A Dance Minister’s Choreography Devotion: Chasse
July 3, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Choreography
Part 10: Chasse’
Chasse’ [Sha-say] / Chase. A step where one foot "chases" the other out of its position. Typically done in a series to transition positions or to gain momentum for another move, like a jete’ (leap)
and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."
- 1 Sam 30:8
RECOVER ALL the enemy has stolen! In order to understand the power behind this verse you MUST read 1 Sam 30:1-8
The enemy came in an took all that was precious. The Bible says the Amalekites took the women and the children and burned the city with fire. The people wept until they didn’t have any more power to weep.
Have you ever been there? It seems like everything is lost.
Is it your time to pursue? Sometimes we have to go on the offense! David knew how to encourage himself in the Lord and ask for instructions. The Lord responded with instructions and a promise. It is worth noting that the Amalekites did not kill their captives…they took them away. I believe their intention was to DISCOURAGE. The root word DIS means to take away. In other words, they wanted to take away their COURAGE.
Have you allowed the enemy to DISCOURAGE you? The Bible says:
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6
Practice your chasse’ (see the video demonstration below) and ask the Lord shall I pursue?
A Dance Ministers Choreography: Jete
July 2, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Choreography
Part 9: Jete
Jeté [zhuh-TAY] Throwing step. A jump from one foot to the other in which the working leg is brushed into the air and appears to have been thrown.
By my God I can leap over a wall. (Psalm 18:29)
I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; Psalms 18:1-2
David paints a picture with his song to depict the LORD delivering Him from the hands of Saul and his enemies. (Read the entire chapter). David knows that with God he can do those things that would otherwise be impossible! The wall described in Psalms 18:29 was more than likely a type of fortress wall. They are very thick, solid and tall. They are designed to be a barrier.What are you willing to leap over with God’s help?
As you strengthen your physical body and practice your jetes, strengthen your faith by meditating on the true source of your strength!
A Minister’s Choreography Devotion: Plie’ & Foundue
June 29, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Choreography
Plie’ [plee-AY] is means bent or bending. In ballet it is refering to the bending of the knees. Plies can be executed in the five ballet positions, though 3rd position is often eliminated. This exercise makes the joint muscles soft and pliable and gives the necessary flexibility to the tendons. It also helps with balance.
Fondue [fawn-DEW] means sinking down. It is lowering the body by bending the knee of the supporting leg. It’s like a plie’, except using one leg.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Ps 95:6
It is interesting to note that every time the word bend is mentioned in the Bible, it has to do with bending of a bow. The bow is an offensive weapon used in warfare, however, what I want to concentrate on something else that happens when we execute a plie’ or fondue. We lower our body. As we lower ourselves, we elevate HIM to a higher place. In order to ascend to a higher place of worship, we must lower ourselves. We can not worship the Lord our maker from an equal platform.
The literal translation for worship, is to lie prostrate. This is as low as one can get in our natural bodies and is a great representation of what should be happening in the spirit realm as we worship.
We worship HIM from a place of humility, and transparency. Dancers perform plie’ exercises so their muscles are pliable and flexible. You can not move properly if you are hard and stiff. So as you lower your natural body, meditate on how we are to worship HIM!
ETS-S World Convention
June 26, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Events List
Title: ETS-S World Convention
Description: http://www.eth-s.org/Events/2009/World_Convention.htm
Start Date: 2009-07-07
End Date: 2009-07-10
Raising the Standard
June 3, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Encouragement, Practical Advice
Even though I am no longer an active duty United States Air Force officer, I still work full-time on a military base and continue to receive revelation about the nature of God through every day events.
Recently I was walking to my car after a long day at work, somewhat unconscious of the time, I heard a loud trumpet over the radio. I continued walking knowing I wasn’t going to make it to my car in time. I was tired and mildly frustrated by the inevitable delay. The trumpet that I heard is a familiar sound to those who have spent any time on a military installation. It is a 12-measure introduction to the Star-Spangled Banner. Once the National Anthem begins, civilian pedestrians that are outside are to face the nearest flag and either place their hand over their heart or at their side as a sign of respect, while those in uniform are to render a salute towards the flag, and those in their car are to come to a full stop. For the duration of the song all traffic rules on the base are abandoned! Green lights don’t matter, if you are in the middle of the intersection it doesn’t matter. Where will you be when the trumpet sounds?
As I stood there looking at the flag that represents America, I heard the Lord say “I am raising the standard”. I began to analyze the actions that took place. First, the trumpet sounds. Trumpets, or shofars are often used in the bible as a precursor to another action: coming together in unity, preparing for war or an awakening. There is a unity that comes over the entire military installation during the Anthem. Conversations cease and all activity stops while the anthem plays over the “giant voice” (a public address system that can be heard over the entire base and several miles off base).
The Lord is speaking to His people! To all the ministry leaders….remember the Word of the Lord as recorded in Luke 12:48: to whom much is given, much is required. Teachers and leaders ARE held to a higher standard. Those that are moving into the area of teaching and leadership WILL be held to a higher standard!
As I begin to meditate on this message, I realized this is a “relative elevation”. In other words, the standard is being raised for those which the Lord is elevating. Please understand that Godly promotion comes with another level of consecration, prayer, fasting, and studying. Too often we operate in today’s promotion with yesterday’s anointing. THE "GRACE PERIOD" IS COMING TO AN END. Do an evaluation! Were you recently promoted, given a new position or larger scope of responsibility? The trumpet has sounded, the standard has been raised…are you ready?
A Minister’s Choreography Devotion: 4th Position
May 28, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Choreography
Day 4: 4th Position
The feet are placed the same as in third position with the front foot moved forward. One arm is rounded, held above and slightly forward of the head, the other arm remains in second position.
In first position, we can meditate on His completeness. In second position, we remember Him as the Lamb of God, while in 3rd position, we praise our Risen savior. That brings us to fourth position
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
Matthew 14:25
From this one verse, we can reflect on HIM as Almighty, what an awesome demonstration of HIS power! He is not constrained by elements such as gravity. Even the winds & the waves obey HIM. Read the entire section
The fourth watch of the night was between 3am and 6am, I imagine the disciples were disoriented from the sleep and probably on edge to say the least due to the storm. They did not recognize Jesus coming to them, but when He identified himself it was Peter who asked to be bid to come.
So Jesus bid Peter to come, and he stepped out of the boat.
>>> In fouth position we step forward
There are many lessons that can be gleaned from Peter’s experience that are beyond the scope of this devotion. A main focus is that Peter DID walk on water while he was focused on Jesus. As soon as he became distracted by the elements surrounding him and lost sight of who was in control of those elements he began to sink.
For whatever reason, 4th position is harder to grasp than the previous positions. Students would lose focus when they step out causing their posture and position to shift. As we step out into 4th position, remember to focus on your position and relationship with the Almighty!
For more on FOCUS and Peter’s experience, check out Attention Soldier
Dance & the Word | Ceramics 101
May 22, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Dance in the Word
This was originally posted in Paneh’s newsletter.
Let me start off by saying this article has nothing to do with scriptures that reference dance! However this is a subject that has been on my heart for a while.
When I was in high school I took a ceramics class. I figured it was an easy class to counter the college prep course load I was taking. One of our first projects was to make a bowl. We walked into the storage room and we were handed this lump of clay. It was soft, had no distinct form and didn’t seem to have much of a purpose. I was given a picture of the finished project, instructions and set to work.
In the Bible, clay is paralleled to mankind. Gen 2:7 says “Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground” (or clay). Jeremiah 18:6 says “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand.” Unlike us – God does not make mistakes (and I’ve made some UGLY vases). I needed a picture to see my finished product, but God is the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. He molded us just the way we are to be!
Dance minister, you may not be as tall as the next person or be dissatisfied with some other characteristic that makes you — YOU. We can not get caught up in why we were created the way were are. Romans 9:20 says “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why has thou made me thus?” — while we are like clay in many respects, once MAJOR difference is LIFE. The ability to get jump right off the potter’s wheel. A while ago my Pastor preached a sermon called “Stay on the Wheel”; the main thrust was to continue to let God mold and shape you — do not get caught up in doing your own thing.
In class the first thing we learned was how to prepare our clay for the kiln. We couldn’t just shape it into the form of the bowl and put it in the kiln. First we had to knead the clay until it was soft enough to be sculpted into the image I wanted. The Lord continues to work on his children…sometimes He has to pull and tug at us until we are ready to be molded.
My ceramics class was only 45 minutes so I was not able to finish sculpting in one day. We were instructed to wrap up our clay molds in plastic to preserve the moisture. Otherwise the clay would become hard and virtually useless. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t want to be identified by my potter as HARD and VIRTUALLY USELESS. Some would say stubborn! Some students did not properly wrap their molds and had a very stiff lump of clay. In order the soften the lump that had the add WATER. In the Bible, water is represented as the HOLY SPIRIT!
Isaiah 44:3 says “for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty…I will pour my spirit upon thy seed”
John 7:38 says “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Stubborn folks that are not willing to yield to the Lord will only be cured by the Holy Spirit! I kneaded my clay and it was now ‘moldable’. I can start sculpting now right? WRONG! (I just wanted to hurry and put my project in the kiln before the class was over). I was then told I had to mold my clay into a cube, cut it down the center and inspect for air holes. By this time I am thinking my easy elective is turning into more work than I bargained for! My instructor explained that when clay with major air holes is put in the kiln it will crack and be destroyed so it is important to take the time to inspect the clay and make sure there are no air holes.
These air holes are imperfections in our life. However they are hidden until we are cut. How do you respond when someone offends you…do you get on the phone and tear them down? That’s an air hole. Not ready for the kiln – lets do some more molding and shaping (we call it character building). Rom 5:3 says “we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience; and experience hope.
photo credit: whitney waller
Spiritual Dance Techniques Pt 2: Alignment
May 21, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Encouragement
Body alignment is necessary for ease of movement and coordination. In its simplest form, alignment can be defined as arranging our body in such a way that our bones are stacked in a line. A closer look at alignment reveals that it comes from a dynamic series of inter-relationships between various bones and joints.
Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”Psalms 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”
Sacred Evening w/Anointed Feet (2)
May 21, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Events List
Title: Sacred Evening w/Anointed Feet (2)
Location: St. Louis
Start Time: 15:00
Date: 2009-07-25
End Time: 17:00
Sacred Evening w/Anointed Feet (1)
May 21, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Events List
Title: Sacred Evening w/Anointed Feet (1)
Location: St. Louis
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2009-07-24
End Time: 20:00
