The short drive from the elementary school isn’t enough to shake them free of the day, so when we walk into the kitchen where the heart of my mother work beats, I turn on some music and dance the baby to his high chair. Titus has never been given a dance party, so this is the day. Jude feels it, because he lives closest to the wind. Isaac’s worried forehead holds the tension, trying to keep it tightened and locked, but as he fiddles with the spelling pages and sits for hovering homework, he lets it lose.
Ian takes my hands and we twirl, and Jude never stops his feet, never doesn’t feel the wave in his back. I’m laughing, and the baby bobs his head, and certainly we were made for this: dancing, the party, a chance to break free from the heavy and shake out the day. We were made to celebrate together. Church, it’s another way we point to Heaven.
I was told that absolutely-not-under-any-circumstances would I ever be allowed to attend a party in high school, and I do agree that all the hunch punch in the little swimming pools in those country back yards were an indicator that the joy was being perverted there, but either way, I lied and found the parties anyway, and this is where I learned to laugh and to really dance. This is where I learned the I love you, mans and also where I felt rather enjoyable altogether.
Other than that, I attended church fellowship suppers, where some old woman never didn’t bring that “salad” with shredded carrots and raisins mixed up with mayonnaise. Oh, we did glory in the cream of chicken, that casserole with crumbled Ritz crackers on top. It baked with a stick of butter crisping everything up. Glory! We got two plates, one for casseroles and one for desserts, and somehow there we could pile the dessert plate stem to stern, as high as we could balance, with every number of homemade pies and cookies.
I see the metaphor here, too, as perverted as it also is. They’ll be feasting in glory, but I’m certain it’ll be organic food (with maybe a tiny side of that awesome casserole), and I’m betting, too, the table won’t feel full of a bunch of strangers sitting on secrets, asking “How bout them Hogs.”
My local community, my church, has taught me something that I needed, something that I need to pass to my children. They’ve taught me how to party.
We’ve laid our eyes together on death and sat in low-down brokenness. Often when we gather, there are tears, a fierce drive to work out salvation even when nothing makes sense. There are mornings we wake well before dawn to do begging on each others’ behalf. It’s serious, how we share the burden.
But along side the burden, they’ve taught me the art of joy, how to pour wine in a mason jar and relax. Lindi has made me look forward to laughter. When I imagine heaven, I see Lindi across the table giggling.
When David and Kalli were married, we had prayed for them, and we did so much working it out with them that I bawled her entire gorgeous way down the aisle. Jospeh actually married them. His girls had tossed petals brilliantly. It was a family affair for us all, and we were there to dig our heels in deep for David and Kalli.
Afterward we served the food to guests and used fairly moderate portions on paper plates. Kalli tossed the bouquet and David the garter, and then the music started. There was no alcohol, but the music started, and I felt like dancing harder than I had in a long time. I believe they even played Justin Bieber, but we danced anyway to all that young music. Glory! We threw our heads back laughing and twirled our hips around. We shook it lose, because the party is meant for the church.
My church has taught me that the body was made for taking a few breaks, meant to live out the metaphor in full, stomp the weight of world into the ground. There’s joy at the table, we leaning back on our elbows, free to cackle, eyes expectantly on Jesus as He pours the free cup.
Post and Images by Amber C Haines
Carrying burdens and digging heels in deep for others~beautifully painted~real church~thank you for this picture of Christ
oh, amber. i love this. the lack of restraint in THE BEST of ways. my word for this year was “unfurl” and this–THIS–is one of the ways i’ve intended it. the releasing of the things in this world that trap us and keep us from knowing the joy that He intended us to feel. the perversions around us have kept us from knowing the freedom of experiencing the pleasures of these creations called bodies. and the pleasure seeps through to the soul. the spirit.
and i call it worship. unfurled in worship. i love how you’ve painted it here. thank you for sharing it. so many images i’ll keep close to me today. wow. just. . .wow
steph
Oh wow. Unfurl is a great word. Right on.
Thanks for coming here.
Wow, Amber, I love your beautiful way with words! Maybe the party you describe here is what is was like when they found the law again in Nehemiah and also when the Israelites read it again before crossing into the promised land – first a grieving and then a joy to know what the Lord requires!
“the table won’t feel full of a bunch of strangers sitting on secrets, asking “How bout them Hogs.”” – favorite line. We will all be redeemed people there in Heaven, with no secrets left to hide. What joy!
My favorite line too….
My favorite line too…
But can we still talk about the hogs, as long as we don’t sit on our secrets?
~ A pig farmer’s wife
As long as said hogs don’t mean the “Arkansas Razorbacks,” because they break my heart. I’m hoping for eternal rest from the team that breaks my heart…
Oh that scene in Nehemiah, that’s a good one to recall for this. Thank you!
It wasn’t too long ago our church community celebrated our friend’s mile stone birthday at a local dance hall. With her husband on the turn tables, we danced the night away…laughed, were silly and made memories. She said the best birthday gift was that we all got out of our seats and danced. Oh, I can’t wait for that dance party to continue in heaven with ALL my peeps!
~Kristin
A dance party is my dream birthday! So if it happens, know you’re invited. For real.
We always have heaven.
It is for freedom we have been set free.
I am wound up tight, but I am SLOWLY unraveling and learning this more….and it is so good.
God is using beautiful friends, beautiful feet (probably a lot like your Lindi) and teaching me this….so thankful for that.
” I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be JOYFUL and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” Ecclesiastes
Beautiful verse! I’m slowly unraveling too.
Love it. Just love it.
I miss this in my life. My last glimpse: Costa RIca. There people danced, easily, whenever music played. And it always seem to be playing somewhere. They danced in the school yard, in the street, in the church. It wasn’t some learned, prescribed act of worship, somewhat stilted but expected of the faithful. It seemed a joy, just under the surface, which erupted easily whenever people came together.
I think I will plan a party.
I love this. I always feel you paint a picture of being ‘wildly free’ and I LOVE it. It reminds me of the lines from that Hillsong song on the Cornerstone cd – dancing in the fire:
Children of the light
Blazing through the night
Taking back what the devil had stolen
Calling on Your Name
Breaking every chain
Jesus everlasting freedom
Running through the wild
Dancing in the fire
Taking back what the devil had stolen
“…and certainly we were made for this: dancing, the party, a chance to break free from the heavy and shake out the day. We were made to celebrate together.”
and “stomp the weight of world into the ground.”
Love these
Love this:)
Today I will dance, because my dad is in the hospital with heart problems. I will dance and stomp the weight of the world into the ground.
Hey, Jesus “popped the cork” on his ministry by miraculously creating 150 gallons of the best wine ever vinted out of holy water. If we seek to become more like the Christ we worship, we’re gonna need to learn a thing or two about extravagance and the art of celebration.
Miss Amber -
“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.” Exodus 15:20 NKJV
Blessings.
Darlene, I’m not sure why exactly, but reading your comment made me cry. Sheesh.
Oh how I love the way you write but this makes me sad too. It shines the light on what I’m missing when a church is so wrapped up in division over what kind of cake they’ll serve they forget about the dancing.
Shelly, I guess I should say that our community has had its share of misunderstanding. We’ve all been someone else’s sandpaper paper.
I know you figured as much, but I thought I would say it out loud. Sometimes the party is all that’s left to do for unity.
“I attended church fellowship suppers, where some old woman never didn’t bring that “salad” with shredded carrots and raisins mixed up with mayonnaise.” Okay, first – that made me laugh. I’ve eaten it so many times and I love the way you said it.
Stomp the weight of the world into the ground. Let’s never stop.
XOXOXO,
Your Friend Who Cannot Resist A Kitchen Dance Party
Find the real world, give it endlessly away, throw rich flinging gold to all who ask. Live at the empty heart of paradox. I’ll dance there with you — cheek to cheek. {Rumi}
Ahhh, Rumi. If he were still alive, I’d hope to write him a thank you, put my cheek to his, that whirling poet.
Love this. From sitting in the brokenness to dancing to Justin Bieber…and learning to laugh and cry…all with the church, all together, just a glimpse of Heaven and a good one. Reminds me to pursue joy and shackle it to me…to find it in Jesus through my sisters and hold on tight because it is not natural for me to stay there.
Love you, Courtney.
You took your finger and poked it straight into the eye of earth-burdens with this line – ‘but we danced anyway.’ Good job, tiny dancer.
Thank you, cowboy. I’m really more like one of the 3 stooges, which by the way my son calls the Three Snooches.
Lord have mercy, Amber. Your words sing to me. This is beautiful, excellent, redemptive. And next time we’re together? Living Room Dance Party all the way. (How on earth did it not happen this weekend? I’ll never know.)
HopefulLeigh, I don’t know how it didn’t happen. I was planning it and even had a dream about it. In my dream we were dancing to BelBivDevo. When it happens in real life, let’s maybe choose something better.
I, too, grew up eating that salad with the shredded carrots and being told that dancing was worldly.
Maybe that’s why the biblical story I’d most like to insert myself into, Forrest-Gump style, is the wedding at Cana.
Good word, Amber.
Let the Living Water flow like wine and may my feet be set to dancing.
Living like you’re loved allows such celebration; where all is welcome at the potluck — good, bad, and carrot salad.
Well. That rocked. I’ve read it three times now, and every time, I unpeel another layer. How DO you do that, dancer girl? No one dances quite like you, sweet Amber.
Thank you Jennifer!
Amber, I love how you write about hard stuff, stuff broken hearts feel yet don’t want to feel, but you also pen glory to help our hearts dance in the fullest that is alive and well in Christ. We certainly need both.
I was just reading Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God and he was talking about the importance of the feast, of the celebration, the party. I love seeing this idea lived out in every day life today.
I love Prodigal God. Incredible book, that.
Flawless and true. LOVE this, every word of it is the holy YES.
My favorite line: “My church has taught me that the body was made for taking a few breaks, meant to live out the metaphor in full, stomp the weight of world into the ground.” Thanks, Amber
Love your gritty and glorious voice. The church you describe – I can see it and I can taste it, too.
This is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And yes, Glory! I love that. I am slowly embracing dance even though I’m terrible at it. Zumba has shown me the way, LO! And it feeds my soul, so God’s all up in it.
Girrrrl, Zumba is a gift. I really believe it!
I feel like I am there eating that carrot salad
Only the church where I live is in Canada, way up north from you and we have Octoberfest with sausage and sourkraut! But although details change, I too am thankful the church is there for me in all of it – especially the celebrating.
That was the holiest, funnest night of my life.
We’ll never forget you all digging in with us before and after. Love you!
Okay, you and Erika Morrison need to be the Party Planners for this internet crowd. No doubt about it. Only I am now so old and so far from dancing – having married a man whose fundamentalist baggage he still carries heavy in regard to moving-the-body-to-music, more’s the pity (although he is pure grace on the tennis court) – it ain’t even funny. But I do love to watch. (Probably why SYTYCD is on Tivo in my house). So maybe I could hang around the edges, if I promised not to bring carrot and raisin salad – maybe I could dish out the buffet, in moderate portions only. :>)
I’m totally grinning that you have SYTYCD on the Tivo, Diana! Who’d a thunk it!
I live to surprise you all, Ari. :>) And I’ve been a sucker for good dancing all my life. Not so much classical ballet, though I love that in small chunks – but all the rest of it? Just astounds my so-very-uncoordinated self to see what human bodies can do.
I just love this..I thought of it all day and came back to it this afternoon! Just lovely!
Thaaat was an awesome post. Loved it. As my best friend is so fond of saying and doing, “Sometimes you just gotta give it a little dance.” We don’t do nearly enough of that in church. I bet Jesus could cut a rug! Lori
“…some old woman never didn’t bring that “salad” with shredded carrots and raisins mixed up with mayonnaise.” Oh, lordy, Amber….don’t know why, but that made ME cry…I’m having a hard time with being 62, and the thought that I might be that “old woman” makes me sad….and I do so pray that isn’t how the young people look at me.
My husband and I are leading our small group in storying “the prodigal son” this coming week and I’m so glad I read this first. I can’t wait to get to the part about the party now. We, the church, of all people, should know how to celebrate.
For the record, my favourite dance parties have been a mix of ALL ages!! We need those older people!! BTW, I recently attended the filming of a dance competition.. and let me tell you, the audience LOVED the crew of senior dancers!! They were one of the faves! So older folks, please get on up there and get your groove on, let no one hold you back!!
This was so beautiful–my heart swelled and so did my eyes. There is deep joy and truth to these words, and I know them too both with my mind and my experience. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful picture with us all. May the Church always celebrate long and hard together!
You know I’d never decline a dance party and I think people who know Redemption deep and thick are the best celebrators the world has ever known.