With a Song in my Heart – 40 Days of Sacred Songs

Day 18 – Tuesday after 3rd Sunday of Lent

To Listen:                    Sandyland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygYQ1OOrDX8

Choir 1
Don’t build your house on the sandyland,
Don’t build it too near the shore.
Well, it might be kind of nice,
But you’ll have to build it twice,
Oh, you’ll have to build your house once more

Choir 2
You better build your house upon a rock,
Make a good foundation on a solid spot.
Oh, the storms may come and go,
But the peace of God you will know.

Choir 3
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Words and Music by Karen Lafferty 

  

From the Scriptures:

‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

(Matthew 7v24-27)

To Reflect:

Anyone else have their child rearing years filled with the wall-to-wall sound of ‘Psalty the Singing Songbook’?  For our three boys, born within four years, it was, together with Scripture Union Bible Reading Workbooks the meat and potatoes of their growth in the faith.  We had all the LPs, we knew all the actions, and we sang them up and down the N3 Highway on the road from Johannesburg to Scripture Union Camps in the Drakensberg. This stood our family in good stead when returning to England where our children became Youth Leaders and were teaching other children these songs and even writing their own lyircs to popular songs for Holiday Clubs. I’m not quite sure how I managed to dodge the bullet of having to dress up as Psalty but am very grateful for small mercies.

Psalty revolutionised children’s worship by doing two things.  First it was fun and told easy to follow stories.  Secondly it took children’s faith seriously and didn’t ‘talk down to them’.  These were the two key lessons I took with me later on as I spent some time when I later became a School Chaplain.  Psalty was to Children’s Worship what the Gang Show is to the Scouting Movement.  A celebration in song of all the gifts that God has given to children and young people. This didn’t mean that the Sunday School took over the pulpit, but it did give children a voice at the centre of our church life and Sunday by Sunday they were asked to tell the adults in church the lessons they had learnt in Sunday School.  On some Sundays their words were more powerful than anything spoken by an adult.

Occasionally in our faith we can mix up being ‘childlike’ which our Beloved encourages, with being ‘childish’ which is not something to which neither children nor adults should aspire.  When we go down the route of being ‘childish’ we are tempted to make our teaching of children just a little but cutesy and easily end up talking down to them.  Being childlike enlists our children as fellow pilgrims and allows everyone regardless of age to enter into the wonder of God that new faith brings to everyone.  Using resources such as Messy Church, Godly Play, Diddy Disciples and tools such as Reflective Storytelling we can learn to take the faith of our younglings seriously.

When we do not do this well Sunday School can become a little too much like regular school and once the curriculum and catechesis is completed children may ‘graduate’ from their faith and Confirmation becomes a Church-Leaving Certificate.  However if we encourage discipleship and the active living out of a life of faith amongst our young they become fellow pilgrims with them choosing together to build our house on the Rock.

 

To Pray:

Lord, you are ever watchful
and bless us with your gifts;
as you provide for all our needs,
so help us to build only what pleases you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Psalm 127)

 

To Do:

1)  If you still have children at home why not have a nightly family prayer with them?  If you do not have children at home, or they are not ready to pray, pray for them daily yourself.

2)  Offer to help out at a local Church or school children’s faith activity.  Groups such as Messy Church and Open the Book are very often ecumenical and bring much joy to all participants.  Although occasionally the craft activities mean you end up being covered in glitter!

 

Reprise:              If I Were a Butterfly

No one is watching, and if they are tell them to join in.  Stand up, press play on the video link, sing at the top of your voice and do ALL the actions.  Your body as well as your soul will be better for it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-nb5CR1uec

 

If I were a butterfly,
I’d thank you, Lord, for giving me wings,
and if I were a robin in a tree,
I’d thank you, Lord, that I could sing,
and if I were a fish in the sea,
I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee,
but I just thank you, Father,
for making me ‘me’.

For you gave me a heart,
and you gave me a smile,
you gave me Jesus
and you made me your child,
and I just thank you, Father,
for making me ‘me

If I were an elephant,
I’d thank you, Lord, by raising my trunk,
and if I were a kangaroo,
you know I’d hop right up to you,
and if I were an octopus,
I’d thank you, Lord, for my fine looks,
but I just thank you, Father,
for making me `me’.

If I were a wiggly worm,
I’d thank you, Lord, that I could squirm,
and if I were a billy goat,
I’d thank you, Lord, for my strong throat,
and if I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear,
I’d thank you, Lord, for my fuzzy wuzzy hair,
but I just thank you, Father,
for making me `me’.

Brian Howard

Please Note:  These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Twitter as @SuffolkVicar, and on my public Facebook page Rev Andrew Dotchin

If you would like them as a daily email please send a request to vicar@felixparish.com

 

Acknowledgements:

Prayers are adapted from the Psalm Prayers in the Common Worship Psalter. material from which is included here, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2005

Scripture quotations are copyright © New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

These Reflections, ‘With a Song in my Heart’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2022