Give Me Your Eyes: Part 3

Do you ever have that moment when God reminds you that you’re not perfect? :)
So fun, huh?
In a post from last week I wrote about our night of productivity where we choreographed a dance, mapped out a drama, taught it all and filmed it in just a few hours - to the song Give Me Your Eyes for another church.
So great…so last night sarah and I went to St. Joseph’s church in Lino Lakes. to teach this dance. All you people reading this who know sarah and I are probably thinking – oh, I didn’t know sarah and jillian danced!
That’s because we don’t. haha…
But our trusty choreographers/amazing dance teachers were otherwise engaged for the evening…so it was up to us. and we were nervous. its one thing to stumble through a dance with our own kids who at least know we’re good at other things…:) but a whole other thing to do it in front of ppl we have never met. We’ll just call it humbling. ;)
BUT…God’s got it. no worry necessary. :)
We got there, the building is gorgeous, 2 of the leaders were there – and they were SO great to work with! They have really amazing hearts for ministry and for the youth and the community and just figuring out how to reach out using the arts. so cool to see and so in line with where our hearts are.
And after a few technical difficulties (not anyone’s fault…it was a ghost…so its fine)…we got things up and running and some of the girls showed up to learn the dance and through what is truly a testimony of God’s abilities to use just about anyone for anything (referring to the dance teachers for the evening…haha) – they learned it! they were so great and so patient…and they made it look so pretty :)
So it was a really good night.
Such a blessing to get to work with other churches and other ppl working in ministry.
We’ll be working out a video with lyrics and pictures this week, and gathering a mix of our team and more youth from St. Joe’s for another practice next week!
So fun :)
some encouragement – let God use you…even when it is not in your comfort zone even a little bit…because He wants His will to be done. He’s not going to let it fail. So just trust that if He’s calling you to it and its not something you think you can do – its cuz He wants ppl to see Him…not you. you just need to watch Him work…and make sure you pay attention – that’s the God of the universe inside of you working. You wont want to miss it.
So keep us in your prayers as we finish up details and pray that the right ppl step up to be a part of this and that it all comes together in a way that will preach the message of God’s love for His ppl!

And if you’re free – come check it out on January 12th :)

-ALIVE

how many kings?

i just wanted to share a song that i am really loving this Christmas. its by Downhere, called How Many Kings. Every year it seems like God teaches me something new about His character through Christmas. and this year He seems to be wanting me to see the humility in the Christmas story.

there is something so incredibly, almost painful its so intense, pure about seeing the king of kings step down from His throne, and then seeing Him lying in a manger...as a baby. vulnerable and small. with the animals.

how do you give up every single ounce of pride? how do you know you are God and not demand respect and recognition? how do you live so devoted- to people who may or may not love you back...?

its incredible.

so this song just basically says whats in my head...and just the sheer awesomeness of his humility and how powerful it really is.

and to know that He didnt need to do it...He wanted to. because He loves us so much...

-ALIVE

GIve Me Your Eyes: Part 2

all right...just wanted take a moment to say PRAISE THE LORD!!! haha...for real. last night. 4 hrs. we went from having a vague outline for a dance/drama to the song Give Me Your Eyes by brandon heath - to having a choreographed dance/drama learned by 6 ppl and recorded on video.

team??? team.

we asked God to inspire us and to show us what it would need to look like because we have never seen the stage or the building and we have never met the ppl we will be working with - so its hard to nail down details...so we left it up to God to lead us. :)

and He did!

so special shout out to HIM! thanks for all your help :) and thank you also to our amazing A's ;) and the team who came and worked so hard to learn the dance fast. it was so great.

im posting a little clip of the video (filmed on my laptop...so not the highest quality - but it works...:) ) so you can see what we worked on!

cool, huh?

love when God takes over. love that He lets us experience His creativity. so exciting.

we will continue to be praying through this as we meet the other team, teach this, and then perform it at St. Joseph's. :) we'll continue to perfect this and play with it and see where He takes it!

so keep us in your prayers as we go forward - that this drama/dance will carry a message to ppl who really need to hear it, and that God will use it in BIG ways! :)

this is from Pastor Steven Furtick's blog...

Im praying that God would give all of our churches a seemingly impossible, logic defying, God glorifying harvest this week. We have the greatest news in the world and it simply must be told-Its time. Hold nothing back. Pray every second you can. Have faith that He is going to move in ways you cant even imagine. Be ready for when He does. Be bold. Be clear. Watch God move. Then celebrate like you never have before

love that...such a cool prayer made in faith. and something i want to live out - constantly trusting God for really huge things.

i'm also posting this video...its of the "not-so-choreographed" moments of our dance lesson. :) always interesting...haha

Merry Christmas friends!!! :)

-ALIVE

Give Me Your Eyes

Hi friends :)
Just wanted to post a quick update…
this was supposed to be our week off…surprise! …its not now. Haha at least not for some of us. Its ok though – we are working on a project for another church that is coming up in January and we are just thanking God that He has given us such an awesome team that is willing to step in when we need them…even when we surprise them with a last minute project.
So tonight…the goal –
to fill in details to dance/drama to “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath.
Teach it to a few of the team members.
FILM the dance/drama so we have a teaching tool for next week.
Team.
Believing that God can pull it off. :)
Praying for some BIG divine inspiration for the A’s (aka Ashley and Austin…aka our choreographers…haha)
This is a really exciting opportunity to help another church and be able to work with another part of the body and just get to see another church work and let God use our creativity! So next Tuesday we will meet this other group and have our first practice!
So fun.
So keep us in your prayers tonight as we squeeze in one last thing before the holiday weekend begins!!! :)

and a quote that i am loving based on the verse from james (1:2-4)
Count it a joy, dear one, when life gets hard.God is doing something huge! He is also proving that you are not a fake. Be brave mighty warrior, Your God is with you! When waves are crashing, stand to your feet, throw your head back and feel the wind of the Spirit!
God is painting a masterpiece with multi-colored trials. Go forth and display Divine special effects to the great Glory of God!

- Beth Moore

-ALIVE

is it worth it?

ok, here is a question that God keeps bringing up and then provided a visual for- last wednesday at youth group... they showed a video clip from the Passion of the Christ....(i cant remember what song it was to), but it was a look at Jesus in the garden, and then arrested, and whipped and then put on the cross. TOUGH stuff. (that movie never gets easier to watch.) but what God has been revealing to me is this...(im going to walk you through my thought process the best i can...;) ) the Bible says that the "wages of sin is death"... so the first time we sinned, that should have been it for us. but it wasnt. but God is just - He cant change that, it is a foundation of His very being...so somebody had to die in order for justice to be fulfilled...and since we havent hung on a cross, Jesus' death must have taken care of it for us. (not what i am trying to get to - but take a second and just thank Him that you didnt have to go through what He did!!!) some might say that seems a bit extreme - death on a cross? well here's the thing...we were warned. right? He said - "follow my commandments" why? because "the wages of sin is death". and yet... we choose to sin. once? twice? or over and over... why dont we think about that phrase "the wages of sin is death"? is it because it doesnt apply to us anymore? (at least not immediately...) but what God is telling me is not to minimize what that means...because minimizing the price of sin minimizes what Jesus did for us. and here's another thought.... every time we sin, every time we are about to do something we KNOW is not what God wants - what if we stopped to think..."is this worth dying for?" this movie, this moment of anger, this gossip...is it worth dying for? intense, huh? thats what i thought when i first thought it. and when i watched that video, it hit me on a whole new level of intensity. is this moment of pleasure, this fleeting moment of what I want WORTH the price? and if we decide that it is...heres the next question -

is it still worth it if you knew that not you, but JESUS, would be paying that price for you?

my intent is not to condemn...not at all. thats not my job and God knows i am in no place to look down on anyone - i have sinned and still sin, but i am learning to discipline myself. to put God first in EVERY situation... why? because i have yet to come up with a single thing where the answer is yes when the question is "is this worth Jesus dying for?" i know we hear this so much - but dont just glance over it...He loved/loves us SO much that He paid that price. even though we choose ourselves over Him so many times... so i guess what God is wanting to instill in me, in us - is that He saw our hearts, saw that we would mess up - and He offered us a second chance. (well, He has offered 3rd, 4th, and 5th chances...) but the point is He didnt just wash His hands of us. and we need to realize how huge that is. we need to stop minimizing what we are doing when we sin. the price of our disobedience is death...but due to no credit to ourselves - that price was paid. so lets grab a hold of that freedom and STOP looking back. lets just be glad we are free and find out what was so important that He died so He could show it to us...

-ALIVE

Bus Driver

ok...i am posting this video from our christmas party. this is one of many times we have played many times. its an improv game where basically there is a bus driver (hence the name of the game) and he sits on the stage. then someone walks up on to the stage and acts a certain way (crying, dancing, talking with an accent, etc...there really is no end to the possibilities...haha) and when that person gets on the bus acting like they are - the bus driver has to adopt the same character.

and you just keep adding ppl. so the next person would get on the bus acting a different way and then everyone has to switch characters to match.

and so on, so on.

all in all - its pretty entertaining. and its just fun to see what they come up with :) plus its good practice being in front of ppl, thinking on your feet, and working together.

we also used it in Mexico at the childrens home - a great game to play when there's a language barrier! :)

so here is just a glimpse...enjoy!

-ALIVE

2nd Annual Christmas Party!

ok...so we had our christmas party tonight! :) we missed the people that couldnt make it - but it was still so fun! basically we played some games, ate some snacks, read a little from Forgotten God, and just enjoyed each other's company...we'll call this the calm before the storm...;) its been a little bit of a chill time for the team, and now we are taking two weeks off...but we have quite a few projects popping up here for the next few weeks/months! super exciting stuff - but it'll be a lot of work. This is all God's though, so even when it seems overwhelming, thats when He shows us what He can do...love when that happens. :)

below are some pictures from the party...

most ppl are familiar with the "dice game"...where everyone brings a white elephant gift, and then everyone rolls dice to try to get doubles, and if you get doubles - you pick a gift. well, who needs those little tiny dice when you can have giant dice made of boxes and sarah drawing snowman for the dots??? :)

food table...:) classy newspaper tablecloth and festive lights at the end :) haha...soooo festive...


jordan showing off her sweet gift :) her stuffed frog that gives her hugs and her "kids travel book"...(which she laughed at but really secretly loves...)

and sarah sporting her new fairy wings!!! :)
just a little glimpse into the life of an ALIVE member :) pretty exciting, right? we spent some time talking about how Jesus came to earth, left his throne to come into humility. He came and sacrificed His comfort so that we could be able to have more than we would ever even know to ask for...

in Forgotten God it talks about how Jesus didnt die and rise again to sit and wait for us to tell Him what to do. he didnt die to follow us around...

so we need to stop thinking that way. stop just adding Him into our plans or going to Him when we want something. we asked the team - why? why is it such a big deal if we just go to God when we want something? what does it hurt?

because it affects more than just us. God is not a stone or a statue that we think about or pray to every once and awhile...He is living, breathing, and feeling - and He loves us. He loves us a lot. so what we do - AFFECTS Him. its not about us.

so this Christmas...take some time, get to know God more - His heart. see where He is calling you, what He wants you to be doing. and just follow Him...:)

God has been teaching me A LOT lately - so be expecting a few more posts to come! :)

-ALIVE

Light Arting!

so we decided to play with something we have named "Light Arting". i'm pretty sure its a technical term...;) but we basically found a room, turned on some music, gave everyone glow sticks and lights, turned off all the lights...and well - you can see what came of it :) im only putting up a few of the pics, there are many many more really cool ones......

when i look at some of these i just really love to think of the light as what the Holy Spirit looks like when He's moving. as we celebrate or as we pray for Him to rain down or as we pray for His fire to ignite - i just feel like these lights give this visual to it. obviously the Spirit is so much bigger and greater than glowsticks in a dark room...but its just a glimpse...

this first one is one of my favorites, its one of a few we took of ashley doing some dancing with the lights...love it.
this orange one was made while sarah did a "celebration" dance :)

this one is one of our attempts at creating fire...love this one.

:) this one just makes me laugh everytime...we spelled a few different words - but this was a challenging one...

-ALIVE

my life to declare your...?

happy monday :)
i know i have been blogging a lot more than normal lately...haha but i'm posting again because i had a revelation yesterday that i want to share...

so at church we sang the song - The Stand, by Hillsong.
love that song. and i have heard it and sung it about a million times. but yesterday the line "my life to declare Your promise" stood out to me. basically as we sing that we are asking that our lives be a clear picture of God's promise. that when people look at our lives - they can't deny that God keeps His promises.
and i thought about that...
and i realized that God wanted me to be more specific in my prayer. He wants the prayer for my life to be - my life to declare Your faithfulness.
now - it kind of sounds like the same thing...but God has given us LOTS of promises throughout His word...promises to never leave our side, promises to love us, promises to provide all of our needs, and so many more.
now He is more than able to and He WILL fulfill all of His promises to us...
but i felt like God wanted to create a picture of His faithfulness that would stand out in my life, more than the other promises.
its a little (ok, a lot) scary to think about - asking God to really use my life so that throughout it all - His faithfulness will be seen.......but how can i say no to something like that? :)
to God's plan? we never know what we are missing out on by holding back...
today - take a few minutes and ask Him what He wants to use your life for. what He wants your life to declare to the whole world - for Him.
so that when people look at your life they KNOW that God is a provider, is loving, is a comforter, is joy, is...... - i dont know. only God knows.
but i have been reading stories about these people whose lives scream the characteristics of God. Esther - God's faithfulness. Ruth - God's grace and love. Paul - God's power. Esther that i blogged about a few days ago - God's provision, in helping her be prepared for what He was calling her to. amazing stuff, guys!

so i want my life to SCREAM "God IS faithful!"
He has already begun to show this in my life and is in the process of revealing it more. i pray that He continues to do so - so that my whole life declares that, and no one can deny that He is faithful, He will come through, He will speak and His words will not return empty. He is sovereign and He knows every detail.
amazing.

so-
fill in the blank...

My life to declare Your ...........
now start praying this over your life...knowing that if its of Him - He will keep His promises. And be ready to surrender yourself and let Him work in you so that He can accomplish all His purposes through you.
we have an invitaion to be a part of all He is doing - lets not minimize it or ignore it! its just too good to pass up...:)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

-ALIVE

team arting

for the last two weeks, for part of our ALIVE meetings, we have been working on a little team arting project. i wrote more about it in an earlier post - but we set down one piece of cardboard and all the supplies and told them to all work together on it.

Abbie gave us a verse for inspiration, so we used that to start.

the verse is 2 corinthians 3:15-18.

Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatethe Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

its still a work in progress, but its getting there :) and its fun to work on it together and also to see people who normally dont "art" play with it and have fun with it. :)

we definitely have a creative group...so fun.

i'll add more pictures as we finish more! :)

-ALIVE

Morph Painting

In one of my last posts i wrote about our "Morph" painting/drawing that we did at Edinbrook Church during the worship time. these are pictures of the painted versions. :) from broken to healed...a picture of God's grace. and how he takes us from broken to whole. love it. we are so blessed to be able to work with people who love using their gifts for God's glory :)

-ALIVE

are you ready?

So I just recently read this story about a woman names Esther Ahn Kim. She is a Korean who was imprisoned for 6 years for not bowing down to the shrines that were everywhere. And before she went to prison – she knew there was a good chance that she would be going, so she prepared. She ate decaying food because she knew that’s what she would be served in prison. She memorized a ton of scripture because she knew she wouldn’t have her Bible once she was there. And eventually – she was taken to prison. And she was able to eat the food. She was able to survive on less food – and bless the other, actual criminals imprisoned with her by sharing food with them, loving them, sharing scripture with them.
Think about that for a second. she had the discipline to not only stand up for her morals – but to spend real time preparing for what was coming…because she knew it would be crucial.
Now the point of the story is not that you should all go out and eat decaying food for Jesus. Don’t do that. you’ll prb get sick. The point is that she was prepared for what God was calling her to when the time came.
So today I challenge you to think about 2 things. and really take some time to think about the answers….

1) what is God calling you to? If you don’t know…what is God calling you to do RIGHT NOW, however small is seems?

2) are you preparing for it? or, are you allowing yourelf to be prepared?

If God is calling you to do something (and He is) – it is for a purpose. Its not just because He’s bored and wants to see what you’ll do. So be READY – because when the time comes, and you have to step up and take a leap of faith, you will want to be as prepared as you possibly can be.
And the ONLY WAY you will know what to do or how to get there – is if you ASK GOD what it is. Ask Him and don’t stop asking until you hear an answer.
Right before Jesus went to the cross…He went off to pray. He asked His disciples to wait for Him. (Read Matthew 26: 36-46) And He comes back to them a couple times – and finds them sleeping. The question He asks as they wake up is “couldn’t you stay awake for even an hour?”
And obviously it’s a different situation today than it was then – but in all the discipline God has been teaching me, I feel like He’s asking me the same question. He sees where Hes trying to take me, where He wants me to get to – and as I struggle with doing what i know He is asking of me and I lose focus, He asks – “cant you stay with me, just stay awake for this time?"

He has promised those who follow Him that it will not be hard forever. But while we are here, we are to surrender all of us, be living sacrifices for Him. And when the time comes, no matter how hard the journey looks from here, are we going to be ready?

-ALIVE

An Artist's Creed

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

So between reading Forgotten God, Wednesday night youth group, and my own time with God – i think its safe to say that God is teaching me about His Spirit and the spiritual gifts He has given us as His children. Gifts that are meant to be used to bring us closer to Him, but also to bring others closer to Him. Gifts that God has given us as a way to relate to Him in an incredibly unique way that is JUST for you and Him. How beautiful is that??? Personally – God has given me art. By a lot of people’s standards – I am not the greatest artist, but when I draw or paint or create – I feel God in this intensely personal way…and it. is. incredible.
For some people – art is just frustrating or boring Haha…and that’s ok. but He has given you SOMETHING…something that when you do it, when you use it for His glory – you come alive. in a way that can only be kind of understood if you have experienced it.
So find out what it is. Find it and use it. as much as you can. Meet with God using your gift, bless other people by using it…if you have absolutely no idea how to go about doing this – ASK HIM. Sit down and talk to Him. He’ll tell you – because He wants to meet with you. He doesn’t give kind of okay, mediocre gifts. So if He has gone to the trouble to make this thing a part of your design from before you were even born – you can bet that its worth finding out about. it may take some faith – to really be open to what it is He wants to give you…but trust that it is so worth it.
And when we FINALLY grab a hold of it and embrace it – we finally find our part in this crazy amazing plan that God has orchestrated, our part in His Kingdom’s cause. WOW. Love. That. !!!
Do you realize how HUGE THIS ALL IS???
Please don’t read all this and just read it like it’s a textbook. Let it soak in. let it become REAL to you…so that you are literally unable to sit still because you are so filled with this passion to find out what God is calling you to.

I was reading a blog the other day and came across this – its called An Artist’s Creed, and I love it. say this and pray through it any time you are ready to use your gifts. That even in the seemingly “small” things – God will do huge things.

I believe my talents are a gift from God, and I am to use them to fulfill His purposes in my life and in his world. I humbly acknowledge and accept my gifts as I ask to receive God's vision for how I am to use them. I ask the Holy Spirit to free me from self-doubt and self-absorption. I pray this work will bring me into closer alignment with God's plan for me as I seek to bring my gifts and talents into His light and to become the whole and complete person He intends me to be.
Amen.

An Artist's Creed - janice elsheimer, from the book “The Creative Call”

Be filled anew with the Spirit, friends!
Please don’t miss what God is trying to tell you today!

-ALIVE