The Easter season is upon us! And with that comes the SE Idaho Witness Music Program's annual performance of Rob Gardner's "Lamb of God". This is such a beautiful and inspiring musical account of the last week of Christ's life. The soloists are so gifted and singing with a full orchestra is a very cool experience. The cello player this year who plays the voice of Christ plays with such depth and feeling. We have been very busy this year and it has been a sacrifice to be a part of it but I'm so glad that we chose to do it and I'm beyond grateful that Jaedyn joined us! A shout out to Ms Lilia who babysat over 42 hours to make it happen and to Ebony and McKinley for being such great friends to each other and allowing us to neglect them! I'm excited for them to be able to come to the Rexburg performance to see what it was all about!
This is my friend Kris who I met through the program last year. It was so fun to have the surprise of seeing her a few times in December when our Spanish class got together for a few meals with spouses. Turns out her husband Rick, is one of our Spanish classmates!
Last rehearsal before performances begin. It is a tradition for the choir to circle the orchestra and sing Hosanna. Such a fun and powerful tradition!
Jae and I in concert black getting ready for our first performance which was here in Idaho Falls at Thunder Ridge Highschool. Not my favorite venue, but the performance was amazing! I'm looking forward to this coming weekend... Jensen Hall in Pocatello is a stellar venue! Music holds such power for me and I've been grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a touching presentation.
Insert update1: Jensen Hall was incredible! My parents were kind enough to take the younger girls for the weekend and bring them to the evening performance. They met us in Pocatello between performances and took us out for Mexican food at this little hole in the wall place called El Herradero. The food was so affordable and there was so much of it and it was delicious! We may have to come back and revisit!
Insert update 2: Our Blackfoot performance was our last one. After our Rexburg performance we came home to find a note from McKinley. It had our family drawn on it. When we opened it there was a note to use that read "I love you mom and dad why do you gize haft do be gon all the time. I love you". 💔💔 So Chad did not join us for the Blackfoot performance. Jae and I went and took a pic by the hollow brick in the wall. Which Jaedyn found by knocking on the bricks. Cuz that's what teenagers do? LOL I kid you not. She was slapping bricks on the wall while we waited to go on stage and found a hollow one. Maybe the school safe? Kinda tiny. Housing a time capsule from when the school was built perhaps? After the last performance Jaedyn turned to me and said, "It's over! Aw that's kinda sad". And it was! So we stopped for Arctic circle chicken sandwiches and blizzards on our way home.
This Easter we have been encouraged to consider: who is Christ to us personally? The podcast I listen to suggested a mnemonic for consideration:
C: Christ cleanses us
H: Christ heals us (He doesn't cure us. Healing is a re-knitting of the fabric of our being)
R: Christ restores us
I: Christ identifies with us
S: Christ strengthens us
T: Christ transforms us
They've spoken a lot about prayer too. The struggle it can be and the trap we may fall into, praying for a Garden of Eden experience in a fallen world. We have a tendency to pray for blessings, which is important, but we must be careful that we don't get stuck expecting blessings while simultaneously wanting to forego the experience that creates the strength and joy we seek after. A great reminder: Our faith is in Jesus Christ, not in outcomes! I think, especially in these times, it is important to show faith but of equal importance is to have a willingness to submit our will to His. Which presents another question to ponder: How can I submit my will to His?
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