Praise and Worship

Today was my first time at church since March and it was exactly what I needed. I've been watching services online every Sunday, singing with the praise and worship team, taking notes from the sermons, but actually being there in person is a completely different experience and one that I didn't realize that my mind, heart, and soul desperately needed.

     I didn't sleep very well last night and woke up an hour before my alarm clock went off. I thought it was because of my headache but later realized it was because I was so excited to go back to church and see everyone. I got dressed an hour early and even put on make-up (another first since March); it was only eye make-up because anything else would be superfluous (due to mask mandate).

     When we arrived at church, we were greeted by familiar faces and I just wanted to hug everyone but managed to contain myself. I could tell they were smiling behind their masks, and hopefully, they could tell that I was smiling. I wasn't sure what to expect inside the sanctuary, how full it would be, who would be there, if people would be socializing...but was kind of surprised to see that there weren't the number of people I expected, nor the specific people I expected, but more on that later (as in another post, another day). I didn't think too much of it, especially as the band began to play.

     There's just nothing like being in the midst of brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping our Lord through music, song, and for me, a little bit of free-style dancing. I sang as loud as I could and was often moved to tears by the lyrics and the voices around me. The Holy Spirit stirred inside of me. In that moment, my thoughts turned to the Christians who live in cultures where Christianity is forbidden. I had a better understanding of their drive to gather in worship, no matter the dangers. I pray for these people and think about these things on a regular basis and have to wonder sometimes, would I be as brave as they are? Today, I felt like that answer would be 'yes.' After being unable to worship together for so long, I see what a difference this one service has made in me today. It's changed my mood, emotions, and even some of my thoughts about certain things.

     I needed this so much; this IRL fellowship with my church family. I feel renewed; my faith and resolve are rekindled. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to write some more about this. Until then, know that Jesus loves you, and I do, too.

#church #praise #worship #fellowship #MaskMandate #Ohio #together #gather #social

Toruk - The First Flight

Toruk - The First Flight

Last night we went to the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio to see the Cirque Du Soleil presentation of "Toruk - The First Flight," based on James Cameron's "Avatar". This is the prequel to the movie, but is just as spectacular and meaningful whether you've seen the movie or not.

The costumes and set designs were absolutely amazing, and flawlessly pulled us into the world of Pandora. Plants, props, lights, even performers oftentimes seemed to appear out of nowhere. We were transported to the five different tribes living on Pandora, and saw the people, animals, landscape, and rituals of each region. The performers and puppeteers did an outstanding job of acrobatics and showmanship; so much talent on one stage.

My favorite part of the show was the exciting and breathtaking conclusion when everyone and every part of Pandora came together. It's just something that is difficult to describe; you have to experience it.

If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to attend one of the six remaining performances:

Mar 23, 2017 (Thu) 7:30 PM
Mar 24, 2017 (Fri) 7:30 PM
Mar 25, 2017 (Sat) 4:00 PM
Mar 25, 2017 (Sat) 8:00 PM
Mar 26, 2017 (Sun) 1:00 PM
Mar 26, 2017 (Sun) 5:00 PM

I believe tickets range in price between $38 to $108 with discounts available for young children, people over $65, students and military. Check their website.

You can download their app (preferably before you go, as it was difficult to do at the event) to interact with the show on  a whole other level.

Note about accessibility at the Nutter Center: Keep in mind, there are approximately 21 rows of seats in each section with row 1 being closest to the stage. Each row is the equivalent of two steps (or maybe it's 3), so, if you're in row 1, you have approximately 42 steps to climb in order to go to the restrooms, buy a snack or swag, and to leave. There aren't intermediary levels to enter the arena.

January Blues

January blues seem to be a yearly thing for me. It's amazing how I can go from feeling energized with all of the exciting things I'm going to do in the new year, to depressed - completely depressed - within the first week.  This January hasn't even been bad, weather-wise; well, today is.

Typical Ohio winter day: grey, wet, dark, cold, windy...it sucks the energy right out of me. I tend to overthink things, too, which doesn't help. It lends itself to getting overwhelmed easily, which leads to a type of psycho-paralysis (my term, not literally paralyzed) and so I just sit, and think, and worry, and stress. It becomes a vicious cycle that is difficult to break away from.

Luckily, when I decide that enough is enough, I can work out of my funk, in one of several ways:

• Count my blessings. I am so grateful for everything in my life, and for my life, but sometimes, I lose sight of that, so I literally make a numbered list of everything that's going right in my life, and praise God for His grace and mercy.
• Find something in my everyday life that makes me laugh. There's a man who stands out on a corner in downtown Dayton and dances for the traffic. He was even out in the rain dancing and smiling. The squirrels outside my window make me laugh...today one was running up the side of a house across the street. He ran up to the window sill, sat (and actually looked like he was peering in the window) and then climbed back down, ran over to a tree, ran up and then down, and then repeated the whole thing. Yes, I realize this makes me look terribly pathetic, sitting around watching a squirrel, but, it helped, so :-P
• Call someone - on the phone - not a text, or an email, an actual, person to person interaction.
• Meditate. Sometimes I just need to clear my mind of all that clutter. So, I sit quietly, close my eyes, and just focus on my breathing. More often than not, God will use that time to show me or tell me what to do.
• Pray. I am sure to praise God, and thank Him for everything, first; then, I speak to Him about whatever is troubling me.
• Read the Bible. All the answers are in there.
• Write. I have an ongoing journal that I keep and just let it all out. I can say whatever I want; no one is going to judge me, and it really relieves a lot of anxiety. If it doesn't work, I write in my paper journal, with a pen; I think it works better than typing, but that's just me.

If you have any ways that you work through depression, feel free to share them in the comments.

Voting in the 2012 Election

Today I stayed home from work because I've got a flu/sinus infection and so to gear up to go vote took a little coordinating of rest, food and medicine.  I think I timed it pretty well.  I got there just after 11 am, thinking there would hardly be any line, but was I ever wrong.  The line snaked and turned and seemed to be endless.  I asked a poll worker about it.  Why did they change the way they use to do it?  Before, we were all divided into separate little groups into separate little church classrooms and voting never took more than 10 minutes.  Another year we were divided into 4 groups alphabetically and then another year into 2 groups alphabetically, so I guess, in hindsight, I should have seen this coming, however, to do it this way for a presidential election was just pure craziness. 

Being sick, running a low grade fever, and suffering hot flashes, coupled with standing in a long line and sweating to death made me feel like passing out and I almost turned to leave, but then the lady in front of me started talking to me.  She said her husband said it was only about a half hour wait this morning and it was about the same length of a line.  So, I'm thinking, 'half an hour, I think I can do that.'  Then, she said, 'you know, its amazing people will stand here and complain about this line, yet people wait in much longer lines at amusement parks just to ride one ride.'  She had a point there, so I decided to stay and if I needed to sit, I would ask the people behind me to save my spot.

The people behind me were very offensive in the things they were saying about the candidates, past elections, people in general, and I tried not to listen.  For the life of me, I could not tell if they were democrat or republican, because they bashed both equally.  The couple in front of me then started talking to me more and more and then I found out they weren't a couple; they had just met in line.  I thought that was so great.  The man, it turns out, was a bodyguard for Presidents Ronald Reagan, and George Bush.  Very interesting and exciting.  I never met a bodyguard before, especially not one for two U.S. Presidents.

He bought me a cup of coffee, which I thought was really nice.  People just don't interact like they use to, so it was wonderful to meet such nice people.  It was a delicious Boston Stoker Cinnamon Twist.  The church where we voted had a cafe which I'm thinking is an excellent idea for all voting places.

Well, that was the adventure for today.  I think its wonderful to meet new people and strike up conversations.  It made the line seem not as long.  The whole process took half an hour, which, I'm understanding is not very long this year.

Get out and vote :-)
If you don't know where to vote, search online for your county's board of elections website.  Take your driver's license or other picture/state issued photo id and if you've moved and not been able to change your address, take your license and a utility bill with your name and address on it.  You will have to fill out a provisional ballot, but at least you'll have the opportunity to vote (but, please, don't take my word on it; check with your board of elections).  Those in New York and New Jersey have some options because of the hurricane.  This is the latest article I found on it:


www.newsday.com/long-island/voting-begins-tuesday-across-long-island-1.4...

Praying for whomever is best suited for the job(s) to triumph.