The Never Ending Gifts

“It’s music day. This should be fun. It’ll be so good to have a convenient way to listen to Christian music in the house.” I walked into the front room thinking of songs I’d like to hear.

I’d run into some technology glitches while preparing for this Challenge. We don’t get radio reception for the Christian station I like, and I didn’t care for the song selection on TV. I liked the free Pandora station I set up, but my laptop speakers were so bad I’d have to go buy external speakers.

But for today, I had another plan. Although my CD player was on its last legs, it still worked. So I decided to make some compilation CD’s of Christian songs from my existing CD collection.

I opened the stereo cabinet and tried to read the itty-bitty writing on the ends of the CD’s stacked inside. I picked up half of one of the stacks to get a closer look.

“Wow! There’s the compilation CD I made years ago.” I’d searched for it half a dozen times before deciding it must have been in the old Mustang I sold. All that time it was sandwiched between two CD cases. “That’s one less CD I’ll have to make today.”

I spent the whole morning listening to songs dating back to the eighty’s. It was like seeing old friends at a high school reunion. I wondered how I could have forgotten about the songs I knew so well.

After I selected the songs I wanted, it took me awhile to remember how to make a CD. It turns out “RIP” doesn’t always mean “rest in peace.” Rip was also the term for putting the songs on the computer. Once I figured this out, the copy-and-burn process went much faster than it used to. As a bonus, I now had the songs on my computer for use with future technology.

For additional songs, I dug out the IPOD mini I got for traveling. Bob showed me how to use it on his IPOD speaker system, which I then moved to a more central location. Any new songs I buy I’d download onto my IPOD.

Now I have easy access to a wide selection of Christian songs to fill my house and thoughts with God’s praises.

Let the music begin!

Below is tomorrow’s “Connection Challenge” exercise:

Premise: To receive God’s power and peace in my life, I need to be connected to Jesus (John 15:4-5).

Guidelines: For 21 days, my only goal will be to connect with Jesus throughout each day. I can also do any other activity if I can do it with Jesus.

Connection Aid: Day 20, Saturday January 25: Take Jesus with me

Colossians 3:17 says to do everything in Jesus’ name. I have a hard time including Jesus in my leisure activities. I will be mindful that Jesus is with me in my fun activities today, and will also wear my ring again to remind me.