Homeschooling!

This picture practically explains my whole life! Well, not really, but it's pretty close. :) Ah, the joy of school at home!

One of my friends made a startling discovery the other day: If a homeschooler wanted to ditch school, they would have to pack up their books, walk to the bus stop, and go to a public school.

Home-schoolers do school work. Public-schoolers do home work. :)

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Pandy

Full of Grace

Mary, The Mother of God, is the pinnacle of grace and beauty. Everything she did, was good and beautiful behold. Beauty is the goal of dancing. That is what we work for day after day, straining our muscles until they shake. But it's hard. So many times I never let go of the barre. So many times I decide to stop. Mary never stopped. She worked and worked, and I'm sure she ached too. She was always grace-full, full of love, pushing temptation away, never resisting God's love, balancing perfectly.

Hail Mary, full of grace!

You are full of grace, Blessed Mother. That's why, as a dancer, as a human, I come to you. You understand my trials. So every time I don't want to let go of something, I'll look at you. I bring my life to you, bring me to your son. Please give me the grace to dance well and the grace to live a holy life.

I am broken and patched. I follow Mary. She brings me to her son, to dance a dance of everlasting joy.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art though amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen!"

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Pandy

Yes. . . . It is Possible to Patch Ballet Shoes!

This is a little trick that I figured out so that I could go to a ballet workshop with out holes in the toes of my shoes (yes I am a bit of a nerd :). It has helped my shoes stay intact longer than they would have, and it really isn't very noticeable. Note: My ballet shoes are canvas- I don't think it would work on leather.

Step one: Choose the Correct Fabric. Make sure that the canvas's weave is about the same size of the weave of your ballet shoe. The fabric in the picture is a little too patterned, but if you have a pattern that isn't extremely colorful or busy, you can use the wrong side.

Step Two: Cut, Pin and Sew. Cut a circle out of your fabric that has a half of an inch extra all around. Fold the fabric under and pin it onto the shoe. The more pins you use, the easier it will be! Use as small stitches as possible, making sure they are close together. Don't sew on the leather sole of the shoe. This part can be difficult, but it's doable.

Tada! The canvas will stretch a bit and mold to your foot. It is much easier to dance in un-ripped shoes- believe me! It is a pretty simple project that is quite effective!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Pandy

Counts

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! One, two...... Coupe on six, remember?

Lord, Sometimes I feel like I can never get the counts right. Somehow I slip and then I have to fumble to the right spot. Lord, I want to stop fumbling. I know I can never stop totally, but please give me the strength to keep on. I realize my misteak too late. I fumble. But You never fumble. So I come to You. I'll follow You, Lord, because you're the only one who ever gets all of the counts right.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

The Climb

She looked up to the mountain high,

and began ascent, feet on the fly.

She swiftly ran up yonder hill,

quenching all anguish with her will.

She now began to climb the slope,

her heart so full of joyous hope.

And quickly passing all the rest,

she climbed up to a higher test.

Sweat rolled down her work-tight face

And carefully she slowed her pace.

“I don’t see need to hurry hear,

my courage daunts all far and near!”

And turning with defiant glance,

her eye caught a girl up yonder path.

So then, in haste she climbed again

sure not to lose, too sure to win.

She climbed up higher and tried to trip

this girl who made all of her dreams slip

With faster pace and stronger lead,

she felt that she just must succeed!

As higher climb slowed her quick trod,

a hand reached down from that coveted spot.

“Just a bit more and then we’re there.”

Said this strange girl with motherlike care.

And then together, both in lead,

They were humbled to succeed.

So when you feel your sure and true

to be the best at what you do,

just follow those who take the lead

and that is the key to succeed.

For to aspire to be their best

is God's humbling improvement test.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

I've got this Joy-Joy-Joy-Joy Down in my Heart!

Yes, I talk about joy allot on my blog. Why? Why didn't I call my blog "Sit on the floor with depression"? Well, aside from the fact that that name sounds downright awful, that's not what I want the world to see in me. Here are my reasons:

Reason Number one: When walking into WallMart, Cub, Target, or really any other store, I see billboards and pictures plastered with smiles. The smiles of models who pose in a very exuberant manner, smile, and wait for the camera to click. But what happens afterward? Do they continue to smile and skip about, carefree and unaware of their troubles? I don't think so. Now, to the casual observer, the world doesn't seem to have much to be joyful about. But look harder. There are thousands of miracles happening all around us every day! People are recovering from diseases, babies are being born, Mass is being celebrated, friends are being made...etc, etc. That is one of the reasons that I want to be joyful.

Reason Number Two: Granted, all of these miracles are happening, but babies are being killed through abortion, Christianity is outlawed is several countries, and people are dying from diseases......etc, etc. I'm not ignoring all of that. Remember Saint Paul? He rejoiced even though he was put in prison and killed. Remember Saint Agnes? She was as happy as a bride when she was lead to her death. Why? Because the peace of Christ was in them! They had the God-given batteries of joy- knowledge of God's love and confidence in salvation.

Reason Number Three: Bored people. So many people look bored on the outside. Too cool to be impressed, to show respect, to be kind. Too sad or lost to live a life of true joy. And that is sad. Wait! I'm working on being joy-full, not sad-full. And this is why I am joyful because of sad/cool/both people: First of all, by nature, I like to oppose people. I am working on this, and someday I hope to over come that. Secondly, those un-joyful people aren't lost! I want God to shine through my joy, showing others that they need something to fill their lives like that. And the only thing that will fill their lives in that way is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Yes, the world needs more joy. And I hope, by God's grace, to bring about a small part of it.

Lord, please give me the courage to spread your joy! I want your peaceful happiness!

~Pandy

The Bronze Bow

Now, this should be known to all of my followers and consumers of this post: I love to read. Yes, it's true. Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. Truly. I love to read. :)

As you now know, I love reading- and this is what I have been reading lately:

SPOILER WARNING!!!

"He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze."

The Bronze Bow By Elizabeth George Spear. This is one of my favorite books. Daniel is a young Jew who ran away to the mountains to escape the tyranny of the Romans, and his bad experiences as an apprentice to a blacksmith. There he joins a band of men who are making ready to fight to fight the Romans. Daniel works for this cause too, until his grandmother dies and he is forced to take care of his sister, who is possessed by a demon. Daniel begins his new life and prepares a group of boys to fight the Romans. He begins to hear about Jesus, and watches Him teach, wondering if He will deliver them from the Romans until he is convinced otherwise. After realizing that Rosh, the leader of his band from the mountains isn't the messiah he was looking for, Daniel relapses for a while, but continues to nurture his hate for the Romans. After Daniel's small band rescue a friend from the Roman's galleys, they don't try to reunite; the death of one of their members has convinced them against it. Daniel's sister Leah has made friends with a Roman and after Daniel's outburst at finding out, she relapses into complete silence and fear. The book ends with Jesus curing Leah and Daniel accepting Christ. It also has a romantic element to it, but I won't spoil it too much. It is an exiting book sprinkled with Spear's lovely description of emotion and landscape. I enjoyed this book immensely!

I'll try and keep an update of all the books I read. Happy reading!

The Joy of the Lord is my strength!

~Pandy