Praise the Lord with the Strings and Flute

This is my first post and my first official day blogging.   So I wanted to start it out with something of first importance.  I have used this ID "stringsandflute" a lot of places online.   On the surface the words apply to my activities of playing stringed instruments like guitar and lute and playing flute.  But even more important than these activities is the verse Psalm 150: 4b  "Praise Him with the strings and flute."  

This Psalm is short, but so meaningful because it  gets to the heart of the meaning and purpose of our lives.  The Lord is powerful and beautiful and great in all ways.  Regardless of our circumstances, He is always worthy of our praise.

I recently travelled to India for the first time ... (I'm sure I'll share more about that later because it was such a blessing to me) ... but everywhere I met believers there, both the greeting and the closing salutation, rather than "hello" or even "God bless you"  was "Praise the Lord."  And so many of my online brothers and sisters also use this greeting.  It is so great to start and end conversations and times together with "praise the Lord."   It is the framework of everything else in our lives.  If we are struggling with something we praise the Lord and glorify Him and know Him better through our suffering.  If things are going happily then we also praise the Lord for that type of blessing.  

In every situation and in every circumstance, everything, everything that has breath and every music on every instrument (including strings and flute)---praise the Lord.  

Lord, You are worthy of our praise at all times and in all circumstances.  You are good and mighty and merciful and powerful and righteous and beautiful and in every way worthy of our praise.  I surrender this blog to You, may it always be glorifying to You and also bring encouragement to all who visit here.  Help me to praise You with this blog stringsandflute and with my stringed instruments and flutes, and with my life.  I surrender to You and praise You in Jesus name, amen

Psalm 150 :)

1 Praise the LORD.
       Praise God in his sanctuary; 
       praise him in his mighty heavens.

 2 Praise him for his acts of power; 
       praise him for his surpassing greatness.

 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 
       praise him with the harp and lyre,

 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, 
       praise him with the strings and flute,

 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, 
       praise him with resounding cymbals.

 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 
       Praise the LORD.