Praise is what I do!

I'm the interim director of the dance ministry at my church (a position I've held for about 2yrs...it's a long story). We minister twice monthly and this month is our pastor's appreciation/anniversary so we teamed up with the male mimers to minister in dance and mime which was no easy undertaking. We ministered to "Praise is What I Do"...the extended version. We had flags, sheets, streamers, scarves, I joked in practice what's next a hoolahoop? But all jokes aside the experience was awesome. I think the beauty of ministry, but especially those related to the arts, is when we give our meager talents over to the Lord to be used to His Glory we find that He magnifies them. In college I was a member of a dance group and I used to kid and say I was on the remedial squad because I couldn't choreograph, took forever to learn things and would forget an 8-count by the time you counted to 5. So imagine my chagrin and reluctance when I was tapped to be over a dance ministry!! I didn't know how I could make up one dance...much less 20? But God is faithful when we trust Him and our little becomes much when we place it in the hands of the Master. I am not good at what I do but God is awesome at what He does, so we being every practice with prayer and we dedicate our gifts and talents to the glorification of God....and in all modesty He does a great job with what we offer unto Him for His use (we're on YouTube ; )
Now on to the fashion: welcome fall!
Simple stuff, a mustard hi-lo skirt and sweater. I bought both pieces from the same store but the sweater is actually several years old, while the skirt was purchased this year. A little secret about this outfit is I had the wear an extra slip over the lining of the skirt because the actual lining was realllllly short, but since the skirt zips I could only pull the skirt partially up. Yeah, but it sound more complicated than it was. The colorblock shoes provided the inspiration for the outfit.

Enlarge my territory...

My pastor had been doing a series on the prayer of Jabez recently. While I was familiar with the prayer of Jabez because I had read a short book on it years ago I still find it to be interesting because it's a powerful example of how a simple sincere prayer can change so much. Sandwiched amongst a long list of begat this and begat that lie Jabez who was noteworthy for two things: his mother bore him in pain and he prayed and asked God to bless him, expand his territory, keep him from evil and keep His hand upon him...and God did. Two verses (1 chronicles 4:9-10) but it's so powerful because it clearly outlines steps we can take to be blessed. Jabez's prayer wasn't only about God blessing Him but also about keeping him from harming others, a reminder that we have a obligation to be mindful of how we impact others. In essence God heard Jabez's prayer and blessed him because Jabez prayed in accordance to God's will. How then can we receive God's blessing pray in accordance with God's will and His word.
Now on to the fashion...first Sunday! Aka Ninja Sunday dressed in my traditional all black I was inspired (loosely) by Audrey Hepburn and decided to put on just about every piece of pearl jewelry I could find in my jewelry drawers...but I think it works, so don't judge me ; )