my character and personality would not be the same as it is.  I would perhaps not have had the opportunity to be homeschooled by my mom, and I might not be living in the state of Georgia where I live now.  If it were not for my father, I would not even exist as the person of Julia Marie.  It’s a startling thought.  Just think about where you might be right now if it were not for your father.

            Earlier in the year, my dad had to take several business trips up north for his work.  He was gone almost every other week and would be away the entire week, returning on the weekend- sometimes Thursday, sometimes Friday.  For the first time in my life, I got a glimpse of what life is like without a father.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I was brought to an episode of tears one morning because I missed him so much.  Our family was incomplete; there was always something missing from the atmosphere in our home.  Never before had I realized what a vital role my dad plays in the happiness and completeness of our family and how much I look forward to seeing him when he comes home from work in the evenings.  I don’t always show it, I don’t always even realize it, but instinctively my routine, the completeness of my day, depends upon the moment he arrives home.  We take our fathers and their roles so much for granted I realized.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day.  I encourage you to take the time to thank your dad for everything that he does and has done for you and your family.  Let him know how much you appreciate his sacrifices and time and how much you love him.  And if you don’t know your father- have never had your father’s influence in your life- take the opportunity to thank a man that has influenced and impacted your life or has perhaps even been a father-figure to you.  Most importantly though, remember that no matter what your situation is, you have a Heavenly Father.  His Word tells us that He is a “father to the fatherless,” (Ps 68:5) and He loves you more than you know.  Like our earthly fathers though, He too deserves to be thanked more than just on Father’s Day.  Take the celebration of the day as an opportunity to let your dad know just how much he means to you but don’t let a whole year go by before you tell him again.  Thank him and tell him how much you love him on a regular basis.  Dads are too important in our lives to be left behind in busy schedules.

“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction…” Proverbs 13:1

 ~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3

    

To Everything There Is A Season

To Everything There Is A Season

           When was the last time you stopped and enjoyed a simple moment in life… just for the beauty of the moment itself?  This afternoon my mom and I went grocery shopping and as we were strolling down an aisle, my gaze fell upon a display of balls.  Good, old-fashioned bouncy balls like the kind we all used to play with as kids.  All of a sudden, a stream of memories flooded through my mind.  Lazy summer afternoons of playing hopscotch on our driveway, drawing with sidewalk chalk, blowing bubbles and watching them burst as the soft breeze carried them floating down to the concrete, making a wish and blowing downy dandelion seeds across our lawn, cloud-watching, shredding blades of grass, playing jump-rope, buying ice-cream from the ice-cream man…  I know I’m not the only one with these happy childhood memories.  And of course, the fond memory of bouncing my big balls around or bouncing as I sat on them.  I had two- one was pink, cream, and yellow swirled and the other was solid purple.  I loved those balls.

            Perhaps I’m old-school or old-fashioned, but I can’t help wondering what our new generation of children are missing.  Sitting inside in front of a laptop screen, playing with their Wii, surfing for apps on their iPods and iPads- it’s what they want to do because it’s all they know.  It’s all our society teaches them that there is.  They just don’t know what they’re missing.  The old saying, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you,” isn’t always true.

            As we all grow up and move from childhood into adulthood, it’s so easy to get caught up in busy schedules and agendas.  We have things to do, places to go, people to see.  We’re busy.  It’s easy to get trapped into the rush of advertisement and media.  “The bigger, the better,”  “The more you buy, the more you save,” they tell us.  It’s all about getting the latest and greatest, and it’s easy to get locked into that mentality too.  But life isn’t counted by how many meetings we fit into our schedule or how quickly we can afford to get the newest electronic device.  Years from now, the items you have listed on your agenda won’t really matter and if you have the latest iPad, guess what?  It’ll be outdated before you know it.  No, what will really count in years to come will be those memories you can look back and reflect on.  Those pictures you can pull out from the old picture boxes and laugh at the good times.  (Yes, I have a box of real hardcopy pictures.)  Don’t rush through life.  There’s a time for growing up and moving on and there’s a time for schedules and getting things accomplished in your day; we’re supposed to be good stewards of the time that the Lord has given us, but there’s also a time for stepping back, setting our priorities again where they should be, and just enjoying the moment for what it is- whether that be stopping to smell that blooming rose in your garden, sitting on your front porch with a glass of lemonade, taking a drive down a country road with your windows rolled down and your music turned up, or taking the old rod and reel down to the lake for an afternoon.  I don’t know what that looks like for you, but you know what I’m talking about.  There’s a time for sitting back, taking it easy, and looking at life through an eternal perspective: “In a few years, what will really matter and count in the end?”  I love the song by Owl City called Hot Air Balloon; it describes the joy of childhood and imagination so beautifully.  I’m also a fan of the old black-and-white Andy Griffith TV show, and one of my favorite songs is Mayberry by Rascal Flatts.  The description of the simple lifestyle in Andy Griffith’s Mayberry town is so refreshing and inspiring.

            Because of my enthusiasm, my mom bought that ball in the grocery store for me, and I’m so glad she did.  Not only because I love the color of it, it’s fun bouncing it, and it reminds me of good times, but because it reminds me to not rush through life.  Life is a journey that’s meant to be enjoyed.  Take the time to step back and enjoy your today.  Celebrate life and the joy found in the very essence of living.         

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” Ecc 3:1

~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3

Symphony Sonnet

Symphony Sonnet 

If you know me well, you’ve likely discovered that I am an avid lover of music.  All kinds of music- soundtracks, classical, pop, children’s, country, Christian…  I even have both a Christian rock song and a Christian rap song in my collection.  If you love music as much as I do, then you can imagine that a visit to an orchestra performance would be quite a thrill.

May 12^th, my father took my mom, my oldest sister, and me to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as a surprise for my mom for Mother’s Day.  What an incredible experience!  And incredible is truly an understatement.  I may have enjoyed it most of all, and it wasn’t even my surprise!  Robert Spano performed the role of the conductor wonderfully, and the whole ensemble of musicians was marvelous.  When the performance first began, it opened with the orchestra playing Alvin Singleton’s Different River, which we all agreed sounded like it should be part of The Chronicles of Narnia movie soundtracks.  Next came George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with guest pianist Leon Bates, one of America’s leading pianists.  The minute the song began, it was impossible to refrain from smiling.  It was such a happy song!  Rhapsody in Blue we thought sounded like it would’ve used in Disney’s classic animation movie 101 Dalmatians.  Leon Bates did a stunningly remarkable job in the song; he played an unbelievably long and complex solo piece completely from memory.  I was so nervous for him that he would mess up and forget the song that I found myself gripping my program.  After the intermission was featured Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3.  This one was undoubtedly my favorite I think.  Words cannot describe the sensation and the emotions it produced in you as you sat there in the red plush seats, the notes of the symphony floating up to you in the balcony.  It was beautiful.        

Some songs just seem as if they’re written to inspire people, to stir their emotions and to motivate their creativity.  Symphony No. 3 is one such song for me.  As I sat there listening, my thoughts began their course of creativity, and I was reminded how each one of us is an instrument.  If you have never taken the time to read the note I include at the end of my posts explaining why I chose the name Heart-chords for my blog, then please do so. 

Yes, we are instruments though, all playing together in a beautiful symphony of music to proclaim the glory and greatness of God.  Music has always been an important part of people’s lives.  In the Bible, we read of so many instances where music was in the people’s presence; for celebrations, for victories, for praising the Lord.  Music is powerful and has the unique ability to affect people and their emotions.  In my opinion, striking the inner chord of a person’s emotions is perhaps one of the most difficult feats.  Trust me, as an aspiring author, I’ve well discovered that principle through my writing.  And music has the capability of touching that calloused and guarded portion of our emotions.  How much more should we use the music that our lives produce to touch the hearts of others and turn them toward Christ?

In an orchestra, there are so many different instruments: violins, kettle drums, percussions, cellos, a piano, an organ, a tuba, French horns, saxophones, flutes, clarinets, recorders… the list goes on.  Each instrument has such a unique sound, but without it, the whole symphony would not be complete.  Each of us is an instrument, but each of us also has a different sound.  Each of the instruments in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s performance was playing a different piece of the song.  So we too each have a different portion to play in God’s melody.  We each have unique abilities and gifts that He has given us and desires for us to use for His glory, but unfortunately, so many people nowadays try to conform their gifts to others’.  They take their unique instrument and try to play the music portion of their peers.  You are a unique instrument and have been given a unique piece to play in the song.  Don’t be afraid to stand apart and be different, who you really are and were created to be.  Having a solo in a song is a scary thing.  If you mess up, everyone can tell.  I wonder if often that might be the problem.  We’re too afraid of making mistakes to play our individually assigned portions of God’s song.  Timidity can be a terrible thing in a walk with the Lord.  Don’t be afraid to play your unique part.  Mistakes will happen, yes, but mistakes are a step in learning.  Beginner musicians always make mistakes.  It’s inevitable; they’re just learning.  We will fumble in playing our music, using our gifts, but it’s a part of learning.  It’s okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them.  Be the unique instrument that you are.  If you’re a cello, don’t try to be a violin or play the violinist’s part of the song.  It ruins the whole symphony, and the song is incomplete without its cellos.

Learning to play an instrument is not easy.  If you’re a musician yourself you can testify to that statement, I’m sure.  It takes time and dedication and practice.  So does the instruments of our lives.  Learning to live our lives as a testimony for Christ takes time spent with Him and in His Word.  It doesn’t come overnight.  If you are learning to play a stringed instrument then the learning process can be painful as well as you build up callouses on your fingers.  Walking with the Lord is not guaranteed to be pain-free. 

Instruments always need tuning.  When a musician plays in an orchestra, he must focus on the music and pay close attention to know when to come in.  Unfortunately, the world is such a stumbling block for believers nowadays that is so easy to lose our focus on playing God’s symphony.  That’s why it’s so important to spend time in God’s Word to keep our instruments tuned and our attention refocused.  It does take dedication though; I admit taking the time for this is one of my difficult points. 

Symphony No. 3 and the whole experience at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was so beautiful and breath-taking that I wished it would never end.  It had me hardly daring to breathe for fear of missing a single note.  How much more beautiful and grand is the melody of the Lord when all of His children join together in song for Him?  And that is a song that will never end. 

The book of Isaiah records for us these words of Hezekiah, king of Judah, as he writes about his experience through the trial of an illness that brought him to his death-bed.  He had full confidence that the Lord would save him and spare him from death.  We are all doomed for death.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 6:23)  But by the grace of God and the atonement through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, we too have full confidence that He will save us and spare us from this death if we place our trust and belief in Him and allow Him to reign in our lives as Lord.  Hezekiah writes that the Lord will save him, but I write that the Lord has saved me, and may we all sing to Him with stringed instruments all the days of our lives.  

“The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord.” Isa 38:20

~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3