There was a lot of that going on today. After a full day of singing, dancing, preaching, and teaching, I am closing the day on a note of gratitude. I'm especially 
grateful for Mary and the song she sang to God (The Magnificat in Luke 1: 46-55) which guided my sermon and gave us the text for what turned out to be a glorious dance and song. As the dancers gathered before going out to do our thing, we stopped and asked God to simply use us as instruments of God's glory--that we wouldn't even be seen, but that our movements would guide others into a better understanding of God's mercy. It was such a
new level of worship for me, to be able to freely wave my arms, drop to my knees, raise my hands, and bow as a way to praise God. Each of the young women who danced today come from very different places, stages in life, and families. Yet, we have a common thread: WE LOVE GOD and need a way to show it. Dance was just the ticket. We took some fun pictures too...stuffing a shirt up my dress to make a fake belly was hilarious! Looking in the mirror I said, "this is what I'm going to look like someday!" I'll be ok with it when the time comes. But later...I'm saying this to God so I don't wind up in Mary's situation. :)
grateful for Mary and the song she sang to God (The Magnificat in Luke 1: 46-55) which guided my sermon and gave us the text for what turned out to be a glorious dance and song. As the dancers gathered before going out to do our thing, we stopped and asked God to simply use us as instruments of God's glory--that we wouldn't even be seen, but that our movements would guide others into a better understanding of God's mercy. It was such a
new level of worship for me, to be able to freely wave my arms, drop to my knees, raise my hands, and bow as a way to praise God. Each of the young women who danced today come from very different places, stages in life, and families. Yet, we have a common thread: WE LOVE GOD and need a way to show it. Dance was just the ticket. We took some fun pictures too...stuffing a shirt up my dress to make a fake belly was hilarious! Looking in the mirror I said, "this is what I'm going to look like someday!" I'll be ok with it when the time comes. But later...I'm saying this to God so I don't wind up in Mary's situation. :)Even though it was a lot to preach and dance all in one day, I felt as though 
the dance gave me a chance to sum up and emotionally express what I couldn't say in words through my preaching. Before I went up to preach, I can remember thinking, "Why am I so calm right now? Usually I'm dry heaving and shaking. Something's wrong!" When really, something was very right! The Holy Spirit met me today and filled me with the confidence to speak truth about this text. But it went well today. A few less uses of the word "right?" than last time. And a much slower rate of speed.
the dance gave me a chance to sum up and emotionally express what I couldn't say in words through my preaching. Before I went up to preach, I can remember thinking, "Why am I so calm right now? Usually I'm dry heaving and shaking. Something's wrong!" When really, something was very right! The Holy Spirit met me today and filled me with the confidence to speak truth about this text. But it went well today. A few less uses of the word "right?" than last time. And a much slower rate of speed. When I finished my sermon, Bob stepped up and began to lead the congregation in a 
visualization of the journey Mary took when she went to see Elizabeth. I ran to the back of the church and began to frantically strip. Within 3 minutes, I had transformed from Amber to Mary. That was the craziest costume change I've had to do thus far in life, but it made for some comic relief in between elements. Stephanie helped take my socks off, Brittany was hooking my mic up, Kelly was fixing my 
hair. And then we realized, my mic was still on! AHHH! Once we realized it was on, a mad hush came over us and we looked at each other as if to say, "what did we say in the last 2 minutes? how much did they hear?" Luckily, the sound man caught it right away and muted us. Talk about team work!
visualization of the journey Mary took when she went to see Elizabeth. I ran to the back of the church and began to frantically strip. Within 3 minutes, I had transformed from Amber to Mary. That was the craziest costume change I've had to do thus far in life, but it made for some comic relief in between elements. Stephanie helped take my socks off, Brittany was hooking my mic up, Kelly was fixing my 
hair. And then we realized, my mic was still on! AHHH! Once we realized it was on, a mad hush came over us and we looked at each other as if to say, "what did we say in the last 2 minutes? how much did they hear?" Luckily, the sound man caught it right away and muted us. Talk about team work! The Magnificat -Mary's Song
My soul magnifies the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in my savior,
He has seen the humble state of my heart,
and now all will call me blessed.
Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his fame.
He has shown the strength of his hands
and brought down the mighty from their pretense,
He scattered the pride in their hearts
and lifted the lowly to meet him.
He has filled the hungry with good things...
and the rich he sent, empty, away,
He hath remembered his servant Israel,
and we will remember him always, always.
Praise the almighty God; he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation loudly proclaim his fame.
Around 1:00, I ran home and took a much needed nap. I was out within minutes, and woke up 
just in time to go back to church for the Focus Finders event. We met at church and all piled in the 15 passenger van. They trusted me to drive it. :) Lynn Pasley is a member of Good Shepherd who lives in a neighborhood that is highly lit with Christmas lights. She also happens to be a gourmet chef. We were lovingly welcomed into her house for shrimp, roast beef, clam chowder, salmon, dips, and dessert. Oh baby!! It was so yummy. She guided us around the neighborhood for a while and 
set us free to take pictures and enjoy the atmosphere. There were hundreds of cars lining the street, and even more people out walking around. Some people had hot cocoa and cookie stands at the end of their driveway. Lynn told us that the night before, her neighbor made $500 selling baked goods and treats. What a fundraiser! Children and parents filled the sidewalk, stopping in a manger to play their part in the nativity story. I'm not sure Mary and Joseph said, "CHEEEESE" while they were in there, but 
other than that, it was perfect casting! One of the houses we walked up to was a total Clark Griswold house. But it was so tastefully done. They had little "snow" machines posted on the top of their house that with the push of a button would pump out little bubble chunks that looked like real snow. Didn't taste like it, but it looked awesome! I received an e-mail from First 
Lutheran Church in Brookings this morning that said worship was cancelled because of the snow. Do kids get out of school or church for anything around here? Too sunny? Too perfect, go home and play! :)The time went by way too quickly, as we had to get back for the 7:00 worship service. It took us a while to get that 15 passenger van out of rush hour-like traffic on Reese Road!
It's safe to say, I'm spent. I'm not setting my alarm, and don't bother calling! I deserve to sleep in, so that's my
plan. What a great feeling to be done...this next week is filled with nothing but fun. Nothing left to stress about. Staff Christmas party, the children's Christmas program makes up worship next weekend, and a week with Karishma before heading home! Christmas is coming, and now I can really enjoy this awesome time of year!
just in time to go back to church for the Focus Finders event. We met at church and all piled in the 15 passenger van. They trusted me to drive it. :) Lynn Pasley is a member of Good Shepherd who lives in a neighborhood that is highly lit with Christmas lights. She also happens to be a gourmet chef. We were lovingly welcomed into her house for shrimp, roast beef, clam chowder, salmon, dips, and dessert. Oh baby!! It was so yummy. She guided us around the neighborhood for a while and 
set us free to take pictures and enjoy the atmosphere. There were hundreds of cars lining the street, and even more people out walking around. Some people had hot cocoa and cookie stands at the end of their driveway. Lynn told us that the night before, her neighbor made $500 selling baked goods and treats. What a fundraiser! Children and parents filled the sidewalk, stopping in a manger to play their part in the nativity story. I'm not sure Mary and Joseph said, "CHEEEESE" while they were in there, but 
other than that, it was perfect casting! One of the houses we walked up to was a total Clark Griswold house. But it was so tastefully done. They had little "snow" machines posted on the top of their house that with the push of a button would pump out little bubble chunks that looked like real snow. Didn't taste like it, but it looked awesome! I received an e-mail from First 
Lutheran Church in Brookings this morning that said worship was cancelled because of the snow. Do kids get out of school or church for anything around here? Too sunny? Too perfect, go home and play! :)The time went by way too quickly, as we had to get back for the 7:00 worship service. It took us a while to get that 15 passenger van out of rush hour-like traffic on Reese Road!It's safe to say, I'm spent. I'm not setting my alarm, and don't bother calling! I deserve to sleep in, so that's my
plan. What a great feeling to be done...this next week is filled with nothing but fun. Nothing left to stress about. Staff Christmas party, the children's Christmas program makes up worship next weekend, and a week with Karishma before heading home! Christmas is coming, and now I can really enjoy this awesome time of year!
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