We’re the cheerleaders who. . . yodel

Some of you know that I’m coaching Upward Cheerleading again this year.

14 little girls ranging in age from 5-9 years old.

Yep.

Sometimes, it’s like herding cats.

And just so you know a little bit of what that’s like, I give you this snapshot of last night’s practice:

It’s time for devotion. We’re sitting in a circle on the tile floor of the old fellowship hall. The floor is cold, and I’m trying to focus the girls’ thoughts on Micah 6:8, our memory verse for the week.

“And what does the Lord require of you,” I begin, asking the girls to repeat after me. Some of them do. . . .

And one of them picks up her megaphone and begins yodeling.

Yep, yodeling.

“Yo-de-lay!” she intones through her tiny plastic megaphone. “Yo-de-lay, Yo-de-lay-ee-who!”

I watch several of the girls take quick peeks at her from the corners of their eyes, then just as quickly come back to my face.

“Yo-de-lay!” she sings, all while I’m trying to regain focus on the Bible verse and the topic at hand, which was living the way God wants us to.

I mean, I’d already called this little girl down at least three times earlier and could tell she was getting frustrated. But so was I. I’d tried giving her the look, moved on to ignoring the disruption, and had even attempted to talk over her.

None of it really worked.

It was a great moment. The little girl yodeling, me leaning forward to get a good look at her and tell her to stop, and her mother hissing her name from the back of the room.

Don’t get me wrong: I really like this little girl and enjoy coaching cheerleading.

I’m just not a huge fan of yodeling. During Bible study.

At least she has spirit! 🙂