Mommy Needs Some Faith-Filled Music (like MercyMe)

When I was going through a tough time during university, one of my girlfriends gave me a Scott Krippayne CD. His faith-filled music, especially “Sometimes He Calms the Storm”, made her think of me. I put it into my stereo and over the next months, I listened to that song over and over again.

I clung to that image of Jesus holding me close while the storm whirled around me:

Sometimes He calms the storm with a whisper peace be still. He can settle any sea But it doesn’t mean He will. Sometimes He holds us close And lets the wind and waves go wild. Sometimes He calms the storm And other times He calms his child.

Recently, my mom sent me a new MercyMe CD. The CD player in her car had broken so she’d been listening to faith-filled music on the radio. “Beautiful” was one of the songs she heard frequently and she cried the first time she heard it. So did I.

Faith-filled music from MercyMe - You Are Beautiful
While those songs touched me emotionally, they’ve touched me spiritually as well. They draw me back to the Father, to a deeper understanding of God’s work in my life.

How Faith-Filled Music Nourishes Me Spiritually

As a busy mom, I’ve often let my devotional times slide. I don’t take the time that I should to pray or read my Bible. And while I need to work on making time for that, music is an easy way to nourish my faith even on the go. I can pop a CD into the stereo while I’m baking or cleaning, or listen to some faith-filled music in the van while driving to the girls’ activities.

Music also has a way of speaking right to our hearts. Sometimes, we’ve read the words in our Bibles so often that we just skim over them. We’ve all memorized John 3:16 and hardly listen to it anymore. A new song can provide a new way of looking at it, a new way of hearing the words. The music can help those words sink in and really grab our hearts in a way that just reading doesn’t.

If you’re going through a dry period spiritually, or feeling stressed and busy and overwhelmed, I recommend finding some faith-filled music. Turn on the local Christian radio station, search YouTube, pop in an old CD that you’ve forgotten about. Make it a dance party with the kids—laugh, sing, choreograph your own moves for the music.

Another way that I enjoy listening to music is while colouring. Being quietly creative like this lets me meditate on the words on the song. If you draw, you could illustrate the lyrics as you listen. Or use calligraphy or lettering to make your own posters for verses that have spoken to you (like I did above).

Faith-filled Music Calms the Kids too

Music also works as white noise. Late one night, as I was trying to get a fussy baby to bed, I decided that some music would help me stay sane and calm. Still bouncing the baby, I turned on the stereo. One of my MercyMe CDs began to play. I kept bouncing the baby, closing my eyes and focusing on the lyrics of the song rather than her cries. As the first song ended, she stopped fussing. As the second song ended, she was asleep. When the third song ended, I turned the music off and went to bed with the baby.

After that, I frequently turned to music to help settle the baby. I never made it past the third song on the CD. Apparently, she really liked Christian rock music. I was less likely to get overwhelmed and upset while rocking her to sleep, and she was more likely to fall asleep with the music on.

As I already mentioned, if the kids are going crazy… maybe some music can help all of you. Music has a calming influence not only on Mommy but also on the kids. In the van, I often turn on the music when they’re fighting in the back of the van. Whether the music makes it hard for them to hear each other or just helps them calm down, the fighting usually stops soon after the music starts.

Nowadays, I’m more likely to be listening to “The Wheels on the Bus” or “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” than Scott Krippayne or MercyMe. There are days, though, when I tell Sunshine that it’s Mommy’s turn to listen to some faith-filled music and I put in one of the CDs that has touched me so deeply.