Excelling in Love

I woke up Thursday morning with an almost panicky feeling that I need to put every aspect of my line on Excel spreadsheets--projects, bills, maintenance (physical, emotional, and spiritual!), recipes, birthdays--everything! Now that I work in an office in this new season of life and I really know what an Excel spreadsheet does, I guess it's getting to me.

Then--a most comforting thought came to me--The Lamb's Book of Life only has two columns--my name and "heart". When I stand before Him one day, He will not get out a big wide notebook with my spreadsheet and an infinite number of columns of minutes or days and how I organized my thoughts on any given day, he only looks at the first column--her love for Me--her heart. That's it.

English Country Dancing in Fayetteville

Always looking for the unusual and the exotic in the fine print in the Weekend section, we discovered a group in North Little Rock somewhere in the 90's that did English Country Dancing every Friday night. Venturing over to a rustic (un-air-conditioned) VFW Hall became a regular part of our lives for a couple of years. The high point of the year was the Twelfth Night Ball at the Old State House where we dressed in period costumes and danced the night away. Think "Virginia Reel" or line dancing in Jane Austin movies. The intimidation factor was always present for me as the caller called out the steps and we would respond and intertwine our steps with the others in our circle or line. The good part, though, was that when someone inevitably turned the wrong direction or forgot what to do, everyone rushed to your rescue to restore the smooth execution of the lovely union of steps and rhythm.

Allemande left the lady on the left

Come back and swing the one you left

Opposite ladies chain over and back

Right and left through with the left-hand two

Do the same across from you.

We drew many friends into "the dance", a lot of whom really didn't want to go but were so proud of themselves later for going and experiencing the satisfaction of having gotten out of their comfort zone.

This week at the US Center has been a sort of Kingdom Country Dancing. We squeeze all 16 weeks of a normal Perspectives course into 8 days of classes, reading, and discussing the Kingdom of God in our midst. What normally happens once a week happens here twice a day--no wonder they call it an "Intensive". The Dance begins for the staff here, taking cues from the Coordinator--as well as serving the students, we make airport runs, feed, house, nurse ailments, arrange meetings, and otherwise accommodate the Instructors who come in for one morning or evening. It's the "Twelfth Night" dance, as the Instructors who touch down here are the best of the best in our circles and we've snatched chunks of time here and there to sit at their feet as well. We are going to be so sad when the dance ends next Wednesday, even though it has taken all our energy and focus.

We are blessed to be partners in our line here, continuing into eternity cued by the Great Caller of The Dance. He wants that line of dancers to be long and the costumes to be from every tongue, tribe and nation!

Nashville--City of Dreams

Even if you were like me and grew up avoiding the room your dad was watching Merle Haggard and Porter Waggoner in on Saturday afternoon, I am now of the opinion that everyone should spend at least a little time in Nashville observing the culture of music here. It is hard to miss the fact that these people love what they do and are proud of their musical heritage. And--surprising to me--it's contagious!

We met Lyle and Anne here this weekend and decided to make an outing of the Country Music Hall of Fame. As we walked in at 12 noon, we were directed to a songwriters workshop they assured us we did not want to miss. You probably wouldn't recognize the names of the two guys--we sure didn't--but they were masterful musicians. They joked about "feast or famine" lives, but they obviously were doing what they loved, and we were fascinated by them.

Last night, the hotel sponsored a group where the lead singer told us how she almost made the Big Time by recording "Harper Valley PTA" but Jeannie C. Riley beat her to it. She's still around though, singing her little heart out in lesser arenas because that's what she loves to do. What a picture of pursuing your dreams, and dreams are as different and varied as the dreamers themselves. It's hard for me to imagine anyone aspiring to play the dobro (ugh!) in the Grand Ol' Opry, but what I admire and seek to understand in my own life is their perseverance, risk-taking, and drive to follow those dreams. Quite a study!