I typed up a blog entry about training camp yesterday explaining some of what has been going on at camp and discussing the details about teams and activities, and living situations, and how ridiculously smelly I have been this week. However, that’s not what I want to talk about. What I want to say is that we serve a good God. We serve a loving God. We are so blessed to be able to enjoy his creation and to be able to come into his presence. It is amazing to be around other believers, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and see their passion for their relationship with the Lord. I am learning about myself and I am getting a glimpse of the power of the Holy Spirit. I have been confronting dark, gross parts of my soul that I don’t want to hold onto anymore. I have offered these parts to Jesus Christ and have felt freedom that can only come through Him. I am so excited about what the Spirit is doing in our team and my prayer for our team (and also my prayer request for those reading) is that we would be able to bond as the body of Christ, be united in the Spirit, and be able to bring the power of God to the nations.
My prayer is also that I – and the rest of my team – would be able to find my place in Christ and in this team. Two separate women who work for the World Race came up to me at two separate times and told me they received a vision from the Lord. They told me they saw my heart and that it was unique and very different. One mentioned she saw my heart as technicolor bursting forth with love with many different colors. She explained to me that I see things in a different and unique way, that others see life in black and white and that I see it in technicolor. She told me that I can feel what others are feeling in a deeper way than most and that the flip side of that is that I can experience God’s love in a much fuller sense. In my past, I have noticed that I feel for others strongly, but I always considered the flip side was that others can take advantage of that – what a blessing that that’s not the flip side! The other woman told me she saw my heart as a garden budding with flowers and bursting to show love to others. She saw my heart as very unique and exotic like a very exotic fruit. She told me God wants me to experience joy and wants to use me to show the love of Christ through others. She mentioned that it will be a challenging task but that I will find so much joy in this. I can understand that this seems crazy. But I spoke with these women and that hadn’t talked to each other. I spoke with other teammates and they said that the staff walked up to them and told them things and they were wondering “How could they know that?” I was wondering if the staff walked around and said the same things to everybody, but that’s not the case. I believe that this is from the Lord. I don’t know what ramifications this may have but my life verse (which these women weren’t aware of) is 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.” I want to love others and I feel called to love others. I pray that I would continue to figure out what this means and what this looks like.
I have also spent a lot of time praying which has been so rewarding. I encourage everyone reading this to take time with the Lord this day. Tell Him what you are thankful for. Assert His truth in your life. It is amazing what this will do for your soul. I allowed myself to be quiet and still during my prayer the other day to see what the Lord had to say. It was impressed upon me, “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.”
We heard about the realities of the “least of these” around the world last night. It quickly helped me to get over myself. We learned that if just 7% of the US population that call themselves “Christian” would adopt a child, then there would be no more orphans! Just 7%! What does that say to you?
We learned about the horrors of the sex trafficing industry. We were showed a tiny pair of shoes that fit in a mans hands and he said that those were the shoes of a little girl who was rescued from the sex trade industry. It broke my heart and it should. My prayer is that the Lord will continue breaking my heart, and will be breaking yours too. My prayer is that where our hearts are broken we would be filled with passion. That the passion would be turned into action, and the action into outcomes. I was touched by the thought that if I lost a child or some young person very close to me, what would I do to get them back? I would do whatever it takes. These orphans, these children in the sex trafficing industry, these people starving in the world are God’s children and He is weeping for them. What is He doing about it? The Lord is calling Christians to step up and love his children!
I think one of the strongest prayers we can pray is “I am willing to follow You where You want me to go Father, pick me, choose me.” This is my prayer. I am not sure that I am aware of all the ramifications this will have at this time, but I know that it will be worth it. I pray that this can become your prayer.
Praise God the Father, Praise Jesus Christ, Praise the Spirit!
