3 more weeks!

ok friends, so this has been a really great weekend :)
first - i just have to say that the fact that all my worries and stresses have literally been lifted (well the big ones ;) ), regarding the trip and just everything...just reassures me that God is faithful. it has been a really tough month. a very testing, trying month and i just am so grateful for the times when God is forming me, but also so grateful for when the darkness fades and we can come out of the craziness stronger and more at peace than before...knowing Him and trusting Him on a whole new level. and do you want to know my favorite part about when we go through big things, big steps of faith...? is that we can know that something big is coming, because we have placed ourselves completely in His hands and THAT place is where we can feel Him the most :) and also, in going through the dark, confusing time, and getting back to the place of peace...i can see Gods faithfulness in a whole new way. He called us, He said to hang onto the truth, He said to keep fighting...and here we are. not quite gone yet, but SO close...after all of satan's incredibly incessant attempts to get to this team...we are still going to Mexico, still following the call, and i feel like we are stronger because of all it took to get where we are now. and i am SO excited to see what is coming!!!!!!

especially seeing it come together! we had a GREAT practice on saturday morning...not everyone was there, but the people that were, got through a lot and we learned a lot and our new girl/jesus actors are learning it QUICK. so that is a huge blessing and accomplishment.
we also taught a new drama, its one that i learned while with YWAM and it goes with carman's song "mission 3:16". its all about spiritual warfare...and my favorite part is the angels...:) they are not the pretty, sweet angels we sometimes picture, but the tough, WARRIOR angels with swords and battle faces. ;) its good stuff, and a great picture of what satans true intentions are for us.

so yeah - thank you team for a great practice!!!

but i just had such a great weekend...God is definitely a God who loves to see His children smile. He just blesses us and its such an amazing thing. :) how great that He knows us personally and knows what will make us just stop and just have that smile that comes all the way from the inside, even just with little things. i am just so in awe of Him and His incredible faithfulness.
He loves us SO much. we dont deserve it, we havent earned it...but its there. so we better embrace it and just lay back into His arms and just soak Him in. just rest and love Him back. love Him by letting go of everything else and just hearing His voice and His plan. take the time to learn His voice. He will pour out and He will lead us to amazing things and places, all while we're in His arms. why would we ever fight that???
what could we possibly search for that could be better? embrace it now!
find out what it truly means to fall in love with Him...NOW.
let Him romance you...because He knows you and He is just waiting to surprise you with something that will put an amazing smile on your face and all you can think is "aww, thank you God..."
because no one else could have possibly known or pulled it off. :)

through the last month, here is my encouragement to you...learn His voice. hear it and hang onto it. shut out the voice of doubt and fear, just ignore it. focus on the truth and fight with everything in you...pray pray pray for you and the people around you going through the same thing. pray. listen for His voice. and dont stop fighting...its hard its tough, but it WILL PASS. the craziness WILL END. YOU WILL GET THROUGH AND EXPERIENCE WHAT HE IS CALLING YOU TO if you just trust Him and keep fighting. and you will breathe again...:)

im just realizing again how great He is, falling in love with Him again...realizing how close and how sovereign and how beautiful He is.
so thank you for letting me share that with you.
and i pray that as you read this - the Holy Spirit will just pour out and remind you of how much He loves you.

Isaiah 43:1-5
God personally declares His love for you...amazing.

feelin good...

hello! so as you can probably tell from the last few (a lot) of posts on here, its been an intense last few weeks. thanks for allowing me to process on here! but after a tough battle - i am finally starting to feel like satan is starting to loosen his grip a little. and maybe im just learning and getting stronger - really knowing God is going to come through, like im starting to hear the lies for what they really are. like i feel like i can breathe again. and i know that its not over, i know enough not to think i have beat him and im done with him forever...he doesnt work that way. HOWEVER...he is being defeated in this battle! because through ALL of this craziness - we are going to mexico in just a few short weeks!!! yay! God is so faithful and we just need to KEEP PRAYING through the rest of this time. God has been laying on my heart to really pray for the people down there, pray that He will protect us, pray that there wont be violence or danger...just really pray for His mission.
tonight we read Daniel 10...epic. that is all i can say about that. haha...its SUCH a cool picture of daniel, who wanted an answer and knew it was coming so he prayed..and fasted...and stayed expectant - and 3 WEEKS later an angel shows up and appears to him with his answer...and he tells him that as soon as he started praying, he was heard and an answer was given and he was trying to get to him - but he was stuck in a battle with the Prince of Persia and so Michael had to come help and finally he made it out and got the answer to Daniel. CRAZY stuff. but SO cool. and just an amazing example of why it is so so so important to stay steadfast, pray with expectancy, and to not ever give up ! keep fighting! love it.

we also worked on the drama we started last week...we're teaching this team the set me free drama too...and even though the song is in english, i think the point will get across. :) such a cool picture.

and we spent some time going over rules and the "business" stuff. thanks Marco! :)

we also found out that we will now be leaving on the 12th! not the 13th! crazy. but plane tickets were cheaper and so yeah. haha...the surprises just keep on coming. bring it on! God's got this.

we also spent some time working on scripts...spanish scripts for some of the short dramas we'll be using for ministry. so fun. so pray that we'll all be able to learn spanish and get the messages that we want to get across out to the people.

also - most likely this weekend we will be working on scripts for the Project: Hosea - recording them in SPANISH! yay! thank you so much to Luke Erickson and friends.......so amazing! so we'll be able to use that down there if we need to.

im really in a good mood right now...i think that the hard times are so hard, but when they start to pass you just appreciate the joy SO much more! i feel like i have been learning and been being tested and formed and its been a really great time of learning what it means to be faithful. and learning what it means to follow His call...even when it doesnt make sense or when its not what people necessarily want or understand or when its hard and tiring and confusing. i wouldnt say its a super fun lesson to learn...haha...but definitely a good one.

i have no idea what God will do once we actually get on the plane and get to where we are going...but what i do know is that God has done one crazy, seemingly impossible thing after another...and i have felt SO many times that whatever we're about to do - probably wont happen...but then it does. and He makes it work, and He reminds us that its not us...but Him. and its absolutely beautiful to watch.

please keep us in your prayers!!!!!!! this battle is not even close to over, we need to stay alert and pay attention to what the enemy is doing.

J'son (an amazing christian rapper) has a song and lyrics that i love but he says this...

"dont get knocked out...you better know what your enemy bringin'

its a lifelong fight, the only way you live is if yo' lifes not ya own..."

and all i can say is AMEN to that.

we have practice on saturday morning :) pray that it goes well and we get SOOOOO much done and we can all just be excited about the ministry you are preparing us for!

something beautiful

here are some song lyrics that just put a smile on my face today...
its been crazy figuring out - will we go to mexico? is this God's calling? are we crazy? should we be doing this? etc etc etc... haha God has blessed us with a peace in all of it, but it gets tiring...:) good thing we are never ALONE!
but just yesterday i found an article that really just lifted my spirits about mexico. just finally reading one that wasnt filled with fear, so it was just kind of a breath of fresh air. i know it is dangerous, i know its unpredictable, but i also know He is calling us there. i guess its just good to get a glimpse through the tangles of the hope that God does actually know what He is doing and He will care for us. and then i heard the song below, and i heard another song called "something beautiful" and they both just talk about getting past the danger, the fear and trusting...walking into it with faith...and then being able to wait with expectation for the beautiful. i am on my knees, in awe of His faithfulness and sovreignty yet again...humbled that He would take the time to teach and prepare and refine...just waiting for something beautiful :)

these are lyrics from the song "the God i know" by Me in Motion

I was quick to anger and my love was slow
Tried to keep from danger to protect my soul
Afraid to let a neighbor in my home
Afraid to become just like the God I know

I Walked on water, sank when I looked back
I forgot that faith is not a matter of fact
Jesus showed me something different

There is one thing I know for sure
I can’t let fear hide my faith anymore
That’s not the God I know

He touched my eyes and I can finally see
That love is a dangerous philosophy
You and me have been hurt before
But that doesn't mean we keep closing the door

Complacency can be the worst disease
The cure is here, believe the mystery
That Jesus' love is so much different

Love's like a fire, let it burn
And don't ever let it out
Let ‘em know what it's all about
So give whatchu got and you'll find
When we're livin’ dangerous
All of us, can change this town
That's not the God I know

set me free

so we are working on a drama for Revolution (June 5th, Edinbrook church, 530pm...its gonna be pretty epic)...john n found it online somewhere and asked us to put it together. so we got a team of 9 ppl together, and its really fun because we get to work with people from our ALIVE team! its been awhile with the mission team meetings/practices, so its been fun getting to work them again. im excited for when ALIVE starts back up...not sure when. summer? anyways...so last wednesday and this wednesday we met up and worked on it and after only a couple hours of work - it looks SO good. im so excited to see it happen that night.
its a drama to the casting crown's song set me free. its a cool song, if you havent heard it, you should look it up. powerful lyrics.
and we took ideas from the video we had but changed some stuff up and the end result is really a cool thing.
and they learned it so fast!
i will say that i have learned that one of my absolute least favorite noises...is chains being moved around for long periods of time. haha...i never thought i would find that out about myself.
but yeah - so keep us in your prayers! revolution is in a few weeks, so just pray that it will all stick in their heads and that it will portray the right message and that God will speak through it and use it to reach the people who need to hear it.
keep joe, ashley, shane, ben, rachel, missy, jordan, isaac, and matt all in your prayers, that satan stays away and that they will be ready for that night, for whatever God wants to do in that moment.
ok, tomorrow night is missions meeting!!!
im feeling like maybe i should just move into church...it might be easier. haha
but we're learning some fun new things tomorrow, so it should be interesting. ;)
pray that we can all stay focused and just follow His leading.

a moment of opportunity

in the last couple weeks, i have just been feeling spiritual warfare like i never have before...in me and in the people around me - with the trip and in so many other areas of my life...
but there is this picture that God keeps showing me...
its like satan has us by the arms, just pulling us back, closer and closer to him and we are getting tired. just losing motivation to try because it seems impossible, and not really seeing a real way out. he is stronger than we are it seems and its just not worth effort to break free, it seems hopeless...but then all of a sudden God is right there in front of us and its like satan is stunned...and he lets go for a second...but in that second its like all of a sudden there is a chance for us to RUN with everything in us straight for the open arms in front of us, to God.
and its just this picture of the sheer hopelessness and overwhelming feeling of having satan doing everything he can to hold us back...but God comes to rescue us. He will always have the power to overcome satan, and He gives us a moment...that moment where we can break free and run to him and there is hope! but we also have the option to stay where we are. we have a choice.
and its like every time i see that picture i feel like God is asking me to pray that we take that opportunity...that we dont wait, but grab it. as soon as the clouds part and our vision starts to clear up and there is nothing holding us back...we run. we get as far away from satan, from that feeling of defeat as possible and just cling to God with everything in us...because satan is not going to give us all the time in the world to get away.
i just want to share this picture because its helped me a lot and it is still helping me...to not give up. keep fighting, keep struggling, dont get complacent...because the moment will come when satan is forced to back off and let go completely because God will not just let him overcome us...(we are pressed but not crushed...)and God will take over and we need to be ready to run into what He is calling us to. because we have to run, we have to be ready, we have to take action... take that time of freedom, that opportunity, that moment for all we can. because this is GOD'S work. this is GOD's heart, HIS people we are fighting for. He will protect, and He will strengthen...but WE need to grasp that moment and fight for God's kingdom...
John 16:33...we will have trouble in this world, but take heart! He has overcome the world!!!