debily

Archive for the ‘There’s a song in the air’ Category

DATELINE:  Village of Hope, near Biyali, Uganda.  7:09 P.M. Village time.  That’s 11:09 A.M. CST for those of you keeping score at home.

THE MISSION BEGINS!

This was our first full day at the Village. We enjoyed a breakfast of french toast – which may simply be fried sweet bread – but it was REALLY good!  After breakfast, we spent some time in prayer, specifically for the Village of Hope.  There was an outside chance that an important decision could be made today, and we felt a great need to pray on behalf of those involved in the decision-making process, and for the outcome to be favorable.

There had been an issue with getting the examinations printed for the children, so Careenna and Connor spent some time in the “office” typing up the mathematics exams for the children to take tomorrow.  While they worked on that, several others of us went down to the school office to organize the supplies we had brought, as well as the clothes and ESL and craft materials.

It took much longer for Connor and Careenna to finish the exam, but once they were done we were able to have our team devotionals.  Dave had asked me if I’d be willing to share devotions today and of course, I was happy to oblige. Read the rest of this entry »

DATELINE:  Gulu, Uganda.  10:15 P.M. Gulu time.  That’s 2:15 P.M. for those of you keeping score at home.

WORSHIP

What a day!  What an amazing, incredible, glorious day!  A day filled with the joy of the Lord and His incredible presence here with us! Read the rest of this entry »

This week was VBS at McKinney Fellowship.  Our theme for the week – in case you hadn’t already guessed – was Cokesbury’s Galactic Blast, a week of learning about the universe, the cosmos, and the God who created and rules over all of it.

As you might suspect, I was privileged to be on the worship team for the evening VBS for the elementary school-age children.  Although I technically wasn’t “in charge”, I was able to lead each evening’s worship set at the opening and closing ceremonies and helped teach the songs during the rotations.  We had approximately 800 children throughout the week, excited to learn and be a part of each day’s activities.

Quite honestly, this year’s music didn’t really speak to me.  I just wasn’t “feeling it.”  As much as I enjoy being onstage, I just didn’t connect with the songs we were teaching this year.  Frankly there were times I put on a happy face and forced myself to be enthusiastic and energetic, all the while praying continuously that God would speak to the children in spite of me.

As He always does, God honored that prayer.

During one evening’s worship rotation, I felt a strong leading to share the gospel as I was teaching the words and motions to one of our songs.  Even though it wasn’t the “official” night to have a gospel presentation, I knew God was asking me to do it.  As I spoke, particularly to one group of older children, I could feel the Holy Spirit burning passionately inside me.  The words spilled out uncontrollably – I can’t even remember what I said – but I know I said more than I intended.  I was actually a little embarrassed that I had gotten so carried away with “preaching” when we were supposed to be worshiping.

After that rotation, our children’s pastor came up to me with an odd look on his face, one that I couldn’t quite place.  I was afraid I’d said too much, said the wrong thing, that someone had complained about something I’d said or done…and in a low voice he looked at me and said, “Don’t say anything when I tell you this.”  Instantly I turned off my microphone, certain I was going to get a mild chastising.  “That girl in the back row behind me…she’s NOT a Christian.  She’s unchurched.  You just gave a totally clear presentation of the gospel…and she was here for every word.  I don’t know how God is going to use that, but I just wanted you to know.”  As he spoke, a huge smile spread over his face and his eyes brightened.  “Keep it up.”  And he turned and walked away.

I sat there, humbled.  To think that God would use me – despite all my inner complaining – to share His message of love and forgiveness and sow the seed that will hopefully one day reap a great harvest was an amazing thought.  And as I watched the children on our final night give themselves over with complete abandon to joyous, exuberant worship, I realized that it *is* really all about Him.

HE is the true Galactic Blast.  He just lets me tune the spaceship’s radio every once in awhile.

If you’re interested, a video montage of VBS is available here.

Sometimes, I’m such a twit.  I can’t tell you how glad I am that God, in His infinite patience and endless love and mercy, never actually says that to me.  But I’m sure there are times He must feel like it.

This epiphany came to me this weekend after spending several days trying to climb out of the deep dark emotional funk I’ve been in.  The circumstances of the past couple of weeks, coupled with a never-ending list of stuff I gotta do, have worn me down.  Physically, I’m tired.  Mentally, I’m frazzled.  And spiritually, I’m empty.  The sum of all these parts is depression.  Darkness.  Despair.  And as much as I hate being in that place, I’ve been unable to find my way out.

Until this morning.

As the sun pierced through the windows in my studio, it was like God opened a ray of light into my soul and spoke directly to my heart.  I was re-reading our passage of study for our Uganda trip meeting when suddenly He had me park here for awhile:

I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.  John 17:15

As I meditated on this, He gently moved my eyes back a few verses to read this:

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.  John 16:33

And then He sent me here:

Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  James 1:2-3

You’re probably more of a quick study than me.  By now, you’ve probably noticed a theme, a trend, an obvious connection.  Eventually, I did too.  But what struck me is that these verses contain a promise, too.  Maybe not a happy, all-warm-and-fuzzy, let’s-get-together-and-sing-Kum-ba-Yah kind of promise, but a promise nonetheless.  These verses promise us that as believers – heck, as human beings – we will experience trials.  There’s no escaping them.  We might as well accept that fact and be prepared, because it’s gonna happen.  Cancer.  Job loss.  Accidents.  Political strife.  Some trials are more difficult than others, but there is no escaping that promise.  Trials will happen.  Life is hard.

Oddly enough, as God reminded me of this promise, I began to feel energized.  Renewed.  Fearless.  And – ironically – hopeful.  Crazy as it seems, this reminder that hardship is inescapable, that trials are promised, that life is difficult brought me a sense of calm and restored optimism.  Because there is more to the story.  Like all optimists, I search for the silver lining.  And there’s a big one.

Our trials have a happy ending.  It’s guaranteed.  I don’t know exactly what that happy ending is, because it’s different for everyone and unique to each situation.  We are protected from the evil one.  Christ has overcome the world.  We have the strength to endure – which means an end is in sight.  We will get through it.  We will succeed.  We will have joy once again.  Just read those verses again and I’m sure you’ll see it.

Is it any wonder, then, that this song spoke so deeply to me this morning as I had the privilege of singing it at church with my favorite trio?

LOST has completely messed with my universe.

First, we have the mysteries of the island.  Then we have alternate timelines and realities and smoke monsters taking the form of formerly dead characters.  As if that weren’t enough, now we have the whole mythos of the “list” and the “candidates” and the balance between light and dark.  And to top it all off, LOST has moved to Tuesday nights, opposite American Idol!

Sheesh.  The nerve.

So what’s a poor girl to do?  It’s prediction time, and once again I haven’t watched the performances.  And unfortunately this time there wasn’t much chatter on Facebook to help me out.  But I still managed to get two out of three last week, so I’m employing the “stab in the dark” technique again this week.

In all honesty, I can’t really judge him.  He may have rocked it last night.  He may have brought it and been – in Randy’s words – “da bomb.”  But the fact remains, the guy is SIXTEEN.  And he ACTS sixteen.  And he LOOKS sixteen.  And he doesn’t show me that he can handle the demands of show biz.  I will keep picking him until he is gone…and pray that he doesn’t ride the Kris Allen wave of good luck to the finals.

This one makes me sad.  I really like her style and I think she’s a refreshing change of pace for this show.  There have been rockers, r&b singers, and even country divas who have all made it big from this launching pad.  But there has never been a soulsy-bluesy-jazzy crooner like Didi who has managed to make it into the finals.  Unfortunately, the pop music niche of this show makes it difficult for her to really stand out and showcase her unique persona.  I think she will be safe, but only by the skin of her pearly-white teeth.

Poor Tim.  He seems like such a nice boy.  Sincere.  Genuine.  And about as interesting as milk toast.  Which, unfortunately, does not make for good radio play.  And since we all know the bottom line of this show is about dollar signs and marketability, that bodes even worse for our boy-next-door.  Buh-bye, Tim Urban.  We’ll see you on the road.

Really, I should just take a mulligan on this because:

1)  I haven’t watched the show yet and

2)  I don’t really have time to blog about a show I haven’t even watched.

But I’m not going to do that.  I’m going to live on the edge and make a prediction based solely on the status updates I’ve read on Facebook.  Now THAT’S research!

So who do I predict the bottom three will be?

I like her.  I really, really like her.  But it doesn’t appear that America does.  So for the second week in a row, she will be doomed to the silver stools on the dreaded “other side of the stage.”

I don’t know that it makes one bit of difference whether he is in the bottom three or safe tonight.  Because, honestly, the final two will be Siobhan and Crystal and everyone else needs to go home and let the two of them duke it out.  Vocally, of course.  But because he doesn’t have a prayer of winning Idol, I predict Tim Urban will sharing Paige’s fate this evening.

If you’re going to be 16 in this competition, then you better make me believe you can handle the pressure, the attention, and the demands.  Poor Aaron has seemed star-struck and overwhelmed from the get-go.  I am going to continue to pick him until he goes home because seriously, he just needs to grow up a bit.

So whose montage will we be watching tonight?

My vote goes with Facebook: Paige.

It’s that time of year again…March Madness, Spring Forward, and Debily’s American Idol Predictions!!  Seriously, folks, it doesn’t get much more exciting than this.

For those of you who are new to my blog, this has become a tradition for the past couple of years.  Before I head out to party with the Idol Girls each week, I make my predictions of who will make it, who will land in the bottom three, and who is out.  I may not be “Debily the Greek” (with my apologies to the under-30 crowd who has no idea what I mean by that or who “Jimmy the Greek” was), but I hold my own most  weeks.  Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and ideas – the more the merrier!

This week was a tribute to the Rolling Stones.  Admittedly, I’m not a huge Stones fan.  I appreciate their music, I acknowledge their talent, I know enough of the lyrics to “Satisfaction” to get by at parties, but I’ve never been one to buy their albums or download their songs.  Honestly, I didn’t know most of the songs performed tonight, so I was pretty open-minded about the risks the performers chose to take.  I also prefer to listen to AI rather than watch it, because that’s how I’ll get to know these artists: through their radio play.  I don’t go to concerts, I don’t watch music videos, I don’t see them perform live.  So they gotta sell me on their vocals and musicality more than their stage presence.

But stage presence doesn’t hurt and tonight there emerged one clear winner:

Holy black dress, Batman!  In Randy-speak, Siobhan was DA BOMB.  I haven’t felt goosebumps like that since David Cook did his rendition of “Billie Jean.”  Awesome.  Amazing.  She emerged as the one to beat.

But as we all know, it’s not about who won the night, it’s about who will be tearfully watching their “American Idol Journey” montage as the show fades to credits.  Here are my picks for the bottom three:

Sitting pretty in 10th place will be Andrew Garcia.  I like this guy.  I like him a LOT even though he needs to attend the Danny Gokey School of Cool and Stylish Eyewear for a few weeks.  But he just seemed to be trying too hard this week, pushing his style and vocals beyond his own capabilities.  I think the judges have really done him a disservice with their emphasis on encouraging him to take risks musically.  He seems to feel pressured to have a new and creative take each week…and sometimes that’s just not possible.  But his story is so great that he will ride the wave for a few weeks until – hopefully – he gets back on track.

I’m sorry.  I just don’t get him.  I know the judges loved his performance.  Not me.  He LOOKS young and tiny on the stage, and unlike David Archuleta (who was wise beyond his years in both style and stage presence) just doesn’t have the strong vocals or star quality to make me believe he’s worthy of winning it all.

I really like her.  And I really *want* to like her onstage.  She has such a unique look, and I love her distinctive sound.  But she’s in danger of making everything sound the same.  There was no “WOW” factor in her song tonight.  For that reason, I believe the one we bid adieu to this evening will be Amarillo’s own Lacey Smith.

Let me hear your thoughts!  And tune in tonight to see how I do!

That last post was far too serious.  Now for something a little more light-hearted.  I’ve always loved the AFLAC ad with Yogi Berra.  When I received this from one of my piano teacher friends, I knew I had to share it. Enjoy!

“YOGI BERRA NOT EXPLAINING WHAT JAZZ ISN’T, OR SOMETHING”

Interviewer: “Can you explain jazz?”

Yogi: “I can’t, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the
wrong part, it’s right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it’s wrong.”

Interviewer: “I don’t understand.”

Yogi: “Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can’t understand it. It’s too complicated. That’s what’s so simple about it.”

Interviewer: “Do you understand it?”

Yogi: “No. That’s why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn’t know anything about it.”

Interviewer: “Are there any great jazz player alive today?”

Yogi: “No. All the great jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead.  Some would kill for it.”

Interviewer: “What is syncopation?”

Yogi: “That’s when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don’t hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz, but only if they’re the same as something different from those other kinds.”

Interviewer: “Now I really don’t understand.”

Yogi: “I haven’t taught you enough for you to not understand jazz that well.”

This week, I have been involved in a music camp of a different sort.  The participants are a little older than last week’s, and the content is certainly more challenging in many ways.

It’s the annual elementary-age music camp, and this year they’re doing Joseph: A STOMP Musical.  And as I’ve gone through this week, I’ve seen several reasons for me to be grateful.

• I’m grateful for the director…who’s done this a few times before, therefore making my role much easier.  It’s nice not to be the one in charge for a change!
• I’m grateful for the children who have showed up – nearly 50 of them!  Ranging in age from just-finished-kindergarten to entering-middle-school, all of them are learning valuable Biblical truths in a fun and entertaining way.
• I’m grateful for the ministry of Studio 153 and Abigail Doust.
• I’m grateful for the life and legacy of Joseph…a man of integrity who lived full-out in obedience and faith.
• I’m grateful for the messages of forgiveness, of resisting temptation, of standing for what’s right that my children are learning through music.
• And I’m grateful that I get to be a small part of all of it.

Like I predicted last week, it really doesn’t matter what happened last night.

Our next American Idol will be Kris Allen.

I hope his future is brighter than Taylor Hicks’.