Forgotten God

so i have been reading the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. its all about the Holy Spirit...and i. am. loving. it.

haha but really...its so great and it just gets me so excited about all that He is and all He wants to do. love it. something from the book that i just read was about Acts - at the Pentecost, after Jesus leaves and sends the Holy Spirit to the people...

we see the same men who followed Jesus for 3 years, then watched Him ascend into heaven - not knowing what to do next. just waiting for what comes next - per Jesus' instructions to them. and then, all of a sudden, the Spirit comes and fills them - and they start speaking in tongues and speaking with boldness and the people watching, are amazed...

but what is so crazy about this moment is that no one looks at these men that they have seen and heard before, now speaking with boldness and passion, these incredible words- in languages they havent known before and thinking "wow - Peter sure learned that fast! he's so great!" no - instead we think - "wow, God did that??? thats incredible! how amazing is the Holy Spirit!?!"

it was such a clear Holy Spirit moment. the only thing a person could think was, how awesome is God???

have you ever had a moment where the Holy Spirit moved in you and everyone watching was moved by it? not by you - but by God moving in you? or have you ever seen God moving in someone else? in the Bible it says that 3000 people were added to the church that DAY. who can deny the Holy Spirit while standing in His very presence???

in the book Francis gives this challenge -

‎"Lets pray that God would empower us so radically that we would get no glory. That people would see our works and glorify God"

that is a powerful request...how amazing would it be to have God be able to move through you in such a way that people watching you cant even see you...all they can see is God, and the only response they can have is to glorify Him. amazing, right?
i know i sometimes underestimate what the Spirit can do...i know i do.
i also know that i need to break this idea - the idea that i understand everything about Him and know what needs to happen better than He does. He is so much bigger than you or i will ever begin to comprehend and He is just waiting to move in big, crazy ways...so lets be a PART of that! Lets pray that we can be so open to whatever it is He is doing so that we can be so changed that people will look at our works and see God and be left in AWE of Him...

the last few weeks...

hi friends...i just realized its been over 2 weeks since i have updated this thing and really - its because a lot has been going on and God has been teaching me so much and the irony of it all sometimes is that the times when you really want to remember all your learning and write it all down, are the times when you are too busy to...hmmm

anyways...

quick update on the team - last thursday we did some team arting (pictures? not yet...i'll take some this week...we're still working on it). it was fun, and its turning out really cool. basically we gave everyone art supplies and set out one piece of cardboard and chose a verse for inspiration and started creating...:) i'll let you know how it all turns out. haha

and this past sunday morning me and 4 others set up canvases onstage during the worship at our church and painted during one service, drew during the other. this past week concluded a series called "MORPH" at Edinbrook - based off of a book written by Pastor Ivan Veldhuizen. all about letting God transform us - from the inside out. really morph us into who He designed us to be.

so we set up canvases and on the first one - drew a broken heart. on the second - the heart being put back together. on the third - drew that same heart being cleaned off. and on the fourth - the heart, pure and clean. after it was broken and re-formed God's way, with His hands, in His time. beautiful.

and its just a cool picture of how God wants to work in us! if we just let Him break us, and take out the stuff thats hurting us - He can then put us back together - the RIGHT way, and clean us off, refine us until we are pure, and perfect, and healed and everything He is calling us to be. we dont do it ourselves, and it wont happen until we really allow Him to get in and do what He needs to do.

i love SO much working with people who are not only willing to, but also EXCITED about letting God use their gifts. love it. such a blessing.

The Bride: Video

http://www.edinbrookchurch.org/MEDIA/WEBVIDEOS.HTM

ok - the link above is a link to a video posted on Edinbrook Church's website.

if you read the posts a few weeks ago about "The Bride" - the video is from the performance of it at Edinbrook during the first service.

so if you didnt get a chance to see it - go watch it! :)

and let God speak to you through it!

thanks for all your prayers! it went great!

still standing!

Hello friends!

i am just in love with this song called "still standing" by Israel Houghton. i posted the link below - and i definitely recommend going to it and just listening. so great. The video is a performance of the song - but at the end he takes a second to explain it and he just makes me smile. :)

part of what he says...

"this is not like - im still standing but i barely made it and had to crawl into the building, but a 'hes taken his best shot, life has poured all it could on me, but i got a bounce-back in my spirit and im STILL standing'. you can't keep a blessed person down!"

i think i am loving it so much because it totally speaks to me in my life right now! we go through all these challenges and hard times and we get frustrated and worn out and tired - but when we actually stop to really look at ourselves, after going through all these things that try us and test us, we realize that not only are we still standing...but God has brought us out stronger than we entered in! how amazing is that??? the world so many times focuses on just getting through, just surviving - but friends, stop for a second or for a lot of seconds and SEE...really take NOTICE of what God is doing in you and how He is growing you. pay attention to what He is doing - because (and i just heard this...im trying to remember where...) "God doesnt just show off. If He's doing something - there's a reason for it." its a beautiful thing...

and these are some of my favorite lyrics...but the whole thing is so good. so listen and enjoy friends! and i just bet you that you will dance...even just a little. :)

If not for Your goodness
If not for Your grace
I don't know where I would be today
If not for Your kindness
I never could say
I'm still standing

If not for Your mercy
If not for Your love
I most likely would have given up
If not for your favor
I never could say
I'm still standing
But by the grace of God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoX4fbStuZc

a sad mermaid, ernie, and some paint...just a normal thursday night

oh thursday nights...they are no longer boring. haha we met up with the team last night and got to say a quick hi to our friend erika - who is in costa rica right now - on skype.
then we ventured down to the dungeon.
and after a very accurate, if not entirely flattering :), description of sarah and i's leadership qualities for the new attendees...(the problem with working with actors, is that they do a REALLY good job of imitating you.......) haha
we broke out the art supplies and paper and had them get comfortable.
we played some music and read some verses and had them do a little reflective arting in a couple different steps...

1) draw a picture of yourself...of how you see yourself
2) write words describing how you see God or who He is to you
3) take some time to think/pray about what God wants from you, where He wants you to go from where you are...then draw it/write about it
4) think/pray about what is holding you back from being where God wants you to be. what do you need to change or give up?
5) write a prayer, asking God to help you get from where you are - to where He wants you.

i didnt take pictures - i will...but they did a really great job with it! we were really impressed, and it was really cool to see what God was showing them and laying on their hearts and then to see how it came out on paper.
so cool, and just loving God's creativity so much :) it was a cool thing – I encourage you to take a half hour sometime this weekend and put your favorite worship music on, get some paint or markers and just go through these steps and see what comes out. :)

then we played one of our favorite improv games...with words on the smallest pieces of paper ever...;)
and we laughed...a lot. its a great game we learned from comedy sportz - where you write random words down and give each person some of them, and give 2 or 3 ppl a scene. Anything – for example… "you are two strangers sitting in a waiting room, both applying for the same job” so then they have to act that out, and as they go, they have to pick up the words and somehow make them work – no matter how random it is.
And usually – it ends up being pretty amazing. Haha
And we ended it with a group scene…acting out our version of American Idol. It was so great.
We heard songs about a sad mermaid…about a boy who changed his name to his dead cats name in memory of him…about cheese…and so much more. Loved it.

So much fun.
We have some more projects coming up that we will be working on and lots of ideas that are wanting some attention. :)

but for now - below is a video of one of the times we played this improv game. :)

i'll set up the scene for you -

3 guys apply to be on a reality tv show to find the love of their lives, but are dropped off in the middle of the jungle with no one around and no idea what to do next...
So we’ll keep you updated as we go!

The Bride part 2

So this past Wednesday night and Sunday morning – The Bride drama was performed.
And after weeks of getting ppl in the roles, getting scripts down (even to the last second), figuring out what will go where, etc…….they did it! and it was SO great. God had me praying over it A LOT. But He was so in charge of it all and it was a really powerful message – both times.
Different groups did each one – for the most part – but they all did amazing. God totally spoke through it. it was an interesting one – just because it’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t get talked about so much in church. And taking the ppl that make you feel MOST uncomfortable and placing them right in front of you, in your comfort zone, pleading with you to pay attention to them – asking you why you don’t see them.
Its tough stuff. But SUCH an important one!
If we as the church is sleeping, if we just focus on ourselves and stay in our buildings and just talk to each other – who is being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world? Its great that we are so comfortable – but just because we are saved and going to heaven, doesn’t mean that we are finished. There are a lot of ppl that haven’t heard, that don’t know, that don’t have ppl to love on them and tell them that every thing they do MATTERS – and the world will not be the one to tell them, It wont. because the world doesn’t care. Its our job. Because we are free, because we have been forgiven, because we are loved unconditionally and we have the promise of eternity – it is our job, our call to be His instrument and let Him use us. to let the Holy Spirit that He sent us do His thing through us and reach out to the ppl around us.
And we did the drama, quick adding a verse to the end – from Matthew 25, and quick added it again on Sunday morning…only to sit in the sermon on Sunday and at the end find out that PI ALSO had the same verse for his message. Crazy, huh? This was totally Gods thing and it was really really great to see Him work in it. love it.
So thank you so much to the TEAM for getting up so early and giving up your time and for letting God use you!!! hugely appreciated.
One more quick thing – this was my friends status on facebook this morning and I love it…its from Romans.

‎"we're all instruments of a valiant song, it's our decision to remain silent or awake the dormant."

Don’t be silent…lets stay awake church. Because we never know if we will run out of time.

Victory!

I am loving victory right now. In the past – self discipline just seemed overwhelming. I let myself say no to time with God so many times in favor of a tv show or a movie that I kind of wanted to watch…I let myself spend money on so many things that I bought – so many times – for the sole reason that the idea was in my head and I just let it sit there and grow there until I just had to have it and I didn’t even remember why, or if that reason even still existed. I let myself convince me SO many times to work so hard to avoid a situation because possibly, maybe, potentially it might be kind of or a lot awkward or uncomfortable. All these things – even when I KNEW it wasn’t what God wanted me to do.
But after all these years of giving in and giving in and losing and failing…God has somehow empowered me to finally silence the voice that says “just do it…you’ll change eventually, you don’t have to right now”(satan) so that I can FINALLY hear the voice saying “you don’t have to. WHY are you doing it? where is this fear-this weakness-coming from? And why are you listening to it???”(God)
And now that I can hear that voice…its like huh…why am i?
And all this time I thought – if I could just have self-discipline…I wouldn’t feel guilty anymore.
But here’s the revelation I didn’t see coming…
After about 3 months of being in process of intensely learning self-discipline, not only do I not feel GUILTY anymore…but I feel FREE. Victorious. Strong. At peace… Do you get the idea? :)
But really, guys – turns out that once you stop giving into satan – you are free! This seems so obvious, and I have heard this so many times, but I guess I always just focused on the “not feeling guilty” part. I had no idea what the “freedom” would be like! Literally like a thousand pounds is lifted off your back, every time you claim victory over satan. Like the weight of the guilt we have been carrying around is finally being removed.
Amazing stuff! And I have no idea how it took me so long to really start fighting.
But it’s a battle…
Satan will never stop trying to whisper, sometimes scream, the lies into your life…and they are SO tempting to listen to…because it seems so much easier.
But he is just trying his best to cover up the truth and love and LIFE that God is constantly speaking into you. so silence the lies! Remind satan that he already lost and while he can make it hard for you to hear your Father’s voice – he can never silence it. Be free.

Galatians 5:1 – For FREEDOM Christ has set us free, so stand FIRM, therefore, and do NOT submit again to a yoke of slavery!

Matthew 16:23 - Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Lets be free, friends! And decide to listen to God’s voice and follow it…no matter where it leads. :)