A Worker's Prayer

It has been awhile!  I think I'm doing okay to post once a month. :)

In the past month we've set my son up for some new services, started speech appointments, visited family, and had a bunch of appointments and evaluations.  And of course, we've all worked.  On the house, in the house, outside of the house.

Do you ever have one of those crises where you realize you're never going to get anything done if you don't get organized?  And that things are just going to get worse if you don't do something about it?  I come down with organizational anxiety pretty frequently, and this has been especially so since we moved a year ago.  Since the universe tends toward disorder, it's a constant fight to be productive.  I was going to add, "especially when..." and name off a few things in my life.  Maybe a reader can add their own "especially when ________ " to the comments.  In any case, life always runs more smoothly when you're organized.

That's part of why I was so delighted when I discovered that my husband had set up a work station for me.  I'd been home for several hours before I noticed it, and it was such a sweet surprise.  Not only is it functional, it's cute!  I find that for my purposes, a kitchen table works as well or better than a desk.

All morning today I have had the Getty song "Before You I Kneel (A Worker's Prayer)" on my mind.  It was actually a weird day at work, and for that I am all the more glad the song was on my mind.  As I sit at my new work station for the first time, I want this post to be a dedication to the Lord of the work that will be done here - the correspondence, blog-posting, studying, searching, researching, planning, writing, grading, and generally all of the wordy intellectual productivity that a quiet desk space helps promote.

I love the thought of my work being an arena into which His presence may enter and His grace and glory shine.  It elevates my life and work to something more than just a set of tasks, or worse, machinations in an economic factory.  Work is relationships, toil, process, progress, thorns, possibilities, energy.  Work is really a lot of work. So with the work, I know I must also rest when He calls, which is part of working for the Lord, and not for my own promotion or gain.

I'm just going to post links to the lyrics and a video clip below.  If you think of a way to finish the phrase, "It's especially difficult to be productive when ____________," please post it to the comments section below.  Along with any other comments about the work you do, and how the Lord is part of it.

This post took about an hour to put together.  Even though I could have been doing other things, I felt was important to take them time to dedicate this work station, and I pray that God blesses this time and effort, as well as your time and effort in serving Him today.

The GettyMusic link to lyrics and audio clip: http://www.gettymusic.com/hymns.aspx

Unlicensed video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPVtx_HCpOo

... and He must win the battle

I couldn't figure out why I got so choked up singing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" this morning.  Even as I type these words I feel a bit overcome by those of the "battle hymn of the reformation."  The song tosses me back and forth between my hopelessness in my own strength and the certainty of victory in Christ's.

It is not the first time I'd heard or sung this old song, but it was timely.  I was pleased to discover yesterday that Keith and Kristyn Getty have released a new album of hymns, and in this video  Keith pointed out the contrast between the goal of a pop song, which is to resonate in and of headlines, and a folk or classical song, which ideally outlasts the composer.  "A Mighty Fortress" is just that type of song.

At one point I stopped singing this morning, and just listened.  There were the voices of hundreds of women, singing together.  Then it hit me one reason why I was so overcome: it is the first last for me.  Over the next ten days or so, I'll have a lot of "lasts," since we are relocating soon.  One thing that struck me was the vibrance of the women among whom I had the privilege to stand and sing.  Salt. Of. The. Earth.  At the same time, I felt encouraged that amidst the threat of uncertainty in what will for us be a brave new step, God's "truth abideth still."

His kingdom is forever.

Lord of the Rings

So, last night was the opening ceremonies of the Summer olympics in London.  I L-O-V-E-D it. So theatrical, funny, beautiful, brilliant, and British.  I loved how the music helped tell the story, and the fact that there were twenty things going on at once on a huge field and that the cameras were able to zoom in on certain vignettes so we could follow the story.  There were parts that were a bit confusing to me and I was glad that the commentators were explaining.  I hope that all of the members of the crowd had some kind of guide in their programs.

Before the ceremonies, I was feeling completely exhausted and discouraged by all that there was to do.  I felt the Lord remind me to "cease striving, and know that I am God." I read the rest of Psalm 46 while I rested.  It was good.  In college it was brought to my attention that "Be still and know that I am God" is just half of the verse; the other half is, "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

So, as I was watching the historical drama unfold on the olympic field, I was quite struck by all of the hymn singing.  I want to find out what some of those hymns were - one sounded like "Bread of Heaven" or something like that.  And it seemed like at one point in the children's hospital scene that the Mary Poppinses and others were dancing to "Good Christian Men, Rejoice."  I imagine it's just a traditional tune.

I watched almost all of the opening ceremonies.  I was tired, right?  And I was (and still am!) an English major, a somewhat closeted Anglo-phile, so I seriously soaked the whole thing in.  It didn't seem as long as it really was, to me.

Coincidentally, my daily Bible reading for yesterday also included Psalm 46.  It made me glad for the acknowledgement of Britain's Christian past, and a little sad that it was just considered part of the past.  It left me wondering if hymns and Christianity could be a significant part of Britain's future.

Dickinson's days

I've been doing a little background research for an idea I had for writing a different kind of hymn; one that used the meter of the hymn in order to throw into relief an atheistic or agnostic message. I was thinking about Emily Dickinson, because I remember learning in my undergrad days that Dickinson often used hymn meter for her poetry. Case in point, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is written in common meter, as is "Amazing Grace," by John Newton.

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

 vs.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

 A lot of scholars have put a lot of thought into why she did this. Was it because so much exposure to hymns predisposed her to a particular cadence? Was she fond of hymns? Did she like the challenge? It was certainly a limitation that she chose for her own purposes. I guess scholars are not settled on the question, and I have enough respect for literary studies not to impose a hasty answer. For me, though, hearing Dickinson's poems set to hymn tunes makes it readily apparent how very different her message was from that of the hymns. Consider the last two stanzas of both "Because I could not stop" and "Amazing Grace." I'm also including the penultimate stanza of Dickinson's poem for context.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

 vs.

 When we've been there ten thousand years
 Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.

It is not clear what happens in Dickinson's eternity, but Newton's is clearly a choir party. Note the emphasis on the length of days, too. It really brings out the contrast. Well, that is enough for now; I'll post a few more times on this subject, I think.

One Song

I was thinking this morning about lyrics that I might post as a Facebook status, and my mind drifted to "What Child Is This?" Originally, I was going to post the chorus from the third verse, but decided to check myself for accuracy, and looked up the lyrics online. I was amazed to see how one song contains so many varied themes of Christmas. The narrative with its characters and tangibility - the baby on his mother's lap, angels singing, shepherds at their post. The humiliation of the King, chosen by the King himself - lying in "mean estate," when, as Milton reminds us, His true state is Kingly. Philippians 2:6-7 describes the attitude of such a king, who, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." The song focuses on the manger, but provides scope. The chorus of verse 2, which I hadn't really paid attention to before, says: "Nails, spear shall pierce Him through/ The cross be borne for me, for you." This is more than a sentimental glimpse at a family group; the "babe, the son of Mary," is "the Word made flesh." The last two lines of each chorus address the listener, but then in verse three, the entire verse is a call to worship, inviting us to imagine our connection to peasants and kings, who alike are humble before this baby, the King of kings. The lyrics I was thinking of posting to Facebook were those of the chorus of verse 3: "Raise, raise your song on high/ the Virgin sings her lullaby/ Joy, joy to all He brings/ The babe, the Son of Mary." I suppose these verses stood out to me because I am a singer and songwriter. Somehow I naturally want to exult in the joy I find in God, notwithstanding and not ignoring the pain, the suffering, the sin in the world. As Sara Groves puts it in "Tell Me What You Know," "so much can go wrong/ and still there are songs." There are songs because Jesus was born - because of Emmanuel, God with us. So in this one song we have the humility of the King, the salvific perspective of the manger, and a call to response. It's the gospel, and a skillful song indeed. (I can't find a video that features all of the original lyrics, but this one has some nice artwork. I read the lyrics here.)