Three Cheers
She came home from school one day filled with excitement and nervous energy all rolled into one.
“Mama, I’ve signed up for the Lip Sync Battle at school!” my 11 year old daughter exclaimed.
I congratulated her and made a point to really encourage her on this. I know she gets a little anxiety about putting herself out there like that, but I am so proud of her not letting this hold her back from something she really wants to participate in!
My daughter and two of her very best friends picked a song that they wanted to do; Hoedown Throw Down by Hannah Montana. My daughter asked for my help with the choreograph for the song even though the video had some movements that they could have just copied. I really liked how my daughter wanted to make her own movements, and I thought it added so much more to their performance.
She and her friends practiced at school as much as they could, and I caught glimpses of my daughter practicing at home, in the car, and even at the grocery store. She was so into this and wanted to do a good job. She would get embarrassed when she realized I was watching, and she would stop. I wondered how this would go on the actual day of the Lip Sync Battle. I told her that she was doing a great job and just needed to give it all she’s got. Dance like no one was watching. Just get into it because she had this! She practiced so much that she knew every word to the song and every movement flowed!
I asked her one evening what she and the other girls were going to wear for their performance. She just sat there as if in deep thought, so I suggested that they wear plaid shirts like we wear when we go horseback riding from time to time. Her eyes brightened and grew wider as she almost jumped from her chair as she said, “And we can get cowboy hats, too!” Oh yes, she was all into it now! Having just purchased a cheap cowboy hat for my husband from Party City for a New Year’s Eve party, we knew where to go to get two more for the other girls! Her friends were so excited when she told them the next day at school! The girls didn’t all have plaid shirts, though, so they worried over that until I told them that they could just use my shirts. I had plenty! They literally jumped up and down with excitement when my daughter told them that we had the costumes covered. All they had to do was supply the boots. They said they could handle that part, so their costumes were now complete! That was one less thing for them to worry over.
After much anticipation, the day of the Lip Sync Battle arrived. I walked into the school with my daughter that Monday morning with shirts and hats in hand. My daughter sat nervously at her desk in the classroom as she waited for her friends to arrive. The clock ticked slowly with the hands hardly moving it seemed. I told her it was going to be just fine. Her friends would be there! And sure enough, a few minutes before the bell sounded, her friends walked into the classroom. My daughter melted at her seat for a second before she jumped up and hugged her friends exclaiming, “Thank GOD you’re HERE!”
I began slipping the plaid shirts over what they were wearing, fixing their boots so they could be seen, and placed the black cowboy hats on their heads. They were all set!
Before they went on, I told the girls that no matter what happens KEEP GOING! If you mess up, don’t make it noticeable at all. Just keep the movements flowing and moving right along. Keep dancing!
AND … they did!
Little did we realize that, as they kicked off the Lip Sync Battle, the music would fail on the sound system! Oh no! The girls were absolutely amazing, though, as they did exactly what I said and THEY KEPT GOING! With barely any sound coming out of the speakers, they danced right along and sang the words enough to get them through the performance. The audience realized what happened with the sound, and although a few laughed at first, they were amazed when the girls just kept going and doing their thing! I was BEAMING with pride as I watched those girls on stage! They worked hard, and this moment in time was not going to be ruined by speakers that failed to work.
As they exited the stage at the end of their performance, everyone began cheering for them. Some even commented that they couldn’t believe they kept going! I was sitting in the very front watching it all unfold, and I believe I may have been one of the loudest when I cheered for them!
My pride and joy strutted her stuff on stage with her friends!
The show went on, and the sound was fixed for the next song. The girls were all worried that they embarrassed themselves, but I assured them that they actually did the opposite! They amazed the audience when they did not give up or stop midway through the performance due to the lack of sound!
After a few songs played and the other students got a chance to perform, one of the teachers came over to us. He apologized for the issue with the sound but said the girls would get a chance to do it again now that the sound was fixed. Woo Hoo!! The three girls held hands and were smiling all over themselves for this opportunity! And sure enough, an announcement was made for the judges to disregard the opening act with the sound issues as they were closing out the Lip Sync Battle with their performance once again!
These three little girls were amazing to watch on stage!
The crowd cheered, and there I was once again beaming with pride!
Decision time was among us, and the judges gathered to tally their votes. Then the elimination started on stage. It came down to my daughter’s team and another team. They huddled together, fingers crossed, and their lips mouthing, “Please … please … please” as they waited in great anticipation for the results. The winner was announced, and by ONE POINT the other team won! Ugh!! Disappointment washed over my daughter and her friends, but I immediately joined them when they returned to their seats. I made a special point to let them all know how hard they worked, how it showed, and how incredibly proud I was of all three of them! They were in second place! That’s not too shabby considering there were at least 10 to 12 acts performing that day!
After they returned to their classroom, I went to get them a little something for their hard work. Coming back into the school with gift bags, their faces lit up once more. They were disappointed for a moment but quickly got over that when they focused on how good they did! It helped when others complimented them as well.
My heart still swells with pride every time I watch the video, and I’d like to share it with you now. Click here for the video I posted on Facebook.
Three cheers for these incredible girls!
Marriage Survey
Let’s face it. Marriage is hard work. Honestly, the struggle is real in a LOT of marriages these days. But, take heart. There is hope!
Focus On The Family has been helping families and marriages for many, many years. Now is no different as they have a marriage survey for you to take where it will reveal the strong points in your marriage first. Then, it will reveal the items it feels you are weaker in resulting from your answers to their questions. They go a step further, though, and provide information on how to improve in those areas. There are books recommended as a resource to get you headed in the right direction. The ultimate book is God’s Word, though!
I took the survey just a little bit ago, and I was pleased with the strong points in my marriage such as having a commitment to each other, spending quality time together, and intimacy between us. Where we struggle is, honestly, in the spiritual department and with not surrounding ourselves with couples in our community for a source of support. We lean heavily on each other, and to me, that isn’t a bad thing at all. But, the survey did suggest that we needed more outside support within our community. We did try this a few years ago with a small group at our church. When we were having some issues two years ago, though, it seemed to do more harm than good when we reached out to those around us. The more people that got involved, the worse it was! Opinions from others were flying back and forth on both sides with a great number suggesting that we go against what our hearts wanted: each other! We believed in our marriage even when those on the outside did not, and we did NOT give up on our marriage nor each other!
Spiritually, we have a ways to go. The husband is the head of the house and the leader, and I believe my husband desires to do good in this area. He wasn’t really raised being involved in the church or having a relationship with Christ like we’ve both realized we needed all of this time. He gave his life to the Lord a few years into our marriage, praise the Lord for that! However, I think he feels he isn’t equipped to lead us spiritually. I strongly disagree. While I have heard the saying about being a baby in your spiritual walk still drinking milk, as he grows in his faith he will become more comfortable in that leading role. Once he grows and matures as a Christian, he will walk confidentially as the head of our house and the spiritual leader for our family.
The survey did not really reveal anything earth shattering that we didn’t already know we needed to work on, but it was interesting to participate in the survey. I enjoyed reading the results and seeing the recommendations as far as reading material to help bridge the gap of where we are and where we’d like to be spiritually. I really did appreciate the resources listed and plan to check them out.
If you have five minutes, would you consider taking the survey, answering the questions honestly and then taking action on the areas you may be weak on in your marriage? If so, please click here to take you to the Focus On The Family Marriage Survey.
I’d like to see everyone’s marriages improve so that you’re close in all areas: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. It can happen!
Marriage isn’t just 50/50 as a lot of people like to say. It takes both of you going above and beyond to make your marriage soar to new heights. You CAN keep the fire burning in your marriage.
Even if there have been issues in your marriage previously where you felt like a wedge was driven between you and your spouse, God can heal your marriage if you turn to Him. We are living proof of it as we are closer now than we have ever been in our entire marriage! Two years ago, honestly, we were not sure that would be possible. We give God all the praise, honor, and glory for this because HE turned the problems we had into stepping stones to a love beyond our wildest dreams. We know for a fact that HE is able, if you trust in Him and turn your lives and marriage over to Him.
So what are you waiting for? Take the marriage survey, discuss the results, and join together to utilize the resources they recommend to improve your marriage. No, I am not receiving any commission or any blogger perks for recommending Focus On The Family, their survey, or the resources offered. I simply love what Focus On The Family is all about and wanted to share with others who may be interested.
Here’s to living, loving, and enjoying life together with your spouse!
From Light to Deep Sleep Using Essential Oils
I have always been a very light sleeper. Anything that sounds out of the ordinary at night and I wake up. It got to be so bad that I would use something like a fan, soft music or ocean wave sounds to help block out the odd sounds that would wake me up at night. That all changed when I was introduced to essential oils.
I had read about oils several years ago, but I never tried them. Then my wonderful massage therapist, Gina Westlake, mentioned that she was selling oils though Young Living. Since Gina has helped me a lot with my neck and shoulder issues, I trusted her recommendation enough to give them a try. So I signed up and bought a kit and a diffuser. It has been one of the best things I have done lately.
I started out using Frankincense in the diffuser while I meditated. I have been meditating for many years. My usual routine is to meditate with some soft music playing, such as Jim Brickman’s Soothe CD ( #soothe ), right before I go to bed to calm my mind in hopes of sleeping better. I set the diffuser near me and the scent of the Frankincense helps me achieve a deep state of relaxation faster and more often than what I would normally. So I decided to experiment a bit and use the diffuser at night while I sleep. I tried a couple of oils like lavender and I did notice a bit of a difference.
Gina made a post in our Facebook group, “Good morning! There are a LOT of oils that will support a good night’s sleep. This trio (Valor, Lavender & Envision) has been my go-to the last few days (a couple drops of each on my feet before bed) and I have been sleeping GREAT. Seriously like knocked-out-great, which is unusual for me. What oils have worked for you?”
One of the members replied that she used a combination of lavender and lemon. Since I had those two, I decided to give it a try. The lavender and lemon combination works great for me. I still wake up one or two times a night, but I am sleeping deep and feeling more rested than I have in a long time. I wish I would have known about this a long time ago.
If you have ever thought about trying essential oils, we would like to give you a chance to try them out. We have put together a little essential oils starter kit giveaway. Our starter kit includes:
A diffuser
A bottle of Young Living Lavender oil
4 oil samplers: Lemon, Peppermint, Peace & Calming, and Thieves
An Essential Oils pocket guide
A Young Living product guide
