Tag: Traveling

• Round Two: With a Different Swing

  Last summer, I traveled with the Academy of Arts.
  This summer, I will be traveling again.
  I am extremely excited, but for now, that will go unsaid.
  This is serious:

  Last summer, I grew in the Lord and had a great time!
  Talk to anyone from El Teamo Easto.
  They will corroborate that statement.
  But something went wrong.

  I developed a dependency upon my team:
  A real dependency.
  An unhealthy dependency.
  The whole summer I could say,

  “Finally! Hearts for the Lord!”
  “When I’m around them, I just feel so encouraged spiritually.”
  “When I’m with them, I can be more spiritual.”
  “They just love the Lord so much!”

  And I got really attached to that.
  Too attached.
  I stood on a rug,
  And when I got home, that rug was swiped from under my feet.

  Now, no matter how I spun the situation,
  The rug was still going to get swiped from under me,
  But the problem was this:
  I did not know how to stand on my own.

  I blew up.
  I could only be self-sustaining for so long.
  So I fell over
  And nose-dived into the worst spiritual low of my life.

  NOW! Let’s rewind and clear some things up. When you join an Academy of Arts Summer Drama Team, you are meant to be a team. You are meant to work together. You are meant to encourage each other. You are meant to love each other. You are meant to strive together. You are meant to minister. You are meant to further the kingdom of God. You are meant to grow in the Lord. That is just simply.. how it works! And praise the Lord for such an opportunity!

  But let me take the statement,
  “I did not know how to stand on my own,”
  And throw it in the mud.
  This was not, is not, and never will be about standing on my own, but about standing in Christ.

  I nose-dived into the worst spiritual low in my life because of this:
  I was dependent upon man for my relationship with the God and not God Himself. (Therefore, when man was taken away, so was what I considered my “Relationship with God”)
  BUT! If I am dependent upon no one but God,
  Christ is all-sufficient to fulfill me and sustain me in any and every way possible.

  (None of what was said was or is meant to undermine or degrade the believers’s dependency upon the Church and fellow believers (tomatoes and tomotoes, right?), but as the Church being the body of Christ, Christ works in and through His Church to accomplish His will)

  So to sum up this whole post, I would like to say a word to my fellow Academy of Arts members who will be traveling this summer:

  This summer will go fast. God is eternal.
  This summer will spread the Gospel. The Gospel is eternal.
  This summer will encourage you. God’s Word is an eternal encouragement.
  This summer will be drenched in prayer. Prayer is an eternal privilege.
  This summer will bless you with relationships. Your relationship with God is eternal.
  This summer will bless you with many God-founded memories. God will use those moments in time for His eternal plans.

  But if you are willing to take your stand upon the Solid Rock when no one else will,
  It will make it all the more beautiful when others stand beside you.

  All of that being said..

  Let’s do this!!! =]

  June 4, 2014

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• The Absence of Light, Recompensed

  Once upon a time..

  There were many rooms devoid of darkness.
  This was not due to a chandelier, light bulb, or candle however,
  But because of a young woman with a smile.

  And as beautiful as her smile was, it was simply the forefront of her brightness.
  Her true brightness came directly from her heart.
  And if anyone was asked to define her with a single word,
  The majority would simply say, “Joyful.”

  It is a such small word, but she gave it such big meaning.
  And if anyone asked her why she is so joyful,
  She would simply reply, “Jesus took my burdens all away.”

  However.. one night, while sitting outside,
  She said something that completely took me off guard.

  “A few years ago, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer,
  And we’re not sure how much time she has left.”

  Speechless. That’s what I was.
  To see a joyful heart in the midst of such a trial takes the firmest of breath away,
  Because it is a joy that cannot be fathomed.
  It is a joy only worthy of a heart which can sincerely say,

  “I’m so happy, and here’s the reason why;
  Jesus took my burdens all away.”

  I’ll never forget the young woman that didn’t just light up rooms with her smile,
  She lit up hearts..
  My heart.
  And if per chance, you ever meet her..
  Your heart.

  November 26, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• The Moments Held By a Very Tall Man’s Words

  Once upon a time..

  There was a very tall man.
  And on one, final, concluding night,
  In the midst of an extremely sorrowful and tear-filled crowd,
  He shook a young man’s hand and said,

  “I’m proud of you. You’re a man now.”

  But those words held more than meaning..
  They held moments.

  And those moments cannot be fully described,
  Nor can they be fully comprehended.
  To translate those moments into words would degrade the very moments themselves,
  Because words cannot fully reveal a soul touching another soul.
  Words cannot fully fathom the depths of a heart being changed.
  Words cannot fully grasp the tears of a child breaking down his walls of failure.
  Words cannot fully paint the picture of a child bravely lifting his head under adversity.
  Words cannot fully understand the story of a child becoming a man.

  And yet, those moments.. happened.

  So thank you;
  Thank you for lifting me up to Christ
  And for showing me what it means to be a man of God.

  I might never be as tall as you,
  But height was never what truly defined you,
  And that is what matters.

  November 9, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• Summer Pictures (2013)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  My Summer Testimony – A New Beginning

  November 3, 2013

  Nostalgia, The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• The Morning She Became

  Once upon a time..

  There was a young lady who sat in the backseat of a joyful van.
  She received a text.
  As she read the text, her facial expression fell.
  She sat in silence.
  All the laughing and joy faded from her hearing, and all she could do was look up and quietly say,

  “My grandfather died”

  The few who heard these three words simply bowed their heads and prayed.
  They did not take these three words as their own to tell the rest, but instead they sat in solemn silence and prayer.
  The first teardrop slowly rolled down her pale cheek.
  Then the rest followed.
  When she felt ready, she told the rest, and the van pulled off the road and into an empty parking lot.
  Another young lady, without hesitation, jumped out of the passenger seat and rushed to sit beside her and comfort her.
  The van sat still in silence.
  It could have been ten minutes.
  It could have been thirty.
  Time lost meaning in such a moment as that.

  The death of a believer is a joyful death.
  For, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
  (Romans 14:8)
  But not knowing whether the death was of a believer or an unbeliever.
  It’s hard.
  Unspeakably hard.

  Later that night, a young man gathered the other young men together and simply said,
  “She has to know that we’re here for her and that we love her.”
  And so they did show these things,
  But through the smiles and encouragement, there was still the pain inside.

  However, the following morning something happened.
  Something truly moving.
  In the play she was performing in, she had many parts, but two stuck out.
  These were two parts that portrayed two historical people who had either tragically lost loved ones, or were in the process of loosing them.
  And so the quote was lived out which says,
  “I’ll give two cents to anyone who can act, but I’ll give a million bucks to anyone who can become.”

  So sir, I believe you owe a lot.

  During the play,
  The lyrics rang out,

  “When peace like a river attendeth my way,
  When sorrows like sea billows roll;
  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
  It is well, it is well with my soul.”

  As an ensemble sang this arrangement,
  She sat in tears.
  Each line in the script became her own.
  Each tear became her own.
  Each color which painted her heart in that moment became a  beautiful canvas for the audience to see.
  And as they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words,”
  This picture was worth ten thousand words.
  And although she was burdened with sorrow,
  Her heart spoke nothing but this,

  “When peace like a river attendeth my way,
  When sorrows like sea billows roll;
  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
  It is well, it is well with my soul.”

  That was a morning I’ll never forget,
  Because that morning, she didn’t perform.
  She became.

  September 23, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• A New Beginning

  

  This is my team.

  They are family.

  Keep that in mind as you read.

  “Hi, my name is Christopher Murray, I’m 16 years old (Now 27), I’m from Plymouth, Minnesota, and this is my first summer traveling with the Academy of Arts”…

  I was the kid whose only home was the house that he lived in. I was kid whose only friends mostly attended his school, youth group, and church. I was the kid whose only parent figures were the two parents he had, and his only siblings were the two brothers he had. I was the kid whose only known Wisconsin and Minnesota his whole life and been out of state a couple times, but never longer than a few days, and never farther than a few hundred miles.

  I had never been in a play before, nor done anything in drama. That changed when The Academy of Arts came to my school. They took a week out of my highschool’s time to teach us a play which takes place during the Civil War and is based off the story of the Prodigal Son. My friend, Rajan, played the runaway, and I played the drummer boy who challenged him with the message of the Gospel, which he accepted after my death and then returned home.

  Towards the end of the week, I had an opportunity laid before me. I was invited to join The Academy of Arts Summer Drama Team program. I was initially shocked because I was the only Sophomore invited, and I saw no reason why I should be invited in the first place. After all, I had only been in one play my whole life, and yet they were asking me to travel with them for a whole summer. Yeah. Right..

  But then I prayed.

  I initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. My parents initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. Circumstances initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. And after a week had gone by, there I was, the Minnesotan kid sending in his application.

  I was accepted, and a little over a month and a half later I was sitting in the Logos Theatre with 30+ other teens. Most of us didn’t know each other, nor did I know know anyone there. And yet there I was, in South Carolina, a thousand miles away from all my friends and family, embarking on a journey unlike anything else I had ever been a part of before. Funny how God worked that out.

  After funny, serious, and rudimentary auditions, it was decided that I be put on the 2013 Eastern Summer Drama Team. Soon after, I was sitting with ten other people I barely knew. My guy leader was Will, and my lady leader was Kara. The guys were Sam, Jeremiah, Caleb, and Peter, and the girls were Valerie, Alex, Becca, and Emily. They were pretty nifty if I don’t say so myself.

  But none the less, they were my team. We had two weeks of training to learn our lines, the choir songs/hymn arrangements, the play, how to set up the stage, how to set up lights and sound, how to run lights and sound, how put on makeup, how to do costumes, what to do when, where, why, how, and much more. All of this coupled with sermons, messages, devotions, and talks preparing us for circumstances/situations on the road. It was exhausting mentally, emotionally, and physically. It was those first two weeks that formed us into a team. We learned how to work together, and how to carry out what the following seven weeks would call for.

  After training was over, we were sent out on the rode for seven weeks. From South Carolina, to Indiana, up to New York. Technical difficulties. Trailer problems. Team members getting sick. Churches with small stages. Family situations. Injuries. Clashing personalities. Little sleep. Hours of work. I’d say it was a long summer, but never has any summer gone quicker. As a team, we pulled together. But what set our team apart from any other team in this secular world was that we didn’t pull together and then lean on each other. We embraced each other and then pointed each other to Christ. We embraced the trials and then laid them at Christ’s feet. We gave everything we had on and off stage. We prayed constantly asking for Christ’s help. We laughed with each other. We cried with each other. We encouraged each other. We got right with each other. We stuck with each other.

  But it wasn’t us that stuck. It was Christ. Had it not been for Christ, we’d have to reason to be where we were. We’d have no reason to be doing what we were doing. We’d have no reason to forgive each other. We’d have no reason to fall to our knees in prayer when everything else was falling apart. We’d have no reason to breathe. And yet Christ died for us, and who are we to not give everything in return. Who are we to not respect those people who gave everything they had for Christ. Who are we to not sincerely sing those songs which were written through tears at Christ’s feet. Who are we to not retell those miserable yet victorious stories of those true followers of Christ..

  And it was for those reasons that we weren’t just a team.. we were a family. We were a family held by Christ. And as a family held by Christ, we’ll always be a family, even if we’re a thousand miles apart. They didn’t give me a new beginning, but they taught me that Christ gives me a new beginning. They taught me that to live in past failure is to live in fear of failure, and to live in past sin is to live in present sin. Who I am now does not have to be defined by who I used to be.

  Because He didn’t just die for me. He rose for me.

  And for that reason, I have a new beginning.

  Summer Pictures

  August 17, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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