Relief and Excitement

Well friends, Shannon and I survived last night!! CARTS was definitely a success and it ended up being a great outreach event too. Since it is done in public a lot of people are walking in and out and it was also made into a passport event for the health classes so students could get credit towards an assignment for coming. I was shocked by the number of people there. All the performances were so moving and you could tell how much time and effort went into all of them. It is so cool to see the different gifts and talents that the Lord has blessed people with.

I always forget how much different performing is from just practicing. Practicing I am so confident and into it, and then the second I get on stage I freak. It was my first time doing something like this in a long time so I had forgotten the ways that my body handles pressure! It felt as though a 100 lbs. weight was weighing on my chest and my knees and hands were shaking uncontrollably! But, with God's goodness and strength I prevailed and was still able to sing successfully.

I also felt so lifted up and loved my all of the friends cheering for us and supporting us, it really made such a difference. A great encouragement from the night was a friend saying that sometimes when two people sing together, while they may both have great voices, it doesn't always blend well. She went on to say that Shannon and I blended well and that our voices just "went together so nicely". That made me smile. I definitely feel like putting ourselves through this brought me and Shannon closer and it was great to see how we could support each other and encourage each other through this!

After another hour of nannying, I will be scurrying around this afternoon to get things ready before leaving at 2:30 for Cru Women's Retreat. I am so excited for the chance to bond more with the women and to see all that I will be learning. Because I am a part of the team planning the retreat, I know all about the talks that will be taking place and the girls giving the talks. The senior women are the ones who do the speaking, but there will be a variety taking place. The theme of the weekend is 1 Peter 5:7. It should be exciting.