Good morning as the snow has finally melted away knowing more is headed our way from the Western side of the US but as I watch the many squirrels scamper in the woods behind our home and the beautiful cardinals eating from the bird feeder, I continue to be astounded at the beauty of God's Creation. That Creation, much maligned and doubted in light of evolution, is simply unimpeachable in its reality to me. I think I am just basking in the wonder of it all this day for this day is one of those very special days in my life so let me explain if I can!
Those of you that know me know how much I love music and yes, especially Southern Gospel music. Many may not care for that genre but there is no music that touches my heart more deeply and warmly than a well delivered song about Heaven and that is what Southern Gospel music speaks to so how could that be bad, right? Those of you that know me also know if I like something, I really, really like it as my wife likes to point out all too often.
Tonight a concert of Southern Gospel music will begin at 5 pm for a means to raise much needed funds for a local organization, the Refuge of Hope. The Refuge is a men-focused homeless shelter in downtown Canton, OH that provides meals and overnight sleeping to keep these men off the streets at night. My son is the pastor of a local church that embraced this ministry in late January when the weather was uniquely cold and rallied his church to embrace this ministry by opening the doors of his church to take some of the over capacity of men that could not get into the ROH facility for each evening of the still cold February. What a blessing to see a whole church family invest themselves in these men in preparing bedding in the warmth of the church, food preparation, time investment with these men; that is what churches do and I could not be more proud of my son and his church.
This effort, of course, increases the funding needs to pay for overnight, certified supervisors for these men so from that was borne the idea for a benefit concert to raise funds through giving to off-set the additional spending by ROH so our target tonight is to raise $2800. I am confident God will provide this plus more and I am so excited just to be part of it.
From that let me bridge to the context of my blog this day which is about the joy of singing. I can never remember not loving to sing. I played much basketball in high school and college and beyond but through all of that, music and singing was always a thread that wove itself through my life. The joy I receive from singing is amplified over and over when I see first hand the power of music to lift a spirit that is downtrodden or a person so beset with guilt and disappointment. Seeing tears of release from the angst is the greatest dividend for the hours of work in preparation to sing. Getting music, learning music, memorizing music are mechanics of the work. But God has revealed to me so clearly in the almost decade of working in jails and prisons and now close to 200,000 inmates that a song is a song but a song bathed in prayer, love and caring is more powerful than any sword of destruction. To be a vessel for God's Work in the lives of those that come and hear is the greatest reward of my life.
So the Joy of Singing for me, I realize, for too many years was to feed my ego when people were very complimentary, applause, etc. That all changed for me about ten years ago with the advent of the jail and prison work where I saw how powerful music, delivered with love and caring via the message of the song, can change the direction of a life. I have worked with murderers, drug lords, rapists, robbers, gangs, prostitutes and on and on but I now never view these people by what they did but by what they can be. It has been an amazing transformation for me to be honest with you.
Music, for me, now, is not the ends but it is a very impactful means toward that end and getting to be a vessel on that journey is rewarding beyond measure. Tonight, each of these people that will take that stage and microphones, have been prayed over by name that God would use each and every one of us for His Glory and thus to the Refuge of Hope and its ongoing ministry. Those that come tonight regardless of number I believe will go away having felt blessed and to have been in the presence of people, singers, that love the Lord and are honored and blessed to get to use our voices for God's Glory and knowing the financial rewards from the benefit concert will be well utilized again for God's Glory; how can any of that be wrong, right?
I will close by asking each of you that pray to commit at 5 pm EST tonight to pray for this concert that will feature four groups that have worked very hard to craft the songs so that we can be the very best each of us can be. It is going to be a great experience I know but your prayers will make the experience even more a blessing to each of us that get to be a functional part of this journey. So do I get joy from singing? That would be a resounding yes and I am so excited right now my belly is tingling with anticipation.
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