Exciting News! I’m going to the Philippines!

I’m so excited to have an opportunity to participate in sharing the Kingdom of God with the Filipino people next March! In October,  I was given a list of almost 60 missions trips that Bethel students will be taking next spring and asked to sign up for my top five choices. As I read the descriptions of each one and prayed for the Lord’s guidance, I really felt God was highlighting the Philippines for me. It was confirmed when I was accepted as one of the 40 students going on this trip. I'm anticipating God to show up in big ways during our time with the Filipino people! 

The heart and passion here at Bethel International is to raise up a generation of world changers that will be known for their reckless abandonment to see that Jesus is Lord in all the nations. As Bethel has been building relationships with various regions around the world, they’ve been committed to raising up influencers in these nations so that they can begin to run with the inheritance God has given them to transform their own nation. All of Bethel School of Supernatural  Ministry Trips are partnered with Bethel International’s vision for transforming nations. I’m thrilled that this is Bethel’s heart as one of my passions is also for transformation.

I’m very excited to have Kevin and Theresa Dedmon as team leaders along with Matt and Lindsay Coil.  I’ve enjoyed sitting under both Kevin and Theresa’s teaching in two of my classes so I’m excited to continue to learn from them in the coming months. I’ve had only a few interactions with Matt and Lindsay Coil but each encounter with them has been amazing. They are very familiar with the Philippines as Lindsay is from there originally and Matt was a missionary there for a season. Lindsay is super administrative and has given us a binder of information regarding our trip (a girl after my own heart!). I so appreciate her efforts to make this trip go smoothly!

We will have a variety of opportunities to show God’s love while in the Philippines.  The best way to paint a picture for you of what we’ll be doing while we’re there is to simply share the description Bethel shared with us when we were selecting the trips that interested us:

Miracles, signs and wonders are breaking out in the Philippines which will harvest all of Asia. We have seen government officials, city dumps and churches radically touched in the last two years we have gone. Now it’s time for exponential growth! Be a part of a team that will awaken Filipinos to who God truly is through supernatural healing, joy, signs and wonders, and kingdom creativity throughout the land. Our mission is to set the hearts of the Filipino people on fire with the LOVE of Jesus and release them to the nations! There will be conferences, open air crusades, ministry to the poor, governmental leaders and people of influence. We are strategically setting up places where you can be activated in major cities within the Philippines where there is a hunger for the supernatural and Bethel’s DNA. If you have a heart for supernatural revival and want to be activated to touch all different types of people through preaching, signs and wonders, dance, art, drama, worship and celebration - this is the trip for you! Kevin and Theresa Dedmon will be leading along with Matt and Lindsay Coil. Let’s see God save a nation in one mission’s team! If you are hungry for adventure and passionate about transformation - this is the trip for you!

As you can see – it’s going to be an exciting journey to be a part of! I’m really looking forward to sharing with you how God’s love is spread during our time in the Philippines once I return! Right now, I’m looking for partners – those of you who are interested in partnering with me through prayer support and/or financial gifts.

I need to raise $2,700 to cover my cost of the trip. All of the funds are due by February 21^st. If you’d like to give a gift of any amount (every little bit makes a big impact!) to help make this journey possible for me, you can do so by donating via this link. Your investment is well worth the return – reaching a nation with God’s Word and His love and seeing lives transformed as a result! I’m so grateful for whatever you can give!

I also treasure and appreciate your prayer support. I'm reminded of the importance of prayer from a recent discovery. You see, I learned something very fascinating about the Redwood trees while on my trip to the west coast couple months ago. These trees are the tallest trees found on the earth so you would think they would have really deep roots to anchor them in the ground, right? After all, they are along the west coast and get the brunt of some mighty storms. But the truth is that their roots are actually pretty shallow. So what holds them up on a daily basis let alone during mighty storms? It’s the fact that their roots go wide and interlock with the roots of the other Redwood trees. The connection with other trees helps them keep standing! Isn’t that amazing? It’s a great picture of what we all need – community and connection. What would it look like if these roots signified our prayers for each other? Not only could we keep standing as we do our daily lives, we can withstand the mightiest of storms. What do you say? Will you partner with me in prayer? If you’d like a detailed list of how you can be praying for me leading up to this trip and during it, connect with me, and I’ll send it your way! And how can I interlock my prayer roots with yours? Please let me know how I can partner with you in prayer. Together, we’ll storm the gates of heaven and stand stronger as we see God answer our prayers!

A Glimpse of True Love

I recently finished taking a SOZO class offered at Bethel.  SOZO stands for saved, healed, and delivered. It’s a gentle inner healing/deliverance ministry where the focus is to get to the root cause of those things hindering our personal connection with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not only did I take the beginners training course, I also had my own SOZO appointment at the Bethel Transformational Center.

My SOZO appointment indeed proved to be transformational in my own life. Did you know we gain a lot of freedom when we forgive? J It’s true. Forgiveness is actually the key to freedom. A large portion of this ministry is helping others forgive as well as identifying lies and exchanging them with truth. I took the class because I’m very interested in helping people receive inner healing. Little did I know how much inner healing I would receive as a result of being equipped to bring healing to others...so thankful.

During one of the classes I watched a picture of true love unfold before my very own eyes. There was a ministry time at the end of each class. So during one of the classes, they invited anyone who was feeling hopeless regarding dreams they had to come forward to receive prayer and encouragement. I wasn't feeling hopeless so I didn't go forward for prayer. Instead I stayed in my seat and asked God if indeed I did need to go forward (just to check). When I still didn’t feel the need to go forward for prayer I lifted my head and observed the ministry at the front of the church. There was a long line of people waiting to receive prayer. As I watched the scene unfold, there was a middle-aged lady that caught my eye. She was one of the prayer servants ministering to those waiting in line. The next person to receive prayer was a young man who looked to be in his 20s. She looked at him with such a pure love with joy on her face (yes – she was smiling!) and grabbed his hand and pulled him close as a mother would embrace a son to pray for him. To me it was a picture of God saying through her actions, come here my child - I'm in a good mood, and I love you. In fact I like you. I accept you - there's no judgment or condemnation here. Let's just take care of this thing that's weighing you down and free you to know my love for you and to live out my plans for you. And then let's party!

Watching that one act of this woman loving a younger brother in Christ through her invitation to prayer with no trace of judgment or condemnation gave me a whole new glimpse of what it really means to love each other - what it really means to love as God loves us. It was a glimpse of true love. She approached him with care, with grace, with joy, with hope, with honor, and with true love. How was she able to do this? I think it’s because she’s had a revelation of the Father’s love for her previously….much like God gave me a revelation of His love for me (for anyone really) through her actions. And out of that revelation of God’s love for her, she spread the Father’s love she had received.

There's so much love, honor, and grace lived out here at Bethel that I'm just blown away. They are the real deal. I’ve been here for almost three months now, and I can testify that this is the kind of love that is demonstrated daily. And it makes all the difference. It has brought me a lot of inner healing to just be in this environment where religion (striving to perform and being legalistic about rules/laws) has been exchanged for a true love relationship with Papa God. It’s a relationship where grace really trumps condemnation and unconditional love truly embraces you exactly where you’re at and draws you to a new place where you become a better you. Why?  Because when you allow yourself to be loved by your Creator, you can’t help but become a better you and you can’t help but love others in the same way. The love He gives us is so full and abundant that it can’t help but be spilled out on other people. Just like this woman demonstrated love. Because of the true love she has received from Papa God, the love she experienced overflowed into this young man’s life. And then it impacted me – a mere observer – or so I thought. I love how God whispers to us and encounters us even when it appears that we’re simply observing. So even though you may not be here with me experiencing all of the things I am first hand, I believe you can still receive so much from the Lord as you “observe” what He’s doing here at Bethel. With that said, I pray God encounters you right where you’re at in such a way that you know His true love for you at a greater level – with new revelation that reveals the Father’s heart for you. And as you receive that love, watch out, it can’t help but spill out on those around you! That’s good news, my friend. Don’t you think?

Favorite Holiday Recipes

Happy Thanksgiving! Since I'm in the holiday spirit I thought I'd share a few of my favorite holiday recipes with you. While your Thanksgiving dinner will most likely be long over by the time you read this, there's always Christmas dinner to look forward to and plan for! So here are some more of my tried and true, delicious holiday recipes! We'll start with dessert first. :)

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Serves 8

8 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

1 ¾ cups cranberries

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350, with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tbsp butter. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

2. With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and ½ cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

3. Spoon batter over cranberries in pan, and smooth top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

Aunt Joanie's Crescent Rolls

1/2 cup warm water
2 TBS yeast
Mix the yeast and warm water until yeast dissolves
Scald 1 1/2 cups milk and cool to lukewarm
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup soft butter (tip - melt butter in milk while the milk is cooling)
7-7 1/2 cups flour

Mix the above ingredients together and let the dough raise until it's double in size. Then roll it out in a circle, brush melted butter on top of the dough, and cut into crescent rolls (easily done with a pizza cutter). Bake rolls at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

8-10 medium-size russet baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover, until tender, and drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub a 13x9-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the Parmesan into the dish and tip the dish so the cheese is evenly distributed and adheres to the butter.
3. Place the hot cooked potatoes in a large bowl and add the sour cream, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, ad the chives, if using. Using an electric mixer, beat the potatoes until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add with salt and pepper as desired.
4. Transfer to the prepared dish, dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Diva Do-Ahead Tip: At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. bring to room temperature before continuing. Bake the potatoes until golden, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

(This recipe was taken from Happy Holidays by Diane Phillips)

A Snapshot of Life in Cali

I’m feeling blessed beyond measure these days and am grateful for it all! I’m in awe continually at God’s provision and orchestration of this move to California and would like to give you a quick snapshot of life as I know it now.

I love my new home and my three new roommates! One of my roommates is also the owner of the house, Sharon. Her warm welcome and hospitality has favorably contributed to my smooth transition. Not to mention that it’s as if she was in my head when she decorated my room! I instantly felt at home when I first saw it. In addition, we both share a love for flowers. In fact, fresh cut flowers from one of the many blossoming plants in the yard are a constant companion in our home. That for me, my friends, is like God placing an extravagant garnish on my dinner plate for life. I’m learning a lot about God’s extravagant love for me – and this is just one tangible expression of that.

My other two roommates are also incredible women of God. Most of you know the amazing story of how I got connected with Sarah. But if not, it’s worth taking your time to check it out this previous blog post. She has proved to be an invaluable gold mine of wisdom and knowledge. I’ve made her my “go to girl” with any questions I have regarding things I’m learning at school since she’s now a second year student and has great experience in things I’m only now being introduced to. We come from very similar backgrounds, so I’ve found she can often relate easily to my questions. She’s quite gracious in answering them as well. And my other roommate, Beena, has instantly become my school buddy since we’re both wading through the first year of BSSM together! She also has amazing insight and wisdom of which I’ve already gleaned from as we’ve processed our classes, assignments and life in general together. We’ve realized that all three of our personalities are very similar. In fact, our habits are so similar that we all have pretty much the same sleep schedule. This is a huge gift and creates an ideal study environment. So thankful!

BSSM is not a traditional school so I’d love to explain it as best I can here. There are about 900 students enrolled in the first year program at BSSM. We have classes in the afternoon, Monday – Thursday. It’s kind of like a yearlong conference because all 900 of us gather in the church sanctuary for class each day. We’re so blessed to have the senior church leaders (Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton) speak to us on a weekly basis. We also have two Bible teachers and a couple other Bethel leaders that teach us regularly. And from time to time we have guest speakers from around the world.

In addition, we have the privilege of receiving instruction in a more intimate setting via our Advanced Ministry Training (AMTs) classes. These are six week classes that focus on a certain topic. I’ve just finished my first AMT: Healing – Kingdom Foundations taught by Kevin Dedmon. It was amazing! God healed several people during every single class! Thank you, Jesus! The longer I’m here, the more I realize what a rich spiritual inheritance is all around me. I’m soaking it all in, believe me!

As you can imagine, one could easily get lost among 900 classmates. So they’ve done a superb job of not allowing that to happen by placing us in Revival Groups of about 70 students. Each Revival Group has a pastor as well as a team of Interns (3rd year BSSM students) that we meet with throughout the year. I’ll meet with my Revival Pastor one on one at least once this year. And I’ll meet with my assigned intern one-on-one between 4-6 times this year. I meet with my entire Revival Group once a week as well as my small group of 4 amazing women who are also in my Revival Group. So I’m spending time with my Revival Group family at least two days a week during a portion of the school day.

In addition to receiving great teaching and fostering community within our Revival Groups and other BSSM students, we’re each assigned to an outreach for the year. One of the things I really appreciate about Bethel is that they go beyond teaching in the traditional sense (with the main focus being head knowledge) and actually create a way to implement what we’re learning. Our outreach ministry is one of the major ways we get to be activated i.e. we move from book knowledge to applying what we’re learning to real life. They’ve created a safe environment in which we get to take risks – meaning we get to practice taking steps of faith with honor and love. We get to do all of this under the love and guidance of people who are a little further in the journey than we are and who have great experience. I’m really excited about my outreach for the year! It’s called Sidewalk Sunday School! It’s basically what the name says – we take Sunday School to the sidewalks of the city and tell children about the Good News through a variety of means including drama. We’ll be in interacting with and loving children along with their family members. We just began participating in Sidewalk Sunday School a couple weeks ago and it’s off to a great start! I’m looking forward to sharing more with you about that in the near future.

All of the activities I’ve described to you take place during school hours. Beyond that, I attend two church services a week – one of which is a service where we simply sing/pray/worship God and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in how He’s ministering during the service. Because our first ministry is to God, we worship with extravagant joy and gratitude almost every day at school and during every weekend service. It’s pretty amazing. We also have a hefty load of reading we’ll be doing outside of classroom time. By the end of the year I will have read 3,167 pages from assigned books – all of which I’m excited to read! This doesn’t include our Bible reading which entails about two chapters a day – also super excited about this Book. :) As you can see, between homework, school, church, site seeing, the occasional extra things that come up and hanging out with my new friends, I keep a pretty full schedule. 

While I’ve learned a lot already in my short time here, the thing that has most impacted me thus far is the culture of love and honor that Bethel has fostered and truly lives out on a day to day basis. I’ve witnessed it from the senior leadership to the prayer servants who minister at the end of each service. God’s grace and love in this place is so thick that transformation is bound to happen to anyone who spends time here. My heart swells with gratitude for what I’ve been given in this season and for what is yet to come. Stay tuned – more exciting updates are sure to follow!

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

Are you familiar with the scripture verse in Nehemiah 8:10 that says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”? My guess is most of us have heard it – and have even quoted it while going through hard circumstances. But have you really understood the impact of this verse? I received an entirely new understanding of it today during one of my classes. And I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you – you’re life may never be the same after you finish reading this! Are you ready? Here we go!

Today I was reminded that sometimes joy is a choice as I listened to our guest speaker in our Healing – Kingdom Foundations class. Joy is also a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23). Our guest speaker, Christina, told us about an amazing experience she had while she was on a mission’s trip seven years ago. There’s no way I can capture her story as she told it in full detail, but I’d love to share parts of it with you. During her devotions one morning she was singing scriptures back to God because her Mp3 player battery had died. While she was singing the scriptures, God showed up and she started laughing uncontrollably for quite a long time. I’m talking more than an hour at least. There was nothing funny happening – she was just consumed with the goodness of the Holy Spirit and laughter was the result. Someone came to her and asked her to pray for a woman to be healed from an ailment. She had no idea how she would pray because she couldn’t do anything but laugh! But she went to the woman and faithfully placed her hand on the woman while still laughing and immediately the woman was healed! This made Christina laugh even harder because she’d never seen someone be healed by simply being laughed over. Laughter released the goodness of heaven and with the release of the goodness of heaven, healing came! Since then, she’s seen many people be healed from various illnesses – including cancer, injuries, and even one who was on his death bed - just by being laughed over. During today's class we heard a testimony of a lady who had lung cancer and someone laughed over her. Before anyone laughed over her, she was at a pain level of nine. As she was laughed over the pain level continued getting less and less until it was at a level one! Incredible! Today several people were healed during our class from various thing including migraines, knee pain, and a hip injury - and all we did was laugh over them. God is so good! Not only that – but He’s always in a good mood – ready to love on His precious children – you and me.

I don’t know why this is such a surprise to me – after all being healed through laughter is Biblical. Proverbs 17:22 says, “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.” Good medicine, huh? Christina asked us a great question – why don’t we simply take a pill of joy in the morning before we take any other pills? When she came back from her missions trip, life wasn’t always easy. Bills had to be paid and invariably other tough situations arose. After having that encounter with God and fully experiencing joy, she was asking God what that meant for her life when things got tough. I should mention here that prior to this joy encounter with God, she wasn’t a very happy person. In fact, her kids wondered who this new woman was when she got home. So she contemplated how she was going to steward this gift of joy and realized that joy is a choice sometimes. It doesn’t have to be based on your feelings. In the midst of pain, there can be joy. In fact, laughter releases serotonin which actually gives relief to pain.  Think about that next time you stub your toe – and laugh.  The bottom line she came to was your circumstances don’t have to dictate where you live. When we’re looking at things through God’s perspective, everything changes.

So – let’s bring this down to practical life. What circumstances in your life are getting you down, discouraged, and grumpy? Is it bills you can’t afford to pay, poor health, strained relationships, all of the above or something entirely different? What if we laughed over the situation? Christina decided to do just that one day. After choosing to laugh, she ended up laughing for two hours! Immediately after that she noticed her circumstances shifting. She started seeing answers to her prayers. She realized she had accomplished more in those two hours of laughing than she had ever done in eight hours of fretting and stewing when she thought she was “praying”.  Her default button had once been tears and fretting – now it’s laughter. And how does she steward that? She chooses joy even when she’s not feeling like it. She chooses to laugh at the enemies schemes. One of her spiritual mothers gave her this insight – joy is not a language the enemy understands. Think about it. If we were to start laughing at every speed bump and stumbling block that were thrown our way, the enemy would be quite confounded as to why we’re responding in such a joyous way. I don’t know if I would have thought of joy as my first weapon when it comes to the enemy – but it’s looking pretty good now that I’m more aware of its power.

Let’s go back to the first scripture I shared with you, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” My “AHA” moment came today when Christina said this, “If the enemy steals your joy, he gets your strength.” Whoa!  Been feeling tired  and weak lately? Hmm…maybe it’s time to check our joy meter. And if we’re running on empty, let’s get that joy meter going over and above the fill line!

So what’s your default button when hard things are thrown your way? I know that as of this morning my default button was to get annoyed or even turn to tears. But as of tonight and this day forth, I’m choosing joy even when I don't feel like it. Why? Because I have a good Papa God who’s always in a good mood, who loves me and who loves to give His kids good gifts. He loves to have fun with His children. He’s come to give us fullness of life – fullness of joy. I don’t know about you, but I certainly want to receive that gift! Who wants to join me? Do you know how to laugh if you don’t feel like laughing? Repeat after me:

Ha! Ha! He! He! Ho! Ho!

Come on – say it out loud – you know you want to. Nobody’s looking – and if they are you can have a big laughing party. It’s fun! Repeat until the laughter bubbles forth naturally. Still not feeling it? Just ask God to release the goodness of heaven over you and let the laughter come forth. It will happen – trust me…better yet, trust God!

Journey To Cali: Part Five

I do believe it’s way past time to bring this little series home! I’ve been a little side tracked with this thing called homework. But today, I’m determined to wrap up this little journey for you!

My next stop after Laramie was Elko, NV. There’s really not much in Elko – but it did have a few hotels and it was a good stopping point especially considering there was a pool and hot tub waiting for me at my chosen hotel. There’s really no way I can tell you every detail of this day trip – so I’m choosing to hi-light three points of interest.

1)      While at a rest stop I realized it was a part of Bear River State Park. As I looked around I saw this – and it made me laugh!

2)      The whole journey to Cali held beauty but I found that my vote for most regal mountains were the ones surrounding Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of them. The mountains around Tahoe Lake rank right up there with the Salt Lake City Mountains for splendor. It’s a tie in my book.

3)      After passing through Salt Lake City I entered into the Salt Flats.  This stretch looked like white beach sand with desert shrubs sprinkled throughout. It’s pretty much a dessert and there’s not much on this stretch of I-80 except for this random abstract artistic sculpture called Metaphor: Tree of Life. There are no restrooms or amenities nearby, not even an exit to see this piece of artwork. The only thing you can do is stop, read the plaque that’s there, and snap a few pictures – although it’s technically illegal to do so! It wins the most random thing I saw award.

My final day on the road encompassed a little respite at Lake Tahoe! But before I excited Neveda, I got another good laugh from this little sign outside a restroom at arrest stop.

I’m guessing they’ve had issues with people bathing at the rest stop although it’s beyond my imagination as to how someone would bathe very successfully let alone want to in such a public area where the only amenities are a sink and a toilet. Hmm. Anyway take the sign out of context and it sounds like a ridiculous statement – one that gave me a good little laugh.

Lake Tahoe was gorgeous. Snow capped mountains peppered with evergreen trees encompassed the lake. The water was crystal clear albeit cold. The temperature was 75 degrees and sunny – I couldn’t have picked better weather for my visit. I only had a couple hours to enjoy the lake so I quickly ate some lunch and then parked myself at the end of a pier to just soak in the beautiful view. I’d love to go back someday when I have ample time and experience more.

I entered one of the most beautiful drives of my whole journey when I got on Route 20 North. This route entailed winding roads going up and down and around the mountains. If I was to get car sick – this is the place I would have done so. Thankfully my prayers and the prayers of many of you were answered as I was able to drive easily through this area without getting dizzy and/or nauseous. Both sides of the road were lined with pine trees for many miles. The trees were so tall, so regal looking, and so evenly lined up along the road that I felt like I was in one of those sword tunnels for royalty. It was as if I – the daughter of the King – was being welcomed to my new home. It’s a precious memory and one I won’t soon forget.

A snow covered Mount Shasta was my focal point upon my arrival to Redding. I arrived at sunset and was amazed at all the beautiful mountains surrounding the city. This photo isn't one I took upon my arrival, but it is one of the sunset in my neighborhood and will give you a good idea of the beauty that surrounds me daily.

In addition, I was shocked to see all the blooming bushes around. It looked like spring to me! I was assured by Sarah that spring is even more stunning – looking forward to that.

I was received with a very warm welcome from Sharon and Sarah that included a warm dinner! Joy continued to bubble up in my soul as I was introduced to my new home and quickly saw that it was better than I could have ever imagined. I felt at home in my new room immediately and am so thankful for that. I've really been blessed beyond measure here.

The next morning I woke up and read this from Sarah Young’s devotional, Jesus Calling. It's written from the perspective of Jesus.

“In closeness to Me, you are safe. In the intimacy of My Presence, you are energized. No matter where you are in the world, you know you belong when you sense My nearness.”

Could that devo have not been more appropriate for my first day in my new home? I think not. It’s so true too and a good thing to keep at the forefront of our hearts and minds in this culture where moving is the norm. For now, my new place has become home sweet home. I do feel a sense of belonging and that is a result of sensing God’s Presence - which happens to be very thick in this land flowing with milk and honey. I’m living it up, soaking in every moment because I know how fast time flies when you’re having fun. 

Journey To Cali: Part Four

I can’t even begin to express to you how thankful I am that I planned two days of pure rest into my journey to California. It was so wonderful to sleep in on my second day of scheduled rest. Laura was a lovely host, and pointed me to one of her and Joel’s favorite hiking spots called Vedauwoo.

It’s a popular place for rock climbing and hiking as there’s a compilation of huge rocks that literally look like a mountain (yes - the rocks are that big as you can see above) and a lovely trail the loops around it called Turtle Trail. I thought that was appropriate since I had such a fascination with turtles while growing up.

The hike was quite refreshing after sitting in a car for over twelve hours the previous day. One of my favorite things to do is spend time in nature enjoying God’s creation and marveling at how magnificent God is. After driving across the USA, I understand God’s diversity in His creations at a whole new level. And all of it is so beautiful!

As I was awe struck by the rock formations surrounding me, I thought of what it would be like if all the rocks cried out as scripture mentions in Luke 19. The praises coming from these rocks would be quite loud and rambunctious because they’re so big! Verse 37 of Luke 19 says, “When he (Jesus) came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.”  I think I can understand their sentiment and am anticipating joyfully praising God at the top of my lungs this year as I continue to see my God of Love do miracles for His glory and the good of His children.

I also thought of the Lord being my Rock, my fortress, my tower of safety as I marched around this mighty rock formation. As I was reading my Bible shortly after the hike, I especially took note of Psalm 61: 3 & 4 as it captured all that was welling up in my soul earlier. It says, “Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!” This is exactly what the Lord has done for me. What a precious gift! And it’s available for everyone – that excites me even more!

My only disappointment for the day quickly turned into a funny thing later when I was sharing it with Laura. At one point I decided to remove my sunglasses and hang them on my shirt since the path had turned shady. It wasn’t until near the end that I realized at some point they had slipped out of my shirt and fell. I was shocked because I hadn’t even heard them drop on the ground! I was so enraptured by the beauty of my surroundings it didn’t even phase me when they fell. I was sorely disappointed when I first realized I had lost them because these were no ordinary sunglasses. I had purchased them specifically for my season in California. While they were a bargain price, they still had a little bling, bling on the sides which made them perfect for my time in Cali. I was quite humored by Laura’s response when I told her what had happened. She mentioned that there would be one happy chipmunk with a new toy. As she said that I immediately got this image of a chipmunk running around the forest wearing my sunglasses. That one gave me a good belly laugh and somehow made the loss a little more manageable. I’ve since replaced them with a new pair. There’s no bling, bling on these but the price was right and they will certainly do the job!

I ended my afternoon of adventure at the perfect little place, Coal Creek Coffee Shop, and indulged in the best deli sandwich I have ever tasted – smoked turkey pesto - accompanied by a creamy caramel latte. Yum! Heaven knows I was hungry after that hefty hike!

Journey to Cali: Part Three

My longest day on the road was from Kansas City, MO to Laramie, WY. It was almost 12 hours of driving time but ended up being more than that after making stops, etc. I had heard lots of negative comments about driving through the state of Kansas but I found it to be quite enjoyable. It was probably the easiest part of my trip because it was flat in comparison to the rest of my trip. I guess I didn’t know what I was missing either since I had yet to get into the really beautiful landscape. Toward the end of Kansas, I saw two huge fields of sunflowers! Their heads were laden down with seeds.  It was a wonderful reminder of God’s love for us. Whenever I see sunflowers, I think of Psalm 57:10 that says:

“For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”

These magnificent flowers grow so tall and their blooms are so big, I can’t help but be reminded of God’s love, grace, peace, and joy that stand over us – taller than we can even fathom (as high as the heavens!) and are bursting forth with the biggest most beautiful blooms. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get a drive by photo of these lovely reminders of God’s love. But I certainly took a mental note and received the message of God’s love for me gladly.

I learned to stop for gas often – and often means whenever it looked like a gas station existed at the upcoming exit. By the end of the trip I had grown accustomed to the exits with signs saying, “No Services Available this Exit.” I never knew when my next opportunity would come – so I seized the moment when I saw gas was available.

The Colorful State of Colorado didn’t look much different until I reached the outskirts of Denver. It was there I saw my first set of mountain ranges. It was breathtaking. In fact, I was so excited I’m pretty sure I squealed.

At one point toward the end of this long day of traveling I had a decision to make – a fork in the road so to speak. I debated staying on the well traveled interstate or taking highway 287 to Laramie - a more direct route but one I had no idea of what to expect. There’s a certain level of risk when going off of the interstate and entering a hwy that you know will be going through the mountains – and this at dusk. I decided to take my chances when I saw a sign saying 287 to Laramie. The risk quickly turned into a reward as it became evident that this was going to be a beautiful drive.  It was a good reminder of an important life lesson: rewards often follow risk taking. In fact, it’s been said the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I have a feeling I’m going to be learning a lot more about this principle this year!

By this time, I was pretty exhausted. Mostly my eyes were strained from driving so long. In addition I had just come through an amazing storm. A storm in the Midwest is completely different than storms in wide open spaces. I saw it coming miles away and it took a good half hour before I felt the effects of it. The first thing I saw from a distance was a magnificent lightening show. I watched the lightning bolts go from cloud to ground. It was incredible and frightening all at the same time. I was in awe of God as I watched the remarkable storm before me unfold.

For some reason – storms remind me of God’s strength and power. The wind was so strong I thought my bike was going to rip right off the back of my car so I decided to stop at Bennett, Colorado (appropriate don’t you think?) to make sure it was tied on securely.

Once I got on Highway 287, the wind got even stronger and I saw tumble weed fly across the road in front of me. The view was breathtaking though as I wove around the mountains in yet another storm – or perhaps it was the same band of storms I had just driven through. As soon as I entered Wyoming, I saw a sign that said, “Possible Strong Winds Ahead.” I had a great big laugh at this considering I had just fought the wind for at least 30 minutes!

Pretty soon the sun came out and it was raining simultaneously! As I looked to my right I saw the most brilliant double rainbow! So I did the smartest thing ever – I practiced drive by photography. J I actually don’t recommend it. Thankfully nothing bad happened in spite of my stupidity.  God spoke to me through the double rainbow and confirmed a Word of prophesy that had been given to me just the day before at IHOP. Check it out - do you see the rainbows in this photo? One of them ends at my bike seat and the other at my bike's handle bar?

Here's another photo I took while my car was stopped due to construction. I find it quite interesting that fireworks are at the end of this rainbow. :)

Even though I was tired from the long journey I noticed there was great beauty in a storm like that – and there was even more beauty afterwards. It made me think of the storms in my own life – and how God has brought me to a place of being able to look upon those storms and see the beauty in them. Some of those storms are over, and I’m experiencing the rainbow after the storm. There are some storms I’m still in the middle of – but I’m clinging to the promise of a rainbow soon to come and in the mean time I’m enjoying the beauty in the midst of the storm. I pray God gives you the grace to do the same in whatever storms you’re facing.

When I arrived at my friends, Joel and Laura Pontius, I  felt so loved and taken care of as Laura fed me some delicious elk stew and quinoa salad. Their house was so inviting and truly a place of rest. After dinner I promptly hit the hay glad for a lovely place to sleep and excited for the adventures my next day would hold in Laramie.

Journey to Cali: Part Two

Have you ever been in a place where God’s presence is so thick you’re overwhelmed with joy and gratitude? If not, I suggest you visit International House of Prayer in Kansas City. I was strategic in planning  IHOP in Kansas City as one of my pit stops on my way to Redding. Why? Well, it was on my way home from my first visit to IHOP that God confirmed my move to Redding. I thought it appropriate that I go there on my journey out west and ask God to use it as a platform for this next adventure. I believe that’s just what He did.

It’s amazing to be in a place where hundreds of people are there with the purpose of worshiping God, encountering God, and interceding for the things that are on the Father’s heart.  As I sat in the prayer room my heart swelled up with gratitude for what God had done for me in the first leg of my trip. The worship band was singing, “I believe you move at the sound of my voice. You heard my cry and you answered me.” These lyrics ring true in my own life as evidenced by the amazing journey I had coming to Redding! The next song the praise band sang had these lyrics: “So shall I be saved from my enemies - You lifted me up higher, and higher.” As these words washed over me I came became keenly aware of how God had been saving me from my enemies on this journey to Bethel. I felt so at peace, secure, safe, and careless in God’s care the entire trip. I know that was a beautiful gift from God. My thoughts floated back to an incident that happened around lunch time earlier that day during my road trip to Kansas City.

I stopped at a gas station to retrieve food from my cooler when I noticed a grandfatherly fellow who was parked next to me. As I was gathering my lunch, he said to me that it made him really sad when he saw girls like me. I thought this was a very interesting statement. What made him so sad? So, I asked him. He said because he and his wife had noticed a trend over the years that it was pretty girls like me who are alone that come up missing and it made them really sad. I responded with an assurance that rose up so strongly in my spirit saying, “Yes, but you know what? I serve a BIG God and He’s placed mighty angels around me and my car to protect me.” He then looked at my car and it was almost as if he was seeing the angels himself as he said, “yes, He has.” And then he proceeded to tell me that God had put angels around him when he served in the army in Germany. We parted ways saying, “God bless you” to each other. I praise God that He brought that truth to my heart and mind in a moment when I could have decided allow fear to journey with me. Fear makes a terrible travelling companion. I’m so thankful for that resolute truth of God’s protection over me and the rest in God that followed.  

Another gift God gave me that day was near Effingham, IL. As I looked to my left I saw a huge cross – at least three stories high – probably higher! It made me smile and it was as if everything I’ve done to take this journey to Bethel came into clear focus with that cross as a part of my journey. I wasn’t quick enough to do a drive by photography shoot nor did I stop to take a photo – but I found this image of it on google so you can have an idea of what I saw.

While I was at IHOP I was greatly encouraged by spending time in the Presence of God and worshiping Him with my brothers and sisters in Christ. One of the most encouraging ministries IHOP has is their prophetic ministry where a team prophesies over you out of 1 Corinthians 14. They do so for the comfort and encouragement and exhortation of the body. It’s an opportunity to receive encouraging Word from the Lord specific to your life and what God is bringing about for you. They don’t prophesy dates, mates or direction and ask you to take everything that is prophesied over you up to the Lord and inquire of His heart regarding everything that is said because they prophesy in part and the Lord fills in the details regarding what is said over you. One thing I’ve learned about prophesy is that the receiver is just as responsible as the giver. For example, the receiver is responsible for inquiring of the Lord to fill in the details and also to cast aside anything that is not from the Lord. The two times I’ve been prophesied over at IHOP have both rung true in my life and were a great encouragement. If you ever visit IHOP, I highly encourage you to sign up to receive this ministry. But do so online before you go because their open slots fill up weeks in advance. They do allow for last minute sign ups if there’s space – but I wouldn’t count on getting in last minute.

Not only was I greatly encouraged by the ministry at IHOP, I had the joy of spending time with my good friend, Ericka Smiley. I was so thankful for her and her housemates' willingness to host me for two nights. Ericka is so in love with Jesus, and I always learn from her. I was reminded of the beauty of stopping and praying in the moment when a need is recognized and/or when my heart wells up with gratitude to what God is doing. Ericka has captured this lovely habit so well. My last night there we decided to walk to IHOP (it was only a few minutes away). That evening the prayer room was a huge praise party! I felt like God was sending me off to Redding by filling me up with a bubbling fountain of joy that He gave me as I joined that awesome praise party to God. I also felt like He was saying, this is only the beginning of much joy to come. What a gift! By the time we left it was dark outside. While we were walking home, I noticed a car coming toward us with very loud (not so positive) music. I could clearly see there was a young man driving it. My first instinct was to pray to God for protection. Guess what Ericka’s was? To pray for his heart and for his salvation. Now that, my friends, is a Kingdom prayer. One driven by compassion instead of fear. That’s not to say praying for protection wasn’t legit. I believe it was. But that prayer coupled with hers rounded out what could have been a lopsided prayer. Just one way I think God uses the body of Christ. We need each other.

All in all – my time in Kansas City at IHOP was amazing and a great launching pad for what’s to come in this new season. Next stop: Laramie, WY!

Journey to Cali: Part One

I’ve been caught up in whirlwind of transition these past few months and it’s hard to believe I’m finally in Redding. The day I loaded up on my earthly belongings in Fort Wayne was bittersweet. I was surrounded by friends and family I loved which made it sweet. The bitter part sunk in right before I left town. I had been praying that the Lord would help me to grieve well ever since I knew I would be leaving people and places I dearly love. He was so faithful to help me do that over the few months I was preparing to go. But I had one final ugly cry (seriously!) right before leaving Fort Wayne. I must have needed it because there certainly was no stopping it!

The week that followed encompassed time finalizing a few details but mostly resting before my long journey out west. I was so thankful to have about six days in Bloomington to become acquainted with my future home (God willing) and relax. While I was there the Lord really spoke to me as I was reading Ezra one day. I sensed the Lord saying it was important for me to have my trip out West covered in prayer. I was aware of this but it seemed like God was hi-lighting the importance even more when I was reading about Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem and how he called together those who were going on the journey with him to pray and fast. They spent a concentrated time in prayer about their journey before they left and we see in verses 23 and 31 of chapter 8 that the gracious hand of God protected them and saved them from enemies and bandits along the way.

I found it quite interesting that Ezra felt he would be abandoning God if he asked for the King’s soldiers to accompany them on their journey because they had told the king, “Our God protects all those who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So he earnestly prayed to the Lord, and He heard Ezra’s prayer. This was similar to my own journey to California in that I’ve had several people mention that I should have someone accompany me on the trip. But all along I’ve had a deep sense that my only traveling partner for this journey should be Jesus. I felt it important to only rely on Him. But before I embarked on the journey, I also knew it would be important to have a time or earnest prayer and request the same from my family and friends who are journeying with me on this new adventure via satellite through their prayers, encouragement and support. I did so – and let me tell you – I believe it made all the difference. I can say that God did the same for me as He did for Ezra and his people – “the gracious hand of God protected us (me) and saved us (me) from enemies and bandits along the way.”  And really He did so much more than that! Praise God for answered prayer – and for friends and family who are willing to cover me in prayer on this exciting new journey! I’m excited to tell you about it! I’m so grateful for this testimony of God’s protection and lavishing of beautiful gifts along the journey.

After spending some time in Bloomington, I spent a few more days resting at my parent’s home. We ate like we were celebrating a holiday every day! Perhaps we were trying to squeeze in every holiday we could since I’ll not be back home for most of the year. It was a wonderful time, and just what I needed before my 38 hour trip out west. I particularly enjoyed the flowers in my parent’s gardens. So when it was time to leave, I was rested and had one loaded car! My next stop was Kansas City, MO to spend time with my friend Ericka Smiley and soak at the International House of Prayer. But I’ll leave that story for my next post!

An Ode to the Sisterhood

Upon my arrival in the big city of Fort Wayne

I had a deep ache to find community and quickly!

You see I had no family or friends nearby

And as you can imagine, I was very lonely.

I was delighted to find girls of similar plight

at my new church home, FMC.

We decided to gather on neutral ground

In a meeting room at our new church

on a cold wintery Sunday morning.

I remember that day quite vividly.

Although this exact meeting date

remains elusive to us all.

We went around the room answering

Those oh familiar “getting to know you” questions.

Where did you grow up?

Where did you go to school?

What are you doing now?

How did you come to know Jesus?

Why do you want to be a part of a small group?

We must have liked what we heard

And found similar interests because

It wasn’t before long that we met again

And began the journey toward building

our own little community.

Our days together are ones

I’ll always hold dear to my heart.

Who can forget our tendencies to have

The uncontrollable giggles at the most

Inopportune times?

Like the late night we got busted by the

Angola State Park ranger?

You’d think we were a bunch of jr. high girls

All stuffed in a tent during a weekend camping trip.

And how about the time our laughter

Rippled through the air during

The very serious wedding toast

 to Steve and Michelle Ziegler?

It’s too bad the only time we thought

To pull out the camera and capture the moment

Was during our weekend retreats when

We threw out the showering component.

But one thing we excelled at

Was always having scrumptious food at hand.

Homemade pizza, lasagna, quesadillas,

Fresh greens, and forever DESSERT!

We’ve had our fair share of ice cream nights

Bridal showers, weddings, baby showers,

Overnighters, garage saling, walks in the park,

Serving together during Go Days,

sharing stories of child rearing,

Making 12 week Bible studies last 12 months,

And extending making decisions for as long as possible.

While we shared joys we also

experienced sorrows together including

Break ups, deaths, family issues,

Job loss, health problems, and financial concerns.

Yet through it all, we’ve loved each other

Unto the better.

I’ve discovered life happens no matter what.

Trials come. Joys come. Mundane comes.

And life is better together.

Michelle Hoffman, Michelle Ziegler,

Christin Easterhaus, Amy Johnson,

Amy Shriner, and Kari Braun,

You’ve all given me a priceless gift.

The gift of your love, your loyalty,

Your listening ears, your encouragement,

Your friendship, your hugs,

Your shoulders to cry on, your prayers,

Your wisdom, your joy, and your happiness.

I’ll forever hold you each closely to my heart

And in my prayers.

While miles may come between us,

There’s nothing that could stop the

Love and trust we’ve built these past

Several years.

I vote for Small Group Retreat 2012

to be held in Redding, California.

All in favor, say, “Aye! “