Dance Moms

Lifetime airs an amazingly popular show called Dance Moms. This show chronicles the life and times of 7 special little girls who are wonderfully talented gymnasts/ballet/dancers. However, it is kind of a task to focus on the talent of the girls when you are bobbing and weaving yourself through the dramatics of the Moms coupled with the antics of the dance teacher.

Upon watching this show, you see immediately the mind games, belittling, and scare tactics the teacher uses to effect the girls in certain ways. She threatens them. She beats them down. She questions their love for dance. She uses every low blow and trick in the book to mold the girls into the caliber dancer she wants them to be. And the Moms, with some fussing and fighting, actually put up with it. They buy into it. The buy her nonsense in exchange for her teachings.

Seems ridiculous doesn't it? But I wonder how many times our own Moms have been in a similar position. Not in taking us to some extra-curricular activity like basketball or dance. But in taking us to the one place we should feel safe...church. In the years since salvation, church has been engrained in me (and Sharon too) - but both of us have seen Pastor's who abuse their position of 'power' in berating the members of his congregation with the Word of God. Not to develop members in their relationships with God, but to force-feed religious tradition down their throats.

I wonder if those little girls on the show feel a special passion for their talent. Do they have a connection with dance out of desire/motivation or because they've been coerced into it? Do they long for more because they genuinely want it or because they've been trained in it for so long? Do they feel that their teacher cares about them as people or that she only cares about them when they are dancing up to par?

As we get older and grow in our walks with God, I hope that we will make sure to nurture the youth and young people around us. Nurture their relationships with God. Spend time WITH them in the Word of God. Instead of relying on our Pastors to teach them how. You never know when you will run into leaders in the church who believe in hell, fire, and brimstone methods similar to the dance teacher mentioned above. Let's be more than just Dance Moms. Let us be the Moms/Sisters/Aunts that show their kids how to dance.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
"Train up a child in the way in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

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Sharing Sarah Henry

A few weeks ago, just after Christmas, I reached out to my childhood best friend. The memories escape me now, but from the time we were about 9 years old to about 11 we were inseparable. Before puberty. Before cliques. Before our identities were realized. We were best friends. And even though we hadn't spoken in years, reaching out to Sierra made my heart smile despite the circumstance.

After literally a lifetime apart, going to our respective colleges, starting careers and family, etc., we reconnected on Facebook a year or so ago. Other than looking at the pictures of her beautiful baby boy and wonderful husband, I hadn't talked to her much. But then one day, in late December 2012, I saw a post on her page asking for prayer. And my heart strings were pulled, drawn to the girl that was a sister to me.

She shared the story of her sister-in-law, Sarah Henry, who was fighting for her life after having a series of strokes. Sarah, who is only in her early 30s and has 3 beautiful children, (from what I can gather) is an amazingly kind woman with a genuine heart and godly spirit. So, to find out about what had happened to her was breath-taking and sobering.

However, when I reached out to Sierra and told her that I would be praying for her sister-in-law, Sarah, I never knew what I'd come to see in this real life account of God's work. Sierra posted the link to a blog that had been written by Sarah's best friend (Jennie Allen). Jennie Allen happens to be a well-known author and minister. Her words about Sarah were inspiring, transparent, and real. She pleaded with people to pray for healing, restoration, and a miracle from the Lord.

And, you know what? It's working. All the prayers. The tributes. The intercession. The pleading out to God...is working. Sarah is being healed, in the name of Jesus. I have been able to keep up with her progress because of the daily updates provided on her CaringBridge.com account. And I pray for her. Diligently. I've spoken to my family and prayer partners about her. And we pray for her. And countless other people pray for her. People that know her well. People that do not know her at all. People that have only been made aware of her story via the world wide web. They pray for her.

To think, that a couple of facebook links and shared posts from others who I certainly do not know have allowed me to participate actively in the healing of one of God's children, is amazing. I'm so thankful that my childhood friend, who I haven't spoken to in years, linked to me to such a miraculous work.

I am humbled. I am honored. And, in sharing Sarah Henry, I am reminded that I must always share Jesus. Be it through Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube...His Story is Sarah's story.

"¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Confess your trespasses^[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:13-17 (NKJV)

The Real OC

Occupations. Doctor. Lawyer. Teacher. Engineer. Artist. Designer. Stylist. Caterer. Entrepreneur. This is what the world sees as occupations. And, perhaps, it makes sense to call a job an occupation in the sense that you spend a majority of your time at your respective place of business. But what if an occupation was more than just a title or set of duties associated with a career? What if an occupation was a mindset and a lifestyle as commanded by God?

To occupy literally means to fill up, take space, or reside in a place. What's interesting about our worldly occupations is that they tend not only to occupy our time but also pre-occupy our minds with the busyness of life. And lots of times, within this shuffle between what we do and who we are, we lose site of who we are supposed to be. We get caught up in trivial matters. Do things we shouldn't do. Say things we shouldn't say. And we forget that we are put on earth, not to serve purposes of our own - but to serve a Holy God. We become our occupations instead of letting our occupation be that of becoming consumed with Christ.

If an occupation was a mindset and a lifestyle as commanded and directed by God, we would in turn allow God to occupy us, fill us up, take space in us, and reside in us. And what happens when an object becomes filled with a certain substance? Like a cup filled to the brim, we would begin pouring out upon the area around us. In Luke 19:13, Jesus gives a simple yet profound directive as He provides the parable of the 10 minas. "Occupy till I come." As we wait for the return of Christ, we should all be following this command to "Occupy." Occupy here essentially means using our gifts, energies, and time to add unto the kingdom of God. Yet, how can you occupy when you are not first occupied with the God?

This is the directive for SheRocks (Shekinah Rocks Ministries) this year - helping others to be occupied by God so that we can all "Occupy till [Christ] come[s]." As we prepare for this new thrust, called Occupy(Me), in which more details will be provided in days to come, won't you ask yourself a few questions:

     -1.) Is the majority of my time spent doing or thinking about things of God?
     -2.)  If what was inside of me spilled out onto others, would it be pleasing to God?
     -3.)  Do I know how to make more room for God in my daily life?

If the answer to any of these questions was "No" we are praying that you will consider joining with us in this Occupy(Me) initiative. Please stay plugged in with us and tuned in so that you can be apart of this move of God. After all, He wants you to experience the Real OCcupy.