I know i mentioned in the previous blog that DTS is like drinking from a fire hose and it totally is. we have learned so many profound things since day one of class. so much of it is foundational and i can't believe there's so much foundational teaching that hasn't been taught to us in all the years we've been in church. so here are some of the key points that have stood out to us most in the past 5 weeks. hopefully they'll provide you with some encouragement and wisdom. feel free to contact either of us and we'd be happy to get you more info on the lesson and teachings around it!
week 1- The character of God/Father heart of God
*We are created for worship and missions was created so that one day ALL of the world will worship God fully.
*Ephesians 1:17-18 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you"
*Our view of God the Father should come from Jesus' example, not our earthly fathers.
*God is personal, He is Holy, He is Love, He is Merciful and Compassionate, He delights in us
week 2- Godly Rebel/Heart of a Disciple
*The goal of the kingdom is to become childlike. God has many characteristics of a child (ie. He doesn't love us based on our performance or what we look like, He's honest, creative, affectionate, etc)
*We aren't changed from inspecting our sin, but by inspecting Him.
*We are always in God's presence. We don't have to do anything special to get there. We can delight in Him with anything we do.
*Don't judge people by their behavior. Try to see them the way God does. Ask "is my heart too small to swallow up another's problem?"
*No matter the job God gives you, do with excellence. Faithfulness in today's responsibilities brings opportunity.
*Killers of opportunity: 1) bad attitude 2) being in a hurry
*God Is Bigger
*Sometimes we have years of preparation before we reach our destiny. God humbles us to make sure we're ready.
*There are 7 spheres of society (church/religion, home, education, government, arts/entertainment, media, business) The enemy has control over all of these. It's time Christians reclaimed them for the kingdom.
*How to be a Godly rebel: radically, in love. Always submit in attitude, even if not in action.
week 3- the Fear of God
*Joy. No matter what happens in life, God has already spared us from the wost enemies we'll ever face: sin, death & hell. IT IS ENOUGH.
*Peace has authority. It's a strong word. Peace in a circumstance comes from knowing who is in charge. If we have fear, we need to go deeper and trust Him more.
*We can always ask God for more faith. Help me in my unbelief. Mark 9:24
*Holy means set apart. The Bible doesn't say be holy as I am holy. It says "be holy for I am holy" 1 peter 1:16
*God is a communicator so conviction will always be specific. If it's not, that is condemnation and from the enemy.
*4 Greek words for judge: krino- to sentence, condemn, pass judgment upon luke 6:37; dokimazo-to test, to examine 1 cor 11:28; diakrino- to weigh thoroughly each part 1 cor 6:5-6; anakrino- to examine, investigate, ask questions 1 cor 2:15
*the Bible has absolutes and relatives. Most denominations are divided based on relatives. These principles of conscience (or personal convictions) come from culture, upbringing, past areas of sin & bondage or a personal mandate from the Holy Spirit. these are things like language, food, alcohol, women in ministry, how communion is taken, baptism, etc. Absolutes are things like loving God, having no idols, Jesus is the only way to God, not stealing, not lying, not committing adultery, etc.
*Making an absolute a relative is liberalism and trying to make a relative and absolute is legalism.
*Wisdom from above is gentle and loving. James 3:17
*Do the right thing, despite what it costs.
*Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.
*Physical action has spiritual significance.
*Victory in controlling our speech & words is key to controlling thoughts and actions.
*Sometimes God tells you something so you will pray it into existence.
week 4- Recognizing the voice of God & Intercession
*Stop protecting your kids from God. Sometimes we act like we love our kids more than He does.
*God is always speaking. We should ask what is He saying that i'm not getting?
*What you believe about God is what you believe about everything else.
*Do you live by principles or pressure?
*God is good so silence is good. He has a loving, holy reason for the delay.
*The greater the test of faith, the greater the chance for lasting fruit.
*There are no closed doors for the believer.
*We're rich. We just have a cash flow problem :)
*God places desires in our heart so He can fulfill them.
*Unbelief usually follows disobedience.
*Intercession turns injustice to justice. He is looking for someone to stand in the gap and intercede.
week 5-laying down your rights and personality
we took the myers-brig personality test this week and discovered insight into ourselves and each other. it was a great excercise and tool so that when we are on outreach and really all throughout life we can appreciate and understand people for who they are. in case anyone was curious, Randi is an ESFJ (extrovert, sensing, feeling, judging) and Eric is an INFP (introvert, intuitive, feeling, perceiving)
*You have to believe you need it before you'll get it.
*Don't give the devil more authority than necessary.
*Every step you take should claim more and more for the Kingdom.
*God gave us different gifts for doing certain things well. Use the gifts! Respect others' gifts.
*Love makes your gifts greater.
* Lay down your rights to: a house, our things (hold them with open hands), to get married, to "own" anything, our culture, a reputation, freedom, the right to be right. Jesus gave up all that and more.
So this is where we are! can't wait to see what the remaining weeks have in store! blessings!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Uganda Bound!
Well we've been in Colorado for officially one month and the time has absolutely flown by. i guess that happens though when you're having so much fun and learning so much about the Lord. Someone said that DTS is like drinking from a fire hose, and it's true. We have gotten so much foundational teaching these past 4 weeks that if eric and i didn't look over our notes regularly we'd be way over our heads. But it's incredible and i would love to share in further detail some of the teachings if anyone would like me to. So far we've covered the character/Father heart of God, how to be a Godly rebel/heart of a disciple, the fear of God and recognizing the voice of God/intercessory prayer.
Last week we prayed about where God wanted us to go on outreach. Our school leaders gave us the four locations the teams would be going: Turkey, Thailand, Nepal and Uganda. We prayed and felt the Lord say very strongly that He wanted us in Uganda. Savannah even got confirmation when she repeatedly picked out the slip of paper that had Uganda written on it. That’s a way cool story we can share at another time. But anyways! On Monday our school staff confirmed that we were supposed to go to Africa so that is where we will be for the final two weeks of our DTS. More details about what specifically we'll be doing in the upcoming blogs!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Some pretty cool info
We had orientation today and while we absorbed A LOT of information a few things really stood out to us.
1. Our CDTS (Crossroads Discipleship Training School) has a major focus on children and families. YWAM believes that when mom and dad are called, the kids are too; it's a whole family thing. One of the teachers for the kids shared that kids do amazing things on outreach. God oftentimes speaks through them directly. We should remember that they're not given a junior sized Holy Spirit. They're given all of His power, just as much as we get. They are mighty. Excited to see how God uses Savannah!
2. 90% of missions funding and workers travel to areas where the Gospel has already been taken. Only 10% goes to the nations who have either never heard or that has only had a very few touched. It's like water being poured from a well. Most of the water is going to places that are already wet while the driest lands are getting nothing. YWAM Colorado Springs focuses on the area of northern Africa to the Middle East to Asia. It is the most densely populated area of the entire world with the least number of people who have heard the news of Jesus Christ. The need is great! While people everywhere need the Truth and help from missions, the people of these nations have the least access and desperately need help. So thank you to all who have helped send us on this journey. You are helping us to go help an area that doesn't receive nearly what it needs.
Blessings and joy to you all!
1. Our CDTS (Crossroads Discipleship Training School) has a major focus on children and families. YWAM believes that when mom and dad are called, the kids are too; it's a whole family thing. One of the teachers for the kids shared that kids do amazing things on outreach. God oftentimes speaks through them directly. We should remember that they're not given a junior sized Holy Spirit. They're given all of His power, just as much as we get. They are mighty. Excited to see how God uses Savannah!
2. 90% of missions funding and workers travel to areas where the Gospel has already been taken. Only 10% goes to the nations who have either never heard or that has only had a very few touched. It's like water being poured from a well. Most of the water is going to places that are already wet while the driest lands are getting nothing. YWAM Colorado Springs focuses on the area of northern Africa to the Middle East to Asia. It is the most densely populated area of the entire world with the least number of people who have heard the news of Jesus Christ. The need is great! While people everywhere need the Truth and help from missions, the people of these nations have the least access and desperately need help. So thank you to all who have helped send us on this journey. You are helping us to go help an area that doesn't receive nearly what it needs.
Blessings and joy to you all!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Home Sweet Colorado!
Hello all! Sorry it's taken us so long to post anything. The past few weeks have been wildly hectic! But we are finally in Colorado Springs ready for this new adventure to begin. Before i tell you more about what we're doing now, i'd like to recap the past month.
Going away/fundraiser: we had a great time at our party. Thanks to everyone who made it out! We raised over $1,000, had some yummy desserts, enjoyed the music played by Eric's uncle Buzz's band and had a time of prayer circles. Rachel (my best friend for anyone who doesn't know) hung out with us throughout the day and we spent a lot of time praying even before the party began for the Spirit to move in our hearts and the hearts of whomever He wanted there. We prayed most earnestly for continued direction and focus on Christ. We felt led to pray for that more so than prayers for finances and protection and safety and all the "typical" trip prayers. All that will come. He has promised us all of those things in His Word and He is faithful. So long as we are seeking Him, those things will take care of themselves.
Commission Service: our church (Town Center Community Church) had a time of commissioning to send us out. Pastor Brent read from Acts 13: 1-3 1 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." And that's what they did. They gathered around us, prayed and sent us off!
The trip!
We moved out of our house on Thursday, March 31 and stayed with my dad for our last few days in town. We hung out with dear friends and spent time relaxing. We left around 6:30 Tuesday, April 5 and drove to Chattanooga where we ate breakfast with the lovely Niki Davenport at the Bluegrass Grille. Then we just took our time and drove until we reached St. Louis. We got out of the car and visited the Arch. It was way cool. We got a little further west and stopped to sleep for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road. We finished Missouri and drove a LONG time in Kansas. There wasn't much to see but since it's landscape that we're not used to, it was interesting. Savannah did great the whole way, but when we were still 3-4 hours out of the Springs, she had had enough. We all had but she just expressed it with whining. Unfortunately there weren't any real stops by this point so we prayed for a spirit of calm to fall Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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her and before long she slept. We got in around 7:45 last night, met some of our school staff, unpacked and organized some and got some really great rest. We checked in today, took a tour and were blown away by the beauty of the mountains that are our view. We have high expectations for what the Lord has in store for us in these upcoming months. We pray for continued guidance and humble/ready hearts. Love you all! More to follow :)
Going away/fundraiser: we had a great time at our party. Thanks to everyone who made it out! We raised over $1,000, had some yummy desserts, enjoyed the music played by Eric's uncle Buzz's band and had a time of prayer circles. Rachel (my best friend for anyone who doesn't know) hung out with us throughout the day and we spent a lot of time praying even before the party began for the Spirit to move in our hearts and the hearts of whomever He wanted there. We prayed most earnestly for continued direction and focus on Christ. We felt led to pray for that more so than prayers for finances and protection and safety and all the "typical" trip prayers. All that will come. He has promised us all of those things in His Word and He is faithful. So long as we are seeking Him, those things will take care of themselves.
Commission Service: our church (Town Center Community Church) had a time of commissioning to send us out. Pastor Brent read from Acts 13: 1-3 1 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." And that's what they did. They gathered around us, prayed and sent us off!
The trip!
We moved out of our house on Thursday, March 31 and stayed with my dad for our last few days in town. We hung out with dear friends and spent time relaxing. We left around 6:30 Tuesday, April 5 and drove to Chattanooga where we ate breakfast with the lovely Niki Davenport at the Bluegrass Grille. Then we just took our time and drove until we reached St. Louis. We got out of the car and visited the Arch. It was way cool. We got a little further west and stopped to sleep for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road. We finished Missouri and drove a LONG time in Kansas. There wasn't much to see but since it's landscape that we're not used to, it was interesting. Savannah did great the whole way, but when we were still 3-4 hours out of the Springs, she had had enough. We all had but she just expressed it with whining. Unfortunately there weren't any real stops by this point so we prayed for a spirit of calm to fall Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0
her and before long she slept. We got in around 7:45 last night, met some of our school staff, unpacked and organized some and got some really great rest. We checked in today, took a tour and were blown away by the beauty of the mountains that are our view. We have high expectations for what the Lord has in store for us in these upcoming months. We pray for continued guidance and humble/ready hearts. Love you all! More to follow :)
Home Sweet Colorado!
Hello all! Sorry it's taken us so long to post anything. The past few weeks have been wildly hectic! But we are finally in Colorado Springs ready for this new adventure to begin. Before i tell you more about what we're doing now, i'd like to recap the past month.
Going away/fundraiser: we had a great time at our party. Thanks to everyone who made it out! We raised over $1,000, had some yummy desserts, enjoyed the music played by Eric's uncle Buzz's band and had a time of prayer circles. Rachel (my best friend for anyone who doesn't know) hung out with us throughout the day and we spent a lot of time praying even before the party began for the Spirit to move in our hearts and the hearts of whomever He wanted there. We prayed most earnestly for continued direction and focus on Christ. We felt led to pray for that more so than prayers for finances and protection and safety and all the "typical" trip prayers. All that will come. He has promised us all of those things in His Word and He is faithful. So long as we are seeking Him, those things will take care of themselves.
Commission Service: our church (Town Center Community Church) had a time of commissioning to send us out. Pastor Brent read from Acts 13: 1-3 1 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." And that's what they did. They gathered around us, prayed and sent us off!
The trip!
We moved out of our house on Thursday, March 31 and stayed with my dad for our last few days in town. We hung out with dear friends and spent time relaxing. We left around 6:30 Tuesday, April 5 and drove to Chattanooga where we ate breakfast with the lovely Niki Davenport at the Bluegrass Grille. Then we just took our time and drove until we reached St. Louis. We got out of the car and visited the Arch. It was way cool. We got a little further west and stopped to sleep for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road. We finished Missouri and drove a LONG time in Kansas. There wasn't much to see but since it's landscape that we're not used to, it was interesting. Savannah did great the whole way, but when we were still 3-4 hours out of the Springs, she had had enough. We all had but she just expressed it with whining. Unfortunately there weren't any real stops by this point so we prayed for a spirit of calm to fall Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0
her and before long she slept. We got in around 7:45 last night, met some of our school staff, unpacked and organized some and got some really great rest. We checked in today, took a tour and were blown away by the beauty of the mountains that are our view. We have high expectations for what the Lord has in store for us in these upcoming months. We pray for continued guidance and humble/ready hearts. Love you all! More to follow :)
Going away/fundraiser: we had a great time at our party. Thanks to everyone who made it out! We raised over $1,000, had some yummy desserts, enjoyed the music played by Eric's uncle Buzz's band and had a time of prayer circles. Rachel (my best friend for anyone who doesn't know) hung out with us throughout the day and we spent a lot of time praying even before the party began for the Spirit to move in our hearts and the hearts of whomever He wanted there. We prayed most earnestly for continued direction and focus on Christ. We felt led to pray for that more so than prayers for finances and protection and safety and all the "typical" trip prayers. All that will come. He has promised us all of those things in His Word and He is faithful. So long as we are seeking Him, those things will take care of themselves.
Commission Service: our church (Town Center Community Church) had a time of commissioning to send us out. Pastor Brent read from Acts 13: 1-3 1 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." And that's what they did. They gathered around us, prayed and sent us off!
The trip!
We moved out of our house on Thursday, March 31 and stayed with my dad for our last few days in town. We hung out with dear friends and spent time relaxing. We left around 6:30 Tuesday, April 5 and drove to Chattanooga where we ate breakfast with the lovely Niki Davenport at the Bluegrass Grille. Then we just took our time and drove until we reached St. Louis. We got out of the car and visited the Arch. It was way cool. We got a little further west and stopped to sleep for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road. We finished Missouri and drove a LONG time in Kansas. There wasn't much to see but since it's landscape that we're not used to, it was interesting. Savannah did great the whole way, but when we were still 3-4 hours out of the Springs, she had had enough. We all had but she just expressed it with whining. Unfortunately there weren't any real stops by this point so we prayed for a spirit of calm to fall Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0
her and before long she slept. We got in around 7:45 last night, met some of our school staff, unpacked and organized some and got some really great rest. We checked in today, took a tour and were blown away by the beauty of the mountains that are our view. We have high expectations for what the Lord has in store for us in these upcoming months. We pray for continued guidance and humble/ready hearts. Love you all! More to follow :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Less than a month!
It's hard to believe we leave in less than a month! We are getting more and more excited as the time approaches. I'm packing up the house more and more everyday. It's bittersweet. It's hard to leave our first home but very exciting to make steps in the direction that God is calling us. We found ourselves getting a little overwhelmed a couple of weeks back. All of our thoughts were around what money we had raised, what money we still needed, what to pack and when and all the things that go along with a process like this.
We quickly humbled ourselves in prayer to refocus our attention on the only thing that matters and the whole reason we're going to Colorado in the first place. We needed to put our cares, troubles and thoughts to Jesus and the call to carry His name. Even though we were thinking about our ministry, we took our eyes off of Him and giving Him continuous praise just for a moment but it was long enough to make our human selves stress out. Please pray that we continue to put Him first throughout the entire process.
Update with exciting news to share: we have completely paid for the lecture phase! $6,490! We've even got some money already going for outreach. We have until June 7 to cover the remaining balance. He will get us there! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
We quickly humbled ourselves in prayer to refocus our attention on the only thing that matters and the whole reason we're going to Colorado in the first place. We needed to put our cares, troubles and thoughts to Jesus and the call to carry His name. Even though we were thinking about our ministry, we took our eyes off of Him and giving Him continuous praise just for a moment but it was long enough to make our human selves stress out. Please pray that we continue to put Him first throughout the entire process.
Update with exciting news to share: we have completely paid for the lecture phase! $6,490! We've even got some money already going for outreach. We have until June 7 to cover the remaining balance. He will get us there! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
An update
Just wanted to say that YWAM has all of our necessary info, just waiting for our registration stuff! God is providing more of the necessary funding and we're always looking for more money raising ideas! If you know of any, send them our way! Thanks and much love!
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