Let the Worshippers Arise

It's the start of a long weekend here in Canada. We have a couple of European exchange students living with us right now, and one of them asked me why Monday is a holiday. I realized that it's basically a weekend for having summer fun. As far as I know, this holiday Monday isn't commemorating anything -- it's just giving people a break. She thought it was unusual to give people a holiday for no reason.

For my family, this weekend will likely be a highlight of our summer -- one that we've been looking forward to since last year. We're heading to Kingdom Bound, a Christian music festival held at an amusement and water park in upstate New York. It will be the first time that all 6 of us (plus our two visitors) will have been together in more than a month. The weather forecast looks promising. We're planning to ride roller coasters and water slides, do some camping and enjoy a fantastic lineup of concerts.

For me though, the highlight is always the worship. There's a tent set aside for that very purpose, and it's literally a little taste of heaven for me to spend longer in there than the standard Sunday morning half hour, basking in the music.

Today's the fifth Friday of the month, and here at Just Giving It, I use those Fridays for gifts -- unexpected, no-other-reason gifts, kind of like this Monday's holiday. This time around the gift is somewhat retroactive, as it went towards helping another family get to Kingdom Bound too. A bit self serving perhaps, as we're excited to hang out with them. But the main reason I bought their tickets is that the mom is a true and fervent worshipper, and I felt strongly that she would benefit from the gift of worship this weekend. What better gift than to give someone time with God?

I'm curious which songs will imprint themselves into my memory and spirit this weekend -- there are always a couple. One such song from a previous year is called Let the Worshippers Arise. This week, we're helping that to happen and I'm grateful for the opportunity to worship alongside my friend for a few days, knowing that we'll be doing it together forever someday.