Lessons from a Singing 2 Year Old

As a former church employee weekends have never been that exciting for me in regards to "time off."  Don't get me wrong, weekends were fun and exciting in a different way.  Being with my junior high students or having the privilege of being part of weekend services was great.  But I find myself in a different season of life right now...a season where weekends are simple and scrumptious.

On the weekends there is at least one extra pair of hands to play with the kiddos, usually The Fly's, but we also get to see friends and family, and I often find my arms a little lighter as other people love on our little ones.

On the weekends I eat.  I eat whatever I want...well, now due to Little Man's gas issues I eat anything I want that does not contain dairy...which unfortunately narrows my choices drastically.  Nevertheless, I give myself the green light to indulge.  (The dairy issue may end up being a blessing for both of us...the lack of dairy means I might lose the rest of the baby weight a little faster...because let me tell you, I love me some dairy!)

On the weekends we play.  We do things that we wouldn't normally do in the middle of the week.  This weekend we decided at the last minute to take the fam to the Quakes game on Friday night.   The Quakes are the minor league baseball team in our area.  Our great friend Justin happens to be the on field host, "Crazy J."  So when we go to a game we always get the royal treatment.

Quakes Stadium, Rancho Cucamonga

At this particular game The Bug was in performance mode.  Earlier that day I took her and Little Man to the day care center at the The Claremont Club so I could workout.  When I picked her up she was singing a mash-up of Twinkle, Twinkle and ABC's.  I am assuming she learned both songs and developed the mash-up on her own.   Anyhow, it happened to become the theme song of the day.  At the game that night Justin let her hold on to his microphone while he did some other things.  She stood in our section and serenaded the entire group of us for about 15 minutes.

The group that got the serenade (The mic was off...but she didn't care)

An action shot...too cute!

Can I say adorable?  I'm her mom, so yes, I will say it...I was beaming with pride and trying hard not to plan her performance future... (I deal with closet stage-mom syndrome *wink*) and let her just be a two year old who just wanted to sing in the moment...not caring what anyone thought.  She sang her little heart out and everyone was smiling.  How could you not?  No inhibitions.  She had a new song and she wanted to sing it so she did.

The day before this I had the opportunity to join some wonderful people for a time of prayer.  It was so refreshing.  As the evening ended the verse Psalm 96:1 popped into my head.  I didn't know what it said so I planned on looking it up when I got home.  However, when you have a 10 week old and a 2 year old plans get thwarted easily.  Finally a couple days later I remembered to take some time to look it up and this is what it said,


Sing to the LORD a new song;
   sing to the LORD, all the earth. 


How appropriate! Don't you think?  I did some deeper digging and found that the Hebrew word used for sing in this verse refers to the the kind of song that is sung with the human voice.  As I let that rest and sink down deep I couldn't help but picture The Bug and hear her enthusiastic chorus.

If you look at the entire Psalm you see that the Psalmist is telling the reader, or, the singer, if you will, to use their voice to proclaim the wonders of the Lord.  He says give glory to God because He deserves it.  He made the heavens and the earth.  He says the sea, the field, and even the trees will rejoice.

I don't know about you but I LOVE to sing.  But, so often I am caught up in the busyness of the day that I forget to or my anxiety is getting the better of me and I just don't want to sing.  Sometimes the pains of life are even so great that singing does not seem appealing...especially when people I love are hurting or sick or just plain crabby.

After doing a little research I found some info that I had a feeling was the case.  Did you know that singing releases endorphines?  There are multiple studies on how the act of singing can make you feel better or happier. 

This is what I love about God.  His commands are never just mindless instruction to follow.  Whatever he commands of us always makes us better.  When we read in His word to Sing...sing a New Song...Praise His Name with our voices...it's not just because He wants to hear it but also because He knows that Singing, singing about how good He is will encourage us. 

It will physically release endorphines and increase brain activity.  The breathing that goes along with singing will increase the oxygen flow to our brain and we will physically feel better.  Not only that, but depending on what you are singing you will also feel better mentally and spiritually.

I encourage you to take a lesson from The Bug this week.  Just sing.  Sing songs that make you happy.  Sing songs that express how you feel.  Sing really loud in the car.  Who cares if your voice causes glass to break or dogs to bark...just sing...no inhibitions.  I guarantee you that you will smile and just that can make any day better.

Some songs I love right now...click and have a listen...
Blessings by Laura Story

Our God by Chris Tomlin

Mean by Taylor Swift

Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae

Of course, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey even before Glee re-did it.  Thanks to my Uncle Doug I knew Journey as a young pup!

And, my all time favorite feel good song to sing at the top of my lungs...

Taylor the Latte Boy by Kristin Chenoweth
(Kristin, if by some miracle you ever read this...you are my favorite!)

What is your favorite feel good song?  Sing it today...better yet, sing it and do a little dance...that will definitely make you smile...or at least if someone else sees you they might smile:).

Leaving you with one last smile:)