The Flood of Humanity

Who are we, genuine hypocrites and authentic fakes,
We can be as hot as ice and as cold as fire
And in the depth of humanity
I see shallowness of perfection -
What’s perfect for you is lost for me
At least that’s a truth we can all see.
So fight like the frustration of the ocean
And so destroy what could have saved you.
You forget the peace of the sky -
The wonder of the stars,
And dismiss the one who made you.
I hope you find slavery in your safety
I hope you find freedom in the eyes of danger
I hope you life in the joy of the sun
And sleep and cry to the sorrow of the moon.
Who has reached the love of life?
Who now fears the breadth of death?
And so they bring death to life…
And the fear to love for the fear to die…
Where now they find the fear of life
And a hideous love of death -
Or a beautiful fearlessness of its depth.
Truth is not logical in this chaos
God is not chaos in this mysterious order.
Don’t think to know all you know;
It is like stagnant chaos and blinded order.
Find the flight of the found,
Follow their trail of silver dust
And rays of sun with eternity’s colors
And singing and dancing forever…
Catch the fall of the lost and fallen
Feel their weight, the ground, the dark
Look for light and open their eyes;
A surgery worth the pain in their lives.
How will we survive this growing flood of humanity,
With the impending drought of perfection?
Surely not all is lost
When we’re sweetly broken,
Beneath a cross…

Stink Bugs and Sprained Ankles

JiIn from South Korea is always the first to vocal a multi-pitched screech when a harmless stink bug crawls into a room. Which happens a lot. We usually try and safely transport them outside but every once and while I’ll squish one just for the fun of it. The result is a pungent aroma that smells of freshly cut grass and aroused dirt. The stink bug is a familiar creature around here. I think I’ve rather taken a liking to them oddly enough, probably because they are everywhere.  I’m convinced that if one didn’t try to at least like the pests a little they would inevitably go crazy.

Besides the stink bug’s reign, the dancers and I have been up to our eyeballs in dance history, rehearsing sometimes till 10 or 11 at night, lectures on Post-modernism to better understand where art in the world is going (if one can give a lecture on that without being all that post modernism says it isn’t) plus an entourage of health and nutrition classes. We are all now more obsessed with eating as much food as we can get. No doubt, the amount we’re dancing calls for some sort of magnanimous energy lift, but there comes a point when no matter how much food and sugar I feed myself the body says a determined “no”; it is just too tired, and no amount of sleep will do its pain justice. I mean, is it normal to wake up in the morning and feel like one has been beaten? It has all been worth it, every moment. Life seems to hold a much sharper valor and a much deeper motivation when we know that we’re learning and dancing for something bigger than ourselves, when we know we are apart of something beyond our mere individual lives. God is redeeming that arts back to Himself, and that means not just dance, but music, and drama, and writing and painting…

Evil has done all it could to make dance an enemy to those who love God and it has succeeded in history as making it viewed as something ugly, sinful, and impure. But sin has made a lot of things that way. If only people knew the power dance can have if used as God intended it. Just look at art in general. Music and books and all other artistic fields are so powerful that they can even change the face of culture and change the views of society and impact so deeply what mere stagnant thought or debate couldn’t hope to do. And God infiltrates everything. From the beautiful, to the ugly. We have had numerous injuries on the base and this is Satan’s way to keep us from doing what God will do with our group on outreach in Europe and even in the base and around the community here in Lakeside. Our first two guest speakers were severally injured including some parallelization and a sever ankle sprain. One of our guest speakers coming in November broke his leg. Every week since the start, an artist on the base has hurt themselves, whether musician, painter, or dancer. The most recent being a broken toe, a hyper extended knee, and a broken hand. All of the injuries within the dancers themselves God has healed in miraculous time. I can’t help getting the feeling that God is protecting us. Every slight twitch, fall, or trip could have been something serious but somehow there’s always safety net. Our last guest choreographer threw her back out. We prayed of course (because it always seems to work) and a few minutes later, she was fine. Sometimes, it’s hard to hide my surprise, but then again God lives outside of our expectations. That’s why we can never hope to understand Him. I find so much comfort in that.

We had a breakthrough. Many people had been praying for us and one thing they said was that there was a problem was jealousy and envy. Many of us of us were actually comparing ourselves to each other and this can leave room for Satan to do whatever He wants. A man once said “To the degree you give the enemy room in your life is to the degree that he will wreak havoc in it.” In our case, this was true. We confessed to one another and the result was an unbreakable unity. We sensed that we’re apart of something big and I’ve never known such love and genuine authenticity in one group of girls than in this one. Dance in many ways can make oneself insecure, competitive, full of pride, and envious of those who are better than you. It can make you distracted by focusing your identity based on the flesh than on who God says we are in Him. It is from these things we strive to run. At least we know we don’t have to be perfect and that God understands that, and uses us despite our mistakes and our weaknesses. To the degree that we give our weaknesses up to God is the degree that He will be within us as ten times stronger. Control is not something any of us are good at. If we were, we would be God. But were not, so that’s impossible. Just know that all your life and all you have and will ever have and do – is by the grace that holds the very fabric of human life together. That in itself is a miracle.

Oh, and there haven’t been any more injuries since.  :cD

The Dance Begins…

It’s been three weeks since the beginning of the school and I have found myself dancing all day and then getting to soak in lectures about dance and dancers, history and how it all connects with God and society and culture. We have our first performance this Tuesday.  Already everyone has improved since their first days of rehearsal. We’re more flexible, we’re stronger and we’re beginning to know each other really well. Before coming here, it was hard dancing with people who didn’t know God and it was difficult to explain to them that my passion is not just dance, but God first. Here, we all understand this, and it is liberating. We all have such big dreams. Many of us have come from a long long way.

One girl named Krista, was born without the ability to walk. Her hips were loose in her joints and only her skin was holding her together. The Doctors said she might never walk. Then, by the prayers of her mom seeking God, she was healed. The Doctor joked that she would become a dancer. What’s ironic, is that she is a dancer and an incredible one at that. She’s a dancing miracle and it’s all to show God’s glory. He wanted her to dance for Him. Then, a Jackie, from Rwanda was going to be killed when she was in Africa but they told her to dance first. So, expecting to die, she danced her best for God one last time, and b/c of her abilities and her passion in dance, they let her live. God saved her life through dance. There are so many other stories of healing and redemption that many of the girls have received through dance and we’re coming to realize it is more of a tool than we had realized.

God is being extremely faithful in providing for all of our financial needs as well. In the entirety of the Lakeside base’s history, there has never been one person who hasn’t been able to pay for their tuition. God has always come through. Several people have been needing to raise up to 2,000 in two days, and money arrives just in time. Jackie, flew to Hong Kong without a penny and her supporters gave her all she needed to come all the way to America. We know that God has chosen us to be here. All we have to do is keep our eyes on Him and everything else falls into place.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” -John 15:16