At debrief in Hua Hin, Thailand at the end of January, God gave me a picture of a child running around holding a sparkler.
As the child runs freely, there are multi-colored lighting beams shooting out of the sparkler. The lighting beams are lighting up the entire sky like fireworks. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
"What does this picture mean?" I asked God.
He tells me: "There is endless beauty in worshipping and knowing me that you have yet to untap."
"How do I untap it Lord?"
He shows me that the kid is just running one step at a time, one day at a time and proclaiming freedom. She looks forward to be renewed each day and imagines being with the Creator. She is free.
Michelle, my friend on the Squad and fellow worshipper who loves to dance freestyle for God and soaks in His presence from the onething Conferences, shares with me the following advice on living a lifestyle of worship.
1. Start the day expecting to worship God and meet Him.
2. Commune with God constantly throughout the day.
3. Be set up for success, be in the zone, living in the river (that is the Living Water), so you don't need a warm up to worship God.
So, with this sparkler image in mind and accepting a challenge from Lauren of G Squad to worship God differently everyday, my month of February became the month that led me connect more intimately with my Creator by creativity worship.
Why 21 days of worship?
My quiet time with God has consisted of prayer, reading of the word and some journaling. I wanted newness, creativity and excitement in the most important relationship I have. It's kind of like being in a relationship, you don't go to the same restaurant, do the same things, talk about the same topics on your dates with your significant other do you? You mix it up to keep the relationship fresh and exciting. It's the same with your relationship with God.
How to do it?
I didn't plan each day, rather, I waited expectantly for God to draw me into Him. What surprised me is how easy and fun my time with Him became, they became integrated with the way I spent my days instead of setting separate times to meet with God, God came into the times I enjoyed myself and the way He made me.
Find a secret place
The key to my worship sessions was to get away with God, no matter how my day unfolded, I escaped to meet Him, in the prayer room that we set up (thanks Beth for the vision for this) or outside away from everyone.
Here're some ways I got closer to the Creator last month:
Day 1: Prayer and worship
Day 2: Drew coconut trees and wrote a poem about Creator God (in pen)
Day 3: Watched the sunset, birds flying and sang worship songs
Day 4: Drew "Rise up Oh Daughter" a series inspired by my affirmed identity as the daughter of the King (in color pencil)
Day 5: Played the harmonica
Day 6: Painted "Flying lanterns" in watercolor
Day 7: Listening prayer and journaling abobut childhood birthdays
Day 8: Danced in our prayer room
Day 9: Studied the word Redeemer and it's meaning (a redeemer did 3 things: protected, rescued, blessed).
Day 10: Shared my testimony with team
Day 11: Saw fireworks while praying on the Penang YWAM base rooftop
Day 12: Celebrated Chinese NYE and got revelation about my birthday plans
Day 13: ATL birthday
Day 19: Fasted for my relationship with God, our ministry, and team unity
Day 20: Fought off two discouragements with worship songs
Day 21: Holy nap (!!!) – dosed off while praying
See, these are just some examples of ways God led me to worship me in the last month. You may be surprised that they are so simple, and are nothing religious and rules based, but rather, they brought out the PASSION, FUN, and FREEDOM into my relationship with God.
A challenge for future and current racers:
I dare you to incorporate 21 Days of Worship into your Race for a month, it's going to change the way you view God and revolutionize the way you spend time with Him.
Now go get creative!
Our prayer room in Changlun, Malaysia.
Creative worship drawings done by girls of Shekinah and Shiloh.
Some books on creative worship:
