Number One: Be a secretary (I hate paperwork!). For 1 ½ years, no less!
Number Two: Compete in a Country - yes, that’s C-o-u-n-t-r-y - Music Festival. This is true.
Number Three: Change diapers REGULARLY. Welcome to day care!
Number Four: Teach any sort of classroom in a school setting. Kindergarten, for example. Or first - fifth grade. All of which I have done, minus fourth grade.
I think I’ll call it the “TT TINTID” club. “Top Ten Things I’ll Never do That I’ve Done.” So far I’m the only member, but you’re welcome to join. The day I graduated highschool, I never would have dreamed I’d have crossed FOUR whole things off my top ten list in just six years. Makes me kinda nervous to find out what other horrible things might be on my list that I don’t know about yet!
But today I’m only going to focus on one of my top ten. Number Two. Competing in a Country Music Festival. The Nebraska Country Music Festival, to be exact. Which was just last week in Hastings. And I went. Cause God inspired me with a song. That wasn’t supposed to be country. Only it was.
I got second in the “Most Promising Female” category, and they handed me a big, shiny, bright red (second place is always red, but I have no idea why) trophy that I’m trying to sell on Ebay for $5.00. Okay, not really. The part about Ebay, I mean. But the thought has crossed my mind. But the trophy isn’t really the point. Not at all.
The point is the people that were there at the Festival. And that most of them don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. And that a lot of them, even the ones who go to church, are caught up in this “If I can just win a prize . . .” mentality. And that the song God inspired me with just happens to be all about the best thing on earth: walking with Him.
Here are the words:
VERSE 1
So many miles we’ve walked along
You’ve always held my hand
Coming back to carry me
When I didn’t have the strength to stand
Through the flood and through the fire
You’ve always been my sky
Sunshine lighting up my day
The stars that shine at night
CHORUS
So hold my hand one more time
Turn to me and let me see You smile
Sing to me a love song
As the sunlight fades
One last dance, take it slow
If there’s one thing I oughta know
It’s that loving You
Is the best of every day
We’re walking Home together
Just like always
VERSE 2
Who would’ve thought through all these years
Your love could be so grand
Sweeping me right off my feet
Every time You held my hand
I never found an end to You
I guess I never will
But one fine day I fell in love
And I’m in love still
BRIDGE
Oh, so many goodbyes
Only with You
I thank God that I
Don’t ever have to
Maybe the TT TINTID club isn't such a bad thing after all.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Worst Nebraska Football Game in Half a Century
So there I was, one seat from the very top row, eyes glued to the field, waiting for something amazing to happen, my one and only flaming red Nebraska Huskers T-shirt worn proudly, just like the other 80,000 Husker fans in the stadium. The sight was pretty impressive. For three hours, we were the third largest city in Nebraska. A ball game has to be one of the only places where they can pack that many people in that small of a space and not have the masses revolting for lack of leg room.
The players came jogging out, the crowd cheered, the whistle blew; they even set off a couple firecrackers. Let the game begin! I was on the edge of my seat, staring down at those hundred green yards, explaining to my sister what was going on . . . as if I knew myself!
And then we lost. Not just lost - but badly lost. Embarrassingly lost. 45-14 - and that sounds closer than it actually was. At least I can say that I personally witnessed from beginning to end the worst Nebraska football game in half a century. That’s something, I guess. “The wave” went four entire times around the stadium. That was the most interesting part of the game. Possibly the most impressive too. But I’m not trying to bash Nebraska. I’m trying to talk about victory.
Cause I’ve been thinking a bit - about my life’s purpose. Well, not just mine. But the purpose of every spectator in those stands. What we aim towards and fight for. And what would possess us to give up half our Saturday, pay money, drive for hours, fight downtown Lincoln traffic . . . all to see Nebraska lose. Badly. And then I thought, “If people will go that far to witness defeat, what might they do if the victory was already assured? If a bunch of college students will train that hard and study that long and put that much effort into a game they can’t win, what would they be like if they knew they couldn’t lose?”
Cause the victory is sure. Not in Nebraska football obviously. But in something much more important. Because Jesus lived His entire life sinless, because He died the only perfect man, because He conquered death by coming back to life - because He’s already won the war that we could never win . . . victory is now ours. All we have to do is accept it. In our lives, in our seeking to draw deeper into the Father’s heart, we must never forget this.
I expect these sorts of lessons when I’m working with horses or watching a sunset. But the worst Nebraska football game in half a century? I guess if God can teach me something there, He can teach anywhere. The world is His classroom, and He takes every chance He gets to show us something new and incredible about who He is.
The players came jogging out, the crowd cheered, the whistle blew; they even set off a couple firecrackers. Let the game begin! I was on the edge of my seat, staring down at those hundred green yards, explaining to my sister what was going on . . . as if I knew myself!
And then we lost. Not just lost - but badly lost. Embarrassingly lost. 45-14 - and that sounds closer than it actually was. At least I can say that I personally witnessed from beginning to end the worst Nebraska football game in half a century. That’s something, I guess. “The wave” went four entire times around the stadium. That was the most interesting part of the game. Possibly the most impressive too. But I’m not trying to bash Nebraska. I’m trying to talk about victory.
Cause I’ve been thinking a bit - about my life’s purpose. Well, not just mine. But the purpose of every spectator in those stands. What we aim towards and fight for. And what would possess us to give up half our Saturday, pay money, drive for hours, fight downtown Lincoln traffic . . . all to see Nebraska lose. Badly. And then I thought, “If people will go that far to witness defeat, what might they do if the victory was already assured? If a bunch of college students will train that hard and study that long and put that much effort into a game they can’t win, what would they be like if they knew they couldn’t lose?”
Cause the victory is sure. Not in Nebraska football obviously. But in something much more important. Because Jesus lived His entire life sinless, because He died the only perfect man, because He conquered death by coming back to life - because He’s already won the war that we could never win . . . victory is now ours. All we have to do is accept it. In our lives, in our seeking to draw deeper into the Father’s heart, we must never forget this.
I expect these sorts of lessons when I’m working with horses or watching a sunset. But the worst Nebraska football game in half a century? I guess if God can teach me something there, He can teach anywhere. The world is His classroom, and He takes every chance He gets to show us something new and incredible about who He is.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Shaking Hands with Larry Boy
Okay, so he wasn’t really Larry Boy from Veggie Tales. But I don’t think I would have been any happier to see him if he really was. Some people make your day just by standing there. This is the story of how God used a rather random misunderstanding and Larry Boy (who wasn’t really Larry Boy) to make my day.
On Saturday, I was invited to sing at a “Celebrate Recovery” meeting at the E-Free church. So, I packed up my music binder, made sure all the rubber duckies on my dashboard had their seatbelts on, and drove to the booming metropolis of Grand Island. Arrived at the church two minutes before schedule, which is pretty impressive, being as I’m a Johnson and all. Went to the front door and confidently pulled. Uh-oh. The door was locked. Never one to give up in the face of a challenge, I immediately investigated the strength of my fist. Turns out I am not capable of breaking down a door. “Open sesame” didn’t work either. Tried all nine doors into that church, and they were all nine locked. Well, huh. Oh, and did I mention I’d forgotten my cell phone at home?
Waited around for ten minutes or so, but no one showed up. Discovered around that time that I could use a restroom, so I drove to a nearby park. Walked into the rather eerie-looking facilities, took a glance up at the cobweb-covered ceiling, and began scribbling a mental list of the top ten reasons churches should never lock their doors. Went back to the church to wait around a while longer, and, wouldn’t you know it, somebody finally showed up! Only they didn’t have a key. Neither did the next people. But finally someone came who wasn’t going to have to pick the lock to get us in. I was ready to go.
Only when I started asking, the small group of perfectly nice perfect strangers didn’t seem to know what I was doing there. “So, you’re singing tonight? Oh. Huh.” “We’re just setting up for an ice cream party and a movie afterwards.” “You need a keyboard. Um, I don’t think we have one of those.” Stuff like that. Finally, in desperation, I brought up the name of my contact guy, the man I’d talked to in setting all this up. “Uh, do you know a Larry?”
Enter, Larry Boy from Veggie Tales.
“Larry? Hm. Sounds familiar . . .” Well, five minutes later, we established that, not only did we know the same Larry (who, incidentally, wasn’t a regular attendant at this particular “Celebrate Recovery” meeting), but he was also waiting a bit worriedly for me at the E-Free Church in Hastings. Not the booming metropolis of Grand Island.
Right church name. Wrong town. Don’t ever do that on your wedding day.
Half an hour later (and 1 ½ hours after I was supposed to show up), I pulled into the E-Free church in Hastings, shook hands with Larry and a few others, sat down at the keyboard, and played away. Turned out to be a great meeting. I was able to share several different songs - including the one I had recorded. Signed a few of the CDs afterwards (trying to explain that I really wasn’t that famous), and the first lady whose CD I signed let me keep her pen. That made me smile. Met an old friend of my parents who dropped a $100 bill in my hand. That blew me away. Got home to find another $100 check from the church. I could be a millionaire, and I wouldn’t be any happier.
Not that money is the point. Even shaking hands with Larry (who wasn’t really Larry Boy from Veggie Tales) isn’t what made my day. No, but seeing how God works - how He can take some completely random, potentially frustrating misunderstanding and turn it into something beautiful and hilarious - now that made my day.
On Saturday, I was invited to sing at a “Celebrate Recovery” meeting at the E-Free church. So, I packed up my music binder, made sure all the rubber duckies on my dashboard had their seatbelts on, and drove to the booming metropolis of Grand Island. Arrived at the church two minutes before schedule, which is pretty impressive, being as I’m a Johnson and all. Went to the front door and confidently pulled. Uh-oh. The door was locked. Never one to give up in the face of a challenge, I immediately investigated the strength of my fist. Turns out I am not capable of breaking down a door. “Open sesame” didn’t work either. Tried all nine doors into that church, and they were all nine locked. Well, huh. Oh, and did I mention I’d forgotten my cell phone at home?
Waited around for ten minutes or so, but no one showed up. Discovered around that time that I could use a restroom, so I drove to a nearby park. Walked into the rather eerie-looking facilities, took a glance up at the cobweb-covered ceiling, and began scribbling a mental list of the top ten reasons churches should never lock their doors. Went back to the church to wait around a while longer, and, wouldn’t you know it, somebody finally showed up! Only they didn’t have a key. Neither did the next people. But finally someone came who wasn’t going to have to pick the lock to get us in. I was ready to go.
Only when I started asking, the small group of perfectly nice perfect strangers didn’t seem to know what I was doing there. “So, you’re singing tonight? Oh. Huh.” “We’re just setting up for an ice cream party and a movie afterwards.” “You need a keyboard. Um, I don’t think we have one of those.” Stuff like that. Finally, in desperation, I brought up the name of my contact guy, the man I’d talked to in setting all this up. “Uh, do you know a Larry?”
Enter, Larry Boy from Veggie Tales.
“Larry? Hm. Sounds familiar . . .” Well, five minutes later, we established that, not only did we know the same Larry (who, incidentally, wasn’t a regular attendant at this particular “Celebrate Recovery” meeting), but he was also waiting a bit worriedly for me at the E-Free Church in Hastings. Not the booming metropolis of Grand Island.
Right church name. Wrong town. Don’t ever do that on your wedding day.
Half an hour later (and 1 ½ hours after I was supposed to show up), I pulled into the E-Free church in Hastings, shook hands with Larry and a few others, sat down at the keyboard, and played away. Turned out to be a great meeting. I was able to share several different songs - including the one I had recorded. Signed a few of the CDs afterwards (trying to explain that I really wasn’t that famous), and the first lady whose CD I signed let me keep her pen. That made me smile. Met an old friend of my parents who dropped a $100 bill in my hand. That blew me away. Got home to find another $100 check from the church. I could be a millionaire, and I wouldn’t be any happier.
Not that money is the point. Even shaking hands with Larry (who wasn’t really Larry Boy from Veggie Tales) isn’t what made my day. No, but seeing how God works - how He can take some completely random, potentially frustrating misunderstanding and turn it into something beautiful and hilarious - now that made my day.
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