The 100 day Season.

October 19th was the last day of the hundred day season I set aside to more intentionally seek God. 

Originally I had planned to come aside three times a day evening, morning and noon as I read in the psalms, just to be in His presence.  Read the word, pray, seek His face.  It never did look like that… I mean mornings are usually pretty easy times to have a quiet time, but I rarely succeed at pulling aside at noon and evening often found me to tired to do all I intended to do in the word. 

I intended to really study the commands of Christ so I knew how to live my life.  I wanted to ask my heavenly Dad how He saw me each day so I could practice hearing His voice as well as get a better grasp of who I am.   Occasionally this happened but not to the extent I intended.

However I look back on the last 100 days and have to admit a lot did happen!!!

I wanted direction and vision for ministry.

Little did I know 100 days ago that I was going to be moving to Wyoming and rejoining Cowboys With A Mission.  Yet here I am. 

I wanted to study the scripture and discover what it meant to live like a follower of Jesus…

Instead one passage rocked my world and instead of trying to live up to a list of commands from the NT I am seeking to live out just one verse well….

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.”

Hard to believe how much has changed in the past 100 days. 

Day 31 0f 100 day Season

It has been an incredible month…still not sure Where God is taking me in this season, but I have enjoyed the extra time set aside to be in His presence.

I had great intentions to “Come Away” at least 3 times a day to seek Him, to pray scripture Morning, Noon and Night….It happens most days, but not every day.  Morning Quiet times have been a habit I have developed since my DTS and something I don't like to miss.  Usually I roll out of bed, grab my bible and phone in the same movement….however the whole pulling aside at noon and at night is a little harder to keep up with.  at noon there are people to talk with, especially in this season down in Kansas City at the School of the Circuit riders, and at night, I am exhausted I usually just get on face book, post some comments about the day, write in my journal and crawl in bed.  there have been a few evenings (3 in the last week, where as I journaled I turned on Netflix and have listened to some funny crime show…..

Last night during the worship, the passage in Revelation was read out about anointing our eyes that we may see God.  Mike Bickel got up and spoke how anointing our eyes was not about literally anointing our eyes but about consecrating them not to look on evil or wasteful things.   I am pretty careful what I watch movie or TV wise, and in a film with a lot of sex or violence I look away or fast forward…but I could not help but feel convicted, this is a season I set aside to behold God, so why fill my eyes with anything wasteful…so for the rest of this season I am choosing to not waste my time with movies or Netflix shows (I don't have a TV)  Pray for me though the newest NCIS comes out in a few weeks and really that something I have been looking forward to for months….I even contemplated waiting a month to shut off Netflix…so spiritual that I am :-)

We need More Unity in the Church!!!

Challenging thought of the day, what are Navy Seal Team 6 known for?

Great Exploits? Intense Dedication? Tight Brotherhood? Unity? Obedience to a cause and submitted wills to a greater good? Willingness to lay down and risk their lives for one-another and for others?

Stories are told, movies are made telling about their heroic deeds and their unity....

Now I love our military and admire and honor their service, but shouldn't the church be the greatest example of heroism, great deeds, team unity & brotherhood, submission and obedience?

Lord, help us, as the Bride of Christ to live in such a way that You are glorified!!!!

6 Days on the Road

We made it!!!!! Myself and 13 others loaded up in a 15 passenger van and headed out of Homer, AK. Our destination was the 2 week school of the Circuit Rider in Kansas City, MO.

This Journey for me actually started last fall, when I was invited to join a team of 30 from Kona, Hawaii who had come to Alaska to spread Revival. I enjoyed traveling around the state with them for 5 weeks. What impressed me most was their boldness. These guys were daring in evangelism, taking every open door available, which is something I have never walked in. The team had just completed a school called the school of the Circuit Riders, modeling themselves after the Circuit Riding Preachers that once criss-crossed our nation. I kept thinking if I ever get the chance to do a school similar to what they did, then I am going to take it.

Than in January I hear that not only will they do another school similar this next summer but they were doing 6 schools, each in a different location. I looked up the location and saw that the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City was one of the locations. I have been intrigued with the Moravians of Europe for years (they had a prayer meeting that lasted for over 100 years, and out of that they led the first and largest missions movements of the protestant Church) anyhow I have always wanted to visit IHOP to see what it is like to be in an environment where people are praying and worshiping God 24x7. So I decided that of all the options for a school I wanted to attend the one in KC.

However as I made plans to go, Lissy and Ian two of my co-workers also made the decision to come. Then one of my guys from the Peru team was invited to join us. Then we had a Discipleship Training School happening and there outreach began the same time so we started looking into having them fly out of Kansas City instead and letting this school be their last week of class and first week of lecture. So soon, the two DTS leaders and their 8 students were coming too.

And that is how we all ended up loading up in a 15 passenger van and spending 6 days on the road to get to Kansas City.

The drive down was great. Not a complaint was heard among this road weary crew. We had some great adventures along the way and saw God provide. Our first day we put in a full 24 hours, but by evening of day two we were all exhausted and wanted out of the van. Not having a stop scheduled or a place to stay we prayed for God to provided and Ian, contacted a church he had once visited years before. Sure enough they welcomed us with Open Arms. It felt good to sleep in a laying down position!

Day 3 we got an early start and again drove as far as possible. We made it to Didsburry Canada where one of our students contacted the church he had attended as a kid. Again we were blessed with a great place to stay. Day 4 had us entering Montana and Wyoming….I was home, and singing old cowboy songs all the way down. I had arranged for the team to stay two nights at the Cowboys With a Mission base. (Partly for them, to rest and get out of the vehicle for a full 31 hours, but also for me to allow me time to see friends and family in the Cody, Meeteetse area.

Our time in Wyoming was great. While I took the day to see loved one; The team got a free trip rafting down the Shoshone River, They killed two rattle snakes on the CWAM property, and several of them attended their first ever Rodeo with me in the evening.

Refreshed and ready to go we hit the road one last time. The signs for Wall drug all along I-90 lured them in to see just what this place was. I did not spoil the fun so kept quiet and kept them guessing as they debated whether or not to stop. They had fun. That night we stayed with 3 families from the Hawarden IA area. My mom and two homes form my church. Each group was a blessed with a home cooked meal! And the church provided everyone with the means to pack a lunch. So with food to go we drove our last 6 hours arriving in Kansas City in the afternoon.

Before leaving Alaska our housing option fell through and so we left AK not knowing where we would sleep for the two weeks of class. But once we hit Montana we had a call form a church, they might have a room we could crash in. As it turns out they have a beautiful building the guys got to crash in, the pastor welcomed Billy and Sam into their home and another lady took in us 4 girls. God has abundantly blessed us.

I too experienced a miracle of my own. I left Alaska with only my tuition paid, part of my gas money set aside and a promise for a 100 that would help with gas. I knew I would have to fast the entire time in Kansas City because I had no food money, and if the crew ended up paying for housing I was going to have to live in the van cause I had no money for a place to stay. During our day in Wyoming, the base in Alaska called to tell me that they were depositing 700 in my account, an unexpected gift from friends. 

We will also get to see God provide on the way home, for of our budgeted 2000 for fuel, we spent 1600 getting the 15 passenger van and trailer down here.  So those of us not going to Mongolia have only 400 to get back :)

Come Away With Me

“Come Away With Me”

Since Peru I have felt like God wanted me to "come away" and seek Him. Specifically I felt like I was to give Him 100 days. I was not sure what that meant or looked like. I even got home and tried to start various times but always something seemed lacking, or my time with Him seemed like always, and I could not help but think this 100 day season needed to look drastically different from The Norm.

This week I heard a teaching on how the Jewish culture would come before God 3x each day.

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. (Psalm 55:17 NKJV)

What if that is it, instead of having a quiet time in the morning what if very purposefully I pulled away to seek Him on a deeper level 3 time atleast?

I also felt like in the next 100 days I really wanted to look at who God is. The image I get when trying to describe the Lord is of a multi faceted gem(is that the right term?). Each cut is unique and reveals something beautiful about God. I want to spend this season exploring His character, His nature, and His names as revealed in Scripture.

So much has happened since I set out on this quest three days ago. For example on the first day I felt the Lord challenge me to again say "Yes" to go where ever He sends me. For the past year and especially the past few weeks I was no longer wanting to stay in missions. I wanted a normal life, marriage, kids, steady income, a house etc. Not only did He ask me to again say yes to go anywhere, I felt He also wanted me to lay down anything I was holding too tightly. Namely, the idea of a husband and my future kids. That was hard, but the hardest part was letting go of a friendship that I hoped would one day be something more. (some of you know that story) Anyhow I always knew the relationship I was looking at would not take me down the road of missions, but I did not care. But God reminding me of my heart and call to the nations, I don’t want to settle for any relationship that will pull me away from that.

Then during a corporate prayer time Some-one very briefly mentioned children being trafficked, abused sold into slavery in a list of things they were praying for. Immediately I thought of Antony the 4 year old from Peru. I began to pray for him and others like him and then I had no words to pray.... just tears. As I wept and prayed...... Never mind I truly don't know how to explain... But it was as though my every muscle was part of the prayer---does that make any sense? Any how I felt God was going to use this season to show me His heart and to redefine my purpose and calling.

Then one of the gals came to me and said that my heart was beautiful, and that God was pleased. And then she added that my children were going to impact the nations. At first this meant very little to me after all I had just given up my desire for kids. She went on to tell me that God knew my yearning to be a mom and that I would have kids, both spiritual and physical. At first her words hurt, but as she kept talking I realized she is sharing what God has asked her to share with me, so even though I laid my desire for kids on the alter God was giving it back.

Later that day I was sitting in my car in the Safeway parking lot, asking God to help me to see myself thru His eyes. I am not overly confident in my ability to hear the voice of God….sometimes I think it is just me or my own desires I hear. But I felt He said that I was beautiful and worth pursuing. This brought tears to my eyes, because it is not a truth I have ever really felt. I then felt like He wanted me to go in and buy some tulips for myself. So I went in, not sure if this was a silly idea from me or a good idea from God, but being mid-summer I did not really expect to see tulips in the store…yet there they were in bright cheerful yellow. It is long story but years ago I had a dream about being married Yellow was a significant color….I had always hated yellow but from that day on it has represented marriage to me. Of course I still think it could be a coincidence. That is until I get home, when one of the gals sees my yellow bouquet and asks if I had bought them for me or for someone else. Embarrassed, I admit they are for me. “Oh…well I should tell you that a few days ago God told me to buy you yellow flowers, and I have not done it yet, sorry.” I was so touched by that. Her words confirmed to me that I really had heard God and that the color was no accident. So in one day God asked me to give up my two greatest desires and then He gave them back.

So I laid down my biggest dreams, and then God gave them back, but set the standard higher. When Nicholsons were here I was telling Sarah how I did not want to do missions any longer and she kept telling me, that today I feel that way, but if I get what I wanted I would realize that it is not what God had wanted for me. Somewhere out there is a man, who is on fire for Jesus, is a strong leader and is passionate to see the church and the nations reached.

Day 2, was also good but in one of those painful sort of ways. One of my leaders was stressed and snapped at me. To which I replied in anger and it set the whole day off on the wrong foot. Listening to the message being shared with the DTS later that morning about how we cannot afford to have bad days, how as leaders we have to live above reproach, how we have to walk in righteousness and love and forgiveness and how we need to be un-offendable. He talked about how if we live in right standing with God and men, then we see life, breakthrough, fruit, and revival. And all along I am going…that is not me. I am not there, today….so it was a convicting day. But that is good. So I can’t complain, part of my prayer was “Lord show me my sin”.

This morning was only day 3 of this Journey, but God sent some great encouragement. I was feeling pretty weighed down by my own failures and weaknesses of yesterday. Unable to shake the “what a looser” I proved to be. Yet this morning I was awakened by a text from Iowa, someone just telling me that God was a giver of good gifts and they hoped my day was better than a cherry on my favorite flavor of ice-cream. It was so random, but in its funny way spoke volumes. The rest of the day was pretty peaceful. I got to spend hours in the word, without distraction. It was awesome. I am not sure what the next few weeks and months really will play out to look like, but if these first 3 days are any hint to it…then I am in for a wild ride!