Apr 23, 2013
This week the latest School of Discipleship class graduated. It got me to thinking about my year and everything that went on. Things were definitely challenging throughout the year. You definitely have to die to yourself, (you think they were joking when they put that on the brochure?) you have to follow a fairly strict schedule, you have to be disciplined…but the worst thing was having to go away. If I could have every one of my friends go throught the School of Discipleship I would. It was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget and an awesome time of growth, and the graduation made me think of the toughest ones. Besides one failure, the worst thing was was saying goodbye to those at Gospel For Asia.
Top 5 things about being in the School of Discipleship
- Being taught how to live like Jesus by seeing the example of older brothers and sisters in the Lord.
- Times of worship, including personal prayer and Bible reading, as well as corporate prayer and worship through teaching and music.
- The community of believers that surround you – insta-family!
- Going to Asia and seeing the mission field! (Boy, that’s too much to try to explain in one bullet point.)
- Class room times, home work, etc. (The theory is taught and you see how it works in those around you.)
So, as I was saying, the hardest part was leaving. When I thought about writing this I then realized that it’s also one of the best things because as much as God loves putting us through those seasons of teaching, He wants us to continue to grow because it’s our choice. We can do things because we have homework assignments or because we really want to. When you graduate and go home you get to really choose who you’re going to do those things for.
But good news! Not everyone has to leave. 🙂 I’m glad to know that many of this past class will be coming back on full time staff. Congratulations January class of 2012!
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Mar 1, 2012
My days are now full of family activities such as sledding, shoveling the snow from the driveway, and other things like raising my support to join staff at Gospel for Asia. Life is a roller coaster for sure. One moment I’m on the top of the world and the next I’m discouraged; wanting to climb in my bed and pull the covers over my head till the whole world dissolves. Today was actually a really good day till the afternoon but between lack of sleep and a few other stress factors I again got to the point where I wanted to hide from everyone. I cried a while and then looked through some pictures trying to find something that could help me not feel so gloomy. A picture of my family years ago… maybe just a goofy picture of my brothers and me. This is the one I found.
This is me the day I got the call saying I was accepted for the School of Discipleship. I was so excited that I ran outside in my socks to tell my brother who was taking pictures in the front yard. I’m not really fond of how I look in the photo but tonight it meant everything to me. It was remembering that God has specifically called me to do this job. He chose me to be in School of Discipleship and He chose me to keep serving by joining staff. I was more confident of God’s calling at this moment than I had ever been in my life and I felt a very similar (and maybe even greater) joy when I was sure God wanted me to join staff. So looking at the picture I had to ask myself what is different about life that makes me feel down in the dumps as opposed to skipping around in the dirt. Well it’s not God that’s changed and I’m sure that His call hasn’t changed either. The only thing that keeps changing are my emotions. But no matter what I do, or how I feel He is – and will always be – the same. That’s something I can bank on. He won’t let me down and He won’t let you down either.
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Oct 31, 2011
What do a skunk, a bad internet connection, and a missing power cord have in common? I’ll get back to that. In the mean time I’ll let you know about a few things that I’ve been doing lately.
About a month ago God made it clear to me that I was supposed to join staff at Gospel for Asia. Yes! Now I’m support raising at home so that I can get back to Texas and keep serving at the home office.
I knew it was going to be a battle to raise support and stay connected to the ministry but I was sure I’d conquer it all! It turns out some things can be a little harder to get done in the country than in the city. For instance, where I live in Michigan it’s all forest and well, cold. I have a few oddities I’m dealing with. One is that my family doesn’t have high speed internet – it’s not that bad, there are just a few things I can’t do at home. I was very excited to live stream a Gospel For Asia prayer meeting once I got back. (Gospel For Asia streams a prayer meeting every first Friday. Join us!) The first time I went to a prayer meeting I had to drive 6 miles through the wilderness to get to a connection I could watch the meeting on. Everything was wonderful! I really enjoyed praying with the Gospel For Asia family and felt like I was back at home (the TX one).
When I got home I was worn out – ready to hop in bed and sleep. I came through the driveway but discovered that there was a skunk by the front door! There was NO way I was getting out now. I thought about getting grumpy but decided it was the first adventure of support raising in the country. I called a friend and we talked for a while. Then I talked to another friend till I was sure the skunk was gone. 🙂
Well, I was trying to watch another prayer meeting one day. I’d been a little discouraged that day but was really looking forward to hearing the message and uniting in prayer with everyone. My connection didn’t work. I’d get a few words – maybe a sentence – then the video would freeze. I finally gave up.
Another prayer meeting arrived… I was sick but determined that though I was tired I was not going to stay home. I wanted to have dedication and not just decide to sit on the couch at home. I drove myself back out to the internet and set up my computer. Suddenly I realized that I did’n’t have my power cord with me. I had 43 minutes of battery life left. True to its word my computer turned off from a low battery 43 minutes through the prayer meeting. Well at least I got to go to bed a little early…
So, the question at the beginning of this was, “What do a skunk, a bad internet connection, and a missing power cord have in common?” The answer is prayer meetings of course!
There’s always going to be something that will draw your attention away from what is best. I’ve noticed that wacky things happen when I try to get to a prayer meeting. For you it’s most likely something else that the enemy doesn’t want you to be doing. Maybe it’s reading the Bible. There are 101 things that will come up and seem like they need your attention. When those things happen just purpose in your heart that God will come first. I laugh when I think that God used a skunk and a power cord to teach me a lesson. Maybe it just takes more to get my attention than other people…
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Jul 25, 2011
“Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you.”
This has been my favorite Bible verse for several years. It’s found in 1 Samuel 12:24. This verse has always encouraged me to do my best in serving the Lord. How can I serve Him with anything less than all my heart when He has done such great things for me?
Well, about a year and a half ago I found another verse that uses the same wording, Mark 5:19. Jesus has just healed a man who was possessed by a legion of demons. The man, being set free, sat at the feet of Jesus, the Bible says, “clothed and in his right mind”. His neighbors saw this and were afraid – they begged Jesus to leave their coasts.
Well, this man wasn’t about to let Jesus leave without him! He wanted to follow Jesus and be a disciple. He was free and could now go about the Lord’s work. As Jesus was entering into the boat the mat who was set free, followed after Him and begged to be allowed to go with Him.
“However, Jesus suffered him not but said unto him, ‘Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee.'” – Mark 5:19
And that’s the last word on this man. There’s never another mention of him.
Throughout this year I’ve thought about that verse a lot. Go home and tell your friends how great things the Lord has done for you and hath had compassion on you. I’m excited to say that right now that’s exactly what the Lord is giving me the opportunity to do. I’m finishing up my School of Discipleship year very soon and when I’m done at Gospel For Asia I get to go home and tell all of my family, friends, and supporters what great things the Lord has done for me! I have the opportunity to tell people how great our God is and to encourage them.
So, what ever did happen to the man Jesus sent? The Bible doesn’t tell us – but I’m pretty sure that God did great things through him and that he was unstoppable.
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Jul 15, 2011
I’ve been having a really tough week and a half. A week ago I became horribly discouraged and worried. I couldn’t pin point anything that was wrong, so I didn’t know what to blame it on. When I was asked this past weekend if I was doing okay I replied that the biggest thing that was wrong and what was bothering me is that I was no longer hearing the Lord’s voice. I had stopped seeking just Him. I was seeking Him + His will for my life, Him + peace, Him + joy, but not just Him.
I decided during the weekend that I would take time to pray and to seek God. I asked Him to break me and to make me more like Him. I asked to hear His voice yet again. I prayed that night for quite a while and there was no answer. The next night I cried out to God just to speak to me. It didn’t have to be huge, it didn’t have to be nice; I just wanted to hear His voice.
Then, clearer than I’ve ever heard the Lord speak to me, His voice was there in my head. I sat straight up as He said, “I am with you in your pain. In your pain you will know Me”.
Pain? What pain?
You might be as curious as I was wondering what this pain was. For the next few days I was looking around for what was going to happen. I was waiting for a car crash, or wondering if I was going to be mugged. I was clueless but sure that if I would have Him with me – I was going to look forward to it.
Well yesterday I was going about my day when suddenly the Lord grabbed me and showed me an area of my life that was completely off track. I was confronted with a choice. Would I change – or would I stay where I was at and defend my self?
The choice really was a no brainer – why stay the same when we can change and become like Christ?
So, I realized that God wasn’t there to give me physical pain and help get me through it. He knew that I was going to have to deal with things for these few days. There have been multiple things – some good, some bad – that have happened over the past 30 or so hours. I am drained and battle weary. But may I tell you that God is faithful? He cares about you and He cares about me way too much to let us stay the same.
One prayer I can guarantee that the Lord will answer is if you ask Him to break you and make you humble. That’s His desire for you and He will be so excited if you are ready to work with Him in those areas. I know He answered my prayer quick.
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