Hillsong United

Thanks to the unmerited favor that has characterized our lives recently, Josh and I ended up going to see Hillsong last night ... FOR FREE! (Thanks for canceling, Miles and Jen!) People around here have been talking about it for weeks, so I jumped on the chance to go. But more than I wanted to go for me, I wanted to go for Josh. He NEVER gets to just worship, to sit in a seat and connect with God without working at the same time. It is truly a treasure for me to get to sit next to him, to hear his steady voice, and to occasionally rest my head on his shoulder.

Just a couple thoughts from the night:
1. I love my husband. It was fun to see his eyes wide as he watched all of the crazy lighting ... he looked like a kid in a candy store. I think I have only ever seen that face when a giant plate of wings is placed in front of him. But last night, his gaze was also tinged with intense concentration as he studied his art. I love his worship heart.
2. I have heard a lot of people criticize Sunday-morning worship at 12Stone for being too "produced" ... and I am not hating on those people, because that was my very own first impression. And if there was ever an over-produced worship environment, it is a Hillsong concert. But God has made it so clear to me that worship is all about posture ... and I can come with criticism or with praise (Side note: this is just as true of sermons ... approach with humility as a learner, and you will learn. Approach as an expert, and you will critique -- unconstructively). And, my first Sunday at 12stone (in the midst of an internal rant to God about how ridiculous the production was), he gave me a vision. I saw the roof of the worship center lifted away, created an unhindered space for the lights/sound/song offering to reach the ears and heart of Jesus. And I got a fresh taste of that last night.
3. Focus has never been my strong suit (just ask any of my friends from college who ever tried to study in the library with me). And that has always been fairly true of me in worship as well. I used to lament this fact, thinking that I was half-heartedly approaching the God who deserves all of me. But my focus doesn't necessarily drift away from God, just away from the song. A word or a thought will capture me, and I can simultaneously sing a familiar song while chasing a thought trail in my mind. And I think God is honored by the way that lyrics make me think new and fresh thoughts, or mediate on old and familiar truths.

Side note:
This morning, I made myself some eggs for breakfast. About 15 min later, I smelled something funny coming from the kitchen while I was in the other room doing my make-up. I walked in and realized that I never turned the burner off -- and my spatula had melted into a pool of plastic in the pan. I couldn't stop laughing ... who else would do something like that? When I was leaving my endocrinologist appointment today, I got a text from Josh that just said "I love you." Guess what he had found?