Day 23: Sing Out Loud
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We've made it to Day 23 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!
It's funny how the cute things our children do can also be the very same things that drive us crazy, isn't it? My spark plugs love to sing. At the top of their lungs. Whenever they do this, I'm always amazed at their pitch accuracy (makes this musician mama's heart proud!) and the sheer volume they can produce. I feel bad, but I often ask them to stop just because, in true introvert fashion, I can't cope with the noise.
But I've learned something else from their zealous singing - they're not able to sing out loud when they're grumpy. I think there's just something about singing out loud that goes hand-in-hand with being joyful!
As silly as it may seem, I want you to sing out loud.
Sing your favorite hymns out loud to the Lord. One of my personal favorites is Be Thou My Vision. I also love the newer songs Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery and It Is Not Death to Die.
If you're self conscious, maybe try whisper-singing at first, or sing in the car with all the windows rolled up. Even if you can't carry a tune, it doesn't matter. I once had a neighbor who loved singing along to her radio. She was hardly ever on pitch, but because she enjoyed it so much, I actually liked listening to her. I'm pretty sure she'd have been mortified to know I could actually hear her, but I'm thankful I got that peek into her life.
There's just something about singing out loud that helps us have a joyful, praise-filled attitude. As I've seen in my own kids, it's really, really hard to stay frustrated when we're singing aloud. It's an excellent mood lifter, and even better - it's completely free!
Today's action steps: Choose one of your favorite songs to sing. You can either sing A Capella or you can sing along to an audio CD or the radio if you can find your song choice (or even play along on the piano, if that's in your skill set). Don't worry about anyone else listening to you. If you're not alone, ask others to join you! Make a joyful noise to the Lord.
