Preparing for big programs is always a little stressful, but I love the last few days of the process. If things have been done well, then these days are more fun than anything else. This week was truly so.

Monday morning the Elementary and Middle School music students gathered at the HS sanctionasium to rehearse for their annual Christmas Program. The rehearsal went well on the walk-through side, but we discovered we had not allowed enough time for our technician. When rehearsal ended I felt we still needed a complete run through, and was feeling nervous about the evening—the “what if” knot in my stomach was beginning to tighten.

That evening I arrived early to just spend a few moments in the room, reflecting on the objectives for the evening, and soon very energized students began to enter the building-- their excitement stirring the air. I made my way to the 7 and 8th grade green room and quickly warmed up the students, giving them a last minute pep talk before the performance was to begin, then moved to the 6th grade room to do the same.

A few minutes later I was just taking my seat as the Welcome began. Looking around I was amazed at the size of the audience-- the room was packed. The Combined 6th-12th grade band played the opening song and we were off and running. The concert went remarkably well, with just a couple of bumps. The children sang sweetly and the bands played well. It was great to see them stand tall and sing with skill, and to see the band students intently lifting their instruments and fixing their director in their sights. It was a very good night.

Tuesday morning was full of teaching and that night was the final rehearsal for the RTS Christmas Concert. The strings and organ were going to meet with us early on the night of the concert, so we ran all the numbers with just the choir, piano, and a substitute organist. It went smoothly, and we had time to iron out a few places in the music that were troublesome. Steve Brown read the Scripture passages and I could see the impact those beautiful words were having on the choir. Over the past two months we had prayed together as a group that the Lord would use this program to glorify himself and to reach the unchanged heart. Steve’s delivery was so well spoken that my heart surged with joy. The rehearsal went very well, and I prayed that the choir would adjust quickly to the strings and organ on Thursday night.

Wednesday night was rehearsal with the church’s worship team. These rehearsals are some of the funniest nights of my week throughout the year. Put Kyle, Reggie, and our team in the same room and pretty much all you do is laugh.

Thursday night came quickly. We met with the instrumentalists at 4:30 to run through the music. I slipped and fell on the risers just before they got there and hit my hand pretty hard on one of the metal chairs. I soon forgot about it as we moved through our pieces. The choir arrived soon after and we ran through a few pieces to make sure all the parts were working well together.

The program went very well. Reggie gave a warm and thoughtful welcome, the choir gave their all and sang with passion, the soloists sang beautifully, and Steve delivered the Scripture and Homily with dignity and humility. Reggie gave a moving Benediction, and I knew the Lord had answered our prayers.

Today (Friday) I had my hand x-rayed and found out that my ring finger was fractured. Ha! I knew that beat three in every song was just a little bit painful…