So You Think You Can Dance?

A rediculous amount of things have happened in my life since I last posted, but alas, I'm without a computer and therefore, no Internet access as well.  I'll post again soon when I'm able.  Hmm, I don't know that I can recap, so I'll just start from last night.

My "partner-in-crime" friend Amy and I traveled to Duluth, Georgia to see season five's cast of "So You Think You Can Dance".  A few months back I introduced her to SYTYCD and since then she's been addicted as I am.  These kids are simply amazing, I tell you!  I left work early, picked up Amy and away we went.  Contrary to popular believe, the speed limit isn't 90, so dealing with all the random speed limit changes, construction zones and traffic made for an interesting ride.  However, once we fully realized how the time change affected our journey, we stuck Lola (my mom's GPS) to the windshield, and made our way to the arena.

My personality is pretty even-keeled (sp?).  I rarely get overly excited, not because I don't get excited about life and such, because I do.  I just show it in different ways.  Amy has known me for a really long time and if you asked her I bet she'd say this was the most excited she's EVER seen me!  Seriously.  I kept saying, "I'm so excited!"  She started a running tally... I forget the final count.

We arrived there safe and sound.  We parked in East Budda, hoping our exit would be quicker (it was).  After a quick Superman change of clothes, we were off!  The show started around 745.  Oh... My.... Gosh!  It was A-MAZ-ING!!  I've watched these routines over and over on my DVR, but to see them live and in person was a rare treat which I won't soon forget.  The Lord blessed us with amazing seats!  Actually, let me get back to the show and give some glory to God.

The day before we were to leave, Amy texted me and said she was very sick with the flu.  I, of course, understood, but was horribly dissapointed.  I started scrambling, trying to find someone to replace her (since the tickets were non-refundable). I got very discouraged, but then I remembered what I'd learned this past Wednesday at Highlands.  We need to ask our Father for the "little" things in our life.  He wants us to be happy.  Thank Him.  Praise Him.  Ask Him.  So, I began to seriously pray!  Some people call me a prayer warrior - a title I do not deserve - but I asked Him to heal my friend.  I said, "God, you know how much I've been looking forward to this and if you want me to go alone, I will.  But I really don't want to.  Would you please heal Amy?  Allow her to wake up feeling like a brand new girl."  I kept freaking out about all the untied details and finally something in me said, "Look, Mer, this is completely out of your hands.  There's nothing you can do.  Just let go and trust that your Father will take care of you."  I went to bed, woke up, went to work and got a text mid-morning, "I'm not 100%, but I'm coming!"  PRAISE THE LORD!

I wanted to have faith.  I wanted to believe He'd heal her... but I'm slowly becoming a person who hopes for the best, but expects the worst.  (Wow, how did that happen?  I've always been a glass is half full.  That's another post for another day.)  I don't know why God chose to answer my prayers.  Was it to show me He really is listening to me?  To give me the confidence to keep praying, regardless of the outcome?  To reveal Himself as One Who really does care about the "little" things?  Whatever the reason, my prayer was answered.  This trip just wouldn't have been the same without my Amy.  Thank You, Father!!

Back to the show... how encouraging it is to see people chasing after their dreams, with open and reckless abandon!!!  Watching these kids dance was breath-taking!  God made our bodies to do these amazing and seemingly unbelievable moves!  The way Brandon and Ade would catapult their bodies into the air.  The way Kayla's extensions were incredibly graceful.  The way Melissa used her training as a ballerina to seamlessly infuse her technique with other dances.  The way Philip manipulated his apendedges when he was popping and locking didn't even look real.  It was all so amazing.  I know I keep saying that, but seriously.  It was amazing!!  I'm sooo thankful Amy could experience this with me. It's always neat to spend quality time with people who actually get you.

Lola guided us home to Erin's house around midnight.  Wow, it was so great to see Erin again too!!  (We've got to hang out more often than once a year!)  Sweet girl, stayed up entirely too late, as we recounted all the lovely details of the night.  Thanks, Jeff and Erin for allowing Amy and me to stay in your house!!!  Y'all are the best.

Back to reality soon.  Amy's getting ready now, then we'll be making our way back home.  Once I drop her off, I'm headed straight to work.  It should be an interesting day.  It's all good though.  I'm blessed beyond belief with my job and my boss.  Honestly, I'm just blessed beyond belief.  Amy and I spent about two hours after we got in, talking about life, love and other mysteries (yes, I know that's a Point of Grace song).  I think we finally went to sleep around 2am... so we're headed to Starbucks shortly to get some much-needed caffenine.

Well, it was an amazing almost 24 hours!!  Maybe we can get a group together when season 6 goes on tour.  Anyone interested??


Btw, I'm using Jeff's MAC, which I don't really know how to use, and I can't find the spell check.  So, all the errors are just going to have to stay.  Oh well.

Accidents Happen... But You Aren't One Of Them!

And the LORD will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11 (English Standard Version)

First, "And the LORD will guide you continually"?!  Look continually up, it means "non stop".  I don't know about you, but sometimes it feels like I'm a fish out of water, flopping around, struggling to breathe.  I feel kinda lost sometimes; like I don't belong.  I'm not exactly sure what He's doing with me, you know?  I thought things would look differently by this point in my life.  But I guess it's a good thing I'm not in charge.  The last thing I think about is the fact that my Jesus is guiding me non stop.  But He is.  I hold tightly onto one of my favorite verses:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (English Standard Version): For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

I hang my hat on two phrases... "to give you a future and a hope" and "I will hear you".  So even if it feels like my hopes, dreams, and prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and hitting me on the noggin, He's there.  Frankly, He wrote the future, so He obviously knows what's going to happen.  I just need to learn to trust more.  I have trust issues, I know.  I'm trying to work on it.

Second, "satisfy your desire in scorched places".  OK, I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds to me what happens when you feel that burning desire to make something happen.  Not just 'something' though, usually it's something God-sized that only He can make happen.  I have a lot of desires which I'm waiting for Him to do something with.  That's not to say that I don't have to put in some effort myself, I'm just saying it's easier to allow Him to go before me.  Though, I'm not very good at being patient when it comes to these big desires.  I'm doing my best though. 

Satisfaction doesn't come easy, especially in the society we live in today.  I call us the "microwave generation".  We want everything NOW and are rarely satisfied with what we do have; keeping up with the Jones' and all that.  But for Him to truely satisfy your desires!  Whew!  Now that will be amazing.  Just think about that for a minute.  What's a dream you've had which you don't think will ever come true?  For some of us, it's meeting our knight in shining armor (don't scoff, Amy), while others are dreaming for a child, some hope to move into a house, whatever it might be, He WILL satisfy your desire.  What a promise that is!  I do realize that sometimes He says 'maybe' or even 'no', but in the words from a really stupid movie, "So you're saying there's a chance?"  And with a chance, there's hope!!!

Third, "make your bones strong".  The first thought that comes to mind is the Flintstone's theme song.  Kids need vitamins to grow strong; least that's what the commercial says.  :)  Vitamins are to strength as Bible verses are to knowledge.  (Did you feel like you were taking an ACT for a minute there?)  Not only is Jesus going to be with you every step of the way, satisfy your desires, but make your bones strong as well!  Strong and healthy bones are often taken for granted.  You need good, strong bones so you can be at your best and do all your daily activities. Bones are responsible for good posture, performance in the gym, and pretty much everything you do with your body.

Fourth, "you shall be like a watered garden".  Wow.  I've never stopped to think about what that means.  I'm sure you've seen a beautiful garden during spring time, when it has been given water to grow?  Everything is so green!  The colors are more vibrant and there's a general sense of LIFE!  The flowers are fufilling their destiny; merely by blooming, they bring honor and glory to the Father.  What if the same were true in our lives?  What if, when we found something we're good at, like painting, singing, playing an instrument or even writing, that we did it to the best of our ability.  And when we did, we became alive!  We looked at the world differently as we found purpose in our lives!  What are your passions?  Obviously, I'm passionate about writing.  I've been wanting to write all day today, but I should have been in bed about an hour and a half ago.  It's worth it though.  I love being able to write what God's teaching me.  (Hope you're learning something as well?)

Finally, "like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail".  Have you ever been mezmorized by a water fountain?  To watch the water get forcefully shot out and up into the air, only to splash down upon the earth, wherever it can.  There's a rthymic and hyptotic flow.  What if we were like a fountain?  Once He's guiding us on a path, given and satisfied a desire, made our bones strong so that we could LIVE life more abundantly, then what's to stop us from spreading the news of this transformation with others?!?  That's kind of the point to any salvation story, if you ask me.  It doesn't matter where you came from, what you were doing, or what God brought you out of, you have a story to tell.  You have a story that won't fall on deaf ears if the right ears hear the News. 

Think about that for a minute.  You. Are. Special.

You aren't an accident.  God ordained you into being.  He formed you in the womb.  He gave you your unique characteristics and quirks.  He gave you your passions.  He chose you.  Period.

He says in Psalm 139: 13-16, Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

He has given us all the tools necessarly, all the seeds have already been planted, now we just need to till up our garden and see what blooms!!  Once you see what comes up, don't be afraid to give it away and share with your neighbors.  It's amazing what a 'flower' can do in a person's life!!