Six Word Saturday

So, Have You Stopped Following Yet?

Really. Honestly. I am so very very (very) sorry. I have fallen behind in both my blogging and my responding to comments. And I love blogging, and I really really (really) love comments. Lo siento! Je suis desole! If I could say it in other languages without having to look it up I would. Because I am sorry.

I guess on the plus side, having regular features like Be My Guest Monday, Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, Fictionary Friday, and the few Six Word Saturdays that I've done, have helped me to keep my blog renewed about every other day, but I just feel so very disconnected when I'm not able to write those in-between posts and answer your questions and read your blogs.

And someone un-followed me today. I practically saw it happen. One minute my dashboard said 73 followers, and now it says 72. Is it really terribly pathetic that I keep track?

Oh well, since this is a blog about finding the extraordinary in all things, I want to do that here. Let's all share, shall we? When is the last time you've felt that blogging was just one thing too much, and what was it that brought you back? Let's have some happy blogging stories. Aaaaaand... go:

Six Word Saturday

The Olympics are Making Me Sick

I hate to say it, I really do. But I am sick. I have been staying up every night for the past two weeks watching speed skating, ice skating, half-pipe, mogals, slolem, biathalon, hockey... you name it, if it's been on NBC in the evenings, I've been watching it.

And my body has finally spoken. And now I'm oozing and coughing. How hot is that? (Although I did have sexy phone voice for a while today, until it just sounded painful)

For those of you who are wondering why a) I haven't posted much lately and b) why the heck I never read your blogs, it is because I've been doing nothing but work, watch the olympics, take naps, and sneeze.

So believe me when I say that I am looking forward to Sunday. I've got a fun weekend planned though, and I'm taking Monday off too, which is probably the smartest decision I made too. Saturday I've got a women's breakfast with my church where I'm doing a craft and a devotional, and then I need to see about finishing my taxes (ok that's not super-fun but I'll be getting a bit of money back so I'm excited about that) and hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep. Sunday I have a meeting before church, then church, then I'm having lunch with some friends and we're going to come back to my place and play with Mary Kay. I'm so excited! Then another friend is coming over to watch the Olympics closing ceremonies. Then on Monday I have my midterms for VLI (a post-graduate-level leadership class I take). So busy busy but at least I can sleep in Monday since I have nothing else planned. I am sooooo excited about that. :)

Well, that's all I have to write about--my lack of sleep and the fun (hopefully) things that I WILL be doing. Here's hoping that next week I'll have something more exciting. But I do have Be My Guest Monday coming up, so never fear, you will actually get an extraordinary post in the next few days. :)

Six Word Saturday

Thursday: The Five Hour Cleaning Project

My evening in Tweets:

• The Five-Hour Cleaning project commences now. I will tweet as I clean, so I can keep myself accountable to what I'm actually doing.
• 4:58 Cleaning needs sustinance. Putting frozen pizza in the oven. Will put away clean dishes and random groceries that never left the table.
• 5:48 Pizza is cooked and eaten. Dishes are put away and cat is working on cleaning the one I put the pizza on. :)
• 6:42 have just finished scrubbing kitchen floor on hands and knees. Is it perfect? No. Is it good enough for now? Yes. Kitchen Done.
• 6:42 Just realized that if hadn't taken off work early would only just now possibly be getting home.
• 7:08 Made a phone call about a project I'm doing. Good progress, he's on board.
• 7:19 Just made Phone Call #2. Why is it that all of my calls are happening on the day when my phone cracked and I shouldn't be using it?
• 7:40 Left a voice message and sent two very important emails. Why am I suddenly so busy? I wish I only had to work 6 hour days all the time.
• 7:55 Just updated my blog post for tomorrow. Glad to have that out of the way. Ok, time to do more things that requrie movement.
• 8:30 Have successfully procured an empty washing machine. Took a few minutes to read and have now forgotten when wash went in.
• 8:45 Did a garbage run, walked into laundry room and washer stopped. Success!
• 8:45 FYI January temperatures + Un-controllable radiator heat + living on the top floor + have all lights on to clean = 85 degree apartment.
• 10:08 Took a twitter break there. Working on cleaning out the email inbox. Also had a chat with the person I left a message for. Lots done.
• 1:04 am. OK, kinda gave up on cleaning the apt but still working on inbox. Oh well, got a good amount done. And yay for clean undies.
• 1:05am btw... dude, whatever happened to going to bed at 10pm? *sigh*

Well, there you have it. That was my night. I've gotta say, I did get a lot done, even if it may not look like it. I might need to do another 5-hour cleaning project tonight though, at least if I don't want my Valentine's guests to have to look at the piles of stuff in my living room. (That's what bedrooms are for) :)

Six Word Saturday

Julie & Julia: Please, Me Next!

Ok, before I say anything else about my Six Word Saturday, I feel that I must put another link to my 100th post, where I have my first Giveaway!

Alrighty, so I'm sitting here at 2:52 in the morning, watching Julie & Julia and blogging, instead of doing something productive like, you know, sleeping.

Four days of working late and no sleep later, I'm watching the scene where she has an utter breakdown on the kitchen floor, just as that guy from the Christian Science Monitor calls, wanting to do an interview. And I feel as though I'm at that stage where I'm broken down on the floor. (Only it would take a really terrible breakdown for me to willingly sit on that floor.)

But the hope I get from that is the fact that she did get a breakthrough moment. Just when things were the worst they could ever be, when Julie was covered in stuffing and raw chicken, sobbing on the floor, she got a phone call, a call that gave her hope, that renewed her sense of purpose, and strengthened her resolve.

And if you've seen the movie, you'll know that the interview didn't quite turn out the way that she was expecting. She was hoping for a book deal (aren't we all), and it didn't quite happen. Well, at least not then. (I mean hello, this is a movie based on a true story. Clearly something turned out right for Julie in the end.)

So perhaps I'm still just in the kitchen. Maybe I haven't even dropped the chicken yet (oh God please say that isn't so). But perhaps I'm still just waiting for my phone call.

I'm just sitting here on the floor (metaphorically), waiting for my breakthrough, my Julie & Julia moment.

Bring it on.

Six Word Saturday

Singing at Church Sunday: Rather Nervous!!!

The Worship Ministry at my church includes all vocalists, musicians, sound and A/V team members. As such, I have been on the worship team for a few years.

But all of that has been at the back of the church in the sound booth, sitting behind a computer.

On Sunday, I'm going to be at the front of the church behind a microphone, with about 75 pairs of eyes on me. Yikes!!!

Technically, I'm only singing one song, the communion song.

Somehow that's not making me feel much better. Why? Because even though people will be filing down the aisles and gettig their communion and praying and stuff, still it's just going to be me and the backup vocalist up there! And yeah, she's the backup. Wow. I sooo can't believe I'm actually leading a song. I mean really, that's what I'm doing. I'm leading people in worship for this one song, the song during which people are communing with God before they take communion.

I am not making myself feel any less nervous.

Part of my nervousness is that I've not led a song before, haven't stood and said ok, this is how I want the keys and percussion to sound, this is the key I want to sing it in, etc. And of course, I don't really know. I mean, I can hear it in my head, but it comes out differently when I actually sing it. And since I don't play piano and can't tap out the rhythm I want to hear while I sing without messing myself up, I'm gonna be going into practice today feeling somewhat unprepared.

I know, I know, it'll be ok. But please send prayers and happy thoughts my way as you read this, would you?

Because here's the thing. I go to a church that does modern worship songs. And I love it. But a few people think that "Christmas Carols" are too worn out, too cliché to be used on Sunday morning.

I think these people should be wrapped in tissue paper until they submit are missing something very important, however, and this is very specifically why I have chosen O Come O Come, Emmanuel as my song. Not only because it's a hymnal song (written originally in Latin no less) but it's an Advent song, a song for the coming of Christ.

When these songs were written, they were modern worship songs! They were full of passion and joy and expectation, and celebration. This is the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, our Savior, our Messiah, the One who died and went to HELL for 3 days so that we would never ever ever ever have to experience one second apart from God.

Hello!!! It came upon a midnight clear, on a silent night: angels we have heard on high, singing o come, o come Emmanuel, Gloria in Exelsius Deo!

Forget the fact that people all over the world sing these songs just because everyone sings them. Listen to the heart behind them, imagine the joy, the exultation, the triumphant celebration in Heaven when Jesus God came down onto the earth to restore humanity to Himself. And He came as one of us, to be the humanity we should aspire to become; to be sin replacing our sin, to be the sacrifce we should be forced to give.

And when you sing these words, sing them from your heart. Sing them to your Savior, and sing them to yourself, and this time really listen to what it is you're saying. Because after all, aren't we all waiting for our Salvation to be lived out? Don't we all ardently desire God to come among us, and don't we rejoice when He does?

O come, o come Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel.
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Has come to thee, o Israel.