Reflections on Tour

Tour. 

Lessons, laughter, life, learning…it was a wonderful 10 days.

Here's what I learned:

-Singing for 2-3 hours a day wears out your voice, rapidly.

-I love singing, no matter how worn out my voice is.

-Isaiah 40 never ever gets old.

-Staying with strangers will always be a bit odd, and if you find them sitting in the dark in the morning drinking coffee, just join in and pretend it's normal. 

-You are bound to embarrass yourself, or at least openly reveal the child in you, when you play with the toys that are in your 'bedroom' at your host home.

-Toys these days are scary.  They make noises. And jump at you.  And you can never be too careful.

-Churches and 'host homes' feed you incessently, but you keep eating because their food is so. good. 

-I will never be comfortable in a city, but the barrage of coffee shops sure is marvelous.

-The lake effect from Lake Michigan will freeze your toes when you're only wearing flipflops, and it's 39 degrees out, in April.

-On that same note, umbrellas are useless when crossing bridges over said lake in the middle of a windy day.

-They were serious when they nicknamed Chicago the "Windy City".

-Corner Bakery Café is a cute little shop that gives out free cookies when you take a survey. Yes, please.

-Stubborn pride will get in the way of healing.

**This is literal.  Read: Emily was too stubborn to move positions in the choir so that she wouldn't have to hold music, so now her arm still hurts. Dumb.

-The best way to get people to open up to you and share with you, is to listen. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

-Staying up late will make you tired.  But you can learn things about people and hear their stories much easier when you do. And gain a few new friends.

-Amish people are everywhere. And while they (and their religion) confuse me, we as Christians should learn from their sense of community.

-When you ask God to teach you, He will.  Maybe not in your timing, or what you think you need to learn, but He will definitely teach you.

-God is so creative and also humorous and one of the best places to learn this is the Zoo!

-Time changes will always confuse me.  And I constantly forget that I'm in a different time zone than my family and friends and so I text them and try to talk to them at ridiculous hours.

-When you kick stationary metal objects, you will be hurt and the stationary object will remain unaffected.

-It is possible to take an interest too far: it becomes an obssesion which will take over your house and your life.

-These interests include, but aren't limited to: M&M's, football teams, pets, dolls and figurines.

-God is faithful.

-Jesus is Alive!

Lessons from SCL

One of the blogs that I follow is Jon Acuff's blog called "Stuff Christians Like" (SCL): [http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/].

He's hilarious. And he pinpoints things within Christianity that are ridiculous, typical, stereotypical and real.  His blog is down-to-earth and sensible.  On Wednesdays, he does 'serious' posts and they usually go a bit deeper and they tend to bring up things that I read and think, Ouch. That's me. I do that. I shouldn't do that.

When I was in Chicago over tour, we stayed in a hotel and had free Wi-Fi (hooray!) and so I pulled up his blog.  It led me to a Serious Wednesday post entitled, "Joe Rogan's Story".  The whole post is here: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/04/joe-rogans-story/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+stuffchristianslikeblog+%28Stuff+Christians+Like+-+Jon+Acuff%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Yikes. That's a long address.  Hmm. Well. Go read it. It's good.

But, his post hit me this past Wednesday because I had just been thinking about the very topic he was discussing: the topic of judging people before you know them.  And making decision about certain people based on first impressions.  At the end of his post, he asked these questions:

"What if instead of jumping to conclusions about people, I walked into stories about people?"

"What if I could create space for someone to tell their story to me, instead of listening to the story I tend to make up in my head about them?"

"What if instead of judging, I looked for stories?"

His point is this: everybody has a story.  A background. A history. A reason for why they are the way they are. 

What if, when I talked to people, I attempted to find out their story, instead of believing my own story about them?

This was very real to me, because on tour with the touring choir, I spent a lot of time up close and personal with people that I don't usually spend that much time with.  True, we do have rehearsal 4 times a week, but passing a person in rehearsal is very different from living on a bus with them.

And I had to ask myself: was I really getting to know the people around me?  Was I finding out their stories? Listening to them?  Learning who they are, instead of who I thought they might be? 

It's a challenge for me.  And this week, my opinions and beliefs about some of the people I was with began to change. I was wrong about them.  I saw deeper into their lives and heard parts of their stories.  I saw people I had decided didn't exist.  I am glad to be proved wrong, although it is uncomfortable to realize anew the depth my pride and judgemental attitude.

"Dear friends, let us not love with words or tongue, but in actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

I thought I'd post this and challenge you as well.  What are the stories of the people around you?  Do you care?  Are you listening?  Who is hard for you to love?  Do you know their story?

"My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. " James 1: 19

Praying about Prayer

You know when you're learning something, or studying something and it keeps showing up everywhere?? That's happening to me right now.  Normally, when this happens, after a couple of times, I say, "Okay, Lord. I get it."  I'm not saying that this time.  I'm saying, "More, Lord. Please, show me more." 

I've been studying prayer.  I began studying prayer because I tend to struggle with the concept; I struggle with consistency in prayer and I struggle to communicate with the God of the universe (sounds easy enough, right?).

I'm reading The Hidden Life of Prayer, and yesterday I read this line:

"Satan strikes at the root of faith or the root of diligence."  

                I sat there and stared.  Yes.  Yes, he does. 

When I feel like I'm understanding prayer and getting it, that's when I suddenly begin to be inconsistent in prayer. I begin to skip my prayer times, or make them shorter, and pretty soon, I'm tossing 2 sentence prayers towards the sky and moving on.  

But lately, I feel as if Satan's been tearing at the root of faith.  I have my prayer time and wonder if God's really hearing, really listening, really answering. 

Am I praying for he wrong thing? 

Is the answer always 'no'?

Do I not have enough faith? 

I've been praying for this for 3 years and haven't seen any change.

Some days it's hard to pray.

But Truth has been fighting back recently, working it's ways around Satan's lies and into my ears.  I've had several friends talk to me just to tell me how God has answered their prayers.  I've been reminded of certain prayers I'd forgotten I'd prayed, that God answered clearly the very same day. 

On tour, the devotional packet we were given had an excerpt from "The Screwtape Letters" where the demons discuss how to best use the 'valley's' in Christian's lives to convince them that God isn't listening.  

Not only was it convicting, but it gave me a deeper desire to fight this battle of unbelief with Truth and Scripture, reminding myself of God's promises to never leave, never forsake us and to hear the prayers of the saints.

Today's excerpt for our tour packet was from "The Tyranny of the Urgent" and can you believe it…it was on prayer! 

                     "The worst sin is prayerlessness." 

Why?  Because the root of most sins is self-sufficiency and pride and when you pray, you admit your dependency on the all-knowing, all-powerful God.

Trials make the promise sweet; trials give new life to prayer;

Trials bring me to His feet, lay me low and keep me there." [The Hidden Life of Prayer]

I am watching God answer my prayer to teach me about prayer, even as I struggle through it.  I am learning how great a privilege it is to come before the King of Kings.  I am yearning for a glimpse of God's glory and my heart rejoices as He draws me towards Himself.

Praying still isn't easy. 

I still forget to pray.
I still feel like I'm not really getting it.

But I won't back down, stop studying, or stop praying. 

I am reminded of Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." 

I don't have to be 'perfect' in prayer. But I will be faithful.

Colossians 4:2: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

Tour Time

I'm turning into a morning person.  I don't know whether to be proud of myself or seriously concerned.  I got up today (on a Saturday!!) at 6:30:  1) because I could  2) so I could go for a run  3) because Touring Choir leaves for Tour today!!

I am excited for tour.  Part of me wants to just go home, and be with my family, and go to my own church for Easter, but I know that I will enjoy Tour and that lots of memories will be made. 

Please pray for the touring choir as we travel.  We'll be gone until the 25th, traveling to Chicago and back, stopping to do a concert every day, with 2 concerts each Sunday.

Pray for safety and health. 

Pray that we work and travel well together. "Living" in a bus for ten days with 47 other people can be stressful at times…  

Pray that we "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today" (Hebrews 3:13). 

Pray that our concerts would be glorifying to the King, that those who hear us would hear our words and praise Him as well (Matthew 5:16). 

Pray that our lives would reflect Christ as we stay in host homes, walk in the city, and stay in various churches. 

Pray that as I sing, I can truly be worshipping God, not just going through the motions. 

CS Lewis, in his book "Reflections on the Psalms", says this:

"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men."

Pray that as I worship during this Easter week, that I can feel God's presence and know His glory and His worth.

CS Lewis also says this, which makes perfect sense to me and is probably why I enjoy choir so much:

"I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation."

Pray that as I sing, that I would be praising God and enjoying Him. 

Touring Choir from 2010, singing the Benediction

I pray that this week, as we speak through the Gospel and are reminded of the powerful sacrifice and immense glory of God, that we would glorify God by enjoying Him, whatever we are doing. 

'Magic' Kinesio Tape

Two posts in one day! 

Don't worry. This won't become a trend.

However, I just returned from another round of Occupational Therapy and thought I should post an update.  My left elbow had been flaring up recently, so I followed my mother's advice and returned to the therapist to get her opinion and see if she could give me some ultra-sound and some Kinesio Tape (like a splint…only in tape form) to get a little control over it before I leave for Tour with the Touring Choir on Saturday (wow…run-on sentence. Sorry.).

Diane starts checking my elbow and then gives me "The Look". 

Emily's thought:Oh, shoot. That's not a good look.

Diane: "Emily. Let's just say…it's angry. Really angry."

Emily's thought: Oh great. My arm is angry with me. Superior.

Emily's words: "Ummm.  Can we work on that?"

Diane: "We'll try."

Excellent.  So we did ten minutes of ultra-sound on it, which calms it down a little and then Diane taped it.  For those of you who have never heard of Kinesio Tape, it is a miracle-working tape that is quickly moving up on my list of Top 10 Favorite Things. As in, Maria Von Trapp should have sang about it in "The Sound of Music".  It's from Japan and acts like a splint for your arm, only it moves with you, so I still have my full range of motion.  And, best of all, it keeps at bay the throbbing, aching pain that usually lives in my elbow.  So for a few days, my elbow will hopefully not be as angry at me.

While it is disappointing to not actually be 'healthy', as I had hoped I would be when I stopped therapy in February, I am thankful for Diane's wisdom, Kinesio Tape and the healing process that will continue. Hopefully this second time around will allow me to move further on my journey back to 'normalcy'. 

Here's a picture of my arm all taped up:

I think I look ridiculous.  Diane 'bragged' about her fancy artwork.  Apparently, you have to tape a certain way for certain effects: so I have the baseline taping, the oscillated taping and the seagull.  Don't ask. I have no idea what any of that means. 

On the way out of the office, she announced that I win the award for most taped up.  

Thanks, Diane.  Thanks.

"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." Jeremiah 17:14

Thoughts on a Sunrise

I watched the sunrise today. 

This is a rare occurrence in my life - but it was amazing.

I sat out on the soccer fields and watched as the dark blue skyline melted into pink, then orange, then yellow and then the sun rose slowly over the horizon.  I think this might be only the second time I've watched an entire sunrise and I think I might make it a goal to see more. It was remarkable to just sit and 'watch' the earth turn, spinning perfectly on it's axis so that everything happened just right. I was reading through some of the Psalms before the sun actually peeked over the horizon. Psalm 113:2-9 says this: 

"Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?  He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.  He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!"

It was refreshing to watch a new morning begin with new mercies, new grace and be reminded of the power, sovereignty and beauty of my God.  

But the coolest thing about watching the sun come up was watching the light grow and the darkness be shoved away.  With each passing minute, the darkness faded behind me and slipped away.  I was, as a friend of mine once put it, "intrigued at the simple truth that Light overcomes Dark."  I flipped to John and read the passages where Jesus proclaims that He is the light and within Him is the Light of life.  It was a picture worth remembering:  where the Light is, darkness cannot be.  Where Jesus is, Satan and sin cannot be.  When I am found within the arms of Christ, I am protected from the darkness. John 8:12, "Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life'."  John 12:46, "I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."  Ah, such glorious truth.

Today, I have gone through the day appreciating the sunlight a little more than usual for two reasons: 

first: because I actually haven't seen the sun in quite some time (it's a rare occasion at Grove City to have a day when it's not raining).

second: because I had been reminded of the power of Light today.  

This was the sunrise over the soccer field. Ah, gorgeous. 

May the sunlight remind you of the Light of the World: the One who gives us daily light, the One who is our Light. 

The Bridegroom's Bride

Just a simple reminder today of the faithfulness of Christ's love.  We hear the Gospel often (although not enough!) and we tend to become desensitized to it. I pray that your love for Christ and His glory are renewed. 

I've been studying Song of Solomon in my Psalms and Wisdom Books class here at Grove City and the allegory that it makes to the love of Christ for His Bride and the love of the Bride (the Church - that's us!) for Christ, our Bridegroom is so deep, so real, so vibrant.  Here's the second half of the paper I had to write for this class:

"We all want to be loved. We all want someone to love us unconditionally, with words and actions and in truth. We want to know that we have value and worth in someone’s eyes. We want to love someone the way the Beloved one loves her Lover and we want someone to love us the way the Lover in Song of Solomon loves this Shulamite woman. But Song of Solomon isn’t just a love story about one king and his dear one. It is also an allegorical poem – it’s a poem that expresses the nature of God’s love for us and which puts into words the type of love that we should have for God the Father.

In chapter one of Song of Solomon, the Lover speaks to his Beloved, telling her she is the most beautiful of women, complimenting her again and again. This is the love the Lord has for us. He draws us to himself (Song of Solomon 1:4), and as it states in Hosea 2:14, “Therefore I [the Lord] will allure her [His Bride]”. He delights in us and finds us beautiful. Ezekiel 16:14 tells the Bride of the Lord, “Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God.” Knowing that the Lord of the Universe has this kind of love for you is of exceeding value. When you feel unloved, discouraged, disappointed, remember the perfect love that the Father has for you.  

The Lord’s love is not simply spoken of, however, in words which you must work to remember, repeat to yourself and attempt to believe. He demonstrates His love through action, for “God shows His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) The work of Jesus on the Cross is what allows you to stand before God free from condemnation, as promised in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus' spotless righteousness is how the Lord sees you and why He is able to pour out His abundant love on you. You do not have to work for this love, or earn it, or beg for it. It is always yours, free and sincere. This is why in verse 5 of Song of Solomon one, the beloved woman can say, “I am very dark, but lovely.” Though we are dark with sin, and our hearts are black with filth, we are lovely in the eyes of God because He sees only Christ’s perfect righteousness.

In Song of Solomon, we are reminded that the Lover is not alone – there is also a ‘lovee’ who returns his love in full. The bride in this poem says the love her Lover has for her is better than wine – more intoxicating, more invigorating, more enjoyable. She loves his very name and longs to be with him. She finds her Loved one beautiful and rejoices to tell him so. If we, then, are associated with the Beloved one, as the Bride of Christ, then what we see here is that we are to return the love God has for us. John Piper describes the birth of love for God within us in this way, “Because of the excellence and perfection of God's character, those who are truly born again will naturally cherish and treasure God. For conversion is the awakening of a taste and love for God in our hearts.” When we are covered by Christ’s sacrifice, a love for God and His beauty will grow in us. We will desire to know Him, love Him and be with Him. As David states in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you.” Why do we love God? The answer is simple: “Because He is magnificently wonderful and supremely excellent; because He is a worthy God” (Piper). “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqJmqodR88o

Let the words in Song of Solomon encourage your heart: you are loved.

May they light a fire and awaken a passion in you to love your Bridegroom.

Rainy Day Plans

Today is a good day for:

*drinking a hot caramel latte

*curling up near a fireplace, wrapped in a blanket

*bright yellow galoshes and polka-dotted umbrellas

*dancing in the rain and splashing through puddles in bare feet

*reading a fairy tale in a rocking chair

*a long phone conversation

*gingersnap cookies and milk

*reading the whole gospel of John

*singing "Singing in the Rain" as loudly as possible

*watching "The Sound of Music"

*eating dark chocolate

*going to bed  very early, just so you can bundle beneath the blankets

Ahh. Rainy days.

Post script:

I haven't done a single one of the things on this list. 

But it sure is the perfect day for them all.

Job 36:26-28: "Behold, God is great and we know Him not; the number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water; they distill His mist in rain, which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly."

Jokes, Tuning Pegs and Moms

God has such a sense of humor.  Honestly.  I think that we will spend much time in laughter when we finally get to Heaven.

Today, He played an April Fool's joke on us.

It snowed.

It's not supposed to snow in April.  But Hey. God controls the weather so if it's snowing, it's because He made it snow. 

Funny, Lord.

On an entirely different note:

I went for a run two mornings ago - it was 40degrees by 8am and the sun was up and the sky was blue.  When I returned to campus, I went out to the soccer field and just lay down on my back, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. I was listening to worship songs as I lay there. "Come Thou Fount" came on and I was just soaking up the truth, when the lyrics kinda hit me in the face.

This is the first line: "Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing your grace".

I started thinking about it.  This line makes a lot of sense to me because I play a string instrument.  It requires tuning.  What does that mean?  Tuning is twisting the pegs, tightening the strings and stretching them so that they play the precise, correct note.  Tuning is rather difficult when you first learn how to do it. It takes a long time to figure out how to get the peg to turn only the smallest amount and how to hear the correct sound that you want the string to play. And even after you are comfortable tuning an instrument, it still takes some hard listening and very careful turning of the pegs for the string to ring with the perfect pitch.

This is what I am asking God to do to my heart each time I sing this song.  That he would stretch me, perfect me, take my heart and shape it so that I would be exactly in tune - shaped in such a way that my life sings His grace. 

I want God to take each thing in my life and use it to make me a little more in tune.  On the days filled with laughter and joy, may I sing His grace a little more clearly.  On days when life is hard and confusing, may my trust in Him boldly sing His grace. May my life be one that is slowly but surely being brought into tune that it might always proclaim His grace.

On a third entirely different note:

My mom officially wins the "Best Mom Ever" award.  I was having a rough week. So I called her. I knew she was driving to a town about 45minutes away from Grove City that day, but I had no idea where on the road she was.  Halfway through out conversation she says "How about a date? Meet you in 30 seconds."   I am so blessed that she took the time to come talk to me, encourage me, pray with me and love me right when I needed it. Made my week.

Me and my mom. She's amazing (and that is an understatement).

Happy April!  Now, if only this lovely joke would end today and Spring would arrive tomorrow...