Peaceful Weekend and Dances From The Vault

Joshua and Charity went to Atlanta for Memorial Day weekend, and graciously offered to bring Caleb and Noah along as chaperones. Charity is leaving for a long-term missions trip and training with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in a few weeks and wanted to do some shopping at the Mall of Georgia for trip stuff. (Probably new suitcases ;) maybe they've come out with some trendy trunk-size ones with cute polka dots ;). Anyhoo, they've all been with Bo's parents and I've enjoyed a peaceful weekend with Isaac. It's been a nice break. Not so much physically, because I still have to keep up with Mr. Man, but emotionally; I don't have to be in a conversation every five minutes. It's been great to unwind and do some stuff that's just for me, like......

Eating cheetos and making brownies

Painting trim and door frames

Washing paint out of my hair

Hogging the TV, watching Weakest Link and Army Wives

Going without a bra

Ordering take-out and not feeling guilty that it's just for me

Shopping for new bathroom fixtures, goodbye forty-year-old sinks

Sitting outside on the porch watching the rain

Sitting inside and listening to quiet, but only when Isaac naps

Recording more old dances and family videos onto DVDs


So, that last one. Unearthing old worship dances, from waayyyyy back in the day. I am loving reliving those memories and seeing the progression of my dance ministry from 1987 to 2007 (twenty years in ministry, where's my gold star? oh yeah, Jesus is holding it for me.....I think it will go in my crown...). If you can endure the outdated hairstyles, costumes, music, and movement, I'm happy to invite you to a dance down memory lane with me. I'll be posting videos of some of my favorite dances. Some of you who follow me here are in these dances so let's reminisce together!

I'll start with this one.... "All Hail the Power". It's the old hymn with pretty music. This was the first corporate worship dance I taught that implemented any significant technique. Worship dance was still reletively new to the church in the 90s. It seemed "safe" to stand in one place, use more sign language than actual dance technique, and keep the movement simple. And I did two or three dances this way but was anxious to move! I also wanted to experiment with props, so we used scarves that I made from material found in the church's costume closet, and gold trim that I hot-glued to the edges. (I eventually bought so much fabric for costumes and props that the church opened a charge account with Hancock Fabrics. My church administrator would cringe when he saw me come into his office with a yellow receipt.) When I approaced my Pastor about doing a dance that pushed the envelope of what was normal at the time, he said "great! do it during the communion!". What? Can't you see I'm scared to death? Yikes! All part of pioneering a new work, sometimes you have to just take a deep breath and jump! So, we danced during the communion. I am thankful that Pastor always trusted me. It was his job to protect the pulpit and the platform and he always believed in me and what I felt God was saying to our church about dance. He even had me dance once during an altar call. I was ministering worship up front, and he was ministering salvation among the congregation. That was awesome.

So, here is "All Hail The Power" from 1996. It's a favorite because this dance helped steer a new ministry toward more freedom in expression and movement.