Oh man. I love these new sisters of mine - hermanas mias.
I just have a few minutes before small groups, but last night was a riot, and I wanted to jot some memories down.
For one thing, a week ago, on Saturday, I challenged all the girls to a one-week dessert fast, from Sunday to Saturday, since we eat like royalty down here, and the brownies are bountiful, to say the least. We all shook on it.
Possibly an oversight on my part: we had conferences here all week. So we find ourselves faced with the apple crumble on Sunday, our first night of the fast. All seems well, until... Paola caves, and eats three.
The rest of the week was a slow, downhill slide, until I at last gave in as well and had some delicious pineapple upside-down cake on Friday night. Oops! :)
And, just before I go, I wish I had the right cable for my camera... I need to post some pictures. The picture I'm craving to post right now is of our room. Last night, while Paola, Michaela, and I were already in bed, lights off, I was off whining about how I'm afraid that Paola, on the bunk above me, will break the bed and smash my head. It creaks, it shifts, and I can push up the entire bunk with my feet. Freaky!
We were suddenly struck with a brilliant idea: remove the bed from the posts, and make one giant, three-mattresses-across bed by placing hers between mine and Michaela's. Done. Michaela then raised the complaint of not being able to get to the bathroom easily in the dark, so we decided to move the bed to the foot of Michaela's, further from the bathroom, right in front of our single dresser. We began to shift, but Michaela's bunk gave us quite the hassle... we ended up having to lift the bed on like a 60-degree angle to get it past, dumping off Paola's sleeping bag, as well as all of our binders and books I'd stacked on it to clear the floorspace.
And so it is, until we get a room check, I guess... there are some sort of furniture rearranging rules we're to abide by, but really, who's going to look those up in the middle of the night?
On another note, we started the Father Heart of God this morning. I am so excited... tearing up within the first 5 min. This man, Joe Ferrante, has good things to say.
And now I'm late! Love you all.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
This is no longer "Short-n-Sweet."
So, I just blogged last night, but the Lord is on the mooove. This afternoon (and yes, it's only 2:30, I know) was a good one! I have work duties in a half hour, so I'll try to be concise.
Allow me to set the stage a little: last night, I was praying for God to fill me with faith. This is not a new prayer for me. Specifically in 2010, faith was a difficult thing for me. Faith became something of an intellectual battle at times, at other times it was something that demanded experiential proof, and in others still it just felt so wishy-washy that I wasn't sure I had any at all. It saddens me to admit that, but I'm being transparent here.
Now then: last night, I was writing to God in my journal, confessing that it would have to be HIM filling me with faith, because I've been trying and it hasn't been working. But I asked. It's something that's been laid on my heart, especially since noticing that verse in Hebrews that states that it is impossible to please God without faith!
Fast-forward to this afternoon: it's small group time, 1:00. We met up at Nix's (one of our leader's) house, all 6 of us girls with her. We listened to "Fly" by Jason Upton, a song I was first shown by Shinae. The background of this, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is that Jason Upton recorded this song of Spirit-led, unscripted worship as the only vocalist... and in the recorded version, he's joined by other voices. If you check out the official story from those involved, they've come to the conclusion that those voices were angels'. Sweet!
But that's not what spoke to me today. (Sorry, I'm jumping around here.) This week, our speaker, Bill Payne, is speaking to us on the topic "Truth Box", highlighting truth (and therefore, the person of Jesus) as the most important aspect of our faith. [See John 18:37 for Jesus saying that it was for truth that He came.]
To connect that thought with the one previous, during this song, God revealed to me the lies and deception that I've come under in the past year that's been stifling my faith: ideas that I was just one of those people who doesn't feel God, who can't connect with Him, who won't be able to walk in His presence and directly within His will... that I won't find intimacy with Him because of the way I'm wired, the way my mind functions, or just because of the unattainability of His Spirit.
But no!! God virtually just swept those thoughts away. I began with thinking about how undeniable the spiritual realm is to me, then moved on to the way He's chosen to reveal Himself to us through His Word, His Son, and His Spirit... I can't explain it. I want to delete everything I've just written because it's not doing it justice, but I don't think I'll be able to get much closer.
Ultimately, God instilled faith in me - He reaffirmed me and the call He's placed on me to be here, and I was touched by His presence. Nix keeps sharing with us more and more of the ways God is shaking up this DTS and changing things from our expectations to His plan, and it's exciting. He's doing things and taking us places that are new for all of us, not just us new students.
Thus, I am encouraged.
And now you know.
Along those lines of encouragement, I'm so encouraged by each comment you guys leave :) Great to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to read and respond!
Allow me to set the stage a little: last night, I was praying for God to fill me with faith. This is not a new prayer for me. Specifically in 2010, faith was a difficult thing for me. Faith became something of an intellectual battle at times, at other times it was something that demanded experiential proof, and in others still it just felt so wishy-washy that I wasn't sure I had any at all. It saddens me to admit that, but I'm being transparent here.
Now then: last night, I was writing to God in my journal, confessing that it would have to be HIM filling me with faith, because I've been trying and it hasn't been working. But I asked. It's something that's been laid on my heart, especially since noticing that verse in Hebrews that states that it is impossible to please God without faith!
Fast-forward to this afternoon: it's small group time, 1:00. We met up at Nix's (one of our leader's) house, all 6 of us girls with her. We listened to "Fly" by Jason Upton, a song I was first shown by Shinae. The background of this, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is that Jason Upton recorded this song of Spirit-led, unscripted worship as the only vocalist... and in the recorded version, he's joined by other voices. If you check out the official story from those involved, they've come to the conclusion that those voices were angels'. Sweet!
But that's not what spoke to me today. (Sorry, I'm jumping around here.) This week, our speaker, Bill Payne, is speaking to us on the topic "Truth Box", highlighting truth (and therefore, the person of Jesus) as the most important aspect of our faith. [See John 18:37 for Jesus saying that it was for truth that He came.]
To connect that thought with the one previous, during this song, God revealed to me the lies and deception that I've come under in the past year that's been stifling my faith: ideas that I was just one of those people who doesn't feel God, who can't connect with Him, who won't be able to walk in His presence and directly within His will... that I won't find intimacy with Him because of the way I'm wired, the way my mind functions, or just because of the unattainability of His Spirit.
But no!! God virtually just swept those thoughts away. I began with thinking about how undeniable the spiritual realm is to me, then moved on to the way He's chosen to reveal Himself to us through His Word, His Son, and His Spirit... I can't explain it. I want to delete everything I've just written because it's not doing it justice, but I don't think I'll be able to get much closer.
Ultimately, God instilled faith in me - He reaffirmed me and the call He's placed on me to be here, and I was touched by His presence. Nix keeps sharing with us more and more of the ways God is shaking up this DTS and changing things from our expectations to His plan, and it's exciting. He's doing things and taking us places that are new for all of us, not just us new students.
Thus, I am encouraged.
And now you know.
Along those lines of encouragement, I'm so encouraged by each comment you guys leave :) Great to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to read and respond!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
No excuses.
So, our lodge now has its own computer!! It's a little chunky, a little clunky, and the slowest at picture uploading around, but it's a BLESSING! [We call it the Dinosaur.]
Today: what a beautiful day; a good finish to a good weekend. It was clear and sunny, cooler than yesterday (which was 19 degrees!), but glorious for January 23rd, I'd say. Enjoyed a lot of outdoorsiness this afternoon... feeling refreshed.
Yesterday I dug into our "Creative Journal", and I am so proud of mine it's probably sinful :P Colouring, cutting and pasting, writing my thoughts and feelings... it really couldn't get much better, as far as I'm concerned. It took some hours, but I've successfully reflected on my first official week of DTS, complete with borders, backgrounds, colour-accents, and illustrations. So satisfying.
Today, we went to Neighborhood Church, which included some good worship (whatever that means, right?) and, instead of a sermon, sort of a family meeting about some switches in leadership and a new head pastor. Oops! Haha. Interesting introduction, but it was still a good morning. Post-service, we drove to In-n-Out (I stuck with my packed lunch, however) before coming back home.
Since we live in this great canyon surrounded by waterfalls and hiking trails, I figured it was time to actually get ONTO one of those trails and hike up to the three crosses on the mountain-hill behind our lodge. The other girls have been able to go because they work the dinner shift in the kitchen and have free time in the afternoons, which is my slot for work duties - and coincides with my would-be free daytime hours.
Weekend hikes it is, then! Paola and I went with our "brothers" Andrew, Brandon, and Tyler (sons of the couple in our DTS). It was fun trailblazing a new way up the uneven terrain, but on the way down, Paola slipped in the mud, then discovered that her camera had fallen out of her pocket! We scoured the ground and eventually hiked almost all the way back up, then slowly made our way down, eyes still peeled, but to no avail. We got within 100 feet of where we'd realized the camera was lost when Tyler found it, lying on dry ground (PTJ!) and only a little worse for wear. Ah, well - like I said, it was a beautiful day, and with food as good as we have around here, a bit of extra hiking is OK with me :)
Later on I brought the GUITAR Brian (on-staff) has so graciously lent to me down to the step behind the laundry room, where I usually retreat to play so that people at least don't hear me quite as clearly. Mmmm, that was a good time on the mossy concrete in the sun. I got tired of that after a while, grabbed my Bible, and headed for the stream. This place is BEAUTIFUL. (And I don't care how many times I say it!) I sat on the roots of this old, gnarly tree that were snaking into the river, right at this rocky little rapid, and wow - there is SOMETHING about rivers ("living water") that I just love.
Today: what a beautiful day; a good finish to a good weekend. It was clear and sunny, cooler than yesterday (which was 19 degrees!), but glorious for January 23rd, I'd say. Enjoyed a lot of outdoorsiness this afternoon... feeling refreshed.
Yesterday I dug into our "Creative Journal", and I am so proud of mine it's probably sinful :P Colouring, cutting and pasting, writing my thoughts and feelings... it really couldn't get much better, as far as I'm concerned. It took some hours, but I've successfully reflected on my first official week of DTS, complete with borders, backgrounds, colour-accents, and illustrations. So satisfying.
Today, we went to Neighborhood Church, which included some good worship (whatever that means, right?) and, instead of a sermon, sort of a family meeting about some switches in leadership and a new head pastor. Oops! Haha. Interesting introduction, but it was still a good morning. Post-service, we drove to In-n-Out (I stuck with my packed lunch, however) before coming back home.
Since we live in this great canyon surrounded by waterfalls and hiking trails, I figured it was time to actually get ONTO one of those trails and hike up to the three crosses on the mountain-hill behind our lodge. The other girls have been able to go because they work the dinner shift in the kitchen and have free time in the afternoons, which is my slot for work duties - and coincides with my would-be free daytime hours.
Weekend hikes it is, then! Paola and I went with our "brothers" Andrew, Brandon, and Tyler (sons of the couple in our DTS). It was fun trailblazing a new way up the uneven terrain, but on the way down, Paola slipped in the mud, then discovered that her camera had fallen out of her pocket! We scoured the ground and eventually hiked almost all the way back up, then slowly made our way down, eyes still peeled, but to no avail. We got within 100 feet of where we'd realized the camera was lost when Tyler found it, lying on dry ground (PTJ!) and only a little worse for wear. Ah, well - like I said, it was a beautiful day, and with food as good as we have around here, a bit of extra hiking is OK with me :)
Later on I brought the GUITAR Brian (on-staff) has so graciously lent to me down to the step behind the laundry room, where I usually retreat to play so that people at least don't hear me quite as clearly. Mmmm, that was a good time on the mossy concrete in the sun. I got tired of that after a while, grabbed my Bible, and headed for the stream. This place is BEAUTIFUL. (And I don't care how many times I say it!) I sat on the roots of this old, gnarly tree that were snaking into the river, right at this rocky little rapid, and wow - there is SOMETHING about rivers ("living water") that I just love.
After a pizza dinner, made by my DTS leader Jake from the week's leftovers (orange chicken and salad toppings), the five chicas watched "Furious Love" together, and now I'm listening to my Guatemalan hermanas chat en espanol while I finish typing this up. Man. "Furious Love": that's a movie. Really, it falls more under the documentary category, but - it just underscores over and over and over again that the heart of God and our call is LOVE. First, foremost, and final. As Jesus said, This sums up the law and the prophets. When He's right, He's right.
Thanks for reading :)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Bear with me, compadres.
Ahhh... my first time with internet access not via iTouch. Here we go!
I'm sitting in an open, brick lobby with a large, real fire roaring, leather couches around and vintage decor. On-staff volunteers, visitors, and DTS students from last semester are mingling around me, all of us feeling a little sleepy from lunch's leftovers smorgasbord. Outside = a foggy canyon sprinkled with rocky cliffs and palm trees. Nice.
It's only been, what, four days or so, but there's already far too much to recount in a single blog post (with less than a half-hour before I've got to run). Let's start with my fellow DTS students!
As some of you may be aware, this is a unique group: 5 single girls and a middle-aged couple make up our team. My roommates are Paola from Guatemala City and Michaela, originally from Perth, but for the past 5 months she's been living in Redding with her parents as her dad attends the Bethel School of Ministry. The other two girls are Kenzie from Fresno, and Nelita, another Guatemalan Latina, from Antigua. The couple are David and Katie, and they drove out from Virginia with their four sons, aged 14 (twins), 9, and 3, who are going to the international school on-base. It's been fun getting to know each other, from the moment I burst into my room at half-past 9 to find sleeping roommates (now woken up!), to today, in the first of our classes as we learned about intimacy with God.
Basically, I'm just stuck on this deep inquisitiveness - why did God pick Chico for my base? I find so much peace in the fact that it was His call. A female-saturated team, a "scouting" (think Joshua and Caleb) outreach to the gypsies in Spain... yet I can't let that steal my heart from where I am here and now; what He has for me in this lecture phase. So excited about the prayer room we have - intercession is definitely something I need to dig into, heart and soul.
My prayer for this season is that I would pursue God EXCELLENTLY. Let's give it all while I'm in such a blessed place, a place where I know I've been specifically called. The unfortunate part is that it’s easy to say nice words, and I can theorize all day about how one must “press in” to places where the Lord leads, but the actual logistics of it remains nebulous to me. The essentials: I need to invest my time, my heart, my faith, my dependence, my talents, gifts, and strengths, my weaknesses, shortcomings, and flawed perspectives – all of it needs to be the Lord’s; His to work with and through and despite. So my relationships need to be transparent, full of accountability, and legitimate. Stop the relational wasting :)
Man, that was rambly! Thank you to those of you who suffered through it. Much love to you, and to those who skipped to the end as well. Hopefully my next update will be both shockingly concise and convincingly spiritual ;) God bless!
I'm sitting in an open, brick lobby with a large, real fire roaring, leather couches around and vintage decor. On-staff volunteers, visitors, and DTS students from last semester are mingling around me, all of us feeling a little sleepy from lunch's leftovers smorgasbord. Outside = a foggy canyon sprinkled with rocky cliffs and palm trees. Nice.
It's only been, what, four days or so, but there's already far too much to recount in a single blog post (with less than a half-hour before I've got to run). Let's start with my fellow DTS students!
As some of you may be aware, this is a unique group: 5 single girls and a middle-aged couple make up our team. My roommates are Paola from Guatemala City and Michaela, originally from Perth, but for the past 5 months she's been living in Redding with her parents as her dad attends the Bethel School of Ministry. The other two girls are Kenzie from Fresno, and Nelita, another Guatemalan Latina, from Antigua. The couple are David and Katie, and they drove out from Virginia with their four sons, aged 14 (twins), 9, and 3, who are going to the international school on-base. It's been fun getting to know each other, from the moment I burst into my room at half-past 9 to find sleeping roommates (now woken up!), to today, in the first of our classes as we learned about intimacy with God.
Basically, I'm just stuck on this deep inquisitiveness - why did God pick Chico for my base? I find so much peace in the fact that it was His call. A female-saturated team, a "scouting" (think Joshua and Caleb) outreach to the gypsies in Spain... yet I can't let that steal my heart from where I am here and now; what He has for me in this lecture phase. So excited about the prayer room we have - intercession is definitely something I need to dig into, heart and soul.
My prayer for this season is that I would pursue God EXCELLENTLY. Let's give it all while I'm in such a blessed place, a place where I know I've been specifically called. The unfortunate part is that it’s easy to say nice words, and I can theorize all day about how one must “press in” to places where the Lord leads, but the actual logistics of it remains nebulous to me. The essentials: I need to invest my time, my heart, my faith, my dependence, my talents, gifts, and strengths, my weaknesses, shortcomings, and flawed perspectives – all of it needs to be the Lord’s; His to work with and through and despite. So my relationships need to be transparent, full of accountability, and legitimate. Stop the relational wasting :)
Man, that was rambly! Thank you to those of you who suffered through it. Much love to you, and to those who skipped to the end as well. Hopefully my next update will be both shockingly concise and convincingly spiritual ;) God bless!
Friday, January 7, 2011
A wee bit of transport troubles
So I have stumbled my way past a little roadblock earlier encountered: the issue of actually getting myself TO Chico. Of course, if all else failed, I could just drive... it's not like I'm going to Australia or something! But, that said, I did get into a bit of a pickle with my arrival.
1. Booked a flight to S. for the day my DTS starts... Realized that "starts" is literal, and though the 3pm flight sounded divinely lax in it's midday timing, I'll be missing the start of my school.
2. Looked into the shuttle that was to take me from S. to Chico... Realized that the last shuttle out departs 50 min before my ETA - no chance of catching that. Researched a little into Amtrak, city buses, and Greyhound, and found my best bet was on the Greyhound, though I wouldn't get to the Chico station till just before bedtime. Shoot.
3. Google Map'd the distance between the S. Airport and the Greyhound station... Realized that they're 12 miles apart from one another. Was counting on a pricier-than-desired taxi ride until I discovered a $1 bus from the airport to downtown S! Yippee!! Only four blocks to walk with 5 months of luggage, and I'm golden.
Good enough for me!! PTJ :)
1. Booked a flight to S. for the day my DTS starts... Realized that "starts" is literal, and though the 3pm flight sounded divinely lax in it's midday timing, I'll be missing the start of my school.
2. Looked into the shuttle that was to take me from S. to Chico... Realized that the last shuttle out departs 50 min before my ETA - no chance of catching that. Researched a little into Amtrak, city buses, and Greyhound, and found my best bet was on the Greyhound, though I wouldn't get to the Chico station till just before bedtime. Shoot.
3. Google Map'd the distance between the S. Airport and the Greyhound station... Realized that they're 12 miles apart from one another. Was counting on a pricier-than-desired taxi ride until I discovered a $1 bus from the airport to downtown S! Yippee!! Only four blocks to walk with 5 months of luggage, and I'm golden.
Good enough for me!! PTJ :)
Monday, January 3, 2011
For starters.
My dear friend KB left me for YWAM Perth this morning. T-minus 10 days until I leave on a jet-plane, too. A lot of excitement over us both doing YWAM in the same semester, at completely different bases. Going to be sweet reuniting after that.
Tonight I'm researching undergrad programs at a couple of universities, trying to figure out my life. Futile, but I've got to start somewhere :) That part doesn't matter, though. This isn't a real blog. The only purpose of this is to HAVE a post before I leave so people have something to follow.
Hope for this: to not write message/email updates, but just be able to have something of an open journal to process what I'm learning, how I'm growing, and things God shows, for those of you who may or may not care. Yay!
Tonight I'm researching undergrad programs at a couple of universities, trying to figure out my life. Futile, but I've got to start somewhere :) That part doesn't matter, though. This isn't a real blog. The only purpose of this is to HAVE a post before I leave so people have something to follow.
Hope for this: to not write message/email updates, but just be able to have something of an open journal to process what I'm learning, how I'm growing, and things God shows, for those of you who may or may not care. Yay!
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