Ridgecrest Music Week 2012 Day Three

Today I had a little bit of a different focus in my classes.  I decided to go more towards the children's track this morning, taking two classes that deal specifically with older children's choir:  Let's Play and Calm the Chaos.  The first class dealt with creative ways to use instruments with children's choirs.  I got some good ideas for boom-whackers specifically, and some neat ideas for making your own stomp instruments.  The other session dealt with maintaining order in your class, and it was very helpful too.  I picked up some new ideas for recording attendance and incentives.

The music in worship today was extremely good, with a very inspiring choir anthem, and congregational version of "Your Great Name."  The message today dealt with our mandate to train and inspire younger leaders through mentoring.  It also dealt with how to keep a positive attitude through the hurdles of the aging process of life, and still be usable by God, especially in passing on wisdom to future generations.

The afternoon brought another reading session, and sadly this one did not offer really anything that I thought would be useful.  There were many anthems by Word Music in this session, who usually bring a lot to the table, but not this year.  It was sad, really.

I usually try to head up to the prayer garden for some time with God, but a pop-up rainstorm culled my plans.  Instead, I hung out in one of the cozy lodges in Mt. Laurel and enjoyed looking at the beautiful views of the campus and a good conversation with one of the volunteer ladies who I have seen here in years past.  I also spent some time re-reading the book of Ruth, and really enjoyed these moments.  One of the things that I think God reminded me of in this passage were about how valuable loyalty is.  Ruth stayed loyal to both God and her mother-in-law Naomi, and was rewarded by God through a relationship with Boaz.  This passage from Chapter 2 was really touching:

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. ¹² May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

It also reminded me about how during times in our lives where the Lord plants us in a new place, that we should strive to be faithful, loyal, loving, and servant-hearted toward those that surround us, despite our differences.

Tonight, as has been the tradition of the past few music weeks, they have been premiering a new Christian movie.  This year it is one called "Unconditional," and it looks pretty intense by the trailer.  After supper, we'll be heading that way.  http://unconditionalthemovie.com/


After tonight, just one more full day of classes!