Praising God, giving Him glory—it’s optional, right?

It's something we do on Sunday mornings or when we hike up mountains or saunter down a beach at sunset. Praise is the thing you do when you feel especially close to God or grateful for something He's done— like a Thanksgiving family gathering, right?

Yes, but…

Psalm 29:2 says we are to “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name.” Nothing was mentioned there about ou[...] 

As a kindergartner in Romania during the Communist era, Cristina remembers her teacher asking, “How many of you kids go to church?” Brave Cristina stepped forward—alone. The teacher then reamed her out in front of the entire class. "Never, ever go to church again!" she demanded. Cristina protested, "But my parents go to church."

As often happens, word of Cristina’s brave classroom stand got around. A school caretaker named Natalie later ap[...] 

“Where are we, guys?”

At church orchestra rehearsals, I ask that question with alarming frequency. Keeping track of all the measures you’re not supposed to play can be more difficult than actually playing. I often joke, "If a piece ain't in 4/4 or 3/4 time, I'm not responsible for counting."

Muddying the musical waters is the fact that songwriting has evolved in recent times. There's no shortage of codas (confusing [...]