Three Things

One day several years ago when I was driving our car downtown to the grocery store, I heard a speaker on the Christian radio station talking about 27 qualities to look for in a mate. Well, by the time I got back home I had only heard three of the qualities, but they were so good I wished I had heard all 27!
1. Is he or she a person of integrety? Do they practice integrity in their personal life and in their work?
2. Is he or she emotionally healthy? Or does he/she attempt to manipulate people?
3. Do they have any unresolved anger in their lives?

It's a short checklist, but an important one.

Football

I love football. This time of year both the NFL and the college football games are at their best.
We just endured a sad lose when the Kansas Jayhawks lost their #2 ranking and a chance at the national championship in their loss to Missouri at Arrowhead. (We're still hoping for a BCS bowl game...)
We've given up on the Chiefs this season, but we've still had fun going to games at Arrowhead with family. Next year!
Living in Colorado the first 22 years of my life, I was a big Bronco and John Elway fan; in fact, I have over 120 John Elway football cards, including his Rookie card which my husband gave me for Valentine's Day one year. I'm hoping those cards will make me rich one day!
When I was recently watching a college game, I noticed the quarterback looking at his wristband full of plays. They were there for a quick reminder of important plays that might win or lose the game. When the coach calls in a play, he can check his wrist to make sure he has all the right details.
That made me think of the scripture that talks about binding His commands to our minds. Proverbs 7:3 says to "Bind them on our fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."
Proverbs 3:3 reminds us to "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the table of your heart."
So, I'm thinking that we need to bind His Word to our hearts, our minds, our thoughts. And when our Coach calls in a play for us, we need to be quick to remember His commands and execute the play in the way He wants. Even if we don't understand why, or if we disagree with His call, we need to be faithful to Him, knowing he see the "whole ball game".
And that at the end of the game, we will have a sure Victory.

Music

Music has always been an important part of my life. It can set a mood, help us celebrate, help us mourn, help us worship, relax us, excite us, help us walk faster and farther, bring a smile to our face and our heart, or bring tears of joy or sadness.
Recently, our older daughter sent us a "youtube" posting that she knew we would enjoy. It was a sound/video clip from the 1970's...a Christian group called "Children of the Day" singing "For Those Tears I Died", written by Marsha Stevens, their lead vocalist. We loved the clip!! (Not only the music but the clothes and hair styles, too!) I wrote back to our daughter and said,"I saw Marsha Stevens and the "Children of the Day" sing that song live at Redeemer Temple in Denver, summer of 1972, right after she had written it!!"(We also have sung that song hundreds of times since then; page 369 in our hymnal at our church:)
That got me thinking about the influence that music has had in my life. It can have such an effect on our lives, both in a positive and negative way. Music can be uplifting or downgrading; we need to be so careful of what we and our children "put" into our minds. We know how the melody and lyrics of songs can lodge in our minds, coming to our minds and spirits at random times to encourage us, or the opposite.
When our daughters were young, they listened to a lot of "Psalty" tapes and songs from the Marantha singers. One night, when one of them was going to bed, she said "I don't know why, but everytime I listen to that music, it makes me feel good and want to obey." I told her that that was the Holy Spirit speaking to her, even at that young age.
The Bible talks about the power of music: "Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him." (I Samuel 16:23)
So, get out your favorite music, listen to it, feel better, and find relief...true music therapy!