Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…
It’s about learning to dance in the rain! - Anonymous
It’s about learning to dance in the rain! - Anonymous
If you have the choice to sit it out or dance,
I
hope
you
dance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dance for joy! Some times when things seem bleak, dance for joy, and let God lift up your spirit! Remember Paul and Silas, in jail, they began to sing praises to God and He set them free!
ReplyDeleteHi Jana, I love that quote and your wish. Actually, I love you, too. Helen
ReplyDeleteOh, and Jana, check my blog tomorrow with respect to dancing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a Great Post - and so timely too. I'm going dance until I drop.
ReplyDeleteHow about dancing together!?
ReplyDeleteGreat quote. Also, those shoes are too adorable!
ReplyDeleteKevin - It would be hard to dance and not feel joy, huh? Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteHelen - I love you, too. I'll do my best to drop by your blog tomorrow.
Sis. Hopper - Is it a girl thing? Shop til we drop and dance til we drop? LOL
Brian - Can I have this dance for the rest of my life?
ReplyDeleteDebbie - the shoes are getting too little. :( I got them from a shop in England. They are probably one of my favorite pair of shoes Bryn has owned.
ReplyDeleteYes but only with you and for you!
ReplyDeleteBrian - "You make me feel like dancin', wanna dance the night away, you make me feel like dancin'..."
ReplyDeleteI love this poem/song/quote and many other ways this selection has been used. I want to always feel small sitting beside the ocean. When one door opens I want to be looking for the next to open... I want to live life to the fullest. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteVon de Leigh - I love the song, the entire thought, and have incorporated it into an entire "sermon." I don't preach, but it is more sermon than lesson. LOL
ReplyDeleteCandace will love these shoes and this is a great quote. How many times do we get the chance to get out and dance for the Lord in a vareity of ways, through ministry, through our talents, through opportunities and we sit it out. I always want to dance when I have the chance. Great post! Thanks for sharing. This is some good preaching material. "Dance While I Have the Chance".
ReplyDeleteThe pop world has seized a small revelation that we all have. They have summed it up in ways similar to that poem. I believe the venerable Garth Brooks took this message into the pop culture world....and of course following were a number of other artists, both secular and christian with songs like "I Hope You Dance" and "Some Days You Gotta Dance". It's nothing new now is it...(Hey, Solomon was right!)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I dance because of the joy that got put in my life...so I party down! Other days I dance FOR joy and not BECAUSE of joy. The Jews had a revelation of this in their culture. Centuries later our scientists tell us that the endorphines that are released when dancing makes people happy. Go figure. C'mon and dance! :)- I like the post.
Dancing gets your mind off your troubles and in doing so makes your God bigger.
ReplyDeleteWe reference this with the familiar phrase: Magnify the Lord
Sis. Allard, you can tell I'm enjoying the post :)
We'll be a Dancing Generation!
If I had these darling shoes, I could dance my way through my storm too! (smiles) You may not preach, Sis. Allard, but I nominate you to be the speaker for next year's ladies conference!
ReplyDeleteJana - Thanks for the reminder to learn to dance in the rain. And there can be no rose if there's no water...Or something. Love you!!
ReplyDeleteSonia #16
Aw Sis Allard. I love you!
ReplyDeletethis post made me smile becuz its so Sis Allard =)
Jana, as usual checking in to see if anything new. James D. Wilder hit the nail on the head: Sometimes I dance because of the joy that got put in my life...so I party down! Other days I dance FOR joy and not BECAUSE of joy. This quote would make a great banner for all churches. I think sometimes we forget just how great it is to dance before the Lord.
ReplyDeleteJosh - Candace is going to have so much fun dressing Chloe! Thanks for your comment and keep dancing.
ReplyDeleteJames - The song, "I Hope You Dance," was made popular by Lee Ann Womack and won top awards in several categories. I love the message of the song. You know, if people combined dancing and laughter, they could feel good and be happy. I like your line about dancing for joy. Whether we already have joy or need it, dancing will always give us joy. I like your second comment because it can provoke debate which causes one to think. God can't get any bigger. It is sad that people need to "magnify" God. If one really knows Him, they don't have to magnify or exaggerate His greatness because they truly know how great He is. If they know Him, they can spend time worshipping Him instead of making Him bigger to themself. I think Pentecostals use the phrase, "Magnify the Lord" too loosely.
ReplyDeleteMonica - thanks for your vote of confidence, but I don't think I want to tackle district ladies conference just yet. LOL I do think you are right about the shoes. Anybody should be able to dance with red and white polka dots. LOL
ReplyDeleteSonia - it is nice to hear from you. I know you truly understand about dancing in the rain. I'm glad you are a survivor in times of tragedy. Love you, too!
Carissa - Gurl, if you go on WAY Choir this year, we will be sure to dance. Yes, you got me right on this one.
Debbie - I hadn't thought of a banner, but it would a great idea. Thanks for the comment. XO
Sis. Jana,
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
God loves to be boasted about, in fact one of the words for "praise" means to "make a show or boast". That's magnification. But I also think the alternative view is accurate as well.
We magnify God the way a telescope magnifies a star. The star is huge – so huge it’s beyond our comprehension. Yet it appears to us as a tiny speck of light. The telescope makes it appear a bit larger to us – and thus a bit more like it’s real self. Just so with God. When we magnify Him, we make Him look more like He really is. On this world, in our culture, God appears small and insignificant. Sad but true. We magnify Him – and still fall far, far short of showing all His glory to those around us.
Because of this flesh, and as a result, these doubts, these fears and the demonism of the world in which we live, the supernatural awe of God is sometimes so far removed. Worship brings it fresh to our minds, and more importantly into our spirits. The pressing situations seem insignificant when I gaze at the majesty of the Eternal One.
"Oh Magnify the Lord with me, Let us exalt His name together."
This post has me behaving rather sprightly.
Lord bless you!
James - how we use these words determines the interpretation. If, while I am praising or worshipping God, I boast, compliment, or adore, it is like a lover esteeming his beloved. I am then lifted into His chambers and can work in the supernatural with Him. Yet if I spend my time magnifying or trying to enlarge Him to myself, I have not entered into His space but rather had horizontal praise with the other worshippers. James, are the stars really beyond your comprehension or can you readily admit they are the handiwork of God and are huge, gigantic? This is my argument - there is too much time spent doubting how great our God is and therefore the need for magnification. When I can know Him in His fullness, I can enter into higher heights and depper depths where I, too, can work in the Spirit. When we can work in the Spirit and the supernatural realm, His glory will be revealed to the people. This is much like prophetic ministry. You stated, "Because of this flesh, and as a result, these doubts, these fears and the demonism of the world in which we live, the supernatural awe of God is sometimes so far removed." Part of that statement really bothers me - "...supernatural awe of God is sometimes so far removed." Why? Do we spend too much time trying to make God bigger? What would happen if we stopped trying to make God bigger for the doubters and we entered into the Spirit where we began to see things in the Spirit, and prophesy came forth? Now that would bring magnification to the doubters. I do believe in magnifying the Lord, but I still hold to my argument that it has become over-used in Pentecostal realms and the supernatural has therefore become, as you said, "far removed."
ReplyDelete"What would happen if we stopped trying to make God bigger for the doubters and we entered into the Spirit where we began to see things in the Spirit, and prophesy came forth? Now that would bring magnification to the doubters. I do believe in magnifying the Lord, but I still hold to my argument that it has become over-used in Pentecostal realms and the supernatural has therefore become, as you said, "far removed.""
ReplyDeleteJana, that is a truly great point...but it requires a necessary ingredient called humility. I think the question is are we dancing to put on a great elaborate show or are we moving forward into the awesomeness of the shekinah presence of God. One can put on a great show without humility, but they will never experience the shekinah glory without it.
BTW Jana that is one of the reason why Deb and I enjoy our friendship with you and Brian so much...you all are humble, real down-to-earth people.
Mark - Thanks for your comment. It made me think of the little drummer boy. "...I am a poor boy....I have no gift to bring...I played my best for Him...then He smiled at me..." Humility was the key factor along with giving/playing/singing/dancing my best for Him. I take your words as a compliment - Brian and I always want to be "real." What you see is what you get. There is a saying, "Birds of a feather flock together..." Guess that explains why we are such good friends.
ReplyDeleteOne can worship God from afar, as the twinkling star, or one can worship God when He is near, like a cosmic meteorite impacting Earth. As you know, "God inhabits the praises of His people". The Lord of Eternity is magnified, his ear is inclined to us, and His throne is established even in our very presence. This is magnification.
ReplyDeleteI believe we have experienced the supernatural as a result of "drawing nigh unto God" and witnessing Him "draw nigh" unto us. This is magnification.
"If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." This is magnification: lift Him up, so that He is visible.
Sis. Jana, perhaps we've engaged in semantics? I agree that we can become very myopic when we believe that our personal task is to somehow make a small God, big. It's based on a faulty premise, and I truly understand that. That's also why I believe praise and worship is a neccessity in our daily lives. Our cursed human nature has a tendency to place itself above God, like Lucifer did, and not realize just how incredible BIG our God is. That's my primary point.
Bro. Mark,
I hear you! I can recall, during some travels, seeing some pretty hilarious stuff! I have to say though, some of the most proud people, lacking in humility, were those dignified sorts that would have looked at David when he danced before the ark like he was a crazed mad man.
The hebrew word halal, which is interpreted as "praise" means:
halal (haw-lal'); a primitive root; to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:
Used over 110 times in the OT!
"One can put on a great show without humility, but they will never experience the shekinah glory without it." AMEN and AMEN!
I don't think I've ever written so much on a blog post comment...ever! Yikes.
ReplyDeleteSis. Jana, you have much more experience than I in the church with praise and worship, so I can truly appreciate the positions you take. Thanks for conversing with me.
"If they know Him, they can spend time worshipping Him instead of making Him bigger to themself." (Your quote) AMEN!
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, "magnifying" is a byproduct of worship anyway. He lives in it. He draws nigh unto it.
Magnify, Exalt, Glorify, Ascended, Reigns over, Rules over, etc...these are all words we use with our praise and all of them have relationship with God's size in relation to us. Johnny the Baptist had it right with decreasing so that He can increase. That goes back to Bro. Mark's note, that humility is part and parcel with "magnifying God".
James - It seems you have gone off on a tangent. Semantics? Possibly. Even so I will disagree that drawing nigh is magnification. It seems you have confused magnification with lauding. I am no longer cursed because I have been redeemed and I don't put myself above God nor ever try. When I worship Him, I want to go beyond magnifying Him. I want to enter into the Holy of Holies. I don't need to convince myself He is bigger. I believe He is all-consuming, omnipresent, and I feel I have a revelation of His greatness. Therefore, when I enter into worship, I want to dive into the supernatural. I might add, you have not told Pastor Mark Pryor anything he doesn't know. He is a man of the Word and one of the best preachers I have ever heard.
ReplyDeleteJames - obviously, I have made you think. To me, a blog is only effective if it causes one to think. I do frequently talk about my kids and personal stuff, but I love involved, thought provoking posts.
ReplyDeleteJames - magnify or exalt are collaterally connected with another or concomitant but, are still very different. They are part of a multifarious substructure that comprises worship. Don't let all your worship be focused or directed in one facet.
ReplyDeleteSis. Jana,
ReplyDeleteI didn't think those were the same words, but I was referring to their common relationship.
Magnifying doesn't actually make God big, it's a glass to our dim eye. (Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of this world, will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace).
I suppose I admit that God doesn't seem as big sometimes to me until I start praising Him. Others may be different, but I may feel a situation is impossible until I've worshipped God. He becomes large to me. It's not that God ever grew, it's that my faith grew. My perspective grew. I never quit believing he was the Almighty, but knowledge and spiritual awareness is what happens. It's encouragement to me.
Anyhow. Tangent or no tangent, I've enjoyed this discussion. I'm sure you are a woman of praise and I certainly don't want to come off like I am trying to "one up" or "show up" anyone on this post. I simply responded to a provoking thought.
Regarding Bro. Mark, I've never met him, but I'm sure he's a man of God and is just as good as you've said. I'd like to meet him sometime. I certainly wasn't trying to "school him" on anything either. (this may be why blog posts are usually brief comments) I wanted to share in the discussion - iron sharpening iron.
Love you guys and thanks again for your comments and replies.
James - blogs and written conversations can sometimes be difficult to interpret the spirit of the speaker/writer. This is probably why many bloggers stick with people they know so as not to be misunderstand. Without sounding mean, I kind of view you as a child/son since I am old enough to be your mother. Fifty is pretty close for me. (Uh-oh!) So let me say this - you can rest easy because I know the art of agreeing to disagree. Also, so that you may greater understand my position, I am a postive woman of great faith. This post was not about worship, praise, magnification, exalting, etc. It was about making the choice to deal with circumstances and be happy in spite of rough times. However, you presented the idea dancing got your mind off trouble and makes your God bigger. James, without sounding facetious, I don't think He can be bigger to me. I truly believe He is the air I breathe, the song I sing.... I have been a missionary to Africa and have seen God do huge miracles, in our church here in Delano there have been gigantic miracles, and miracles in my own life. I am a believer! Now let me talk to you like I would my 22 year old son. You admitted God is not always so big until you begin to worship. That lets me know you need to magnify Him. If I could convince you to pray and fast for God to send you a revelation of His greatness, please let me. James, once you get it from the top of your head to the sole of your feet, your praise and worship will enter an entirely higher dimension. Nothing is impossible with God. Get it! Believe it! It will change your life forever.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "iron sharening iron," my husband and I along with Pastor and Sis. Pryor have many times sat at Starbucks for five hours and discussed things of God and the Bible. It is our favorite past time with playing Scrabble running second place. Pastor Pryor knows his Bible backwards and forwards and his wife is the person I want to pray for me if I am in need. They are an incredible team pastoring in Orange County, Southern California. I would love for you to meet them. Maybe having said all this, you can understand me a little better. Your comments are always welcome and please continue to visit and offer your two cents. Give Emily a hug for me.