So this past Thursday at VOA (Volunteers of America), my friend Leah and I decided to go sit by this lady who was all by herself. Her name was Cocoa (I'm not entirely sure if she spells it that way though), she has two kids, and she's from Africa! As we started talking to her we got to find out a little bit about what she's gone through, and as she was telling us I just really felt like I needed to offer to pray for her. I was afraid to ask though, because I didn't want to weird her out or anything. (And for those of you who know me, you know that I'm not usually the first to offer to pray out loud, or do anything involving speaking in front of other people haha. So it was definitely the Holy Spirit moving!) So I thought I'd just wait a few weeks until we got to know her a little better. Then as the conversation went on she asked us if we were in school, and as Leah started to tell her about Youth With A Mission she just looked at us in surprise and told us that she was in YWAM before! The look on her face was a mix of shock, excitement, and comfort. She continued to tell us about how she did her DTS in 1996 in Kona, and about a few other secondary schools she went to. As she was talking to us about it she teared up a few times, and it was just so moving! I didn't even know what to say because I was so excited about what was happening. We could tell that she definitely needed that at that moment, to hear about YWAM. It was so neat to see how the Lord had drawn us to talk to this woman, and watch Him totally work in the situation for each of our lives. He totally took over and gave me the words and courage to pray for her, and it was so awesome to see the Lord's faithfulness to me, how through Him I truly can do anything! Now I can't wait to see her every Thursday to see how she's been doing and how the Lord has been moving in her life. Typing out this story does it no justice, because words can't describe what was experienced! It was just such an exciting night, like God had given me just a little glimpse of what I'll be experiencing on outreach in Peru this summer, and in life in general as I continue to obey the Holy Spirit and walk in His plan for my life!
So yeah! That was my big experience from this past week, and I can't wait to see what God will show me next! :)
This is us, Torie on the left and Kaitlyn on the right. (April 2013)
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Original Design
These past couple of days we talked about our identity in Christ and how to live in freedom as who He created us to be. We talked about how God made us for a purpose, and that He wants to reveal that purpose to us. Just like He revealed His plan to Abraham in Genesis 17:3-8, to John the Baptist in Luke 1:13-17, and to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:4-5. We are each set apart to do something special for God! Imagine if Abraham hadn't followed God's plan? Where would we be today? We need to fulfill the purpose that God has given us.
So yesterday after class we all individually got together with a couple of leaders and asked God to reveal what He originally designed us for. It was so cool! As we prayed and heard from the Lord, I could already see how some of His purposes have already been playing out in my life! Things about my personality that I never would have really thought had significance as part of His plan, He put there on purpose to help me lead others towards Him! Just to hear what amazing things the Lord wants to do with my life was so exciting! The second part to this was asking what strongholds have been keeping me from being the person I was made to be. A stronghold is an obstacle between us and God, a place where we have given Satan control in our life. My obstacle was definitely fear - insecurity, fear of man, shyness (inferiority pride also tied in with this.) So we prayed and asked God to reveal what may have started this fear in my life. We didn't get a specific answer, but for as long as I can remember I have always been afraid, especially as a kid. I think that it's just a place that I let Satan have control over when I was young, and without thinking too much of it, it's just grown with me. So then I got to do the four "R's." Repent, Receive, Rebuke, Replace. First, I repented and asked God to forgive me for believing the lies Satan has been feeding me, then I received His forgiveness. Then I rebuked the devil, which was awesome! Due to the fear I was so consumed by, I never wanted to before. Even while here at YWAM. So it felt really great to know that in Christ I have the authority to tell Satan to get the heck out of my life, and I don't have to be afraid to do it! And then I asked God to reveal His truth to me to replace the lies I had believed. This is an important step, because in Luke 11:24-26 we see that it's not enough to simply clean out the lies. We have to replace them with truth so when Satan comes back to try again He won't be able to enter our lives.
Yesterday was such a great day! It was so amazing to have this break through in my relationship with Christ! I feel so much freedom now, and even though I know there will always be more stuff to work through, I'm so excited to see what God's going to show me next!
So yesterday after class we all individually got together with a couple of leaders and asked God to reveal what He originally designed us for. It was so cool! As we prayed and heard from the Lord, I could already see how some of His purposes have already been playing out in my life! Things about my personality that I never would have really thought had significance as part of His plan, He put there on purpose to help me lead others towards Him! Just to hear what amazing things the Lord wants to do with my life was so exciting! The second part to this was asking what strongholds have been keeping me from being the person I was made to be. A stronghold is an obstacle between us and God, a place where we have given Satan control in our life. My obstacle was definitely fear - insecurity, fear of man, shyness (inferiority pride also tied in with this.) So we prayed and asked God to reveal what may have started this fear in my life. We didn't get a specific answer, but for as long as I can remember I have always been afraid, especially as a kid. I think that it's just a place that I let Satan have control over when I was young, and without thinking too much of it, it's just grown with me. So then I got to do the four "R's." Repent, Receive, Rebuke, Replace. First, I repented and asked God to forgive me for believing the lies Satan has been feeding me, then I received His forgiveness. Then I rebuked the devil, which was awesome! Due to the fear I was so consumed by, I never wanted to before. Even while here at YWAM. So it felt really great to know that in Christ I have the authority to tell Satan to get the heck out of my life, and I don't have to be afraid to do it! And then I asked God to reveal His truth to me to replace the lies I had believed. This is an important step, because in Luke 11:24-26 we see that it's not enough to simply clean out the lies. We have to replace them with truth so when Satan comes back to try again He won't be able to enter our lives.
Yesterday was such a great day! It was so amazing to have this break through in my relationship with Christ! I feel so much freedom now, and even though I know there will always be more stuff to work through, I'm so excited to see what God's going to show me next!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Picture time!
Hey guys! So since I've just been posting about what I've been learning, I figured I'd just post some fun stuff today! Here are some pictures from these past four weeks! :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Like an Eagle
This week we're learning about "The Father Heart of God." Yesterday our speaker, Doug Easterday, taught on something that I consider to be the most impactful lesson that I have heard so far at DTS. He talked about how studying the Bible is more than just "studying the Bible," it's about finding the meaning behind it. (Seems super obvious, I know.) As an example, he used Deuteronomy 32:11, which says, "..like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions." Personally, whenever I have read or heard this verse in the past, I just took it at face value. Doug, however, looked at this verse and asked himself, "why an eagle? Why, over all the other types of birds He created, does God choose to compare Himself to an eagle?" So Doug decided to research eagles! What he discovered was that 1.) a mother eagle is the best mother of all birds, 2.) baby eagles are stubborn, and 3.) baby eagles are slow learners. Seems to be adding up already! Haha.
Now, to break down the verse a bit so we have a better understanding. First, it says that, like an eagle, God "stirs up the nest." I didn't know anything about eagles, so just taking this at face value meant absolutely nothing to me. However, when Doug described what it meant for an eagle to stir up its nest, it immediately took a new level. When a mother eagle builds a nest for her babies, it's about one meter wide, and one meter high. She lines the inside with soft leaves and feathers for her young, and keeps them safe in this mansion of a nest. Whatever her babies need, she provides! Baby bird seems to have it made; but when it's time for baby bird to learn to fly, she completely destroys the nest! Baby bird has no idea what is going on - why in the world is mom destroying our house? She's gone crazy! Have you ever felt, either in your heart or the circumstances you're going through, that God has gone crazy? You have no idea why He's doing what He's doing in your life? You're so comfortable, why would God stir up the nest just when everything is so great? You being comfortable is exactly the reason. We don't want to just sit idle, staying right where we our in our journey with God. We want to grow in it, to be challenged! Which brings us to the second part of the verse, which says that the eagle "hovers over its young." I don't know about you, but when I think of the word "hover," I think protection, like God's watching over us, making sure that we're safe and that everything's going well. Far from it! Incase you haven't noticed, an eagle's wings are made very differently than a hummingbird's! This is something I had never put much thought into before. For an eagle to hover, it has to rapidly flap its wings, which span from 6-9 feet! It takes more energy for an eagle to hover than it does for it to fly full speed. Needless to say, there's some major wind going on around baby bird's freshly stirred nest. Do you ever feel like God's blowing some major wind in your direction, and you don't understand why? Well there are two reasons for the mother eagle to create such a wind storm, and the first is because the baby eagle's wings are not yet strong enough for flight. The first reaction of the baby eagle is to hold his wings up, straining against the wind. This is difficult for him, but in doing this, his wings are being strengthened. The second reason is because a baby eagle's feathers aren't ready for flight, but there is oil in their body that changes their baby feathers to adult feathers. This wind storm draws out that oil! When there's wind in our lives and we don't understand why God's putting us through it, He is doing it to strengthen us! He's building up the muscles in our wings, and he's helping us grow our adult feathers so we can fly! In the third part of the verse, it says that God is like an eagle "that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions." When it's time for the baby eagle to learn how to fly, momma eagle pushes him right off the branch, then swoops under and catches him. Mom does this over and over until the baby learns to fly! I found it interesting that some eagles take as little as fifteen tries to learn how to fly, while others take over five HUNDRED! Do you know what the difference is between the eagle that learns in fifteen tries and the one that takes over five hundred? It's the attitude of the baby eagle. Remember how in the beginning I said that baby eagles are stubborn? If you haven't made the connection yet, we are the baby eagle. I don't know about you, but I can be very stubborn! Which eagle do you want to be? Because God is going to keep throwing us off that branch until we decide to check our attitude, give it our best shot, spread our wings, and fly with Him. A great quote that I took from this lesson was "God is more interested in your character than your comfort." So next time God is stirring up your nest, creating a giant wind storm, or throwing you off a branch and catching you on His wings, remember that He's doing it to make you better! He is not a cruel God who just enjoys to sit back and watch us struggle, He has OUR best interest in mind! He wants to strengthen us so we can soar!
Needless to say, I have now seen exactly how important it is to take the time to look deeper into the meanings behind God's word. Something as simple as doing a little research on eagles can give a verse a whole new perspective!
Now, to break down the verse a bit so we have a better understanding. First, it says that, like an eagle, God "stirs up the nest." I didn't know anything about eagles, so just taking this at face value meant absolutely nothing to me. However, when Doug described what it meant for an eagle to stir up its nest, it immediately took a new level. When a mother eagle builds a nest for her babies, it's about one meter wide, and one meter high. She lines the inside with soft leaves and feathers for her young, and keeps them safe in this mansion of a nest. Whatever her babies need, she provides! Baby bird seems to have it made; but when it's time for baby bird to learn to fly, she completely destroys the nest! Baby bird has no idea what is going on - why in the world is mom destroying our house? She's gone crazy! Have you ever felt, either in your heart or the circumstances you're going through, that God has gone crazy? You have no idea why He's doing what He's doing in your life? You're so comfortable, why would God stir up the nest just when everything is so great? You being comfortable is exactly the reason. We don't want to just sit idle, staying right where we our in our journey with God. We want to grow in it, to be challenged! Which brings us to the second part of the verse, which says that the eagle "hovers over its young." I don't know about you, but when I think of the word "hover," I think protection, like God's watching over us, making sure that we're safe and that everything's going well. Far from it! Incase you haven't noticed, an eagle's wings are made very differently than a hummingbird's! This is something I had never put much thought into before. For an eagle to hover, it has to rapidly flap its wings, which span from 6-9 feet! It takes more energy for an eagle to hover than it does for it to fly full speed. Needless to say, there's some major wind going on around baby bird's freshly stirred nest. Do you ever feel like God's blowing some major wind in your direction, and you don't understand why? Well there are two reasons for the mother eagle to create such a wind storm, and the first is because the baby eagle's wings are not yet strong enough for flight. The first reaction of the baby eagle is to hold his wings up, straining against the wind. This is difficult for him, but in doing this, his wings are being strengthened. The second reason is because a baby eagle's feathers aren't ready for flight, but there is oil in their body that changes their baby feathers to adult feathers. This wind storm draws out that oil! When there's wind in our lives and we don't understand why God's putting us through it, He is doing it to strengthen us! He's building up the muscles in our wings, and he's helping us grow our adult feathers so we can fly! In the third part of the verse, it says that God is like an eagle "that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions." When it's time for the baby eagle to learn how to fly, momma eagle pushes him right off the branch, then swoops under and catches him. Mom does this over and over until the baby learns to fly! I found it interesting that some eagles take as little as fifteen tries to learn how to fly, while others take over five HUNDRED! Do you know what the difference is between the eagle that learns in fifteen tries and the one that takes over five hundred? It's the attitude of the baby eagle. Remember how in the beginning I said that baby eagles are stubborn? If you haven't made the connection yet, we are the baby eagle. I don't know about you, but I can be very stubborn! Which eagle do you want to be? Because God is going to keep throwing us off that branch until we decide to check our attitude, give it our best shot, spread our wings, and fly with Him. A great quote that I took from this lesson was "God is more interested in your character than your comfort." So next time God is stirring up your nest, creating a giant wind storm, or throwing you off a branch and catching you on His wings, remember that He's doing it to make you better! He is not a cruel God who just enjoys to sit back and watch us struggle, He has OUR best interest in mind! He wants to strengthen us so we can soar!
Needless to say, I have now seen exactly how important it is to take the time to look deeper into the meanings behind God's word. Something as simple as doing a little research on eagles can give a verse a whole new perspective!
Friday, April 18, 2014
Volunteers of America
Hey guys! So just a quick update : last night was my second night of local ministry! This week we broke into our groups, so it was my first week with my team, and my first time at Volunteer's of America. We got to go help clean up the cafeteria, serve dinner, and meet some sweet people! We also got to help out by watching the kids in the play room! I was a little nervous on the way over there, because I'd never done anything like it before. But once we got there and started working, the nerves went away! It was so much fun, and I can't wait to go back next week! I'm excited to see how God uses us in this ministry. :)
Relationships with Dean Sherman!
Alrighty guys!
So this week we talked about relationships and attractions! We watched videos of Dean Sherman, and it was great. I would highly recommend these videos to everyone in the world. He started off by suggesting that "every problem in the world is a relationship problem." When you stop and think about it, he is absolutely right; and the root of this relationship problem is pride. Why do we have trouble relating to others? Why do we have wars? We either believe that we're superior to others (arrogant pride), or we believe that they're superior to us (inferior pride.) Both of which are lies. Now, he covered so much about relationships, and I would absolutely love to sit here and type out everything I've learned this week! But that would take way too long, and I'm sure there's no way you would have the time or interest to sit and read it all; so I'm just going to tell you guys which part really stood out to me.
The lessons weren't all about "romantic" relationships, but it's what we closed the week with, and it's something I've kind've been struggling with lately. We talked about having a "relationship philosophy," and then about "relationship progression." For the relationship philosophy, we talked about how we should 1.) have the right motives, 2.) avoid "dating syndrome," (dating just for the sake of dating) and 3.) that we should give up our rights to sex and marriage. The first two were already obvious to me, but even though I kind've already knew the third one, it really struck me. Giving up the idea of marriage in order to follow God is something I've had a hard time surrendering; even if it is just for this season of my life. I allow myself to believe the lie that if I don't leave time for it, it will never happen. Even though I know it's not true! Dean said that "if we give it up as a right, God can/will give it back later as a privilege." I really liked that. I know God's not going to allow me to be miserable or anything! That's not what He wants for me, He wants me to experience His love. The only true joy comes from Him, and I would never find a fulfilling marriage outside of Him anyway. Then, under relationship progression, Dean talked about how to minimize the chance of getting hurt in "romantic attraction." First, we need to honestly admit to ourselves whether or not we view the relationship as romantic. If you're not sure, Dean gave the perfect example of how to find out - ask yourself how you would feel if that person married someone else. If it's painful to think about, you're romantically attracted to that person. Second, we need to seek the Lord about it. This seems totally obvious, but it's extremely important. We need to seek the Lord and ask whether or not it's a relationship that would glorify Him; don't allow yourself to be in love without seeking God first. Third, make Jesus the Lord of your emotions!!! This is something I have completely failed at. I haven't been a good steward to my emotions. We shouldn't just give out our emotions to anyone who will take them - we need to keep them safely guarded until God gives us the "ok" to go forward with a relationship! Another amazing point that was made was that when we don't allow the Lord to rule our emotions, then our emotions are ruling us. Therefore, we are allowing them to take a higher place in our hearts than God, and that is a form of idolatry. I had never thought of it that way, so I thought that was a really great point! Fourth, we need to communicate the relationship to an objective person. When we're in a relationship, our vision gets extremely clouded, and others can see issues that we can't. It's really important to have that advice from someone who is not emotionally involved in this relationship. Finally, communicate to your parter. Notice that this is the LAST step! Until you have sought the Lord, gotten the ok, and talked it over with your objective person, do not tell this certain guy/girl how you feel! Now, when communicating with this certain someone, make sure the timing is right. If you do it too soon, you could freak them out; but if you wait too long you could just be leading that other person on. Then after you've communicated, and if you're both on the same page, continue communicating! Don't allow your emotions to go past what has already been communicated between the two of you. You don't want to get too far into it emotionally if the other person isn't on the same page.
So that's what I've been working on this week! We need to determine to please God in our relationships, and not just romantic relationships, but in our friendships too. :)
So this week we talked about relationships and attractions! We watched videos of Dean Sherman, and it was great. I would highly recommend these videos to everyone in the world. He started off by suggesting that "every problem in the world is a relationship problem." When you stop and think about it, he is absolutely right; and the root of this relationship problem is pride. Why do we have trouble relating to others? Why do we have wars? We either believe that we're superior to others (arrogant pride), or we believe that they're superior to us (inferior pride.) Both of which are lies. Now, he covered so much about relationships, and I would absolutely love to sit here and type out everything I've learned this week! But that would take way too long, and I'm sure there's no way you would have the time or interest to sit and read it all; so I'm just going to tell you guys which part really stood out to me.
The lessons weren't all about "romantic" relationships, but it's what we closed the week with, and it's something I've kind've been struggling with lately. We talked about having a "relationship philosophy," and then about "relationship progression." For the relationship philosophy, we talked about how we should 1.) have the right motives, 2.) avoid "dating syndrome," (dating just for the sake of dating) and 3.) that we should give up our rights to sex and marriage. The first two were already obvious to me, but even though I kind've already knew the third one, it really struck me. Giving up the idea of marriage in order to follow God is something I've had a hard time surrendering; even if it is just for this season of my life. I allow myself to believe the lie that if I don't leave time for it, it will never happen. Even though I know it's not true! Dean said that "if we give it up as a right, God can/will give it back later as a privilege." I really liked that. I know God's not going to allow me to be miserable or anything! That's not what He wants for me, He wants me to experience His love. The only true joy comes from Him, and I would never find a fulfilling marriage outside of Him anyway. Then, under relationship progression, Dean talked about how to minimize the chance of getting hurt in "romantic attraction." First, we need to honestly admit to ourselves whether or not we view the relationship as romantic. If you're not sure, Dean gave the perfect example of how to find out - ask yourself how you would feel if that person married someone else. If it's painful to think about, you're romantically attracted to that person. Second, we need to seek the Lord about it. This seems totally obvious, but it's extremely important. We need to seek the Lord and ask whether or not it's a relationship that would glorify Him; don't allow yourself to be in love without seeking God first. Third, make Jesus the Lord of your emotions!!! This is something I have completely failed at. I haven't been a good steward to my emotions. We shouldn't just give out our emotions to anyone who will take them - we need to keep them safely guarded until God gives us the "ok" to go forward with a relationship! Another amazing point that was made was that when we don't allow the Lord to rule our emotions, then our emotions are ruling us. Therefore, we are allowing them to take a higher place in our hearts than God, and that is a form of idolatry. I had never thought of it that way, so I thought that was a really great point! Fourth, we need to communicate the relationship to an objective person. When we're in a relationship, our vision gets extremely clouded, and others can see issues that we can't. It's really important to have that advice from someone who is not emotionally involved in this relationship. Finally, communicate to your parter. Notice that this is the LAST step! Until you have sought the Lord, gotten the ok, and talked it over with your objective person, do not tell this certain guy/girl how you feel! Now, when communicating with this certain someone, make sure the timing is right. If you do it too soon, you could freak them out; but if you wait too long you could just be leading that other person on. Then after you've communicated, and if you're both on the same page, continue communicating! Don't allow your emotions to go past what has already been communicated between the two of you. You don't want to get too far into it emotionally if the other person isn't on the same page.
So that's what I've been working on this week! We need to determine to please God in our relationships, and not just romantic relationships, but in our friendships too. :)
Monday, April 14, 2014
Exit 0
Hi!
So, while concentrating on how to update you guys on what I've been learning in DTS, I forgot to share about our first local ministry outing last Thursday! It was so much fun! We got to go help out an awesome local ministry called Exit 0.
It's an outreach that helps out the homeless in a lot of different ways, and it's really neat! We were going to go help with cooking and serving dinner, but because the timing didn't work out, we got to go help them in other ways! We went to their base and the guys helped build a shelf for their storage, and we girls helped sort through a lot of the clothes and things that had been donated. They also told us a lot about what they do and how they got started. They provide daily meals, clothes, toiletries, and other things too! They also have a school bus that they're going to be using to bring showers to the homeless. Not only for them to be clean, but also so they can go to job interviews! This all started with one man and his family who began passing out care bags, gallon sized ziplock baggies filled with several different snack foods, and a pair of socks. Now it's a big local outreach! All because a man decided that, instead of just thinking about making a difference, he would actually take those first steps to doing it! Now they are making a difference in the lives of others, and sharing God's love along the way! :)
The whole time he was sharing his story with us, I was so inspired! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to help out with their ministry, and I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime!
So, while concentrating on how to update you guys on what I've been learning in DTS, I forgot to share about our first local ministry outing last Thursday! It was so much fun! We got to go help out an awesome local ministry called Exit 0.
It's an outreach that helps out the homeless in a lot of different ways, and it's really neat! We were going to go help with cooking and serving dinner, but because the timing didn't work out, we got to go help them in other ways! We went to their base and the guys helped build a shelf for their storage, and we girls helped sort through a lot of the clothes and things that had been donated. They also told us a lot about what they do and how they got started. They provide daily meals, clothes, toiletries, and other things too! They also have a school bus that they're going to be using to bring showers to the homeless. Not only for them to be clean, but also so they can go to job interviews! This all started with one man and his family who began passing out care bags, gallon sized ziplock baggies filled with several different snack foods, and a pair of socks. Now it's a big local outreach! All because a man decided that, instead of just thinking about making a difference, he would actually take those first steps to doing it! Now they are making a difference in the lives of others, and sharing God's love along the way! :)
The whole time he was sharing his story with us, I was so inspired! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to help out with their ministry, and I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)