Lindsay Willis

What an evening!

I'm not a big one for going to shows or theaters or plays or things like that. But every once in a while I get an opportunity I can't pass up. I did this week!

I was on vacation with a friend and we decided to go to a Cirque de Soleil performance. The name of the performance was Ka. It was an amazing performance of acrobats, dancers, people swinging through the air, and all sorts of other mind-boggling events.

At one point in time, the theater stage, which was on a huge hydraulic lift, was tilted to a to a 180° angle to the floor. The dancers (or should I say the acrobats) danced on the stage while they were cabled by ropes from the ceiling. So here I am sitting in my seat and watching people act on the stage perpendicular to me.  They were running up and down what appeared to be a wall. They acted out a big fight scene....with about 15 warriors on this vertical stage.  It was mind boggling.  The stage had a quality to it that looked a bit like an LCD screen.  You could see their movement depicted on the surface of the stage.

At another point in time, two acrobats swung from ropes in the ceiling all over the audience dancing in midair.  It was absolutely gorgeous and yet nerve-wracking at the same time.
I think I've gotten hooked on Cirque De Soleil.  In fact, I've got to go find out the next time there is a performance in Minneapolis. I am absolutely going to go!

Out of here for a few days!

I LOVE Minnesota!  And what is even weirder is that I love the winter in Minnesota.  But every once in a while it is good to get away. 

Normally, I travel a lot.  I have been home more than I have been gone for the last couple of months.  Tonight the bags are packed and tomorrow morning I leave on a 7AM flight for a few days of R&R with a dear friend of mine!

So long winter!  Hello desert!  See you later in the week! 

Good stuff

I cleaned out my audio cabinet yesterday, sorted through the old CDs to see if I could find some music that I have not listened to in a while.  (As I write this, I am having a flashback....since I started listening to music, I have had 45s, 78s, LPs, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, mp3s and iTunes...what a hoot!  And more to come right?)

I found a relatively recent CD from a band from New Zealand called Parachute Band.  I did not put it in right away, but set it aside to listen to some other time.  Then last night, right before I went to bed, I popped it into the CD player and forgot about it...just wanted it to be in there so I could play it later. 

I woke up this morning and as I was making coffee I turned on the music system.  As I went about my routine of getting ready, I heard these great tunes that I did not recognize.  I kept racking my brains trying to figure out who it was and finally had to go over to the music system to see who was playing.  Yes, it was the Parachute Band.  I love the lead singer's voice...and the words are great.  So check it out at your local book store.  (The CD I was listening too was Roadmaps and Revelations.)

And this story also gives you an idea of how short my memory can be!!

Optimism

Are you naturally optimistic or pessimistic?  I think we each have a bent in one direction or the other.  I tend toward optimism.  That probably does not surprise you much.  If you are reading this blog, you probably know me at least enough to know that about me!

But even those of us who are optimistic have to use that optimism on ourselves at times.  I find myself encouraging myself, especially when I see the news on occasion.  It could really drain your optimism if you allowed it to.

I found a quote the other day that was insightful.  It was in the London Times (I was reading it the night of the inauguration to see how they reported on President Obama).  It read:

"In the classic text "Learned Optimism", Professor Martin Seligman explains the great advantages that come from an optimistic style of explaining events to yourself. “Do you think the good things that happen to you are permanent, a symbol of your general good fortune and talent, and a result of your own action rather than that of others? If so, you are an optimist.” Optimists are more successful at school, rise higher at work, they live longer, healthier lives and, naturally, they are much less prone to depressive illness."

I think I will continue being optimistic.  The Bible thinks it is a good idea anyway (what is the Scripture about a merry heart?)

 

An historic event

Tomorrow, the first black president will be inaugurated as the President of the United States.  This is an historic event.  No matter what your political view is, it is historic.  And when history is happening, the church (you and I( need to pay attention. 

When I was a little girl, this day was impossible to even think about.  I remember going to my grandparent's house in the deep south for summer vacation.  My grandparent's had house servants...black people who served them in and around the house.  Those wonderful people could not enter through the front door of the house nor could they use the bathroom in the house. 

I could not understand that...and when I asked my dad, he could not explain it...other than that was how it had always been in the south.  I hated it!  I spent time talking with these people and they were great...warm, loving people.  They did not deserve to live that way.   The thought of having a president who is black was probably beyond their wildest dreams then.

I am older than a lot of you at River Valley...but I am not that old.  This transition has happened in my lifetime.  It is stunning...but im my opinion it has taken too long for this to happen. 

I am watching...and listening.  God is speaking to us.  We are experiencing HIStory in the making...

Lather from SOAP

I read my SOAP chapter this morning and found something that I could not help but share with you. 

The reading today is about Joseph in the prison (Genesis 40).  The butler and the baker have dreams and Joseph interprets them, because God gave him the interpretation.  Joseph asks the butler not to forget him when he is reinstated in Pharaoh's service.  But the butler does.

I am reading my SOAP in a MESSAGE Bible that has notes from the author, Eugene Peterson.  This morning I read the following:

“To Joseph, the wheels of Providence seemed to have stopped.  But other wheels were cogged together, wheels that Josephs couldn’t see, each turning other wheels.  Though they moved slowly, they never stopped.  And though the wheels of Providence seem to us to have stopped sometimes, especially at times when we feel hopelessly imprisoned, they don’t.”

What a great reminder that when we cannot SEE God's hand at work in our lives, we can trust that He is at work behind the scenes.  When it seems to slow for us, we can trust His timing.  When it seems that other people have forgotten us, God has not...and He is at work on our behalf!

It is not easy to do.  We tend to want things NOW...at least I know I do.  But God has the perfect timing.  We simply need to trust His heart toward us.  He is ALWAYS with us and FOR us...even when our eyes cannot perceive it!

Lather your faith by meditating on Who He is and what His thoughts are toward you...

Are the Gophers for real?

If you know me at all, you know I enjoy sports.  I watched the Gopher's men's basketball team last night and was amazed!!  They came back from a 14 point deficit in the second half at Wisconsin and won the game in overtime.  What I can't figure out is if it is because te Gophers are that good or the rest of the Big Ten (including Wisconsin) are that mediocre?

What I do know is...they are fun to watch!!!  Anybody got tickets to the Barn???  I could go for a great game and countless times through the Rouser....Minnesota hats off to thee!!!

SOAP thought for the day

Ok, if you read your SOAP devo today, you know how crazy the story is.  Rebekah and Jacob conspire to steal Esau's blessing from Isaac.  Wow!  Talk about a dysfunctional family huh?

Sometimes when I read these stories, I marvel at God's mercy and grace!  This is NOT a family I would choose as a model of behavior...and yet here they are in the middle of God's redemptive plan. 

This story gives me so much hope!  As much as I want to live every moment fully surrendered to God and His will and plan for my life, I fall painfully short of that.  Some days (like the past few), I am much more aware of how far short I fall.  Then I read a story like this...and realize that NOTHING that I do can change the character of God.  He remains faithful to His promises to me...no matter how I may mess it up.  He is God and for Him to not be true to His nature would mean that He would have to stop being God...fat chance right?  So I can rest in WHO HE IS and just get to know Him better each day that I live.

Jesus Christ...the SAME, yesterday, today, and forever.....which is a very long time!!!

Do you listen podcasts?

I am hooked on podcasts!  I download podcasts from several churches each week and then listen to them as I clean the house or drive to church or drive to clients or make my one cup of coffee in the morning (I have allowed myself only one a day during the fast!).   Podcasts keep me charged up and so aware of how God is at work on the planet.

I love listening to Greg Boyd from Woodland Hills (www.whchurch.org) and Erwin McManus at Mosaic (www.mosaic. org).  They are my top two.  But I also listen to my friends, John and Helen Burns at Victory Christian Centre in Vancouver, and to Brian Houston at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Bayless Conley at Cottonwood Christian Center in Los Alamitos, CA, to Paul Scanlon of Abundant Life Church in Bradford, England, and to Phil Baker at RiverView Church in Perth, Australia.

If you haven't tried it, I would encourage you to do it.  It costs nothing to set up an iTunes account...and you can get great teaching from pastors all around the world. 

You can also get tons of other podcasts from which you can learn a lot of great stuff. 

Which ones are you listening to?

There is always an opportunity

I am sitting in my kitchen this morning, looking out the sliding glass door, and watching the snow flurries that have been such a dominant part of this winter.  Maybe I notice it more because I drive from Apple Valley to church regularly, but it seems like it snows just about every time I need to drive down to church.  Sure glad I like snow and driving....!!!!

I realized yesterday that even snow presents opportunities.  The car washes, the folks that make windshield washer fluid, and the snow plow guys are having a banner year.  See...there are always opportunities in every situation.

What opportunity can you see in your day?