Joyful Joyful! Tender mercies of the week.

        This past week I have been pretty ill. Today I slept 17 1/2 hours and I am ready to go back to bed now, having only awaken from my last nap 2 hours ago. 
Despite feeling weak and unusually exhausted, there have been some fun highlights this week. 

      At work there was a surprise performance by a local artist called "The Lower Lights." The band formed in 2009 in hopes of giving familiar and unfamiliar Christian hymns a revival type feeling.I feel they have succeeded. Here is a clip of one of the hymns I heard them play last week. 



     Another highlight of the week was seeing a professional Russian dance company perform. I had the chance to attend a workshop with them a few hours before the performance. It was really fun. I am currently choreographing a Russian character dance for a final project in one of my classes. The workshop gave me some great ideas. It was wonderful to get to know some of the dancers before the concert too. Although, I must admit that I tended to watch them more than the others dancers during the show. Haha, maybe it would have been better to see the whole picture rather than focusing on the few I knew. Here is a clip of the Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble.

I am learning the Laban Movement Analysis system. I love my assignments. For an observation assignment, a few classmates and I analyzed how to execute the most effective spike and serve in volleyball. To do this we observed the men's volleyball team. It was so fun to sit in on their practices. We were able to work with them, asking those serving to apply different movement techniques and observing how it affected their accuracy. I loved it!

   On Tuesday the performing group I dance with performed at the American College Dance Festival. It was one of the most enjoyable shows in which I have participated. We only displayed four pieces, giving us ample time for costume changes. Also performing in the show was a hip hop group, three professional ballroom dancers, a capoeira group, and flamenco dancers. They were all amazing. I was awe struck by the flamenco group. The dancers were so passionate. It made me want to study flamenco more intensely.

   St.Patrick's day was lovely as well. There was an Irish party on campus that provided a lot of joy. There was live Irish music, dancing, food, and friends. 
    To top off the weekend, I had several wonderful friends bring by soup and other nourishing treats when they heard I wasn't feeling well. What tender mercies. 

  Psalms 40:11 "Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me."
     
    These tender mercies have certainly preserved me and given me motivation during this time of illness. God is so gracious. 

Q: What has lifted your spirit lately?