The Fifth Voice

I sing in a quartet. We always attempt to have a very close harmony and when we sing in unison we strive for it to sound like one voice. Our unofficial musical goal is for the listener not to be able to identify which of us is singing a specific part. Sometimes the harmony is so tight that we hear what we lovingly call “the warbler.” That’s not an official music theory title for the sound. So, you know me, I researched that phenomenon. It is called the “ring.” It is when the voices are so unified in harmony that it rings. It has something technical to do with synchrony of sound wave lengths. Some say that there is actually the sound of a fifth voice!

Paul evidently knew a little something about harmony in singing. He wrote in Colossians 3:12-16 (and I will insert little comments here and there):

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you forgive.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity (or that perfect harmony).  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body (the ring); and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing (see, he understands our harmony in action) with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

We are supposed to be a cohesive group at home or church (or wherever Christians are gathered) having that perfect harmony. We should be acting, praising, singing, worshipping, managing, and/or whatever we are doing together with unity. We are supposed to have the ring. If any one of us is out of tune we won’t.

The best harmony comes from singers from the same family. It’s in the DNA and some call it “blood harmony.” And so it should be with the Christian body. We have the same spiritual genetic makeup with the same Father so our harmony should be tight. And nothing but the blood of Jesus has brought us together.

So If I am not acting with kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, or love then I’m not helping the unity of the group. It won’t have the heavenly ring. And it won’t until I get tuned with God’s harmony. When I’m synchronized spiritually with my brothers and sisters in Christ then those outside the family will marvel at our harmony.

They will hear the fifth voice.

Who is the fifth voice?

 Jesus, of course

Time Flies When You Are Living It

One of my friends told me that her son and his wife are now living in the same university apartment  as dorm parents that I inhabited as a dorm parent so long ago. At that time, in the past, my friend wasn’t even dating. Now her child is married and doing my old job.  Wow, times flies. That was such a wakeup call for me. It made me evaluate the course of my life. I think at certain points in our life God reminds us of our history and the part He played in it.

Solomon reviewed the course of a life in Ecclesiastes 3. He broke it down into segments; a time for this and a time for that. All of our lives have come in contact with times of: births and deaths, pain and healing, sadness and happiness, building up and tearing down, grief and joy, taking apart and putting together, following and leading, being loved and being unloved, fear and safety. It’s just part of life. But it’s more than that.

It’s part of God’s ordained plan to get you from where you were to where He wants you to be. I try to narrow my past down to specific events that changed a course in my life. A song got me a scholarship to college. A relationship with a friend got me a job. The death of my parent moved me to another state.  And all of those and other events put me where I am now and made me who I am now.  And it all goes back to a master plan God had and still has for me.

Most of the time, I was just living my life. I didn’t know at the time how God was taking one event and weaving it into something good for my future. It’s only when I look back that I can say, “Oh, so that’s why that happened.”

This is how Solomon ends this chapter of self-evaluation:

You can’t change what is past.

You don’t know what is in the future

Trust God for the meaning of the things that happened in the past, what is happening now, and what will happen in the future.

Enjoy the life He has given you through all of the times.

Now, Solomon was a little skeptical and melancholy about the whole “purpose of life” thing at this point of his life. But I think that we don’t have to be.  I don’t have to be. Yes, there will be a time for all of the good and bad life gives but God will be with me every moment of all my days. He has a plan for me whether I know it or not. And it will be good. It will be perfectly designed just for me.  It’s a promise.

“And we understand and have learned that God is taking all the pieces of our life and making them into a complete whole that is good and beneficial to us as we love and trust Him because He has given us His salvation and called us to His kingdom.”       Romans 8:28

Time may be flying but enjoy the ride.

Looooong Tempered

Whenever I want to work on the character quality patience I go have my car serviced. Believe me; working on patience is an ongoing process in my life. Thankfully having my car tuned up is too.

I’m always lulled into false expectations because the car servicing places have names that start with: fast, jiffy, speedy, or express. In reality they should be called slow, slower, and we’ll get to it maybe. Being a one car owner has me at a disadvantage. I have to try to find someone to pick me up and return me or wait for it. Either way, God lets me work on patience. And have you ever noticed that the waiting rooms at these places have the most uncomfortable chairs? The only reading materials seem to be Field and Stream, Mechanics Digest, or 3 year old copies of News Weekly. And why is there always a gumball machine there and a copy of The Illustrated Children’s Bible? Like anyone would actually bring children to wait with them while the car is in the back, although that would require extra practice with patience. Oops, got off track. See why I need patience practice? Just thinking about those waiting rooms raises my blood pressure.

The Bible has a lot to say about Christians incorporating patience as part of their walk with God. Galatians 5:22 says that we should assimilate patience along with love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Patience should be part of the product of the Hoy Spirit’s control in our lives.  This word “patience” is “makrothumia” in Greek. Makrothumia is a compound word with” makro” meaning “long” and” thumia” meaning  “temper.” How long does it take before I explode verbally? How long is my temper? We actually have the antonym of this phrase as part of our language. We call someone with little patience “short tempered.” Well, we are supposed to be long tempered as Christ followers.

This exact word is used 5 other times in the Bible:

1.       Romans 9:22 – God is long tempered with sinners.

2.       2 Corinthians 6:3-10 – We should be long tempered when people persecute us for our faith.

3.       2 Timothy 3:12 – We should be an example of being long tempered to those who look up to us.

4.       2 timothy 4:2 – We should be long tempered when we correct others.

5.       1 Peter 3:20 – God’s long temper was the impetus for providing our salvation through Jesus Christ.

I’m so thankful that my God is long tempered with me. I’m also thankful that the Holy Spirit helps me with my short temper.

So off to patience practice I go. The car needs servicing and I need to go through my patience drills. The result should be that my car performs better and maybe I’ll be more long tempered and perform better too.

Hopefully I’ll be able to show some patience improvement

until it’s time for my next tune up.

To All of the Sweat Techers

One of the highest compliments I have ever received as an elementary school teacher came from one of my first grade students. A note was placed anonymously on my desk one day that read,

Der Mrs. Aldridge (spelled correctly from my name plate) You are a sweat techer I Love you (“You” had been a spelling word thankfully.)

So elementary school teachers, at this time of year, you have my heart. I give you this compliment too.

I know what you have been doing this summer. You’ve been taking university classes or attending conferences because you must keep up your CEU’s to be certified. You’ve been spending time with your own children because during the school year they sometimes get second place. You’ve been cutting out little things, pinteresting every teacher thing you can find, setting up your classroom, putting up bulletin boards, painting, writing student’s names on hundreds of items, planning lessons, making copies, and cutting out more little things. And many of you haven’t even seen your students yet. You, teachers, have my heart.

You do all of the normal life things we do but then you give extra to our children and grandchildren. You love our children. You encourage our children. You teach our children. You, teachers, have my heart.

   

This year my prayer for you is this:

                I pray you trust and hope in the Lord Jehovah and bind yourself to His side. I pray you wake up each day with restored ability. I pray you depend on Him to lift you to new heights bringing your students with you. May you run and give all your energy and not grow weary. And when you’re tired and can’t run anymore I pray that God Himself will help you continue to walk upright and not faint or give up. (From Isaiah 40:31)

Dear one,

You are a sweat techer! I’m praying for you.