A Most Joyful Noise

All week we have had the pleasure of having little Noah serenading us.  

The song we have heard day in and day out for some time goes something like this: "Amazing grace, how sweet... to trust in Jesus... loves all the little children... How great our God... saved me..."

It's his own song, the song in his heart, and in case you didn't recognize it, it is a compilation of Amazing Grace, 'Tis So Sweet, Jesus Loves the Little Children and How Great is Our God.

He just goes about his day singing parts of each of these, his favorite songs.

It's sweet sounds like these that have shown us the fruit of a decision Dan and I made years ago.  We decided sometime before the birth of our oldest child that we would not listen to secular radio.  We tucked away all our old CD's and began to familiarize ourselves with Christian music.  With no local Christian radio station, this has taken a bit of creativity, especially early on, in the pre-iPod dial-up internet days.

I think what initially prompted our decision was the day I was driving a mini van belonging to a family I was nannying for.  The mom had her Shaggy CD in the player and before I even realized what was playing, the children, both just toddlers at the time, began singing along.  They knew every word by heart.  It was about then that I decided I wanted my own children, when we had them, to have a very different song in their hearts.

Sure the message of many secular songs can be said to be "not that bad", and in very few cases the overall theme of some songs may actually be good.  Unfortunately, it's very difficult to filter out the "not that bad" from the atrocious and we decided it was simply better for us, and for who were then our future children, to nix it altogether.

Now, we have learned to enjoy jazz, classical and a wide variety of Christian music.  Our children know that there is other, more popular music and they recognize some of it.  It plays in dentist offices, grocery stores, shopping malls and restaurants.

They understand why we listen to different music at home and though none of us are musically gifted, Dan has done a wonderful job of instilling in the children a love of music, and a love of worship through song.

There may be no more joyful noise than that of a two year old singing Amazing Grace while in the bathtub getting ready for bed, or a six year old singing This is My Father's World while feeding his "pet cricket" (that he named Christopher) out on the front step, or the sound of a nine year old humming How Great Thou Art while whittling baby Jesus out of balsa wood for the nativity he's creating.  And yes, when it's all happening at once it sure is noise... but such joyful noise!

When the day ends, we gather for family worship.  Prayer, scripture reading and worship through song.  Oftentimes, the song placed on a young heart is the pick of the evening.  Lately, poor Noah can't decide which one to choose.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  Colossians 3:16