Joy!

On Friday night, we went to a Peter Breinholt concert. For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, I rearranged my music so that my first four songs are his. He's a Mormon singer/songwriter that I've been listening to since college. I think I have my brother, Ryan, to thank for introducing me. He has been performing for 15 years and...well...I've been a fan for about that long! A little plug for him: he just released a greatest hits album and it's great. I just love the mellow style, the acoustic guitar, the fun atmosphere of his concerts, and most of all, that his shows tend to be outside and in the summertime. There is nothing quite so fun to me as going to an outside concert in Utah. Something about the music, the mountains, the night air--it gets me every time. This concert had an extra edge, though. The opening act was The Singing Children of Africa choir. I could not control the joy I felt at watching them perform. My grin was so wide that my face ached. I was so overcome that I couldn't help myself. I HAD to stand up and dance. A little later in the show, the kids went back up and danced on the stage while Peter performed and the entire audience...or at least the dancing portion of the audience...went and danced up front while the children danced on the stage. I had so much fun that it was literally all I could think about. When I got home, I still had joy flowing out of my fingertips. I had to turn on some music and dance SOME MORE! Even though it was one o'clock in the morning, my patient husband just looked at me, asked me if I was okay, and then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Look at these beautiful children....

Here are the girls:

And the boys:
They were inspiring to me. I wanted to watch them, to be close to them, to listen to them sing, to feel the joy that they feel, and to dance, dance, dance! It opened my mind and my heart and made me wonder if I've given anyone that kind of joy. Check them out. They have a few more weeks in Utah and you can still catch up with them if you hurry. Maybe they can put a little spring in your step. Be careful, though. You may just find yourself with an uncontrollable urge to dance!