Love's like a hurricane...

the first video we made was about how God is jealous for us.

the second - 

is how His love is like a hurricane.

His love is powerful and it will impact us EVERY. TIME.

check it out...

let Him show you 

how He loves you.

and let it change you.

:)

-ALIVE

He is jealous for me...

for our wednesday night youth gathering last week - 

we wanted to spend some time thinking about HOW God loves us.

so - we looked at the song How He Loves by David Crowder Band.

and a few of the words jumped out...

the first one?

He is JEALOUS for me.

do we ever think about what it means to have the creator of the Earth JEALOUS for US?

maybe it has a negative connotation for you.

maybe you think about it all the time.

but when i sat down to think about what God meant when He told us He is a jealous God...

this is what i came up with.

we worked on the video for a few weeks...

Austin tried out some camera work,

the voices are from the team,

and the different shots include a lot of the team.

loved working on this video - 

and loved looking deeper into HOW God loves us

and what that looks like for us.

its really incredible to think about.

so be blessed!

and i'll post the next one later :)

-ALIVE

quick update

currently at Caribou...

new idea in process...

if you're reading this - pray that it comes together FAST :)

i'm just reminded over and over again why i don't plan things...

haha

i planned this time around...i did...

and then 2 days before God gives me a different idea.

so despite the planning - here i am.  at caribou.  working on a new thing.  

team.

:)

but - i guess, how else will we know its Him?

i just want to share a video...

its on facebook so i can't actually upload it to here - 

but follow this link and hopefully it will work.

its of MOST of the Kickoff dance the team performed...

it makes me smile.

so fun.

and whats new with ALIVE, you ask?

well - 

we learned that sardines is really fun...but not in a huge dark basement with only 10 people.

psychiatrist is fun...but not always easy.

calendar of upcoming thursdays is IN PROGRESS...

i promise.

so if you are interested in learning some painting, drawing, dancing, etc...

stay tuned.

thats all i got for now :)

have a blessed night!

-ALIVE

Kickoff 2011!

Kickoff 2011...success!

a great night of music, food, fire, dance, volleyball, chillin...lots of fun.

and............a mashup dance.

6 members of this amazing ministry spent HOURS over the past 3 weeks learning a dance.

a long dance...to a variety of different songs.

and even though it seemed crazy and overwhelming (and i can't even pretend to completely sympathize because i learned about 30 seconds of the dance...and i was on vacation for a couple of the practices)

they practiced and they worked at it and gave it all to God and they totally ROCKED it.

it was choreographed, taught to the group, part of it taught to some extremely talented adult leaders ;), learned and performed in just a few weeks...

(i just attended a leadership conference and one of the speakers talked on being willing to work for God's miracles...i just blogged on it - you can read more here!

oh, the beauty of working for God ;)

its always an adventure and He can do things we can't.

i just want to say thanks to the team for spending so much time on it!

i love seeing your hearts for ministry :)

and special thanks to all the Adult Leaders who came out and braved the Footloose dance.

you were amazing! :) (and i'm not just saying that cuz i was one of them...;) )

i will hopefully have a video of the performance (even the ending that i wasn't allowed to see until we were in front of everyone - test of my trust and my control issues...haha - pass!)  

but until then...you can watch what happens when i'm on vacation and not at practice...

video...

i'm just glad they have fun :)

if there is anyone reading this who is creative or wants to use some of their creative gifts - art, painting, drawing, acting, dancing, whatever - join us!

we'll be posting some upcoming events...like art classes, dance classes, upcoming performances- and we would LOVE to have you join us by performing or writing dramas or whatever you feel called to do.

but please - contact us!

be blessed!

-ALIVE

oh those little things...

so Pastor Ivan preached at Edinbrook on sunday and he talked about bondage. about how our sin becomes our bondage - tying us up and holding us back.

but how? it seems so OBVIOUS...dont allow yourself to be tied up, right?

but sin is tricky...the devil is tricky. and something that's been on my heart a lot lately is the truth of who satan really is. one of the things PI brought up is how the devil wants to steal, kill and destroy us. thats it. that is its goal while he has time left on this earth.

revelation 12:12 tells us -

rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

because he knows that his time is short.

he knows he doesnt have all the time in the world and he knows he will never win - so he is going to take anyone and everyone he can down with him, whatever he has to do.

and PI talked about how we get in our heads that we can manage our sin. like if we only do it a little bit - oh if i only watch this movie, or if i only gossip a little bit, or if i just go this far this one time......

we're basically saying "satan, sure - ok, i'll let you in BUT only a little tiny bit - and then you have to leave..."

sounds manageable, right? however - satan doesn't play by the rules.

one thing i want to say -

Jesus cares about you. He LOVES you. He cares enough to love you no matter what you do or how many times you mess up. He cares enough to do everything He can to give you life, without forcing you to love Him back. He leaves it up to you - all He needs is your heart, and for you to let Him work in you. to let Him free you.

satan does not and never will care about you. he will lie to you over and over again. and he doesnt care what happens as long as he can get you away from Jesus. and all he needs is an open door, even if its just a crack. and he can force his way in...he's not going to stand there and wait for an invitation to make himself at home, and he most likely isn't going to ask for our permission to stay.

so how do we keep him out?

step into God's arms and close any doors that have been opened to satan.

for good.

yes, its hard- he makes it look so fun and it seems harmless most of the time. i mean - we'll only do it to a point where we can still control it, right? so its fine!

imagine standing on a mountain...and you decide you want to keep a certain rock, you know - as a souvenir or something.

you can see this particular rock seems to be holding a lot of other (bigger) rocks in their places - but still...its just one, right? and you want it. besides - you'll be careful, and if any fall - well you'll handle it.

so you pick it up and start to walk away.

and all the other rocks begin to fall...............

are you going to tell those boulders to stop? quick explain that you only wanted the little one?

regardless of what any of us would try to do in that situation - we would not be able to stop those rocks from falling, we would not survive that on our own. its just not possible.

same goes for our open doors...we may not intend for satan to come in and stay, we might have just wanted to try a little but things have gotten out of control.

bad news - you cant fix it yourself. good news - God can. and He will.

we just have to turn our backs on satan and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

He is the ONLY truth, and He wants only the very best for us...

John 10 says

the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy...

but i come that you may have life and have it abundantly

dont settle for taking a little rock when you can overcome the whole mountain.

i dont know if you have ever heard of Lecrae (if you know me...you most likely have...haha) but he is a christian rapper and i just really love his lyrics. he works a lot of scripture into his songs and actually more than one of our dramas/videos have been inspired by a Lecrae song.

anyways - i recommend his music. :)

this particular song has been an encouragement to me - just reminding me what sin really is...and helping to keep me focused - no matter how good satan makes it look in that moment.

because no matter what he offers - its not Jesus.

so listen to the song and read the lyrics. and ask God to free you from any bondage you might be stuck in... because like i have said SO many times before on this blog...we. have. the. VICTORY in Christ!!! and nothing can take that away from us.

:)

-ALIVE

No More - Video!

ok friends....thanks to the amazing clay erickson who spent the evening of MegaWednesday filming the event and spent the last week or so being annoyed by me for this video...;) - if you missed the No More drama, you can now see it!!!



- ALIVE

Ravaged

thanks Abbie, Austin, and Jordan for your work on this!!! :)))

-ALIVE

Yesterday, Today and Forever :)

oh so fun :) last night we had dance class. intense dance class. haha...

and sarah, erika and i joined in this time. so glad we did. it was so fun.

have you heard the song Yesterday, Today and Forever by Ryan Stevenson? if not - please take a moment to listen to it...and i bet you a million dollars you cant listen to it and not dance even a little bit.

its just such a HAPPY song! God never changes! and He is calling us to Him.

and i just LOVE the picture of just trying to reach His heart with all we have - our worship.

anyways...so Austin has been working on choreographing a dance to this song and asked if we could take some time on a thursday night and learn it. so we said sure - that would be fun.

so last night we started by reading Psalm 19...

i highly recommend reading it...i am listening to Francis Chan's Crazy Love, and in it he talks about this passage. the psalm says that God's handiwork declares His glory. Francis points out that God created the world. His handiwork is His creation...His art. God's art declares His glory. and it was like God was saying - "i made you creative. i want you to have a passion for allowing me to make art through you..."

He is creating through the gifts that He has given His children. His art is declaring His glory. so when we allow Him to create through us - its His art. and as we allow Him to move us and create through us - His glory is declared!!!

God is strongly suggesting that we creative types spend our time being creative and creating with Him - the most creative being that has been or ever will be...that is our ministry. that is our calling. no, please God dont make me do what i love in order to serve you! :) i mean seriously? what a crazy blessing! what are we waiting for??? He is just getting me so excited about intentionally letting Him loose in my life and just following- whereever He leads. oh man...so good.

the last half of the night we spent with our hearts racing, not breathing, and stumbling over our feet...haha...BUT eventually, after some work and instruction - we learned part of the dance! and it was so fun to learn (even for the "non-dancers") and just worship while doing it. loved it. and it looks so cool! we made some of the ppl who mastered it and made it look cool do it while we recorded it so i am going to post the video here - you can get a glimpse of what we worked on :)

not sure what we'll use it for or when - but God will use it when He wants to...

so thanks team for being good sports :) and thanks austin for creating the dance!

have a BLESSED weekend...

-ALIVE

Give Me Your Eyes: Part 4

Practice #2 at St. Joes = success! :) i was really excited to go tonight and work with the group. we brought 5 of our team members along and there were 8 from st. joes. so a really great group! and it was even better because our favorite dance teachers were there ;) it went really great. and it was really cool to watch austin teach the whole group. :)

they learned it so fast and by the end of the night it looked so great.

just praying that it will stay FRESH in everyone's minds until next wednesday when we perform!!!

:)

i really love working with a different church, its fun to see the two teams working together. and i am just beyond grateful for the whole team. just being willing to come to church on tues night and give up their evening to learn this dance/drama and work on it...such a huge blessing. and to just see God using their gifts...love it.

so thank you team members that came with...God is going to use this. He has put it all together in record time and it is turning out better than we ever thought it would. just a few weeks ago we were sitting at caribou with absolutely NO idea what to do along with this song. haha

but here we are now...God always comes through. always. He is faithful to the end. He will accomplish His purpose.

love it.

what an AMAZING God we serve. :)

the ONLY bad part of the evening if i have to find one was when sarah walked into the sanctuary and pointed out that we were wearing the exact same outfit. from the hair, to the shirt, to the jeans, to the boots. yeah.

there is no picture...we didnt want to record the moment. haha...but im sure we looked SO cute and so cool leading the group looking exactly the same...

oh man...just God keeping us humble....;)

but it was a very productive and fun night!

this week for our ALIVE meeting we are learning a new dance :) so fun!

-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

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

a sad mermaid, ernie, and some paint...just a normal thursday night

oh thursday nights...they are no longer boring. haha we met up with the team last night and got to say a quick hi to our friend erika - who is in costa rica right now - on skype.
then we ventured down to the dungeon.
and after a very accurate, if not entirely flattering :), description of sarah and i's leadership qualities for the new attendees...(the problem with working with actors, is that they do a REALLY good job of imitating you.......) haha
we broke out the art supplies and paper and had them get comfortable.
we played some music and read some verses and had them do a little reflective arting in a couple different steps...

1) draw a picture of yourself...of how you see yourself
2) write words describing how you see God or who He is to you
3) take some time to think/pray about what God wants from you, where He wants you to go from where you are...then draw it/write about it
4) think/pray about what is holding you back from being where God wants you to be. what do you need to change or give up?
5) write a prayer, asking God to help you get from where you are - to where He wants you.

i didnt take pictures - i will...but they did a really great job with it! we were really impressed, and it was really cool to see what God was showing them and laying on their hearts and then to see how it came out on paper.
so cool, and just loving God's creativity so much :) it was a cool thing – I encourage you to take a half hour sometime this weekend and put your favorite worship music on, get some paint or markers and just go through these steps and see what comes out. :)

then we played one of our favorite improv games...with words on the smallest pieces of paper ever...;)
and we laughed...a lot. its a great game we learned from comedy sportz - where you write random words down and give each person some of them, and give 2 or 3 ppl a scene. Anything – for example… "you are two strangers sitting in a waiting room, both applying for the same job” so then they have to act that out, and as they go, they have to pick up the words and somehow make them work – no matter how random it is.
And usually – it ends up being pretty amazing. Haha
And we ended it with a group scene…acting out our version of American Idol. It was so great.
We heard songs about a sad mermaid…about a boy who changed his name to his dead cats name in memory of him…about cheese…and so much more. Loved it.

So much fun.
We have some more projects coming up that we will be working on and lots of ideas that are wanting some attention. :)

but for now - below is a video of one of the times we played this improv game. :)

i'll set up the scene for you -

3 guys apply to be on a reality tv show to find the love of their lives, but are dropped off in the middle of the jungle with no one around and no idea what to do next...
So we’ll keep you updated as we go!

The Fall

choreographed by Austin Eckstrom.

danced to the song Trogdor by Cellofourte.

this dance took a lot of time and effort on the choreographer's part AND the dancers' part. but it was so worth it. the team really stepped up and worked so hard on this. they learned it and it turned out amazing. so did the masks...all painted by austin, emmanuil, and sam n. they did such an awesome job with them...

and all together it creates a cool picture of how easily we can get pulled into something looks so good and exciting at first...but then quickly gets out of control...and by the time we realize, it seems almost impossible to get out.

but what we don't always realize is that Jesus is always there. He never leaves...no matter how many times we push Him away. and He is the only one who can truly save us from the things that trap us and overwhelm us.

how amazing is that??? He knows how much we need Him, so He never leaves. He keeps loving us, keeps watching out for us...and all He wants is for us to turn to Him and love Him back...with everything in us. and how crazy is it to think that its even something we have to think about??? unconditional, perfect, holy love.......or the world that promises only to entertain us for the moment and nothing more. but we do struggle to surrender fully - myself completely included.

my prayer is that we can see all of it for what it really is and see that God is every bit as good and perfect as He says He is...and He is the only one who ever will be enough forever.

and in turn, learn to love Him the way He deserves...

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:7-11

Anger

choreographed and danced by Ashley Hart.
to original music by Chelsea Kimball.

This dance is a product of a lot of spiritual battle. Satan made it very clear throughout the process of putting this together that He did not want this dance performed...ashley had trouble remembering her choreography - not a normal thing for her at all, even the night before we hadn't seen the final version, she was feeling sick with a cold and feeling tired and dizzy, etc. but in it we spent time praying with her and over her and it truly was a battle. and after A LOT of prayer, this is the end result. in the end...God won. He did His thing - and Satan couldn't do a thing about it. This is his creativity and gifts at work...beautiful.




i see things like this and i wish i could dance or write music...they are such amazing gifts and have such powerful abilities to portray pictures of God's love with His power. im not saying at all that i am not amazingly grateful for everything God has given me - because i am SO grateful...i'm just so in awe of all the different aspects of Him.
this is just a glimpse of the body of Christ...and i just love seeing how it all works together.

God amazes me over and over with His creativity and i just love knowing that this is only a part of what He can do....and only the beginning of what He has planned for this team.

introducing.....The Project:HOSEA team members

a video i made with the help of Emmanuil for footage and ideas...

dance

another clip from The Project.
dance choreographed by Austin Eckstrom
performed by Austin, Ashley, Emmanuil, Jordan R, and Adelyn
the scene right after the girl decides to live life her own way on her own terms.

freedom

stuck in Satan's chains and afraid of what comes next - when she sees Jesus, the girl cries out for help...and is freed from the chains...
dance choreographed and danced by ashley hart to the song freedom by runkidrun

face to face

a conversation between satan and Jesus...Satan wants to make sure we feel guilty and full of shame...Jesus wants us to be free of it because Jesus loves us...and always will.
written by jillian, performed by tyler roland, austin eckstrom and ashley hart



7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea,because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."
-Revelations 12:7-12

crimson stains

this is the end of the show...its a drama with paint we put together to a song that Chelsea Kimball wrote for the Project. Powerful lyrics to beautiful music - she did a GREAT job and the painters did amazing too. its a picture of how we have these things in our lives we try so hard to hide - but we can't. they are always there...and when Jesus comes and tries to help - we try to cover it up, pretend like its ok, but all we manage to do is make it worse...make it messier. and until we stop, and give it up to Him...we will never find rest. He is the only one who can take it all and make us new...
original drama and music
performed by missy parkhurst, austin eckstrom, abbie elliott, jordan cross, david gersetich, emmanuil morari, and tyler roland

why we let God do things...

so like i wrote earlier - God put this together. He wrote the script (inspired by a Lecrae song), provided us the help and input we needed, He made sure we had the right equipment to film it to make sure it sounded and looked good. He helped the people memorize lines QUICK...He provided the creativity and the people and the time to edit it and within a week - it went from unwritten to written to filmed to edited and everything in between. CRAZY!
and that is how I know it wasn't us. it wasnt the actors or the filmers or the writers or whoever. it was God. absolutely...and it worked! and i WISH with everything in me that everyone could see who i was before i met God...that you could see that while i am creative and love art - i have NEVER had the desire to do anything with it, never actually done anything of my own accord, not motivated, not really talented...until He asked me to do it and brought the passion alive in me. i wish you could see that so you can FULLY see what God is doing. how CLEARLY He is working. but only i can truly know how much of this is Him, cuz i know what i can do...and i have seen Him take that and then just do His thing. and i LOVE it.
but the message of the video is powerful and it just really went with the message shared at edinbrook this morning.
that we cannot be complete in God, He cannot help us fully - until we are honest with Him. Until we acknowledge that we might not be perfect. that we might need some help.
and the great thing is...the GREATEST most overwhelming thing that God has really been drilling into my head lately...is that He will do all that He says. He'll do it. that God's word is real, and true and if He says it, if He says He will love us forever no matter what (which He does)...He will. if He says He'll forgive us and help us grow and use us for His master plan and not give up on us ever (which He does)...He will. and we never have to doubt that!!!
and i think the real gravity of that is finally hitting me...we never have to worry about Him leaving or quitting or getting angry...how amazing is that???
one of my favorite verses is in Isaiah...Isaiah 14:24. God saying - this is how i have said it will be...and so it will.
and hebrews chapter 6:13-20...God cannot lie. what He says is true and real. so we can rest in that. really rest in it.
that we can be real with Him, that we can tell Him the truth about us, that we can come to Him even when we're broken...because He does love us. Because that is true and it can't change.
so as you watch this...my prayer is that you allow God to speak, that the Holy Spirit meets you and that you really listen to what He has to say...and ask Him to show you what you havent told Him yet. what you havent talked about with Him yet...whatever that may be - let Him show you. and like Pastor Tom Gildow said this morning...ask God to show you what you really look like, in His eyes. cuz until we do that...until we allow Him to refine us to who He intended us to be...He can't use us. and we were meant for Him to use...that is the only place we'll find peace.




so thank you, God, for being our everything. for being more than we could ever ask for. for allowing us to be a part of your plan...it is a BEAUTIFUL thing...and can't wait to see what else is coming!