Afternoon at Cross Training Academy

Wow. What an afternoon I had. I haven't been this excited in awhile. Yesterday a friend of mine invited me to come and lead worship at the school where she is principal. This K4-3rd grade school is at the Rescue Mission and is new just this school year. Due to conferences they were going to have the last hour and 15 minutes free and she decided to break the kids down into two groups. One activity would be a craft and story and the other would be worship. She knows from Elmbrook that I lead worship and used to each week for kids. I of course jumped on this opportunity because I love ANYTHING to do with the city and pretty much ANYTHING to do with worship. So today they let me leave early so that I could go and lead worship.

I can't even begin to explain the joy this gave me. What a gift. It really reminded me how unfulfilled I am in my current job. I am grateful to my bosses for giving me the time to get my "ministry" fix in the middle of my work day. For some who may be interested---I'll give a little play by play.

The kids were all peeking out of the classrooms as I walked by. Some giggling, some waving...all being ushered back into the rooms by their teachers. My friend Jan led me to the office to put my stuff up and then before showing me to the room where I'd be had to take two calls, find a little girl who'd wet herself some clothes, signed off on a disciplinary action and redirected Elijah--a little boy who had to stay with her for the rest of the day because of his poor behavior so far that day. In the room I kind of arranged the rug, CD player and chairs how I needed them and assured her that I would be just fine by myself. She had instructed one of the teachers, Will to be there for me if I needed him.
First the K4 and K5 kids came in. Oh I love that age. We talked about worship. When I asked them if they knew what worship was all the hands went up (they always do at this age...lol) The answers varied from, "God is good!" to "The Devil is ugly and mean" I love it. I wish I would have had a video camera and been able to take this back to Elmbrook to show people that inner city kids are so much the same as suburban kids. Their responses were the same. They LOVED to sing and dance. Some of the kids were cheerful and silly; some had long faces full of pain and concern. The same was true of the 1st thru 3rd graders. They laughed and danced and worshipped. We talked about how singing to God is different than singing a song to "perform" It doesn't matter who else is singing, it doesn't matter if you know all of the words, it doesn't matter if you're out of tune. God hears you as an angel. When you lift your voice in praise, with your heart full of adoration---you will sound AMAZING! And they did.
I miss the city. I've said it before---but it's so true. Jan got me signed on to do a chapel service in December. I can't wait. I'm so thankful that God brought me there today and that I'll get to go back!

On a totally different note. I need some prayer. Tomorrow after the soccer game we are having a parents meeting. I am giving my opinion here. I am feeling really uncomfortable about it and I am not even sure why. I guess partly because when Marlon asked why we were having it he wasn't really given a clear answer. It's very possible that Kim (who called him) isn't sure why we're having it either. But SOMEONE had to have decided to have it. I guess I also don't like the idea of having it at the soccer park where there will be a ton of people around, as well as the boys. I think that is poor planning. Initially, I was not going to attend. Quite honestly, my life is very full and spending an hour hashing over dumb soccer stuff is not something that I put a lot of value in. However, the elusiveness of why we are having this meeting and who initially planned it intrigues me. I also think it could turn into a BIG gossip session and I will make sure it does not. Believe that. Seriously. Believe that.
Here is where I am at and with God's help I hope I can keep my cool to get this across. We're all entitled to our opinions right? Simply because I try to align mine with God's doesn't make it less valid. Getting this out now, might help me say it without anger, frustration or irritation tomorrow....
Personally, Isaiah loves soccer. He has a great coach. I am not a soccer player. I am not a soccer expert. I have faith that my coach knows more than I. I would not have put my child on a team where I didn't trust the coach. I do not trust the other parents opinions more than the coaches. I think there are some people on our team who do not trust our coach. That is unfortunate. They should have planned better and made different choices. I do not want our team to suffer because of it. Sometimes coaching is tough. I was a coaches wife so I know ALL about that. Parents are the WORST part of the game. They feel because they pay a lot of money they should get some say. Bull. I say you pay a lot of money to have a high caliber coach who KNOWS what he's doing. We have a lot of great players on our team. I do not think we have a lot of hard workers on our team. I include my own son in that sometimes. There is no one kid on our team that is such a star he can win it alone. There is no kid who is so horrible that he could lose a game all alone. We are playing at an intense level. The kids have to give 100% at all times. If they don't-they deserve to get yelled at. If they don't listen to the coach-they deserve to get yelled at. We've actually told Troy and Shawn they can ride Isaiah harder if they need to. As long as there's no cursing--it's all good. As parents, I think the best thing we can do is STAY OUT OF THE WAY AND LET THE BOYS AND COACHES GEL AND MESH AND PLAY AND LEARN AND TEACH and that is going to lead to a quality team. We are there to encourage them, hug them when they lose, remind them to give their ALL no matter what, help them process what they are learning. If you wanna coach---then start a team. If you wanna win---then join a team. Otherwise, as a parent, sit back--enjoy the game--sometimes bite your nails..lol--and remember IT'S JUST SOCCER.
Whew. That felt good. But keep praying regardless for tomorrow. Thanks!!