Whispering Winds Blog

The Goose family has been faithfully practicing over the past few weeks for the hymn sing coming up this Sunday. Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I decided to walk out to the pond to talk with them. There were robins and finches in the trees around the pond, so the gospel quartet of geese had grown to a full choir. The beautiful sounds of spring!

As soon as the geese saw me they stopped singing and swam over to me – all four of them, Gregory and Grace, Gilbert and Gloria. Gilbert asked me, “Who is that woman staying at Whispering Winds? She’s been watching us a lot, and she seems to be enjoying our singing.”

“Oh, that’s Lynn,” I said. “She’s a writer who comes here several times a year for three or four days at a time to write. This time she’s taking advantage of our $149 Lenten Special. She really likes to go for peaceful walks to take breaks from her writing. She’s probably gone down the road to watch your cousins, too, at CamRock Park.”

“She seems to enjoy the peacefulness here as much as we do,” Gilbert added. “I’m glad.”

Gregory Goose changed the subject. “How’s the songbook coming along for the hymn sing? It’s this Sunday, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” I replied. “It is so hard to narrow down the selections to a reasonable number. There are so many great songs about God’s love.”

“That’s for sure,” chimed in Gloria. Our ‘practicing’ can hardly be called ‘practicing.’ We keep thinking of different songs to sing, so we go from one to the next without perfecting the parts on any of them.”

“But that’s so much fun,” interjected Grace. “I just love remembering all the songs about God’s love.”

“That’s what my problem is. I have almost a hundred songs in the table of contents of the songbook, and I think that’s too many. I’m going to have to cut out some. This is even worse than when I compiled a songbook for Advent and Christmas.”

“I don’t envy you that task,” sympathized Gloria. “I’m sure whatever songs are left after the final cuts will form a wonderful collection.”

I explained the process I’m using. “To help me choose the best mix of songs, I’ve organized the songbook into seven sections:

1. A call to a time of reflection
2. The suffering of Christ
3. Our Prayers – What do we really want to say to God?
4. The Love of God
5. A call to action – Invitation and Commitment
6. Our Testimony
7. Let’s just praise God

“And I’ve tried to select songs in each of five styles:

1. Classical Hymns
2. Gospel Songs
3. Spirituals
4. Black Gospel
5. Contemporary Praise Songs

“Then I try to be sure I have at least one or two or more favorites for each theme and style combination. You can see why the selections have grown to nearly a hundred songs in my compilation.”

Gregory didn’t hesitate to tell me, “You’re trying too hard. I can tell you my favorites, and that will be enough.”

“Oh, Gregory, you’re so self-centered,” chided Grace. “What about everyone else? What about their favorites?”

Gilbert quickly changed the subject to avoid an extended argument. “Are you going to have any food? You know, singing can work up quite an appetite.”

“I always have food,” I said with a big smile. “I’m thinking of having ham sandwiches, chips, green pistachio fluff (it will be the day after St. Patrick’s Day), green sugar cookies, and  chocolate brownies. Do you approve?”

“Why don’t you have corned beef instead of ham?” Gregory asked.

“Because I don’t like corned beef,” I said, “and I love ham.”

“It sounds like a lovely supper to offer,” said Grace. “How will you know how much to prepare?”

“Good question,” I responded. “That’s why I’d like everyone to call me (608-212-6197) to say they’re coming. I’ll fix some extra for those who just decide to come at the last minute. I want everyone to feel welcome to join us, whether they call me, or not. If I have too much food, I’ll either eat ham sandwiches and pistachio fluff for several days, or freeze the leftovers.”

“It sounds like you have a lot of work to do this week,” said Gloria, “between preparing the food and finalizing the songbook.”

“I guess I do. I’d better get back to work.”

“And we’d better get back to practicing,” ordered Gregory. “I’ve been trying to think of any songs we know that are Black Gospel. Then it came to me – Precious Lord, Take My Hand. But it’s hard for me to identify with that song. I guess we should practice it anyway. Then let’s sing, Lead Me, Guide Me. That’s a Black Gospel song I really understand.”

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The hymn sing will be at 3:00 Sunday afternoon (March 18) at Whispering Winds. Everyone is welcome. Free will offering to cover our costs. Call 608-212-6197 to let us know you’re coming, if you can. Otherwise, just show up. Hope to see you Sunday!