Some Days, You Gotta Dance.

Ok, so as of late, I've been a Lenten slacker on updating my blog. I won't make excuses, but I will say that I have NOT been slacking in the youth ministry side of my job, and that has been good. I have been to a retreat, a concert, and had ice-cream and conversation with one youth while on spring break. So, blame it on the kids if you've missed me.

Well, we are over halfway through Lent, and in my part of the country we have had many dreary days that have put myself and others in a somewhat appropriate Lenten funk (you know solemn darkness and all). But today, TODAY, my friends, the sun is shining big time- and I am previewing spring and the blissful feeling of the resurrection. Yes, I'm early, I'm supposed to still be preparing- but its a long wait. So today I celebrate the sunshine and I remind myself that as the Dixie Chicks say, "Some days- you gotta dance. Live it up while you get the chance. When the world doesn't make no sense and you're feelin' just a little too tense, gotta loosen up those chains and dance."

About a month ago on a Sunday after church, David and I went to a restaurant to eat wings. At this restaurant in our town they also have a jukebox. When we got there, we saw a man in his 60's cutting a serious rug to some tunes on the jukebox. It was out of place, it was funny- he was dancing alone. Our waiter told us he does this every once in a while, he's got a playlist of songs- he punches them up and goes to town. He does it for exercise. But I bet its more than that- I bet he does it because some days you have to dance. On one of my favorite shows, "Grey's Anatomy," when one of the main characters has a bad day, sometimes she has to "dance it out," with her best friend.

I believe in dancing it out. I believe there is a time when we have to stop our mourning and start dancing. Some times we have to shake a tail feather, bust a move, and let our bodies dance to the beat. Sometimes, we have to celebrate- no matter how dark what we are going through is, sometimes you have to dance it out.

I leave you with this thought (Psalm 30:11):
"You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,"

I think sometimes God helps us dance it out.