Singing.  Did you know that the Bible contains over four hundred references to singing and fifty direct commands to sing?  There are three short verses in the book of Psalms in which we are commanded to sing seven times! (Psalm 96:1-2; Psalm 47:6)  God delights in hearing us sing praises to him.  Personally, I can’t believe that there are people who derive zero pleasure from listening to music, but there are.  It’s a real neurological condition called “Specific Musical Anhedonia” and it can be measured using a functional MRI scan of the brain.  Scans of the brains of people without the condition light up when they listen to or perform music.  For people with the condition, their brains do not react at all to the stimulus of music.  They do, however, react to other sources of joy, such as winning a game of poker. 

For me, music is simply a part of who I am.  As I detailed in my last two blog posts, it has been a part of my life from the time I was born.  I have studied it since about the age of eight and have developed the ability to perform on at least six or seven different instruments. I love the challenge of learning new music and enjoy the process of performing.  Hearing the choir singing brings my heart such joy!   I have to admit, though, that I really enjoy performing the contemporary songs at the Saturday Celebrate! services the best J I am fortunate to have very accomplished musicians to work with!  It makes my job so much easier knowing that they can roll with whatever I throw at them. 

As for the picture, yes, orchids again!  In spite of being almost totally ignored over the last couple of months, my beautiful plant has sprouted TWO new branches that have buds for at least TEN new flowers J  You can see the branches on the left hand stem, pointing to the left.  I can’t wait to see the new blossoms!

Stay healthy!

Peace,
Sharon