I grew up in a family that loved to sing.  My father couldn’t carry a tune, but his rendition of “With the Lord Begin Thy Task” is unforgettable.  A favorite pastime with my mother was to sit together with a hymnbook and see how many hymns we could sing until we were “stumped” and didn’t know a tune.  In school, we were also asked to memorize certain hymn verses.  This taught me to really look at the words we sang.  Often, they tell a story or expand on a verse from the Bible.  Sometimes it’s a prayer set to music.

As you sit in meditation before your worship service begins, open a hymnbook and read through a few songs.  They will speak to you like sermon or prayer.  A favorite of mine as I prepare for worship is:

Lord, open now my heart to hear,

and through your Word to me draw near.

Prepare that Word in purity,

that I your child and heir may be.

Read Ephesians 5:19-20, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Helen