It’s Friday y’all! Whoo hoo! Every Friday, Lisa Jo Baker hosts a blog link up called Five Minute Fridays (FMF). She provides a word prompt and then participants are to set their timers for five minutes and write until the timer goes off. If you have NEVER read our FMF posts, I urge you to read past posts.  Today’s word is Listen.

At the beginning of every class, I go over the “rules of the road”: drink plenty of water, don’t worry about looking like anyone else and most of all “LISTEN to your body”.  After telling everyone to LISTEN to their body, I usually ask the following question to the rainbow of women staring back at me: “If I do something and it hurts YOU, what do you do?”.  In what sounds like trance-like voices, the ladies in class respond…”Don’t Do It”.

LISTENing to your body and not doing things that hurt are wise actions when participating in ANY physical fitness program.  However, they are even more important in a dance program like ours where there several movements that may need to be modified for ladies with back, hip or knee problems. 

What about life in general?  Can we apply the simple yet challenging principles of “LISTEN to your body” and “if-it-hurts-don’t-do-it” to our day to day lives?

Sometimes.

But when we find ourselves at ground zero and we have to walk through a battle zone of illness, a crazy schedule, caring for a loved one, loneliness, un-nerving co-workers, children acting a fool……we need to get quiet and LISTEN to God. 

Getting quiet so that we can activate our senses to hear God and see His handiwork in our situation is easier said than done.   LISTENing to God requires a great deal of intentionality. 

Being intentional to LISTEN is difficult for me because my schedule screams at me like a ambulance siren.  This weekend, I cleared my schedule and I am determined to just BE! (Y’all pray for me)

How can you begin to become more intentional so that you truly LISTEN?

Isaiah 55:3-5

“Come to me with your ears wide open.  Listen, and you will find life.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.”

It’s Friday y’all! Whoo hoo! Every Friday, Lisa Jo Baker hosts a blog link up called Five Minute Fridays (FMF). She provides a word prompt and then participants are to set their timers for five minutes and write until the timer goes off. If you have NEVER read our FMF posts, I urge you to read past posts.  Today’s word is Imagine.

One hundred and twenty hips moving side to side, up and down.  Skin of all shades glistening from all the sweaty fun-ness.  Who would have ever IMAGINEd dancing with soul sisters could be so therapeutic?  More than therapeutic…just down right amazing.  Something you miss dearly when life happens and you can’t make it.

Funny how you can just lose yourself gyrating to a great beat.  Yep, when you are in the moment of squatting or doing our back-to-back-partner-booty-shake, the things in life that are not going as you IMAGINEd-stop whispering mean things in your ear.

With laundry, soccer, game days, work, care giving, meal preparation, errands (the day-to-day stuff); there is no time for IMAGINing only doing.

Our class is an outlet, a safe place to throw your head back, laugh, roll your hips and be IN THE MOMENT.  Last night we cooled down to an oldie but goodie…Kirk Franklin’s I Smile.

“Even though  it hurts, I smile…. Even though I been here for a while, I smile…. I know God is working so I smile….”

When the song was over, we bowed with prayer hands.  We were quiet without all the craziness of life long enough to remember God IS working.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

Where is your safe place that allows you to let your hair down and just be?

It’s Friday y’all! Whoo hoo! Every Friday, Lisa Jo Baker hosts a blog link up called Five Minute Fridays (FMF). She provides a word prompt and then participants are to set their timers for five minutes and write until the timer goes off. I am so thankful that I found Five Minute Fridays! FMF gives me an opportunity to just “freestyle”! Many of you have told me that you really enjoy reading the FMF posts! If you have NEVER read the FMF posts, I urge you to read past posts: HERE Today’s word is FRIEND.

One of the most amazing and totally God things about our class is the sense of connection and love. There is no denying it, you feel it when you walk in the gym and see a beautiful array of women laughing, talking, and as was the case yesterday….dancing BEFORE class even started!!!

At first glance, it is tempting to say our class is made up of ladies who are FRIENDs.  Upon further investigation, it becomes evident that our bond is more than FRIENDship. I came across a word on Dr. Anna Garrett’s blog called Moai…….EUREKA this is the Divas.

Dr. Garrett described Moai and its benefits this way: “In Okinawa, people form social cooperatives called moai . These informal groups offer emotional, social or even financial assistance to one another. While moai are often practical in their collaborative purposes, they also provide a way for men and women to share stress during difficult times and to serve as an extended family. Being happy and strongly supported in community can extend your life up to 10 years.  ”

Yes, many of us have become FRIENDs as we salsa, kick, cha-cha and punch together each week.  More than FRIENDS, we are a community of women, always open and receptive to new divas…we are a moai.  Do you have a moai?

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17

If you are in the Kernersville NC area, join us for our Soulful Saturday class and bible study on Saturday April 27, 2013!!