Dear Friends,
A Hurting Community
I am sending all my love and prayers to many of you affected by the terrifying and tragic car accident last Friday involving six Archie Williams High School students. After moving to Marin 12 years ago and teaching classes for 7 years in downtown San Anselmo, I experienced what a wonderfully close-knit community it is. My heart is broken for everyone involved who knew the girls - from the teachers and staff, to the siblings and parents, to the friends and teammates, to neighbors and coaches, and so many other connections. I am truly sorry.
Sending love and strength in this incredibly difficult time of sorrow. You are not alone in your grief and you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Glenwood Elementary Dance-a-Thon!
Thank you to all the students and teachers for inviting us back to lead a Stop Drop And Dance-a-Thon assembly last Friday afternoon at Glenwood Elementary School!
We kicked the assembly off with an awesome turnout of parents and teachers that braved the stage, then all the grades from TK to 5th had a chance to come up and dance in front of the whole school!
Thank you to our hostess Kristen Jentzen for organizing the event and to Kathy Brown for helping to lead all the dances!
We danced to celebrate our strong and healthy bodies, we danced to celebrate our friends and school community, and we danced to celebrate courage, non-judgment and FUN!
Upcoming Schedule Changes
This week, we have our regularly scheduled 75 minute Stop Drop and Dance classes at 9:30am on Tuesday and Thursday, and Strength & Stretch on Wednesday!
Classes are cancelled during our PWG Bali Retreat THIS Saturday, April 26th to Saturday, May 3rd!
Classes will resume on Tuesday, May 6th and PRAYERS ANSWERED, UUMarin has extended our Saturdays through May and June so we don't have to rush to find another venue! We will keep you posted on Saturday classes July onwards (hopefully we can stay at UUMarin!)
Save the Date to join us Saturday, May 10th for the Marin Foster Care Dance-a-thon at the Corte Madera Community Center.
Dancing will be from 4:15-5:00pm and we need as many dancers as possible to help energize the room! Food and drinks provided after!
Your Way's Better
For the longest time I thought I didn’t need God.
I was self-reliant,
I was hard-working,
I had a good heart,
I believed in myself,
I thought I didn’t need any help, ever.
Life was good and I thought I didn’t need God.
But actually, it took me awhile to realize that on the outside all was dandy...
However, internally, I struggled with feeling worthy, feeling like what I did was enough.
I struggled with ego like wanting to be center front in a formation of dancers,
I struggled with valuing money as worth like thinking someone’s job determined their status,
I struggled with actual self-love for myself and held onto guilt, shame and mistakes from my past.
I was just tired and confused and purposeless, and knew something was missing in my heart.
All it took was for me to take a leap of faith and send out that first prayer, “Hey God, if you’re real, can you help show me somehow?”
A real effort to get to know God just like reaching out to an old friend you’ve lost touch with.
A friend, that has always been waiting for you to reach out.
A friend that will do anything for you, even dying for you.
And over time, God poured into my heart the real meaning of true and unconditional love,
a purpose driven life even in my work,
a humble heart that wants to put others center stage instead of myself,
a compassionate and caring desire to make a difference,
a deep gratitude and appreciation for life even in hard times,
and a light of hope that is fueled by genuine joy and never burns out.
So that’s what Easter means to me.
A perfect love for an imperfect world.
Sending all of you endless love, kindness, light, hope and joy on this special day.
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all."
- Emily Dickinson
Happy Easter,
Grace
