It is finally here!! The long a waited launch! I signed up for the world race almost a year ago. It has been this distance thought that is now a reality. I am sitting in Malaysia as I type this blog. It is as real as it is going to get. I want to take time and tell you how God worked through the speakers and my squad-mates at launch.
First before we can even talk about launch, I must tell you that saying good bye before I headed to Chicago was hard. The night before I left my mom made spaghetti for my last meal at home (her spaghetti is awesome). Meme, Poppy, Frankie, Marty and the girls came over to say good bye. I was up just about all night packing. In the morning grandma and grandpa came up and prayed for me. A moment I will always remember. It was very special to me for my family to send me off in prayer. It was hard saying goodbye to Bob and Tracey(my parents) at the airport. I love my parents so much. They are such a blessing in my life.
So I flew to Chicago… I was so drained from the goodbyes, yet seeing my squad-mates spurred on a joy and excitement for the year to come. Jesus has blessed me so much with a new family in my squad to walk with over the next year.
Launch is designed for that last bit of training, spiritual formation, and building of unity. Jesus started working the very first night. During the first three songs of worship I just felt fear from some of my insecurities in leading and in my knowledge of the Bible. It was just Satan lying to me and feeding me words of inadequacies. During the third song one of the girls on my squad came up to me and said that I need to step into my potential as the leader God has called me to be. I kid you not… Thirty seconds later a guy on my squad told me that the Lord gave him an image of God romancing me this year and pouring his love over me, while speaking life into me through His Word. Then another guy came up and read Psalm 1:2-3 over me. In that moment, I started declaring the lies Satan was feeding me to be dead in Jesus name, and claiming identify and beauty in Christ. The song How He Loves Us was playing. I also told God that my bag was stuffed to the brim with gear, and I could not fit nor desired to bring extra baggage in the form of insecurity on the WR. During the session the speaker even said have limited emotional a baggage on the World Race.
The speaker that night had so many nuggets of truth. Here are a few:
1. It is impossible to love without taking risk
2. Your love for the nations can not be greater than how we love our neighbor. If we do it is hypocrisy.
3. Be a person that operates in high grace and one that prefers others over yourself.
4. I am responsible for cultivating the environment around me.
5. We often judge people by their actions but judge ourselves by our intentions.
Meditate in your heart on some of these statements.
The other message that wrecked me was about the call to be unoffendable. When we get offended it tells more about US and what's gong on in our heart than the offender. The speaker, Sean, said some truths about how often we can get offended and how quickly that spirit of offense becomes bitterness. The bitterness in our heart eventually creeps out into our actions and speech. God illuminated some strange entitlement issues in my life through what the Sean had to say. I started thinking of the times that I get offended and most of the time it is when I think that I am entitled to something. I have to give up the right to be right. This realization wreaked me, because even to the point of think I am entitled to the Gospel. The spirit comforted me in that moment reminding me of the prodigal son, and the Spirit brought back to my mind the image of being romanced by Jesus this year. I still have a lot of brokenness to experience but praise God the Holy Spirit is walking next to me and His righteousness precedes me. Sean challenged everyone to use wounds for the advancement of character in ourself.
My team!
In front of the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala, Lumpur!
