Yesterday, I got to be on that stage.

Can you believe it??  What a blessing!!  I was just so incredibly humbled and excited when I got the email asking if I would participate.  See, God reads my blog, doesn’t He??

What an incredible service it was.  Our pastor has been doing a series on hope and this was ideal for that series.  There was a video testimony earlier in the service from a couple who lost their little girl in a car accident a couple of years ago.  Yes, tough to watch.  Then the cardboard testimonies.  There was not a dry eye in the room and by the end, everyone was standing and clapping and crying and singing.

What was so amazing about having this event in your own church was knowing the people on that stage – knowing them, knowing their testimonies, having the opportunity to know them more – it just makes it that much more powerful.  Knowing that some were hanging on to hope in that very moment as they held their sign – hanging on with everything they had – was more powerful than I can describe in words on a mere blog.  Knowing how far some of these precious people have come is just incredible.  Seeing victory before my very eyes is joy unimaginable.

Wanna see?  Of course you do.

Chets Cardboard Testimonies – May 16, 2010 from Tim Trinkle on Vimeo.

This is one I was introduced to around Resurrection Sunday.  This song just brings me to tears.  I cannot get enough of it.  The words cut straight to my heart each time I hear it.    Here you go, What Do I Know of Holy by Addison Road…

We are playing this song in our worship set tomorrow morning – I just absolutely love it and how it intertwines the old with the new, among other reasons.  In this week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, join me in reflecting upon the wondrous cross and all that it means…

• It is raining buckets here!  Lots of thunderstorms and rain lately and more rain to come…
• Makes it kind of difficult to take a certain little doggy outside to go potty.  He keeps trying to hide under my legs!
• I am attempting to make bread as I type this…first round of rising happening now.  We shall see how it turns out.  I am so thankful for my KitchenAid mixer and its dough hook.  That kneading part just looks like work!  And we all know I am opposed to that.  Just kidding.  *sheepish look*
• I just read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (with Jeffrey Zaslow) and it was actually quite good (and a very fast read).  I had seen the video of his lecture online so I was not sure if this was just a repeat, but it was certainly much more than that.  What a fantastic legacy for his children and certainly inspirational to read about a man who achieved many dreams of his own and inspired others to do so.  There were no lack of tears on my part, of course, knowing that he had already passed away and that the topic was not easy to begin with – his impending death from pancreatic cancer.  It was good nonetheless.  I do recommend it!  Thanks, Leslie, for letting me borrow it!
• Cody is doing well and has a particular fascination with hiding under our furniture.  It’s hilarious to see his little nose peek out from under the chair or the bed.  Not so hilarious when he gets stuck under the couch.  I haven’t been fast enough yet to capture a picture of that though.
• Take the time to sign the following online petition:  http://www.aclj.org/LegislativeAlert/Read.aspx?GUID=eb3ae253-d816-4188-8baa-963c0eda1868 for the Be Heard Project to uphold the Conscience Clause allowing doctors and nurses to not participate in abortion procedures according to their personal convictions.  I believe this is a basic freedom.
• Way cool – I’m on to the second part of this breadmaking thing.  So far so good! It’s rising again…  (Sounds spooky, doesn’t it?)
• So for a few years now I have been thinking I’ve been allergic to fruit – eating the few fruits I did like caused my mouth, throat and the insides of my ears to itch like crazy!  Lately, though, I’ve bought organic fruit and I dared to try a few bites.  There was no reaction?  Hopeful thinking?  My allergy medicine working?  Or am I allergic to pesticides and what-not that are on non-organic fruits?  Food for thought…(such a great pun, I’m so funny!)…more experimentation to come…
• And my dad sent me this video…I thought it was very cool…

This is one of my absolute most favorite pieces to play on the piano.  It is a piece that takes me out of the moment and into another, my fingers fitting comfortably onto familiar keys.  I have played this piece since I was in junior high but it never ever gets old.  Ever.  Lately, however, I am transported to the Garden of Gethsemane every time I play it.  I have an image of Jesus on His knees praying to His Father in Heaven to take this cup from him, the tears of blood dripping…ever dripping…join me there…

Rubinstein playing the First Movement of the Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 14 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Here is the direct link if you have trouble with the video:  Lead Me to the Cross Hillsong

What I have chosen to share for this week’s Then Sings My Soul Saturdays is not a song with words, but instead a couple of orchestral pieces in a video of a group of amazingly talented kids from Venezuela.  I was looking around the TED website for interesting videos, maybe even check out the one where Bill Gates released the mosquitos into the crowd, when I came across this one.   This one made my soul sing.  

This is a youth orchestra from Venezuela made up high-school aged kids.  Watching them play and hearing their music not only pulled me out of my moment and into theirs, but it had me reflecting on so much.  I was reminded of how precious their talent is and I hoped that these kids knew what God had gifted them with.  I wondered about each kid’s background as I spotted shiny new instruments, and instruments with dull, old finishes that had clearly seen better days (but could still play well!).  I was proud of them for their musical accomplishments – it takes hours of practice to work on music like this and to get to this skill level, hours that they were not spending in activities that could be detrimental to them, or perhaps not necessarily harmful but definitely not fruitful activities.  I was impressed and inspired by the adults and teachers in their lives who encouraged these kids to practice, learn, and love this music, and by the adults who made this happen and even orchestrated (pun intended) this appearance at such an impressive conference as TED.  

Above all, I listened and enjoyed this music.  I was taken into the moment. For the second piece, I nearly danced off my chair and stood proudly when they did.  It is a longer video than I usually post, but it’s well worth the entire watch.

Enjoy.

Wow.  WOW.  Triple WOW.  

That’s all I am going to say about that.  I’ll let you go there and figure it out for yourself.  (Hint:  Let your mouse settle on each pic of the folks in the middle of the screen…)

(I watched the videos for Stephen Baldwin and the guy from Korn.  I can’t wait to go watch more…)