This post is not about moving as in moving from one house to another. It's about following God's commands and His leading.
I've been reading more in Exodus. Now I'm reading about the plagues. (I'm past that now but I had been reading about the plagues). Before God brought the plague upon Egypt, He told Moses and Aaron what to do and say to Pharaoh when they went before Pharaoh. God always said "Go to Pharaoh...", then his specific order followed. Whenever God was about to move, or show His power, He always told Moses/Aaron what to say or do- so that God's power would be revealed and the Israelites and Egyptians would KNOW that HE IS GOD.
When God said GO, Moses and Aaron WENT. (Okay so Moses was definitely unsure of himself and argued with God when God first called him at the burning bush- but Moses eventually went.) If Moses had not responded to God's calling, then Moses would not have grown into the man of God that he became. Recently I've thought about what if Exodus 14:16 never happened.
((to Moses God said) 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.) What if Moses had not done that. Would God still have shown His power? Would God still have parted the Red Sea by another means of His power and shown more of His glory?
If Moses had not moved, when God said GO, if Moses had not spoken to Pharaoh when God said tell him this, if Moses had not fully obeyed God- Moses would have had many missed opportunities to serve God and to be His vessel. Moses would not have become the man of God that God created him to be.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A Snake's Tail...
Despite my rather boring morning...Let's be honest for a second. I haven't exactly been reading my bible lately. I've been really sick the past few days- almost a week that I've been sick. Last Sunday, I watched The Prince of Egypt on youtube (yes it's all there) and, again, I was blown away at how God used Moses- just an ordinary person. Moses was on God's mind from the beginning. The Israelites had been under the oppression of Pharaoh for many years, and God had in mind to deliver them, though the israelites didn't think so. They had been working hard for Pharaoh for many years and after working with bricks, straw, and clay for too long- they began to believe that maybe God was not going to save them from Pharaoh's hand. What their situation came down to was trust...would they really trust God and believe that He was going to actually save them?
So this morning i decided to start reading in Exodus; the same story that the Prince of Egypt is- just to understand it a bit more and see God's powerful hand at work all over again. This morning I read Exodus (chapters) 1-4. I read something in chapter 4 that baffled me and got me thinking. It was verses 1-4 (That's Exodus 4:1-4 just so you're not confused.)
1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
So this morning i decided to start reading in Exodus; the same story that the Prince of Egypt is- just to understand it a bit more and see God's powerful hand at work all over again. This morning I read Exodus (chapters) 1-4. I read something in chapter 4 that baffled me and got me thinking. It was verses 1-4 (That's Exodus 4:1-4 just so you're not confused.)
1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
The part that really got me was when God told Moses to pick up the snake by its tail. AHEM...BY IT'S TAIL.. Nowadays, if someone picked up a snake by it's tail, the snake might come back and bite us. Now, picking up a snake by its tail is not a smart thing to do. I noticed in the Prince of Egypt movie that (in this part of the movie) Moses picks up the snake behind its head- the smart way to pick up a snake. But what did God say in the bible? Pick it up by its tail. God was asking Moses to trust Him on 2 (or maybe 3) accounts. 1) pick up a snake 2) pick up the snake by its tail 3) trust me that the snake will not come back and bite you. That's a lot to trust God on and really believe that the snake would not harm him when he picked it up BY THE TAIL.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Final Solo..
So i've really had a lot of topics on my mind and thought about many things I could write about on my next entry. I've had verses on my mind, spiritual topics, experiences...etc..ideas ideas ideas.
Let me begin by saying that i really do like my dance teachers. They've been so helpful to me these past years that I've been at Meredith College. They're so willing to work with me on anything or if i have a question, they'll be happy to answer it. They are also considerate of their students and are really able to be real with their students and help them out when they need it.
A few weeks ago, I performed my final solo dance. This dance was my final exam for my dance composition class. All along in this class, I have been creating new movement and learning about tools that I can use to help me in my process of creating movement. This final solo was also something that i created and performed for my class. (everyone in that class performed their solo, not just me). My final solo was/is about the battle that we as christians face everyday; the battle between the flesh and the spirit. I was really excited and a bit nervous about performing this solo. I kept praying that God would help me in this and that people would see Him in my dance and not just me. I was really looking forward to doing this solo as a form of ministry at my school and to the other students who were going to see it.
So i perform my final solo and as I was dancing it, onstage in the college's auditorium, i thought- this is what i really really want to do; travel across the country/world- and minister in my dance while i dance. Anyway, i do my dance and pray that God was glorified in it. I get my feedback later on from my teacher- and she did say a lot of things that i could have done to make my dance better and maybe a few ideas on it too..i think she did like it though.
When I saw my grade on my final solo, I was somewhat disappointed. It's not necessarily the grade that mattered much to me, it was the fact that I had worked on this dance for a really long time and I was really trying to add more to it and make it longer than one minute. Plus, I really felt like this was something great that I was creating. For example, you work on something for quite sometime, you put a lot of energy and emotion into it, you're really excited to show it or perform it, you can't wait to hear what your teacher/peers think about your piece, and you're just looking forward to the whole experience. Then when u do hear from your teacher or see the grade and it's not what you thought you'd get, it's kind of depressing and disappointing.
This is what happened to me in regards to my final solo. It's not that i didn't appreciate the valuable feedback I got from my teacher because I really did value it and she had some really great pointers. The grade I received was not what I was expecting.
This really all comes down to one thing, and one thing only --> Jesus Christ.
The other conclusion I came to in the midst of this was that I really was doing this for God and since He gave me a love for dance, why not give honor back to Him in my dance and just thank Him for taking away all my sin? I also thought that although I should respect people's opinions and advice, Jesus' thoughts on me is what I should be most concerned about.
In lieu of all these words, go watch my final solo- it's on my facebook page. Know that I am really doing it for Him; it's just that other people happen to be seeing it also.
Let me begin by saying that i really do like my dance teachers. They've been so helpful to me these past years that I've been at Meredith College. They're so willing to work with me on anything or if i have a question, they'll be happy to answer it. They are also considerate of their students and are really able to be real with their students and help them out when they need it.
A few weeks ago, I performed my final solo dance. This dance was my final exam for my dance composition class. All along in this class, I have been creating new movement and learning about tools that I can use to help me in my process of creating movement. This final solo was also something that i created and performed for my class. (everyone in that class performed their solo, not just me). My final solo was/is about the battle that we as christians face everyday; the battle between the flesh and the spirit. I was really excited and a bit nervous about performing this solo. I kept praying that God would help me in this and that people would see Him in my dance and not just me. I was really looking forward to doing this solo as a form of ministry at my school and to the other students who were going to see it.
So i perform my final solo and as I was dancing it, onstage in the college's auditorium, i thought- this is what i really really want to do; travel across the country/world- and minister in my dance while i dance. Anyway, i do my dance and pray that God was glorified in it. I get my feedback later on from my teacher- and she did say a lot of things that i could have done to make my dance better and maybe a few ideas on it too..i think she did like it though.
When I saw my grade on my final solo, I was somewhat disappointed. It's not necessarily the grade that mattered much to me, it was the fact that I had worked on this dance for a really long time and I was really trying to add more to it and make it longer than one minute. Plus, I really felt like this was something great that I was creating. For example, you work on something for quite sometime, you put a lot of energy and emotion into it, you're really excited to show it or perform it, you can't wait to hear what your teacher/peers think about your piece, and you're just looking forward to the whole experience. Then when u do hear from your teacher or see the grade and it's not what you thought you'd get, it's kind of depressing and disappointing.
This is what happened to me in regards to my final solo. It's not that i didn't appreciate the valuable feedback I got from my teacher because I really did value it and she had some really great pointers. The grade I received was not what I was expecting.
This really all comes down to one thing, and one thing only --> Jesus Christ.
The other conclusion I came to in the midst of this was that I really was doing this for God and since He gave me a love for dance, why not give honor back to Him in my dance and just thank Him for taking away all my sin? I also thought that although I should respect people's opinions and advice, Jesus' thoughts on me is what I should be most concerned about.
In lieu of all these words, go watch my final solo- it's on my facebook page. Know that I am really doing it for Him; it's just that other people happen to be seeing it also.
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