2009/2010 Season

Our 2009/2010 Season has begun! It's going to be a fantastic year. We have a few new dancers with us this season, Alle from California and Rachel from Michigan. They have both proved to be assets this far so we're excited to see how they grow in the Lord and in the ministry this upcoming season.

Our summer was chalked full with summer camps at SSA. We had the privilege of ministering to over 75 kids this summer at our studio in Edgewood as well as at Cascade Christian Schools. The Lord worked in mighty ways uniting us all on a deeper level and showing us the importance of reaching out into the community and to these little ones who are so hungry to know more about Him. Our focus within our camps this summer was "The Fruit of the Spirit" and teaching our students why they are important and how to apply them to our daily lives. We sang the Fruit of the Spirit song (with hand movements, yes) for 5 weeks straight, oh my! :) We are already thinking about how to expand our camps for next summer!

We've been in the studio for just two weeks and have gotten a great jump start on our new piece "Project Grace". This worship session is God inspired, focusing on the cross and the grace the Lord bestows upon us daily. We are moved (literally) by each of these songs and are excited to bring our word for the year, "Authentic" to life within this piece. We want to be authentic in our worship we lay at the altar for Him. It's all for Jesus, it's all about Jesus and it's all pointing to Jesus. The minute we lose sight of that, we've failed. We choose to be authentic this year, not bringing less than 100% to our programs, not just physically but mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We choose to dig in and apply ourselves quickly. Sometimes in worship we all find ourselves not "feeling it" right away or just being lazy in digging into the Word. We have decided as a ministry that won't fly. As worshippers it is our obligation to offer nothing less than 100% and we are excited to see how the Lord will honor and bless that. Please be praying for us as we move forward in our word for the year.

Our year is shaping up nicely, a few tours here and there (which I'll update on later, I can't share all the good stuff right away otherwise you won't stay tuned!) and exciting things around every corner I'm sure, our God is an exciting God!

We have begun registration for classes at the school (Surrendered School of the Arts) and anticipate and praying for double the students where we finished off last year (84 is the exact number), please pray that these kids will pour in our door, we are ready to receive and eager to make an impact! We know the Lord is Faithful and will give us exactly what we can handle and ready for, so we're praying for abudance! Our partnership with Cascade Christian School continues this year as well, we have the wonderful opportunity to teach 10 classes at 3 campuses this year (ballet, hip hop, drama and pilates) and are so blessed to have this partnership, the Lord is so good!

That's all I have for an update for now, there are many many many things on our plate, we are relying on the Lord's voice and prompting to direct. I was told a few years back by a dear family friend when we were praying about the beginning of this ministry;

"Cling to, run after, and dig into the word of God. Rely on NOTHING but Him. When you don't know what to do or how to keep going sit and share with Him. He is your first, your last, your everything. He is the driving force of the ministry. You are not."

Isn't that the truth. Praise God! Whew.

Stay tuned, you won't be dissapointed, it will be a wild ride this year. BUCKLE UP!

Blessings,
Tennille

Greetings!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating Christ's triumphant victory over death, hell, and the grave. We were blessed to be a part of Puyallup Four Square's five church services this past weekend, dancing to "Jesus Paid It All" and "This Beautiful Place". It is such a priviledge to be used of the Lord as He ministers to His people. We also had great times of fellowship with a Saturday brunch and a Sunday Easter lunch. ( yummy!)
We are starting our second week in the studio since coming back from our wonderful spring break. It was nice to have a little breather before we start up our next few busy months. Yesterday marked the kickoff of Surrendered School of the Arts partnership with Cascade Christian Schools. We are offering an after school enrichment program for the elementary grades to share with and teach kids how to worship Jesus with the arts. As of now there are ballet, hip hop, and drama classes in place. I am excited to see what all the Lord has planned as He continues to open new doors of opportunity!
Our next few days in the studio we will be preparing for a program coming up this weekend. We will be dancing at a conference in Yakima ( I think I spelled that right). I think we are all excited to be busy doing what the Lord has called us here to do, minister through dance!
Also, thank you Lori Plyler, (Amanda's mom) for giving your time and energy to help work on new costumes. I am pretty sure they are our favorite ones yet!
TTFN,
Holly

As I sit amongst piles of unpacked clothes, and disorganized articles, I pause for but a moment to consider how my thoughts so precisely parallel my unkempt surroundings. My mind, feverishly searching, finds it difficult to find just the right words...So I won't.

So these may not be "just the right words", but here's a snippet of what's going on:
Last Saturday we teamed up with a organization called The Dream Center. Every Saturday they serve a pancake breakfast, play games, and most importantly teach about the love of Jesus to kids in a mobile home community. The West family, from SSA, joined us as we talked, laughed, and played with the kids. Paradosi was able to do a couple of pieces from Worship Project, and also teach the kids a short dance. It seamed very well received, and I think we walked away feeling more impacted then we could have ever expected!

So back to those "unpacked clothes"... I'm zipping up my suitcase now and heading down to Louisiana to visit my sister! We're all looking forward to the next week off so we can come back rejuvenated and ready to start the busy season ahead!

Sunshine here I come!
~Sarah

My sidekick!

As I consider my day to day life at home, at the studio and performing, I'm constantly aware of my mini me that is with me wherever I go. She's on my heels at home doing laundry or making dinner, she's at the studio with the company watching rehearsal, sitting in laps, sharing her toys, giving hugs and drawing pictures. And of course she's at our programs in the dressing room, helping us set up and watching us dance (she loves to sit in the very back on the floor in the center aisle so I can see her at all times).  Of course I'm talking about Maeve, my 5 year old daughter, who is one of the lights of my life (along with her sister Taitum, 8 and her brother Samuel, 6).  She's my sidekick, my mini me (my only child that looks like me!), she's sassy, witty and loves to snuggle. This is her last year with me in studio as she'll be starting school in the fall, so I'm constantly trying to soak up the moments I have with her. She is a joy and the thought of not having my last baby with me, attached to me at all times makes me a little ill to be honest with you!

  

So I started pondering the word "sidekick" (close friend, assistant, buddy etc.) it makes me think about my relationship with the Lord and the responsibility I have as a believer, a wife, a mother, a director and a dancer.  I look at my 5 year old, looking up to me, shadowing me, believing in me and wanting to be near me at all times and it makes me think about what kind of a "sidekick" I am.  It's our job to allow the Lord to be the Leader, the One out in front, the One who is in charge, the One making the decisions.  However, do you often take the reigns after a while just as I do?  I find myself letting Him get me started and then stepping out in front and now expecting Him to follow.  Sounds like I need to learn a lesson from my little one...

Maeve asked me on the way home from a program this morning "Why do I have to listen to you and why are you in charge? I want to be in charge... I'm ready."  I laughed at her and explained she's not ready to be in charge of her life yet because she's not old enough and hasn't experienced enough and doesn't know enough about how life works!  The Lord revealed a lot to me on the way home... that He needs me to consistently maintain the position of "sidekick".  I'm understanding and realizing I don't ever want to make any decision or step out without the Lord leading and being in charge at all times. I will never have enough experience or know enough to be better at running my life that He is.  It is my job to trust and believe in the One who created me and know without a shadow of a doubt that He can do a way better job than I can.  I want to keep Him in the driver's seat, I want to be the forever passenger, the sidekick who believes we're going to arrive to the destination He has for me, not the one I think is best for me and my life.  

Hebrews 1: 1-3  In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

I think about this passage and the fact that this God, the one who spoke to Moses and Abraham and David, wants control of my life and only expects me to have faith and believe in Who He is and what He's doing. It's overwhelming to me that the same God who did amazing things with their lives, has amazing plans for mine. I'm trying to lay all things down at the cross each day, down at the feet of my God, I know He will take my life and do what He sees as best, He's consistent and faithful and wonderful in all ways. I trust Him way more than I could ever trust myself.  Praise Him for caring enough for me (and you) to want to be the driver of my life. What a glorious and majestic God we serve.

That's just a little snippet of what the Lord's been doing personally with me, I love the ways He teaches and encourages me. Oh just to be a little bit more like my Father. 

Blessings,

Tennille

"Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions."
-Gilbert K. Chesterton

A friend of mine recently texted me this quote, and it struck me. I've been thinking a lot on the subject of tolerance lately. Let's look at the definition. Tolerance: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry. So from this definition we can conclude that a). tolerance is a good thing, and b). we, as human beings co-existing with one another, should strive to be tolerant toward all people. That sounds reasonable, right? I mean, we don't want to be closed-minded, do we?

Sadly, this is the mindset of many people today, including Christians. Just as the quote implies, tolerance is a clear indication of a serious lack of conviction in a person's life. Now I can just see you there, scratching your head, saying, "This girl is crazy! She's saying that if I just accept what others believe to be right, then I have no convictions! It's not like I believe it, I'm just not gonna shove MY beliefs down anyone's throats! There's nothing wrong with that, right??"

WRONG. Let's take a look at the Bible. In John 8:24 Jesus states, "Therefore I say to you...that if you do not believe that I am He [God], you will die in your sins." He goes on to say in John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Uh oh. Tsk tsk. It doesn't seem like Jesus is being too tolerant of what other people believe. Let me put it to you this way: to be tolerant of other's fallacious beliefs is comparable to watching them burn in Hell for eternity, and doing nothing! That does not sound like love to me.

Let me conclude my rant. The last few verses in Matthew instruct us to go into the world, make disciples of the nations, baptize people, and teach others to observe the things which Christ has commanded of us. This is our purpose in life! Many would define this verse as "shoving Jesus down people's throats." You know what? If it will pull their butts out of the flames of hellfire, I'm willing to be accused of that. Are you?

On to Paradosi news. We have added a new 3 minute piece to 'A Walk With Paul!' It is designed to more clearly portray Saul's persecution of the early Christians, which was a little overlooked before. We also have a few bookings for these coming Spring months, which we are all extremely excited about. Please continue to pray for our company as a whole, as Satan is desperately attempting to get his grimy claws into our unity. (Little does he know that we have legions of angels fighting on our side. Ha!) Also we would really appreciate your prayers for each of us personally, as many of us are struggling with injuries that only serve to frustrate the mind of a dancer.

The Lord is doing mighty things in Paradosi! We see His hand everywhere we turn. We don't deserve to be this blessed!

~Cara Mia

So here we are, February 22. 2 weeks after the last post. This happened with me back in November when I was sewing costumes. Back then I had an excuse for being late. What's my excuse today? Nothing. No excuse. I simply just haven't taken the time to write one. So tonight I'm sitting here watching the Oscars, not feeling so well and just chillin on the couch so I figure I can take a few minutes to clue you in just a bit to what's been going on with us.

I'll just jump right in.......
We have been hit by every side with attacks. But we are still standing strong. We individually and as a group have decided to set our minds on things above. The Lord has been reminding me personally that I am an heir of Christ. And when you see yourself in that position, our earthly circumstances seem to take their place as far as what really matters. Now I have witnessed that it is a choice to think about that. Many days it is much easier to just get frustrated and throw up your hands. However, when you make the choice to think about things above, you'll get a new perspective on life. So anyway- I'll encourage you this week to think of spiritual things that bring life and peace.....not the carnal things that bring death. (Romans 8)

We have also been reading the Prayer of Jabez. We were all encouraged to expand our territories. It's neat to sit around and talk about what that looks like. For me, I've had a few opportunities to feed the homeless. There are a few men who have been outside my work in the past few weeks and I have been able to share dinner with them. For me that is huge. It is a complete 180. I was always too afraid to step out and talk to them. Now I find myself praying for them to be there so I can talk to them and share whatever dinner I brought. Interesting. When you ask God to expand your territory- you never know what that looks like. Ask the girls when you see them what it looks like for each of them. They all have a cool story. What's yours? Take a look at your past week- how has He challenged you? I'll encourage you this week to look for those opportunities. Listen to Him. He speaks. Are you in tune? That has become our daily prayer.

Lastly- I had the fun opportunity to share Jesus with 30 kids at my husband's Camp EDGE this week. It was a 3 day VBS type camp for kids during their mid-winter break. Many lives were touched and changed. It's so great to watch the kids singing and dancing and reciting their memory verse. And just as a side note- I love my husband. He's great.

Ok that's all.

-the Sham

Better Late than Never, Right?

My deepest apologies to our faithful readers out there, who have been expectantly waiting for the next thrilling new post! Well, it's here, it's new, but I wouldn't call it thrilling! (hahaha)

So... the Company:
We are continually working on getting back into shape after our Christmas break (it takes us old folk longer than you might think) and we are in the process of re-working A Walk With Paul to be more "tour friendly". We were so spoiled with our wonderful extras we had for the premier!! (thanks guys!) Now, without most of them, we have to be creative with our characters! A new piece is being added to the persecution scene, to show more of how Saul was before his conversion. I think this addition will help in our portrayal of the awesome grace that the God had for Paul, and that He has for each of His children.
I pray each time we "perform" that when people see our attempt at this story, God's spirit would move in a mighty way. We don't dance to have a "warm and cuddly feeling". We want God's presence to move, work, and speak to the hearts of everyone watching in a powerful way.

On that note, I know that nearly everyone that reads this is praying for us on a regular basis, and I just want to say thank you. We need your prayers so much, especially now, as we enter into our 2009 spring season. We're human. We have problems. Much of which right now include quite a few injuries. It's frustrating when you know your purpose, (and it requires strenuous exercize) but your body keeps falling apart and there's nothing you can do about it. But! God CAN do something about it! We don't have to settle for what Doctors say, or what logic would conclude in the back of our minds.
So, if you could be praying for our healing that would be amazing. Thanks!

Another thing: This morning, SSA families and us Pradosicals, went over to NW Foursquare and worked with The Dream Center, to put together over 200 bagged lunches for the homeless. We made pb and j, ham, and bologna sandwiches, put in some other stuff... (I'm not quite sure what all went in the bags- I was at the sandwich table) We had a great time and according to the leader Mr. Roy, we got the bags done in record time! Wooo hooo! (us Paradoiscals like to be speed demons!) We were too big of a group to join in with the distribution of the lunches, but there's always next time!

I will now bring this sporadicness to a close, I hope you enjoyed reading "the latest"!
Now I do believe that an old episode of Mission Impossible has my name on it!


~Audge