My Zen of Praise

Music has always been an important part of my life. When it was younger, I enjoyed music purely for it's entertainment value. But over the years I've learned that it's so much more. Music lifts me up, calms me down, energizes me, brings back memories and helps me visualize making new ones.

While all those things are great, though, the most important way that music moves me is spiritually. Now matter how sad or depressed I may be feeling, listening to praise and worship music is a healing balm for my soul. And, it's one of the most effective ways that I communicate with God and that He communicates with me.

This week, I purchased an MP3 player, a Zen by Creative Media Source. It doesn't look like much, and cost much less than the popular iPod (less than $40 at WalMart), but after just a few days, I can't imagine how I lived with out it. The night I bought it, I spent a few hours downloading my favorite jazz/latin/contemporary praise and worship songs. So far, I have 98 songs by artists such as Donnie McClurkin, Salvador, Jonathan Butler, Ramsey Lewis, Yolanda Adams and many more.

My BOSE stereo system in my car died a horrible death nearly a year ago and the cost to replace it is more than my car is worth, but that was probably a blessing because now when I'm in the car, I'm listening to my new playlist. Now when I'm walking, my Zen and my camera inspiring to find God in unexpected places on my travels and try to capture some of that with film. This morning I realized that I could copy the same playlist to my PC, so I'm listening to it as I blog. Some may consider this the "lazy woman's way to pray", and perhaps they're right. But for me, it works. I can't help my thank God and praise Him when I'm listening to this music.

My daughter is coming on for 2 weeks next month for my birthday - she's stationed in Iraq. We decided to wait and exchange Christmas presents when she comes. She doesn't need much, and certainly can't drag around a lot of stuff given where she is. When I created my Zen of Praise, I realized that it would be the PERFECT gift for her. It's much smaller than a credit card and easily fits in the palm of a hand. My version (the least expensive one) holds approximately 250 songs, and will play for 10 hours on a built-in battery that recharges in 2 hrs from a PC. And thankfully for me, I introduced her to all these artists when she was growing up so I know she's love my playist. So, for Christmas in March, she's getting a Zen of Praise of her very own, complete with her Mom's playlist. Just listening to it as she sits on lonely guard duty for 4 hours each evening will uplift her, encourage her, reminder her that her mother loves her, and most importantly, remind her that God loves her even more.