Fame!

Today I went to the movies. I don't often go, but it's something that I've loved since I was single and working retail--taking in a movie by myself. I went to see Fame, as I remember vividly watching the show at my grandma's house when I was little.

As a bit of back story, a few weeks ago I went to the prophetic time at a church called DayStar. I got some amazing prophecy, but the thing that really stuck with me was the man relating that my spiritual gift is seeing "the beauty realm of God". I confess that I really enjoyed hearing that word, and it settled deep into my spirit, but I didn't really know what it meant.

Last Friday, I went to DayStar again with my friend Kathryn. She was talking about the ways that the enemy bastardizes the gifts God places within us, exploits them and seeks to use them to destroy our lives. In the last couple of days, that's become more clear to me. Before I was a Christian, I listened to gangster rap. Loud, angry, anti-authority music. The first thing I remember God changing in me in the weeks that I was walking toward Jesus was Him telling me that I couldn't listen to that any longer. Friends of mine listened to people like Nichole Nordeman and Casting Crowns, so I started listening to them, too. I didn't really know why, and my husband was perplexed, but I just knew that's what I was supposed to do.

Back to the beauty realm of God. So in the last few days, I've been realizing that I find God most through music and dance. I like quiet time, I enjoy being in the Word and journaling and praying and all, but I meet Him face to face through worship. The beauty realm. Music. Dancing.

Part of the word I was given said that what I bring is enough. This is a big thing for me, since I'm not (in my estimation) particularly talented at any given thing. I'm an ok musician, an ok writer, a poor singer, an ok dancer, a poor artist. Doesn't really seem like Da Vinci or anything, you know?

However, I think that that's not the most important thing, the outcome of my efforts. The import is in the meeting God in the effort. Wow. Isn't that amazing?! The fact that one could DO something because one LOVES it, not to strive or perfect or claw at something. I've never done that, not in anything. I've never really RESTED.

Lately God's been whispering Zephaniah 3:17 over me, mostly the line, "He will quiet you with His love". Quiet. Simplicity.

So what does any of that have to do with the movie "Fame"?! Well, in the movie, Charles S. Dutton's character is talking to Malik, an angry kid with a crappy past. He's trying to get to his HEART, to chisel away at the hardness and protection. He says, "The parts of yourself that you're ashamed of, the parts you want to keep a secret, they are who you are. That is your POWER".

Indeed. May I use it to the glory of God.