What do you see when you look at this?

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 1 of 7]

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 2 of 7]

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 3 of 7]

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 4 of 7]

I remember a couple of years ago at PWI, the LORD really spoke to me about trusting the people of God to be the people of God. It is hard when you have been hurt or let down by believers (which we all have) to really trust God’s people to be who they are in Him. But, if I am not careful, I tend to put all the responsibility on myself, like I have to be the eyes, ears, mouth, feet, hands, kidneys, and elbows all at the same time. That is not right or healthy. I can think of so many times when I have sat back and watched the people of God at PWI minister to one another, and it is beautiful!

Now it’s your turn… What’s something God has taught you, or done in your life at PWI??

• Pray before your meal. God has often graciously provided food that I recognized in the midst of the unfamiliar. He can provide you with any needed grace as well.

• Be ready for the unexpected. This is how I’ve found all my new favorite foods. But sometimes what you think might be green onion can turn out to be hot pepper or you might discover that cucumber jalapeno peppers come in mild and hot varieties – in the middle of a bite. Your attitude vastly effects your experiences.

• Invite your friends to order for you. You get to encounter a wider variety and learn some new favorites.

• Don’t always ask what the food is that you’re eating…or maybe ask hours later.

• If you aren’t used to spicy foods, try it in small portions and balance it out with rice, bread, potato, yogurt, or sour cream, etc. depending on what cultural cuisine you’re enjoying.

• Do your best to try a new food within its usual context. I tried Korean chop-che for the first time with Coke.  My stomach wasn’t quite ready for the initial experience of Asian flavors combining with Western bubbly sweetness.

• Look for things to be thankful for and verbalize them to your host.  Did they spend a lot of time in preparation? Is the presentation notable? Food flavors and colors diverse? I have often been overwhelmed by the hospitality offered me.

• If you’re in another country and you have some flexibility in your meal choice, it’s ok, you can visit McDonalds. Your stomach might thank you for the break, but just don’t eat there every meal.

• Be flexible. Laugh at yourself. Rest in God’s care of you and enjoy your new experiences!

[Read Joy's other blog, "Comfort Food or Something New?"]

I grew up in a small town in the Northeast with two brothers. My mom’s a great cook and she often made chicken pot pie when I came home from college knowing it was one of my favorites. What’s your favorite food?  What do you turn to for “comfort food”? Pizza? Pasta? Chicken Parmesan? Chocolate? Those are some of mine.  My brothers were always the ones to try something new. I might have a taste after hearing their recommendation, but I’d much prefer to order my “usual” in a restaurant.

One evening in college I was invited to meet a missionary who had worked with native Americans and later taught at Moody Bible College. He told the story of his midterm exam that he gave in his cross-cultural class there. He said that the students for their midterm were required to eat fried worm.  My eyebrows went up.  But he went on to add that they received a “B” if they ate it and an “A” if they cheerfully asked for more.  The rest of the evening remains with me today as he demonstrated through many other illustrations about the importance of food in every day life and in each culture of the world.

Just think about it. How many of your memories include food?  Sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table.  Going to the movies.  Switching the baking soda and the baking powder in your favorite cake.  Cooking marshmallows over a campfire on a summer evening. Baking chocolate chip cookies with your mom or your kids. Blowing out candles on your birthday.

If I was going to travel outside the country and/or live outside the US like I was beginning to consider in college or hang out with people from all over the world in my own backyard which I currently do, was I going to continue hunting up the local McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC or pizza place around or just keep ordering my usual chicken parmesan? I made two resolves after that evening. I would try new things even when I didn’t have to and I would eat what was put in front of me.

The first resolve: I would try something new even when I didn’t have to.  If you are a creature of habit like me, this can be a great first step to get out of a rut of just doing the same-old, same-old day in and day out.  I began to like buffets because one could just try a little bit of something without having to order a huge portion from a menu.  This first step started readjusting my thinking to include the possibility that there’s other food out there that might actually taste good even if it’s not on the tried-and-true list.  Try a new salad dressing sometime. You might like it.

The second resolve: I would eat what was put in front of me. One of the first authentic Asian foods I had was presented on a plate at a music recital. There were these balls coming in white, grey and green and they reminded me of play dough. I had resolved to eat what was offered, so I put one in my mouth. They turned out to be rice cakes having different sweet fillings inside. They are now one of my favorite treats!  That experience of discovering that one shouldn’t be frightened by outward appearance came in handy when I was sitting at an incredible dinner one day where the table was covered several times with a wide variety of dishes. One of them was this bowl of black soup. I had never eaten anything black like this before, but I tried it. It turned out to be good! I expected it to be hot and it was cold. I expected it to taste bad and it was slightly sweet. I finished the whole bowl!

[Read Joy's blog, Tips for Eating Food from a Culture Not Your Own]

LEFT: a before picture of one of the classrooms.   RIGHT: and, an after picture!

Every morning as the Free-For-All starts, we do an artistic exercise together. On this day, we looked at several photographs and talked about perspective! You should have heard the students talk…beautiful!

We desire to use our space for special events. Here, we are partnering with the “Mommy and Me” program in Clarkston to do an interactive music time for moms and their pre-schoolers.

LEFT: Free for all lesson times provide anyone who wants to learn the opportunity to do so for free.

RIGHT: PSOTA Teacher, Fadi Alsayar sometimes has fun with the students by writing their names out in Arabic script.

LEFT: Josh Davis mentors a student in piano. We have many students with lots of natural talent!

RIGHT: A Sudanese student shows off her art work

One of our PSOTA students and teachers, Lucas Garcia, joined us on guitar for a Proskuneo event in March.

A safe place to be creative…

At one point, we had 11 students on 5 keyboards in this little room!

LEFT: Many of our students take the opportunity to try something new on Saturday mornings.

RIGHT: Our genius coffee bar (made by our teammate Marie, from an old piano) has gotten lots of use!

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 1 of 7]

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 2 of 7]

Incorporating Language Into Musical Worship [part 3 of 7]