Today was so sultry. Sultry as oppressively hot and humid, not sultry like a Tennessee Williams play. Never got comfortable swing sitting till around dusk. The rain is still intermittent but the cardinals are not deterred. My yard is full of cardinals as the twilight closes, bringing darkness to settle over the landscape, cranking up the singing frogs. I’m tempted to open my bedroom windows so I can enjoy the night music lullabies. I’m pretty sure with all this rain the windows are swollen and would be too hard to open. Hard to choose tonight between being cool or being serenaded by the frog chorus.

I watched a small downy woodpecker perched on a suet basket late afternoon and he looked like he had bathed in a mud puddle. Even his little red cap was soiled. The little downies are always pristine white and glossy black. I’ve never seen a downy woodpecker that wasn’t immaculately dressed. I always call this one Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was known for his classic fedoras and his tuxedoes with the perfect pocket square. Downy woodpeckers are the smallest woodpecker in North America. They teach us that patience and faith are powerful tools and remind us we don’t have to be loud or aggressive to make our mark on the world. They are handsome little birds. I love watching them feed hanging upside down.

I’m perched in the porch swing loving the peace and tranquillity of the twilight’s transition to the night’s darkness. Sunsets are closure to the day and signify a time to rest. If you are a lover of sunsets you are an opacarophile. A sunset is the last breathe of the day. “Sunsets are just little glimpses of the golden streets of heaven,” Unknown. I am in awe that every day I watch a sunset, the sunset is completely different from the day before. The sunset has moved down the street now and when I looked down there as I came in the house, Mother Nature had found a hole in the cloud cover and was painting the sunset in yellows and oranges and coloring the surrounding clouds a deep grayish purple. Just beautiful to see the colors change. I never get tired of watching the sunset put the earth to bed each night. Sunsets remind us to cherish life. As the sun fades away each night, we are reminded that nothing lasts forever. We all need to slow down and notice Mother Nature and God’s handiwork, being more grateful for the Earth and all its beauty.

I found a beautiful quote about wind chimes this morning. “Like the wind chimes, we are all part of a larger symphony, and our lives contribute to the beauty of the world,” Unknown. Just think of the symphonies that play out in the world each day. Symphonies of heart breaking sadness and symphonies of glorious joy. Music has a rhythm and flow of melodies just as the world has a cycle of night and day and a rhythm of seasons. When everything flows just right the harmonies are a symphonic masterpiece.

Bible scripture encourages us to use music for worship, for praise, and for joy. The Psalms also encourage us to praise God through singing. Psalm 150:1-5 reads, “Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.”

I think the birds sing for joy, for the freedom of flying through the heavens, connecting with God and nature’s symphonies. My daughter loved to whistle when she was happy. She learned to whistle as a toddler. When my family gathers at vet brother’s house for a family dinner, he happily whistles in the kitchen. I find myself whistling when I’m working in my garden and when I’m filling up the bird feeders.

I think music is a gift from God. Music can uplift our spirits, express emotions and bring comfort in a spiritual way. The beautiful old hymns we all know by heart bring us closer to God when we sing them in the churches’ sanctuaries, the church pews of the porch swings, or wherever you feel the Lord’s presence. We all need to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” to thank him for our many blessings.

“We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer.” —J. Reuben Clark Jr