Journal excerpt

So Each week we have to create a journal. It not only has to meet the written requirements, but the media technique is also held to a certain standard. We have to answer various questions about the weeks topic and speaker and then create a design to express an artistic approach on our past lesson. Our leaders have asked we not share the media portion of the journal, but I thought a great way to inform my supporters is to share the written portion.....


Confirmation- Our school has been taught a lot about our gifts/talents/dreams. I feel as though each speaker has encouraged us to follow God and continue working on the raft he has given us. This was again confirmed in Randall’s teaching, on Monday he opened his talk explaining about how God will excel us when we not only practice, but accept the gifts he has given us. This is really one of the bigger foundational lessons in our school. I was also confirmed in the fact that God has blessed me with dance abilities, when our team met together to practice the material from the mentor crew I had not forgotten. This was really exciting I want to continue to honor our teachers, and God allowed me to do that and encourage me about hip hop dance technique.

New- I feel as though I learned some new technique, but mostly I feel I have gained an entirely new look on the spiritual side of God’s thoughts towards the arts. Our speaker Randall clearly has God’s anointing over his life’s work. I love that Randall not only has an amazing testimony, but he also really knows and studies the bible. One thing Randall helped me to see is God’s desire to bless. In Psalm 23 it talks about how God prepares a table before us. Randall emphasized how God wants us to partake of the blessings he has made. He does not want us to suffer for no reason. He is our father and wants to see us blessed and happy. Sometimes I get caught up in sacrificing to God for the sake of sacrificing. I don’t believe God wants us to live that way. He simply asks us to follow and receive at His prompting. It was also interesting learning mime techniques. I would have liked more focus on that area, but I found it really neat learning how to imitate fire with our hands ands how to move our arms as water. Dan taught us different ways to move our hands and how to create different actions through pulsing our bodies. I feel like a small child in the world of dance, I am having so much fun. I feel like a child with a new doll to play with.

Practical- One teaching that really felt practical for here in now is Randall thoughts on the contents of art. Art does not have to be religious to have Christian value. God created all things and gives us the ability to create works of art that go outside the boundaries of nature. One way I can see this is in our dances. Our dance is this week was about the four elements; earth, wind, fire, and water. Those things alone are not necessarily Christina topics, but God created them and we can use our dance to represent His creation, and not praise the creation itself, but the creator. This one of the ways we are free to open our art forms instead of having someone play Jesus in all our dances and dramas.

YWAM Value 10- We had a great chance to function I in a team this week. Our speaker gave us homework where we had to create 2 minutes if dance where we reflected and represented “wind.” We had a team of 5 people and about an hour to create. We had some disagreements and varying opinions of what moves to do, but in the end it worked out. We did forget one of our formations, but as team we felt more comfortable creating after the exercise was over. It was challenging when someone had an idea but the other team members did not agree, but we all were humbled and came together in something we were unfamiliar with and that clearly demonstrates YWAM’s value of teamwork.

Personally- I am feeling much better than I did at the beginning of the week. I had a great talk with Faby about some of the things I am processing at the moment. I have noticed a lot of frustration in me lately. I think I am in survival mode so I just want to succeed at the school and I sometimes am not taking the time in prayer before I do things. I want to think more about God in what I do throughout the day, especially in dance. I want to be able to pray and dance at the same time. The more comfortable I get with the movement, the easier it will be to speak and hear from the lord while in motion.