Today is the day of the big ballet recital. Of course, before doing that, we had to do a little operating. This morning, we looked at the state of the heart with a modified skit I posted yesterday. It was a chance for us to wear scrubs and look like doctors. Like the Muppet skit, we would be the last place you'd want to go if you were sick! this morning was dedicated to Zebulon, the latest Tribe in our series.
An Undivided Heart
The Tribe of Zebulun had a heart for God. Their very name means “to dwell with,” and history shows that they were a people that invited God to dwell in their hearts.
In fact, the Bible says they served God with an undivided heart, following King David with devoted service. Not every Tribe was on board with this idea, but Zebulun was completely committed to serving.
Service is just one way to show our heart for God. We show our hearts when we help others, especially those leaders at church who have a call on their lives. You see, the Tribe of Zebulun recognized that King David was a man of God, and didn’t hold back: they used their skill to support him, and showed their undivided heart.
And that’s just part of this Tribe’s good record. Years earlier, they heard the call of the Prophetess Deborah, who needed a lot of help saving Israel. Not many Tribes were interested in showing up though. But Zebulun didn’t think of themselves at all, and even outnumbered, they bravely went to battle, following God’s commands.
With all these victories, you’d think there’d be some pride involved. But when God is dwelling in your heart, there’s also humility. Many years afterwards, Israel was deep in sin – and its King Hezekiah wanted to restore the heart of Israel, and welcome God’s presence back into their lives. Much of the people mocked him for it, but the Tribe of Zebulun remained faithful, humbling themselves before God.
Will you humble yourself? Will you allow God to dwell within your heart? Ask yourself these questions: Where is your heart? Where is your service? And where is your humility? If you answer as the Tribe of Zebulun did, then you will be blessed and highly favored. No question about it: God will be extremely pleased with your undivided heart.
The Tribe of Zebulun had a heart for God. Their very name means “to dwell with,” and history shows that they were a people that invited God to dwell in their hearts.
In fact, the Bible says they served God with an undivided heart, following King David with devoted service. Not every Tribe was on board with this idea, but Zebulun was completely committed to serving.
Service is just one way to show our heart for God. We show our hearts when we help others, especially those leaders at church who have a call on their lives. You see, the Tribe of Zebulun recognized that King David was a man of God, and didn’t hold back: they used their skill to support him, and showed their undivided heart.
And that’s just part of this Tribe’s good record. Years earlier, they heard the call of the Prophetess Deborah, who needed a lot of help saving Israel. Not many Tribes were interested in showing up though. But Zebulun didn’t think of themselves at all, and even outnumbered, they bravely went to battle, following God’s commands.
With all these victories, you’d think there’d be some pride involved. But when God is dwelling in your heart, there’s also humility. Many years afterwards, Israel was deep in sin – and its King Hezekiah wanted to restore the heart of Israel, and welcome God’s presence back into their lives. Much of the people mocked him for it, but the Tribe of Zebulun remained faithful, humbling themselves before God.
Will you humble yourself? Will you allow God to dwell within your heart? Ask yourself these questions: Where is your heart? Where is your service? And where is your humility? If you answer as the Tribe of Zebulun did, then you will be blessed and highly favored. No question about it: God will be extremely pleased with your undivided heart.
Madison learned about this one Tribe this morning, and of course had her usual fun with the different cast members, running around and chasing each other. Immediately after service though, it was time to get home and get ready: the recital was later, which means make-up and hair and costuming and preparing... Daddy stayed at church to do a bit, while Madison and Mommy went home to get ready for a big performance!
The ballet recital started at 5:30, although Mommy and Daddy arrived much earlier than that. Madison met her classmates in "the Black room," while Daddy snuck over to get some roses for Madison, to hand her after the performance. She passed by them earlier, and told Daddy, "You can get those for me if you want to." It was sort of a statement/question - she really wanted some roses. Of course, Daddy got her a bouquet of three roses.
Mommy, Aunt Shain and Hannah showed up to the performance - and since Daddy was there ultra early with Mommy, we were able to save some front row seats in the balcony, in our usual spot to the left. The great thing is that Madison was performing stage right, which meant she was right in front of us.
The ballet was very nice - this is a screen capture from the DVD that was made of it. It was well put together, moving along smoothly, and balancing the younger children's performances with the older ones as well. Though it was longer, it never got to a point where you wished it was all over. The younger kids were adorable, and the older ones were quite talented.
When Madison came out halfway through the program, it was just perfect. This year, there was no person in front of the stage doing the different actions so that all the little ballerinas would copy them. This year, Madison memorized her performance, just as the others did on stage. It was very nice - and at the very end, just before she was dancing off stage, she noticed us up in the balcony - and smiled in a very big way, waving! We weren't able to take pictures at the event, but I did get a screen capture from the DVD:
Afterwards, we met Madison downstairs, and the six of us walked outside where it was still slightly chilly, but the girls wanted to pose for a picture together. And we wanted to take a photo of Madison with her roses, in front of the fountain there at Pearce Auditorium. It is one of our favorite pictures right now:
We went home after this, and it took a while to get the make-up off, and the hair washed. It was a late night, but it was a sweet one. We knew we had just experienced one of those happy memories that can't ever wash away. And we're glad of it. Our little girl was beautiful tonight - all of the little ballerinas were.
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