Truth to hold onto during OPPOSITION

Who is still following their new year's resolutions? The question we all want to run and hide from, right?! Well, back in January, I sat down with our Company and Trainee members. During this time I challenged them to come up with one word that they wanted to display as our leaders for 2022. What a holy time. They sat in a circle and came up with several goals and dreams for the year. After an hour of white boarding we came up with our one word goal.

STRENGTH

Strength: The capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure; The quality or state of being physically strong.

Oh how my "second mommy" heart was so proud! Being with these girls eight to fifteen hours every week makes us more than a dance team. It makes us a family. So I just HAD to share their dream, prayer, and vision for the year with you.

So, let's break it down! We looked at all of our areas in life that we wanted to strengthen.

1. TALENT: "A strong passion to worship!"

2. WALK WITH THE LORD: "Strong in our faith."

3. TEAM: "Strong, unbreakable bonds with each other."

Exodus 15:2-3 "The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is His name."

These girls are working together towards representing God's Kingdom in a strong manner. This is something that sends the devil into shock and we are aware of this. SO, we are being reminded and holding onto the truth God has placed in our hands.

We see truth in Exodus 14 where God splits the sea while the Israelites are running away from the Egyptians. While reading this scripture this week I noticed lines that I have never really noticed before. So many times God kept saying, "I am going to harden Pharaoh's heart, he will come after you, but then I will get the glory when I defeat them." It was like God was JUMPING off the page at me! He was telling Moses to expect opposition from the enemy simply because God wanted to receive the glory. It made me think of all the times we gripe and complain when the enemy attacks. When God is doing it to receive honor.

BUT it is not only God who sees a positive outcome from attacks. He shows us how faithful He is to take care of us. Throughout this story in Exodus, God parts an OCEAN and then drowns the enemy in it. He took care of His people, fought for them, and then defeated their enemy. While receiving all the glory because His people let Him fight for them.

Exodus 14:13-14 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

STRENGTH. God promises to give it to us when we put our faith and trust in Him. I am so proud of our Company, our leaders. They have chosen to seek strength from God and allow Him to fight for them. We stand strong as a ballet studio. We believe we were created to be a city on a hill that glorifies Jesus. Join with us as we pray for STRENGTH. Pray that the Lord protects all of our girls and fights for them. For you as mom, the Lord wants to fight for you. Just sit back, trust Him, and be still while He protects you and gets the glory! Opposition is not always a bad thing ;) It may mean, you are doing something right for the Kingdom and the devil just cannot stand it. And God is ready to strengthen you through the battle!

Xoxo, Miss Ansleigh

Prince of Peace

Welcome to SHINE A LIGHT's ISSUE #2 featuring SHOW WEEK ENCOURAGEMENT! Shine A Light is our program which is teaching your ballerinas how to SHINE BRIGHT in a world of darkness. We pray this postures our hearts for a season of glorifying the LIGHT of the world.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you"

Prince of Peace. The name of Jesus we all hold dear to our hearts. The name that reminds us of the comfort we receive when we sit under the teaching of our Jesus. The name that calms our anxieties and worries. The name that comforts us the most.

Prince: This tells us that He is in a position of royalty and power. This time of year we celebrate the baby who was laid in a manger in a dark and cold stable. But in the book of Isaiah we read the prophecy of a prince to come. A manger is no fit for a king, especially the King of kings. But here we are, approaching our annual celebration of the King in the manger. And this baby came clothed in royalty and full of power.

Isaiah 9:7 "Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The Zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."

Peace: Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. Now, raise those hands if this sounds like something we (as in every mother, teenage girl, business woman, etc.) are in need of. Especially during the sweetest, most calmest time of year ;) Don't worry, I know Christmas is pretty much the exact opposite- more like, filled with extra long ballet rehearsals, many trips to the ballet store picking up a new pair of tights since the little one just fell and tore her show pair when we told her specifically not to run around in them, rereading the packet a thousand times because it's just so much, store after store after store grabbing all the deals on all the different, hobby lobby trips to pick up that one extra tree topping... am I ringing the bells? Or is it just me? Definitely not the calmest time of year like it was made to be.

But through my many conversations with company I have noticed that their little minds are just as overwhelmed by their thoughts and emotions as us... if not more. They are growing up in a generation that is consumed by anxiety and worries. Worries of what anyone and everyone around them is thinking about them. We have spent many hours learning of this Prince of Peace and what exactly he says about calming our anxious thoughts.

We have learned that our Prince of Peace is here to reign over those anxious thoughts, lies that keep us from excelling, the overwhelmingly desire to people-please, and anything holding us back from our full potential. This is a message for you. Allow the Prince of Peace to overwhelm you this Christmas season. Lay the anxious thoughts, lies, worries and every thought holding you back at His feet. Allow Him to catapult your into your full potential and into the woman He has destined you to be. Remember, He made you. He knows the plans He has for you; so trust Him and break free of the chains holding you back.

Colossians 3:15-16 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through Psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

As we step into our favorite week of the year, we invite the Prince of Peace to come and reign over PGD. Will you join us in this prayer?

"Prince of Peace, come reign. We invite your Spirit into every rehearsal, stretch, movement, and moment. We ask that you go before us and behind us surrounding every dancer, teacher, and family with the peace that you are sovereign. Cover us with your healing hand keeping all sickness and injuries out allowing every ballerina to worship you and tell your story. Prince of Peace, calm every bit of anxiety and worry that goes through our ballerinas brains. May they learn to lean on you and long for your comfort. Here in this moment we are desperate for you. Make your Spirit be heavy inside our studio. We cling to our Comforter God; Emmanuel, be strong this week."

HAPPY SHOW WEEK! Miss Ansleigh

God Incarnate

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among men. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

God Incarnate: JESUS. From spending time with our beginner worship students (ages 7-12) I learned the importance of truly understanding "God Incarnate". These seven year olds were so intrigued when we began opening up scripture and allowing it to teach us this character trait of God. SO, let's understand this by breaking it down like I did with them.

GOD: 1. The Father: Over all mankind. Maker of heaven and earth. The one over all and the one who sits on the highest throne. 2. The Son: Jesus Christ. The Word turned into flesh. The world's only perfect being. The one who died on the cross for our sins. The One who defeated death and conquered the grave. 3. The Holy Spirit: Acts 1:8. God's voice. The one who lives and moves inside of us.

INCARNATE: Worldly definition: embodied in flesh; becoming human form.

When you combine the two you get "God in human form" which is the perfect description of our JESUS. Now, reread John 1:14 (stated at the beginning of this blog). God's Word perfectly describes who Jesus was meant to be. God Incarnate. And we have the perfect opportunity to proclaim this message, worship God Himself, and allow our little people around us to be His messengers during our annual performance of "The Story" on December 4 and 5. Gives me chills every time I think about it!

1 Timothy 4:12 "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be the example in your life, love, faith, and in purity."

Ballerinas, you have power inside of you. The power of the Holy Spirit. Do not think for a second because you are little and young that you are not able to be used for the Kingdom yet. Tap into that power inside of you, allow Jesus to SHINE through you and watch that power change lives! The day is coming... be ready for show day my girls! Because I can feel that Jesus is up to something incredible!

Challenge to Moms and our older girls: The second part of our verse speaks of The Father who is full of grace and truth. He holds the perfect balance by being FULL of grace and FULL of truth. These are two characteristics we will never be able to perfectly balance. However, as we go about our daily lives may we strive to be like Jesus. May we strive to show grace while holding tightly to His truth. I think back at all of the adversities I have come about in my life. When I think back at those moments I wish I would have understood this a little more. Maybe instead of responding in anger or lashing out from a hurt heart I would have stopped, turned to His Truth, sat and relied on God's Word to take over, and then responded with grace instead of anger. Maybe then I would have saved myself from a lot of hurt. My encouragement is that we all strive to be a little more like the God Incarnate, full of grace and truth. In moments of pain and suffering, or even in times where we lack of direction and need guidance, may we stop, open God's Word, find time for His Truth to seep in, and respond with His grace while being full of His Truth.

Let's go about this week remembering the God Incarnate. And remembering that we have His power inside of us and the opportunity to sit at the feet of the one full of grace and truth.