Grumpy Finds a Cure

I was grumpy today.  I felt awful, dizzy, foggy, and just wanted to go to bed.  So I did four things.  I took a ten minute nap, drank a full glass of water, ate a banana, and got out my song book.  You might see how a nap, re hydrating, and a natural sugar boost from the banana would help, but a song book?  Yes!  Music makes me feel better, pulls my mind from its obsession with how I feel and focuses my heart directly on the message of the song.

The problem with doing this is, I have to do it by faith, because singing is the last thing I want to do when I feel so rotten.  In fact, for a little while, I don't like it at all.  But then something happens, and it happened today.  I started singing a beautiful song, "The Cleansing Wave";  a song from 1872 about the fountain that not only cleanses our sin for eternity, but also gives us a right to spiritual victory over sin today, when we allow God freedom in our lives.  God used the song to speak this sweet truth directly to my heart.

"I see the new creation rise;I hear the speaking blood.It speaks! Polluted nature dies!Sinks ’neath the cleansing flood.The cleansing stream I see! I see!I plunge, and oh, it cleanseth me!Oh, praise the Lord! It cleanseth me!It cleanseth me—yes, cleanseth me."  Phoe­be Palm­er

As I sang, the gross way I was feeling became unimportant.  This is one of those songs that fits perfectly with its melody.  Victory cries out along with the words, lifting the heart to the truth in the words.  I am so thankful that God made such a clear avenue to my emotions and my spirit through music.  When they are out of order, I can use this gift to turn them to the One Who deserves their focus, and I can give Him glory in this moment.  While I remained somewhat fuzzy and tired mentally, I did not have to respond with sinful attitudes and actions.

 Next time you are in a "grump", grab your song book!

Here is a link to the cyberhymnal page where you can read all of the song if you want to, and video of a beautiful piano solo of The Cleansing Wave.

What should I do?

What to do when my daughter tells me she just saw a giant hairy spider the size of her hand go under the couch.
A.  Run screaming from the house, never to return again.  Maybe we can sell it fully furnished?
B.  Cancel all appointments for a week while sterilizing every last item in the house.
C.  Burn the couch and be done with it.
D.  Tell the child to leave the poor spider alone and keep the house quiet while I go take a nap.