The double-kick faded out and the screaming stopped, and for a brief moment, there was a calm as I sat in traffic. Happily, a piano broke that silence as one of my all-time favorite songs started.

We’ve come a long long way together,

through the hard times and the good.

I have to celebrate you baby,

I have to praise you like I should.

Within seconds, my fingers were bouncing and slapping the the steering wheel. I could feel my head begin to bob side-to-side, and I was smiling. I love music, especially happy music that makes me want to move. That moving, I think I enjoy that too. There’s something appealing about stirring your body to an awesome beat.

I enjoy the idea of dancing more than the actual process. It sounds like fun, looks like fun, but if you’re a white guy with barely enough hand-eye coordination successfully walk from one place to another, extra-curricular movement like dancing might seem as though it’s out of the question.

Even if you’re as maladriot as I am, you probably feel some sort of attraction toward dancing. You might deny it, but you hum along and bounce a little when you hear a good song. I think this is because God created us to respond to joy- and dancing is probably one of the easiest means of responding to something awesome.

♦    ♦    ♦

God is joy personified. He’s also large. Very large. What does that mean?

Joy + Big=

Jolly

Yep, I think God is jolly. Kind of like Santa Claus, only real and better, because God comes around more than once a year and one doesn’t have to go the a mall to get his or her picture taken with Him.  Because God is so great, it’s our duty to celebrate Him. I say duty, because God takes celebrating Himself very seriously. Unlike other chores though, this one happens to come to us pretty easily, since He created us to celebrate Him.

If you take a look at the Old Testament, you’ll find (specifically in Leviticus) that God set aside days and weeks for His people to party. He expected them to take days off from their work and to remember what He had done for them (Leviticus 23:25). This included blowing trumpets, feasting and fellowship with one’s friends and family. God wanted Israel to have a good time and He wanted to be at the center of the festivities because He was the reason for all of it. God is the source of every good thing, so we have to rejoice in Him and give Him the credit for it all.

So go celebrate. Eat. Drink. Sing and be merry. Shake your tail feathers like Nelly or David. They’re equally scandalous (at least Nelly hasn’t exposed himself- accidentally or intentionally, as far as I know). While you’re at it, try to give some secular song Christian meaning simply because it says, “praise you” which totally sounds Christian, doesn’t it? (Fatboy Slim has to be a Christian, just listen to those lyrics-Oh wait, he says baby just after that. Could it be baby Jesus?)

Just make sure you’re  thinking of your Awesome Savior the entire time,

remembering all the goodness He’s brought into your life.