The Love of the Arts

The last couple of weekends I have been to the Symphony, Twin Mountain Tonesman and enjoyed the culinary arts through baking for our Sunday night bible study. The two musical occasions stirred me and confirmed my love for music. Music excites me. Listening to the Quartets with my friend Bethany I began to see the beauty in overtone. Overtone is heard when the combination of harmony and vocal balance is in perfect tune with one another. In Vocal Competitions they would prefer for Quartets harmonies to produce overtone in 80% of the song preformed. It made me consider the Christian body. The product of believers being in tune with one another, in one accord and like minded should be a beautiful sound that resonates around us to the world. At times I feel that we do not create that overtone though. Scriptures say that the unbeliever will know that you are My disciples because of your love for one another. It is my prayer that the Lord would bring up a body of believers that share the "One Anothers"(taught to me in a three hour class at Southern by Dr. Scott). That we would love one another, care for one another, speak truth to one another, rebuke one another, etc...all for the glory of God and his fulfillment of his prayer over us, "That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in US, so that the world may believe that You sent me". Such a harmony that it creates a single tone above all others. May my selfish ways not strike a cord separate from your works Lord.

Apart from my love of music, I love to cook and bake. That is right Ladies and Gentleman, I am talking about the culinary arts. The Lord has taught me even through baking for my Sunday night bible study. In this blog there is a picture of three of the five pies I provided one Sunday evening. One is a Lemon pie with intricate candies that I made for the presentation of the pie. The other two are a coconut cream pie and an apple pie. I thought that the fancy lemon pie would so appeal the eye that they would not be able to stop themselves from diving in. The five pies laid on the table the three pictured including a simple looking cheesecake and a blueberry/banana cream pie. To my surprise the Lemon one was the least touched pies. The Apple and Cheesecake went first, followed by the Coconut. I have compared this situation with my own heart. There is such a huge part of me that has such insecurities about my appearance. I spend such time on my outward appearance when what matters and what everyone else cares about is the content within. In no way do I want to be a people pleaser, yet battle daily. I should concern myself more with the heart, mind, soul and strength. My desire to be noticed has proven itself to outweigh the fact that the Lord has noticed me. Pray for me as I grow in the desire to have spiritual food to offer that people will want to devour. Pray that my physical appearance would not be an idol to me. There is a song called the Beauty of Simplicity and it basically explains the simplicity of the gospel. I need to preach that gospel to myself daily. My dearest friend Shea Polite told me something that her husband had told her, she said, "We need to preach to ourselves more than we listen to ourselves." Listening to myself and the enemy, I am inadequate, unlovely, unworthy, plain...yet to preach to myself I would realize..."And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."...he has called me Beloved, etc...May the simplicity of the gospel resound in my life. All for the Love of the Lord and His glory found this week in Art.