2nd day of school....

I'm on a search for joy in life. The following thoughts have brought me a great deal of joy lately. Let me explain....

I truly believe that everything is God's so everything is at its most essential level, sacred. I think we humans like to divide things into categories. There is secular music and then there is sacred music. There are vocational Christians and then there are Christians who work in the secular world. But if I am a Christian and dedicating my life to follow Jesus and bring God glory, then wouldn't any music I create, at its core, be sacred? By the same reasoning I would say that anything work related that I do or any career I have is sacred, because I am a Christian, filled with the holy spirit doing it.

So yeah, I'm a musician/singer/songwriter who writes "Christian" songs, but I also write and perform songs that are about life and love and people and things that are just part of everyday life. Again, my life has been given to God for His purposes and His glory, so wouldn't my everyday life experiences and pursuits in some way be sacred? If my reasoning is correct, then I've experienced some lovely sacred moments this week.

On Sunday evening I headed to a little restaurant/club in Denton, Texas called the Greenhouse. I was to meet up with my son so we could sit together while we watched his dad (my husband) play guitar in the latin band, Brazuka. The music was uplifting and upbeat and just downright fun to hear! Tom was playing beautiful rhythm guitar (I was quite proud) and the tables were packed with people who were enjoying the sway of the latin rhythms and the beautiful vocal duet of the two female singers, Rosana Eckert and Jennifer Barnes. About 2 songs into their first set, it happened....the once empty dance floor came alive with stomping feet and swaying hips. Little boys were dancing with their sisters and moms. Little girls were swirling around the floor in their daddy's arms. Several senior citizen couples were enjoying a nice dinner at the restaurant/club and when those latin tunes began to play they could not escape the pull of the intoxicating rhythms and the lilting melodies. They were joining the families who had already filled the dance floor. Everyone was smiling, everyone was happy when stranger or friend came and joined them in their dance. I was an observer instead of a dancer on this particular evening; but, as I watched the thought entered my mind, "this is a sacred moment".  There is joy in this room and I am a witness. I believe God rested on that room and allowed us mere mortals to see a tiny speck of the joy that is found in this life with which God has blessed us. It was not a spectacular event. There was no blatently "Christian" theme in the music, but God was there smiling in the gentle rhythms and the sea of swaying hips and arms. At least this is what I believe.

And God is there in my public school classroom. He is there when I say a kind word to a student who looks defeated and sad. He is there when I give direction to a child making poor choices. He is there during our moment of silence each morning when I confess to Him that I don't have what it takes inside of me to get through a day of teaching children without the help of His Spirit in my heart. I ask His Spirit to cover the room. I believe the room is sacred. Oh yes, the laws of the land tell me that I cannot lead my children in prayer or talk about God, but there is no earthly law that can keep me from the dialogue I have with my heavenly father at the beginning of each new school day. "Be with me, empower me to love these children - even the unlovable ones. Give me wisdom to know how to get through to the closed off child and to teach so that my students will hear, comprehend and understand what I'm trying to teach in the lesson of the day. " I pray this everyday. Somedays it is just a short inner scream that goes something like this..."God, HELP"!

God is definitely everywhere and everything is His. So, on this second day of my "new year" I just want to say that everything of mine is His and I believe everything is His and under His control.  So, everything (including my public school job) is sacred.

Praise Him! Soli Do Gloria!