The Divine Dance
04.29.04 (11:24 am) [edit]
[b]An exerpt from the book, The Divine Dance... This really touched my heart...I hope you guys enjoy this!
Luv,
Heather[/b]
In a busy, noisy, world a little girl walks onto a dark stage and begins to perform. She wears her pink princess costume with pride.
“Will you love me?” Her actions ask. “Will you hold me; will you keep me close to your heart forever?”
The pain in her eyes screams at you. And with graceful pirouettes across the stage, she beckons you to choose her, to set her apart from the other performers, and to call her beloved. She has wounds buried so deep beneath her costume that she has almost forgotten they are there. But the laughter of her audiences echoes through her mind as she thinks of all of the times she has tried and failed. All she has ever wanted is acceptance, but she has never found it -- at least not for long.
Inside each of us is a desire to be loved, a desire to be chosen, and a desire to be called out of the crowd and loved for who we are. And seeking these desires, we all become performers, morphing ourselves into whatever role may earn us a place in the hearts of those around us. We constantly audition for affection, and once we have, it we feel we have attained perfection. We put all of our energy into our performances as we please our audiences however we can.
To become beautiful is the ogre’s dream; to remain beautiful is the dream of the prom queen. But to be chosen is everyone’s dream. What we fail to notice as we desperately dance is that One has never left His seat during our performance. Many audiences have come and gone, but this One, this Man has sat there from day one and has never taken His eyes off of the little girl in the pink princess dress. His eyes answer the questions her eyes ask, His heart satisfies the needs of her heart. If only that little girl would take the time to notice, if she would stop focusing on herself, and what she has to do to be beautiful to the other audiences, she would see that she is already beautiful to this One. He has called her the beloved, and He is offering her an important role in His dance -- the Divine Dance.
She holds center stage in His heart. He has seen her at her best and her worst. He knows her flaws, but still He wants her. He wants to love her, to hold her, to keep her close to His heart forever. He has seen all of her costumes, and sat through all of her performances, but He likes her best when she’s not performing at all. He likes her best at the end of the day, when the other audiences are gone and she has taken off all of her masks. Whether she’s smiling or crying, He loves her. And He wants to give her the world. But her concentration on her performances has kept her from seeing this answer to all her heart has ever wanted. God calls out to her, but she cannot hear him. She is missing the fulfillment of her dreams and plans and the desires of her heart. Somewhere along the line she disregarded the invitation God sent, because she was invited to another party put on by the world. But the world never told her she would be cast aside the moment she failed to mesmerize them. She has been missing the Divine Dance because she was too busy dancing for men and princes to notice the King.
That little girl is you. Each of us is a dancer; we dance our way through life performing for others. We perform for our parents by getting good grades and cleaning our rooms. We perform for friends by wearing the right clothes, and doing what they do. We perform for the guys we know by dressing to impress, and putting our best flirt forward. We perform for teachers by passing their tests and knowing the right answers. We even perform for people we don’t even know. And by the time we’ve reached our teen years we have become artists.
You don’t believe me? Then why did you spend so long in front of the mirror when you got ready this morning? Because you wanted to make a certain statement when you walked out of the door. You wanted to say something about yourself without using any words. You wanted to perform. Maybe you don’t use make-up. Perhaps you use sports or grades to perform instead. We are all performers, and we audition for a place in the hearts of everyone we meet.
At the core of each one of us is the desire to be loved and accepted. You want to be beautiful to someone, anyone. That can get you into trouble, because there is a world out there that will lie to you. It will tell you whatever you want to hear to get what it wants from you. As a Christian, you have a lot to offer. You posses authenticity, and that’s a rhythm the world can never dance to. At best, the world offers imposters of everything you’ve ever wanted.
So why, then, do you dance so hard on its stage? Why do you try so hard to please the crowd? And why are you always unfulfilled? You dance because you want to be noticed, and you try so hard because everyone else wants to be noticed too. You are unfulfilled because God did not create you to dance for this world. He intended for you to dance for Him. Dancing is a form of worship, and He wants you to worship Him.
He has gifted you exclusively for this purpose. He has wrapped you in the package that is your personality and your body, so you can play a certain role. Long ago He wrote a script, and He wrote a role for you that’s all your own and only you can play it. Without you the story cannot continue like it was originally intended to. Without you, lesser methods have to be chosen, and somewhere the CD in God’s divine CD player skips a beat. “Someone is not dancing like he/she should,” it seems to say. You cannot dance for God the way you have been dancing. God will not share His glory. But He will share His love, and that is what this dance is all about. God designed you to glorify Himself. He designed the Divine Dance so others may see your life and want to glorify Him too. When you get up on that stage and seek your own glory, when you seek the world’s applause, you break God’s heart. Yeah you are dancing, but it’s all to no avail. You’re missing the story. You’re missing the dance. Deep inside you are unsatisfied, and even if nobody else knows it, God does. He wants to change that; He wants to give you the riches of His kingdom.
He wants you to dance for Him, but it will cost you – although not as much as you think. You only have to give up the world, and the riches of heaven will be yours. Take off the vanity-stained leotard the world has given you, and slip on God’s grace. He wants to clothe you in righteousness and set you apart. In the end, that’s a far better deal than working really hard for seven seconds in the spotlight and a loveless reality.
Today you can have the performance of a lifetime, and I hope you don’t pass it up. You can watch from the sidelines, but it won’t do you any good. You were born with feet that dance and a heart that hears rhythm, so you have to dance for someone. You can’t help yourself. You can dance your hardest for this world, but when you wind up with a trophy made out of fools’ gold, you won’t be very happy.
These are pivotal times in your life. The choices you make from here on out will define who you are. The costumes you wear will label you. Adulthood is just around the corner now; maybe you’ve found it already. Soon enough nobody will make choices for you anymore, and as nice as it sounds, a lot of responsibility comes with that. So practice making wise decisions right now. Dance for the One who deserves to be worshiped. Dance for the One who desires to be worshiped. And dance for Him alone.
No matter your music, or your style, dance unto the Lord and you will not only be changed but you will change others with your song.
"Shannon has captured in this one book the essence of everything I've wanted to say to teens for so long. It's all here: truth, hope, gentle correction, and a brilliant spotlight on God, the Relentless Lover, who has been dearly longing to have this dance with you. Skillfully weaving the theme of dance throughout her book, Shannon Kubiak encourages teen girls to stop dancing for the world's applause and to step into God's studio to truly learn the dance they were designed to perform for an audience of One! The Divine Dance is a great read!"
Andrea Stephens - BRIO Magazine Beauty Editor
http://shannonkubiak.com/book.html" title="http://shannonkubiak.com/book.html" target="_blank"http://shannonkubiak.com/book...
This book is mainly directed towards girls but it's great for guys to check out too!
Luv,
Heather[/b]
In a busy, noisy, world a little girl walks onto a dark stage and begins to perform. She wears her pink princess costume with pride.
“Will you love me?” Her actions ask. “Will you hold me; will you keep me close to your heart forever?”
The pain in her eyes screams at you. And with graceful pirouettes across the stage, she beckons you to choose her, to set her apart from the other performers, and to call her beloved. She has wounds buried so deep beneath her costume that she has almost forgotten they are there. But the laughter of her audiences echoes through her mind as she thinks of all of the times she has tried and failed. All she has ever wanted is acceptance, but she has never found it -- at least not for long.
Inside each of us is a desire to be loved, a desire to be chosen, and a desire to be called out of the crowd and loved for who we are. And seeking these desires, we all become performers, morphing ourselves into whatever role may earn us a place in the hearts of those around us. We constantly audition for affection, and once we have, it we feel we have attained perfection. We put all of our energy into our performances as we please our audiences however we can.
To become beautiful is the ogre’s dream; to remain beautiful is the dream of the prom queen. But to be chosen is everyone’s dream. What we fail to notice as we desperately dance is that One has never left His seat during our performance. Many audiences have come and gone, but this One, this Man has sat there from day one and has never taken His eyes off of the little girl in the pink princess dress. His eyes answer the questions her eyes ask, His heart satisfies the needs of her heart. If only that little girl would take the time to notice, if she would stop focusing on herself, and what she has to do to be beautiful to the other audiences, she would see that she is already beautiful to this One. He has called her the beloved, and He is offering her an important role in His dance -- the Divine Dance.
She holds center stage in His heart. He has seen her at her best and her worst. He knows her flaws, but still He wants her. He wants to love her, to hold her, to keep her close to His heart forever. He has seen all of her costumes, and sat through all of her performances, but He likes her best when she’s not performing at all. He likes her best at the end of the day, when the other audiences are gone and she has taken off all of her masks. Whether she’s smiling or crying, He loves her. And He wants to give her the world. But her concentration on her performances has kept her from seeing this answer to all her heart has ever wanted. God calls out to her, but she cannot hear him. She is missing the fulfillment of her dreams and plans and the desires of her heart. Somewhere along the line she disregarded the invitation God sent, because she was invited to another party put on by the world. But the world never told her she would be cast aside the moment she failed to mesmerize them. She has been missing the Divine Dance because she was too busy dancing for men and princes to notice the King.
That little girl is you. Each of us is a dancer; we dance our way through life performing for others. We perform for our parents by getting good grades and cleaning our rooms. We perform for friends by wearing the right clothes, and doing what they do. We perform for the guys we know by dressing to impress, and putting our best flirt forward. We perform for teachers by passing their tests and knowing the right answers. We even perform for people we don’t even know. And by the time we’ve reached our teen years we have become artists.
You don’t believe me? Then why did you spend so long in front of the mirror when you got ready this morning? Because you wanted to make a certain statement when you walked out of the door. You wanted to say something about yourself without using any words. You wanted to perform. Maybe you don’t use make-up. Perhaps you use sports or grades to perform instead. We are all performers, and we audition for a place in the hearts of everyone we meet.
At the core of each one of us is the desire to be loved and accepted. You want to be beautiful to someone, anyone. That can get you into trouble, because there is a world out there that will lie to you. It will tell you whatever you want to hear to get what it wants from you. As a Christian, you have a lot to offer. You posses authenticity, and that’s a rhythm the world can never dance to. At best, the world offers imposters of everything you’ve ever wanted.
So why, then, do you dance so hard on its stage? Why do you try so hard to please the crowd? And why are you always unfulfilled? You dance because you want to be noticed, and you try so hard because everyone else wants to be noticed too. You are unfulfilled because God did not create you to dance for this world. He intended for you to dance for Him. Dancing is a form of worship, and He wants you to worship Him.
He has gifted you exclusively for this purpose. He has wrapped you in the package that is your personality and your body, so you can play a certain role. Long ago He wrote a script, and He wrote a role for you that’s all your own and only you can play it. Without you the story cannot continue like it was originally intended to. Without you, lesser methods have to be chosen, and somewhere the CD in God’s divine CD player skips a beat. “Someone is not dancing like he/she should,” it seems to say. You cannot dance for God the way you have been dancing. God will not share His glory. But He will share His love, and that is what this dance is all about. God designed you to glorify Himself. He designed the Divine Dance so others may see your life and want to glorify Him too. When you get up on that stage and seek your own glory, when you seek the world’s applause, you break God’s heart. Yeah you are dancing, but it’s all to no avail. You’re missing the story. You’re missing the dance. Deep inside you are unsatisfied, and even if nobody else knows it, God does. He wants to change that; He wants to give you the riches of His kingdom.
He wants you to dance for Him, but it will cost you – although not as much as you think. You only have to give up the world, and the riches of heaven will be yours. Take off the vanity-stained leotard the world has given you, and slip on God’s grace. He wants to clothe you in righteousness and set you apart. In the end, that’s a far better deal than working really hard for seven seconds in the spotlight and a loveless reality.
Today you can have the performance of a lifetime, and I hope you don’t pass it up. You can watch from the sidelines, but it won’t do you any good. You were born with feet that dance and a heart that hears rhythm, so you have to dance for someone. You can’t help yourself. You can dance your hardest for this world, but when you wind up with a trophy made out of fools’ gold, you won’t be very happy.
These are pivotal times in your life. The choices you make from here on out will define who you are. The costumes you wear will label you. Adulthood is just around the corner now; maybe you’ve found it already. Soon enough nobody will make choices for you anymore, and as nice as it sounds, a lot of responsibility comes with that. So practice making wise decisions right now. Dance for the One who deserves to be worshiped. Dance for the One who desires to be worshiped. And dance for Him alone.
No matter your music, or your style, dance unto the Lord and you will not only be changed but you will change others with your song.
"Shannon has captured in this one book the essence of everything I've wanted to say to teens for so long. It's all here: truth, hope, gentle correction, and a brilliant spotlight on God, the Relentless Lover, who has been dearly longing to have this dance with you. Skillfully weaving the theme of dance throughout her book, Shannon Kubiak encourages teen girls to stop dancing for the world's applause and to step into God's studio to truly learn the dance they were designed to perform for an audience of One! The Divine Dance is a great read!"
Andrea Stephens - BRIO Magazine Beauty Editor
http://shannonkubiak.com/book.html" title="http://shannonkubiak.com/book.html" target="_blank"http://shannonkubiak.com/book...
This book is mainly directed towards girls but it's great for guys to check out too!
Time for God your Friend
04.21.04 (7:05 pm) [edit]
Time for God your Friend
‘As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion ‘or thanking me for something good that happened in your life ‘yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear.
‘When you ran around the house getting ready, I ‘knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were to busy.
‘At one point you had to wait, fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I ‘thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long.
‘With all your activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to ‘me. I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't. That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet.
You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and ‘you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. ‘I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.
‘Bedtime-I guess you felt too tired. After you said ‘goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time. ‘That's okay because you may not realize that I am ‘always there for you. I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to ‘be patient with others as well. I love you so much that I ‘wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought or a thankful part of your ‘heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.
Well, you are getting up once again. And once ‘again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time. Have a nice day!
Your friend,
GOD
< >< >< Something to think about!!>
~Heather
‘As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion ‘or thanking me for something good that happened in your life ‘yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear.
‘When you ran around the house getting ready, I ‘knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were to busy.
‘At one point you had to wait, fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I ‘thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long.
‘With all your activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to ‘me. I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't. That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet.
You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and ‘you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. ‘I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.
‘Bedtime-I guess you felt too tired. After you said ‘goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time. ‘That's okay because you may not realize that I am ‘always there for you. I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to ‘be patient with others as well. I love you so much that I ‘wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought or a thankful part of your ‘heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.
Well, you are getting up once again. And once ‘again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time. Have a nice day!
Your friend,
GOD
< >< >< Something to think about!!>
~Heather
GET A FREE BIBLE!!!
04.13.04 (2:36 pm) [edit]
[b]NEED A BIBLE????[/b]
![]()
=http://img18.photobucket.com/...
Are you unable to purchace a bible? I came to this website...send her an e-mail asking for a bible and she will send you one.
Why not refer people to this site?
Check it out:
http://www.geocities.com/woodierow/freebible.html" title="http://www.geocities.com/woodierow/freebible.html" target="_blank"http://www.geocities.com/wood...
Are you unable to purchace a bible? I came to this website...send her an e-mail asking for a bible and she will send you one.
Why not refer people to this site?
Check it out:
http://www.geocities.com/woodierow/freebible.html" title="http://www.geocities.com/woodierow/freebible.html" target="_blank"http://www.geocities.com/wood...
Jesus is the Reason 4 this Season!
04.08.04 (6:34 pm) [edit]
As I walk thru the stores I see so many Easter bunnies, Easter eggs, candy....just about anything you can think of! It saddens me to think that there are children who will go thru this Easter not knowing what it's really all about. So many parents lie to their own children...they keep something SO important from their children. It's the same thing with Christmas.
I'm a retail merchandiser for Hallmark cards and it's sad that there are waaaay more cards about easter bunnies and eggs than there are about our Savior Jesus Christ!
Let's give Him the glory this Easter and evey day of our lives!:-D