We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post, which is at no additional cost to you. :)
One of the joys of being a traveling Sandwich Generation granny nanny who juggles the issues of caring for elderly parents and babysitting grandchildren is that I’ve been exposed to a wide range of praise and worship hymn songs and music at various churches. From the lovely old hymns I enjoyed at my parents’ retirement community’s church to the loud, awesome, and totally contemporary Christian music (complete with electric guitar) favored by my old church to the lovely blends of both types at the churches I’ve attended on the opposite coast, I've been blessed by the richness of so much great variety. The best part is that, no matter what style of worship is offered at each church and how different they can sometimes be, some things remain constant:
- Music that inspires and points the way to our awesome God.
- Brothers and sisters in Christ who love God overwhelmingly.
- Excellent teaching centered on God’s inerrant Word.
- Great Biblical activities for the grandkids that encourage them in their faith.
In other words, while our worship styles may vary, we still have plenty in common in Christ. And look how beautifully the two can blend in this gorgeous hymn, Amazing Grace, that Chris Tomlin updated, making a wonderful new creation we can all sing together in joy. 🙂
 If the Sandwich Generation issues require us to move in order to help aging parents and/or grandkids, we can rest in the comfort that God has another great church family waiting for us in our new community. We just need to be sure to pick churches focused on His Word and His truths, do a lot of praying, and patiently follow His leading. Then look forward to meeting new friends in Christ and enjoying a lovely variety of ways to praise and worship Him, where ever He leads us. That’s definitely something to be thankful for! 🙂 |
P.S. Another blessing for all of us boomers and seniors in the Sandwich Generation who are away from our home church can be encouraging devotions on topics especially appropriate for baby boomers and senior citizens. Two good ones are Streams in the Desert and Through a Season of Grief: Devotions for Your Journey from Mourning to Joy.
Optimized with PageSpeed Ninja
Hello – different worship styles are really important to me, coming form the traditional British Methodist church, with its rich heritage of singing hymns, but also enjoying modern styles. Our current church worships in a very modern and international style, in French! It certainly makes a change for us, and we love the African influences in modern French worship music.
I’m just doing the launch post for my ‘Pause in Advent’ group, and will put a link to you, ready for our first post next Sunday or Monday. Thanks so much for joining in.
.-= Floss´s last blog ..Beaujolais Nouveau =-.
How fun! I bet it’s lovely 🙂 I’m afraid the French part would be a challenge since I barely made it through a couple of years of high school German 🙂 I’m very much looking forward to the Advent series and am planning a “sneak peek” tomorrow 🙂 Will you be celebrating Thanksgiving this week in France? Have a blessed week!
Hi – I’m afraid it’s just a case of copy the photo and create your own link – such are the limits of my technical abilities.
We have several American/French, or American connected friends who will be celebrating Thanksgiving next weekend (as there are no holidays here at the moment). It’s not a British tradition but I personally find it a very special celebration – gratitude is really good for us!
.-= Floss´s last blog ..A Pause in Advent – You are Invited… =-.
Hi Floss, As you can tell, I was able to do it fairly easy, thanks to Live Writer. That program has really been a blessing to me! 🙂 Looking forward to some great round-the-world Advent ideas and info. 🙂
Great post! In light of your passion for old hymns to new music, may I introduce to you the underground but growing hymns movement: http://www.zachicks.com/the-hymns-movement/
Rock on!
Zac
.-= Zac Hicks´s last blog ..please don’t conflate rock with "entertainment music" =-.
Hi Zac, Thanks for stopping by. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to some of your music at YouTube. It is so exciting to watch God work in so many different people, so many different styles, and yet all centered on Him as our Lord God who we worship together as brothers and sisters in Christ. 🙂
I enjoyed this post. I have written some music posted on my music website blog.
.-= Cathy´s last blog ..Thanksgiving Medley =-.