Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Good Things

These are just some things from my quiet time book that I liked:

Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him--I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him--this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole Bible.

Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest

When God wants to drill a man,
and thrill a man,
and skill a man
to play the noblest part;
when He yearns with all His heart
to create so great and bold a man
that all the world shall be amazed,
watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How he bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out--
God knows what He's about.

Author Unknown

Thursday, March 10, 2005

God's Grace for a Woman of Folly

I've been a little worried about finances as of late because of my risky decision to pay for ballroom dancing lessons without any funds coming in. Add to that the pressure of a father who thinks you are wasting your money and ruining your credit only a few months out of college, and bring on the panic. Have I made an unwise decision? Or is this the best time in my life to get started since I have no other time or monetary commitments? I really had to force myself to calm down enough to ask God to provide for me through Manpower, which is a temp agency. I was still waiting for a phone call from them and still freaking out yesterday when I went to this grassy knoll by where my house is being built. I went to work on Bible study, but first I prayed one more time for God to have mercy on me even though I might have acted foolishly with my money, and to rescue me from my own folly. After I prayed I had this certainty that not only would God provide, but He would do so that afternoon. Strange. So, I did Bible study for about an hour and drove home. Maybe about an hour after I got home Manpower called and offered me a receptionist job for next few months. I start on Friday.

Praise the Lord for He is good.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

And a One, Two, Three

In answer to Tom's questions in his posted comment:
1. Zero trophies, one medal for the team match.
2. I did not keep the false eyelashes. I didn't even wear them. They felt too weird.

The competition was an exciting time with lots of great dancing. There were two highlights of the evening. The first was when they announced that team Phoenix had won the team match. However, the real highlight was watching the pro couple dance. They were amazing. I think in the pro dance world they dance faster, and I think that is to showcase their skills of balance and footwork. So if they are playing a song that has a beat like 1-2-3-4, us normal people would do one step for each beat. These dancers danced at about twice that speed. So picture really fast latin dances punctuated by really slow drawn out movements.

I also found out my score for the competition. I got a 93 out of 100. I found this out Monday night at my critique with the male part of the pro dancing couple. He was really nice and British. He said a 93 isn't bad because the highest score they gave was a 97, and they only gave out a few scores between 93 and 97. So, that was nice. Then he wathced me dance with Robert and corrected my posture.

So, that was that. It was a really fun time, and it also helped me think about and evaluate the place ballroom dancing will have in my life.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Wish Me Luck

Well, on Sunday March 6th I will be competing in my first ballroom dancing competition. I am dancing in the freestyle events which means I don't have choreographed routines. I will be competing in the salsa, cha cha, mambo, rumba, hustle, waltz and tango. I will also be doing the Salsa in a team match. In the freestyle events I am judged on technique in the team match we are judged on how much fun we are having and how loud we are cheering for our team. Woooo!

I will be wearing more makeup than I've ever worn on all the other occasions in my life combined, I will have false eyelashes, and a really big smile. I will have numerous costume changes (by costumes I don't mean the ridiculously expensive dance costumes you typically see, but my own outfits. However, I have met someone who knows the person who made the costumes for Jennifer Lopez in Shall We Dance, so perhaps someday...). I will also be having a really good time. I am super excited to be doing this and my mom is coming to watch.

In all my wildest dreams I never imagined I would actually be in a competition. It's something I always said I would be doing, but never took steps to realize. So, wish me luck on this exciting endeavor, and I'll keep you all posted.