The Joy of Music

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

I love living in a house that is filled with music, much of it being played live on the piano in the living room. Between the voices of, "Hey, I was about to practice!" and "You've been on long enough!" are the sounds of sonatinas and scherzos, popular tunes and classics. I love watching Abigail's fingers race over the keys as she plays every piece as fast as she can. I close my eyes and smile to hear Katherine's "Fountain in the Rain" and the beautiful themes from "Pride and Prejudice."



If variety is the spice of life, then our family is living it up -- musically speaking. On any given day you might hear the following music coming from any number of rooms and iPods in our house: Rascal Flatts, Pavarotti, Selah, Hush Sounds, Taylor Swift, Josh Groban, Beethoven, Josh Turner, Stephen Curtis Chapman, ZZ Top and Anthony Evans. The list goes on...

I'm thankful for the many emotions that music allows us to express. There's nothing like sitting down at the piano and playing something loud when I'm angry, or soft and gentle, when I'm sad. Or, those in-between days when any old song will do. (Well, I draw the line at rap and hard rock.) Wouldn't you?



"I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us." ~Martin Luther

Couldn't have said it better myself.