A Summer Evening of Music

Several years ago, I was involved in concerts that my friend, Kelly, called A Summer Evening of Music. For two summers, she and I along with two others presented a collection of music with our instruments--the voice, piano, trumpet and flute. We played and sang classical, broadway and sacred numbers. Those were great times as we challenged ourselves working on numbers for months before each concert.

A couple of months ago, Q came up with the idea to do a summer concert at our church. Before we left our church in Fort Collins, we wanted Ashley and Nathan to come down to our new church and play their instruments. I taught both of them in elementary school, and both were in Q's youth group. So, Q planned another Summer Evening of Music with them in mind and added me and our piano player, Shelly into the mix.

Q sent out invitations to a few small churches and two of them showed up! With our regular church folk and the musicians' families, the auditorium was packed. It was a blessing to give praise to God in our sacred concert.

Here are a few pictures of last night.... 

Here is Nathan warming up before the concert. He began the evening by playing, "Grace that is greater than all our sin." He will be starting college this fall, majoring in music.

Shelly was a busy lady--not only did she accompany all of us, but she played two beautifully arranged hymns. My favorite was "Have you any room for Jesus?" 

I sang a few of my favorite songs including "All of These" by Craig Curry and "Were You There?"(a traditional spiritual). 

Between Shelly and I is our talented flute player, Ashley. She will be a senior in college this year, finishing up her studies in flute performance. She's working on getting her recital ready which will take place in the fall. An offering was taken which will be a big help to Ashley and Nathan as they continue their education.

At the end of the concert, Q preached a short message on Psalm 29:2 which says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." We were reminded to give God glory and to worship Him in holiness. Q's thought-provoking insights were such a blessing to us.

This is Allison, Shelly's middle girl. All three girls are so special to me, as I taught a couple of them in Kindergarten. 

Last night was absolutely wonderful and I hope that we can do something like this again. I am thankful that we can praise God with our voices and instruments. I've talked to many who think that they can't really sing because they don't have a "gift," but God says to "make a joyful noise unto Him." He didn't say we have to have perfect pitch! So, be encouraged...sing unto Him, praise Him with your voice or whatever instrument you have, and give glory unto His name today!