MY BLOG POSTS

My kids and I got be in the studio audience of “American Idol” last week! What was it like? I’m glad you asked…

It was AWESOME! But let me be more specific….

Getting the Tickets. Believe it or not, they were FREE! I signed us up for tickets a few months ago, on this website.

In the parking garage

Audience members are chosen at random. I got the email containing our ticket a few days before the show. It is filmed on a Thursday, so we took the day off school. But it was worth it!

Getting to the Studio. We were told to be in line no later than 2:30pm. We decided to get there by 12:30pm. There were already 50 or so in line ahead of us when we arrived, so we were glad we arrived when we did. Because we stopped on the way to have breakfast with a friend, we left home at 8:30am.

At the gate to CBS Television Studios

Waiting Part 1. Around 1:30 or so, folks with clipboards started separating those of us in line: cute teens were sent to the front of the line, plain adults were told to keep waiting. Thankfully, as the parent of cute teens, I got to move up with them! I got a ticket and the kids got wristbands. Once we went past the gate (where we saw Nigel Lythgoe, of “So You Think You Can Dance”, drive by!!), we were separated. Cute teens could take their phones and wait to be placed by the stage. Moms were sent around back, no phones, to wait for a seat in the audience.

Right by the stage!!

Waiting Part 2. We waited outside for about an hour an half – me with the old folks and, did I mention, no phones. The kids with their phones in a different area. That was long and dull – especially because, for the first hour, no one around me wanted to talk. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and we were in a covered area, though sitting on hard metal benches.

Getting In. We finally got in, around 4pm. The adults had tickets with specific seats on them, though we were moved, anyway. (Side note: Taylor Hicks was in the row right in front of me!) The teens were herded in by the stage and encouraged to take as many pics as possible. There was a guy whose job it was to get the teens excited, and he was fabulous!

Demi and Keith talking during a commercial break

Demi Lovato! Demi Lovato filmed her songs before the show started, so that happened around 4:15. My kids were right at the stage when she sang, and she gave each of them high 5’s on her way out! They were thrilled. She was amazing, and she seemed very down-to-earth as she waited for the filming to start…and restart.

My Happy Place. So, full disclosure…the whole reason I wanted to go was to see Harry Connick, Jr. I have been a fan of his for 25+ years, and I have never seen him in person. Not only did I get to see him — I was sitting RIGHT BEHIND HIM. And, when he sang, the camera he sang to was RIGHT NEXT TO ME. All the driving, waiting, and phoneless-ness was worth that right there.

That’s me – behind Harry (in the coral shirt)!!

The Show. During the commercial breaks, the judges would talk to the kids by the stage and take selfies with them. They would also get “fixed” by their hair and make-up crew (Jennifer Lopez’ crew came every break – though she didn’t need it. She is stunning! The guys’ crews just came a couple times total.) Harry and Keith spent a lot of time just chatting with each other. It was neat to see that they’re just real people, friends who catch up with each others’ lives. They also answered texts, and talked with their kids. Very “normal”. During filming, we cheered and clapped and enjoyed the amazing talent. The

The commercial break before the elimination

studio is smaller than it looks on TV, so we could see everyone and everything. It was fantastic!

The End. This was filmed from 5pm-7pm, so it could be aired live at 8pm on the east coast. We were back in the parking garage by 7:30pm, exhausted, but thrilled. It was an experience we’ll never forget! The kids were especially tired because, from 4pm-7pm, they were on their feet. They all fell asleep before I even made it onto the freeway. The traffic in LA is always rough, so we didn’t get home until 10:30pm. A long day. But SO worth it.

How am I? You ask.

Busy. I am busy. 

Like most people today, I have taken on more than I should, and I am constantly running behind, running late, running on too little sleep.

I should know better. I DO know better. A few years’ back, I got so busy, I was in almost-total burn-out. Months on end with no real rest took its toll on my body, my mind, and my soul. Not to mention my family!!

But that was a few years ago. Time has passed. I’ve forgotten what I learned in that season. I am not in the burn-out stage yet. But I am on that road.

So here is a list of reminders for me, as I seek to free myself from this “busyness” cycle. Feel free to add in any that you think I’ve missed…

• Pick a God. I’ve been reading a book by Kyle Idleman –  gods at war. It is convicting, but so good. In it, Idleman argues that we say God is “first” in our lives, but in reality, we are worshipping other gods. For me, the “gods” of Approval and Success are at the top of my list. I want people to like me and think I’m great, so I spend my days “sacrificing” to those gods. If God were really first, it would be HIS good opinion I craved, HIS kingdom I sought. And, in doing that, it would be HIS peace I’d have daily.
• Prioritize. There are some things I HAVE to do. But there are a lot of things I just want to do. And there are things I think I should do. And, if I am worshipping the wrong god, I confuse the three and think they’re all “have to’s”. I burn myself out trying to get them all done. The truth is, though, there are really just a few things I HAVE to do. I need to determine what those “have to’s” are and let some of the others go – even if that means people don’t like me or consider me a failure.
• Just Say No. It’s not just for drugs. It’s not even just for bad things. Sometimes, we need to say no to good things. Sometimes, I need to say I just can’t go to that game because my body needs rest. Or I can’t go to that retreat because I can’t fill one more weekend. Sometimes, I need to say that those papers won’t be graded for a few days because it isn’t fair to my family. For many of us, “no” is a difficult word to say. But it is necessary.
• Say Yes. Too often, I skip the “have to’s” for the “want to’s” or “should’s”. I am up late because of a game or papers or a TV show, and I sleep in, forgoing my time with God. Or I spend all my energy on work and, when I get home, I have no energy left for my husband or my kids. When I have the right priorities, I make sure I get a good night’s sleep so I can get up and spend that time with God. I do just what I can at work, then leave, knowing my family is more important than my job. I say no to the less important so I can say yes to what really matters.
• Start TODAY. I SO want to say, “And I will implement these AS SOON AS…” this project is over, the season ends, this school year finishes. I want to put it off because the gods of Approval and Success scream at me to worship them a little longer. But I can’t. They are false, and they are destructive. And I am tired. So I will start today.

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Heb. 3:13

I’d really like to be a victim — to blame those around me for my problems. And, boy, do I try! If my husband would just appreciate me more, if my kids would just complain less, if my students would just listen the first time I explain something…THEN life would be perfect. I wouldn’t need to get frustrated.

But I DO get frustrated! Not because of anything I have done, of course. Because of them.

I spend a lot of time thinking about how others have wronged me. That is an embarrassing truth to admit, but there it is. I think about what I don’t like about this person, that situation. I think about how things should be and get even more upset at how they are.

And the reality is that I have it pretty easy. My husband loves me, and he loves God. My kids’ biggest weaknesses are not doing their chores and occasionally getting a low grade on an assignment. I teach at a Christian school where we have actual rules we can enforce and the students, for the most part, respect those rules.

Compared to pretty much everyone else on the planet, my life is cake. I know.

Yet, I still complain. Still feel sorry for myself. Still want to blame others when I am irritable.

But here’s what God has been trying to teach me: I am responsible for my attitude. I am responsible for my thoughts. I am sinning when I choose to focus on circumstances and other people for my contentment instead of focusing on God.

One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” But I often forget the context of that verse. Before Paul says this, he talks about learning to live with plenty or with nothing, about learning to be “content in any and every situation.” This from a man who wrote letters from prison, who had no real home, who was rejected and persecuted and hated for the sake of the Gospel.

“I can do all things” isn’t a mantra meant to enable people to achieve their dreams. It is a truth learned through the fires of testing, that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Tim. 6:6)

So the truth is that I can choose contentment no matter what. Even if I feel unappreciated and unheard, even if circumstances are less than ideal. I don’t get to blame my bad moods on other people. I don’t get to be the victim. The truth is that all of my discontent is, in fact, my fault. God offers the tools to enable me to be content in all circumstances.

My job is to choose whether I will believe Him, or the voices in my head.

Almost everyone deals with heartbreak at least one in her life. Even the most careful, most godly girls. Sometimes, it’s because you made a wrong choice – you went for a guy without consulting God, without listening to parents’ or friends’ advice, and you ended up hurt as a result. Other times, you went in with eyes wide open, seeking God, making wise choices, but the relationship just didn’t work out, for whatever reason. With the former, there is often regret along with heartbreak. The latter is usually regret-free, but still…it hurts. A lot.

My heartbreak came my first year of college. He was a good guy, but we just weren’t right for each other. He realized that before I did. And, if you don’t know this: Being broken up with is SO much harder than being the one breaking up. I questioned my worth, my looks, my personality. I wondered, “What’s wrong with me? Why doesn’t he like me?” Because he was a good guy, I couldn’t just say, “Oh, he’s a jerk.” My friends couldn’t say, “you’re too good for him.” I just had to deal with the fact that we weren’t right for each other.

It took a while, I’ll be honest. But in the time it took for my heart to recover, something amazing happened: I discovered the Psalms. I’d read them before, but during that time, I read them, and they spoke to me, ministered to my aching heart, reminded me that others have faced difficulties – far worse than mine – and come through them. I saw how much God loves me, that He is there for me, and He will never leave me. I learned that He is all I need.

Later, when my now-husband and I began to date, and as I grew to realize he was “the one”, I saw why that other guy wasn’t. Dave has personality traits and  gifts that fit just right with mine. I also found Dave WAY more attractive than I ever found that other guy. I ended up being so grateful for the break-up. Had the other guy “stuck with me”, I might not have ever met Dave.

So if you’re dreading this Valentine’s Day, if your heart is broken or bruised, take comfort from the Truth that there is One who loves you deeper than you can fathom. He has a plan, even in this difficult time. Cling to His love and His words.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” Eph. 3:17a-18