Day 161-168 A Week at a Glance

If you read my last post "Day 169" you will know the reasons for this less-detailed description of the past week of claims.  I am encouarged to find that this journey is bringing me into newness of life.  Contentment, happiness, and change hover near.

Day 161
First night of choir practice.  BIG event in my life.  A door finally opened after three years of prayer.  No one there had an comprehension of the mighty move that had just occurred in my life, or the change that it would bring.  When I left, sadness caused my heart to sink--I realized I was in experiencing this pivotal moment all alone.  No one to celebrate with, being excited with, or praise God with...  So I claimed to be okay with that, and to celebrate alone.  Except I wasn't alone, because the Lord was there, smiling with me and rejoicing in all that was happening in me.  I purchased a strawberry sundae from McDonald's as my celebration, and then savored it and read my Bible.  A twinge of sadness lingered, but my mind went to Him.

Lesson: even when we feel alone, He is there.


Day 162
Today I decided to take anothe step of faith and e-mail the worship pastor/choir director to see if he'd meet with me and give me some tips on one of the song I'm currently writing.  He'd mentioned that he had been studying gospel music of over 20 years, so I thought that he'd have some great insight.  I was so excited to see what God would do.  Sure enough, the next day he e-mailed back saying he'd be happy to help and we set up a meeting time for the following Tuesday.  I was ecstatic!

Lesson:  you'll never know unless you ask


Day 163
Tonight I decided to watch a movie and stay up an hour past my normal bedtime just because I felt like it.  I'm not a morning person, so I definitely wouldn't do it all the time, but there was something freeing about not letting my work schedule choose my bedtime for me.  I felt like I was back in college, and the next day was fine.  I actually think I may have been more chipper about being at work because I felt was enjoying my time outside of it to balance it out.

Lesson: change up your routine; sometimes it's just what you need


Day 164
Friday night!  Finally!  Sometimes when I'm exhausted I end up just lazing around the house when Friday night finally comes, but then I usually regret it the next day because I feel like I just wasted the only night of the week that I can stay up late.  Not tonight.  I decided to go to the late-night showing of a movie at Hollywood Palms, a dinner movie theater in the area.  Even when I found out that my sister and brother-in-law were going to the same movie at the same theater at 8pm, and I wasn't sure if anyone was going to be able to go with me, I stuck with my decision--I wanted to get OUT and feel like I'd had a night; It was FRIDAY after all!  Two friends ended up being able to go with me and we ended up laughing a lot and just enjoying being part of the few people in the theater.

Lesson: make it happen!


Day 165
Living is such a matter of perspective, isn't it?  Outlook often affects mood, at least for me.  Tonight my perspective was tested.  When I got "stuck" in Zion, IL longer than I'd hoped because my sister's car wasn't done being fixed, I had to make a choice: get over it, or get under it.  We'd been spending time with my family there all day, holding our adorable new little nephew, and I wanted to turn in early so I'd be awake and in good spirits the next morning (my first morning singing in the church choir).  When things didn't go quite as planned, I felt stress and frustration mounting.  I just wanted to get home!  Very selfish, I know.  This whole journey of claiming popped into my head and I knew what I needed to do: let it go. So I did. I made the choice and the frustration lifted.  I was able to enjoy the extended time with our family, and for the most part, be genuinely happy.

Lesson: if you're in a bad mood, change your perspective

Day 166
Sunday morning--my first day singing in the choir.  Wow, did it feel different than I expected!  To be honest, I was actually a little nervous, which was very strange to me (considering that I've been performing since I was eight!).  It was such a weird feeling to all of a sudden be on "the other side" of the service and to go from receiving during the church service to serving in the church service.  It was encouraging to be a blessing through music, and the presence of the Lord drew me so quickly to Him.  Claim? Genuinely worship, even with thousands of people watching, and reach out to the choir members.  I met many people and left feeling more connected and closer to the Lord.  Highlight? Sharing with a choir member how God miraculously healed my voice/throat in college.

Lesson: remember that it is all just about Jesus anyway

Day 167
The day before meeting with the worship pastor to have him critique my song.  I couldn't believe I'd be doing such a thing!  Here I am, a nobody, meeting with a musician of a huge church! (By the way, I found out this church has between 5,000 and 7,000 people, not the statistic of 3,000 that I was originally amazed by.)  Although I was tired from work, I decided to push myself and do as much as I could to notate the song correctly and neatly, and get as many harmonies as I could figure out, before going to bed that night.  I ended up working on the song the whole evening and went to bed excited for tomorrow and proud that I'd put so much effort into it.

Lesson:  if you're going to do something, give it your all--it's much more fulfilling!

Day 168
Please don't stop reading when you find out today's claim...  Dare I say it?  Well, here goes...  Today's claim was to actually NOT blog.  I know that may sound crazy, but dear reader do you ever feel this way?  More burdened by "having" to write than finding freedom in it?  That's how I felt today--weighed down with all the claims that I had to find time to type about.  I just wanted to enjoy my night. So I did.  And it was great.

Lesson: remember the purpose of this journey