Saying I’m not a fan of extra stuff would be a huge understatement. When I wrote to you about paring our possessions down to one backpack each, I wanted to convey what a blessing it was. But there are some things I want everyone to have. Here’s one of them:

God wants to give you (individually and as a family) a distinct identity in Him. He prunes habits, relationships, and stuff from our lives, but He never takes things away without replacing them. Leaving some things behind made room in our lives for Him to add experiences and insights we didn’t have room for before.

Worship is a huge part of the identity He wants to give each of us. We aren’t people who sing worship songs, we’re worshipers. This is true for our family, and it’s true for you. It’s true because no matter what your journey look s like right now, Worship is where you come from, and worship is where you’re going. Tweet That.

It’s so much more than music, but music is a powerful tool. Throughout the Bible, leaders taught people songs as a way of helping them make sense of their tragic and joyful experiences. We sing to remind each other (and ourselves) of what God was doing in our lives, to shift our focus, to unite us as a family.

During our recent adventure overseas, my husband challenged each of us to choose a worship song that summed up our experience (One of our sons chose a song I wrote, which meant a lot to me. The last song on this list is NOT a worship song, but in some strange way it helped us make sense of our journey. Skip it if it creeps you out).

Here’s the list of songs our family came up with

What song has helped you become a worshiper?

Share it in the comments below.