This past week, our speakers were Eric and Amy Barlow. They're a couple on staff here at the base who have a passion for the Bible. So naturally, our topic was Bible study. It was a really good, practical week. It gave me a stronger desire to spend more time in the Word and they showed us a bunch of tools to use to help study. I really enjoyed the time that we had to actually put that to use. On Tuesday night, we spent an hour alone reading Psalm 119 and meditating on it. Later in the week, we spent time as a group studying Philemon in depth. It was just really cool being able to do a study rather than just listen to how a study should be done. Overall, it felt like one of the most practical weeks, but also really important.
The end of the week was rough. On Saturday, the Around The World DTS left for outreach. They have an extra month of outreach since they are travelling through at least 6 countries. Our DTS was combined with them for the first 8 weeks so we were able to get close to some of them. In a way, it felt as though half of our team left. Rachel and I are both just ready to go on outreach already so that has made it harder seeing them leave. This week is going to be difficult without all of them in class. On top of that, this week we will have a Korean speaker and everything will be translated into English. I'm really glad for the Koreans in our class that they get to have a week where everything is in their language, but I know it will be difficult for us to concentrate the entire time.
So our YWAM experience here has been unique. Both of us have days where we just want to go home. For both of us, this is a new feeling. When we were in missions before, we both really enjoyed it and rarely missed home. I can't pinpoint why this is so difficult for us. We both know that God has us here for a purpose and we have seen some of the reasons why we're here. I know that we fit perfectly on this team and we both love our teammates. God is going to do some really cool things on outreach. We're both growing in our relationship with God. But it's still difficult. It has been a humbling experience for sure. This verse just came to my mind and it's one that fits us right now.
Psalm 43:5 - Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
No matter how hard this experience has been or will be from here on, God is still king. He is God and we are not. He has us here for this time and this place. We may not always enjoy it, but one thing I've learned is that my emotions can't always be trusted. They're always going up and down. So regardless of how I'm feeling at the moment, God is still good and His purposes are good. We will do our best to embrace YWAM while we're here and be God's light where ever we go.
Fun Fact:
You cannot hum while holding your nose.
Deep Thought by Jack Handey:
You know what would be the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to a flea? Getting caught inside a watch somehow. You don't even care, do you?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Holy Spirit week
Well, this week has been pretty intense. God definitely showed up and revealed some really cool things to both Rachel and I. It was probably more intense for me than it was for Rachel since she has grown up a little more with Holy Spirit stuff. My background with the Holy Spirit is fairly limited. Growing up, I really don't remember any teaching on the Holy Spirit. I experienced the Holy Spirit but it wasn't something that I pursued. The times that I remember experiencing the Holy Spirit the most was when I would confess sin. I could just feel a sense of freedom every time I did that. Then, the Holy Spirit would bring out tears, but for some reason I never really associated the fact that I was crying with the presence of the Holy Spirit. For me and I think a lot of other people I grew up with, the Holy Spirit's main purpose was to convict us of sin. I could also feel the Holy Spirit during worship sometimes, but that was pretty much the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I never really thought anything of it because no one I knew really ever talked about it. I didn't know anyone who spoke in tongues. No one had ever prophesied anything over me and I really don't remember ever seeing anyone dramatically healed. When I went to REACH, God opened my eyes a little more to the power of the Holy Spirit. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and then fell over from the presence (slain in the spirit). I heard some people speaking in tongues, but it was a very weird experience and I still had a lot of doubts. I did have numerous people prophesy over me and later God used me to prophesy over me as well. So, I began to slowly tap into the Holy Spirit, but I still didn't really understand much. I think my lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit stemmed from fear and obviously, ignorance. Often, we're afraid of things that we don't understand. So we stay away from it. My relationship with God is pretty good with where I'm at with the Holy Spirit so why mess with that? I thought of an analogy earlier today regarding my relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's as if I'm really good friends with the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is an acquaintance. Every once in a while, He'll come with the Father and Son. Sometimes I hang out with just the Father or just the Son, but never with just the Holy Spirit. It's kinda awkward and I don't know what to say. When we all hang out, I don't really talk to the Holy Spirit. I just focus on the ones that I know, the Father and Son. Slowly, I'm getting to know the Holy Spirit, but never really thought we would be that close of friends because I just don't really understand Him.
Fast forward to this week. So I've been seeing God do some cool things up until this week, but understanding the Holy Spirit was still a bit hazy for me. This week our teacher was J.R. Polhemus, who's a pastor from a church about 45 minutes away from the base. Going into the week, I decided to have an open mind. I don't think I'm going to go into too many specifics on what exactly was taught since I know that this can be a controversial topic. I'm still trying to process some of the teachings in my head, but I think God has opened a whole new door for me. I spoke in tongues which was a new experience. Now this wasn't like speaking tongues in front of an audience, but a prayer language between God and me. I loved how J.R. presented it to us and it really changed how I thought about this particular subject. I know this is especially controversial for some so I'll just leave it at that. Today he brought 6 people with him and they all prophesied over us. They split into 3 teams and we went to where ever we felt God led us to. It was really incredible. Almost everyone had a word spoken over them that seemed to fit exactly. For me, I've felt a specific calling all my life but was never sure if it was me thinking it or God. Well, God has definitely confirmed it through not just today, but through other people who have spoken to me here. Rachel also had some things spoken over her that totally fit and then they spoke over us as a couple. One of the things, he said about us is that God strategically put us together. We are opposite in many ways but we balance each other out. He talked about 2 kinds of people: rational and intuitive. Basically, a rational person is more cautious and thinks through all decisions before going ahead with it. An intuitive person knows right away and will often do things impulsively. Neither one of us those is bad. I am definitely more rational and Rachel is definitely more intuitive. Sometimes, it can be annoying for both of us, but in the end, it's a blessing because we help each other. So, this was probably one of the more influential weeks I've had here so far.
So, I need to finish my analogy about the Holy Spirit. This week, I got to know the Holy Spirit on a more personal level and came to find out that He's just as awesome as the Father and Son. He seems to be a bit mysterious at first, but when you think about it, they're all a bit mysterious. I don't fully understand Him and I don't think I will. But He's amazing and I want to hang out with Him more often. I'm still getting to know Him better, but I think I'm embarking on a pretty crazy friendship.
Randy
Fun Fact of the Day:
The African cicada fly spends 17 years sleeping, then wakes up for two weeks, mates and then dies.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.
Fast forward to this week. So I've been seeing God do some cool things up until this week, but understanding the Holy Spirit was still a bit hazy for me. This week our teacher was J.R. Polhemus, who's a pastor from a church about 45 minutes away from the base. Going into the week, I decided to have an open mind. I don't think I'm going to go into too many specifics on what exactly was taught since I know that this can be a controversial topic. I'm still trying to process some of the teachings in my head, but I think God has opened a whole new door for me. I spoke in tongues which was a new experience. Now this wasn't like speaking tongues in front of an audience, but a prayer language between God and me. I loved how J.R. presented it to us and it really changed how I thought about this particular subject. I know this is especially controversial for some so I'll just leave it at that. Today he brought 6 people with him and they all prophesied over us. They split into 3 teams and we went to where ever we felt God led us to. It was really incredible. Almost everyone had a word spoken over them that seemed to fit exactly. For me, I've felt a specific calling all my life but was never sure if it was me thinking it or God. Well, God has definitely confirmed it through not just today, but through other people who have spoken to me here. Rachel also had some things spoken over her that totally fit and then they spoke over us as a couple. One of the things, he said about us is that God strategically put us together. We are opposite in many ways but we balance each other out. He talked about 2 kinds of people: rational and intuitive. Basically, a rational person is more cautious and thinks through all decisions before going ahead with it. An intuitive person knows right away and will often do things impulsively. Neither one of us those is bad. I am definitely more rational and Rachel is definitely more intuitive. Sometimes, it can be annoying for both of us, but in the end, it's a blessing because we help each other. So, this was probably one of the more influential weeks I've had here so far.
So, I need to finish my analogy about the Holy Spirit. This week, I got to know the Holy Spirit on a more personal level and came to find out that He's just as awesome as the Father and Son. He seems to be a bit mysterious at first, but when you think about it, they're all a bit mysterious. I don't fully understand Him and I don't think I will. But He's amazing and I want to hang out with Him more often. I'm still getting to know Him better, but I think I'm embarking on a pretty crazy friendship.
Randy
Fun Fact of the Day:
The African cicada fly spends 17 years sleeping, then wakes up for two weeks, mates and then dies.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Spiritual Warfare with Dean Sherman
So this week was a long, draining week, but it was good. We had a YWAM legend speak this week. Dean Sherman has been with YWAM for over 40 years. When I was in REACH, we watched his videos. He's also good friends with Henry Schrock from Hartville Mennonite Church and he's eaten at the Hartville Kitchen before so there's all kinds of connections. Anyways, he has a distinct style to his speaking. He has a very dry sense of humor that you either love or hate, I think. The first 2 days were of Dean just speaking and although it was good, it just seemed to be very long. The last 2 days, he spent most of the time answering questions that we had. That was really interesting. One thing I took from the question and answer time was this: He used the Bible most of the time to answer questions. He said that almost every question we have is answered in the Bible. He had all kinds of good spiritual one-liners that just kinda hit me. Here's a few:
"Emphasize life, not belief."
"Christianity started with a man, not a manual."
"Christianity is not about making bad people good, but about making dead people alive."
"Christian faith is based on logic and reason."
"It's dangerous to read the Bible with intellect alone."
"Expect the Holy Spirit."
"Don't accept, stand against."
I think one of the things that I can take away from the week was that we have all authority in Jesus' name. I've always known this and have used it before. But it was made more clear to me this week. There is no evil power greater than the name of the Jesus. We can stand up to anything that satan throws at us. We do not have to accept all of the evil that happens in the world, but we can stand against it and fight it. We may not see the answers to our prayers immediately but our prayers are being heard and they will be answered.
So this weekend is our first anniversary. I was looking at getting a hotel so we could get away for the weekend but we just decided that we don't really want to spend the money on that. I think I prayed a little that God would help me find a cheap, but nice hotel. After we decided though to not get one, we thought we would just stay at the base. We would maybe go out to eat on Saturday night but that was going to be about it. Well, our friend Cheri, (who I call Cheryl because she calls me Roger, it's a long story) is going to her aunt's cabin tonight to also get away. Then she told us that we can come if we want and we can even stay Saturday night if we like. She is only staying tonight so it worked out perfectly. God answered my prayer without me really asking for it. So I thought that was pretty cool and worth sharing. And now, the fun fact of the day:
Armadillos, opossums, and sloths spend about 80% of their lives sleeping.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic.
"Emphasize life, not belief."
"Christianity started with a man, not a manual."
"Christianity is not about making bad people good, but about making dead people alive."
"Christian faith is based on logic and reason."
"It's dangerous to read the Bible with intellect alone."
"Expect the Holy Spirit."
"Don't accept, stand against."
I think one of the things that I can take away from the week was that we have all authority in Jesus' name. I've always known this and have used it before. But it was made more clear to me this week. There is no evil power greater than the name of the Jesus. We can stand up to anything that satan throws at us. We do not have to accept all of the evil that happens in the world, but we can stand against it and fight it. We may not see the answers to our prayers immediately but our prayers are being heard and they will be answered.
So this weekend is our first anniversary. I was looking at getting a hotel so we could get away for the weekend but we just decided that we don't really want to spend the money on that. I think I prayed a little that God would help me find a cheap, but nice hotel. After we decided though to not get one, we thought we would just stay at the base. We would maybe go out to eat on Saturday night but that was going to be about it. Well, our friend Cheri, (who I call Cheryl because she calls me Roger, it's a long story) is going to her aunt's cabin tonight to also get away. Then she told us that we can come if we want and we can even stay Saturday night if we like. She is only staying tonight so it worked out perfectly. God answered my prayer without me really asking for it. So I thought that was pretty cool and worth sharing. And now, the fun fact of the day:
Armadillos, opossums, and sloths spend about 80% of their lives sleeping.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Relationships & Life In General
This week, the topic was relationships. Our speakers were a married couple that work at the base, Jeremy & Keeley Lange. It was a good week, nothing too eventful. Some of the information was about finding your spouse which clearly we didn't have to worry about, but it was still good. We were able to find some important things that were things we already knew but were good reminders. This next week, the topic should be quite interesting: spiritual warfare with Dean Sherman. So for any REACHers that are reading this, that's right, we're getting the real Dean Sherman. This is one of the weeks that I have been looking forward to.
So every Saturday, we get the option of doing something fun around the area. The first week we climbed a small mountain (when I say climb, I mean we walked along trails that were uphill a little bit). Then we went to the city of Boulder and walked along Pearl St. which was really cool. Rachel and I skipped the next week. I think they went to an Asian market. Last week, we went to the Celestial Seasonings tea factory. I forgot to mention it in my last post. This place was really cool. Before the tour, there is a large waiting room with random art everywhere. While you wait, you can try any tea that they have for free. You get these small ceramic mugs and reuse them. Then we went on the tour which was cool but not overly exciting. The peppermint room was cool. It has to be kept separate from all the other tea because it is so strong and will affect all the other tea. The inventory was low so the smell wasn't as overpowering as I expected, but it still definitely opened up the sinuses. Afterwards, we went to the gift shop where there tea was a very good price. I think it was like $2.40 for a box of tea which I know is way cheaper than the grocery store. Obviously, it makes sense that it's cheaper since that's where they make it. So anyways, that was our favorite Saturday activity so far. Today was the Cinco de Mayo festival in downtown Denver. I got some tacos which were quite delicious, but the festival wasn't too exciting. I don't know what's planned for future weeks, but it's nice to be able to have options to do some random things like that.
As far as life goes here at the base, it definitely goes up and down for both Rachel and I. Some days we really enjoy it here and know that God has definitely put us here for a reason. Then, there are other days when we both miss our independence and have no desire to be around people. We are fortunate to have our own room so we're able to get our privacy. Of course, we both know that it's good to be without independence. One of the biggest things I learned when I got married was how selfish I am. I'm seeing it again as we live in community with a bunch of people. For example, I get up in the morning and go downstairs for breakfast. At this point, I have literally just rolled out of bed, put on some clothes, and walked downstairs and I'm not a morning person. I don't really like to talk to people until I've had about a half hour to wake up. You can ask some of my former roommates. I wasn't always pleasant. Anyways, living in community makes this difficult. I have begun to sit by myself for breakfast but it's not always an option and sometimes I'm forced to talk to people. It's good for me, I know, but I still don't like it. So community living is not the easiest thing in the world, but it's a good thing. I love being with some people and then others, not so much. God continues to teach me how to love others. It seems that this is a lesson I will continue to learn throughout my life. And God is teaching me a lot of other things even though at this point I'm not always sure what it is. I'll discuss the life on the base more in future posts. Anyways, without further ado, here's today's fun fact:
Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
I think a good gift for the President would be a chocolate revolver. And since he's so busy, you'd probably have to run up to him real quick and hand it to him.
So every Saturday, we get the option of doing something fun around the area. The first week we climbed a small mountain (when I say climb, I mean we walked along trails that were uphill a little bit). Then we went to the city of Boulder and walked along Pearl St. which was really cool. Rachel and I skipped the next week. I think they went to an Asian market. Last week, we went to the Celestial Seasonings tea factory. I forgot to mention it in my last post. This place was really cool. Before the tour, there is a large waiting room with random art everywhere. While you wait, you can try any tea that they have for free. You get these small ceramic mugs and reuse them. Then we went on the tour which was cool but not overly exciting. The peppermint room was cool. It has to be kept separate from all the other tea because it is so strong and will affect all the other tea. The inventory was low so the smell wasn't as overpowering as I expected, but it still definitely opened up the sinuses. Afterwards, we went to the gift shop where there tea was a very good price. I think it was like $2.40 for a box of tea which I know is way cheaper than the grocery store. Obviously, it makes sense that it's cheaper since that's where they make it. So anyways, that was our favorite Saturday activity so far. Today was the Cinco de Mayo festival in downtown Denver. I got some tacos which were quite delicious, but the festival wasn't too exciting. I don't know what's planned for future weeks, but it's nice to be able to have options to do some random things like that.
As far as life goes here at the base, it definitely goes up and down for both Rachel and I. Some days we really enjoy it here and know that God has definitely put us here for a reason. Then, there are other days when we both miss our independence and have no desire to be around people. We are fortunate to have our own room so we're able to get our privacy. Of course, we both know that it's good to be without independence. One of the biggest things I learned when I got married was how selfish I am. I'm seeing it again as we live in community with a bunch of people. For example, I get up in the morning and go downstairs for breakfast. At this point, I have literally just rolled out of bed, put on some clothes, and walked downstairs and I'm not a morning person. I don't really like to talk to people until I've had about a half hour to wake up. You can ask some of my former roommates. I wasn't always pleasant. Anyways, living in community makes this difficult. I have begun to sit by myself for breakfast but it's not always an option and sometimes I'm forced to talk to people. It's good for me, I know, but I still don't like it. So community living is not the easiest thing in the world, but it's a good thing. I love being with some people and then others, not so much. God continues to teach me how to love others. It seems that this is a lesson I will continue to learn throughout my life. And God is teaching me a lot of other things even though at this point I'm not always sure what it is. I'll discuss the life on the base more in future posts. Anyways, without further ado, here's today's fun fact:
Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
I think a good gift for the President would be a chocolate revolver. And since he's so busy, you'd probably have to run up to him real quick and hand it to him.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Fear of the Lord week
This past week, we had a teaching on the fear of the Lord by Mark Davies. He is one of the staff members on the base. He's probably the most energetic speaker we have had so far. I found the topic to be a difficult topic to grasp. I've never been through a teaching on the fear of the Lord but I thought Mark did a great job. To me, the fear of the Lord is an all-encompassing aspect of Christianity. It's one of those things about God that you can't really put in a box to explain what it is. The best I could say is that it's reverence and awe for God which translates into every aspect of your life if you're truly in awe of God. At the same time, part of the definition is absolute terror of God. That makes sense since anyone who sees God face-to-face will die because it's too much for us to handle.
Our relationships here are constantly growing. Today, God was just showing me the importance of unity within the body. We found out this week that there are 38,000 Christian denominations and 6,000 have started since 2006. I've seen it in almost every church I've been involved in and I see it here at YWAM. We get annoyed at each other for little petty things and it gets in the way of what God is trying to do. Mark talked about the absolutes and relatives in Christianity. The absolutes would be things like Jesus is the only way, the Trinity, or Jesus died for our sins, etc. Relatives would be those things like alcohol, worship style, and just things where the Bible might not be completely clear and it's not a salvation issue. So many churches split over these things and it's really sad. Non-Christians see all the fighting among the church and want no part of that because that's no different than what they see everyday in the world. I know that there are plenty of people where I really don't enjoy their company. They have different ideas or an annoying personality, whatever it may be. But as a church, we must be able to reconcile those differences for the greater purpose of the Kingdom. It doesn't mean that you need to hang out together all the time, but realize that we all have different backgrounds that God can use to impact so many people in various ways. We must love each other no matter the cost. God loves us no matter how annoying we are sometimes.
On another note, I ate at a place called "$1.35 a scoop." It's a Chinese restaurant. A lot of the people on the base really like this place but I think that's because it's so cheap. A scoop is really large so I got 2 scoops and I was really full. Some people actually do think that the food is really good. I don't want to be too judgmental, but really?!? For one, the scoop thing just sounds disgusting. The rice was okay. I got sesame chicken and it was mostly breading. I wasn't sure where the actual chicken was most of the time. I brought some back for Rachel and she wouldn't even try it. So, needless to say, I highly doubt I will be eating there again. And finally...
Fun Fact: The Bible is not only, the world's best selling book, but also the most shoplifted book.
Deep Thought from Jack Handey: Probably the saddest thing you'll ever see is a mosquito sucking on a mummy. Forget it, little friend.
Randy
Our relationships here are constantly growing. Today, God was just showing me the importance of unity within the body. We found out this week that there are 38,000 Christian denominations and 6,000 have started since 2006. I've seen it in almost every church I've been involved in and I see it here at YWAM. We get annoyed at each other for little petty things and it gets in the way of what God is trying to do. Mark talked about the absolutes and relatives in Christianity. The absolutes would be things like Jesus is the only way, the Trinity, or Jesus died for our sins, etc. Relatives would be those things like alcohol, worship style, and just things where the Bible might not be completely clear and it's not a salvation issue. So many churches split over these things and it's really sad. Non-Christians see all the fighting among the church and want no part of that because that's no different than what they see everyday in the world. I know that there are plenty of people where I really don't enjoy their company. They have different ideas or an annoying personality, whatever it may be. But as a church, we must be able to reconcile those differences for the greater purpose of the Kingdom. It doesn't mean that you need to hang out together all the time, but realize that we all have different backgrounds that God can use to impact so many people in various ways. We must love each other no matter the cost. God loves us no matter how annoying we are sometimes.
On another note, I ate at a place called "$1.35 a scoop." It's a Chinese restaurant. A lot of the people on the base really like this place but I think that's because it's so cheap. A scoop is really large so I got 2 scoops and I was really full. Some people actually do think that the food is really good. I don't want to be too judgmental, but really?!? For one, the scoop thing just sounds disgusting. The rice was okay. I got sesame chicken and it was mostly breading. I wasn't sure where the actual chicken was most of the time. I brought some back for Rachel and she wouldn't even try it. So, needless to say, I highly doubt I will be eating there again. And finally...
Fun Fact: The Bible is not only, the world's best selling book, but also the most shoplifted book.
Deep Thought from Jack Handey: Probably the saddest thing you'll ever see is a mosquito sucking on a mummy. Forget it, little friend.
Randy
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