Being in the acting industry (or trying to be) makes me look more closely at the way Jesus became famous. Now, I'm not trying to become famous, but I am trying to make a living off this stuff, which does require some amount of notice from people.
So I think it's interesting if you look in Mark chapter one because in there Jesus starts out going into the towns (where lots of people are) in order to teach and heal. Mark 1:38 says, "And he [Jesus] said to them, 'Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out'" (ESV).
But then as more and more people come to know who he is and what he does, he no longer has to go anywhere. In fact Jesus could be in the middle of nowhere semi-hiding, and people would be talking about him and come find him. Mark 1:45b says, ".. Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter."
This goes along well with something God's been giving me wisdom about lately concerning my career. I'm starting to realize that I should spend a little less time figuring out how to market myself as an actor (i.e. Should I cut my hair? Should I get new headshots? What agency should I go with?) and a little more time just acting.
Because though a certain look may get me in the door somewhere, do I really want someone to hire me because of my look? Will someone even hire me because of my look? It may help, but if I can't act, I'm not going to book it.
So I want to act. Act act act, and get better at acting, "for that is why I came out." And then pretty soon I may not have to go into the casting showcases and workshops anymore because people will be calling me!
"If you build it, they will come.."
People say it's a Catch 22 to try to make it into acting because you can't act without a good agent and you can't get a good agent without having good acting credits. But guess what, I can go to acting class, and I can get plays from the library and do scenes with my acting friends, and I can act act act so that I'm ready for auditions and can actually book something on the rare occasion I get the chance to. And then pretty soon marketing will be in the back of my mind instead of in the front so much, making me stressed and insecure trying to figure out the seeming impossibility of making my headshot so awesome that just a glance from a casting director will make him stop and go, I want her. How do you do that? I don't know.
This is why I'm just going to "act" for a while and stop worrying about it.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Obedience is the very best way..
So in case you're wondering how to live securely..
Leviticus 25:18-19 says, "Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely."
Easy enough. So you mean, I don't have to have billions of dollars saved up or work all the time non-stop no matter what to make sure I'm secure for the rest of my life? I just have to obey God's commands?
But what are God's commands?
Well The Ten Commandments are a good place to start (Exodus 20). Or you don't even have to know all that. You can just love God and love others, and that pretty much sums it up (Matthew 22:37-40).
And if you want to know more details about who God is and what he expects, you can just read anywhere in the Bible. And if you want God to turn you into the type of person that obeys often, you can read the Bible daily and meditate on its truths, and you won't even have to think much about keeping rules because you just will start to naturally.
That is pretty cool because if I'm obeying God's commands and living securely then I don't have to worry, and that is a huge weight lifted off. And I'm not even just talking about financial security. I'm talking about security security, like this might also be the answer to insecurity.
I can be so insecure all the time: Ugh, my hair looks gross today. Why is my skin like that? I just said something really stupid. How come I'm not as skinny as her? Why did I just totally screw up that audition? Why am I still pursuing this crazy career? I'm not good enough. I don't know what I'm doing. Why am I here? AHHHHHHHHHHH.
But God says, "Tracy, just obey me. And you will live securely."
Oh yeah. Thanks for the remind.
Leviticus 25:18-19 says, "Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely."
Easy enough. So you mean, I don't have to have billions of dollars saved up or work all the time non-stop no matter what to make sure I'm secure for the rest of my life? I just have to obey God's commands?
But what are God's commands?
Well The Ten Commandments are a good place to start (Exodus 20). Or you don't even have to know all that. You can just love God and love others, and that pretty much sums it up (Matthew 22:37-40).
And if you want to know more details about who God is and what he expects, you can just read anywhere in the Bible. And if you want God to turn you into the type of person that obeys often, you can read the Bible daily and meditate on its truths, and you won't even have to think much about keeping rules because you just will start to naturally.
That is pretty cool because if I'm obeying God's commands and living securely then I don't have to worry, and that is a huge weight lifted off. And I'm not even just talking about financial security. I'm talking about security security, like this might also be the answer to insecurity.
I can be so insecure all the time: Ugh, my hair looks gross today. Why is my skin like that? I just said something really stupid. How come I'm not as skinny as her? Why did I just totally screw up that audition? Why am I still pursuing this crazy career? I'm not good enough. I don't know what I'm doing. Why am I here? AHHHHHHHHHHH.
But God says, "Tracy, just obey me. And you will live securely."
Oh yeah. Thanks for the remind.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Best Five Year Plan Ever
So you probably shouldn't read this because I'm sort of taking a scripture out of context in order to make it more applicable to my life, but still I think it's interesting.
Leviticus 19:23-25 says, "When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God" (ESV).
After reading from a few commentaries on Bible Hub, I now understand better the reason for waiting three / four years. It is because a tree does not bear its best, full crop of fruit until the fourth year, and the tree's fruit is seen as unclean until the first fruits are offered to God. But you don't want to offer fruit to God that's not at its best, so you have to wait until the fourth year to give it to Him, and then you can eat of it yourself after that, in the fifth year.
So here's how this applies to me (as I've imagined in my mind): I came to LA the first time for three years, planted some seeds / trees in the acting / industry world, but not a whole lot has happened. But this is now the fourth year, which is going to be when the best crop is produced (yeah!), so I can finally give it as a sacrifice to God for real. And then in the fifth year, when I'm 31, that's when I will enjoy the fruit of this pursuit for my own life and benefit as well.
(Is it weird to come up with a five-year plan when you're in the fourth year of it?)
Leviticus 19:23-25 says, "When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God" (ESV).
After reading from a few commentaries on Bible Hub, I now understand better the reason for waiting three / four years. It is because a tree does not bear its best, full crop of fruit until the fourth year, and the tree's fruit is seen as unclean until the first fruits are offered to God. But you don't want to offer fruit to God that's not at its best, so you have to wait until the fourth year to give it to Him, and then you can eat of it yourself after that, in the fifth year.
So here's how this applies to me (as I've imagined in my mind): I came to LA the first time for three years, planted some seeds / trees in the acting / industry world, but not a whole lot has happened. But this is now the fourth year, which is going to be when the best crop is produced (yeah!), so I can finally give it as a sacrifice to God for real. And then in the fifth year, when I'm 31, that's when I will enjoy the fruit of this pursuit for my own life and benefit as well.
(Is it weird to come up with a five-year plan when you're in the fourth year of it?)
Monday, September 2, 2013
How big is your Bible?
Dr. Robert Flores, one of our newest pastors, said something that struck me last night. He said, "How big is your Bible?"
He didn't mean what is the actual size of your Bible, he meant how big is YOUR Bible. Like, the one you have in your heart. How many verses do you know? How much truth from it do you have inside you? If someone came and took your Bible and you couldn't get access to it anymore, would you have anything in your head that you could hang onto from it and share? That is your Bible.
For now, we can have our actual Bibles, but that may not always be the case. And even with that being the case, we may not always have it on us when we need it. We may be in a time of despair and maybe we're in the car or at a party, so we need to have its truth stored in our heads and our hearts so we can pull from that storage and revive ourselves with it. Also, there may be someone around us that's in despair, and we can't always play the, "You should come to my church, there's these really great pastors that know the Bible," card. We need to have the love and truth of the gospel so engrained in us that we are sharing the message as we speak whenever we speak. And that requires studying the Bible and really having it for ourselves at any time, even without the pages.
I know a lot of truth from the Bible, but I can't say I spend too much time memorizing it. I want to get the story of the Bible fully into my being so I can share about it at any time, but there are some really great verses to memorize that would be good for everyday rejuvenation.
Hmm.. Let's find one.
Oh, here's one I like a lot.
2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (ESV).
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
(Sometimes it helps if I write it out a bunch.)
Now get going on YOUR Bible.
He didn't mean what is the actual size of your Bible, he meant how big is YOUR Bible. Like, the one you have in your heart. How many verses do you know? How much truth from it do you have inside you? If someone came and took your Bible and you couldn't get access to it anymore, would you have anything in your head that you could hang onto from it and share? That is your Bible.
For now, we can have our actual Bibles, but that may not always be the case. And even with that being the case, we may not always have it on us when we need it. We may be in a time of despair and maybe we're in the car or at a party, so we need to have its truth stored in our heads and our hearts so we can pull from that storage and revive ourselves with it. Also, there may be someone around us that's in despair, and we can't always play the, "You should come to my church, there's these really great pastors that know the Bible," card. We need to have the love and truth of the gospel so engrained in us that we are sharing the message as we speak whenever we speak. And that requires studying the Bible and really having it for ourselves at any time, even without the pages.
I know a lot of truth from the Bible, but I can't say I spend too much time memorizing it. I want to get the story of the Bible fully into my being so I can share about it at any time, but there are some really great verses to memorize that would be good for everyday rejuvenation.
Hmm.. Let's find one.
Oh, here's one I like a lot.
2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (ESV).
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
(Sometimes it helps if I write it out a bunch.)
Now get going on YOUR Bible.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
The Wilderness Way and The Waiting
I love the story about how God rescued the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt and especially the part where he parts the Red Sea and the Israelites walk through on dry land, defeating the Egyptians.
But today as I was reading about this in Exodus 13-15, a couple passages stood out to me:
Exodus 13:17-18a - "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, 'Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.' But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea."
So the wilderness was in the plan all along. The Israelites didn't take a wrong turn and end up in the wilderness. God specifically took them the wilderness way because he knows his people, his blessed and beloved people who are always being afraid and changing their minds. And sometimes he lets them do that, but this time God would not allow his glory to not be shown in the great way he had planned. He wanted once and for all for the Egyptians to know he is God, and even more importantly for the Israelites to know his power and that they are his people.
They did get afraid though:
Exodus 14:10-14 - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, 'Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.' And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'"
Wow. What a great thing to remember in a time of fear. Fear not, and just watch God work.
Recently one of our pastors spoke on the topic of rest. He said that basically the seasons of life are either like day or like night. There are times when everything is going really well (job promotions, awesome relationships, etc.), and we really feel God's presence and can see him working, and all we want to do is praise him all day. But then there are the "night" times, when God feels far away, and life feels sad and like nothing is happening or maybe even scary things are happening. But the pastor's encouragement was to not lose heart during that time because it's during the night that God is working, even though we can't see him.
He compared it to Adam in Genesis, when God created woman for him. It was the first time Adam had rested. Until then, Adam had been working. That was pretty much all he knew was work (Gen. 3:15, 19-20). But when God created Eve, he put Adam to sleep so that HE could work (Gen. 3:21). And that was when he produced the most amazing thing - woman :) - to be Adam's helper and mate.
So the pastor's encouragement to us was to yes, work hard in the day when the opportunities are there and God is telling us to do things. But in the waiting, in the resting, in the "night," we shouldn't be afraid but rather know that God is working and anticipate the good to come. Just like Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
That is pretty powerful stuff. (And I do hope one of the things God is having me wait for while he creates it, IS a man. Ha ha, just kidding -- sort of.)
But today as I was reading about this in Exodus 13-15, a couple passages stood out to me:
Exodus 13:17-18a - "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, 'Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.' But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea."
So the wilderness was in the plan all along. The Israelites didn't take a wrong turn and end up in the wilderness. God specifically took them the wilderness way because he knows his people, his blessed and beloved people who are always being afraid and changing their minds. And sometimes he lets them do that, but this time God would not allow his glory to not be shown in the great way he had planned. He wanted once and for all for the Egyptians to know he is God, and even more importantly for the Israelites to know his power and that they are his people.
They did get afraid though:
Exodus 14:10-14 - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, 'Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.' And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'"
Wow. What a great thing to remember in a time of fear. Fear not, and just watch God work.
Recently one of our pastors spoke on the topic of rest. He said that basically the seasons of life are either like day or like night. There are times when everything is going really well (job promotions, awesome relationships, etc.), and we really feel God's presence and can see him working, and all we want to do is praise him all day. But then there are the "night" times, when God feels far away, and life feels sad and like nothing is happening or maybe even scary things are happening. But the pastor's encouragement was to not lose heart during that time because it's during the night that God is working, even though we can't see him.
He compared it to Adam in Genesis, when God created woman for him. It was the first time Adam had rested. Until then, Adam had been working. That was pretty much all he knew was work (Gen. 3:15, 19-20). But when God created Eve, he put Adam to sleep so that HE could work (Gen. 3:21). And that was when he produced the most amazing thing - woman :) - to be Adam's helper and mate.
So the pastor's encouragement to us was to yes, work hard in the day when the opportunities are there and God is telling us to do things. But in the waiting, in the resting, in the "night," we shouldn't be afraid but rather know that God is working and anticipate the good to come. Just like Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
That is pretty powerful stuff. (And I do hope one of the things God is having me wait for while he creates it, IS a man. Ha ha, just kidding -- sort of.)
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