Monday, June 11, 2012

God is in the Theory of Music


Music Theory? Or God is the theory in music?
Are you as in love with the number seven as I am? There is just something intriguing about the number.
I always wanted to open a cafe and call it "Cafe Seven". I don't know why. Then I started finding 'sevens' everywhere.

Of course we know that God made the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh- creation=seven. 
In the Book of Revelation there are seven churches, seven spirits, He holds seven stars, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and so on. Seven is used over 700 times in the Bible. It is used 54 times in the Book of Revelation alone! (more on that here) But seven in music? YES.







Take a look at a piano keyboard. The first white key is the "C". This is the grounding for where form begins when positioning your hands on a keyboard. Your right thumb on the "C". If you count the white keys from "C" to "C" you get seven. There are seven white keys in an octave. There are also seven FULL octaves in a Full Size 88-key Keyboard!

When forming a Major Chord, place your thumb on the middle "C". Using your index finger, count (on the black and white keys) 1-2-3-4 then stop and let your index finger rest there. Then continue with your pinky, 5-6-7, and let your pinky rest there. You have a Major "C" Chord.

4+3 = 7. Every major chord = 7.

Do the exact same thing again, except rest the thumb on the "C" and count 1-2-3, then 4-5-6-7, and you have a C minor. 3+4 =7. Every minor chord = 7.

Isn't that fun?! God is so amazing!

Friday, June 8, 2012

FREE Children's Resource Friday- Prayer Leading Guide


In this Friday's Free Resource for Children's Ministry, I'd like to introduce you to a Prayer Leader Guide for kids. You may already be doing this with your kids at home or in church, but if not, I love to share this with you, and if so, perhaps a new resource for you to use?

Here is my son when he was just 7, praying during our Kids Prayer Meeting. The first obstacle for kids to overcome in prayer is language. How can kids get scripture hidden in their heart, so they are actually using biblical language to pray from, while applying it to their life at the same time? That's right, by "Pray-Reading" the Scripture.

Here's an easy way to work the muscle of Pray-Reading Scripture- and even better, is that by working this muscle, children will be memorizing scripture in a way that applies to their lives, making it more real to them!

  1. Read the passage to the children and explain that this is scripture which is a prayer written by the Apostle Paul. That there are many prayers already in the Bible that we can pray as well. 
  2. In this passage, Paul was praying for the Church in Ephesus, but we will use it to pray for (your Pastor, Parents, etc. whatever you choose)
  3. Let them read and fill out the booklet, take it up to the microphone, and pray through as directed.
As always, I would love to hear what you thought and how it worked for you!
Enjoy,
Gina


Prayer Leader Booklet