Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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      I have been on the world race for 28 days now. A few things God has taught me while I have been on this amazing journey are to slow down, spend time with him, listen to him, and do everything with a good attitude.

      We are now 2 days away from leaving this beautiful island called the Philippines. On Friday, we will be boarding a plane to live in Cambodia for one month. My time in the Philippines has been well spent and one of the best months of my life. As we are winding down, I am trying to process all of the wisdom and knowledge that God has been speaking to me about. The most important point that God has been speaking to me about this first month on the world race is to slow down. He has told me that it is not my deeds that make him happy. Coming from the CEV translation in the bible, Psalm 147:11 says “The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love”. It does not say do as many good deeds as you can and God will be pleased with you. I could work 12 hours a day every day building houses, leading bible studies, taking care of orphans, playing sports with kids, feeding children, etc. The list really goes on because there is an endless amount of work that we could do everyday if our bodies would allow it. But if I spend no time with God by myself then what is my time and effort going to do? How am I supposed to tell people about what God has been doing in my life and how good he is if I do not sit down with God and talk about it? Listening to God is another very important asset to any Christ followers walk with Jesus. Christianity is supposed to be a personal relationship with God. It is not supposed to be all of these separate denominations saying lets do this and not that. We are all one body and should love each other. We were made in his image and we are made to worship him! Worship can mean praying, singing, spending a moment in silence with God, enjoying Gods creation, loving people, dancing, watching the sunset, etc. One thing that I need to work on more and more is listening to God during my prayer time with him. I do a whole lot of talking but not enough listening.

      For the entire month of September, almost every day, I felt like I could have done more ministry. However, when I took it to God he kept telling me “I want to spend time with you Ryan”. Therefore, over the last month that is exactly what I have been doing. I have slowed down and spent time with God. I wanted to listen to God and obey him. After all when we obey God he blesses us! Delayed obedience is disobedience so that is another thing I am working on is acting on what God tells me to do the first time. When I say I slowed down it does not mean that I did not do anything at all. I happened to build a whole lot of great relationships with people in the community, feed starving children, lead bible studies, helped my friend dig a hole so the dirt could be used to level his house, painted, road bikes with kids, and much more. However, the most important thing that I did all month was spend time with God and my team. I have learned how to listen to Gods voice more and I am still working on hearing his voice on a daily basis. I have been finding myself praying more and more everyday. One of the best times I find to pray is when I wake up and before I go to sleep because there is so much to pray about. Then throughout the day I try to keep my mind focused on God. I have found that sometimes I spend hours with God praying for people and myself. When I spend time praying and hanging out with God, it is very refreshing and it recharges my soul. Sometimes we get caught up in life and do not spend time with God or in his word. I know that has happened to me many times. I want to encourage you with two things God has taught me over the last year. 1. It is perfectly fine to tell someone no so you can get some rest and spend time with God. 2. Spend time with God and you will become more like him.

      The last thing I want to talk about is my attitude. God has been teaching me that my attitude is one of the biggest keys to ministry. If I keep a good attitude and smile then people will see Jesus flowing through me. However, if I have a bad attitude and a frown on my face then I am not showing Jesus living in me. Please be praying that I will keep a good attitude for the entire year. I believe I can do it and if you pray for it and lift me up in prayer then I believe God will honor that request. Thank you once again for reading this blog! I love all of you and hope this blog has been an encouragement to you! God bless