I Heard a Parishioner

      I heard a parishioner quote one of her friends on Sunday saying "Sometimes God lets you reach rock-bottom so you will realize that God is the Rock at the bottom". I can't get that out of my head.
What has been consuming me for the past month or so is "What's next for me?". My last day at one of my current jobs is quickly approaching, and I fear not knowing -for sure- what will happen next. In no way do I feel like this is rock bottom. Heck, I'm not hurting for money, I'm in a great relationship, I'm making wonderful music, the ministry I'm doing is teeming with life, and I'm quite content with my little apartment.
In many ways, I'm in a limbo of sorts. I'm not a legit pastor, but I'm good at youth ministry. I'm not a legit teacher, but I'm good at teaching elementary music. I am doing great things with making coffee-house music, but my real knowledge is in opera and the classical voice.
      Living in limbo makes me wonder what rock-bottom is like. And what's the opposite of rock-bottom? Why don't we have a saying for that? The American dream? Living the life? Cloud nine? "Cloud nine" seems so temporary. When you reach rock-bottom, do you know it? And if God is the Rock at the bottom, I'm not gonna lie, that sounds appealing; to be that close to Him. To only have God holding you up and nothing else. I know I'm not alone in knowing that a few other things in this world hold me up at times. Like money, other people, my jobs...
Don't worry, I'm not gonna go looking for rock-bottom, and to be clear, I'm a very happy and content person. I've just been so busy looking for the answer to "What's next?" that I feel farther away from the things in my life that are so faithfully constant.

     It is officially out there in cyber space that I will combat this.  I will actively slow down to evaluate me just a little bit more.  I encourage your comments.

In The Throws (Lyrics)

Written on Monday, November 20 2012 (in the car from Bloomington to Peoria)

How 'bout I sip this cup of coffee
And listen to your oldest story
I want to drink in all of you
'Cause this cup can't keep me warmer
Than you do
Than you do

Oh we're in the throws
Oh we're in the throws

Remember when we stole to Chicago
And vanished in a sea of thieves
We would have stayed but sometimes we have to go
Back to where we made our lives

Oh we're in the throws
Oh we're in the throws

This shelf life is our own Prison
A jail break could mean more minutes
But there's time enough
There's time enough

Oh we're in the throws
Oh we're in the throws

So let me sip this cup of coffee
And listen to your oldest story
I wanna drink in all of you
'Cause this cup can't keep me warmer
Than you do
Than you do

In memory of Dick Trefzger and Uncle David

Waltz with Us

Today was probably my favorite day teaching so far.  I had a great morning and afternoon teaching 3/4 time to 3rd and 4th graders!  First, we went through the "script" for reading time signatures.


               ______  "Beats per measure"
                (Top #)


               ______  "Gets the beat"
        (Bottom #'s code)

I explained that you read the bottom number like a code, and that when you see a "4", you say "quarter note"... and then you finish the script.


The students were getting the hang of it and reading time signatures like champs!  I have been working with them on reading rhythms, so I put the rhythm of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on the board and had them read it without putting the words up.  After we practiced it, I wrote the words under the rhythm and had them sing the song with me.  

***THEN***

I started dancing the waltz.  I showed the girls how to hold their hands and showed the boys how to hold theirs.  In the last hour of the day, I called two girls up to the front and then two boys and had them face each other.  I told them they didn't have to touch but they did need to face each other and put their hands up.  After a while, there were students everywhere pairing off!!  We were all laughing and waltzing and singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and then I heard a "Miss Fitch?"  I turned around and saw little Adam, he asked "Can we actually do it?  Can we touch?"  My heart was meellllttttinnnnggggg!  I told him he and his partner could do the real waltz if they wanted to, and then there was hardly a pair in the room who wasn't trying the waltz for real.  


I kinda love my jobs...

In Our Blood (Video)

Like many Disciples in the Illinois and Wisconsin Region, I am devoted to our beloved campground in Dietrich, Illinois.  My experience at camp has given me so much as a Christian and the least I can do is use my talents to give back.  I hope this song inspires you to find something you can give back to this cause!

New Status Update

     Do you remember MySpace?  Remember when they added the "Top Friends" feature?  I was always desperate to be on someone's "Top 5".  I'm pretty sure I only made the cut for two or three people, but I know I was always trying to reach everyone's Top 5 list.  I will be the first to admit that I was OBSESSED with climbing the social ladder.  I spent a lot of my energy worrying about what other people would think about me.  Where did it get me?  Nowhere. I never befriended the popular crowd.  Instead, I realized the value of the friends I already had.  My friends were real, and there were plenty of them.
     Our society is very status-driven.  You wouldn't admit it, but if you tweet, you KNOW you're starving for more followers.  How devastated are we, ladies, when we realize we don't have a shot at being on the Prom Court at school?  We get ridiculously obsessed with celebrities.  We deeply care about our status in this world and will go to great lengths to protect ourselves from "social failure".  The breeding ground for this attitude is the media, of course, and Jr. High and High School.
     Being status driven can work in our favor.  Working harder for that promotion, getting better grades to get the on the honor roll, pushing yourself to be better at sports are all good reasons to be status driven.  The down side to being status driven is when we let superficial, meaningless social pressures affect us so much that we put on a facade for the world.  Walking/talking/laughing/dressing/behaving in a way that is not natural for you means you are compromising yourself for the sake of others.  

Here were some social pressures I remember from High School:

The cool kids wore names across their chests.  Every. Day.

https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhQwExwCpL90BvK0979yZ1quORWTYyoz6qcL-KFlBpXw9iLhy1


The popular girls all sat at the same lunch table in the lunch room.

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSb85uZ6qCbItfQ7ESc90uP1kTBvO7fWwWJcuVUy9IVTjAfjqk9xw



The kids that everyone knew about always had stories of their weekends -and they hadn't been bowling.  Stories of girlfriends and boyfriends and parties were widely spread throughout the school...

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTAnU2fXAeFS535BHtghUnct6IbIoo8gaWBhnDWp6ozh27u2Bym_A


And the girls... They all had the same haircut...

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQytueaa2ZOHrIIRSDraL5IyxyPab2LwEmVEDiw9MpKINHFMxesUg
https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQjwQGMzOQ-Pl7eRbjBo6j8kgO46D8WuA6E-PWHp-56jlkxd1TghA
https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRmCmnZF_u-_VLRHiqvgjPmtoyXnN7aCKoY8ireBbuDqlbEIUyHEQ


But this is what I saw...

The next time you're ready to update your status, decide if you really need to abandon the old status.  Remember who you are even though the world around you is trying to make you forget.  

Thanks for viewing.  Follow me!  I'm about to have a hilarious contest for my followers!

Now Introducing....My Twin

Hi Everyone!
     It's time you meet Katie.  Katie is my twin sister who helps me remember who I am.  When Katie and I are together, it's almost like we live in our own world of almost funny jokes, rubber faces that host the oddest of expressions, and fights that last about a minute because we start laughing if we try to stay mad any longer.
     Since we're geniuses, we made a little video for you guys.  Not sure why the whole top of the screen got cut off but I think it adds to the hilarity.  What's that on our faces?  Green face masks of course.  One more thing: we sat down in front of a camera and let whatever happened happen, and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.  I love my family with everything I have and wouldn't trade any of them for anything.  
   

Enjoy the chemistry

Be My Donut Hole

Katie you will always be my donut hole.  And don't forget it.

Do you have a donut hole?  Make a video with it.  It's worth it. And let me see it.

Thanks

There's An App For That. (Youth Group idea)

I recently presented one of my favorite youth group events to date! The idea struck me a long time ago to use popular iPod/iPhone apps to make a point about APPlying our faith to our daily decisions.
The popular catchphrase "There's an App for That" is from the 2009 iPhone 3G commercial. I opened my app store and looked through the Top 25 purchased apps. With these app titles and concepts, I was able to transform the average Sunday night into a memorable adventure with the group.
Station 1: Angry Birds
Tearing down walls was an easy concept to transfer into a faith based message. I stacked paper bags and cardboard planting cups on the edge of the stage in our Great Hall and bought beanies that looked like the characters from Angry Birds. Two teams competed against each other to be the first to tear down their towers.
Remember middle school? All we wanted was to fit in and not get laughed at. High school? We wanted boys to notice us and to not be sitting by ourselves at lunch. We envied those who had more than us and climbing socially was permanently on our agendas. Pressure. This pressure is a giant wall just WAITING to be torn down.
Every insecurity that we let affect our actions and thoughts is a blocky shape in Tetris that gets us closer and closer to "Game Over". How do we tear it down? To be clear, if we let Him, Jesus could break down this wall with one breath. However, that would require lots of courage that we may need to build up first. The bible teaches us to love our neighbor, not to be jealous, and live wholly for God. If we take each situation and each pressure we feel from society and use our faith to battle it, we slowly tear down our walls that keep us from living the way God wants us to.


Station 2: Fruit Ninja
Go with me on this one. Ninjas fight, and we all get into it sometimes whether we mean to or not. The point to make with this one is Fair Fighting. We discussed how to disagree with someone without trying to prove the other person wrong -and that it IS ok to not have the last word.
No, I didn't give the students machetes and cantaloupes to chop. Instead, I set up a laser course made with red string with bells attached to them (like that scene from Oceans 11). The string was strung at different angles and slants that the students had to maneuver through to get to the other side. For the fruit, I peeled and halved lemons and limes that they had to keep in their mouth until they reached the end. The kids were helping each other and cheering and figuring out the course together. This activity produces many hilarious pictures an videos!


Station 3: My Calendar
Believe it or not, My Calendar was a very popular app. I made a simple point that we need to make time for God in our schedules. We need to spend the time reading the Bible and talking to Him and taking time to listen.
I shamelessly plugged the youth group events that were coming up in the near future and wrote them on separate sheets of paper with their dates on them. I separated the group into 2 teams. Each team got a dart gun and were prompted to race each other to hit all of the events on My Calendar. This game was easy and fun!

Station 4: Temple Run
For this App, I tried to illustrate that church is much more than a building. Church is a place for real relationships and a place to build life skills that bring us closer to God. When we are feeling damaged, hurt, scared and under pressure, we need to run to church. Retreat to this place that knows when we aren't there, cares about us, and helps us figure out how to handle the blows life throws at us.
I used masking tape to build this course. It was basically a line that made a circle that had gaps in it. To complete the course, the students had to run along this line and jump across the gaps. I had someone waiting with silly string at one of the gaps to spray the jumpers for an added obstacle. We timed the students and tried to beat the best time. This was hilarious and fun and everyone was having a great time!

I loved this event because it is current and mashed up popular apps with bible points. I had a lot of fun planning this one and am encouraged to keep coming up with original ideas! Comment or Link me to some of your YG activities! I want to read all about creative ways to engage students!

In Our Blood (lyrics)

        Introducing my newest song! These are the song lyrics to my newest song In Our Blood.  It is written to inspire more involvement in the movement to save Camp Walter Scott.  Such history.  There are allusions in these lyrics that some of you may not understand as they deal with camp traditions and references to hymns.  Video coming soon!  Thanks for reading :)  




In Our Blood
Dearly departed, here we gather grieve our loss
The deep-rooted oak tree is fallen down before us
With her bark engraved with lovers' names
In the beckoning summer breeze
I would fallow her into the dark
And we'd lean on the serenading song of the lark


So long- to the fair blue weather
So go -to the place we go to gather
Who knows? Will it ever get better?
Will the children carry on?


Send water if you wanna go fishin'
Bring a hammer if you need a little shelter
My son, do it for your daughter
When the cause is in our blood


The ruins of a library are counting down the days
'Til the modern man forgets his past comes home for now and stays.
He'll be gone with the setting sun
But he'll leave with me a new oak seed
With the stories told passed down to you
And all the secrets held at the sassafras root.



So long- to the fair blue weather
So go -to the place we go to gather
Who knows? Will it ever get better?
Will the children carry on?


Send water if you wanna go fishin'
Bring a hammer if you need a little shelter
My son, do it for your daughter
When the cause is in our blood


I feel the fresh wind blowin'
Through the sweet leaves of what we're growin'
We will work side by side and
They'll know what we've grown



So long- to the fair blue weather
So go -to the place we go to gather
Who knows? Will it ever get better?
Will the children carry on?


Send water if you wanna go fishin'
Bring a hammer if you need a little shelter
My son, do it for your daughter
When the cause is in our blood
And the cause is in our blood

Deep Listening

Fourth.


There seems to be a divide in opinion when it comes to church music. It seems as though people are either moved by traditional hymns and sacred music OR praise and worship music. I happen to love both. Praise and worship music lends me a heart beat that seems to pour energy into me, and the traditional hymns say it like it is and bring a certain kind of comfort having heard them growing up and leaning on the texts for guidance.
A common argument against contemporary Christian music is its shallowness. I will admit that when I was first exposed to praise and worship music, I was turned off by how repetitive and mundane it was. "How great- is our God. Sing with me how great- is our god. How great, how great- is our God". Don't get me wrong, our God is super great, but why repeat the phrase a million times and put our hands in the air and close our eyes. It wasn't until I NEEDED something out of that music that I realized I had been listening wrong.
When I "got" this music I was at a point where I needed reassurance in Him. Looking back I don't recall if it had been financial hardships, a rocky relationship, an emotional burden etc. but when I sang "How great is our God" I didn't believe it. We sang the phrase again, and it made me think of what things WERE great in my life that He gave me. And soon I had tears of understanding; God blesses us even when things seem hard, and he's the one who will see us out of our discomfort.
So that's just one example of how I embraced contemporary Christian music. By deep listening, I allowed the music to become a tool to make me introspective and really listen to what God was saying. I will say that my upbringing in the church taught me of Gods power, His true power, not just what you hear from other people, but the power that drives you. The stuff that saves you from yourself. And it was this knowledge of serious understanding that helped me tap into the meaning of the song. So it makes me wonder if people without a church background have remotely the same experience. THAT is why I am careful when I'm choosing music for an event. It is NOT enough to repeat words over and over and put your hand in the air with your eyes shut. When my hand goes up, it is not receiving God's abundance, it is reaching for help, security, and guidance, and every time I reach, He reaches back.
I worship at a traditional service, which never ceases to move me. So when I get to experience contemporary, I make the absolute most out of it.

The Portable Chancel

Third.


Lately I have been lucky to have a friend who enjoys discussing our different beliefs together. He worships at a much different church than I do, so when we talk about our faith and dive into apologetics, we will often come up with differences in opinion.
I learn a lot about myself when I have to ACTUALLY say out loud what I believe and why I believe it. When you're in a position to explain your reasons for your faith, being vague and ambiguous is just not an option. Sometimes I go looking for the debate.
I recently read a blog post about how people tend to get too touchy about some of the language used in the church. The post was centered around calling the chancel a stage instead of a chancel. The argument stood that Christians are too busy worrying about whether we are using the right terminology and not dealing with more important issues. To that blogger, I say kudos to being real -it's a mundane argument when there's much more to worry about.
HOWEVER, there's a reason we have a different word for it. Say a professional dancer comes into church for the first time and sits next to you in your usual pew. She leans in and says 'where are the pastors?' and you say 'they will walk in and sit on the stage" From her perspective, you may have just told her that this worship service will be constructed like entertainment and that the people up there are performing. By calling it a chancel, this gives that space the credibility it deserves that its only purpose is to be a place of worship, not human glory.
I was a vocal performance major in college, so I have been on my fair share of stages. I decided a long time ago that my talent is a direct gift from God and that every time I sing, the performance belongs to Him.
Considering the blog post about chancels and stages, i was lead to think that I never stand on stages. I only sing on chancels because EACH performance belongs to God regardless of the subject matter in the performance. We can put chancels beneath our feet all day long. Give God glory while you walk the dog -walk on His chancel down the street. Give God glory when you're at work -send emails from chancels. Give God glory when you are at the pool -swim in chancels. Give Him glory when you sing in a recital hall -sing on chancels.
In the end, labeling chancels are monumentally important because if we don't, we miss opportunities to glorify our Lord in our practical lives on whatever ground we walk on. Put His chancel beneath you and stand firmly on it.

Outdoor Day

Second.


For my job, I have to be creative. I bet ALL youth pastors feel this way. Somehow, we have to build an attractive yet meaningful program. It only seems to get more difficult with each new incoming class of sixth graders.
I find that if you can manage to balance fellowship with faith-centered life application learning, the relationships that form are rooted beyond youth group, and the youth come back. All of this is to say: It's really ok to have an event that is strictly for the purpose of bonding.
I got lucky today when the sermon was about accessing the courage God gave you with the familiar illustration of David and Goliath. At youth group, I had planned to do a Slip-N-Slide and water games. After church, I made my way to Walmart to grab a blow-up raft to slide on and a great idea came to me. I picked up some chalk and some water shooters, and I had myself a new game. I call it "Total Access".


Total Access:
How it works:
Divide your group into 2 teams. Each team gets one large water bucket and a shooter. On the ground where each team is to stand (side by side works fine, use a parking lot), draw a sling shot with chalk. Tell them they are not to step outside of their sling shot. About 5 feet in front of each team's sling shot, draw FEAR in large letters. Have each person draw a small image of one of their fears close to FEAR.


Have your students line up behind their sling shots with water shooters at the ready. When you say "go", each team member has 20 seconds to wash away as much FEAR as possible. The teams will race simultaneously while you count to 20 for each pair. After each team player has had 2 turns, see which team has the most FEAR left on the sidewalk (or parking lot).


**if you've seen the movie We Bought A Zoo, you remember the genius line "all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage to face your fear". -Such a great practical idea. That's why you count to 20.


The lesson behind this game is that God gives us total access to the courage we need to handle anything we face. Because of this gift, we can aggressively face our fears.

Start at the Beginning

First

     ⁸But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, 
   what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, 
   be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously— 
   take God seriously

Micah 6:8

     It's about time to go public with the thoughts and ideas in this head.  I've hopped onto the blog train! Who am I? I'm a ministry-minded entertainer bent on social justice.  Here, you will find song lyrics, my sermons, my thoughts on issues, youth ministry ideas, recordings, and printables.  For more information about me, hit up my profile.

     So where to start? We'll start where it all started for me: church.  Some find it overrated.  Some find it insincere.  Many find it boring.  I'm just gonna be blunt... those people are WRONG.  

     Let's say you were surfing the web and found yourself on Hulu.  You browse and find yourself attracted to the title of a show you've never heard of.  You read about it and it interests you.  You watch the episode and decide it's just awful.  Does this make you a TV hater? Of course not.  You find something you like and you spend your time watching that instead.  

     Here's another one.  Say your mom would always watch All My Children, a soap opera that you found yourself watching because it was always on.  Someone asks you someday, "What's your favorite soap opera?" and the only show you really know about is All My Children, so you say that one.  

     These are a lot like church.  I'm not suggesting that church is for your entertainment, even though you may very well be entertained at church.  It's for your soul.  Just as though you search until you find a webisode/tv show/channel you like better than others, so should you deliberately seek a church.  In this day in age, there are SO MANY churches to choose from, chances are, you will find something that speaks to you.  Perhaps you were brought up in the wrong church for you.  Your parents settled in a church that you didn't understand or agree with.  Maybe you didn't like it because you were forced to go all those years.  So, like your opinion of soap opera, it's all you really know so you just go with it.    

     By allowing yourself to be affiliated with something you don't agree with, you are doing yourself a disservice.  You owe it to yourself to put your energy into something you are passionate about.  

     What I get out of church is much more than a history lesson.  When I leave church, I'm equipped for challenges, I'm more appreciative of the beauty around me, and I get to let go of the slimy feelings of guilt and hate and uncertainty.  There's nothing like it.  Nothing.

     I suggest you challenge yourself.  Decide what it is that you love about your church, and thank God for it.  Do you have any speculations about the way you practice your faith through that church? Thank God for your speculations.  And if you're one of the many people missing out on the gift of a church home, ask yourself why.  Would it really be so awful to look for one you like?

Come on in, the water is magnificent!