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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
let's play a little game
When I was in second and third grades, I had a teacher who liked to use Fortunately-Unfortunately Story-Building as a class exercise. So, in honor of Miss M (who is still teaching and now lives right down the street from me; otherwise I might use her whole name), here is
Fortunately, I went to the retreat with my beloved mother and sister-in-law and had a fabulous time and God spoke to me about several Important Things. We went for hikes and it was beautiful and I took some nice, happy pictures.
Unfortunately, I felt rather manipulated by the music much of the time. Maybe it was just me.
Fortunately, there was one song we sang that is now my favorite even though it made me cry every time we sang it:
Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your nameBlessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your nameEvery blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will sayBlessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious nameBlessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your nameBlessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your nameEvery blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will sayBlessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious nameBlessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious nameYou give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
I have a rather -- is it stoic? -- interpretation of that passage of Job (referenced in that last bridge/verse in the song), a passage which many people find perplexing or hard. Not me. To me it means, dude, everything beyond our bare-bones basic existence -- the nakedness with which we came from our mother's wombs -- is an extra -- a bonus -- and if God chooses to give us stuff, awesome. Praise Him. If He gives us some stuff and then he takes it away, well, it was all a bonus anyway, so: awesome. Praise Him. I don't spend a lot of time wrangling with questions like "Why does God let this stuff happen to me?" when I'm in pain. I figure, hey, God let life happen to me, and we live in a fallen world so bad stuff will happen during that life, and I am small and God is big and if the Why matters, then I'll find it out later, and if it doesn't matter, then I won't. Kind of boring, I know. But I love that song, because the idea of praising God through good and bad is a really important, difficult, beautiful idea, and also because it's quite catchy.
Whoo. I digress. I totally strayed from the formula there. Back to it.
Unfortunately... um, can't think of another Unfortunately that fits here. Mom, Debi, and I had two roommates who snored so loudly that we made a trip away from the retreat into town on the second day to buy earplugs? (I don't say that to be mean. Everybody snores sometimes. These people, bless their hearts, just did it very energetically. Whatever your hand finds to do, etc.)
Fortunately, there were the much-anticipated Six Meals No Planning No Cooking No Cleaning.
Unfortunately, I came home just in time to endure two days (and counting) of the worst bout of (I think) food poisoning I've ever had (based on incubation periods and the non-illness of the other people who were there with me, though, I think it was from the salad bar at the Hometown Buffet at which we ate on Thursday, and not the retreat. Or else it's a virus.).
Fortunately, this meant that even though I overate wildly during the 48 hours of the retreat, I now weigh four pounds less than I did on the morning I left. How sick is our skinny-obsessed culture that this makes me want to get food poisoning once a week for the rest of my life? (do not tell me about how all I lost is water weight. I don't want to think about that. Rather, I am happy thinking about the simple fact that The Scale Went Down.)
Unfortunately (sort of), the combination of Very Unhappy Innards and the Very Important Things about which God spoke to me at the retreat has kept me away from the computer almost the entire time I've been home. I am dreadfully behind on my blog-reading.
Fortunately, LT just finished teaching C her math lesson and made me a bed on the couch where I am supposed to lie down and read. Because I feel sick. They are so nice to me.
Comments
I have had that song literally in my head since I have been home.
The trip was wonderful! I miss you! I miss our walks and just doing NOTHING.
What do you mean you were manipulated by that song?
Posted by: debi at September 26, 2006 12:07 PM
Deb, it wasn't specifically that song that felt manipulative; it was the music portions overall. It's just a feature of "worship times" in general, not just at the retreat -- moving from one kind of song (energetic) to another kind (pensive), using repetition to almost hypnotize you, using music to MAKE you feel things. It's not necessarily BAD, it's just, I dunno, a little manipulative.
Posted by: Rachel at September 26, 2006 12:32 PM
ah ok. I understand what you are saying. kind of like they want to make sure every kind of worship song is being used.
Posted by: debi at September 26, 2006 12:55 PM
I re-read your entry like three times to be sure I didn't misunderstand you. (But first, hi! I'm so glad you guys had a great time. I thought about you lots over the weekend. And I'm SO sorry you feel so badly! :( yuck!) But I digress. Are you.... seriously...saying that you guys hadn't heard Blessed Be Your Name before this weekend? That absolutely cannot be possible.
And I will feel so dumb if I've misunderstood you. But...!
That song became popular over *here* nearly the very week a dear friend's 2yo daughter was diagnosed with cancer, so it's always held a sentimental place in our hearts, nevermind the fact that the song is just AWEsome. But, that was four years ago! I know this because Bethany was about to be born. I will just fall out of my chair if you tell me that you have never heard it before. That just seems inconceivable to me (ha ha - almost like Bethany! ;-).
ANYway, sorry for the long comment. I'm just so stunned!
I hope you feel better REALLY soon!!
And hi Debi!! Your baby boy is GORgeous!!
Posted by: Susan at September 26, 2006 08:39 PM
I'd heard it like twice, and never sung it. I think they've sung it at the chapel once or twice but it was while I was in the nursery. I was a bit surprised, but not much, when I found out how old it was, when I went to look it up today. We don't get many of the new songs in our circle. ;-)
It IS an awesome song. Of course it makes me think of Natalie and that whole time, but it also makes me think of my dad, and his cheerful love for Jesus even in the midst of a lot of really miserable physical problems.
SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU SUSAN. my gosh so good. love you.
Posted by: Rachel at September 26, 2006 10:25 PM
I totally get what you mean by Job. I often feel so guilty because I get so sad sometimes when things don't go my way. I totally sit there and intellectualize it as out of my hands - God knows what he's doing, and I don't ever lose faith in Him or think that he's wrong or bad for allowing me to feel pain. But, still, I complain to Him and beg Him to not make the painful SO VERY painful. Anyways, this isn't about me...
That's how I felt when I went to that Oasis church. Totally manipulated. Part of me thinks, well...They didn't make the music to make me feel that way on purpose to lead me through these emotions they want me to feel in order for me to be more susceptible to what they were trying to preach. That I'm just easily influenced by the emotions of music because I love music so much and well, it got to me.
Then I thought perhaps it was for the newbies. Like what better way to attract someone to God than by manipulating them through their emotions with music. So yeah, if that's the case, definitely manipulative.
I've heard people say that the devil uses rock music in the same way. That it is manipulative to get people to be evil without even knowing it. So who knows.
I get what you're saying though. Sorry it took me five hours to say it.
I truly hope you're feeling better (And not just 'cause I miss you) I have had horrible food poisoning before and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And look, there you are!
Posted by: jenn at September 26, 2006 10:26 PM
