Make A Joyful Noise

I'm one of those people who rarely get sick, seriously. I honestly don't remember the last time I had a fever. But this is one of those rare times when I do get sick. I've been absent from school for two days already because I've been coughing. If it were up to me, I'd be in ballet right now. It's just a cough, nothing serious, and I don't feel weak at all, but Mom's the boss.

It was nice, though, staying home from school. I got to do the things I normally don't have time to do. Watch anime and sleep. I fell asleep yesterday with aircon (which isn't normally turned on in our house) listening to classical music. Bliss. 

I did pretty much the same thing today, except I drew because I have a couple of paintings to give for birthdays. I brought up a bowl of cookies and a cup of hot green tea to keep me company while I drew.

The anime I've been watching is called La Corda d'Oro. It's basically about a girl, Kahoko, who's given a magical violin by a music fairy and suddenly finds herself joining the music division of her school's concours, or music competition, even though she has no experience in music. The violin can be played by anyone, and Kahoko was chosen by the fairy because she was the only who could see it.

There was an episode in the anime during the concours in which Kahoko played too hard and broke the strings of the violin, losing all of its magic. Lili, the fairy, told her it had happened because the violin was a mirror of her feelings. Kahoko hadn't been playing the violin with a good attitude. She had been playing too rashly, and only wanted to play well in order to match the talent of the other contestants. She wasn't enjoying music anymore.

In the same way, we should always have a good and thankful heart when worshipping God. I hope that, especially for those of you who play in the music team, worshipping and playing in church, youth service, chapel, etc. won't be a routine or just something you do. I hope that before you play or sing, you won't think, "Here we go again. Okay, Lord, make this work." I haven't reached that point yet, and I hope I never do.

I've been reading 1 Chronicles and picked up a lot of things about worshipping God and how important it is to minister to others through music. In the Levites were the chosen ones for this significant role. They had to sing praises every morning and evening, prophesy, and lots of other things. They were told to "sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps, and cymbals." (1 Chronicles 15:16)

Always remember to worship Him joyfully. You're entering His presence when you worship. What's there not to be joyful and grateful about? "David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets." (1 Chronicles 13:8)

That's all I have to say for now. I will leave you this photo Dad e-mailed me from the airport an hour ago. It made my day. Can't wait for him to come home!