physical

Physical space can be seen as a limitation.

God isn't limited by human flesh.  He is everywhere and everything at once, He is greater and stronger and perfect and free from the limits of a human body.

God stooped when He became Man.  He took on a limitation.  He accepted the humbling status of human; of having a physical body.

But God uses all for the best.  He gave us physical bodies in order to glorify Him most, and though the devil tried to contort and twist our physical existence into something ugly through sin, Jesus entered our world and through His resurrection redeemed the flesh; turned our human existence into something beautiful.

The devil wants our physical bodies to be a hindrance to our soul's praise of God, but Jesus became Man, and as the perfect One, He praised God perfectly being fully human.

We'll never be perfect, but we can glorify God with what He's given us: our physical bodies.

Dancers have a huge gift: use our bodies to praise the Lord in a way set apart from average living.  The devil wants us to believe that our bodies are a limitation, but it's just not true.  Our bodies were created by God, and though we are flawed by sin, we can still use our bodies to sing to Him.

This is part of the fight.  Our bodies can be used for good or bad, but when we dance to glorify the Lord, His kingdom is being fulfilled in and through us.

Dance is part of the fight, part of the struggle, and we know how the struggle ends: with victory.

So I'll dance now, though I'm flawed and sinful, because he uses all for the best.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." -Ecclesiastes 3:11

image: http://worldofballet.weebly.com/what-is-ballet.html

It will make you stronger

My head is spinning with new choreography.

My body aches from hours of dancing.

A voice inside of me screams, You're terrible.  That's awful.  It's horrible.

And then from out of nowhere:

It'll be hard, but it will make you stronger.

And with this strength I can rise to new heights.

It'll be hard, but it will make you stronger.  And God has never gone back on a promise.

Photo found on: http://www.emptykingdom.com/featured/henry-leutwyle/

Take Me Deeper

I've been realizing lately that there is SO MUCH MORE that I could be putting into dance.  The harder I work, the harder I can work; the more I see how much I need to put into this to make it beautiful; to make it worthwhile.  It's a cycle of perfection that is fulfilling but also can be draining without God in the middle.

And that's another crazy thing.  The more I pray the more I realize there is SO MUCH MORE that I could be giving to the Lord.  There are crevices and cracks in my heart that I haven't handed over to Him and the Devil takes advantage of that.  I came to God today, and I realized I was scared to give Him everything.  Scared to give Him it all.

And then a song began to play: "Take me deeper where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you may call me." -Oceans, Hillsong United

So why am I not working my hardest, practicing with every chance I have?  I must give all my energy.  I see that lack in myself when I dance, and I tell myself so.

Why am I not growing in my prayer life with every chance I have?  Why don't I take every opportunity?

Why am I holding back?

Take me deeper where my trust is without borders.  Let me walk upon the waters, wherever you may call me! Yes yes yes yes yes!  Father, I was literally, physically, jumping with joy when this song was played.  Fulfill that joy.  Take me deeper.

Mandy

A point to the pain

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On the Dance Floor!

If this is true, I want to be on the dance floor of life every day.  Like I want to have opportunities to shine on the dance floor, I want to have opportunities to work for God in my life and live life to the fullest; dance the best Divine Dance that I was meant for.

Here I am on the dance floor, Lord!  I'm scared and incompetent and get distracted easily.  But I trust in you.  Use me!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy :)

(Image from pinterest.  I'm sorry that I don't have better info!)

Why Walk?

"I'd rather waltz than just walk through the forest" - Owl City, Plant Life

He is risen.  We are saved!  The joy of the Lord is filling us, overflowing.  A dazzling light shines from Jesus, risen today.  It's spilling on us and we can receive and let the love spill over to others.

So the question stands: why walk when you can dance?  Why walk through this crazy, lonely, overwhelming life when God is allowing us to dance through it with Him?  It won't always feel like a dance, but with God beside us, every moment is a moment to give your all and live your fullest.

And that, even though we all fail many times, is dancing through life.  Dancers fail many times, but they get back up and try again.  It wouldn't be worth trying again if it wasn't for the promise of salvation that is in the Resurrection.  The promise is there!

Let's Dance!  He is Risen!  Alleluia!!!!

The Joy of the Lord is my strength!

Mandy

First Picture from: webshots.com (found on pinterest)
Second picture from: liveboldandbloom.com (found on pinterest too ;)

{Humble}

“Humility is ‘thy will be done.’ Humility is focused on God, not self. Humility is not an exaggeratedly low opinion of yourself. Humility is self-forgetfulness. A humble man never tells you how bad he is. He’s too busy thinking about you to talk about himself. That’s why humility is such a joy and so close to the beatific vision, where we will be so fascinated with God that we forget ourselves completely.” – Peter Kreeft, How Does the Weakness of the Cross Make Us Strong?

So it's not pretending to be a bad dancer when you aren't, or pretending to be amazing when you aren't.  It's giving God the glory.  Being so overwhelmingly in love with Him that that's all that matters.  I need this in my life.  When I saw it on this blog, I wanted to share it with you all.

Christ, let us live humbly for you!  You are in control!

Amen

{love while dancing}

"Let me thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me." - John Henry Cardinal Newman

This passage is from an amazing prayer that Mother Teresa loved to pray.  It's just....amazing.  Go and read/pray it now on this website.

(If you haven't read the prayer yet, stop reading now and go read it.)

This prayer goes on to say: "Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you."

I read this and at the above words, I thought, dance.  Dance!  Woah.  So You mean that I'm supposed to convey my passion and emotion and love without talking???  Let me think of some good ways that I could do that.....oh...dance?  Yeah.  YEAH!!!!  Now, I'm not saying that this is the only way that we should express our love for God - oh no - this is just the first step.  The prayer doesn't mean not talking in general, it just asks for so much love of God to be pouring out upon us and through us that people can see and feel God without our even talking about Him necessarily, but by our actions, etc.

But evangelizing while dancing is a great place to start.

Lord, I ask that Your amazing love penetrates my being so utterly that others can see You in me when I dance.  Come Holy Spirit! All you Angels and Saints and Blessed Mother Mary, please pray for us!

The joy of the Lord is my strength! - Nehemiah 8:10

-Mandy

photos from pinterest (balletmagnificat dancers pictured)

Broken Pieces

 "Broken pieces can be given to many; an intact heart is limited by its perfection..." -Sarah from Capturing Love Photography

Do I see my heart as perfect?  Am I limited by my perfection?  As dancers, we never reach real perfection, if we did, what would be the point of working so hard?  The point of working so hard is to reach a point where we can turn around and see the beauty in us.  Working toward perfection.

Am I limited by my perception of myself?  Do I see myself as too perfect to change?

If I am too perfect to change, I am too flawed to see my brokenness.

Lord, use my pride, my brokenness, my all.  You are my everything; the only reason that my life sings.  The only reason that my life dances.  The only reason that people see me with joy: YOU.

Thanks Sarah.

Love,

Mandy

(couldn't get the link to the photo site - sorry!)

All Glory Be...

All Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.  

As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.  

Amen.

-Manda

Pic from: col22apparel.com

I want!!

I want to have deeper joy.  I want to grow more in my love toward Jesus.  I want the joy of Christ burning in my heart at all time.

I also want more extension, better turns, more arched feet, better elevation in jumps, and better grand allegro.

Jesus, I give you these desires.  Please instill in me deep joy, and help me to work toward the abilities that I want.  Lead me to you through my striving!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Nehemiah 8:10

Mandy

(pictures from tumblr and indulgy.com)

{so true}

Never wasted!!!

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." -Psalm18:32

These next couple months are the very scary summer intensive audition months!  Eeek!  Dancing in front of critics is so so scary... but it can also be a fun experience to perform under pressure.  I don't know about you, but tend I get really nervous the 15 minutes before the audition starts and then I start to get less nervous during the actual thing; at least usually.

Either way, you are dancing for the sheer joy of doing something beautiful for the Lord.  If your hard work gets you into where you are trying to go, that's fantastic.  If not, never give up.  Because any moment spent dancing will never be wasted.  Ever.  Dance for Him alone; for the joy of pleasing others because you dance for the Lord, and for the joy of dancing.  Yes, there's gonna be hard days, and yes there are gonna be days when it just doesn't feel worth it, but the time you've spent dancing is not wasted time.  Hands down.  Ever.  Period.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

I found these pictures on pinterest... I am sorry that I don't have any better citations!

Our Savior has come!!

Merry Christmas from JumpwithJoy!!!  May you dance with joy because our savior is born and we are set free!

Today we celebrate the birth of Christ the King - our SAVIOR!!!  If that's not a reason to dance, I don't know what is. :)

Merry CHRISTMAS!!

"Look to God that you may be radiant with joy" Psalm 34:6

Love,
Mandy

Barre Stretch!

I don't know about you, but my ballet class has a set barre stretch that we do at every class every week.  It's a nice rest after a difficult barre, and since it's the same each week, I don't have to think a whole ton about it, just sort of count and breath.  It's great after a difficult barre--or an easy one for that matter--it just feels great.

 Here is where I found another blessing: I can pray during barre stretch!  It's the perfect time to re-give your dancing to the Lord and to refocus while you dance.  It's calming and grace-filled - a present from God!

Pray during your barre stretch - it's a gift from God!!!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Mandy

P.S.  Another thing about a barre stretch: I personally think that you should always purposefully life your foot onto the barre during barre stretch.  Even just a 2 count develope, or a releve lent or anything rather than the lift-and-flop method.  Even after a hard barre, you owe it to yourself to make you dancing that much more polished.  Just my opinion there for y'all. P

Pics found on pinterest and tumblr :)

Who are you dancing for???

The countdown to the Nutcracker has started.  Only a few weeks away!!  Everyone is feverishly practicing and preparing for the show.  You can't let the choreographer down, or your family who is coming to watch, not to mention your entire audience who actually paid to watch you dance.  No pressure, right?

Oh-- and then there's dance class and school and Christmas shopping and homework and you actually need to sleep at some point too.....

This season is so great and so stressful.  I'm really excited to be in the Nutcracker, but I'm nervous too.  I want to do my absolute best, but I also have to do all of the stuff mentioned above.  Stress and excitement levels are really high.

So here's something to think about while you're running around during this season of preparation: dance for Jesus alone.  In your dance of life (homework, school stuff, sports, sleep, eating, etc), do it for Jesus.  He's the One who cares the most and matters the most, and He will give you a reason to keep dancing your life when you feel ready to drop.

And in your dance life, try this: dance for Him alone.  In class, during rehearsal, dance for the King of Kings.  Don't worry about the others; do your best for the One who matters!

I'm going to try this, and I think it's going to be difficult to remember and do at first, but I want to find true peace and joy during Nutcracker, class, and everything.

Jesus, I want to dance for You alone today.  Be with me and give me strength, Jesus, as I live for You!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Mandy

Beautiful for Me

This amazing song by Nichole Nordeman was the credits song of VeggieTales' Sweat Pea Beauty.  Don't be put off because it's VeggieTales, this song is meant for you.  I think that we dancers need to remember this over and over, because we are aiming for beauty and perfection and as human beings, perfection is really, really hard to achieve.  We are beautiful because we were created by God.  He is working in us to glorify Him with the beauty we make by dancing, even when it's not perfect in our eyes.

This song says the truth.  I pray that you can receive it as you dance the Divine Dance!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Don't Limit Yourself!

Have you ever heard someone tell you not to limit yourself to a double? Or a triple, or whatever you're used to doing?  My teacher told us to stay in releve the entire time we're turning so that we can see where we are falling, because dancers often automatically drop out of a pirouette just because they are used to stopping, not because they are done with the turn.

Today I read from two different sources about the power of expectations.  The Word Among Us said, "Don't limit what God can do for you, in you, and through you.  Life with him is full of surprises!"  So it's the same with God?  In One Thousand Gifts Ann Voskamp, went as so far to say, "Expectations kill relationships--especially with God" (169).

Wow.  Today I don't want to limit myself to what I expect from God, or to a double pirouette.  It won't be easy, and I won't do it perfectly, but I think it's what God wants of me today.  Are you with me?

"He must increase but I must decrease." -John 3:30

-Mandy

P.S.  The dancer in above video does a great job of pulling up during her whole turn.  This is key for multiple pirouettes!!

Cupcake Day

This isn't a ballet post... balletic stuff will come soon :) but here's what I have for ya'll today:

Today is National Pro-Life Cupcake Day.

The point is to hand out cupcakes in remembrance of all of the kids in the world never had a birthday, who never got to eat a cupcake in celebration for their life.

Life is a precious gift that is being denied to many children.  Today we remember their would-have-been birthdays with a cupcake and a prayer.

Lord, thank you for the life that you have given us.  Please bring the souls of the babies that haven't had birthdays swiftly to you.  Lord, please bring an end to abortion.  We ask this in Your holy name, Amen.

Happy Dancer?

Hey look!  See it? a pretty dancer :)  Not surprised, are you?  What can I say?  I really like inspiring photos of beautiful dancers.

Oh look... there's another one. ;)

Ok - just one more:

Notice anything in particular about these dancers?  They're all smiling.

So? Here's a little story:

You just finished a difficult combination.  Panting hard, you follow your teacher's instructions and head to the center.  Guess what you get to do?  Jumps.  Hard, slow, jumps.

How do you get through it?  Well, here's one thing that helps me (with hard combo's and dances, unless, of course your teacher tells you not to): SMILE.

It helps!  Smiling helps relax your face and with your body relaxed it can be easier to work.  It won't solve all of your technique issues, but it will help you relax and make a difficult combo much more enjoyable.  It also looks polished and professional.

Try it - God loves a happy dancer. :)

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy