Day 43: Psalm 120-150

Saturday night... Thomas and I go to dinner at Chuck's about 5:15.

Thomas eats something healthy. I have a plate of nacho/tacos.

We are dressed in complete Brazilian attire. Brazilian basketball jersey... check. Guarana T-shirt... check. Trademark Brazilian flag... check.

We finish dinner about 5:45. (Well, Thomas finished at 5:20 cause he eats like a horse... I'm more of a cow... I chew the cud... haha... I love Bible jokes) I finish dinner at 5:45.

On our way back to the room, we make a quick (4 hour stop) at the gym.

The girl's game is at halftime and Brittany Smart already has 50 points and the team is up by 30.

We sit and watch the girl's 2nd half as they easily beat the other team. Slowly people start to fill the stands around us.

The pep band starts to fill in their bleachers and begin to warm up their instruments (I threw that in there for you Tiffany).

Streams and streams of yellow-clad college students fill the bleachers behind Thomas and I. The pep band is playing through some up tempo songs now.

Even the cheerleaders have arrived and gotten in my way about 10 times.

Then... the moment of truth. Anticipation starts to rise as we see the basketball team huddling by the doors. Everyone rises to their feet. Cleveland picks up his flag. The cheerleaders walk onto the court and get in the other team's way.

Out come the Jackets. Everyone is clapping and screaming. And all of a sudden I hear a single voice. It's yelling "BRAZZZZIIIIILLLLLLL!!!!

I quickly recognize the voice as my own. I wildly wave the Brazilian flag that for some reason has not stem, so it takes both hands.

The team takes the court and line up for lay-ups. Maicol Venter walks over to Thomas and I and shakes our hands. We wish him good luck and tell him that we love him.

And for the next 2.5 hours, 1000s and 1000s of college students yell and clap and jump and dance and scream. Every time the other team has the ball, DE-FENSE is the chant. Every time Cedarville has the ball, we clap at an increasing rate of speed.

With about 30 seconds left in the game, everyone is exhausted. The team calls timeout. And he comes Coach Martin.

We have already lost our voices. But this is the pick up we needed.

Give me a J... J. Give me an A... A. Give me a C... C. and so on and so on...

All of a sudden, the entire building is on its feet. The entire building is chanting JACKETS!! JACKETS!!

Soon... the game is over. Maybe we win... maybe we lose. Either way, Thomas and I finally make it back to our room.

We sit/lay their exhausted. We just expended all of our energy at the game. We didn't even play for a second. But we are dead tired.

It was a great night. And we will be ready again on Tuesday and next Saturday and whenever.

Memories... aren't they great?

Psalms 135 through 150 are "Praise Psalms."

They are meant to be sung/prayed to God in such a manner that we are exhausted by the end.

These are meant to be given to God with the exact same sort of worship as a crowd gives to a basketball team.

We are to give God everything and hold nothing back. We are to cheer. We are to clap. We are to dance. We are to jump. We are to scream. We are to yell.

These psalms are not your typical poetry. They aren't your typical quiet songs of reflection.

They are meant to be public displays of affection by one person or an entire body of believers.

Every time I read these Psalms they same question comes to my mind. Why am I not excited about God like I am excited about Cedarville basketball or Michigan football?

Why don't I show up an hour or two early to church to ensure that I get a front row seat? Why don't I exert all of my energy in praising the God of the universe who specifically created me? Where is the excitement? Where is the passion?

And the scarier question then comes to mind... which am I more passionate about? A basketball game or the God who saved me from my sins by sending His Son to give up everything for me?

We have 2 services at our church. The first service, which I attend, is our traditional service. We sing hymns and the old praise choruses. Brad gives the message.

The second service, which I have now been to once, is our contemporary service. They sing "worship music" and up-tempo praise choruses. Brad gives the same message.

I grew up in a church were it was 90% traditional until about 10 years ago. It has since moved into a mixed. But, I grew up "traditional."

I grew up on hymns. I grew up on 70s/80s praise choruses. I can sing most of them word for word.

Then, for the past 10 years, I have been immersed in "worship music" and up-tempo praise choruses.

I have been around the full spectrum of musical worship. I know a ton of American psalms.

But, when is the last time that I exhausted myself for God? When is the last time I lost my voice praising God?

It has happened a few times in my life. (now I'm going to say this... and it may get me in trouble, but its the truth) But it has rarely happened in a church.

At church, I tend to go through the motions. Not just our church... any church. Growing up in church... I went through the motions. Church at college... I went through the motions. Church after college... I went through the motions. Church now... I go through the motions.

90% of the time that I exhaustively praise God is in my car/at chapel at college/at chapel at Barakel.

How do I foster an environment of complete surrender through singing in my life at church?

And to be completely honest, I think it has a lot do with me. No... I KNOW it is completely me.

I am ashamed to sing loud in church, because it would be awkward. I am ashamed to raise my hands and clap, because (first off... I can't hold a beat) it would be "different" than the norm.

God deserves my all... my everything. And I am worried what other people would think about me. How shallow am I?

I didn't care in college when I gave CU basketball my everything and looked completely ridiculous doing it. I don't care when I'm watching Michigan play football and Keyla thinks I am an idiot.

So what is the difference at church?