My Musical Heritage (Happy birthday, Dad!)

[My dad, ever the English teacher, enjoys anecdotal stories more than any gift. Well, that and hearing/seeing his three kids sing and play instruments together. Here's a little of both for his birthday]

Take a load off Fanny...

You're my blue sky; you're my sunny day...

No, no, no, it ain't me, Babe...

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you for all my life...

Lord, I was born a ramblin' man...

You can't always get what you want...

Let it be, let it be...

Such was the soundtrack of my childhood.  Dad would be in the kitchen with his patriotic apron singing into his spoon/microphone as he whipped up a batch of snickerdoodles or beef stew or "meat, corn, and potatoes."  I've often wondered how the three of us kids could've ended up so musical when our dad's musical prowess didn't make it past the kitchen or the confines of the van (with a good ol' tape deck).  Two things come to mind: we were around music and we were supported in our musical endeavors.

Music, from the Byrds to Bob Dylan to Buddy Holly to the Beatles, filled our home.  It was the marriage of Mr. Tambourineman and Mrs. Robinson.  Dad was a teen during the 60's and finished college in the 70's, and, as a family, we never really moved on to anything from the 80's or 90's.  This lines up with what the New York Times found when they analyzed Spotify data: the songs you like as a teen set your musical tastes as an adult.  Dad belted out the tunes; we sang along.  I still remember many of the lyrics -- the nostalgia runs deep. Being around music doesn't in and of itself lead to becoming a musical person, but it definitely set the foundation for us.

Rock 'n Roll wasn't our only influence. The other way Dad created an environment of music was by writing songs to the tunes of hymns.  I still remember how he changed the words of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" to "Marsha, Mommy, we adore you, wonder of the Kinser clan."  He even created two musicals with other hymn-tune-adaptations and witty lines to bring the narratives of Genesis to life.  We have a video of us singing "O Come, All Ye Faithful," one of Dad's favorite Christmas carols (and he insisted we learn and sing all the verses).

When it came to learning an instrument, that was more down Mom's alley.  She has played the organ at our church since she was a teenager.  Dad was more of an air guitarist (especially in the kitchen as he danced around belting out "Like a rolling stone" pronounced just like Bob Dylan did it).  Still, he supported us as we showed interest in playing "real" instruments.  We all began with piano but eventually all added guitar (Jon's purple electric as a 7th grader was the gateway for all of us).  We all joined band class (Matt on saxophone, Jon on percussion, me on trumpet), which turned into nine straight years of marching band.  

How did Dad support our musical endeavors? Let me count the ways... 

• paying for music lessons (and driving Jon a half hour away for guitar lessons because that's where the best teacher was), 
• buying instruments to add to our growing collections,
• being a proud member of the Pit Crew (he had a shirt made that said "My job's the pits"),
• writing articles for the local newspaper about our marching band performances,
• supplying Pez pick-me-ups for us and our friends after long practices,
• dealing with the noise and unpleasantness of practice times (the drum set in the garage had to have been annoying at times), 
• showing up at our concerts, gigs, performances, and recitals over the years (and still to this day! He loves making the drive to watch Matt play in any venue).

I don't know if Dad had the foresight decades ago to know that his investment would lead to songwriters of his own who matured from "We are the Lundquist brothers" to "Sunny Day Blues" and from "I Love to Paint" to over 300 Scripture songs to help kids and adults memorize Bible verses.  Who would have thought that he would have one son still happily playing gigs in his 40s, another son who studied classical guitar at the collegiate level, and a daughter who taught music at a Christian school for four years?  One of the greatest results of Dad's investment, though, is that whenever the three of us siblings get together, music is involved. Our styles and preferences and abilities may vary, but we enjoy jammin' and improvisin' and harmonizin' together.  If that's the end-in-mind I want for my own boys, I need to follow Dad's model of having music in the home and supporting their musical endeavors.

  

A year ago, we couldn't get together to play and sing in person, so we decided to put together a quarantined song for Mom's birthday (and surely, she's part of our musical heritage, too).  After the fun of that, we thought we'd do one for Dad's birthday, too.  When Matt e-mailed me his rendition of "The Weight," I was afraid that the song would be unfamiliar.  It may be called "The Weight," but I know it better as the "Fanny" song -- one of many that Dad sang from the kitchen.  It's about taking the load off someone else and carrying it ourselves.  Dad carried many-a-load for us over the years to set the foundation for three lifelong musicians.  Thanks, Dad!  Here it is (with my inspiring performance on the toy shakers and with a cameo at the end from the next generation of musicians in the family line):

Guest Post - Heather's Scripture Memory Journey

[guest post from my friend Heather, pastor's wife and homeschooling mama of 6].0

“I can’t memorize scripture!”

“I don’t have time!”

“Isn’t scripture memory just for the kids?”


These were my excuses…and many more for a long time!


I dabbled a bit in scripture memory. I memorized passages of scripture along with my kids. Our family had been working through our church catechism. But, scripture memory wasn’t something that I thought much about for myself or other adults. I knew it was necessary, but had never made it a priority in my own life.

At the end of 2020 I had a strong desire to memorize more scripture. I couldn’t ignore all of the mention in scripture about meditating on the Word (Psalm 119:15, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-6, Psalm 63:6, and so many more), eating the Word (Jeremiah 15:16, Ezekiel 3:1-3, & Revelation 10:8-11) , and allowing God’s Word to renew my mind (Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:10, Philippians 4:8, Isaiah 26:3, and John 8:31-32).

How could I be faithful to these commands in scripture if the Word of God was only available to me when I had my YouVersion App open on my cell phone or my Bible in hand?

This I know- if it is a command in scripture then I already have the resources I need through the power of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 13:21).

I said yes to the call to be more intentional about memorizing scripture. That same week my friend, Mary, told me that she was going to be reciting the book of Titus on Facebook. She invited me to join in. It was so beautiful and inspiring to see a woman put time and effort into memorizing an entire book of scripture. I prayed about what book to memorize and decided on Colossians. I set a goal to memorize it within the year.

Each morning I sat down to “work” on memorizing one verse at a time. There were many mornings when things clicked, and I enjoyed that time. But, there were many more days when it was very hard, nothing seemed to stick, and it was very dry. Then, later in the day, I would go for a walk or be at the grocery store and the verse I had memorized that morning came back to me. It became a time of worship where I was being ministered to by the Word of God.

Colossians became a favorite book of mine, my prayer for our church and for those on my prayer list. I started making connections that I never would have seen if I hadn’t applied myself to that book. It became my daily habit to think about the Word any time I had a free moment. When I was tempted to doubt, or fear would start to grip me, I’d quote scripture. My mind and my heart were being renewed. My thought life, my attitude, my actions & my words were changing.

Now, I’m committed. I want to be a woman of the Word whose “Delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law she (me) meditates day and night. She is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, whose leaves do not wither. Whatever she does prospers!” Psalm 1:1-3

If this is your desire, too, would you jump in & get started? It is ALL the Word of God, so any verse you choose is “living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12)! There are no wrong choices!

If it isn’t your desire, would you pray that it would become a desire? I can promise that this is a commitment that will change your life!

What is a hafiz? And how does that relate to me?

Hafiz.

I stumbled upon that word as I was reading articles about memorizing.  

It has challenged me and inspired me although I never aspire to be one myself.  

I am by no means an expert but have gathered information from online articles and blogs, as well as sites like Wikipedia and Quora.  Here's a brief overview of what a "hafiz" is and how that relates to me as a Christian:

What is a hafiz?

    It literally means "guardian" or "memorizer" and refers to someone who has memorized the Quran in entirety. (the female version is "hafiza;" the plural is "huffaz."). If all the copies of the Quran were destroyed today, the guardians of the Quran would be able to preserve it from memory.

(This is a nine-year-old who was the youngest memorizer/hafiz in the Iraqi city of Basra)

How long is the Quran?

    The Quran is divided into 114 surahs (chapters), containing 6,236 verses (77,430 words or 330,000 individual characters). 

Who memorizes the Quran?

    All sorts of people from various ethnicities and socio-economic statuses from all corners of the world have successfully memorized the Quran (even a 16-year-old blind Somali girl). Many begin as children in special Islamic schools, but people of all ages commit to complete it (one person said it was the "dream of every Muslim"). Some people claim "hafiz" as a title to be proud of; others keep it to themselves. The Quran is perhaps the only book (secular or religious) that has been memorized in entirety by millions of people around the world.

What makes memorizing the Quran especially easy or difficult?

    The Quran was primarily an oral text.  The prophet Muhammad could not write himself, so whenever he would receive a revelation from Allah via the angel Gabriel (over the course of 23 years), his followers listened and documented his words.  They organized it into a collection of chapters, which became the Quran.  It was standardized around 650 AD, and since then, nothing has changed. Wherever you go in the world, the text of the Quran is memorized word for word in the same way. Many people say that the old Arabic has a musical and rhythmic quality to it that makes it easier to memorize.  There's also a visual connection between word meanings that is helpful. 

What makes it difficult for non-Arabic speakers is that it is only to be memorized in the standardized version of Arabic. Many memorize it without even understanding Arabic.

How does it compare to memorizing the Bible?

    First of all, the Quran is much shorter than the Bible.  Some compare it in length to about 4/5 of the New Testament.  Here's an approximate breakdown:

	Quran	New Testament	Whole Bible
Surahs/Chapters	114	260	1,189
Ayahs/Verses	6,236	7,959	31,173
Words	around 80,000	around 184,600	783,137 (KJV)

As mentioned earlier, the Quran was originally a recitation, which was later written down.  The Bible comes from oral traditions but was primarily literary.  The Bible also contains passages with genealogies and specific directions that can be difficult to read and are not often memorized.

Another difference is that the Quran is memorized in one standardized version.  People memorize various translations and languages of the Bible. 

How long does it take to memorize?

    If a person memorized 20 ayah (verses) every day, it could be completed within a year. 

Why do they memorize it?

    Muslims believe that they will be rewarded (a double reward) and honored by Allah if they memorize the Quran and act on it. This causes them to "rise in status."  I also learned that in some Muslim countries, a prison sentence can be reduced (by as much as half!) if the person chooses to memorize the Quran.  

How do they demonstrate mastery?

    Obviously, reciting it in entirety would be the ultimate proof of mastery. Just reading the Quran takes 10-15 hours, though, so I don't think many huffaz recite the whole thing at one time.  They are tested on their knowledge in other ways. One example is to continue the recitation of a random passage. Another example is for a potential hafiz to recite a verse containing a certain word or phrase.  Once they memorize the Quran, they are expected to retain it.

How many people have memorized the Quran?

    There is no way of knowing a specific number because Muslims don't keep a record of it. One community of 2.5 million Muslims counts 4000 members as huffaz. In Pakistan, a network of madarsa (religious schools) says that one million children (about 78,000 a year) have become huffaz after an exam was first introduced in 1982. 

    There are around 4 million mosques in the world.  Usually, a mosque has two huffaz (one to lead the prayers and one who can correct the other), but in the Arab world, there are many more. As an estimate, if there's an average of 3-4 huffaz per mosque, the total number of huffaz would be 15-20 million. 

What does it have to do with Ramadan?

    Ramadan, which begins tomorrow, is the most sacred month for Muslims, and they observe it by fasting food and drink every day from dawn to sunset and focus on extra prayer, intense study of the Quran, and increased generosity to the poor. At the end of the month, there's a celebration called Eid al-Fitr, which is a three-day festival to celebrate breaking the fast.  During Ramadan, it is customary to hear the Quran verses recited from a hafiz every night, so they are in high demand.

I'm a Christian, not a Muslim. What does this mean for me?

    First of all, although this is not one of the Five Pillars of the Muslim faith to achieve Paradise, it is very much a "works-based" way of thinking.  When I mentioned to my husband this morning that millions of people have memorized the Quran, his reaction was gratitude for the freedom of the Christian faith.  We don't/can't earn our salvation, and we don't live under the fear of checking all the boxes and doing all the right things to gain approval.  So, if you feel any guilt or condemnation about not memorizing enough Scripture, shake that off.    

    As a memorizer of Scripture, though, I am challenged.  I never set out to memorize the whole New Testament, but I'm beginning to wonder, "Why not?"  My friend Heather and I were talking the other day about what would happen if we continued systematically memorizing Scripture for the rest of our lives. How many verses would we know by the time we're 80? 

    Although I am not obligated to memorize Scripture to earn salvation, what a meaningful investment it is!  How better to show devotion and honor to the Living Word of God than to memorize it and make it a part of me?  

    Ultimately, anyone can memorize anything (actors do it all the time!), but it's the application of the verses that brings value. After all, we are to be "doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22)."  Or carrying on from the sentiment of 1 Corinthians 13 -- If I memorize the whole New Testament and can recite all verses from memory, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

    So... I will continue to memorize as much of the Bible as I can, not out of duty but from a love for the Word of God and from a foundation of already being accepted.  And I will pray for the millions around the world celebrating Ramadan that they will know the truth and that the truth will set them free (John 8:32).

Easter-themed Scripture Songs

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

What a thought to be united with believers all over the world and all through history! As I was trying to think of Easter-themed Scripture songs, I realized that I didn't know many! There are several songs that reference Jesus' death and resurrection, but there aren't many of the actual narrative. We learned Mark 15:34 last summer as part of the Bible Bee Summer Study, which resulted in Calvin singing "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani" on repeat for days and days.  :-)  Eventually, I plan on learning the book of John, so by the time I'm finished, I'll have Scripture songs for the whole narrative of Jesus' life!

In the meantime, here are some great songs to listen to and to memorize as we continue to celebrate Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection:

A Living Hope (1 Peter 1:3-4, ESV) - Josh and Kirsten Shive

    This one is excellent!  I'm thankful that, through Jesus' death and resurrection, we are born again to a living hope!

Forever (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, NIV) - Truth Songs

    This is one of my favorite Scripture songs to listen to. Zander and Janine always put together awesome Scripture songs in the NIV with tight harmonies. This one mentions Jesus' death and resurrection but also His second coming and the resurrection of believers. 

Christ Died For Us (Romans 5:6-8, NIV) - Truth Songs

    This one climaxes with the familiar verse about God demonstrating His love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Eternal Life (John 3:16) - Seeds Family Worship

    This is the version our boys have learned to memorize John 3:16. Even our 22-month-old knows it!

  

Savior (1 John 4:14, ESV) - Seeds Family Worship

    Calvin had to learn this verse for AWANA and learned how to spell "Savior" in the process!

The Perfect Example (John 13:12-17, ESV) - Seeds Family Worship

    This is one of the few narrative songs from Holy Week that I could find. It's from the Last Supper when Jesus washed His disciples' feet. I sang part of this during our dinner on Maundy Thursday this year.

Ephesians 2:1-7, ESV - Melodically Memorizing

     Man, I love this song! It doesn't specifically reference the cross, but it builds from how we were dead in our transgressions to Christ making us alive.  It is a powerful song!

   

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV

    Here's a song I adapted from The Walking Bible to help our boys memorize this passage about how Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Apostles' Creed Song - Adam Zarn

    This isn't a Scripture song, but it is the way we memorized the Apostles' Creed.  This morning as we were getting ready for our home-church Easter service, we were talking about Jesus rising from the dead on Easter, which prompted our 3-year-old to start singing this song.  It is very much related to Easter and well worth memorizing!