Can I just talk about my day? Thank you!

Two weeks ago our pastor left, which means the last two weeks we've had a different preacher. Being on the worship team, this means changes for us (as in, what the new preacher wants as far as music goes). For example, the first time this new preacher preached, he came up to us fifteen minutes before the service started and said "I'd like you to do these two hymns also" - and we didn't know the hymns, and we hadn't had time to practice, or anything! And it was just before the service started!

So, last week, Frank (our wonderful worship leader) told me that the same preacher was preaching today, and he was going to pick the songs for Sunday. That was fine with us, as long as we got sufficient notice.

After a few days we still hadn't heard anything about the songs the preacher wanted, so we just put together our own package. Actually, I put together my own package, since Frank was going to be gone today and I would be leading worship. Which means that I was on my own for today - the only instrument.

Worship practice went well. We practiced our songs and stuff.

Then came today. We got to church. I realized as usual that I hadn't worked on an offertory so I was madly flipping through the hymn book and trying to find something appropriate, when Nancy said, "Are we going to practice All Haile the Power?" I was like "what...? No..." and she said "well, it says in the bulletin that's the first song we're doing. And Great is Thy Faithfulness, and Be Thou My Vision." And I grabbed a bulletin. Sure enough, there were completely different songs in there.

I was mad.

I marched up to the pastor and said, "Nobody told us we were supposed to play these songs, and the service starts in twenty minutes. We don't have time to pratice them. I don't have time to work out chords." He was super nice about it - apparently it was somebody else's fault. We had to rearrange songs because of the different order of service and stuff. We prayed hurriedly. I used the time where I usually play a preservice to practice my offertory, and pretend that I was really playing a preservice. Ha.

Then we get to that part of the service titled "Meditative Hymn". I have never heard of such a thing. I went up to play and I thought the worship team would come up with me, but then the pastor said, "Amber is going to lead us in Blessed Assurance now. Please sing along quietly and reflect on the words." Well, you don't have to tell Presbyterians to sing quietly. They sing quietly if you tell them to sing loudly, and if you tell them to sing quietly they don't sing at all. When I started singing a few voices followed me at first, but they died out soon, and I SOLOED. I hadn't even practiced! AT ALL! On piano OR voice!

But God gave me grace. See, earlier when we were frantically practicing those songs of ours that we didn't know well enough to wing, I had been trying to sing the melody of a certain song that the team didn't know well enough, and I couldn't get enough breath support to sing one line all the way through. I couldn't sing - my voice was gone, and I could hardly catch my breath. But when I suddenly realized in the middle of the song that I was soloing, I also realized that God had let me have my voice back for that song, right when it really mattered! And I noticed even more when we did the closing hymn, worship team and everyone - and I again couldn't sing.

Little things.

I watched Day After Tomorrow at Frank and Penni's for the second time. I love that movie.

I have more to type but for some reason the letters I type are lagging about a second behind when I hit the keys and it's REALLY bothering me.