Worship....According to my dog

As I came through the doorway the other day with my hands full of groceries and a million other things on my mind, my dog Roxie started barking and jumping around at my feet. She was so happy to see me, as always, doing everything she could to get my attention, barking & jumping and wagging her tail in excitement. But I was busy....I had more groceries to carry in, clothes to put in the wash, floors to sweep, dinner to make....I didn't even acknowledge she was there. Realizing that I was not going to play with her right then, she simply plopped down on her bed and waited for me. Later, when I finally had a minute to sit down, she immediately ran over and jumped up in my lap, wiggling with happiness and giving kisses. She loves me no matter what. I could walk in the door, yell at her to go away and ignore her existence and yet this doesn't discourage her at all. She simply waits for me to calm down and then she runs to me to let me know she loves me, unconditionally. She worships the ground I walk on! This got me to thinking about worship. How do you define worship? Is it just a word to describe the morning service at church? Is it just the act of standing, singing, bowing the head and sitting when told? I mean after all, you are in "Worship Service" and if you do what everyone else does you are "worshiping" right? I have heard comments in the past like, "We had to stand up and sing too long this morning." or "I just can't worship if the choir isn't wearing their robes, it distracts me." or "That sermon was too long. We shouldn't have to sit there so long." or "Did you see what so and so was wearing this morning?!" I admit, I have had some truly silly thoughts sometimes during worship service too. I am just as guilty as the next person. Sometimes I don't like the songs, or my back starts to ache from sitting too long, or my stomach starts to growl with hunger, or I start thinking about all the stuff I need to get done when I get home, and I get distracted. But why are we in that sanctuary to begin with? Why are we attending the "Worship Service"? Are we there to critique the choir's wardrobe or the songs we sing? Are we there to be entertained? Are we there to make sure all the other members, and all the staff, are following all the rules and doing what they, in my opinion, are supposed to be doing? Are we there to time the music, the sermon, the sitting, the standing.... or are we there to Worship God? There are a million things that we can be distracted with during the worship service.... but only ONE thing we have to be focused on....worshiping God. As we enter the sanctuary this coming Sunday, stop at the doorway, take off that big, heavy, overcoat of distractions and leave it there....outside the sanctuary. Why would you bring it in with you? I mean, it is called a "sanctuary".....a place of peace, a place of refuge from the storm! Then once you have entered the sanctuary, focus your mind on one thing...."Worship". If we all truly did this, if we all truly laid down our distractions at the door and entered the sanctuary to do nothing but worship...just imagine...just imagine the worship service we would have!!! And to think, it took a dog to make me think about worship like this! But you know what? My dog is also a perfect picture of how God loves us! She adores me, no matter what I do, no matter how much I ignore her, she just sits there waiting on me to calm down and turn to her, and when I do she RUNS to me. My Savior loves me, no matter what. I've been purchased by His blood. I am His and He is mine, and even if I ignore Him sometimes, He will still be there waiting on me to calm down and turn to Him, and He will accept me and RUN to me with open arms. Oh to be like my puppy dog, able to worship without distraction, and able to love without condition.
Blessings, Amy :)


* A wonderful article on worship:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2007/001/2.27.html

An Introduction...

I was born in Chattanooga, TN in 1967. When I was born I had 8 great grandparents, and 4 grandparents! Was I blessed or what?!! We have always been a very close family and I love that. I grew up in a musical family. My Grandfather and his brothers were "The Hartman Bros. Band" and sang Country/Western Music. Family reunions on Signal Mountain, surrounded by their music, listening to the banjo, guitar and fiddle and my Grandad and Uncles singing cowboy songs and old hymns was a highlight of my summer. My father also sang frequently in church. I grew up going to church at White Oak United Methodist Church, where I was saved at age 13 during a revival. In my teenage years we joined Mountain Creek Baptist Church. It was there that I started singing in the choir at the age of 15. At the same time I was also singing at school in choir with a director we called "Mama Branch". She was awesome. She taught us black gospel music by rote. If you don't know what that means, she taught us to sing by singing it to us first, line by line, part by part, until we got it. Then we did it over and over until we had it memorized. We never had sheet music. It was awesome! One day in choir Ms. Branch was looking for someone to sing a solo part and she pointed at me and asked me to come down and sing. I was terrified!! I was extremely shy, and though I loved to sing, and wished I could sing, I didn't think I could. She stood me by her at the piano and started to play the solo part and I was so scared nothing would come out but a squeak! She turned around and looked at me and said, now I know you can do better than that...take a deep breath and let me here you SING! So, I mustered all the bravery I had and I SANG. When I stopped she spun around on her piano bench, looked at me and said, "Child, you can SING! Why are you so afraid? God gave you a gift, and you gotta USE it!" She told me I would be singing the solo on that song and I said, "oh no I can't do that!" and she said, "You will....or you will get an F!" and she winked at me. I have never been so sick to my stomach as I was the first time I sang that song. But it lit a fire inside of me...and it is something you simply cannot control! I have heard preachers say before that when God gives them something to preach it is like there is a fire inside of them that cannot wait to get out! It is the same way with singing praises to God. It just HAS to come out! It was at Mountain Creek Baptist Church where I met my future husband. He was the choir director! Trust me, everything happens for a reason people. I may not be the very best singer you ever heard. I may sing some wrong notes, and certainly the wrong words sometimes, but to God it is perfect. When that music of praise rises up to Him, there is nothing sweeter, and the result is my heart being filled to overflowing with His love. The bible says, "Sing to the Lord a new song!"...not "Sing to the Lord a "perfect" song". Whether you can carry a tune in a bucket or not...Sing to the Lord!... and He will fill you up to overflowing with His love! :)