Our Happy God

Does God sing?  

I’d never thought about it before, until I was reading a passage in Isaiah 12. Verse five says, “Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” I was thinking about that; God wants us to sing. It’s pretty clear in the Bible that we are to praise God, be joyful, happy, and sing. 

When you think of what God is like, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it’s how big and powerful He is. Maybe it’s how righteous and intolerant of sin He is. Maybe it’s how loving and forgiving He is. For me, when I think of God, I think of how Jesus when He was on earth was meek, gentle, and compassionate. I think of Him as fairly passive, and almost sad. Of course God, because of His love for us, is sad when we do wrong, or are wronged, and sad because of sin and all its consequences. But, God is not going to ask us to do something He wouldn’t do. So we can gather that if we’re meant to be happy, joyful Christians, singing and praising, then God is a happy God. He smiles, He laughs, He rejoices, and He must sing.

I like that picture. I like to think that God is happy, upbeat and positive. I like to think that He gets really excited when we repent (Luke 15:7), or have victory over sin. I like to think He has a sense of humour, and laughs over funny things like we do. I like to think that heaven is filled with the music of God singing. Could you imagine it? Heaven is a happy place, and how could it be a happy place if God is not a happy God? 

So that's what I've been thinking about recently. What do you think? How do you imagine God and heaven?  

P.s Look at this verse my Mum just pointed out: 

"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." Zechariah 3:17

Spring Blooms

So, spring is over. These three months have gone by faster than I like to think. They’ve been busy and full, and yet there’s still been quiet moments, and slow days, and a sense of contentment. I’ve finished a creative writing course, done a piano exam, played violin in several concerts, got more experience in writing, felt the urge to go deeper and to do, been away and seen familiar places and new places, received many blessings, got to spend time with friends, realized how important sleep is for literally everything, read far fewer books that I would’ve liked to, welcomed my younger sister into her fifteenth year of life, and everything in between. Although there are many other things I could have done, and should have done, I feel like’s it’s been a real spring for me; a time of personal thought. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, or processing, as I’ve come to call it.  

I’ve found so many amazing Bible verses recently. Some really spoke to me, and I think this one was my favourite:

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31 

November was National Novel Writing Month, and while I’ve never seriously considered participating in NaNoWriMo, I had an idea after I read a comment about someone who was planning to write five hundred words a day during November. This sounded far more achievable that writing 50,000 words in November, so I decided to do it too. In my head, I called it November500. So I wrote at least five hundred words a day (not including personal correspondence), any words; I wasn’t working on any particular project or book. There were days when I didn’t want to, when I felt like I had no words, and there was the fatal 25^th, when I clean forgot, and I didn’t write a single word that day. But it was a good experience, and I’m glad I did it. I’d like to do it again sometime. 

And on the topic of writing, there’s this writing contest I came across, and I’ve decided to enter it. I’ve written up a little story, and I just have to edit it a bit. I’m kind of nervous because I know my writing is very unpracticed, but it’s also exciting because I’ve never entered a writing contest before. The contest doesn’t close until December 12^th though, so you can still enter too! Read the details here. 

And, I did a guest post for The Three Musketeers here. It’s five facts about you. :) (You can read my interview with them here too.)

In my thinking recently, I came upon why. I’ve come to think that “why?” is the most powerful question. Think of the places it can lead your thought, imagination, knowledge, and understanding. I think we’ve become a world of dumb humans who just ride the tide, and we need to stop and ask why? Why are we just following everyone else? Why do we believe what we do? Why do we do what we do, and don’t do what we don’t do? Why? When you know why, you’ve got something to stand behind and fight for. 

God has given me so much this spring: opportunities, the encouragement of friends (including blog readers!), help in exams and performances. I’m not wishing spring away, but I’m looking forward to all He’s got in store for summer. 

“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48:14

But! I want to hear about your spring (or autumn if you’re on the other side of the world). What did you learn? What’s been your recent favourite Bible verse, or song, or book? Have you been writing anything lately? What do you think of the idea of November500? Are you looking forward to summer?

Interview with the Three Musketeers

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Emma, Anna, and Hannah from The Three Musketeers. It was great to work with them, and I'd like to share their answers with you!

Hello Hanna, Anna, and Emma! Thanks for agreeing to this interview; it's going to be lots of fun. :) Could you tell us a few facts about yourself?

Emma: Hello! I'm Emma, and I am 13! I have 12 siblings, and I'm the third youngest; there are 8 girls, and 5 boys. I live in North Carolina, and I've lived here my whole life, though many of my older siblings were born in Canada!  My Mum was also born in Canada, but my Dad is from Argentina.  I love to write, read, and act! I'm a Catholic, and wouldn't change that for the world!

Hannah: My name is Hannah and I’m 14 years old. I live in North Carolina, but I’m originally from New York. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters, and I enjoy spending every second with them. I’m homeschooled in 9th grade and I’m also proud to be Catholic. 

 

Anna: I’m Anna. I’m almost 14 and a homeschooled freshman, this year. I have six sisters; three older and three younger and one older brother. I love to read!!! I also enjoy writing, although I write in short bursts of inspiration so I’m not the type of person who will sit down and write a novel. 

 

I believe you’ve just started a blog! Would you like to tell us a bit about the blog, and what inspired you to begin?

Emma: For me, The Three Musketeers is about friendship, books, hopes, dreams, and random thoughts that pop into my head. I also try to get to know my audience, and write what others are interested in. My first goal is to write with integrity, creating posts of substance and meaning.

 

What inspired us to make this blog? Well, I was thinking a group blog would be fun, but everyone was so busy, and I didn’t want to add to their stress, so I did not do anything about it. But Hannah took initiative! Here’s a peek of how it all began: 

(Hannah) “Hey guys, I was thinking, we should start a blog! I know that blogging by myself could be boring. So, I wanted to know if you guys would like to start one as a group, just the three of us! It would be so fun and I think a lot more people will enjoy it. The only thing is that we would have to figure out a name, and what it’s going to be about. We would have turns writing in it too. So, any name ideas? What’s it going to be about? I’m so excited right now!”

(Emma) “I would love to do this!! I really have not got very good ideas, I can only think of something like ‘the three musketeers’ …BUT I DO REALLY LIKE YOUR IDEA HANNAH!”

(Anna) “I think that this sounds really fun!!!!!!”

And that is only a (very) small portion of our emails, with all the planning and thinking of name. It turned out Hannah and Anna liked my idea of ‘The Three Musketeers’! I was so happy; I thought they would think ‘The Three Musketeers’ overdone!

I’d really like to hear your thoughts about inspiration, actually. What things inspire you?

Emma: What inspires me? The world, really. When I go outside ( esp. in fall!) the air, and the trees, and all just make me think, and I get ideas. The people I see inspire me too - really good, amazing people all make me want to be like them; to be better than myself, you know?

Hannah: Nature, art, and music inspires me a lot! 

Anna: I’m inspired by watching artists showing their skills. Watching artists draw or musicians play or reading the finished work of an amazing writer makes me want to jump up and do something great. 

Who would you say is your greatest inspiration? Why?

Emma: Well, this is a hard one; there are so many great people in the world, or who used to be in the world. I really love Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family, whenever I’m feeling down I love to read These Happy Golden Years. The Ingalls family were strong; they could make it through anything, and they were so loving. It seems that almost everyone from Laura's time had much more responsibility than people do nowadays. Laura is only one of many people who inspire me; it would take too long to name everyone who inspires me and why! On a Christian note, (other than God, of course!) I would say, St Maria Goretti. She was so young, but she could do what was right, and she showed so much forgiveness!

Hannah: I would probably say my family. They are always happy and joyful, and being an introvert, I tend to be down a lot of times, but my family are the ones who pick me up. And an Olympic ice skater named Meryl Davis also inspires me. She won the gold medal. I just think that she’s a great skater and never gives up.  

Anna: My dad is a great inspiration for me. He started a business on his own and it’s just getting bigger and bigger. He had another job beside the business but he quit it a few years ago because he wanted to spend all his time on the business. My dad has always worked incredibly hard and I’ve always been very inspired by him.

What would you like to inspire others to do/be?

Emma: I would like to inspire people to follow their dreams, to never doubt themselves, or their worth. Also, to be the best they can, to do the best they can, no matter how hard it seems. I myself have to do better with that.

Hannah: I would like to inspire others to be more kind and to see the good in everybody. I would like to inspire others to be forgiving too. 

Anna: I want to inspire people to do what they love. I hate it when I hear people making fun of someone because they want to be an actor or a musician or something else that is often thought of as cliché. I want people to be inspired to do what they love without being worried of what others will think of them.

Thanks for answering those questions Anna, Hannah, and Emma! It’s been great getting to know you better, and hearing your wonderful answers to the questions! You all have big dreams to inspire people, and I’d encourage you to go for it! And trust God; He’s got great plans for each of you. :)

Thanks for reading! Check out The Three Musketeers and leave Hannah, Anna, and Emma some love. I’ll also be guest posting on their blog at some stage soon. And I’d enjoy hearing your answers to these questions too! What things or people inspire you? What would like to inspire others to do or be?