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