With Hands Lifted High

One thing I love about moving to a new culture is that I also get to taste a new flavor of God's people around the world.  This week I had the opportunity to go to a praise and worship night. It was hosted by one of the international churches, but it was most definitely a Thai event, and I really liked that.  The vast majority of the crowd was Thai and everything was either said in Thai or translated into Thai (the visiting worship leader, Brian Doerksen, is Canadian). 

It was a joy to stand and worship among Thai believers, especially Thai believers praising God with hands lifted high. I've only been to two Thai churches here so far, and they were both a bit more, emmm, subdued.  Which is fine, completely fine, but just maybe not my favorite style.  I expected (and saw) that kind of outward show of passion in Argentina; it was less expected here.  It was also cool to hear the testimonies that were shared (and I was very grateful to my friend who translated for me!) and hear how God is moving and working in hearts and lives in Bangkok. 

In Argentina I feel like I learned and grew so much in the area of prayer.  That work has continued here, through a friend I meet to pray with on Saturdays and other times of prayer I have had with friends, but I also feel like God is working in my heart in regards to worship.  As I look for a church home (still living in that ambiguity) I've been trying not to allow the music and worship to be much of a factor. But I realized on Tuesday night how good worship can be for my heart and soul when I can get through and connect with God in that way.  It allows me to both praise God and hear from him in ways I wouldn't otherwise.  And while music is certainly not the only thing that is an important factor in The Church Decision, I've realized that it really is okay if it's a fairly significant factor. 

God has been using music and lyrics in powerful ways in my heart, and I can't wait to be on a sheet of ice with my skates and my iPod to just worship him.  There is just something about worshiping from my fingers to my toes, about moving freely to express my heart in motion (and the ice is really the only place I can move freely), about allowing the Holy Spirit to express things through me that words could never say.  And that, I think, is precisely where God is moving and working right now.  I sure hope there are more events like the one on Tuesday night where I can join with this stoic culture in joyful praise and worship of our great God!