Friends

     Friend. I love that word. The girls I call my friends have to be the most amazing people in the world. They put up with me and all my strange and crazy moods and still like me! 

     I enjoy being a friend. It's a great two-way street. We both mutually encourage one another and spur one another on in love and good works.

     I've been crazily busy lately and tired. But I have such great friends. They love me and encourage me to keep going even when I'm not feeling well. Sometimes they don't even have to say it, just because they took the time to talk to me was enough to encourage me to go on. Or they just took time to write me a note that brightened my day.

     I know that normally I don't do a lot of personal posts, but I wanted to remind you that being a true friend is a great blessing. Both to you and to your friend. It takes time, love, and an unselfish heart. Many times it takes more than ministry, but it's reward is wonderful. 

     My mom likes to say that there are only two things that we get to take to heaven, friendships and the heavenly treasure that's being laid up for us. I don't know about you, but that makes me want to invest in these kind friends. To invest my time in friends that will be around for eternity. It makes me want to be a Christ-like friend, like they are to me.

     I love you, dear friends. 

Ministering to the Grieving

Someone loses a loved one. You want to help, but aren’t sure how. I know the feeling. You want to show your sympathy in a way that would be most loving.

One thing that you need to know is that when people are grieving they need love. They need comfort and help. The best help that you can be is to let them grieve in their own way. Be there for them, but also let them be on their own if they want. Often what people want more than anything when they are grieving is someone to just be there. Someone who can let them know they aren’t alone.

Cards are another sweet thing. Make sure to include prayers and thoughts for them. Make them as personal and from your heart as possible.

Food is always a wonderful thing to send to someone. When you are grieving it zaps you energy. Having food already made is blessing. Go for things that are very calm and that aren’t really spicy. Soups and sandwiches are perfect. Also think about doing a breakfast food. When you aren’t feeling well, breakfast can be a pain. Having something already made is wonderful.

Flowers are good to. They add a little cheer and let the grieving know that you thought of them.

The next time you see someone grieving; make sure to express your sympathy. Reach out and help someone who is grieving. You won’t regret it.    

An Overdue Update on Co-op

Co-op is over.  Teaching was such a wonderful opportunity and I’m glad that God gave me the chance to grow this way.

                Teaching actually ended up being easier than I thought. Before I started teaching at co-op I thought solo teaching was the last thing that I would do. I was scared that I would mess up. But once I had done my first lesson, I found out that it was easier than I thought and that I enjoyed sharing with my students what I had learned.

                Teaching also allowed me to get to know some wonderful girls who I probably would have never gotten to know otherwise. I didn’t just get to teach, I got to know my students. That was a great blessing.

                One of the most touching things was on the last day of co-op. My students surprised me by giving me presents and cards. I could tell that they came from their hearts. It made all the work, planning, running around, hard moments, and teaching worth it. To know that I had made a difference in their lives was wonderful.

                So where is God going to take this gift? I don’t know all the answers. But wherever He takes me I know that it will be good. 

A Journey In Acting Part 4

Note: I have often written on how God can use many various talents. This is the story of how God used some of my dreams, talents, and desires for His glory. Originally Published On Virtuous Girlhood. www.virtuousgirlhood.com  

At the first practice we went over acting basics and the first few scenes of the play. I was so excited. I was in a play!  Not only that I had written the play! And if that wasn’t enough I was also getting to be the lead in the play! I was overwhelmed.

The next few months were a whirl of activity. I was amazed at how much God brought together. They devoted a whole class at co-op to making sets. One of the moms volunteered to do make-up. They even added in music. I was thrilled.

The more that I sat back and allowed God to work the more things came together. I loved acting. It was fun and I love the people I got to hang out with and get to be friends with.

I was also surprised at how much God taught me through the play. Things like let God lead. Surrender you dreams to Him and He will either fulfill them or give you something far better. Let life unfold. Don’t try to take what God is not giving you. And God will do much more than you can ever imagine.

As performance day got closer I became more excited. I could hardly believe how much God had done. He had fulfilled a dream that I had given up on. He had changed my heart and made me into a new person. I was excited.

On the day of the play I woke up at four in the morning. I was so excited I hardly got any sleep after that. But I was too excited to be tired.

Standing off stage listening to our director introduce the play, I was thrilled and nervous. I was mentally thinking of everything that I needed to do, but I was also excited to be there.

I thought I would get stage fright, but surprisingly I acted better than I had ever done in practice. It was like I was able to give the play more than I had ever done before. It was a wonderful feeling.

At the end of the play all the cast went up to dance on the stage. I danced all over the stage. I had written, stared, and sung in a play. I was happy.

Later that night when I was talking with God, He repeated to me some familiar words, “Your dream will be fulfilled this year. And I have fulfilled my promise.”

I spun around, sang, and danced out of joy. He had given me an acting dream and then He fulfilled it. He had done more than I could have ever imagined just to give me a special gift.

As I look back on this whole journey that God took me on from writer to lead in the play. The more that I surrendered to Him, the more He was able to do. 

When I gave up on my dream, He went to work. How much more can He do in the future if I will only allow Him to work?

The End ... For Now

A Journey In Acting Part 3

Note: I have often written on how God can use many various talents. This is the story of how God used some of my dreams, talents, and desires for His glory. I hope you are blesses and encouraged by reading my story. Originally Published On Virtuous Girlhood. www.virtuousgirlhood.com  

All of 2010 I sensed that God was preparing me for something. I thought that that would be acting, but by late summer I had decide that acting was going to be one of those dreams that wasn’t going to be fulfilled.

Then one day a homeschooling mom from a local homeschool co-op calls and asks me if I want to teach a homemaking class at co-op. I prayed and asked God. The idea was a little scary. I had never done solo teaching. Yet after much prayer and a few talks with my family, I decided to teach the class.

I had hoped that maybe the co-op would have some kind of drama class, but they had none. Giving up on ever being able to act, I settled for teaching homemaking and crocheting. To fill up the rest of my day I took Bible study and dance classes.

To my surprise, teaching was easier than I thought. My students were wonderful and I enjoyed teaching and being taught.

I developed friendships with my teachers, especially my dance teacher. After class was over we would sit and talk for a few minutes about life and our common interests.

One day my dance teacher asked to see the script. We had talked about my play a few weeks earlier we had talked about my play briefly. She said that they were thinking about doing a play and wanted to see mine. I was glad, but not excited. I had had so many disappointments that year in regard to plays that I thought that she wouldn’t like my play and that it would all come to nothing.

I was completely floored when she returned saying that she not only loved the play, she had asked my Bible study teacher to direct it. By this point we were talking about auditions, a spring production of my play, and other details.

I was getting excited, but I kept myself in check. I kept preparing myself for everything to fall through. Could this really happen? Could my dream for a play really be coming true? Could God really be bringing all the pieces together? I had to breathe.

Barely had I taken a breath when they told me that I was going to be the lead in the play. I could hardly believe it. By this time I was getting really excited. Try as I might to pace myself, I was getting more and more thrilled.

I began learning my lines, but I could hardly believe that I was really in a play.

It really didn’t sink in until the first practice.

To Be Continued …

A Journey In Acting Part 2

Note: I have often written on how God can use many various talents. This is the story of how God used some of my dreams, talents, and desires for His glory. My prayer is that you will be encouraged through this story. Originally Published On Virtuous Girlhood. www.virtuousgirlhood.com  

I sat in front of my computer, praying.

I had come home from the play excited. I had begun to write a script. Could it be that God was providing a way for me to learn to write plays?

I wrote an e-mail asking this director if he would help me learn how to write plays. Hitting the send button with a shaky finger I prayed that God would help me to accept whatever answer he gave.

If I remember correctly the next day he sent me a reply saying that he would love to teach me how to write plays. I was floored. I began to write furiously.

The next seven months were a writing lesson. I would send him a rough draft of the play; he would send it back to me with suggestions and thoughts on how to make it better. I would edit and make it better and send it to him. And the process would begin over again. It was like having a private writing tutor. It was hard and exciting all at same time.

Finally the play was worked over as much as it could be. I had learned how to write plays! Yet my heart wanted something more. I still had a great desire to act, but I nothing seemed to be open.

After writing that first play I went on to write a screenplay. It wasn’t very good, but it furthered my writing skills and helped me become a better playwright.

At the beginning of 2010 I decided that I wanted to be involved in a drama group. I prayed, asked, and researched. Nothing. I kept looking for a drama group in my area. Every lead led to a dead end. I became discouraged. I gave up on the idea for a while.

Then in April I attended another play. This was a musical adaption of Pilgrims Progress. For a girl who loves singing and acting it doesn’t get much better than that. I went home inspired.

                The next day, I went out for a long talk with God. “Lord, I really want to act. I feel like you given me the desire for acting, but I can’t seem to find a way to do it.” And I heard God tell me. “Your dream will be fulfilled this year.” I told God that if this was His word that He would fulfill it.

                I began to write another play. This one was an adaption of Hinds Feet On High Places. I was happy to be writing it, yet I was disheartened by the fact that no acting group was coming along. Over the summer I finished the script, but I didn’t know what God was going to do with it.

                I had prayed and done all I could. Nothing was happening. I must have heard God wrong. My acting dream was fading. I would never be able to act.

                Or would I?

                To Be Continued …

A Journey In Acting Part 1

Note: I have often written on how God can use many various talents. This is the story of how God used some of my dreams, talents, and desires for His glory. Originally Published On Virtuous Girlhood. www.virtuousgirlhood.com 

 

I ran up the center aisle and danced all over the stage. A dozen kids danced with me to Shackles (Praise You). It had happened my dream had come true. Could this really be?

                It had taken an incredible journey to get here. One that had taken me down several bends and turns. There had been tears and laughter. There had been talking and silence. There had been waiting and going forward.

                But I digress; I had better go back to the beginning. Back to the start of this journey of writing, acting, faith, surrender, and trust.

                Ever since I was little I had loved acting. After watching a movie with my family, I would go and act out my favorite scenes playing all the different parts. From time to time our family would act out a play together or our church would put on a Christmas play. It gave me a taste for acting and I loved it.

                As I got older my interest in acting, plays, and movies increased. I began to want to act more. I also began to come up with ideas for screenplays and plays. For years I dreamed up these plays, but I wasn’t a good scriptwriter. My best attempts at writing plays were horrible. I stopped trying.

                One day frustrated at my own inability to write and my desire to act, I told God that if He wanted me to write plays, He would have to give me someone to help me learn the art of scriptwriting. After that I promptly forgot all about acting, and writing, for a while.

                A few months later I went to a play that some of my friends were in. I was impressed. It was a Christian play, but not preachy. It was well done and acted. And the director had written the play. As I sat watching this play, I thought that this might be the person God was sending into my life to teach me how to write plays.

                I would have to talk to this guy afterwards.

                To Be Continued …