When studying for my last final I ran over a poem that our teacher shared with us. Though we aren't going to be tested on it, there's one section that really hits home. I may have written about it before but was reminded again about how whatever you do, you should do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
"unless, of course, your motive secure; not therapy but joy..."-Tangier by Stephen Dunn When dancing, playing sports, taking tests, by the grace of God you are only required to do your best and enjoy it! It's the weekend!

Two down, two to go! I can't believe this semester is almost over, yet the timing is perfect. Lots of exciting summer plans and of course lots of summer school but hey it's summer, there's just something that makes it so much better. The sunshine and cookouts are calling my name! How's everyone's week going?

I Should probably start studying...

After a great start to the morning in Yazoo City, spending too much time on facebook, I now need to go get a mountain dew and actually start studying! By the way, you should really try slippin' an' slidin'...

Blessed to Serve

Today I was blessed to be able to help a family in Yazoo City. We helped move boxes and furniture out of their house after the tornado hit this past weekend. They lost their whole second floor and are living in a mobile home. The street we drove down was bad. Trees were shredded, lots of debris and many roofs and homes damaged. A lot of people didn't have home and/or car insurance. It was a blessing to be able to help and bring a smile. We fixed them lunch and one of the ladies was so cute and very right that they needed a lunch break, "she was going to make those men stop working if she had to take their ladder away!" We were able to pray with and for the family and though there were some tears shed, God is taking care of them!

I love getting mail and since there is almost a birthday, I have been getting lots of mail! Yesterday I got 6 packages and even had the mail room people talking!

Can I just say that I love study day? It was a great invention. Sleeping late, eating breakfast in my room, Regis and Kelly, slip n' slide! Yes I will do some studying and I'm sure I'll appreciate it even more next year when I actually have to use every minute of it but until then, don't forget College can be fun...

Faithfulness

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."-Hebrews 10:23

The Doxa Spring Concert was this weekend and I was able to be in a piece called "Faithful to Me" choreographed by Rachel Kurtz and music by Jennifer Knapp. In light of the beginning of the school year, it is amazing to see how God has been faithful. I think of this song as well as "Be Thou My Vision" and know that God has been so good! As people shared in our dance departmental about God's faithfulness I began to think of his faithfulness in my life and thought that the piece couldn't have been more fitting. There really is nothing like God's perfect faithfulness.

"All the chistles I've dulled carving idols of stone
That have crumbled like sand 'neath the waves.
I've recklessly built all my dreams in the sand just to watch, them all wash away.

Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To one who sees past all I see.
And reaching out my weary hand I pray that you'd understand
You're the only one who's faithful to me.

All the pennies I've wasted in my wishing well
I have thrown like stones to the sea.
I have cast my lots, dropped my guard, searched aimlessly for a faith
To be faithful to me.

Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To one who sees past all I see.
And reaching out my weary hand I pray that you'd understand
You're the only one who's faithful to me.
You're the only one who's faithful to me." Faithful to Me, by Jeniffer Knapp

"Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all." Be Thou My Vision attributed to Dallan Forgaill, translated by Mary E. Byrne, versed by Eleanor H. Hull

It's amazing to me how God is always at work. The dance piece before ours, which we got to watch backstage, was called Intercessors to the song "Your Love is Strong" by Jon Foreman. It really brought things into perspective and calmed any little butterflies, "So why do I worry?/Why do I freak out?/God knows what I need/You know what I need." Check out the whole song!

There's a whole in the roof, dear Liza

Our roof is leaking and I have a cold. Somehow I managed to get a pretty mean cold for the past few days. Complete with not sleeping through the night, it was kind of good that I woke up at 5:30 to the sound of someone clipping their nails. Nobody was clipping their nails, our roof was leaking. I got up, stepped in a small puddle and got dripped on. Seeing as how we are on first floor, I think their might be a problem upstairs. We did have heavy rains here in Mississippi so maybe that was the cause. I emptied our overflowing trash can to try and catch the water. Ah the joys of living in a dorm!

This is really cool....wait for it....

Kownacki leaps over the catcher @ Yahoo! Video

Teachers are people too

Let me just say teachers are people too. It was so funny when all the professors gave out awards during the final chapel. Each one has a unique personality and tone of voice. It makes you realize they are just as human as you, fumble with words, and laugh. Sometimes my school just cracks me up. That chapel along with the workmen at our school, I just sometimes have to shake my head and smile. I don't know how many times I've heard 'man in the hall' when a. I'm standing right there b. its the early morning c. you are taking a nap or d. for the fiftieth time as they make their way down the hall in the fiftieth high or deep man voice they can come up with. As they sing along to their country radio songs I just know I'm in Mississippi and that is perhaps the only explanation.

To the anonymous Santa who gave me a mountain dew and snickers bar in my mailbox yesterday, I can't thank you enough! I was so surprised and it did make my day :)

So God is teaching me a lot this week
-be flexible (i had my dance evaluation schedule all mixed up and an exam postponed until the following week)
-He knows exactly what we need
-If you give your best, that is all He expects
-If you think you fail, it is not the end of the world
-What happened to smiling, trusting, and praising? It really does do wonders
-I have much to be thankful for so perk up!

Whew! A lot has happened since i last posted and it's only been about 24 hours! Lots of dance, a rehearsal, working backstage for concert, spring formal, and bonfire! We had combined classes and it was really fun and challenging to learn some new modern phrases. Today was full as well, slept late considering I went to bed around 4 and then watched Kimber and Katie play soccer! The afternoon continued with a trip to Berry Berry Good for some great frozen yogurt, fun in the sun, and tacobell for dinner! Coffee, Tea, and Thee rounded up the night with the Faculty Talent show. It's been very fun and I only have about two more weeks of this semester. This week will be tough with dance finals but tough does not mean bad.

Just thinking about a few things. One of the faculty sung a song called Standing Ovation about Stephen from the Bible. As it depicted the courage and faith he had in the face of death, it speaks volumes and makes me want to look into his story even more.



Along with that Martin McBride's song I Just Call you Mine, talks about how everyone who knows you loves you, thinks your amazing, has a smile, etc. and I was just thinking about how that can be a testimony.



I also watched the end of Remember the Titans and that movie just gets me every time. I realized again how difficult it is to say goodbye, the memories and reminders will always be hard, but praise the Lord he offers hope! I love the picture of relationships at the end...



I'm also learning to trust God and enjoy the wonderful life He's given, John 10:10

Some amazing pictures!

Good Day

Today was unexpected but such a blessing! We had a health fair on campus and if we went to five booths we got free smoothie king! I don't know about you but just that, made my day! Ended up working crew for a matinee for APAC elementary students tomorrow and I think those kids are just going to love the show, especially the bird piece. Just fyi, costumes can make or break pieces. The dancers rehearsed the bird piece today without costumes and it was so different. When it first started I was like what is that girl doing, but then I remembered she's a bird! Then I had a KimJo date! We went to Walmart and I stocked up, hadn't had a Walmart run in a while. Thanks to our Easter Eggstravaganza, Kim got almost free dinner at Chick-fil-a. I was so full, what a blessing! Good night!

The little guy just wanted to play! Hope this brightens your day!

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call!
-Psalm 20

P.S. Annie, I posted in 3's! :)

I know the Hannah Montanan movie is slightly cheesy but I like it; here's a shout out to all the daddies, we love you!

Praise the Lord! The first show for crew B went well. It's amazing how much an audience can change a dance. From dress to performance, the energy and dynamics were so much better! It was neat to see little nuances that I appreciated but maybe the audience didn't quite see. In the piece 'Rodeo', the boys are trying to win over the hearts of the ladies and at one point one of the dancers did a little breath test and smile, it was awesome! I was thinking the other day, especially for this show (there's ballerinas, modern dancers, Indian dancers, birds, and classical/modern), it's so fun because you get to be somebody else for just a moment. I love how God looks at each person and sees the amazing talent He's given them. Before time He decided the dancers, musicians, artists, teachers, businessman, athletes, and more!

After the show, we went to Wendy's. I don't know what it wa, but that chicken wrap and chocolate frosty just made my day, it was delicious! Sometimes its just the simple things in life!

Good way to start a Saturday and another busy week...3 to go!

Today I was looking at an article and on the side popped up a red velvet cupcake bouncing around. The caption red, 'tempted-roll over or click here'. I didn't click but found out it was a commercial for yogurt. They got me :)
P.S. I skipped my 8am-it was tough, I had quite the mental debate and then decided to live a little, by sleeping in!

Catch up

So I really shouldn't be posting with all this other stuff i'm doing, but I just wanted to put a little word in about Easter Break! I was blessed to catch a ride home and again spent about 16 hours in a car. Got to see the bear and Mom and Dad. Mom and I took a trip to the beach as dad had to take care of the golf boys. The tide goes so far out, you can practically walk in the ocean! It's incredible! You can also see all the live snails and creatures, there's a bit of mucking involved and you have to watch out for clams and make sure the water isn't too deep.




Mom and were a funny crew as I didn't want to go then we get half way across the ocean and mom doesn't want to finish. We got across, so that must mean we make a good team. It was so funny to see people setting up camp half way into the ocean, even looked like you could make it to the other side but that was a bit far away and deep. We walked to see some beautiful mansion homes and made it home for dinner and a movie!


On Easter we went to a service and heard Vicky Beeching. I had never heard of her but was so blessed by here songs: The Wonder of the cross and Breath of God. From what I heard, 10 people were saved in that service alone, and there were five total at that church-Hallelujah praise the Lord! It was powerful image to realize that if you are choosing to wait to decide about God, you are choosing to deny God. Also realizing His power and the extant of his love to put up with the crucifixion and all involved. I wonder how many people He touched in His last few days. Everyone He encountered He had an affect on, quite a challenge. You never know what affect you may have on people!




After church we had lunch with dad at the golf course because he had to take care of the golf boys and then mom and I went to Savannah. We drove 40 minutes just for some pralines, I just love them! If you can get a sample when they're warm..mmm! Nothing like it! The river walk was beautiful too!
I almost forgot...at the beach we played with the crabs. When you are really quiet they pop out and dig their holes but if you stand, move, or make a sound, they all disappear! It's so fun!

The Belhaven Dance Department has currently taken over my life. Actually, only Jesus has that spot, but I am doing running crew for the next two weeks for the faculty dance concert. It's neat to see things from backstage but things can get a little crazy. We have some very gifted dancers! Because I was backstage for about 4 hours after ballet, I really need a shower. My life suddenly got super busy but that's ok. I'm learning to trust God and that praising Him, singing his praises goes an awful long way. Still need to post about Easter and the visit with the fam but I don't know when that will happen. Until then, happy spring and summer!

Because I just did my paper on single gender classrooms, which included the differences between boys and girls, and I forgot how awesome this movie was, I figured it was a wonderful way to start Easter Break. Enjoy!

Modern Class: Always an Experience

I discovered that doing various forms of shoulder roles, or trying to figure out how to do them gives you various forms of bruising and reddening. I would say don't try this at home, except that I have to so that I can figure it out. Modern class, always an experience. Quote of the day from Mrs. Bower: Grow, don't pose! I say that's good advice for dance and life! One more day 'til break and SC trip, so thankful and blessed!