Strength

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13

It's true.  "But," you say, "I do all of the work when I'm dancing!"

Well, in a way, you do.  Your body extends it's own leg into arabesque.  Your body uses its own head to spot corner one.  Your body pushes you into the air for a royale.

So yes, it's you who does all of the work.  Right?

Wait. Who made you?  Who keeps your heart beating?  Who opened up the door so that you could study dance?  Who gave you the love for dance in the first place?

I think this is so cool: God designed you so that you would love to dance (or do whatever it is you are passionate about)!  He knew you, and He knew that this particular form of praising Him would give you joy.

Yes, in a way, you are doing the work.  But really, God is present and alive all of the time.  He is giving you life, perseverance, commitment, and passion.

So thank Him!!!  Jesus loves you, and even when things are difficult and seem impossible, He is there for you, holding you up, giving you strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

{You know that Feeling?}

You know the feeling that you did a good job?  The very last minute of the dance, when you just know that it was good?

I really like that.  

Or the time when your teacher tells you that you did a great job?

I really like that, too.

I love feeling like I'm a good dancer.  It's fun to feel amazing and awe inspiring and fantastic.  But is it true?

Imagine that you just completed the best pirouette of your life.  You've worked so hard, and finally all of that hard, grueling work payed off.  It's all because of you.  You worked, you sweated, you tried, you failed, and now you succeeded!  You did it all, right?

Nope.  God did.  God worked in you.  He sweated in you.  He tried in you.  He allowed you to fail.  And now He just allowed you to succeed.  

Wipe the sweat off of your brow and give your creator a hug.  Tell Him thank you.  Show Him what you've learned.  Thank Him!  God, the creator, the lover, the healer, did it in you.  You have Him to thank.

That is humility.  

"To be humble is to walk in truth" -St. Theresa of Avila 

If you ever feel like giving up....

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Note: I did not create this photo, but I'm not sure who did.  Thank you pinterest!

Spring to Jesus!

"He...sprang up and came to Jesus." -Mark 10:50

Did you see it?  In this passage, a blind man springs up and runs to Jesus in order to be healed.  He was so in love with Jesus, so eager to let Him work.  He sprang up and ran to the Lord.

As I was pondering over this verse, I couldn't help thinking of springing up to releve en pointe.  When you spring, you can't jump up too hard, because then you will crush your toes.  You can't climb up to releve either, or else you won't get up in your box.  You need just enough umph to get you up, and just enough strength and stability to keep you there.

Is it that hard to spring to the Lord?  Do we need to find the perfect way to pray and then we'll find Jesus?  Of course not!   Thanks to God's glorious grace, we can surrender ourselves to Him.  Jesus will take what we give Him, so don't be afraid to give Him everything.  Spring to the Lord in prayer and give Him yourself.

When you practice springs in class, think about springing to Jesus.  He's the ultimate dance partner, so spring away!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Pirouettes Are Back!

First off, I want to apologize that this blog has been silent lately!  Hopefully, now that summer is here, I'll be able to post a bit more.

I have promised that I would post more about releves and pirouettes.  I haven't forgotten, even though it's been a million years since this post.

Well, as I've slowly progressed, my teachers have given me a few pointers and corrections about pirouettes that I'd like to share here.

• Instead of springing onto releve retire, try to "push the floor away from you."  This should feel like a strong push down into the ground instead of a "sproing" into retire.  This habit helps avoid "jumping" into releve on your pointe shoes and helps you turn more smoothly.
• In turns from fourth position, be sure not to "sit" in your back foot.  Instead of putting all of your weight into your back foot, use it as the force to get you turning.  
• SPOT!!! I've said this before, but it makes a huge difference.  Find a picture, or a spot on the wall, or someone's face, or the piano player, or whatever!  Just spot and it will help!
• A teacher once said to me about pirouettes, "It's like a cookie cutter shape hung on a string.  The shape stays the same, you just turn it."  Try to keep the same shape all of the way around and then hold it as you finish, just like the girl in the picture below.

Again, my turns need lots of work and I hope that my little discoveries will help out some. :)

I also found this article insightful, as well as some tidbits from The Ballet Companion, by Eliza Gaynor Minden.

-Mandy

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

"The Divine Dance" - A Book Review

Today I want to share with you a book that I finally finished reading and found amazingly inspiring.

The Divine Dance, by Shannon Kubiak Primicerio.

This beautiful book is for girls everywhere.  It's not just for dancers, even though I feel like it resonates even more clearly with those of us who do dance.

Written clearly and openly, The Divine Dance walks through the different aspects of maturing in this world in an inspiring and uplifting way.  The Divine Dance is our walk with the Lord, our performance for Him alone.

As I read this, it encouraged and challenged me.  Especially as a dancer, I see this book in a new light.  With the "Divine Dance" analogy in my mind, I can try to dance for the Lord in all parts of my life.

This book is written from a protestant perspective and as a Catholic I disagree with her opinion of being saved.  This is pretty much the only issue I had with the book.

The main question in The Divine Dance is one I need to ask myself often: "If the world is your stage, who are you performing for?"  Shannon makes it clear that God is THE choreographer, THE audience, the only One worth living for.

I could go on and on, but I want YOU to read it instead of hearing ME talk about it!

Want to be inspired to dance for the King in every part of your life?  Read this book and live by its message!

The Joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Sanctity Pervades!

"Sanctity can pervade all of our human endeavors" -Rev. Peter V. Armenio.

Woah.  Think about that for a minute.

It is possible for sanctity (aka: holiness) to be present in all of our endeavors.  All of them.

Wait. you think.  All of my endeavors?  Meaning all of my life?  All the different parts............even dance?

Yup, dance.  Including (but not only) dance.  Often in such a detailed and focused activity, it's weird to think of holiness being really present.  Oh yes, we can practice to Christian music (which is awesome, by the way!) and try to snatch a prayer in between combos (which is hard to do...), but is there any way that holiness can completely take over our dancing?

Think about that.  Ask God how He can be present in your dancing.  Surrender your dancing to Him, dance for Him.

Maybe it will be hard to give Jesus this part of us.  This part of our life that we are so in control of, that we have worked so hard on, that we have invested so much in and put so much joy and work and tears into.

Is He worth it to you?  Will you let holiness pervade your endeavors?

Jesus, come and take over my dancing.  This is hard, Lord.  Give me the strength to dance for You alone!  Let me praise your name with dance.  From my heart to Yours, Lord!  Amen!