Today marks the seventh and last guest post in guest blog series on the seven practices I write about in my new book, Putting Joy into Practice: Seven Ways to Lift Your Spirit from the Early Church, published by Paraclete Press and released on April 16, 2019. This time, you don’t have to take it from me – each guest shares his or her own stories about how each practice helps him or her experience joy.

This week’s guest post comes from a fellow author and dear friend Traci Rhoades. Traci is a blogger at Traces of Faith and the author of the forthcoming book from Church Publishing, Not All Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost: A Story of Church. Traci and I met on the internet a few years ago. I’ve guest posted on her blog, and this is her first guest post on mine. A few weeks ago, we crossed a few state lines (Traci more than I) and finally meet in person! I’ve quoted Traci’s experiences with praying the Hours in my book, and in her guest post below, Traci writes about the seventh practice: Singing praises to God.  

By Traci Rhoades

A woman named Janalyn had offered to sit with me. I didn’t know her, but we had a few exchanges in a Facebook community that discusses Christianity and I knew she attended a nearby Antiochian Orthodox Church. When I wrote her about attending a Forgiveness Vespers for the first time, she was eager to help me feel comfortable. Only later did she remember she was chanting during the service, so she’d be up front. She arranged for me to sit with another woman. The chanting went on for most of the service. Didn’t their voices get tired? How did they maintain the rhythm? I didn’t recognize the songs but I knew well the sense of sitting in the Spirit’s presence, the joy that settled over me as our collective voices offered praises to our God.

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I talked my mother into visiting the Russian Orthodox church while on vacation. We emailed the Priest ahead of time and he’d assured me we were welcome. As the first song began, people were still moving about the nave, venerating the various icons.  I thought I would recognize the chanting style but this one sounded different to my untrained ear. More like singing and harmonies that blew me away. I kept thinking of those men and women who have committed their daily lives to monasteries and convents. They have this glorious sound wash over them repeatedly every week. And, um, when would we sit down?

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We take a family vacation each November. The men fish for steelhead and the women fish for bargains in local shops. On Saturday evening, I attend Mass in the small-town Catholic church to remind myself Jesus has made us fishers of men. Although I am a Protestant, I’ve been visiting various services in Catholic churches for a few years now, so the liturgy feels a bit more familiar each time. The highlight for me is always when we say the Lord’s Prayer because I know that one! At the end of this particular Mass, the pianist began the opening stanza of the final song. I knew it instantly and was astonished to hear this most famous of Protestant tunes played in a Catholic church. “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” I wept.

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I was standing next to my daughter at our church on Sunday morning. We began the final song before the children would be dismissed for Sunday School and the adults would settle into our comfy chairs to hear the sermon. The opening chords sounded country to me and my ears perked up. I looked at my girl and she smiled. We were going to like this song! David Crowder’s “All My Hope Is In Jesus” is a contemporary favorite of ours. Its reminder of all God has rescued us from brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart every time it’s played.

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For about five years now, I have frequented other churches. Through reading and interacting with online friends, I began to see how much various traditions influenced my faith. Rather than being intimidated by our differences, I started exploring them. Everywhere I looked, there was more of Jesus. Perhaps nowhere more so than in the prayers and music offered up by Christ-followers.

Our beloved songs and hymns often draw from the Psalms. When I read a Psalm in my Bible or the prayer books that are new to me, I hum along if I’ve learned the Psalm as a song. This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). I first sang that one at church camp as a little girl.

In her book, Putting Joy Into Practice, Phoebe asks the question, “What greater way to confess and acknowledge God’s presence than a gathering of singing praise?”

When I heeded the prompting of the Spirit and began worshiping with a greater variety of Christ-followers, I discovered something. The sense of belonging I feel in my home church, I feel that wherever two or three are gathered in his name. I might not know the stories of each individual like I do in my own church, but I know the Spirit who lives inside of every Christian. There was a popular praise song in the 1970s called “Family of God.” It reminds us we’re joint heirs with Jesus and we walk together in this life. The family I walk with gets bigger and bigger as I worship with believers in other church traditions. I’m glad I’m a part of this family.

Traci Rhoades writes for her blog, tracesoffaith.com, at her kitchen table in rural Michigan. She and her husband are modern homesteaders; parenting a daughter, growing a garden, and raising a variety of farm animals. She has a heart for a united church and writes with an ecumenical slant. Her work has been published online at Patheos, Christians for Biblical Equality, The Mudroom Blog, Fathom Magazine and Her View From Home. Her book, Not all Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost: A Story of Church, comes out in May 2020 from Church Publishing and is available for pre-order now.

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