Here I am Lord

What a wonderful Sunday was today! I truly enjoyed worshipping God with people today at our church. The new sermon serious, "Remembering the future" has given me many thoughts and visions in God's world. It was very hard singing untuned but I loved Rev. Tom's comparison of tuning to God. I often think about tuning to God as tuning to my favorite channel of radio at my car. If you have your favorite channel in the radio, we can set as our number 1 channel so whenever we want to listen click the number 1. Or you know where you can find the channel. Especially an old style; you might need to turn the round wheel to find the channel back and forth to get clear sound. If you fix the channel in the same position, you will get the clear sound all the time but if you move to somewhere, it is not sometimes easy to find the channel right away. Tuning to God's heart requires attitudes of humility, openess, and willing to sacrifice. Like Rev. Tom's describtion, we need open our lids to accept the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts that often we refuse. Being stirred is not easy, or comfort. It gives even insomnia! :) Because of the stirred mind, we pray, seek, and do His works.
It has been an exactly year that I have joined to Floris. I am grateful to be a part of stirred paint business. I will keep on praying that God hears our prayers like we sang this morning "Here I am Lord, is it I Lord, I have heard you calling in the night, I will go Lord if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart!"What a privilege to hold His people in our hearts! Let's keep on remembering the future in Him!

Why do we praise God?

While I was preparing the short presentation about why we praise God, I had a great moment to realize in various things about praising God.

First of all, praising God should be the first reaction and expression as His people. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of kings and the Lord of lords: He is the only one who deserve our worship and praise. Also, He commends us to worship and praise Him. In Psalm 150 "Let everything has breath praise the Lord!" Praising God is not suggestion, it is His commendment. However, the commendment is based on His love toward us. By praising God, we find and recognize who God really is and His amazing characters. As I shared this morning, by praising God, we meet our God closely. He empoweres us with His love, comfort, peace and hope through the moment.

We can find how worthy God is to be praised throughout these words from the Bible: Psalm 96:4, Psalm 145:3, 2 Samuel 22:4, Revelation 4:11 and more.

Also, praising God strengthens us to live well as His children.

God uses praises to overcome the battles, to heal brokeness, and to transform people who like He is.

Then how we can praise God?

People often think "praising God" is limited to verbal expression; singing, or reciting words. However, we can praise God with instruments, clapping, raising hands, dancing and so on. God does not limit of praises.

One of my unforgetable memories was also related to the praising God. There was always a special Sunday worship service for the deaf after 5, 6 graders' Sunday worship service in my home church. One Sunday, I was about to leave the place, I saw people wearing robes to attend the service as choir members. I was curious how they would praise God without singing. :I did not know any other forms of praising God except singing at that time. I was shocked with their beautiful praise and worship! I could feel full of God's presence right there! Their facial expressions and sign languages were just beyond we could imagine. I learned that day that there is no limitation to praising God!

Even though God commends us to praise Him, I believe that God commends for us to do it. If we don't praise God, there will be no relationship between God and us. Let's praise the Lord!

Praising God brings always power of God because in praising God, God is there! I pray that we all become "praising people" like John Wesley's description of methodists who are singing people. I pray that whenever we get together to worship God, we praise Him with all our hearts and spirit that transforms us to go out in the world with His living power!

Thank you for visiting our blog~

Thank you so much for visiting our blog. As I promised you to post about praising God, I will post it during this week! I will trim my writing and post it to share with you.
I enjoyed very much to share my mom's story with you all this morning. I was nervous and worried if I could deliver the story clearly to you. However, I lifted up my prayer for you all that you all live as praising people, singsing people to the Lord our God throughout your lives.
Thank you again so much for visiting us and please don't forget visiting again during this week!

Let's praise the Lord!!

If you are happy~!

There will be our another summer choir opportunity on August 7th at 11:00 service, a rehearsal will be at 9:30 on that morning in the music room. We will sing "If you are happy/ Amen" by Andre Thomas. It is a joyful, happy song to lift up our heart to the Lord.Amazingly, I met the composer at the conference in June and had a chance to hear his music.

I have thought about the lyric for a long time. Even though it seems very easy to say "if you are happy and you know it, say amen!", it is not easy on our own to be happy truly. The happiness from our own has limitation in some ways. However, if the happiness is from God, and His Holy Spirit, it is unlimited whether we are in happy circumstances, or not, we are able to be happy and say "Amen". Saying amen means that we all recognize and accept the power of God that is based on His unfailing love and faithfulness whether we are not able to understand or see them right now. Saying amen means also given up ourselves to the Lord who is the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Almighty Father. Like at the lyric, if the Spirit falls on you, makes you shout, "Hallelujah!". I truly believe that. Only the Holy Spirit could be able to let us truly praising "Hallelujah" and saying "Amen".

I have prayed that when we all sing this song, our song is meaning to truly being happy and saying "Amen" with full of His Holy Spirit.

Here is the lyric, and enjoy!

If you are happy and you know it, say, "Amen!" If the Spirit falls on you, makes you shout, "Hallelujah!" If you're happy and you know it, say, "Amen!"

Look in the manger! see the little Baby! See him at the temple, talking to the elders,

See Him at the seaside, preaching to the people. See Him on the cross bearing all our sins.

Died to save us! Rose on Easter! Amen~!

Living Water, Guiding Spirit

Welcome July!! I can't believe how fast the summer has been passing.

I attended "conductor's craft workshop" in Kenosha, WI this week. I have inspired by those wonderful composers, conductors, and musicians with their musics. It was a blessing.

One of them was Joseph Martin. As you know, he has written countless music for anthems, cantatas, and so on. He was a certainly humble inspiring christian composer. Honorably, the summer choir will sing one of his songs on July 10th.

It is "Living Water, Guiding Spirit", inspired by Psalm 42. He wrote with Native American melody based with the song. Whenever I sing the song, it brings the imaginary of the gushing streams of water in the movie "Spirit". In the beginning part of the movie an eagle flies into the canon and streams. The lyric is an inspiring prayer. I pray that we all long for presence of the living God through this beautiful music.

Here is the lyric.

"Just as the deer longs for the water, my spirit longs for you, my God.
Living water flow in me. Refresh my soul with Your truth and grace.
Make in me Your vessel pure, a heart to hold Your praise.
Just as the wind blows through the forest, move through my life today, O Lord, I pray.
Guiding Spirit blow through me. Refresh my soul with Your truth and grace. Lift me up where eagles fly. Teach me a higher way. Teach me O Lord, I pray."

Summer!

Summer is officially started at our Floris UMC!
The choirs finished singing on Sundays as well as our rehearsals.
However, there will be two Sundays with our summer choir!
On July 10th, we will get together at 9:30 to rehearse and sing at 11:00 service with "Living water, Guiding Spirit" by Joseph Martin.
On August 7th, we will praise Him with "If you are happy/amen" by Andre Thomas.
Please come and join to praise the Lord especially this Summer!
I will be attending a workshop " Conductor's craft" from this Sunday in Kenosha, WI. There will be Joseph Martin and Andre Thomas as speakers and I am very excited!

Looking forward to having you all on July 10th!!

Have a blessed and peaceful summer!
And Keep on singing!

Welcome June!

June is already here! I can't believe that a half the year 2011 has passed. Our summer starts from June 22nd in our church, so June 19th is the last Sunday for the choirs and other groups in music ministry.
This Sunday is our communion Sunday, and the sanctuary choir will lift up "Let us talents and tongues employ" as an offertory at 11:00 service. The song is accompanied by piano, flute, and conga. It will be uplifting.
At 8:00 service, the sonrise singers will praise "You are my hiding place."
Next Sunday on 12th, as Pentecost, the sanctuary choir will sing "Filla me up" with several percussion, and for offertory, the string will share "Eine kleine nightmuzik" last movement Rondo at 11:00 service.
On 19th, at 11:00 service two choirs will combined and sing " Holy" as an anthem, "The Majesty and glory of Your name" as an offertory in our last Sunday.

There will be two Sundays with the summber choir on July 10th and August 7th. Please come to the music room at 9:30 on those Sundays to rehearse if you are interested in singing at the group.

Praying to see you all at the worship service!