Hey everybody!

I hope you all are enjoying the change of seasons and all the beauty that comes with it as much as I am! Well...time certainly is flying as we are starting our sixth week of our second season! Hard to believe! It seems as if we've all been doing this forever and yet at the same time it feels like summer shouldn't quite be over yet:).

As some of you may know, we had our very first official performance last Friday night for the Hymn and Gospel Sing at Puyallup Foursquare Church. The audience(hate that word, so let's just call them 'fellow worshippers') was so great! Once a year, the older generation in the church gathers to sing some good 'ol hymns and just simply worship, and they include us! Let's just say, for a first performance, it went pretty well! Of course, as all first performances usually go, there are always some things that go "wrong" from our puny little human perspectives. Someone forgets choreography(me), they start playing the wrong music at the wrong time, etc. But, you know what? None of that really matters. The important thing is is that Jesus is lifted up, and not just when we're on stage but in all that we do. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving," (Col. 3:23-24), and, "...Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," (Matt. 5:16). This is why we do what we do! This is why we get up everyday, put on tights, fix our hair in a bun, rehearse for hours, come to your church and dance~So that others may see our worship and join us in praising our Creator! Why? Because He deserves it! He deserves our everything.


Hope you've been able to understand my blabbering! Remember that the Lord has good plans for you, and He loves you so much that He died for you! I pray that you will be encouraged in these simple truths and that Jesus' love and grace will encompass your every step! Bless y'all!


P.S. Sorry to those of you who cringe at the sound of "y'all." Being the proud southerner that I am, I just had to throw it in there! :)

~Sarah

Well hello hello, fellow Paradosi enthusiasts! We are five weeks in, and going strong. Choreography is progressing flawlessly and every day the studio is filled with a permeating euphoric bliss. As each day of strenuous classes and rehearsals come to completion we beg to continue... even for a few extra minutes. Our bodies are like machines, and our dancing produces nothing less than perfection. We, as dancers and as people, never experience trials of any kind; the Lord has blessed us with our own personal heaven on earth! It's extraordinarily marvelous!


If you just read that and immediately wanted to throw up, I applaud you. The above paragraph is a blatent example of an error many believers these days make: painting the Christian walk as a disgustingly indefectible lifestyle. We have all fallen into the trap. I'm going to be completely 100% honest with you. I'm not perfect. (Gasp!) Neither are you. We are actually quite far from it. We're going to mess up. We're going to fail. It's inevitable, and there's nothing that anyone can do about it. Sorry.
Now that you're sufficiently depressed I'll proceed to the best part, the good news! We don't have to be perfect! I'm going to go ahead and repeat that for you. None of us has to be perfect. We're not going to do everything flawlessly. We're not going to have our lives in a constant state of immaculate order, but guess what. That's why Jesus died for us. Romans 5:8 tells us that while we were at our worst; the most foul, unsightly, detestible person we could be, Christ died for us! He didn't wait until we had our lives in order. He didn't wait until our bills were paid, or until we cleaned ourselves up, or until we went to church consistently every Sunday of the month. He found us at that time in our lives when we were the worst scumbags imaginable. He picked us up out of our filth, gave us pure hearts and renewed minds, and adopted us as children and heirs! (Gal 4:3-7)
So let me ask you, does this mean we have no need to strive for holiness and excellence? If we will never be perfect, and God has that all taken care of, should we even try at all? Of course we should! Paul states in many of His books that we are to imitate Christ in order to become more and more like Him every day. He says that we cannot know or see God if we do not pursue holiness, (Heb 12:14) and that our very faith is validated by what we do! (James 2:26) We are to be a constant reflection of Christ in every area of our lives.
Essentially, who we are as people no longer matters. Our human failures are trumped by the fact that we are covered by grace. Sure we will have bad days, but our Daddy will always be faithful to guide us, provide for us, and care for us. All we have to do is look to Him. (Matt 6:25-34)

In conclusion, I'll briefly inform you of what is actually occurring in Paradosi currently. We have a show coming up this Friday, the 'Hymn and Gospel Night' at Puyallup Foursquare Church. The company will be performing (oh how I hate that dreaded word!) four of our newest pieces from 'A Worship Project.' We have been pounding out the choreography like an army platoon, and finally we've all but put the final touches on the dances. Please join us in prayer for the Spirit to move mightily this Friday and that His anointing will fill each person to overflowing.


Well, that about wraps things up.
God is good!
~Cara

Can’t believe we’ve already been back for a month. All I can say is the Lord is good!!!!

In the past week we have been hugely blessed by so many people who have supported us. It is on my heart to thank you.
Last Saturday we were able to spend close to 4 hours with Chris and Tawnee Tatro at their photography studio in Seattle. Chris was able to capture some stunning shots and we are extremely thankful for the big way they blessed our ministry. You will be seeing some of his work very soon both on our website and in posters.
We also were blown away by Katie Garwood and Lori Plyler as they sewed costume after costume for us. Many nights Katie was up until 2 am, serving so diligently and Lori sewed all the way up until she left on Thursday morning. We cannot thank you two enough.
And Friday we were lucky enough to have three of our biggest supporters join us in the studio for the day. Marie Skaug (a long time family friend to the Delancy family) come down from Oregon to teach class for us. Debbie Durham (Tennille’s God-Mother who teaches for us weekly and is our company counselor) and Mary Delancy (Tennille’s mom) also watched class that day.
I know that there are many more individuals that support this ministry either financially, spiritually or by being so faithful to pray for us and we just want to thank each of you. We do not take you for granted and we love and appreciate each of you more than we can express. In 1 Corinthians 12 we see that we are the body of Christ. There are some hands, some feet, some eyes, but we are each vital in advancing his kingdom. I just love how the Lord has brought so many of his servants alongside us as a ministry. As dancers alone, we can’t do much. But the Lord has been so faithful to bring along his hands and feet in ways we could never have imagined. So on behalf of each of us, I say THANK YOU.

This week in studio we finished two new pieces from Worship Project. The first was called Come and Listen by David Crowder. I love that that is our opening piece. The words are so perfect. “Come and Listen to what He has done. Praise the Lord for He is good.” That is why we are here: to tell the world what he is done, to draw each person into free worship, to praise him with the highest praise! The other piece ends our program and is the Doxology. “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.” As we danced this piece on Thursday I found myself tearing up. I stood there with my arms lifted and I was reminded of what an awesome privilege it is to glorify our King. It still amazes me that the Lord would find our worship pleasing to him. And not only that, but he desires that we come to him and worhsip. During the week, I read in Hebrews 4:14-16 that we are to come boldly to the throne of grace. We are to enter in with confidence so that we may receive mercy and grace. How amazing that we have a Savior that walked as we walked and although he was tempted, never sinned. And that same sinless Savior loves us so much and desires a relationship with us. He wants nothing more than for us to come sprinting into his throne room and sit in his lap and adore him. I just want to encourage each of you reading this with that. Don’t be afraid to run boldly to your Father God. He loves you more than you know and desires your whole heart. So raise your hands and say boldly, “PRAISE OUR GOD FOR HE IS GOOD!”

Blessings!
Amanda

Wow, three weeks into our new season and it feels like we've been doing this our whole lives! The past 5 days have (actually right now, by me) been labeled "sewing extravaganza week". It's hard to believe that in such a small amount of time, so many costumes have been finished! A huge thank you to Katie Garwood, who gave of her time to fly up from Jackson, MS where she danced with Ballet Magnificat! and has sewn many of their beautiful costumes! Also thanks so much Lori Plyler, Amanda's mom, yet again working so hard for our cause! (even though she keeps saying it's just a perfect excuse for her and Sim to come see their daughter and new son-in-law) What would we do without people coming along beside us to help make this vision a reality? (I know this much, we'd all be wearing potato sacks if I had to sew!)

Moving on.....
We are reading the book "To Live Is Christ" by Beth Moore. It's about the apostle Paul. Since we'll be performing a "A Walk With Paul" we all want to better our knowledge about his teachings, and see with new eyes what his life looked and felt like. What stands out to me is the fact that after Damascus, Paul never took a step back. He never took a "shortcut" in his journey the Lord had laid out for him. I'm amazed every time I think about the grace God has given me in my walk with Him, and no matter how many times I take the shortcut, He's there with the directions back to the main road! (please excuse my analogies, that's just how I learn!)

I don't know who, or how many people may read this blog, but my prayer for you is that you would know that your Heavenly Father adores you. He wants only for us to respond to His infinite love and say "my life is not my own, it's Yours, take it and make it a reflection of You."

For Him,
Audrey

The first two weeks of the season have been both very intense and extremely exciting. There has been an amazing amount of new choreography, as well as discussions about the props, sets, and costumes for “A Walk with Paul”. It has been so great to experience the story of Paul really come to life through the choreography. The Lord has already begun to teach each of us through our own roles in the story.

But most of all, I think that the overwhelming sentiment among all of us is how privileged we are to be a part of this ministry and to be able to worship the Lord in this way. Already, God has been instilling a specific vision for this year and a unity within the group that is truly incredible. I am so excited about this year and all of the great things that God has planned. We are so thankful to be a part of what He is doing. God bless and bless God!

In His mercy,
Cathleen