Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I'm feeling a bit philosophical tonight. So, bear with me. You've seen the book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", and you may have even read it.

I suppose it's good advice for some people in some situations; but I can't think of a time in which it applies to music. For some reason it came to my mind as I was planning for our fall choir season. I've been thinking about the things we need to do to move to the "next level" musically. I was thinking, "We really have to find ways to be more precise with the details of the music." That's the small stuff.

Think about it ... if we just miss a few notes, or are just a little out of tune, or forget only a few words, it has a huge impact on how well the song communicates it's message. Few people want to listen to imperfection. The only people who make an effort to hear musicians who miss a few things here and there are parents listening to their children.

Our message is too important to be clouded with mistakes; besides, our preparation and presentation reflects on the God about whom we sing. We think highly of HIM, so our musical offering should be the best we can bring.

Let me balance all of that, however, with this thought. God uses our service not because it is perfect, but because we offer it to him with pure hearts. One of the sweet things about doing what we do is that we are able to see God use our gifts even though we know they are flawed.

It's like two sides of a coin. On one side is our responsibility to bring the best offering we can. On the other side is God's willingness to use what we bring simply because we bring it.

This fall, let's focus on our side of the coin.

News Item - Chris Roberts

We have all been blessed by the ministry of Chris Roberts. God is calling Chris and April elsewhere. I will miss them greatly, but understand and support them. Life in Christ is a journey. God sometimes moves us around as he shapes us. Here is a copy of Chris' email to the music team.


From: Chris Roberts
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 10:26 AM
To: Jon Day
Subject: Here it is...

Jon,

Thanks for meeting with me yesterday. Here is the letter I promised for those involved in the music ministry since I don't have everyone's email:

After much prayer and discussions with some of the people in our lives who we go to when seeking wisdom and guidance, April and I have decided to leave Brookwood and join another church in the Upstate. This is only an easy decision because of what God is doing in our lives and how He has pointed us in this direction.

We want you all to know this in no way (please read that again and with emphasis) has anything to do with the events that transpired two years ago. Many conversations and discussions have taken place that have allowed us to put those events behind us and move forward. However, we were sure that question would arise, so now you know the answer.

There are also no personal issues with anyone nor a lack of faith in Jon as a leader (other possible scenarios people typically think of). This has truly been a decision based on God’s direction and where we feel He is moving us. If anyone is wanting to dig into this further, I’d be happy to discuss it on an individual basis. My numbers are: (h) 228.2388 and (m) 414.8053.

We ask for your prayers as we pursue this direction and please know we are praying for you and Brookwood. It has been great serving with you and making music for a much higher purpose than ourselves. I value each of you and your dedication to serving Jesus.

Chris

Fourth Sunday

This Sunday (6/24/07) is the fourth Sunday of June, so it's our chance to get together at Carrabba's on Woodruff Road. I don't know about you, but I've missed getting together each week.

Actually, I'm going to have to keep missing you, because I'm taking my family this weekend to visit our oldest son in Houston. He's out of grad school, has his own place, has started a new job, and is fully launched. We're going to have a celebration! But I'll miss being with you.

Let's say we'll meet at Carrabba's at 5:30 PM. Sid will have an area of the restaurant designated for us. We can just order off the menu, eat, and hang out together. I'll be with you in spirit!

Prayer Request

Keep Bobby Hudson in your prayers, please. His brother died last week. The memorial service is this afternoon.

The good old summer-time

I hope your summer is going well. For my family, life has been as fast-paced as ever, but the fact that we're doing different things than the rest of the year makes it fun and interesting. I used to think that life would slow down some when I got to this point - in my 50's; but it seems that I'm going faster than ever. Maybe it's that my body really is moving slower so everything whizzing by me at breakneck speed makes it just seem that I'm going faster. Either way, it's exciting.

The busyness can cause me, in my ADD way, to be distracted from what God is saying to me as I move throughout the day. One of my spiritual challenges right now is to push away all of the activity and noise around me and tune in to God's voice. I know he is speaking, but much of the time life is so loud that I don't hear Him.