**what i learned at tonight's worship**

ok, i have a confession to make. when i heard sanny was going to lead tonight's praise and worship, i was really curious. i didn't know his lineup.. i didn't know what he had in mind.. and i haven't seen nor talked to him for quite some time. in short, i was excited for him Ü

by the time he started his praise at around 7.15pm, the first thought
that came to mind was "uy, parang kakaiba ito. kanta kaagad.. hindi
man lang nagsalita si sanny.." i have to admit, nanibago ako sa style
niya. and i suppose i was not alone in this. when they started to play
the next few songs, i found them a bit unfamiliar.. so i had to really
look at the lyrics flashed on the screen so i could sing along.

hmm. tonight's worship was different, to say the least. the songs were
not those we usually sing in rivers. i heard some people remark that
the songs were quite "loud." umm.. ok, i guess it depends on one's
"taste." for me, that was fine - the songs were upbeat.. probably more
for the "youth" or "yuppies".. but they were good songs with simple
lyrics. easy to learn and very fun to dance along to Ü but what makes
tonight's worship very special for me is just this. it *was* different!

i saw the varying reactions of the people around. i also noticed my
own reactions, and the thoughts that came to my mind as i sat there at
the megatrade hall. ok, so admittedly, at the start, i was really at a
loss what to do. the worship was so radically different from what i
was used to that i didn't know how to act and where to place myself.
but the moment i opened my mind and heart to what was happening.. and
really tried hard to see beyond the differences.. and find the *heart*
of the activity, i found that i was enjoying myself Ü sanny did a
great job of exhorting the people.. and so did the singers, who were
actively urging the people to stand, to clap and to dance Ü

and after a while, they did! tentatively at first, and then with much
gusto Ü i was very proud of two sisters in the ministry of prayer.. as
well as some of the body praise ministers who were the first to stand
up in the middle of worship. to make a confession, nahiya nga ako e.
naisip ko, dapat nauna rin akong tumayo.. kahit na wala pang ibang
tumatayo. not just because the worship leader belongs to our ministry.
but because i belong to the worship cluster. kung hirap mag-lead sa
mga tao ang worship leader, responsibilidad ko rin na tumulong para
madala ang ibang tao.

natuwa ako nung tumayo na rin ang music ministers kasi maraming iba
pang tao ang sumunod. and i realized that that is the way it should
be. members of the worship cluster working together to lead people
into praising God. because sanny was not alone in leading the
congregation. even though i was standing in the sideline tonight, i
was still a music minister. and it was really very liberating to just
sing and dance with the crowd.. and to see everyone else enjoy the
"different" kind of worship that we had tonight.

nasiyahan ako ngayong gabi. kasi marami akong natutunan sa worship
kanina. pwede palang maging kakaiba ang mga kanta.. kakaiba ang
paraan.. pwedeng mangapa ka sa simula.. pwedeng malito nang kaunti
dahil hindi ang kinagawian mo ang ginagawa. pero sa huli, ang mahalaga
pa rin pala, yung binuksan mo ang puso mo sa Panginoon.. na binigyan
mo siya ng papuri nang buong makakaya mo Ü

i thank the Lord for smiling tonight. i know He was happy with the
worship we offered. thanks, sanny.. for allowing us to experience a
different way of praising the Lord Ü