Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Leap


The leap...

Backing into the corner of the studio so you have plenty of space to launch into the air.

Eyeing the wide-open floor that will soon be yours, and yours alone.

Plotting whatever leap sequence is to come. 

Finally the person in front of you preps, leaps and is out of your way.

And you take command of the room, and then the air.

For a split second.



For a split second, you are airborne, not tied to the ground. Wouldn't everyone, even if you are not a dancer, like to experience that?

As dancers, we have defied gravity for thousands of seconds.

Check out this breathtaking video of a basic split leap in super slow mo.

Here is another amazing video of some other dance steps in slow motion. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Have You Thought This?

In yesterday's sermon, my pastor made a comment in passing that captured my attention.


He said something to the effect that as Christians, we need to quit worrying that we are going to stress God out. And I realized this is a fear of mine; not just in my relationship with God but in other relationships too.
It's not always successful, but I do try to NOT stress other people out. 

Usually that's a good thing, sometimes it could be somewhat of a hindrance in close relationships. Nevertheless, I attempt to conduct myself in a manner that doesn't throw everyone else in a whirlwind of drama and chaos.


Thankfully, we don't have to carry this worry into the presence of the Lord.


He has infinite resources and already loves us the most that we can be loved. Unlike us quickly taxed and easily irritated humans, we aren't going to use up His last nerve.

We need to lay down the idea we are going to stress God out and instead rest in Him! How freeing! We don't need another thought that holds us back from drawing deeply from our Savior's resources to fulfill His purpose for our life.




"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Your Halftime Pep Talk


K guys, it's time for a pep talk. 

We are two weeks away from Spring Break.

We are halfway through the semester.

Spring and sunshine are on their way.

I mean really, you're past the point of no return. The only reasonable choice is to finish. And if you're going to finish, why not finish well?

School will not last forever. While we keep on learning, there is more to life than being a student, so enjoy being a student before you loathe it.  

All assignments don't have to be done in one day. 

You're not the only student with woes. 


I love the different images certain scriptures produce in my mind. One that I've been thinking about lately is in Jeremiah 20. The first part of verse 11 says, "The Lord is with me as a dread warrior..." (ESV). Other translations read "mighty warrior" (NIV) or "dread champion"(NAS). 

How can you NOT feel strengthened and encouraged with a warrior at your side? How can victory in the small and large battles NOT be certain with a warrior at your side?

So get back on the court and finish the semester! 

That's my game plan, and I'll be saying this scripture to myself, and singing Mariah Carey's "100%"

...to myself. 

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Guest Speaker #2

Dave Rhea, multimedia editor for The Journal Record shared his knowledge with our blogging class Tuesday.

His job naturally includes many tasks that change from day to day and as he was describing it more, I realized that that was yet another reason why I love the mass communications industry.

No two days are exactly alike.

I like structure in my job, but not so much that I do the same thing every day. One day you may be typing up notes to finish a story or interviewing someone who is a professional something-you-have-never-heard of. Then maybe you layout a page in a newspaper and upload the day's content to the web page.

Or maybe that day, you just sit staring at the screen for hours until deadline demands your immediate involvement.

Again, no two days as a journalist are exactly alike.

Rhea emphasized that you in order to succeed in this industry- in order to move ahead- you must love learning, which he later clarified as also accepting change. This is only growing truer by the minute.

Working in the mass comm industry does not lend itself to a leisurely jaunt through the park. It is a full-speed race in which you must learn on the run, think five steps ahead of yourself and clear hurdles.

Don't expect it to unfold otherwise.