speechless

I don't even know what to say about last night.  It was amazing on so many levels.  The first being that a large group from that very church had been to Isreal in March and my sister was their teacher and guide while they were there.  How ironic is that?  I had so many women come up to me to tell me how much they loved my sister and what an incredible teacher she is, that I felt like I was in a room full of friends.

These past few months getting ready for last night have been tough and life changing in many ways for me.  I would do it all again in a hearbeat - it was totally worth it.  I have so much to say, but at the same time, I'm utterly speechless.

I just feel so honored to have been a part of something God was doing in the lives of many of those women.  I wanted to throw up all day, but I got on that stage and the peace of God just flowed all through me.  IT WAS SOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!  

I do have to tell a hysterical story.  I'm sure it struck me as hysterical because I had so much adrenaline pulsing through me when it happened that I was barely sitting still in my chair.  First of all, two very sweet ladies from the church choir were in the middle of their rendition of Amazing Grace when I decided to go ahead and turn on my boy-band mic (which I was earlier told I could leave on because it was muted, but I had turned off in the bathroom because I don't always trust technical people, and having a room full of nice Methodist women listening to me go potty was NOT on my agenda for the night).  Anyways, I thought it was safe to go ahead and turn it on and as soon as I did the LOUDEST screeching noise I've ever heard came out of the speakers.  The over 70 crowd was on their knees holding their ears with all the hearing aids going crazy.  It was BAD!!  My mom was like, "It's you, it's you!".  So I quickly turned it off and played it off like you just can't trust those technical people.  I'm not sure the sweet ladies ever did get back on track with the song after that, but they had an incredible attitude about it!  

Then, my friend, who got me into this whole thing in the first place and was the MC for the night, got up on stage following a funny movie clip.  It's the clip from Fried Green Tomatoes where Kathy Bate's character rams her car into the young girl's car after they stole her parking spot.  That was where the clip was supposed to end.  It didn't.  She's up there ready to introduce me, and the movie is still going.......on full speaker volume.......when in the next scene Kathy Bate's character says something along the lines of "I don't put of with (insert 4 letter word that starts with SH and ends with a T").  Again, the over 70 crowd was on their knees, but for an entirely different reason.  My friend was MORTIFIED making a cut, cut motion with her hand to the tech person (I told you they are untrustworthy) and I'm sitting there hysterical because I know at that moment, that I'm going to be ok.  It was priceless!

I don't think I have stopped thanking God once since last night for asking me to do this and sticking with me until I decided to be obedient.  For giving me the incredible privilege of speaking His word to those women.  For the grace to allow me to get through it all with confidence and for giving me peace.  

It's an incredible thing to be used by God.  I highly recommend it to anyone!