EVERYTHING you do...

Last week I took an adventurous step in my adult life and got a second part-time job at a coffee shop in town. I was so nervous the two days leading up to my first day of work. As I strolled up and down target's aisles in my efforts to cope through retail therapy, I realized something about myself....I hardly ever get nervous. I tried remembering the last time someone or something made me nervous and I only came up with two instances. The first being when I moved to South Africa when I was 18. And the second being anytime I go into an audition. I was venturing into the unknown territory of the coffee/restaurant business and it terrified me!Luckily for me, the people who were training me and working with me were amazing. I walked out of my first week feeling accomplished with a sense of, "I can do this" in my mind.

As I drove myself to work one morning at 5:00 am, I realized just how blessed I was to have this job in today's economy. I know of so many fathers and mothers who have a degree and years of experience in their back pocket and still cannot find a job anywhere. And here I am, a 21 year old with no formal college education and only the years of ballet training in my back pocket and I have not one job, but two. I couldn't help but thank God over and over again for providing for this for me. I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and a feeling that I needed to give back. But how do I go about repaying God for blessing me? I can only say "Thank You" so many times and since everything already belongs to Him, what do you give?

Today He showed me.

"In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you are doing it for the Lord, not for people." Colossians 3:23

It doesn't matter if you are the president of a company or the girl who answers phones downstairs. It doesn't matter if you are the pastor of a church or the one who cleans it on monday. It doesn't matter if you own your own business or work for the guy who does. It doesn't matter what your position in life is, God requires us to be excellent in all things as if we were doing it for him. So today as you answer the phone, make copies, take out the trash, wash dishes, or wait on tables...do it for the Lord and be excellent in it.

"Whoever wants to be great among you must first serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave." Matthew 20:26

The Lord works wonders through the ordinary people. He loves to use the underdogs and the ones who were least expected. When Joseph was sold into slavery and went to work in Potiphar's house, the Lord was with him. This made everything he did excellent and successful. When Potiphar realized this, he elevated Joseph from janitor to being completely in charge of everything he owned. The Bible says that when this happened, the people of Potiphar's house were blessed, and everything he owned both in the house and of the field were also blessed.He could've done as we might have had we been in his shoes. He could've felt sorry for himself. He could've cried over the fact that he had lost everything and went from being his father's favorite son to now being a slave. But he didn't.

Because of this, God rewarded and blessed Joseph.

When Joseph was wrongly accused and thrown into prison for many years, the Lord was still with him. He was soon elevated within the prison and given the responsibility of the prisoners and everything that happened in the prison. This he did it with excellence. The same excellence as when he was in charge of Potiphar's house. His standard did not change with his position, he served with the same hard working heart in both jobs.

Because of this, God rewarded and blessed Joseph.

The story continues with Joseph being elevated from prison keeper to keeper of Egypt and saving the nation from famine. Now I wonder, had he complained about his status, felt sorry for himself, or became bitter from all the unjust things that had happened to him, would God have been able to use him like He did? Probably not.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:10-12

In order for any of us to be used for great things in God's Kingdom, we must first, be willing to humble ourselves in whatever position we find ourselves in. In that position, we must find contentment knowing our lives are being guided by Christ and are part of a bigger picture. From there, we become excellent. We go above and beyond our job description. We do a little extra to help those around us succeed. And through our example, we encourage others to do the same.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." I Corinthians 12:12-20

Gravity

something always brings me back to you

it never takes too long

no matter what i say or do

i still feel you here 'til the moment i'm gone

you hold me without touch

keep me without chains

i never wanted anything so much

than to drown in your love and not feel your rain

set me free, leave me be

i don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity

here i am and i stand so tall

i'm just the way i'm supposed to be

but you're on to me and all over me

you loved me 'cause' i'm fragile

when i thought that i was strong

but you touch me for little while

and then all my fragile strength is gone

set me free, leave me be

i don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity

here i am and i stand so tall

i'm just the way i'm supposed to be

but you're on to me and all over me

i live here on my knees

as i try to make you see

that you're everything i think i need

here on the ground

but you're neither friend nor foe

though i can't seem to let you go

one thing that i still know

is that you're keeping me down

you're keeping me down

you're on to me, on to me, and all over me

something always brings me back to you

it never takes too long.

To what or to whom are you always brought back to?

Is it a substance? A way to feel something?

A person? A relationship?

A memory you wish could be re-lived? A memory you're trying to forget?

A feeling for someone? A feeling you wish someone had for you?

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it abundantly"

John 10:10

"For freedom Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:1

Just around the Corner

"For Today and it's Blessings, I owe the World an Attitude of Gratitude." -Unknown

Looking back at the events of today, I can see its ups and downs, Its high points and low points, Places where I did good and places where I could've done better.

If I look back at the past week, I can see the same.

If I look back at the past year, I can see the same.

If I stand on my tip-toes, squint my eyes, and look really hard down the 21 years of my life, I can see the same.

These ups and downs, highs and lows, good days and bad, mold and shape us into the people we are today and the people that we will become tomorrow.

Most of us can remember the days of sunshine that present us with the brightest outlook on life and the confidence to conquer whoever and whatever steps in front of us. The days that give us the faith to believe. The days that inspire us to be more. The days we are strong.The days we believe in ourselves and believe in our dreams. The days we feel secure.

Most of us can also testify, firsthand, to the days of shadow that cloud our judgement and fill our hearts with overwhelming doubt. The days where we feel isolated. The days we feel we are not important enough to be seen or valued enough to be heard. The days we fear hope. The days we lose our inspiration. The days we bleed.The days we search for security.

It's in these days that we forget. It's in these days that we lose our grip instead of holding tight. It's in these days that we become like the Israelites when they came to Red Sea. They had forgotten the Seven Plagues that reeked havoc on the Egyptians and cost them dearly, leaving the Israelites untouched. Despite the fact that they were guided by a mysterious pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of blazing fire by night, they forgot. When they were stuck between the Red Sea and the enclosing Egyptians, they did not believe, they forgot! They had witnessed several miracles with their own eyes of God's favor and saving hand, and yet, they panicked! They cried out to God and to Moses saying, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex.13:11-12)

The nerve!

Moses relied to them, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Ex. 13:13-14)

Isn't that beautiful? "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." This is the answer to our searching days of shadow. Just be still. Don't mourn the days that used to be and don't search for better days to come. Just be still. Your deliverance is just around the corner. If you are too busy searching for the security and answers your heart longs for, you may just miss it.

"For Today and it's Blessings, I owe the World an Attitude of Gratitude." Each day is a priceless gift regardless of the weather.

Convenient? I think not.

Something I learned about my culture when I moved and ventured off to different countries was that we, as Americans, LOVE convenience.

When I was in Germany, my friend Rebecca would ride her bike every morning to a bakery to buy us fresh baguettes for breakfast. Some would still be warm on the lucky days. She could've drove to the bakery, bought enough for the week, and used that time to sleep in or do "more productive" things. But no, the combination of the exercise, outdoor beauty, and fresh-out-of-the-oven bread outweighed any more convenient alternative. I loved this about Europe. Coffee is served in ceramic mugs and your dinner is never cut short with an early check. They understand and value a coffee and tea break or a long drawn-out meal. To them, these are never to be rushed.

Right here in Cumming, there are two Starbucks on exit 13 off GA 400. I imagine the reasoning behind this is so the people on the east side have one and the people on the west side have one. They are maybe half a mile away from each other. But this way, nobody has to deal with the inconvenience of driving over the highway. There are mattress stores, nail salons, Walmarts, and tire shops EVERYWHERE! We have drive through coffee, food, dry cleaning, and even mini-marts so we can keep our cars and routines running. Everything is based upon the convenience of our constantly moving busy schedules.

We (being a good majority of teens and adults) are approaching our relationships with this same convenient mindset.

Some are looking for convenience.

-Someone with money, benefits, or advantages. Someone who will make them feel better, increase their popularity, or get them closer to their goal. Some are just looking to get laid and will take anyone who will fill that gap in their lives or satisfy an uncontrollable hunger.

While others are so desperate and lacking that they have made themselves convenient.

-This is most common in our young girls.

I cannot count how many one-sided conversations I've listened to where a girl friend is dealing with so much garbage because she's "so in love", or "doesn't want to hurt him", or (my favorite) "can't live without him because I don't know who I am without him."

Basically, the majority of our young women today view themselves as garbage bins without realizing it. Have you taken a look recently or even gotten a whiff of what your garbage bin smells and looks like? If you haven't, go outside and do it right now. Open it up, look inside, and inhale. That is what your heart will look and smell like, if doesn't already. And it's not any one's fault but yours.

I believe that God places people in our lives who are to love, care, and protect our hearts. Some of us our fortunate and blessed to have them, and some of us are forced to fend for ourselves. Regardless of your past, your situation, or your heart's loneliness, you ultimately are the one responsible for the care and upkeep of your heart. You cannot blame every heartbreak on the other side because you made yourself convenient. You did not convey to the other side that you are the treasure that was Wonderfully Made and is Fiercely LOVED by your Creator. You conveyed that you were just a garbage bin, made to bear emotional, physical, and/or verbal garbage.

This is not YOU. This is not what you were created for. You are not an assembly line product of standard issue. Time, Care, and Precision went into creating you. You are HIS unique creation and art. One of its kind, never to be duplicated. You would never allow someone to dump crap on a Monet, Degas, or Michael Angelo piece, but yet you would let them dump it on you when you are a piece made by the God of the Universe.

Ladies, it is time that you realize your value. Its time that you take ownership and responsibility for your heart's present state.

You can do this by securing your hearts as we would a Michael Angelo. Allow people close enough to examine it and take in its beauty, but not close enough to dump on it. Once the boundaries are set and security in place, its time to restore. Clean out any garbage or residue that's sticking around your heart by immersing yourself in the truth of God's Word. Pick up a book to help you get started. Anything by Joyce Meyer or Beth Moore is bound to change your life. Being that they are Women who have take a ride around the block and found their way back to Christ, they know what you're going through and how to get you through it. And once you're secure and all cleaned up, it's just about the maintenance. Frequent spiritual check ins, dusting, and wipe downs of your heart will ensure that it never goes back to looking the way it used to.

I want you to take ownership of heart and realize the incredible beauty that you are. Stop listening and accepting the lies that have tortured you day in and day out.

You are fearfully wonderfully made!

Do not be afraid for am with you! Don't be frightened, for I am your God! I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my saving right hand! Isaiah 41:10

Love Revolution

I promised myself when I started this blog that if ever I didn't have something of value or substance to write, that I wouldn't. Im finding too many blogs detailing people's diet plans, workout routines, and whiner diaries. Instead of getting their words out in a way that would benefit and bless others, people are speaking out to get noticed or make you feel guilty about the peanut butter mnm's you just ate. All this to say it's been way too long since I've blogged.

(And Yes, I do have a bowl of peanut butter mnm's right here in front of me and they are DIVINE!)

Windows...

"Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father.Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end." -John 13:1

The windows we have of opportunity and influence are not open forever.

"Don't imagine that because you are a part of the king's household you will be the one Jew who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear from another source, while you and your father's household will perish. It may very well be that you have achieved royal status for such a time as this!"

-Esther 4:14

"For I know what I have planned for you" says The Lord. "I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope."

-Jeremiah 29:11

The windows we have of opportunity and influence are not open forever.

We are all granted "windows." They are an opportunity to inspire and influence the lives of others. They are blessings, not rights. Take a moment to think of as many people as you can that are in your "circle." People that you see or converse with on a regular basis. (your parents, children, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, neighbors, co-workers, bosses)

Now, with every person that you thought of, came at least one window. Some of those windows are wide open and waiting for someone to freshen the place up with breeze of goodness, hope, or healing. Some are sealed shut and need a hand in opening up. Some have curtains drawn in front out of fear or hurt. And some, are open without you even being aware of it. Whatever the situation...we each have at least one window and it's not going to be open forever.

There is urgency that I feel in this analogy of people and their windows, that I struggle to convey in words. We were created for such a time as this! The effectiveness you have now, at whatever age you may be, will not last forever. I think back to the guys and girls I looked up to and imitated growing up. As I grew, things changed, and who I admired changed. I no longer looked up to 6th grade girls, I now looked up to the high-school girls. Then I no longer looked up to the high-school girls, but to the college-age women. Then I no longer looked up to the college-age women but to the young, accomplished, and successful women.

And the line continues on to continue changing...

Get the idea?

The windows of opportunity and influence that are opened to us now, will one day be closed. With that knowledge, I feel such an urgency to make the most of the time and power I have now! We need to make a difference now while we are young! We cannot afford to lose any more time! We don't know how much or how little time we have or the people in our "circle" have left.

A visual illustration of LOVE in the form of protection...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL2ZwXj1tXM

This video by Three Days Grace illustrates the idea of LOVE in the form of protection so beautifully...

Every Heart NEEDS to be Fought For

LOVE in the form of protection, acceptance, validation, and physical touch are essential to the human heart.

I began reading the book, Captivating last summer, during my tour with 13FLOOR in Europe . The journey it has taken me on has been incredible! I met a girl my age in Belgium who carried the book with her from her home in the States, because she knew the Lord wanted her to pass it on to a heart that needed it. After only a few short of hours of cleaning, stacking chairs, and peeling tape off a truck...God spoke. Mine was the heart that needed the book and I am so thankful for Elise and her obedience to God's voice.

In the book, John and Stasi Eldredge articulate beautifully the silenced cry of our hearts as women. God designed a woman's heart to be soft, gentle, nurturing, etc. There is so much on this topic to be explored, but Im going to save that for another rainy day and focus on the dusty corner of every girl's heart that yearns to be fought for. In almost every fairytale, the climax of our story builds with the struggle of our beauty trapped and hurt (or sleeping) while our hero is fighting to rescue her. He's fighting with everything he has to protect her.


That LOVE shown in form of protection speaks enormous volumes to the little girls, young women, middle-aged mothers, and even old grannys in your life. It speaks to that dusty corner that most of us have forgotten about. It says, "You are someone special. You are precious. You are valued. You are worthy of my effort." Perhaps, you understand this volume, because you have once (or even many times) intervened and stepped in front of your beloved to protect her heart. Or perhaps you understand because you are someone's beloved.

Now, I want you to imagine...nobody has EVER fought for you.
Maybe you don't need to imagine.

Every Heart NEEDS to be Fought For.




Jana's Heart NEEDS to be fought for. At 15 years old, her chances and hope of being someone's beloved is drifting away from her. This September birthday will bring no joy for Jana, only reality. The reality of being turned out of the orphanage. The reality of having to find herself a job, a place to live, and way to survive. The statistics of Jana's survival are slim. Within 5years, 90% of the orphans end up in crime, prison, prostitution,drug addiction, or homeless. Another 5% commit suicide. The primary means of birth control is abortion. The average woman has 8 abortions before she is 40 years old.

Kevin and Cindy Tuttle, along with myself and others are fighting to protect Jana's heart from this reality. I have not had the opportunity to meet her, but Kevin and his daughter Kristen did while they were in Latvia, finalizing paperwork on the adoption of their son and brother, Aleks. Aleks and Jana are from the same orphanage. Jana is waiting for her Forever Family to take her home. And I believe, that her Forever Family is looking for her right now.

Join me in the MOVEMENT for Jana's heart!

LOVE in Movement

I've decided to title this blog and journal journey, LOVE in Movement for many reasons.

1. LOVE is best demonstrated through actions (MOVEMENT). Words are hollow when they are not carried through.

2. LOVE in the form of protection, acceptance, validation, and physical touch are essential to the human heart.

3. LOVE is powerful. It can bring healing, restoration, peace, comfort, hope, inspiration, and life when demonstrated unselfishly. LOVE withheld, whether by choice or circumstance, kills and destroys.

4. The concept of LOVE and how to truly LOVE people and The Lord has been an ongoing journey for my heart.

5.Because I am a dancer and my heart and LOVE for Christ is expressed through MOVEMENT.

6. MOVEMENT is work and LOVE is work. Both require continual maintenance and care.

7. LOVE is used between 300 and 500 times in the Bible depending on what version you read. Leading me to believe that it's not something to be taken lightly.

8. Because LOVE is a sacrifice. When Christ humbled Himself to Earth and began His slow MOVEMENT towards His inevitable death...He made the ultimate sacrifice. And through this, we can live life and live it abundantly.


I have a heavy heart for the emotional healing, restoration, and freedom of God's People. This Passion for People and Passion for MOVEMENT is a flame that I hope The Lord ignites and keeps burning for a long time. I want to make take this heavy heart and LOVE for dance, and combine them into a MOVEMENT Ministry that release God's People into freedom and worship. At the same time, I am conflicted with the reality of life. Passion doesn't feed families, pay bills, buy groceries, buy a car, then fill my tank for 2.84 a gallon. But then, I read the verses in Matthew 6 and my perspective changes...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than food and isn't there more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: they do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worry can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? So then, do not worry saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the unconverted pursue these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But above all, pursue His Kingdom and Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25-34

When I look behind me and see the valleys the Lord has walked me through, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and LOVE for this season of sunshine and peace. Then I think of how people can walk through valleys alone, or simply give up, set up camp, and stay in their valleys. I want them to experience holding Christ's hand as He walks them through difficult times. I want them to be awed by the beauty of freedom that's waiting for them on the other side. And want them to remember the days of sunshine. So when it rains and we find ourselves in a valley again, we will push through the race set before us.

I'm still not sure how The Lord is gonna use these Passions exactly, but I know that they were not layed upon my heart for nothing. There is a reason for this burden, and I must do something about it.

LOVE in Movement is the piecing of a puzzle that reveals a bigger picture...