Change the atmosphere (celebrating the power of music)!

It’s been one of those weeks. OK, two weeks. We haven’t learned any new verses. We’ve often missed our morning Bible time. I’ve felt inexplicably down, anxious, spacey, and grumpy. And unmotivated. As such, we’ve been listening to a lot of music. I have a Spotify playlist entitled “kids morning songs” that I like to have in the background when we’re around the house together. I find that children’s music serves two main purposes for us.

First, it impacts our atmosphere. I usually like my personality. Generally speaking I enjoy life and smile a lot. I’m also creative and laid back. So usually my personality, alone, can energize a life giving atmosphere in my home. But then there are those mornings. Or days. Or weeks. When I’m having trouble pulling out of a funk I’ll often turn on the kids playlist to help clear the air. Somehow it helps me refocus and smile again. Our most surefire atmosphere changer is singing and dancing to Rend Collective’s “Build Your Kingdom Here.” My kids have no idea that our most passionate declarations of God’s presence are usually being sung when I’m feeling most desperate to experience their reality.

I suppose it might be something like my experience with liturgical or pre-writen prayers. When I’m feeling especially connected to God words pour from my heart with very little effort. But when I’m discouraged or tired I’m often immobilized by the creative energy required to come up with something meaningful to say. It is especially in these moments that I am thankful to adopt heartfelt prayers written by others (my favorite is Celtic Benedictions).

It might also be like a movie’s musical score. Music directs our emotions. If a young woman is entering her home with foreboding music in the background, I’m on edge just waiting for the bad guy to jump out from around the corner. But if she approaches to “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desire,” I’m anticipating an entirely different scene complete with candlelight, red roses, and a man on bended knee. So when I am self-aware enough to know that I want an atmosphere other than the one our moods are creating, turning on our kids’ morning playlist is one of the easiest things I can do to set a different tone.

Second, music teaches. Again, I’m usually a pretty good teacher. But when I just don’t have it in me I’m especially thankful for intentionally chosen music to form the soundtrack of my kids’ days (and very lives!). In the last two weeks, there have been at least three occasions when Adam has asked about some fairly deep theological concept, completely unprovoked except that we were listening to songs about the ideas. The ones I’m remembering were “How will I be a new creation? Why do I have to be last to be first?” and “Mom! Is God’s new world already here?!” Of course, as a teacher and lover of God’s word, there’s nothing that energizes me and pulls me out of a funk faster than my 4 year old coming up with questions like that! So as soon as he asked we had great conversations about it. But I didn’t have to be the one initiating them.

[Update 5/30/18: Today we were having another rough-ish morning. But then Adam again asked, “How can God’s new world already be here but still be coming?” One of my best tricks I’ve learned is to tell Adam that he’s asked a great question and I want to think about it. I did that, today, and an answer quickly followed. “Adam,” I asked, “when you look out the window and see the Envoy in the driveway, what does it tell you?” “That Daddy’s home!” he responded. “And how do you feel when you realize that Daddy’s home?” I asked. “Happy!” He didn’t miss a beat. “OK. So you feel really happy just knowing that Daddy’s home. But he could be in the barn or the garage or even watering trees. Now… how do you feel when you hear him actually walk through the back door?” I asked. He thought about it for just few second before his little face lit up. “Even better!” he exclaimed. Score. I know it’s not even close to a perfect analogy, but I was pretty happy because I think it clicked with him that God’s kingdom in us is already wonderful, but that it will get even better when Jesus comes back to make all things new.]

And as a side note to music’s ability to teach, I’ve also loved using Bryan Moyer Suderman’s songs in our more formal teaching times. This week we were reading about God’s giving of the Ten Commandments and I was able to explain them using Suderman’s song, “When God’s in Charge.” We also regularly sing “I will Bless You” to reflect on God’s covenant with Abraham. Recently Adam was asking why we don’t waste electricity and I used “Get in the Groove” (a song about sabbath) along with a video showing mountaintop removal (an extreme form of coal mining) to talk about how God desires that even the land be given opportunities to rest.

I’ve made my kids’ morning playlist public for Spotify users (a free version can be downloaded from the App store or from Spotify’s website), but anyone can see it and hear shorter clips through my blog. Please share any other artists or groups that your family enjoys in the comment section, along with other ideas for how you “clear the air” in your own home. And I’m finishing with a few photos as evidence that life can be good even when Momma feels grumpy. Today as I looked through my recent photos I was struck by God’s grace displayed in the difference between my emotions and my kids’ experiences, this last week. Here’s to the power of music!