I got back on Saturday from my week with our high school youth choir strangely energized. I had gotten very little sleep the entire week due to my determination to have video to work with for our homecoming concert on Sunday. Plus, I rarely will fall asleep on buses. It's just one of those weird things. But, I had all the energy I needed to work feverishly on the video and got a 4 minute clip ready for Sunday (and for those of you who don't know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it took a long time to get it just right).
I attribute all of this to a group of amazing high schoolers who showed me time and time again the love of Christ on this trip. This was the trip that left us wondering whether or not we could pull it off. Granted, we have a lot of faith but at the same time you can't help but wonder especially when you're planning on taking this group of 58 kids + 8 adults to New York City. But it went well, drama was a minimum, and God is good!
The high of the week for everyone was at the Interdenominational Church of God in Gaithersburg, MD. It was a black church near DC that had hosted us in the past. And the Holy Spirit was alive and well in that congregation as we found out right away when we started. I was a part of the choir for the week so I got to experience this all firsthand. Someone would say a profound line like God would say, "Let me handle the truth" and you'd hear "Amen's" and "Hallelujahs" called out from the audience.
Now mind you, even though Christ Lutheran is a pretty contemporary church and we can get people clapping with a little effort, I'm guessing most of us have never experienced anything like this before. But it gave us that little extra and all of a sudden we were all feeling it. We knew that they got it, that they were feeling God through what we were doing, and all of a sudden we were feeling it more too because of them and their reactions. It brought everything to a whole new level. We weren't performing anymore, we were worshipping with this congregation that is so different than our white suburban congregation. We got it, we were all on the same page and suddenly what we were singing took on a whole new meaning. Granted, I'm sure many of believed what we were singing before but now we got to feel it in a whole new way. There's really no good way to explain it but I'm positive that every single one of us felt God that night.
The funny thing is after the show as we were talking and interacting with the congregation they kept on thanking us for being such a blessing and we were turning around and telling them that they were the true blessing for us. I felt like they had given us so much more than we had given them. They had showed us God in a whole new way that night and had also allowed us to see God in ourselves and in what we were doing. And that was perhaps the greatest gift anyone could have given to us, to these high schoolers. They were hopefully able to see that they could make a difference, that what they said and did mattered to these people and what mattered the most was that they were telling the story, they were proclaiming the Gospel. They all have the potential to be Christ to their neighbor. The church had done it for us and had shown us that we could do it as well.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Power of Prayer
Tomorrow I leave for a wild adventure. I'm heading to the NE with our high school youth choir for our tour. There are nearly 70 of us all together and it's quite the group. They also have me singing in the choir with them. I feel a bit like a ringer. I'm 25 but could pass for an 18 year old (I've actually gotten carded for R rated movies here, seriously!) and I have a decent musical background behind me including 4 years in one of the best if not the best high school choir program in MN.
Now planning a trip like this takes a lot out of a person. The funny thing is, I'm just in the background. I'm thankfully not the one running this whole show. But throughout this whole process we've had plenty of drama. Two churches have dropped us and we've had to find replacements very last minute. We're not sure if we can find host homes for everyone. Trying to plan an entire day in NYC with 70 people isn't exactly an easy task either.
And there there's the whole thing about the show. We have dress rehearsal tonight and people still don't know the music. There are too many bugs to work out in the program to list. Part of the reason I'm singing in the choir is the alto section can't be heard.
But the other night we were reminded in a big way that God has it all under control. One of the girls who is coming on the tour, a senior with a great voice, wonderful smile, and bubbly personality to boot found out that she wouldn't be able to come on the tour because of immigration issues (she's from the Congo). It was a huge blow that was felt by everyone. There were hugs all around and tears and she left practice after making the announcement. And I have no doubt that there were countless prayers lifted up for everything to work out, including by me. We went on with practice, filled the hole the best we could, and kept our spirits up.
At the end of practice one of the adults got a phone call and made the announcement that things had changed and that this girl could come on the tour!!! There was a collective cheer!!! God had an incredibly fast turnaround! There was a great feeling of joy in the group and when we practiced yesterday and she was back, you could hear something extra in her voice when she sang her solo. She knew and I think we all knew this was an incredible gift.
As we get ready for this tour and start to worry about how this all could possibly come together, we were given an incredible reminder of God's faithfulness last night. How all of this works out on tour in unknown but God is going to be there with us every step of the way. He already worked on miracle and I have no doubt that others will happen as well.
And as I look ahead, to the end of my internship and the beginning of, well, who knows, I know that God will be there. Whether I've only been praying for an hour or for six months, God is up there listening. I don't expect nearly as fast of a turnaround for my future but I do know that it will all work out for the best and I hope I can be as grateful as Rachel was and that this gratitude can shine forth in my life like it did in her voice last night.
Now planning a trip like this takes a lot out of a person. The funny thing is, I'm just in the background. I'm thankfully not the one running this whole show. But throughout this whole process we've had plenty of drama. Two churches have dropped us and we've had to find replacements very last minute. We're not sure if we can find host homes for everyone. Trying to plan an entire day in NYC with 70 people isn't exactly an easy task either.
And there there's the whole thing about the show. We have dress rehearsal tonight and people still don't know the music. There are too many bugs to work out in the program to list. Part of the reason I'm singing in the choir is the alto section can't be heard.
But the other night we were reminded in a big way that God has it all under control. One of the girls who is coming on the tour, a senior with a great voice, wonderful smile, and bubbly personality to boot found out that she wouldn't be able to come on the tour because of immigration issues (she's from the Congo). It was a huge blow that was felt by everyone. There were hugs all around and tears and she left practice after making the announcement. And I have no doubt that there were countless prayers lifted up for everything to work out, including by me. We went on with practice, filled the hole the best we could, and kept our spirits up.
At the end of practice one of the adults got a phone call and made the announcement that things had changed and that this girl could come on the tour!!! There was a collective cheer!!! God had an incredibly fast turnaround! There was a great feeling of joy in the group and when we practiced yesterday and she was back, you could hear something extra in her voice when she sang her solo. She knew and I think we all knew this was an incredible gift.
As we get ready for this tour and start to worry about how this all could possibly come together, we were given an incredible reminder of God's faithfulness last night. How all of this works out on tour in unknown but God is going to be there with us every step of the way. He already worked on miracle and I have no doubt that others will happen as well.
And as I look ahead, to the end of my internship and the beginning of, well, who knows, I know that God will be there. Whether I've only been praying for an hour or for six months, God is up there listening. I don't expect nearly as fast of a turnaround for my future but I do know that it will all work out for the best and I hope I can be as grateful as Rachel was and that this gratitude can shine forth in my life like it did in her voice last night.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Planning Ahead
One of the perks of being a "pastor" is that people like to send you free stuff. Free books, free samples of Bible studies, free videos. Usually, this all goes to the senior pastor. Thankfully, my supervisor/the senior pastor of my internship congregation is a generous guy. Yesterday I got the chance to see a preview screening of the movie "Evan Almighty." It doesn't come out till the end of June but they were looking to promote it to churches and pastors in the area. I enjoyed it and had some good laughs.
My favorite part of the movie was a scene in which Evan (Steve Carrell) is talking with God (Morgan Freeman). Evan is a newly elected Congressman and is looking to make an impact and "change the world." God wants Evan to build an ark. Of course, Evan is not happy about this and protests telling God, "I have a plan for my life!" In response, God starts laughing hysterically.
I watched this part and couldn't help thinking that Evan was me and that God was still God, laughing hysterically at the "plans" I have for my future. I learned a long time ago to not make long term plans when it came to my life. I thought about becoming a high school biology/environmental science teacher originally and I ended up going to seminary to become a youth pastor. I thought I should do my internship in Las Vegas and I ended up in Charlotte instead. Now here I am, finally thinking I know where next year is going to head at seminary. But it's not that simple. My future does not necessarily depend on my decisions but instead depends on the decisions of those around me. And someone's impending decision is about to throw my plans up in the air once again. Of course, this all could be a fluke and the decision could end up shifting the original way but it's still an open window that was a week ago firmly locked shut.
Despite all the ambiguity of the situation, I am grateful for God's hand in my life. After all, God's plans are usually much grander and well thought out than our own plans for our lives. I think of Peter, Andrew, James and John who probably were content to be career fishermen and instead found themselves as followers of Jesus and leaders of the Christian church. I think of my original plan to work with high schoolers through the school system and instead find myself being able to work with them on a whole different level, one that suits me better than leading from a classroom and not being able to express the most important part of my life, my faith. And now I find myself facing my future or at least, this upcoming school year, knowing that something big will happen, wherever I may find myself. And I trust that God will lead the way to wherever it is that I need to be.
My favorite part of the movie was a scene in which Evan (Steve Carrell) is talking with God (Morgan Freeman). Evan is a newly elected Congressman and is looking to make an impact and "change the world." God wants Evan to build an ark. Of course, Evan is not happy about this and protests telling God, "I have a plan for my life!" In response, God starts laughing hysterically.
I watched this part and couldn't help thinking that Evan was me and that God was still God, laughing hysterically at the "plans" I have for my future. I learned a long time ago to not make long term plans when it came to my life. I thought about becoming a high school biology/environmental science teacher originally and I ended up going to seminary to become a youth pastor. I thought I should do my internship in Las Vegas and I ended up in Charlotte instead. Now here I am, finally thinking I know where next year is going to head at seminary. But it's not that simple. My future does not necessarily depend on my decisions but instead depends on the decisions of those around me. And someone's impending decision is about to throw my plans up in the air once again. Of course, this all could be a fluke and the decision could end up shifting the original way but it's still an open window that was a week ago firmly locked shut.
Despite all the ambiguity of the situation, I am grateful for God's hand in my life. After all, God's plans are usually much grander and well thought out than our own plans for our lives. I think of Peter, Andrew, James and John who probably were content to be career fishermen and instead found themselves as followers of Jesus and leaders of the Christian church. I think of my original plan to work with high schoolers through the school system and instead find myself being able to work with them on a whole different level, one that suits me better than leading from a classroom and not being able to express the most important part of my life, my faith. And now I find myself facing my future or at least, this upcoming school year, knowing that something big will happen, wherever I may find myself. And I trust that God will lead the way to wherever it is that I need to be.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Life in Threes
This summer has been billed the summer of 3's. Spider-Man 3. Shrek 3. Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Rush Hour 3. Ocean's 11 3. Wait, I mean Ocean's 13. I've seen the first three movies on the list and have discovered what many other movie goers have this summer: pulling off the third of the series is often the hardest. So far, I've been disappointed with all three movies with the exception of Pirates and that might have just been because I had low expectations in the first place.
This week I also find myself facing a different type of three, the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and the beginning of the Christian church. It also happens to be Memorial Day weekend which means significantly less people in church and thus, the perfect day for the intern to preach. I took it all in stride and figured preaching on Pentecost was a good thing. Nobody really talks about the Holy Spirit and that should give me plenty to talk about. But, as I started writing the sermon this week, I realized that the reason people didn't preach on it often, was because it wasn't exactly easy to preach on.
Those of us in the church will often talk about the Holy Spirit in an offhand way. We pray for it to show up in worship on Sunday. If we're trying to make a decision we tell people to listen to the Spirit or do whatever the Spirit moves you to do. We talk about it as a feeling. But, when it actually comes to making the Holy Spirit into more of a concrete being, well, it's a challenge to say the least.
I did my best with the sermon. I struggled a bit and ironically, prayed for the Holy Spirit to work through my writing of it and give me the words I needed. And the funny thing with how writing sermons works is sometimes we just end up writing them to ourselves. In my case, my last part of the sermon was about how we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit is always there, working through our lives just like it worked through the apostles on that day on Pentecost. Whether we could feel it or not, we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit was working through our lives. For me, it was trusting that even though I wasn't feeling the best about this sermon, that the Holy Spirit could and would use it anyway.
So this morning I tackled the big three. The third person the the trinity. Three Sunday services. And it definitely wasn't as bad as the three "3" movies I saw this summer. :) The Holy Spirit did its job and it did it well.
This week I also find myself facing a different type of three, the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and the beginning of the Christian church. It also happens to be Memorial Day weekend which means significantly less people in church and thus, the perfect day for the intern to preach. I took it all in stride and figured preaching on Pentecost was a good thing. Nobody really talks about the Holy Spirit and that should give me plenty to talk about. But, as I started writing the sermon this week, I realized that the reason people didn't preach on it often, was because it wasn't exactly easy to preach on.
Those of us in the church will often talk about the Holy Spirit in an offhand way. We pray for it to show up in worship on Sunday. If we're trying to make a decision we tell people to listen to the Spirit or do whatever the Spirit moves you to do. We talk about it as a feeling. But, when it actually comes to making the Holy Spirit into more of a concrete being, well, it's a challenge to say the least.
I did my best with the sermon. I struggled a bit and ironically, prayed for the Holy Spirit to work through my writing of it and give me the words I needed. And the funny thing with how writing sermons works is sometimes we just end up writing them to ourselves. In my case, my last part of the sermon was about how we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit is always there, working through our lives just like it worked through the apostles on that day on Pentecost. Whether we could feel it or not, we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit was working through our lives. For me, it was trusting that even though I wasn't feeling the best about this sermon, that the Holy Spirit could and would use it anyway.
So this morning I tackled the big three. The third person the the trinity. Three Sunday services. And it definitely wasn't as bad as the three "3" movies I saw this summer. :) The Holy Spirit did its job and it did it well.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
In the Meantime
Some fun pictures from the past month (and because blogs are always more fun with pictures)...
The ladies and I got to play ditzy angels complete with wings for the song "Heaven Hop."
Belting out the piece "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Of course they give the intern pastor the controversial piece.
My other staring role in the show. My friend Drew sang the song "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon. I was the "prop" for the song and got to pretend to be sleeping through his song.
One of the highlights of the show. This is "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," one of my favorite pieces from the show. This also happens to be the perfect action shot of Bobby doing his best Nicely Johnson impression.
The entire cast of the show. I must say, the kids always stole the show!
The other week I went the Relient K show. It was basically me and a bunch of high schoolers and their parents and a few other older than college age people. It was a great show though and I fell in love with one of the opening bands, Mae.
The crowd getting into the Relient K show. The one nice thing about being at a show with high schoolers was that when I did find myself in the middle of a mosh pit, I was able to do my fair share of shoving too.
Anderea, Ashley, the Knights mascot, and myself at a Charlotte Knights game on Sunday. It was the perfect day for a baseball game and we all had a blast!
The ladies and I got to play ditzy angels complete with wings for the song "Heaven Hop."
Belting out the piece "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Of course they give the intern pastor the controversial piece. 
My other staring role in the show. My friend Drew sang the song "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon. I was the "prop" for the song and got to pretend to be sleeping through his song.
One of the highlights of the show. This is "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," one of my favorite pieces from the show. This also happens to be the perfect action shot of Bobby doing his best Nicely Johnson impression.
The entire cast of the show. I must say, the kids always stole the show!
The other week I went the Relient K show. It was basically me and a bunch of high schoolers and their parents and a few other older than college age people. It was a great show though and I fell in love with one of the opening bands, Mae.
The crowd getting into the Relient K show. The one nice thing about being at a show with high schoolers was that when I did find myself in the middle of a mosh pit, I was able to do my fair share of shoving too. 
Anderea, Ashley, the Knights mascot, and myself at a Charlotte Knights game on Sunday. It was the perfect day for a baseball game and we all had a blast!Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Get 'Er Done!
Sorry for the hiatus in blog postings. It's been quite a couple of weeks and I know this is going to continue for at least one and half more. Whew!
A couple of notes. The show turned out fantastic! I had a wonderful time and didn't realize how much it meant to me until our closing worship after the final show. As we dug into the most powerful number of the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel I found myself in tears and I wasn't alone. The community that we found from this show did a lot to carry us through it, when we hit notes wrong, when we were worrying about singing the wrong lyrics for our solos, when we were trying to change costume in a rush, when one of us got sick, etc. I'll promise pictures later.
The class list has been posted for next year and our approval essay requirements have been posted. We're all on the verge of being done. All that stands between us is 8-10 credits and a 17-20 page paper that will later be dissected by a candidacy committee and professor. But, the end is in sight. In a year I will be preparing to graduate from seminary. Wow!
This weekend I'm taking our senior high youth group on a retreat to North Myrtle Beach. It's one of those things where the pastor that supervises me for youth and family stuff and I agreed that there need to be a lot of changes next year. We haven't even left yet and there's been crisis after crisis after crisis. Let's hope and pray since all of this has happened before the trip that this means the trip will go fairly well without any tragedies.
In the midst of all of the chaos that comes from putting together the trip and getting ready to preach on memorial day weekend I find myself on the cusp of something. I'm not quite sure what that something will be yet but I have this feeling that my future will be defined by what goes on in these last fews weeks in May. I will finally have to give an answer about a CPE site. I will have to make decisions about classes I'm going to take at seminary. And our church will know what will happen with the open youth director position which could impact the last few months of my internship. We're meeting with parents and youth about an idea we've been wanting to implement for months now and it's finally looking like it will get off the ground. We'll see how this all shakes out. Either way, I'm excited for what the last few weeks of this month hold.
A couple of notes. The show turned out fantastic! I had a wonderful time and didn't realize how much it meant to me until our closing worship after the final show. As we dug into the most powerful number of the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel I found myself in tears and I wasn't alone. The community that we found from this show did a lot to carry us through it, when we hit notes wrong, when we were worrying about singing the wrong lyrics for our solos, when we were trying to change costume in a rush, when one of us got sick, etc. I'll promise pictures later.
The class list has been posted for next year and our approval essay requirements have been posted. We're all on the verge of being done. All that stands between us is 8-10 credits and a 17-20 page paper that will later be dissected by a candidacy committee and professor. But, the end is in sight. In a year I will be preparing to graduate from seminary. Wow!
This weekend I'm taking our senior high youth group on a retreat to North Myrtle Beach. It's one of those things where the pastor that supervises me for youth and family stuff and I agreed that there need to be a lot of changes next year. We haven't even left yet and there's been crisis after crisis after crisis. Let's hope and pray since all of this has happened before the trip that this means the trip will go fairly well without any tragedies.
In the midst of all of the chaos that comes from putting together the trip and getting ready to preach on memorial day weekend I find myself on the cusp of something. I'm not quite sure what that something will be yet but I have this feeling that my future will be defined by what goes on in these last fews weeks in May. I will finally have to give an answer about a CPE site. I will have to make decisions about classes I'm going to take at seminary. And our church will know what will happen with the open youth director position which could impact the last few months of my internship. We're meeting with parents and youth about an idea we've been wanting to implement for months now and it's finally looking like it will get off the ground. We'll see how this all shakes out. Either way, I'm excited for what the last few weeks of this month hold.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Adventures in Bunnysitting
While I've been in Charlotte I've been called on pet-sit quite a few times. The former intern turned associate pastor and his wife live about half a mile away from me and take more vacation time than me. They also happen to have two rabbits and a cat. Since I happen to like animals and I'm usually in town when they're out of town, I've become their default pet-sitter.
They happened to be out of town this past weekend. I said I'd do it even though I knew it was going to be a crazy weekend. This was the only weekend we were showing our church musical and on top of that was church business as usual. Needless to say, I was a bit busy and all I really could concentrate on was the musical and church.
The first couple of days went well enough. This is pretty low maintenance pet-sitting. They confine the animals to one room, the rabbits are in cages, and the cat isn't one of those that tries really hard to escape, she just meows with annoyance about being cooped up in the room. All I basically do is feed them and make sure they have enough water, and the automatic litter box is functioning properly.
However, after I wandered over on Sunday after an incredibly long day at church (we had our usual three services, previews for the show at the services, our final matinée, and striking the set) I was treated to a surprise when I arrived at their place. Somehow, one of the rabbits had gotten out of his hutch! Oh no...
I have no idea how it had gotten out (probably negligence on my part forgetting to close the hutch). But now I was staring at a pile of bunny bedding and bunny droppings on the floor, not to mention a loose bunny running around the room. Now, other than feeding these rabbits and commenting how cute the rabbits are that live around my apartment complex, I haven't handled rabbits. Which means I have no idea how to catch them and pick them up. So, I have a loose bunny on my hands and no idea how to catch it and redeposit it in its hutch. The bunny stops hopping, I reach in with my two hands for the side, I hesitate wondering if the bunny can bite me if I pick it up on the sides, and it scampers off to a different place in the room. I realize how ridiculous my initial thought is and try again only to hesitate again at the same position and the bunny scampers off to another part of the room near the cat.
The cat is definitely not happy about the situation. She's a prissy persian who acts like she owns the room and having this bunny now hopping around in her space does not please her. However, the bunny is quite clueless and stops with his face inches away from the face of the cat. The cat starts hissing at the bunny and the bunny sits there, oblivious that this cat is not pleased with the bunny's freedom. However, I think the cat also realized that this bunny could probably kick its butt because, again, prissy cat vs. fairly fast, fat bunny. Therefore the most that the cat could muster was a hiss or two in the bunny's face. The bunny didn't even react. He just stared innocently at the cat as if to say, "what?" I take a quick pause from my attempted bunny catching to laugh at the whole cat vs. bunny situation.
Then, again with the chasing. Bunny stops. Can I grab a bunny by the scruff of its neck? Reach. Pause. Dammit, there goes the bunny again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Finally, I have the bunny cornered by the cage. I hesitate yet again. It hops away... into the cage! I slam the door shut and that's that! Whew! Needless to say, the past few days I've double and triple checked that it's cage is properly shut.
They happened to be out of town this past weekend. I said I'd do it even though I knew it was going to be a crazy weekend. This was the only weekend we were showing our church musical and on top of that was church business as usual. Needless to say, I was a bit busy and all I really could concentrate on was the musical and church.
The first couple of days went well enough. This is pretty low maintenance pet-sitting. They confine the animals to one room, the rabbits are in cages, and the cat isn't one of those that tries really hard to escape, she just meows with annoyance about being cooped up in the room. All I basically do is feed them and make sure they have enough water, and the automatic litter box is functioning properly.
However, after I wandered over on Sunday after an incredibly long day at church (we had our usual three services, previews for the show at the services, our final matinée, and striking the set) I was treated to a surprise when I arrived at their place. Somehow, one of the rabbits had gotten out of his hutch! Oh no...
I have no idea how it had gotten out (probably negligence on my part forgetting to close the hutch). But now I was staring at a pile of bunny bedding and bunny droppings on the floor, not to mention a loose bunny running around the room. Now, other than feeding these rabbits and commenting how cute the rabbits are that live around my apartment complex, I haven't handled rabbits. Which means I have no idea how to catch them and pick them up. So, I have a loose bunny on my hands and no idea how to catch it and redeposit it in its hutch. The bunny stops hopping, I reach in with my two hands for the side, I hesitate wondering if the bunny can bite me if I pick it up on the sides, and it scampers off to a different place in the room. I realize how ridiculous my initial thought is and try again only to hesitate again at the same position and the bunny scampers off to another part of the room near the cat.
The cat is definitely not happy about the situation. She's a prissy persian who acts like she owns the room and having this bunny now hopping around in her space does not please her. However, the bunny is quite clueless and stops with his face inches away from the face of the cat. The cat starts hissing at the bunny and the bunny sits there, oblivious that this cat is not pleased with the bunny's freedom. However, I think the cat also realized that this bunny could probably kick its butt because, again, prissy cat vs. fairly fast, fat bunny. Therefore the most that the cat could muster was a hiss or two in the bunny's face. The bunny didn't even react. He just stared innocently at the cat as if to say, "what?" I take a quick pause from my attempted bunny catching to laugh at the whole cat vs. bunny situation.
Then, again with the chasing. Bunny stops. Can I grab a bunny by the scruff of its neck? Reach. Pause. Dammit, there goes the bunny again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Finally, I have the bunny cornered by the cage. I hesitate yet again. It hops away... into the cage! I slam the door shut and that's that! Whew! Needless to say, the past few days I've double and triple checked that it's cage is properly shut.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Opening Night x2
Last night was finally opening night for our church's musical, Faith on Broadway. It seemed hard to believe. Auditions had been held in late January, I found out in April that I got a solo and now it was finally time to get up on stage and rock it out. It had been a long week of dress rehearsals, last minute instructions, and nerves. The musicals is cabaret style meaning that we took numbers from all sorts of shows on Broadway including the obvious Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, and Jesus Christ Superstar. We also took pieces from Carousel, Big River, Miss Saigon, Anything Goes, and Fiddler on the Roof.
Last night came and it was hard to believe. There was a decent amount of chaos and scrambling considering it was our first show. But the pieces all came together last night. It was such a rush! We all had a blast on stage and there was a feeling that we were doing this all for God. And my solo, I Don't Know How to Love Him from JC Superstar went just fine. Whew! Afterwards the final bow and we all got offstage there was a collective cheer from the cast backstage. We had done it! And we did it well! So, onto three more performances and hopefully less nerves the second, third, and fourth time around...
Then, a few of us headed to Steak n Shake for some after show celebrating and good, unhealthy, artery clogging food and the opening of Spider-Man 3. I went to the show with some of the youth and college students from the church. And pretty much the entire crowd was high school aged kids. Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. But I managed to have a good time in spite of the fact that people were quite obnoxious during key parts of the movie and I got mistaken for a high schooler (which has happened more than I'd like to admit) and then I had to tell this poor girl that I was actually 25 and in turn embarrassed her. Oh well, I'm pretty sure this is going to happen for the next 5 plus years of my life.
It was a great night though and I'm very happy to put opening night jitters behind me. Now, onto the next shows...
Last night came and it was hard to believe. There was a decent amount of chaos and scrambling considering it was our first show. But the pieces all came together last night. It was such a rush! We all had a blast on stage and there was a feeling that we were doing this all for God. And my solo, I Don't Know How to Love Him from JC Superstar went just fine. Whew! Afterwards the final bow and we all got offstage there was a collective cheer from the cast backstage. We had done it! And we did it well! So, onto three more performances and hopefully less nerves the second, third, and fourth time around...
Then, a few of us headed to Steak n Shake for some after show celebrating and good, unhealthy, artery clogging food and the opening of Spider-Man 3. I went to the show with some of the youth and college students from the church. And pretty much the entire crowd was high school aged kids. Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. But I managed to have a good time in spite of the fact that people were quite obnoxious during key parts of the movie and I got mistaken for a high schooler (which has happened more than I'd like to admit) and then I had to tell this poor girl that I was actually 25 and in turn embarrassed her. Oh well, I'm pretty sure this is going to happen for the next 5 plus years of my life.
It was a great night though and I'm very happy to put opening night jitters behind me. Now, onto the next shows...
Monday, April 30, 2007
Geeks Unite!
Today I bought my ticket for the midnight premiere of Spider-Man 3!!! Yes, I know that makes me a bit of a geek. But I have learned to embrace this part of me. I actually had a conversation a few years ago with my friends and we debated who was the biggest geek/nerd/dork (my friend won because she had been to multiple Star Trek conventions and had dressed up). But, this latest excitement reminded me why I was the runner up.
So for your amusement, here are some of the factors that put me in the running:
-Biology major with an interest in ecology and environmental science. Self proclaimed science geek!
-Classics major by accident (which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman history and language). Seriously, how does someone end up with an accidental major in that?
-The three languages I know fairly well are all dead languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
-I have a thing for TV cartoons based on comic books. Hence my surprising amount of knowledge of Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, and X-Men.
-Big fan of anime - Cowboy Bebop being my favorite.
-Star Wars fanatic - have read a decent number of the books and have seen the original trilogy so many times I could probably quote it to people, including some of the alien dialogue.
-Movies I saw at the midnight showings: Star Wars Episode II and III (I saw Episode II the day before a geology lab exam), Two Towers (I couldn't see Fellowship of the Ring or Return of the King because I had finals the next day).
-I worked in a Blockbuster Video for two years which means I know way too much about movies (and also gives me an edge at trivia).
And let's face it, when it all comes down, we all have a little geek in us. It keeps things interesting. There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn a little more, getting excited over a little thing, and finding common ground through odd interests. I embrace my inner geek because through my experiences with these I have made great friends and have some great memories. My roommate for the past fews years and I first really bonded during late night biology sessions. My Classics major gave me the great opportunity of going to New Orleans pre-Katrina for a conference. I can tell you who I went to all those midnight showings and where they are now. And my TV comic book obsession now means that I get the chance to bond with kids from the youth group (and potentially see them wearing Spider-Man underoos over their pants when we see the movie which I know I would never forget, no matter how hard I tried). Here's to unapologetically being ourselves, even if it makes us a bit odd. :) So what makes you a geek?
So for your amusement, here are some of the factors that put me in the running:
-Biology major with an interest in ecology and environmental science. Self proclaimed science geek!
-Classics major by accident (which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman history and language). Seriously, how does someone end up with an accidental major in that?
-The three languages I know fairly well are all dead languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
-I have a thing for TV cartoons based on comic books. Hence my surprising amount of knowledge of Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, and X-Men.
-Big fan of anime - Cowboy Bebop being my favorite.
-Star Wars fanatic - have read a decent number of the books and have seen the original trilogy so many times I could probably quote it to people, including some of the alien dialogue.
-Movies I saw at the midnight showings: Star Wars Episode II and III (I saw Episode II the day before a geology lab exam), Two Towers (I couldn't see Fellowship of the Ring or Return of the King because I had finals the next day).
-I worked in a Blockbuster Video for two years which means I know way too much about movies (and also gives me an edge at trivia).
And let's face it, when it all comes down, we all have a little geek in us. It keeps things interesting. There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn a little more, getting excited over a little thing, and finding common ground through odd interests. I embrace my inner geek because through my experiences with these I have made great friends and have some great memories. My roommate for the past fews years and I first really bonded during late night biology sessions. My Classics major gave me the great opportunity of going to New Orleans pre-Katrina for a conference. I can tell you who I went to all those midnight showings and where they are now. And my TV comic book obsession now means that I get the chance to bond with kids from the youth group (and potentially see them wearing Spider-Man underoos over their pants when we see the movie which I know I would never forget, no matter how hard I tried). Here's to unapologetically being ourselves, even if it makes us a bit odd. :) So what makes you a geek?
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