Keeping the faith

I cannot believe it but tomorrow is the Why We Dance: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation event. I have had some hard times planning this event but there is peace. During every step of the way I prayed. Prayers changes things.

The press release for this event is in several newspapers. You can click on the link below to read more details. We just got finished setting up the room.

God sent me an angel named Eric. I don’t know him but he did a lot of heavy lifting and preparing the room. My good friend Chris also came out to help. When I got to the church everything looked great. I felt so relaxed. My beautiful friend Geri made up the gifts. She likes to wrap things and she did a wonderful job. Last year we didn’t have gifts.

The theme of this event Reaching the Hip-Hop Generation is to appeal to our youth. They need to be encouraged and they need to know that someone cares.

I think when the young people get to the church they are going to be happy. Everything looks great. I can’t wait for the people to arrive. I sent press releases to several newspapers. The Courier News in Bridgewater posted a link to the release and you can check it out here.

I’ll keep you posted on what happens. Keep the faith readers.

The Ram in the Bush

We are often surprised when we find obstacles when working on God’s vision. As soon as we dedicate our lives to the Lord problems start to arise. There is a proverb that says ‘the devil don’t mess with his own.’

When setbacks come up in our work we should pray about them. I am planning a dance conference for March 27, 2010. I spoke with my pastor and got approvals before I sent letters to businesses asking for donations. Somehow the message didn’t get to others at the church. Businesses were calling and getting confused signals.

This was a major setback. I was very upset because I thought that I had failed. Then one of the other organizers said “Don’t be discouraged when these things happen because what you can’t do God will do.”
She was so right because someone else got me the flyers and others volunteered to email them out to their lists.

What I thought was a huge setback was a reason for God to show me that He is in control. I don’t have to worry about the success of my project because I dedicated this event to Him.

Why We Dance 2010 will bring together children from various backgrounds. They will learn, fellowship and eat together. It will be a great day and people will come out to support this event.

This experience taught me to look for the ram in the bush. When we dedicate our lives and projects to God he has a way of working it out in unexpected ways. He did it for Abraham who was in need of something to sacrifice and found a ram in the bush.

So after you dedicate you projects and lives to the Lord and you see setbacks don’t get discouraged instead look for the ram in the bush.

Click on link below to see the flyer for this event:
http://www.stjohnsscotchplains.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=41:why-we-dance-2010

Preparation Prevents (most) Problems

Sometimes I wish my life could be a television sitcom. Everything neatly wrapped up in exactly 30 minutes sans commercials. However, there really aren’t any overnight successes. The only way to get results to plan.

The planning process starts with prayer. It is important to surround yourself with strong prayer warriors who believe God and the vision. These people are vital because when the pressures get too much these prayer warriors will help keep you focused.

I wrote earlier that we have to submit things to God but we can’t stop there. We must plan and then wait on God to see if our plans are in order of what God wants. Waiting is hard but working with people who don’t understand your vision is worse.

I just finished reading the account of Moses. He sent out spies to the promised land. All the spies Moses sent out gave a negative report and frightened the Israelites except for two brave souls, Caleb and Joshua. These men had faith to stand on God’s promises. They believed that if God was for you no one, thing, person, weapon could ever win against you.

Reading Exodus really has opened my eyes on what it means to have faith despite your circumstances. These men lived as nomads as refugees. They couldn’t physically see the promised land and had tot totally trust in God.

This is still true today. We have to believe whatever vision God has given us. It is in that state of believe that we can prepare ourselves spiritually, emotionally and physically for the job God has given us to do.

Joshua and Caleb were determined to believe God’s words despite. God blessed these men and allowed them to see the promised land while others in their generation died off. It is so important to have faith with your preparation. God will lead you and bring you to the right path if you stay focus on the goal.

Tips for Planning a Successful Dance Conference

Stay focused on the vision that God has given you.

When you have faith

Learning How To Wait

By nature I am an impatient person.
I want what I want when I want it. Impatience is not a good quality to have as it can drive you to do many things that aren’t good. I often move too fast, lose things and waste time searching for those lost things. I often than not push away the urge to become impatient.

Reading my Bible helps a lot. It also made me realize that I am not alone with my impatience traits. Human being have been trying to rush situations since man began. One example is Sarah the wife of Abraham.

Sarah was promised a but she became impatient with the Lord when he didn’t move on her time. She decided to “help” the Lord so she came up with her own solution instead of waiting for God. Sadly Sarah and I are not alone. People in general don’t know how to wait for God.

I thought I had everything wrapped up with the Why We Dance 2010 conference. Then I found out that one aspect of it wasn’t going to go as I planned. There were two actions that I could take. I could make myself sick with worry. Or I could just wait it out and expect God to make a way.

At first impatience was in the lead. I was in agony. I paced. I called all my friends. Finally I just went to bed. The rational side of me said that a good night’s sleep would be be good. But I felt in my heart that God was late again. I read in Proverbs that we must submit our plans to God to ensure their success. I prayed over my conference and gave it to God.

It is so hard to give up control. These little tests in life are in preparation for something better. I thought of all the times I had surrendered situations and even though there were dark moments everything had turned out fine. That thought was on my mind as I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I got an email from another leader who wanted to help me out. Praise the Lord. My friend Fay says God always has a ram in the bush. When I submitted this Why We Dance conference to him He took control. All I had to do was wait.

Tonight I learned is waiting can be a good thing.

Tips on How to Plan a Conference.

Make sure you’re flexible in your planning. No matter how hard you plan situation arise outside of your control and you have to go with the flow

Put It in God’s Hands

An email from a sister in the ministry sent me into a tailspin. I was not sure the plans I made were going to stick. I wanted things to go my way but then I remembered who was really in charge. As long as God gets the glory and the participants of Why We Dance 2010 are spiritually fed things are well. All I had to do was put it (control of the situation) in God’s Hands.

There is so much that goes into planning a conference. There is so much that goes into working with our youth.

I’ve heard all the negative talk about our youth but I have made a vow not just talk about it but be about it. We have to encourage our children. We have to let them know that we love them. We have to let them know that we care. We have to let them know that we hear them.

Some of my best ideas come from working with youth. This past Sunday my youngest dancers ministered. One woman came up to me and said she hoped more dancers would come out. She had such a look of pity on her face. I felt bad for her. God used the two little girls with their pure innocent hearts to reach the masses.

When we put it in God’s hands we have to be willing to accept the outcome. I put the dance ministry in His hands and most of my dancers left. God was showing me that though these girls are young (elementary aged) they have a heart for the Lord. During this season when they were the only representatives of the youth dance ministry several important things took place.

These dancers increased their confidence. They didn’t need the bigger kids to validate them.

These dancers were able to express themselves without the fear of rebuke.

Everyone who saw them dance witnessed a miracle. God is listening and He does care.

When I received that email I allowed fear to come through. It was my good friend Fay who told me to put it all in God’s Hands because He will send me the right people to serve. It may not be who or what I expect but I must be open to it.

Tips for Planning a Conference.

Trust in the Lord and Lean not to your own understanding.

(Proverbs is a powerful book and can help navigate threw life’s often choppy waters.

Go Ask the King

This may seem like a strange title for a blog post but it is something that I did when planning the Why We Dance conferences. As Christians were are required to submit our plans to the Lord to guarantee their success. Unfortunately many of us forget this important step. The results are usually what we and more importantly God did not intend. I want to be in God’s plan and I need and want his approval.

Why We Dance: Reaching the Hip-Hop Generation speaks to our youth. There is such a disconnect between our children and their elders. We pacify them too long. Many ask ‘What do you mean pacify? We gave that pacifier away when our child was (insert number here) months.’

Sadly that is not true because instead of giving them the plastic nipple we use other things to keep them quiet. These electronic devices separates us from our children. We lose our influence over them and waste opportunities to teach them about the Lord or about how God helped us through.
Need more examples of how we pacify our youth? Check out my list below:

We pacify them with electronic games.

We pacify them with cell phones.

We pacify them with IPods.

We pacify them with PCs and Macs.

February was deemed Black History Month. I wonder how many of us have shared our personal history. In a previous post I mentioned that few of the dancers could recognize African-American dance pioneers. This is so sad and needs to change.
One of the goals for Why We Dance 2010 is have a teaching and sharing environment. I have gone to God with prayer and fasting asking for guidance on the conference in every aspect of the planning.
I know that if I want success and to please God that I must ask Him for help.
Why We Dance 2010 will be a success because during the planning I asked King Jesus for help. The Bible says he will always answer and show us the way.

Tips for Planning a Successful Dance Conference

Make sure you pray about every aspect of the conference

Conference coordinators should daily pray and ask others to pray

Prayer changes things and is our lifeline to God.