I had no fear of turning 60, but I must admit I didn’t expect to spend the momentous day laid low with a nasty stomach virus. At least I had the empathy of a six-year-old friend:  “Oh, dear! ” exclaimed my buddy when he found out I was sick. “Mrs. Lochamire won’t be able to eat her birthday cake.”

No birthday cake this year, but I serve a GOOD God and He is in the business of surprises. While reading a blog post between waves of nausea a few days ago, I came across the music of Page CXVI (116). From their Web site:

“Page CXVI is a project started with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again. They are some of the richest, most meaningful and moving pieces of music ever written.”

These are lovely, spiritualized versions of hymns such as “Be Still My Soul”, “Rock of Ages”, “Amazing Grace” and, my favorite, “Be Thou My Vision”. Without straying far from their original arrangements, Page CXVI brings a fresh, worshipful flavor to words that have been the anthems of my faith for generations.

I love that the group’s name is taken from “The Magician’s Nephew” by C.S. Lewis. You can read about that in their blog on the Web site.

And here’s the Wonderful Surprise: Seven albums by Page CXVI and four by their original group, The Autumn Film, are available for free download for the month of March by clicking on the album cover at left.

Six of the Page CXVI albums are hymns and the seventh is a collection of lullabies. You can bet that all of them are now downloaded on my Net Book.

I chose a lullaby to share with you. Enjoy!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG_bXEV8xzk&w=560&h=315]

A word about music……

My Sunday School class is in the midst of a study by Chip Ingram entitled “The Invisible War”. As we study Ephesians 6, we’re discussing spiritual warfare and how to counter the Enemy’s attack by putting on the “armor of God”. This Sunday, we talked about the battle for our minds, which calls for the helmet of salvation. We shared ways we guard and renew our minds. Listening to hymns and spiritual music was at the top of the list for many of us.

This got me thinking about the power of music. I ran across this article  on Faithwriters.com, written by Pastor Glenn Pease. It is a wonderful teaching on the validity and power of music to lead us into worship and prayer. Centered on Psalm 47, Pease shares how music is woven throughout Scripture and why he believes (and I concur) that music is a gift from God. Pease says:

Music has the power to give life meaning, and so one of the worse judgments God can inflict on a people is to deprive them of music.

Days when the Spirit is low, when the Enemy nags, when God appears absent…..on those days, songs of praise, even words of lament, can turn my heart toward Jesus, bringing restoration and hope.

Is it like that for you? What hymns, praise tunes or even popular songs (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” can do it for me) lift your spirit and set you on a new path?

I would love to hear from you………