YC 2006

I went and helped out my friend Kendra with the youth for The River Community Church this weekend for YC. It was nuts with 16,000 young people running around... It is amazing to me to see how big venues can touch kids deeply even through the distraction of lights, noise, their peers...
Case in point - there was a tight group of high school students with us that I was sure weren't listening because of their distracted behavior. I was completely surprised to hear them share, on the drive home, about how much they actually recieved regarding evangelism and wanting to share Jesus with their friends. Hmmm... one just never knows who is listening and recieving. Color me surprised!

Here are some pics Sarah sent me...
The River - YC 2006

My heartbeat in this season

Take this flesh and burn it clean
Take these ears and flush them open
Take this heart and break it beautiful

Break me beautiful to you
A jar, a vessel, a body broken over your feet
Shatter the grit of my pride upon your graceful whisper
Be blessed in my cry to you

May this breath carry your incense
May these feet forge your peace
May these bones burn within
Burning your purity into surrounding flesh
May these eyes close to this world consumed with your light

Make my body your temple, your uniform, your image
Step into me and push me into you
Fill me till overflowing
Pour out
Fill me again I want to know you
Consume me with your fire and Spirit
My hands your hands
Your eyes my eyes
This voice your breath
My ears your heart

Rise up your lion within me and tear apart the giants
Rise up your roar within my Spirit shouting your victory
Raise my arms on your eagle's span
My limbs your wings
Yoke me to you, your bull, your servant

It is only your thunder that quickens my blood
Only your drums that pound in my chest
Only your banner that covers
Only your Spirit that satisfies
Only your Word be done

Prepare me for what is ahead.
Consume me in the fire of your presence my God.

Everything I need

So I went out to pray with some friends last night and it was a deep time as always. It always floors me that meeting God is never what I'd expect it to be like... Sometimes when I meet Him I go with some sort of expectation like I'm going to hear about a particular thing but it is never what I think it will be. My expectation is always small picture and somewhere seated, at least in part, in selfish motivation. But His direction, invitation, and command is always big picture and never about me... His voice separates my spirit from the bondage of lies and burns His righteousness within my chest. Time with God is so refreshing. He lifts burdens off my shoulders and fills me with life and freedom giving me fresh sight. I want everyone in the world to know what I know deep within themselves, I want everyone to share a love relationship with God.

There are a couple of things that I continually hand over to God, everyday, otherwise I'll be prone to agonizing and scheming. Deep in my heart I desire purity, holiness, victory, and the fullness of living saturated with God's Spirit. I had a revelation last night when a friend asked me how I've met God... as my Father? as my healer? as my provider? as my husband? as my High Priest...? All I could say is that "everything I need He is." The revelation came because it is true, Jesus is the total of what I need.

Everything I need He is. Lord, help me remember this.

Geocaching!

Last week I went Geocaching with my friend "Zoe." "Zoe" has requested to remain anonymous due to the mysterious nature of Zoe's persona in the geocaching community. Geocaching is a sort of international GPS treasure hunt... here is the website's description.

"Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache."

It is like a mysterious secret community... kind of like that movie The GAME but far less dangerous I think.

I strongly recommend this as a hobby. It was magical to find the cache and open it up to see what many others had placed inside... it reminded me of the wonder of opening up someone else's toy box as a child.

New Perspectives...

This has been a month of incredible growth and learning. I called out to hear God's voice and I waited for Him and then He turned up the volume. There is so much He's told me that I haven't quite grasped yet because it's been like trying to drink from a firehose.

There are a handful of things that have occupied my mind which I've been waiting for God's direction. My ministry on campus is one of them, "what is God's heart for the University of Alberta and how is He moving me to pray for the campus this season?"... "what specific appointment does He have for me in this ministry, what areas in my life need refining for me to enter into the fullness of His design for me as a spiritual mulitplier?"

My personal life is another way I've been waiting on God for direction. I've learned to do away with worry and anxiety about my future because He has burned His word into my heart that it is ONLY in Him that I'll find satisfaction. He is my husband, my true love, my father, my hope, my life, and my joy. I was battling a little bit of the blues because I have lots of friends who are having children and I would one day like to have some. Not that I'm in any sort of a baby rush because I most certainly am not. But God spoke to me many times regarding the desires of my heart. He has planted a promise in me that I will beget "spiritual children" that I will be able to bear deep spiritual fruit through Him, I will be able to see many people come to know Him initmately. His family will increase through me! How wonderful is that?

God confirmed His promise to me in four different ways, one was through Isaiah 54.

"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the Lord. "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband-- the Lord Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth..."

There is a deep spiritual promise to Israel here and it speaks to God's heart of breathing victory and life into desolate vessles. He has breathed the same promise into me. He has commanded the desolate womb to stretch out her tent and lengthen the cords, to not hold back but to stretch far and wide. She has nothing but God will call up the blessing.

Even though it may appear in our human understanding that there is no hope, the Word of God stands true and it is through Him that hope is fullfilled. He alone is faithful. My faith is in Him and the things yet unseen. I will stretch out my tent and not hold anything back; I will wait on His blessing and promise.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Hebrews 11:1-2

Walking with God is such an adventure.