Holy Dancing

Emma had a pajama party last week.
No, I'm not insane. Not the kind of party where a group of girls spend the night, giggle, run around, freeze someone's panties, cry, and do everything else but sleep.
Not in a million years.
No, this was really a DANCE PARTY, where the girls were invited to wear their pj's, come dance with us, and eat brownies.
This idea was prompted by the fact that Emma is in Kidshine at our church this summer. This is where the kids put on a program that speaks to the adults about something different every year. It's always amazing! This year, they are leading an entire worship service on their own. (That will take place August 12th. It will be an amazing night of evangelism.)
It was time to sign-up for a group to be in, so I took Emma to the sign-up desk weeks ago, so curious as to what she would choose. Her interests are not the norm...dance, singing, etc. It's more like Cheetahs, horses, and anything in which she could run around on all fours. I love that she is so unique! No pretense. She's the real Emma!
I was very surprised when she signed up to be a dancer. A dancer? I was trying not to sound so surprised. But I was thinking, really? You've never danced in your whole life! Don't you want to sign up to pray or something?
The mother in me was scared and nervous. She was not.
So a dancer she became.
I have had the opportunity to peek in on her while I was between teaching Pre-K music on Sunday nights. My heart was moved! She was dancing her heart out! Watching the other girls closely, so she could follow them. She was a little embarrassed that I was looking in on her, but seemingly not embarrassed to be moving her body to the Praise music.
I wrote a post last April about Dancing Like David. There are times when I am worshipping that I would love to move like David did, unhindered by our dignified church personas. Children don't have that! Emma has such a pure understanding that dancing is a form of worship to the Lord. She doesn't know that it is for anything else! I love watching her dance, like I can't even tell you. Not because she's a super dancer. She has no special inclination or talent for it that I could identify at this point.
But she knows that she can move her body in a way that glorifies God, and that moves me!!!
We don't have to sign her up for dance lessons, do the whole leotards and make-up routine. No thank you.
She can learn in her very own church, in our very own living room, how to worship through dance.
Because this has touched my heart as her Mom, we invited some girl friends from Kidshine to come over last Tuesday, along with Ms. Tara, who is one of the dance teachers, and we danced.
We danced!!!
We danced before the Lord!
We did our Kidshine dances. (me included)
And then we just put on some Kirk Franklin and the girls kicked it free-style.
They had so much fun!
I HAD SO MUCH FUN!
Emma's favorite part still might have been the brownies we ate, but she loved it too!
I want to continue learning, as a Mom, how to introduce my kids to new things...things that the world will use for personal glory...and ask the Lord to show me how to make it ALL ABOUT HIM.
Everything we do needs to be completely about Him.
I'm learning more and more what that means.