Dear Incarnation Family and Friends,
I have missed you these past two months! For my sabbatical, I spent July in Portugal and Spain and August visiting family down South. I’ll surely recount many stories from my travels in the upcoming weeks and months. I offer one of my favorites here.
My trip to my home state of Mississippi included lots of quality time with my nieces. One of them, who is eight years old and very much into gymnastics, said she wanted to perform a “tumble show” for me. A tumble show, I soon found out, is back handsprings on the trampoline set to music. I went to the backyard and pulled up a lawn chair while my niece prepared to blow me away. And that she did.
Five minutes later she came out of her room wearing her bathrobe, including the hood. I was confused at first but soon realized she was playing the part of a heavyweight (or a very, very lightweight) champion. She took off the robe to reveal black pleather pants, a black t-shirt, and silver eye shadow not only on her eyelids but streaming down her face. She was a vision to behold.
When she took to the trampoline, she blasted Christian rap, specifically a musical artist named Forrest Frank singing about why his day will be a good one.
I’m ‘bout to have a good day
No matter what they say
Sun is shining down on me
Birds are singing praise
I’m ‘bout to have a good day
In every single way
The God who made the universe
Knows me by my name
So it’s a good day
Just imagine jumping on a trampoline while singing these lyrics! Click here to listen and catch the tune. (It is indeed catchy.)
I take great inspiration from my niece, and I hope you do too. I played “Good Day” yesterday morning while getting ready for my first day back and work and wore my bathrobe like a champ. I’ll play it again tomorrow when my daughter wakes up for her first day of twelfth grade and rolls her eyes at me with a groan.
And I will play it when I get up this Sunday to rejoin you all in church! Like my child, I feel like I’m returning to school after summer vacation – a little sad for summer to end but itching to get back and excited to see my friends.
Plus, it’s Homecoming! As always, Homecoming Sunday includes plenty of fun, food, and extra bells and whistles in worship (including a bagpipe!). In other words…
We’re gonna have a good day
The Incarnation way
Sun is shining through stained glass
The organ helps us praise
We’re gonna have a good day
Believe me when I say
The God who made the universe
Calls us each by name
So it’s a good day
See you in church!
Adrian+