Music Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

Devotion: The Joy of Music When We Need Perked Up

August 31, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

"David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals." (1 Chronicles 15:16) Music has always been a part of my life. Certain songs invoke particular memories. From childhood, and especially through my teen years, music helped and blessed me through hard times and good times. If we were to try and explain music to an alien from another planet we would probably fail miserably, for music is not meant to be explained, but rather experienced. It affects us in our heart and soul. There are times that music can express what we feel when words fail us. Music is poetry put to rhythm. It is rhyme put to a steady beat. It is a power that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Books of Chronicles, Christianity, David, God, Levite, Lord, Music, Ohio

Devotion: Learning to Sing a New Song, Even When We Liked The Old Ones

October 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (Psalm 40:3). I have always enjoyed music and have been blessed to participate on worship teams at church for a good many years. We began attending a new church several years ago, and we do not sing most of the songs that I sang in the past. I miss those old songs greatly, yet I am learning to love the new ones. Acceptance, however, has taken time. I can compare my life to these songs. I loved the “songs” of my past–my work, my children at home, and my physical abilities and activities. Not every song was a joyous song of praise, but many of my tunes were positive rather than negative. Now I have to move on to new songs not only in church but in my personal life as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Beautiful music, Christianity, Eileen Rose, God, Music, Praise and Worship, Psalm, Religion & Spirituality

Devotion: Joy in a Pink Ukulele

September 21, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

“. . .yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:18) I saw it in the store display. There, in all its bizarre glory was a pink ukulele. Now, you need to understand my ‘love affair’ with ukuleles began years ago. My older brother, who I adored, played one. Then came the movie Finding Forester and the song which combined Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What a Wonderful World, played, of course. . . on a ukulele. I love audacious, crazy things. So when I saw the pink ukulele, I just knew I had to have it. Even with my challenges, I knew I could master it. I knew how to play a guitar. A uke would be easy to learn and I’d be so happy. I knew it could help me forget about my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arts, Atrial Fibrillation, Jake Shimabukuro, Music, Porphyria, Stringed, Ukulele

“In the Garden” Video of Classic Hymn

May 30, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

I love the hymns from years past. As a child growing up in a church that sang hymns from a hymnal & not the "cool" upbeat songs, I thought our little church was behind the times. Now I have an appreciation for the beauty in the simple words. One of my favorite CDs is Alan Jackson's Precious Memories, an album he made for his mom & then eventually released to the public. Here is one of my favorites to share with you on this Sunday morning. Take a moment to walk outside today & hum "In the Garden" to yourself. httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=yzzqhaLl_8w& If for some reason you cannot see the video you can watch it directly here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reflection, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: Christianity, Compact Disc, diy, Hymn, Music, Religion and Spirituality, Salvation Army, Worship

God is in Control

March 30, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

Image by Vermin Inc via Flickr“For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever & take refuge in the shelter of your wing.” (Psalm 61:3,4) Do you ever wonder how different your life could be if things had happened differently? Not many of us would choose to have the illness or injuries we have, if we had been given a choice. At least on the surface, we would opt for an easier life than we currently experience. I know that many of us have learned to be grateful in a different way, for the challenges & experiences in our lives that have helped us to grow in some way, or perhaps just strengthened our faith & dependence on God. We would also probably not wish our own circumstances … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals Tagged With: australia, Christian encouragement, Christianity, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, daily devotionals, Fiona Burrows, God, Health, hopekeepers, illness ministry, invisible illness, meditation, Melbourne, Music, Photography, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, Steven Curtis Chapman, Trinity, Trust (social sciences), Video, West Michigan

Special Interview with Renee Bondi

February 3, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

Reprinted from HopeKeepers Magazine 2004 I was having a ball with wedding plans; my music program was a huge success; I was blessed to have had the opportunity to travel & see the world; I had friends & family to love. My life was full, & I saw nothing but blue skies above," she writes in her book The Last Dance But Not the Last Song. But in May 1988, after a romantic weekend as a prom chaperone with her fiancé, her life would take a dramatic dive—literally. She went to bed filled with innocent anticipation of life ahead, but awoke "diving" off the foot of her bed. She simply remembers being in mid- air & thinking, "Huh?" & then hitting the floor. Filled with searing pain in her neck & shoulders, she thought, "I've really done it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Church Leader, Joy, Marriage, Parenting, Person w/ Illness, Profiles, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, christian ministry, Disability, disability ministry, God, hopekeepers, joni and friends, Joni Eareckson Tada, Medicine, Music, quadraplegic, Religion and Spirituality, renee bondi, Rest Ministries, singing, The Last Dance But Not The Last Song, United States, women of faith, women of virtue

Ultra Sound

January 12, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Image via Wikipedia "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV). God consistently ministers to me through music. It can be a classic hymn, a modern praise song, or secular music that has spiritual meaning arising from it. Underst&ably, this verse from Zephaniah is a favorite of mine. I was curious how other translations presented its end-point message. ". . . He will sing joyfully because of you." (TNAB) ". . .He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." (KJV) ". . .With his love, he will calm all your fears." (NLT) As a lover of words, the lyrics in a song reach the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals Tagged With: Arts, Hymn, Lyrics, Music, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, singing, Zephaniah

Beautiful Christmas Song For Those With Illness

December 16, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

If you live with a chronic illness or are dealing qith cancer, you may feel more like humming along to "Blue Christmas" than "Jingle Bells." Our own administrative assistant, Kara, has a very talented son, Nate Marks, who has recently recorded a song with his b&, The Injured List, for his aunt who has cancer. He has agreed to let us post both the music & the lyrics in hopes that it will be an encouragement to many of you. Visit The Injured List's MySpace page here for more info. Nate is the lead singer & composer of this song, Think of Christmas. Think Of Christmas- Click button below to play [audio:http://www.restministries.com/audio/ThinkOfXmas_mp3.mp3|titles=Think of Christmas|artists=The Injured List] Think of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church Leader, Person w/ lll Spouse, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Cancer, cancer song, Christianity, Christmas, Holidays, Illness, Jingle bell, Music, Musical ensemble, Religion and Spirituality, Singer, song

Create Your Own White Noise to Sleep (for free)

October 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Trouble sleeping? For many of us a bit of white noise may help, but who wants to go buy one more gadget or expensive machine? SoundSleeping is a website with a web player that plays relaxing music or the nature sounds which typically aid sleep & even reduce stress. One cool feature is that you can customize it so you can mix in whatever sounds personally bring you relaxation! Does a bonfire bring back happy memories? Is it 80 degrees outside & the sound of rain would help you hit the hay with a bit of ease? How about some drums or a flute (to each their own, if drums help you go to sleep, go for it!) You are able to adjust the volume & pan each sound the way you like, so have some fun just mixing your own tracks. I had fun messing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Links, Organizing, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Support Group Leader, Tools Tagged With: Arts, Audio mixing, can't sleep, Chronic Illness, Compact Disc, Drum, Flute, go to sleep, insomnia, lack sleep, Music, Shopping, sleep, sleep medications, tylenol pm, up all night, Website, White noise

We Praise Him In Song

June 18, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Image by bemky via Flickr "The LORD is my strength & my shield; my heart trusts in Him, & I am helped. My heart leaps for joy & I will give thanks to Him in song." (Psa. 28:7 NIV) An old hymn written by Fanny Crosby really has the right idea. Joyfully sing. Joy & singing to our Lord is timeless & brings joy to our hearts as we either sing ourselves or along with CD's or tapes or in a church service with others. Refrain: Joyfully sing, joyfully sing, Joyfully sing, joyfully sing, Joyfully sing, joyfully sing, Light of eternity, Honor & praise to Thee, Now & forever be, Jesus our King. We find when we give praises to our Lord Jesus that all of our sadness & burdens just roll away. How wonderful to praise the Lord in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals Tagged With: Compact Disc, Concert, Fanny Crosby, France, iphone, Music, singing, United States