Dance

Sierra, showing off some dance moves....

...praise his name with dancing

and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people;

Psalm 149:3-4 (NIV)

Maybe it's part of being a mom. I'm just not as interested in my own affairs, as I am in figuring out and enjoying my daughter. Or my husband. Or my dogs. Or just about anyone else who wanders into the orbits of our family solar system... yes, it's Five-Minute Friday and whatever comes into my brain is getting typed and sent out. Eeek!

It's true, though. I honestly am finding other people to be oh-so-fascinating. Maybe it's not motherhood, just a level of maturity... Yes, I can discuss an endless list of 'doings' and 'activities' - but they only touch the surface of this dance we call life.

Dance - it's the word of the day. It makes me smile. Images of my daughter, faithfully executing dance moves in front of the Wii - controller in hand, or tucked inside her zumba belt, riding out the dance on her hips. "It's my favorite", she laughs, as she follows song after song.

They are all her favorite. I've said it before - she's an equal-opportunity-type girl and this is a lesson she's taught me. It's not necessary to prioritize. How freeing is that? When everything brings joy?

I remember thinking of love as an unquantifiable. If you love, you love completely. You can't give just a little bit of love. It's an all or nothing kind of thing. Untouchable. Abstract.

Until you see it in action.

"Remain in my love." 

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

"My peace I give you."

What wonderful gifts!

What a life we live!

David danced his joy in front of God and his people. He danced out of sheer exuberance and into praise. I don't know how coordinated he actually was - my husband is also a warrior who doesn't necessarily 'dance' - my inclination is that David, dancing with all his might, probably looked a little awkward - at least in Michal's eyes. Michal who judged, right?

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord!" I was given the gift of grace when trying to keep up with a first reading of new music in the middle of a choir of music majors. Ergh! Notes, rhythm, words. How in the world did they get all three on the first go-round? The book says 'make a joyful noise - it doesn't say you have to sing it perfectly' - Grace. From the gentleman sitting next to me.

The point? I believe we were made to celebrate. To celebrate God, to celebrate life, to celebrate each other. We have options. We can stand on the sidelines and judge, or we can participate.

Wholeheartedly. Whole body - whole voice - with complete love, complete joy, and complete peace.

Everything can be our favorite.

Are You Amazed?

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

I Corinthians 14:15

"I am leader this year, are you amazed?"

This has been a sentence-in-the-making with my daughter, the unstoppable, the charismatic, the give-her-an-inch-she-takes-a-mile daughter with the extra chromosome in the 21st pair.  I think stubbornness is imprinted on that extra chromosome.  And indefatigable will.  And unflagging optimism.  And empathy.   And stubbornness - did I mention stubbornness?

She started off with just telling me about her leadership.  Every day.  About fifty gazillion times a day. I helped her add the time frames - just trying to extend her communication.  First it was today.. but that wasn't necessarily true because she has designated herself leader for our high school youth group, and they only meet once a week.  So, today became this week.. but that sounds like one of those jobs you're assigned in the classroom at school.  You know the kind - this week you're line leader, next week, paper passer, etc.  So, week became year... which will probably work for awhile (a year, at least...drumroll, please).  The changes are molasses-slow, over many often-amusing and always-revealing conversations and question/answer sessions.

The second part of her new sentence, however, is all her.  I have no idea where she got it and how she hooked it together with being a leader.  Did I mention how important being a leader is to my girl?  Yes, I'm amazed.  I'm amazed because while I was studying the leadership of Nehemiah, I saw the same qualities in my daughter.

She leads by example.  She walked around after the kids in youth group had eaten pizza, picking up their plates and throwing them away.  As she took mine, she gave me one of those of-course-I-would-do-this looks, and said,  "It's leader."  Yes, leadership is another thing we've talked about.  What it means to be a leader.  I was concerned that she just wanted the attention of sitting in the front.  I was concerned she was all about the reward with none of the responsibility.  So we talked about it.  We talked about the responsibility, the doing...  Seeing something that needs to be done and doing it.  Over time - little conversations every day, weeks turning to months.  And I think she's getting it.

We were shopping the other day.  I had stopped at the shoe racks, where the boxes of shoes were stacked beneath the displays.  As I tried on shoes, my girl kept herself busy taking the mismatched boxes back to their proper shelves.  It was something that needed to be done... And she wasn't doing this just for show.  She and I were the only ones in the aisles.  I teased her about it.  "It's leader, Mom", she told me.  Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't tease.

She's been doing little helpful things around the house - like bringing the dishes from the table to the sink.   She stands by her chair before breakfast and dinner and shakes my husband and my hands welcoming us to the meal.  Little things above and beyond her regular jobs - little things that she thinks need to be done (gotta love the greeting at the table...) And when I ask what's made her so helpful, she says, "I am a leader, Mom."

She prays.  If she hears a bad news report, she prays.  If she hears a good news report, she prays.  The youth share their God-is-Awesome moments from the week and celebrate with alligator claps.   They also share prayer requests and we pray together.  Sierra has taken alligator-awesome-God claps to a whole new level.  "My dog, Mongo, he threw up, he is sick,"  I have to admit, my heart sank when I heard these words.  I was thinking she wasn't understanding the praise part of the sharing.  But she wasn't done speaking yet.  "Awesome God, we pray for Mongo."  Oh my goodness, she spun the situation!  She took a prayer request and turned it into an Awesome God - because in her mind, it IS a praise to pray.

And here's the cool thing - watch, here's our God at work, even in the language... Praising... Praise into prayer... Praysing.   Pray-Sing.

Did I tell you that I learn so very much from my daughter?

Our family is navigating a difficult stretch of water - it has to do with mis-placed blame and impossible requests and expectations.  About my daughter.  And how I work to guide and direct her as she negotiates the social world around her.  Around us.

I am ever amazed by our God.  I started writing this post weeks ago.  Before events.  Before hard decisions.  And today, when I read it, when I added recent examples, when I looked to finish it; I was guided to the lesson.  Pray Sing.  That's what praise is - a singing prayer of thanksgiving.  And that's what this situation needs - what every situation needs - some PraySing.  There is joy in that.

Did I tell you that God teaches me so very much through my daughter?

She is a leader.  I am amazed.

Thank you, God. 

 Linking with TellHisStory

Imperfect Prose

Three Word Wednesday

Sing Praise

My sister's picture - beautiful...
I had some fun with this - read the blue, read it all... Enjoy!

Father in Heaven, thank you for this day.  Thank you.

Linked with

Scripture & a Snapshot

#TellHisStory: Guess What

Make a joyful noise, all the earth.  

Psalm 100:1

"Hey, guess what, Mom,"  my daughter turned to me in the car - big smile on her face.  We were on our way home from the commissary.

"I don't know, what?"  I thought I was playing our game - the one where the first person gets to say that's what with a big giggle.  But no, she had an answer.  A clear-as-a-bell, no Down-Syndrome-accent answer.

"I'm going to sing on the microphone tomorrow."  She means that she's going to sing with the praise band on the microphone at church...

I could barely reply to her, for laughing.  "Hey, guess what, Sierra..."  She looked over, full-on smile beaming, "You're not going to sing on the microphone tomorrow."  Emphasis on the not.  Then it was her turn to laugh.

Meet my girl.  Surface silly, emotion deep.  She's twenty-one, soon to be twenty-two (as she reminds me on a regular basis).  I've written before that she lives out loud - there are no secrets with Sierra.  The surprise is her sense of humor.  She was teasing me.

Ok, so there's a bit of a story behind this...

Music is huge to Sierra.  Her ipod has close to 2000 songs loaded on it - and they shuffle all day long for her.  She loves CMT, VH1, and American Idol.  She loves to perform.  She has a Sierra-sized, pink guitar, and of course, the requisite Garage Band instrument set.  When I hook up the karaoke machine (another story....), she's right there, karaoke-ing.   She air-guitars and drums in the car;   We can hear her singing with her headphones on, while she 'works' in the other room.  Did I mention that she lives out loud?

You would think, with all this playing and sharing and acting of music, you would think it would be ok for me to sing along to the radio every now and then.  Nope.  Sierra shushes me every time I start to sing.  And I sing ok.  Really.  I sing on key - I know the words - I have rhythm....   Really.  But every time I start to sing along - there's Sierra.  She either shushes me, or she tells me it's too hard for me, or she starts punching the air around me in annoyance.  It's annoying to me...

Of course, my rebel kicks in and I start to sing more, louder, and off-key.   I turn the music up.  And eventually I get her to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.  But, honestly, it kind of hurts my feelings...

So, we're driving to the commissary, and I start singing along with the radio, and Sierra tells me to stop singing - and I turn the radio off and have a conversation with her.  I tell her that I love music as much as she loves music.  I tell her that I love to sing along with the songs just like she does.  I tell her that it hurts my feelings when she always shushes me.  And I tell her that I love her, anyway, even though my feelings have been hurt.  She turns her head away - I know she's processing something that she doesn't want to hear.

We run our errands - gas for the car, grocery shopping.  And now we're on our way home.  The radio is on.  I'm singing along, and for once, Sierra is not trying to get me to stop.  Instead, I hear, "Hey mom, guess what...."

I suppose I''m going to have to consider a way to get her on that microphone at church someday...

Thank you, God,  for the gift of my daughter and her sense of humor.  Thank you for her guidance toward joy.

Linking with Jennifer at TellHisStory

** Note:  I've been slammed-busy with a long-term substitute position for a woman who could really use some prayers for healing, strength, and peace.  I miss writing, and I miss this community.  Today's post is from my archives.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for prayers.