How Can I Keep From Singing?

 

 

"My life goes on in endless song, above earth's lamentations. I hear the real, though far off, hymn, that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife I hear its music ringing, it sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?"

 

That song from Enya is one of my very favorite songs. It is found also in the Methodist hymnal but I like Enya's version better. It says something about me.  You see, all my life I have been singing. I'm not a great singer, would never be a soloist, but I absolutely love to sing.  My mom told me that when I was tiny, I thought every book was a songbook and I'd carry them around singing. Growing up we went to the Opheim Methodist church where our Mom was in charge of the Sunday school. We would sing out of the old Cokesbury hymnal published in the 1920's  (which I still have) and learned all the great old songs - "He Lives", "The Old Rugged Cross", "The Little Brown Church in the Vale" - and so many others. I love those old songs. I sang in choir in high school and once I was out of college I started singing in church choirs.

I joined the Dayspring Chorale at Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ in 1994 or 1995. I also sang with the Celebration Singers at that church for over 20 years. As part of the Chorale, I got to travel to Europe 3 times on singing tours.  What a wonderful experience. On one tour my sister Lisa and the boys went with me, and on the last tour Bill and Nick went as well. The picture above was taken in Rome the last day of our Austria/Italy tour. Lisa didn't sing with the choir but after hearing us sing so many concerts she knew the whole thing so she sang along at this "end-of-tour" party. She was my personal hair dresser and "roadie", and the best friend ever!

This is Christopher, Nicholas and I just before we sang mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City in 1999. The Pope was on vacation so we didn't see him. We loved all the famous artwork, the Piata and the Sistine Chapel. My Dad could never figure out how a Methodist choir got to sing there. I told him "we are just that good". On this trip we also sang at the Duomo in Florence, a "small" cathedral in Venice and the Dom Cathedral in Salzburg.

 The picture below is of  Nick and I singing with the Chorale in Notre Dame when we toured in 2003.  During that time period Nick was in college at ASU and it was such a joy to be able to sit next to him during the endless practice sessions. I missed that he had moved out on his own and it was so nice to have some mother-son time again. We sang side-by-side for each concert on that tour.

 

Here we are again, singing a concert in a church in Salzburg.

 

 

 

At this point in my life, I no longer attend Dayspring, but I have found a wonderful Christian choir group to sing with, the East Valley Chorale. We have about 80 members from all walks of life, and we sing 1-3 concerts a month. They are a very welcoming and loving bunch.  

 

If you ever want to read an interesting Bible passage about choirs, check out 2 Chronicles 20 and find out how king Jehoshaphat conquered armies by sending the choir to sing praises - I like that!  So I may not have the greatest voice, but I can't keep from singing, and maybe when I die God will let me sing a solo in the angel choir.  I'm sure he'll think I'm good enough.