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From: Patricia
Date: Sun May 8 17:11:56 MST 2005 Subject: just as i am

Responses
james: Thank you Ryan and Trizia (5/9/05)
andrea: lead/follow titles (5/14/05)
Patricia: more (5/14/05)
clrclady: Thanks (5/16/05)
james: Well said, Andrea :-) (5/14/05)
Responses (sorted by date)
clrclady: Thanks (5/16/05)
james: Well said, Andrea :-) (5/14/05)
Patricia: more (5/14/05)
andrea: lead/follow titles (5/14/05)
james: Thank you Ryan and Trizia (5/9/05)
First things first: thank you, Ryan, for sharing your joyful discoveries from Ephesians. God really does take pleasure in blessing us and then watching us enjoy His good gifts.

Journaling through Scripture and through my life (as taught in the "Learning to Love the Master" course) God has repeated three things to me about me. Although it feels awkward to share this with all of you like this, I think it will help me to actually step into my createdness. He says that He made me for joy and for love and for adventure. ---

For joy - enjoying freely God's good gifts. Let me tell you just how much God has blessed me even just the week around my birthday: Chris entered the school raffle, not really anticipating a win, and comes home with a huge gift basket full of Pampered Chef things. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Then, in one day two friends, with whom I had lost all contact, called - just to say hello. To top it all off, the one living in town initiated a get-together, and the one living out of state 'casually' mentioned that they are moving back to Tucson within a few months. WOW!!!
My birthday gift: a fairy tale bicycle, not at all made for practicality, but entirely for beauty. The day I picked it up from the shop I couldn't ride it for the first mile or so, I was too excited and trembling.
My birthday celebration was a wonderful gathering of people I love and I even got to dance - yep! - right there at Little Anthony's Diner one of my friends invited me to a birthday dance. (Even just some weeks ago I would never have done that for fear of the eyes of everyone around - I guess that's shame. But I did not feel shame. I felt joy. That alone is a wonderful and praise inspiring gift from God.) Our celebration was so happy that the manager kept coming back there to ask if there was anything we'd desire, even other guests would stop me on the way to the rest room to comment on how they were enjoying us and our party.

So, have I led you now to believe that my life is all happy-happy-joy-joy? Well, it is not. While I have to look at some pretty ugly and painful things in and around my life, I am afforded these wonderful instances. They are like refreshing spring water in the hot Tucson summer sun. And I intend to drink deeply, and I want to spill what I have all over the place as I walk.

The other two, adventure and love, well, I haven't figured out yet what that looks like. With God's help and yours...

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From: james
Date: Mon May 9 05:25:36 MST 2005 Subject: Thank you Ryan and Trizia

Trizia,

Thank you for those words.

Ryan, I pray you never lose faith no matter whomever tries to attack you. No words can express what it means that you would share this trial with us. I will keep the sheet of paper in my Village scrapbook as a reminder of your perseverance in Christ.

Patricia, thank you for those words from your heart. I truly enjoy dancing with you. You make it alot of fun. I was reading this blog of yours and wanted to respond.

First of all, thank you for being my friend. I would also like to thank you for your interest and enjoyment you get out of dancing. It makes all of the differences to your dance partners. I wish they had more room for us to dance at Little Anthony's. You are alot of fun to dance with and you've learned swing dancing farely quick. I'm sure Chris would say the same thing.

When I started dancing about 3 years ago I was really excited and nervous. I also thought what people would think of me. How would I handle the stares and looks? I remember what our swing dance instructor Brandy told me my first night of Swing (east coast swing and jitterbug to be more exact).

Brandy told me to focus on my dance partner. Not at other people around me. Don't just look at the floor and my feet. The floor is going to stay the same for quite awhile. Also, no one ever became a good dancer by looking at their feet. It only distracts you as well as your partner. Just enjoy yourself.

Yes, other people may look at you. It's usually because they saw you do something good, though. They should also focus on their partner. I have received many compliments on my swing dancing from leads and my follows. Swing is one of my favorite dances to do. The people that I see at the dances enjoy themselves, aren't critical of others, and are just as excited to learn from the instructors

[A "lead" is the guy "leading" his partner "follow" in the dance. Occasionally the lady, ("follow"; it's only a descriptive, not sexist) will try to highjack the lead though and lead her guy partner into something.]

I have become good at it because first of God's grace. But also because I keep my attention on my follow throughout the dance we're doing. I have also learned other dances like the cha-cha, rumba, tango, waltz, foxtrot and samba.

Thanks again, Trizia. I look forward to seeing you on the dance floor whenever you can. It's rare when I'm dancing someone of your height. It's something I look for though. I've only danced with a few women that are 5'10" and taller. They usually tell me long they have been waiting to dance with someone of my height.

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From: andrea
Date: Sat May 14 07:24:48 MST 2005 Subject: lead/follow titles

Patricia-

I am so happy that you had such a joy filled birthday! I love to see all walking into the beauty and joy God is offerring as it gives me courage to do the same.

James-

No, the lead/follow titles aren't sexist, but they are descriptive of what roles we are called to in Christ. God has been giving me the image of dance a lot lately for me to have the courage to accept His hand as he offers to 'lead' me through life. And though it often sounds sexist in the lessons at armory park, it is true that as all of us follow, we need to shut off our worldly brains and not think... When I worry about how I am 'following' or if anyone is watching me because I look like a fool, then I am not feeling which way my lead, Jesus Christ, is twirling me. He wants to show us off as His creation. He has the perfect dance moves in His plan if only we would have the courage to take his offer of His lead. I have asked my husband to paint this image of the offer of His hand to me as I sit on the sidelines of the dance floor and then also of our dance together on the floor. I don't know if I have articulated the image that God has been gracing me with, but I believe to get the full effect, all women should try dancing, at least once (maybe all men too). I just want to take that offerred lead fully, to trust that He won't bump me into other dancers unless for my own good, and to live in the joy of the dance. I giggle when I dance...that is pure joy. Yet, I am so scared of that joy most of the time. If I enjoy it, then the other side of that joy is sure to come momentarily. I am battling that lie of Satan's and walking into trust more fully with my full heart.

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From: Patricia
Date: Sat May 14 11:54:22 MST 2005 Subject: more

Thank you, Andrea, for sharing your bit.

I confess that I have had second thoughts about my blog. The accuser lost no time, telling me I was rubbing salt into the wounds of the struggling, and that I was shallow and superficial. He pointed out that no-one else ever posts anything of this sort. But the truth is that the things I wrote about are all blessings, gifts from God. Even now Andrea's response. I did not make any of this happen on my own. God did. And I am thankful.

I really would like to see who else has reports of joy. (e.g. NewRyan's Photo Meditations)

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From: clrclady
Date: Mon May 16 08:54:07 MST 2005 Subject: Thanks

Patricia-

I am so glad that you wrote this blog. Tell Satan to take a hike in Jesus' name. It is wonderful that you share the blessings and the good things that are going on right now. It is the good things - a perfect gift of a beautiful bike, random suprise gifts, and the dancing - that keeps you holding on through the pain of living in this world. It has been the good blessings of my watercolor class, playing my guitar, and seeing others blossom (like you) that have been the gifts of blessing in my life.

Andrea, James, and Pratricia-

Keep on dancing. It is wonderful. And it was awesome watching Patricia and James at the birthday party.

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From: james
Date: Sat May 14 11:58:41 MST 2005 Subject: Well said, Andrea :-)

Thank you for those words Andrea. I had not thought too much in that way of interpreting the lead and follow through dance. I do hear from some of my follows that I dance with that they are just trying to follow my lead and shut their thoughts off. It's the reason I can lead a lady in her first week of dancing as well as I can lead someone who has been dancing for a longer period of time.

It is about that following the lead and not thinking too much about it. I'm not sure if God operates on a 6 count beat like east coast swing is done. He could be on a 8, 10, 12 or 16 count beat like other dances are done. The only thing a lead really has to consider is where the first beat is and where the last beat is. I don't know if God operates on any musical timing or beat though. :-)

Again thanks for those words. Well "said" indeed. See ya on the floor!

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