the days of old...

Hey...

so i m blogging here... cause i feel obligated to i suppose... cause i havent been blogging here or on the uni-page... and i feel a sense of conviction that i need to invest myself into ur lives more and read about what's going on w/ ur lives. cause the last 2 blogs r long and i just get turned off by long blog entries... but dont let that discouraging u from typing long ones... i will make more of an effort to read them because i value ur experiences and struggles as a Christian.

Something I've been noticing is that looking at you guys, it reminds me a lot of the things that we, the UNI group, went through when we were in samuel.. first, is our tardiness... we were often late because we. as a group, justified it by saying, "o it doesnt start till 8:20" so we all just kept pushing it later and later... and 2nd, worship leader would always do some spontaneous song choices, picking the day of because we have Christine and she can play anything... and we took that for granted...

Yes, i m jumping straight to the point because there's no point in me beating around the bush and i dont know how to.... i pray that you guys r noticing too... when we were part of samuel, we raised it up as a group... we talked about it, said, "no, it's not right... there's no respect on our part for God if we keep doing this" .... so we worked on it... I believe you guys need to do something similar... i dont expect you guys to change over night... and one thing i wouldnt like is u guys being on time because i've just raised it and then couple weeks down the road, returning to old habits... Tina and I would not like to keep having to talk and nag at you guys about it... you guys r growing and maturing quickly these days and we want to treat you as maturing adults..

secondly, with regards to worship, I can understand if you guys REALLY REALLY like Cry in my Heart... and I can understand you want to choose it if you have a good sharing with it... but i believe there are many songs out there to be chosen and share about the same sharing.. cause from my perspective, it shows a lack of creativity and willingness to spend time and look for songs to share with one another... and it gives me the impression that the guitarist knows this song the best so they dont need to practice, and hence, if Cry in my Heart is chosen, it will go well during worship.... but in doing so, the quality of singspiration gets taken away... i believe if different songs are chosen, it keeps things fresh, everyone gets exposed to different songs and the instrumentalists get to learn and practice new songs.... i challenge you to spend more time preparing to for worship... and not just doing it cause ur name is in the slot for that day... i challenge you to think of why you're doing it... and with the summer coming up, "i dont have enough time to prepare" is not a justifiable excuse for the lack preparation... if we are to offer our best to God, don't you think we should prepare? a team does not make it to the finals without practice, a band can not play at concerts without practice, i dont see how we can worship our God without practice...

my suggestion is that the worship leader should communicate with his/her instrumentalist a week before.... so the instrumentalist can have adequate time to practice..

ok, it's late... almost 2 and i have work tomorrow... hopefully fellowship can start more promptly this coming friday... and i will try my best to be there at 5.... but in the case that i come at my regular time, i hope singspiration is not just beginning...

- J Lo

p.s amy, please send all emails to jlokine@gmail.com... i dont know where you've been sending emails to cause i havent been getting any....