Monica and I with our best Christmas smiles
Adam playing the sax......sideways
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas Pictures
My outreach team (notice my cute haircut)
Monica and I with our best Christmas smiles
Adam playing the sax......sideways
Monica and I with our best Christmas smiles
Adam playing the sax......sideways
From Commissioning to Christmas
On Friday the 21st, my DTS class was commissioned for outreach. It’s a very exciting and special night on the base. After three months of looking……….tired, we take a nap, then we put on our very best outfits, hair and makeup, even jewelry to top it off. The night was led by my amazing school leader, Caleb Brownhill, he’s the red headed Aussie. We went over each school (DTS, Sports DTS, Bible School for the Nations, Community Counseling School, Art Evangelists School, Transformation School, and the Biblical Core Course) and each school had a couple minutes to share what the past three months have been like and testify to what God has done during the lecture phase. It was great to see what’s been happening in the schools, and there were lots of laughs. Caleb introduced each outreach team (there are about 12 teams leaving this week), and we gathered in our teams throughout the auditorium and people gathered around to pray for us. It was a powerful time!
Pictures of 1) the girls on my outreach team, from left to right: Charissa, Chanelle, Amerra, Robyn, Lindsey, Jessica)
2) Friends, from left to right, Robyn, Adam (outreach team leader), Amerra, and Pam (one of my amazing leaders)
3) Most of my DTS class
4) My and Caleb, my school leader and ........... hero!
Christmas came a few days later! The weather didn’t feel like Christmas, over 100 degrees and tank tops everywhere, but the stockings, good friends and lots of yummy food made it feel like Christmas to me. My outreach team met at one of our leaders house for breakfast (see picture), we opened stockings, and enjoyed spending the holiday together. From there I lay on my bed, took a little nap, and read the Christmas story during my quiet time. It was a great morning! The girls of 228 and got all dressed up for dinner (which is really lunch) and headed to the base. The auditorium had been transformed into a beautiful banquet hall, and we spent the afternoon eating, listening to some very special musicians entertain us (my outreach leader, Adam, played a few carols on his saxophone), and participating in the world’s longest gift exchange: 300 people, 300 gifts, and 3 hours of laughing, developing those all-important alliances, and enjoying family away from family. It was a special Christmas indeed!
The 12th and Final Week: Evangelism
Well, I start off every almost every entry by saying our speaker was great. This week I'm typing it enthusiastically! I've made an amazing friend here, Katie from LA. We've been anticipating our speaker for week 12 together because.....it's her dad! Dave Gustaveson is the director of the YWAM Los Angelas, and he's amazing. We laughed, we cried, then we laughed until we cried. The topic was evangelism, and he squeezed it into 3 days of teaching and took time to celebrate Christmas and Boxing day with us. He covered a lot of ground, told tons of great stories about Peter Brownhill, our base founder, and of course his daughter. He encouraged us to live faithfully with what God has given us now: money, relationships, our opportunities to share the Gospel on outreach. etc. When we live faithfully today, God moves us into tomorrow and entrusts us with more responsibility. That's what life is all about!
Week 11: Missions
We had such a great speaker this week. Paul Dangatoumbda flew over from Nigeria, where he's the national director of YWAM. He was an experience: his passion, beautiful accent, colorful clothing, and the revalation he brought to Matthew 28:18, the great commission were captivating. He really brought to light the fact that God created us on this earth for a very specific purpose. When we live out of this purpose, we lack his annoitning and our effectiveness. God's entire heart is to win the lost and edify the church, and everything He does works to accomplish this. Therefore, everything we do should work towards this goal. This week's teaching centered on two things: 1) Hearing the voice of God and 2) Obedience. We can't live out God's purposes for us if we aren't hearing His voice and living in obedience. So, the question is.......What has God spoken to you? What strategy has he given you to accomplish his purposes? I'll be honest, I don't know yet. But when I do, I'm going all out.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Week 10: Freedom in Christ
Eight Principles from Freedom in Christ
1) Deliverance: When the power of the Holy Spirit overcomes the power of the evil one in a persons life and sets them free, it's a sign the Kingdom of God has come
2) Jesus came to set us free, he broke people out of bondage though the power of the Holy Spirit and we are to do the same
3) We don't see a lot of delieverance ministry in the west because the the Gospel is often intellectualized
4) People can be fearful of deliverance, thinking if they have bondages then they aren't saved at all, or because of tramatic past experiences where they have felt circumstances were out of control and don't want to create another circustance like that
5) Generational sin can create bondages in individuals, there will be strong influence or tendancy to be tempted in specific ways
6) You have to want to be set free, no can make that choice for you
7) Bondages can be broken at time of salvation
8) Deliverance puts God's power on display and brings him great glory
1) Deliverance: When the power of the Holy Spirit overcomes the power of the evil one in a persons life and sets them free, it's a sign the Kingdom of God has come
2) Jesus came to set us free, he broke people out of bondage though the power of the Holy Spirit and we are to do the same
3) We don't see a lot of delieverance ministry in the west because the the Gospel is often intellectualized
4) People can be fearful of deliverance, thinking if they have bondages then they aren't saved at all, or because of tramatic past experiences where they have felt circumstances were out of control and don't want to create another circustance like that
5) Generational sin can create bondages in individuals, there will be strong influence or tendancy to be tempted in specific ways
6) You have to want to be set free, no can make that choice for you
7) Bondages can be broken at time of salvation
8) Deliverance puts God's power on display and brings him great glory
Week 9: The Fear of the Lord
God really challenged me during Wednesday morning worship; through a word he gave Richard. In Matthew 17 Jesus asks his disciples who the world says he is. They reply with prophets, a demon possessed man, etc, then Jesus turns to Peter. “Peter, who do you say I am?” I really felt like God was asking me who he is. I had to confess that I don’t know him as well as I thought, or as well as I lead others to believe I do. A line in the song we were singing caught my ear. “And I would give the world to tell your story, cause I know that you’ve called me.” And I was really challenged again, do I really know God’s story? Do I know him myself, or do I just know him through what other people have told me? Can I tell someone about my Fear of the Lord, or just our speaker's Fear of the Lord? Then it hit me hard that I’m leaving in three weeks, thinking I have the answer to a need that everyone have. And I do to a certain extent, but I’m kidding myself if I think I’ve got all the answers. A desperation came over me to know my God more, the God I pray to everyday, and the God I sing songs of praises too. It was an uncomfortable morning, but it was a revelation from Him, he is bringing me closer to his heart.
I had a great day with God on Friday. During lecture on the conversation of my heart, and how those conversations can be sinful, I had a revelation other than realizing how ugly my thoughts can be. I’ve always been such a task oriented person, and I’ve been in ministry with such task oriented person that I’ve never really considered that God can be proud of me when I’m not doing anything. He can be excited over my thoughts, and not just my actions. The other part of this is that because I’ve spent so much time listening for the applause of men, I haven’t had ears to hear the applause of my Father. My relationship with him is suffering because I haven’t been able to hear half of what he’s saying to me, the kind and loving words that I’ve always desired to hear. That evening I got a card from my mom that had pictures of my sisters wedding in it. I couldn’t wait to show people, but I decided to show them to God first and get his approval. I took my pictures to the park and showed them to God. He totally talked to me! He told me I was so beautiful, he told me that he wanted me to know that on the day but I didn’t listen. I thought, that was such a great day, I love thinking about that day. He said that he remembers that day too, and he thought it was a great and really fun day too! It was the most reassurance I’ve ever felt. When I finally did show my pictures to my friends, they made a big deal about them, but it still didn’t compare to the words of my Father. I’m trying to position myself more to hear the simple affirmation from heaven.
I had a great day with God on Friday. During lecture on the conversation of my heart, and how those conversations can be sinful, I had a revelation other than realizing how ugly my thoughts can be. I’ve always been such a task oriented person, and I’ve been in ministry with such task oriented person that I’ve never really considered that God can be proud of me when I’m not doing anything. He can be excited over my thoughts, and not just my actions. The other part of this is that because I’ve spent so much time listening for the applause of men, I haven’t had ears to hear the applause of my Father. My relationship with him is suffering because I haven’t been able to hear half of what he’s saying to me, the kind and loving words that I’ve always desired to hear. That evening I got a card from my mom that had pictures of my sisters wedding in it. I couldn’t wait to show people, but I decided to show them to God first and get his approval. I took my pictures to the park and showed them to God. He totally talked to me! He told me I was so beautiful, he told me that he wanted me to know that on the day but I didn’t listen. I thought, that was such a great day, I love thinking about that day. He said that he remembers that day too, and he thought it was a great and really fun day too! It was the most reassurance I’ve ever felt. When I finally did show my pictures to my friends, they made a big deal about them, but it still didn’t compare to the words of my Father. I’m trying to position myself more to hear the simple affirmation from heaven.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
So, why not women?
As part of our couse work, we have to read a couple of great books. I read Why Not Women? by Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission. It was a great book, and I highly recommend it.............to both women AND men. =) Here is my write up on it:
Why Not Women? is a complete look at the attack of the enemy on God’s creation in women and their gifts, especially as it relates to leadership roles in the church. Through history we can see the oldest and longest battle: our spiritual enemy against women. We can see the enemy’s strategies in this battle as we attacks: the gospel workforce, men and their ministries, women, the character of God, the image of God. We took a detailed look at the past, present, and the future of women in ministry. We walk through the history of men’s beliefs about women, starting in the Garden, and seeping through time into Greek and Roman culture/religion/entertainment, as well as the Jewish culture that Jesus stepped into with his revolutionary teachings. We looked at 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy (which are often misunderstood), and the absolute truths they lay down, as well as the outworking of those truths for the audience Paul was writing to. The authors hopes are that leaders will be good stewards of those they serve by releasing their gifts, that people with differing opinions on women would agree to hear the authors heart on this subject, people who have held women back from using their gifts would repent, that women would live in obedience to God while guarding their hearts against bitterness.
My favorite part of the book, one of the main things I’m taking away from is it the picture the authors painted of creation and how the relationship of Adam and Eve before the fall, the way God created it. The drama of creation intensifies from one day to the next, as God’s creations become more and more spectacular, and excitement builds for the crowning work, scripture crescendos, breaking into poem as the man takes his first breath. It is not good. What happened? Man had a need, and God’s creation reaches it’s climax with the creation of woman. Adam agrees and breaks into song making the first human words a love song. It wasn’t until both male and female were created that it was good, and God gave them equal authority. She was his helpmate, which is a perfectly balanced term: one half meaning more capable, more intelligent, and more powerful, the other half meaning equal. Adam needed help, a partner, and it was good.
The other, more obvious, thing I’ll take away from Why Not Women? is the in depth study of 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. I’ve always known a little about these scriptures that seem to be limiting, that the clues to unlock the meaning is in the cultural relevance to the time. I’ve learned that’s not entirely true. A common method of teaching in the Bible is called ‘interchange’ or the A-B-A-B structure. The author will go from one topic, to a different, yet related topic. Paul uses this structure to teach A) absolute truths in the Bible, and right heart attitudes for all Christians at every time, everywhere B) the relevant outworking of these truths and attitudes for the audience he was writing to. It is often in the scriptures related to the relevant outworking of God’s truth, where misunderstanding and confusion take root, where one might mistake teaching for the church in Corinth, for example, and apply it in today’s church.
One chapter is devoted to 1 Timothy 2, verses 1-15, with a focus on verse 12: “I do not permit a woman to teach, or to have authority over man, she must be silent.” This was particularly interesting to me because I’ve experienced the wrong application of this verse firsthand. In college, one of my best guy friends chose not to go to our midweek Bible study one week because he knew that two women were going to be giving the teaching that week. He was raised in a home where it was taught that women could not teach on the scriptures (although him and his five siblings were home schooled). The to correctly read this verse you must:
1) Look at it in the context of the surrounding scripture. It follows a description of the church in Ephesus, which was in a sorry state (persecuting from the outside, false teaching from the inside). Paul gives instructions on how to pray for that church followed by one of the most emotional verses on God’s heart for the lost. God bares his heart, his deepest longings, “This is good and pleasing to God our Savior, who wants all (humanity, both men and women in the original Greek) to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” People often miss this verse, as they rush on to more controversial issues.
2) The verses Paul turns to the men, he uses a Greek word for this first time in this passage meaning only men, and tells them to pray with their hands raised, without anger or disputing. Paul is telling them, he wants to see their desire “for all to be saved” in their lives, walking in the opposite spirit from those attacking the church.
3) In the next couple of verses, Paul uses a mini-chiasm, first talking to all women, then one specific woman, then again to all women. To all women Paul says, just like the men, walk out your faith in your daily lives by praying in decency and with propriety. Paul is telling them to do the same thing in two different ways. The difficult verse, then, is directed towards one specific woman. This is most important as you unwrap the meaning of this scripture.
Keeping all this things in mind, the authors show us the clues that Paul left us as to why this one specific woman was written about. There is meaning in the pronouns Paul used, other scriptures from Paul to Timothy talking about false teachers and heresies in that church, the differences between unnamed and named false teachers in scriptures, and the reference to Eve and her deception.
After learning more about this verse, it becomes clear how Paul’s instructions for Timothy in dealing with this women, were nothing but kind and gracious. He tells Timothy to teach her, while the education of women was still a very revolutionary idea. He tells her to learn “in quietness and full submission”, which is, when looking at the original Greek, what he told every church member in Ephesus when he said men should pray without disputing and women with propriety. He was telling her to live in obedience to the law, in peace, and without argumentation. In Jewish culture, learning and teaching went hand in hand, there was no separating the two. After you learned something, you taught it, that was the way. Paul was freeing this woman from teaching for a while, making her more available to study the life of Jesus, or “the childbearing” that saved her.
Overall, this book is very freeing for women. It goes back to what God originally intended for men and women in partnership, and what Jesus taught about the value of women. It’s an encouragement to live in obedience of God’s call on your life, while maintaining a pure heart free of bitterness and anger towards who might limit on the basis of gender.
Why Not Women? is a complete look at the attack of the enemy on God’s creation in women and their gifts, especially as it relates to leadership roles in the church. Through history we can see the oldest and longest battle: our spiritual enemy against women. We can see the enemy’s strategies in this battle as we attacks: the gospel workforce, men and their ministries, women, the character of God, the image of God. We took a detailed look at the past, present, and the future of women in ministry. We walk through the history of men’s beliefs about women, starting in the Garden, and seeping through time into Greek and Roman culture/religion/entertainment, as well as the Jewish culture that Jesus stepped into with his revolutionary teachings. We looked at 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy (which are often misunderstood), and the absolute truths they lay down, as well as the outworking of those truths for the audience Paul was writing to. The authors hopes are that leaders will be good stewards of those they serve by releasing their gifts, that people with differing opinions on women would agree to hear the authors heart on this subject, people who have held women back from using their gifts would repent, that women would live in obedience to God while guarding their hearts against bitterness.
My favorite part of the book, one of the main things I’m taking away from is it the picture the authors painted of creation and how the relationship of Adam and Eve before the fall, the way God created it. The drama of creation intensifies from one day to the next, as God’s creations become more and more spectacular, and excitement builds for the crowning work, scripture crescendos, breaking into poem as the man takes his first breath. It is not good. What happened? Man had a need, and God’s creation reaches it’s climax with the creation of woman. Adam agrees and breaks into song making the first human words a love song. It wasn’t until both male and female were created that it was good, and God gave them equal authority. She was his helpmate, which is a perfectly balanced term: one half meaning more capable, more intelligent, and more powerful, the other half meaning equal. Adam needed help, a partner, and it was good.
The other, more obvious, thing I’ll take away from Why Not Women? is the in depth study of 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. I’ve always known a little about these scriptures that seem to be limiting, that the clues to unlock the meaning is in the cultural relevance to the time. I’ve learned that’s not entirely true. A common method of teaching in the Bible is called ‘interchange’ or the A-B-A-B structure. The author will go from one topic, to a different, yet related topic. Paul uses this structure to teach A) absolute truths in the Bible, and right heart attitudes for all Christians at every time, everywhere B) the relevant outworking of these truths and attitudes for the audience he was writing to. It is often in the scriptures related to the relevant outworking of God’s truth, where misunderstanding and confusion take root, where one might mistake teaching for the church in Corinth, for example, and apply it in today’s church.
One chapter is devoted to 1 Timothy 2, verses 1-15, with a focus on verse 12: “I do not permit a woman to teach, or to have authority over man, she must be silent.” This was particularly interesting to me because I’ve experienced the wrong application of this verse firsthand. In college, one of my best guy friends chose not to go to our midweek Bible study one week because he knew that two women were going to be giving the teaching that week. He was raised in a home where it was taught that women could not teach on the scriptures (although him and his five siblings were home schooled). The to correctly read this verse you must:
1) Look at it in the context of the surrounding scripture. It follows a description of the church in Ephesus, which was in a sorry state (persecuting from the outside, false teaching from the inside). Paul gives instructions on how to pray for that church followed by one of the most emotional verses on God’s heart for the lost. God bares his heart, his deepest longings, “This is good and pleasing to God our Savior, who wants all (humanity, both men and women in the original Greek) to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” People often miss this verse, as they rush on to more controversial issues.
2) The verses Paul turns to the men, he uses a Greek word for this first time in this passage meaning only men, and tells them to pray with their hands raised, without anger or disputing. Paul is telling them, he wants to see their desire “for all to be saved” in their lives, walking in the opposite spirit from those attacking the church.
3) In the next couple of verses, Paul uses a mini-chiasm, first talking to all women, then one specific woman, then again to all women. To all women Paul says, just like the men, walk out your faith in your daily lives by praying in decency and with propriety. Paul is telling them to do the same thing in two different ways. The difficult verse, then, is directed towards one specific woman. This is most important as you unwrap the meaning of this scripture.
Keeping all this things in mind, the authors show us the clues that Paul left us as to why this one specific woman was written about. There is meaning in the pronouns Paul used, other scriptures from Paul to Timothy talking about false teachers and heresies in that church, the differences between unnamed and named false teachers in scriptures, and the reference to Eve and her deception.
After learning more about this verse, it becomes clear how Paul’s instructions for Timothy in dealing with this women, were nothing but kind and gracious. He tells Timothy to teach her, while the education of women was still a very revolutionary idea. He tells her to learn “in quietness and full submission”, which is, when looking at the original Greek, what he told every church member in Ephesus when he said men should pray without disputing and women with propriety. He was telling her to live in obedience to the law, in peace, and without argumentation. In Jewish culture, learning and teaching went hand in hand, there was no separating the two. After you learned something, you taught it, that was the way. Paul was freeing this woman from teaching for a while, making her more available to study the life of Jesus, or “the childbearing” that saved her.
Overall, this book is very freeing for women. It goes back to what God originally intended for men and women in partnership, and what Jesus taught about the value of women. It’s an encouragement to live in obedience of God’s call on your life, while maintaining a pure heart free of bitterness and anger towards who might limit on the basis of gender.
Week 8: Relationships
There were three major themes this week: 1) Our relationship with, and understanding of God and how it translates into our 2) Relationships with other people, healthy relationships all around will ensure 3) Healthy relationships with the opposite gender. It was a great week learning about God's expectations for me in relating with other people and maintaining great relationships. In learning how God expects me to love others, I’m learning how God loves me. He loves me with a sacrificial love, that comes after me when I’m the one who sinned against him, the one who broke the relationship, and the one who, by what is fair, should go to Him first. He laid down everything to have a good relationship with me, he gave up his home, his dignity, his power, his own relationship with the Father, he walked the earth while everyone thought he was a complete lunatic, he gave his body over to be tortured and killed, and then he spent three days in hell. He gave it all up because it was better for me. And he did it all 2,000 years before I even acknowledged Him! Hallelujah!
Week 7: The Father Heart of God
This week was major for me. I learned a lot about God's character, and where I've had misconceptions of him. I'm so thankful for both my earthly dad, and my Abba Father.
Here's a bit from my journal to share with you:
I have a better understanding of how loving God is. That’s how I’ve felt all week, loved by God. He’s answered my prayers, and really been faithful in showing me the holes in my life, and how he longs to fill them up and heal me and make me complete. This week was a big struggle, and breaking through some misconceptions about God was really hard, but I felt his arms around me, guiding me, telling me that he loves me. I feel a closeness to Him that I didn’t feel before.
I really heard God’s voice this week, more than previous week. He just talked me through each day this week. On Saturday, I was talking to some girls in 228 about some revelations I’ve had about my family this week, and Grace overheard the conversation. A few minutes later she came back in and told me that she had just prayed and told God that she wanted to hear his voice like I do. What an amazing compliment!
Here's a bit from my journal to share with you:
I have a better understanding of how loving God is. That’s how I’ve felt all week, loved by God. He’s answered my prayers, and really been faithful in showing me the holes in my life, and how he longs to fill them up and heal me and make me complete. This week was a big struggle, and breaking through some misconceptions about God was really hard, but I felt his arms around me, guiding me, telling me that he loves me. I feel a closeness to Him that I didn’t feel before.
I really heard God’s voice this week, more than previous week. He just talked me through each day this week. On Saturday, I was talking to some girls in 228 about some revelations I’ve had about my family this week, and Grace overheard the conversation. A few minutes later she came back in and told me that she had just prayed and told God that she wanted to hear his voice like I do. What an amazing compliment!
8 Themes from Week 6, Authority and Submission
1) God created authority structures to slow down evil, when authority is misused, it speeds up evil; rules/boundaries support are values
2) Ministering one-to-another: use the gifts that God gave you, it calls out the truth in people, and should be part of everyday (especially during worship)
3) Growing up: experience, commitment, specialize, pass it on
4) Get direction from: your financial resources, relationships, and gifts/talents/skills. Steward these well, and God will give you more
5) Time in the wilderness: humbles me, tests me, exposes heart, shows God is we will obey him
6) I can see independence in my life when I: partially obey my leaders, move my commitments around a lot, speak religious garbage (stuff that just sounds good), blame shift
7) Process for support raising: know your need, ask God what to do, then do it (no more, no less)
8) Keep a sharp heart by being: poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, keeping a pure heart.
9) 5 Cancers of the Heart: anger, sexual immorality, deceitfulness, false rights, conditional love
Okay, that was 9. I guess I learned a lot this week!
2) Ministering one-to-another: use the gifts that God gave you, it calls out the truth in people, and should be part of everyday (especially during worship)
3) Growing up: experience, commitment, specialize, pass it on
4) Get direction from: your financial resources, relationships, and gifts/talents/skills. Steward these well, and God will give you more
5) Time in the wilderness: humbles me, tests me, exposes heart, shows God is we will obey him
6) I can see independence in my life when I: partially obey my leaders, move my commitments around a lot, speak religious garbage (stuff that just sounds good), blame shift
7) Process for support raising: know your need, ask God what to do, then do it (no more, no less)
8) Keep a sharp heart by being: poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, keeping a pure heart.
9) 5 Cancers of the Heart: anger, sexual immorality, deceitfulness, false rights, conditional love
Okay, that was 9. I guess I learned a lot this week!
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