Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart Day 7

"I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;    I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High." Psalm 7:17 NIV

     I looove music. My family jokingly calls me "the Jukebox" because I can come up with a song to go with almost anything. Something about a song just helps it stick in my brain. When I was in about the 4th grade I learned a song about adverbs. It was sung to the tune of "Frere Jacque" and went like this:

"What's an adverb? What's an adverb?
It's a word, that modifies a verb.
Telling "how" or "when" or "where", like "quickly", "yesterday", or "there"
Name some more."

   Years later, sitting in a hard chair in a strange high school, I stared at the SAT test on the desk in front of me. I struggled to discern the answer to the question about grammar, and pondered all the multiple choices. Many more years later, I don't remember the question, but I do remember the song. Yep, that little adverb ditty popped up in my head and saved the day. I got the question correct, and I still remember the song.

   In fact, I've taught it to my own kids. There is just something about music! Set almost anything to a tune, and it just gets stuck in there. You find yourself humming it at the oddest times.

   And I think that is why, over and over in scripture, it speaks of singing to the Lord. Some of us can't carry a tune in a bucket, but still, we can give our praise to Him through song. We are only performing for an audience of One, after all. In today's verse it speaks of singing the praises of the Lord, and giving thanks to Him. We are blessed to live in a day and age that is filled with wonderful songs to proclaim our gratitude. Some good ones:

"Ever Be" by Aaron Shust
"10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman
"Count Your Blessings" by Johnson Oatman Jr. (old, but so good!)
"Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart" by Henry Smith
"Nothing Compares" by Third Day
"Shout to the Lord" by Darlene Zschech

Don't like any of those? Find your own! Or, borrow one of the actual Psalms and set it to a tune. Psalm 100 is a great one! Whatever you do, find something that will get stuck in your head. Find something that will pop up at the oddest times. Because I can't think of anything better to be constantly humming than thanks to God.

Today's Reflection:

   Consider how you can use music to praise the Lord. What songs do you know that will help you to offer your thanks to Him? Put one on repeat today! 

Looking for the printable scripture writing plan? Or another day of the "Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart" study? Find them here!