Hello friends!
On Sunday I got back from my 10-Day training camp in Georgia, and let me tell you it was something else. The Lord did some work on my heart, I met my team, and I learned some things. Let me tell you about some of them real quick, and then some real detailed.
6 Quick Things I Learned:
1. Sleeping on the ground is actually not terrible.
2. Georgia is cold in October.
3. Nobody cares if you haven’t showered in 5 days if they also have not showered in 5 days (They also can’t tell if you smell bad because they also smell bad).
4. Porta-Potties are still the W O R S T.
5. A 2-mile walk is way harder when you have a 30-pound backpack on.
6. Eating rice with your hands is never not going to be fun.
So those were 6 rather unimportant things I learned. Now let me tell you about the important things.
The 3 Most Important Things I Learned:
1. I learned that I forgot I could make family.
Many years ago, back in my Bible school days, I received a prophetic word that was “you make family wherever you go”. It’s kind of a sad word a little bit because it kinda implies that I have to make new ‘families’ because I no longer have the ‘old’ family. But it’s also so hopeful because I can still have a new one (if that makes sense). I got really close with my team really quickly. Immediately, almost. Most of us met at the airport and were inseparable since then (I mean… except when we had to go to bed, or use the porta-potty, or like have a one-on-one…). We became a little unit/family in about 2 days.
A picture the Lord gave me was of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ arms so the Israelites could defeat the Amalekites. None of us can do this on our own; we all have little battles we fight as individuals and sometimes, we’ll have to hold up each other’s arms. We will have to stand together in prayer, encourage and comfort each other when it gets tough, and correct each other as needed. Being unified and knowing that they have the same heart for America in this next season means so much to me.
Gisele, Andrew, Morgan, Bridget, Delaney, Amanda are my new lil ‘family’ for this journey in 2020. And I am so excited to spend those 11 months with them (And Mark and Kathy and TT too).
Our team name is the Blaze Trailers. Because we’re lighting the nation on fire with revival and carrying it with us. Also because TT accidentally said in a meeting that we were “blazetrailers” when she meant to say “Trailblazers.” We heard the story and laughed and then, because we are all goofy individuals, decided to name ourselves that. We thought taking a silly mistake and redeeming it would make something amazing.
We are the first team, the trailblazers, the pioneers of World Race America. We are the Blaze Trailers. And we are gonna blaze that trail.
(Also pray for me as all next year I will be trying relentlessly to convince my team to get matching tattoos of a trailer on fire).
2. I learned that I am fed up.
Fed up with what the darkness has been doing in our nation, the footholds Satan has taken in our country, our families, our world, and in our lives. He has no right to those things, he is already defeated, and how dare he set up camp right in the middle of Spirit-filled hearts and minds. How dare he. The Bible says where the Spirit of the Lord is there is power, there is freedom, there is life. Evil has no place in the presence of a Holy God. And we are carriers of His Spirit and Presence. So darkness, death, and demons have no place in OUR presence, right? So how dare Satan think He can get away with setting up camp in our homes, families, and nation. He has no power, and we should not be scared of him. I am fed up with the defeatist attitude we can take with our battles with sin and darkness.
The battle belongs to the Lord.
The battle belongs to the Lord.
The battle belongs to the Lord.
And just a newsflash for y’all:
He already won.
Time to remind the demons who He is and who He says WE are. We are free, we are alive, we are loved, and we are not backing down. We are not going to live oppressed by sin and crushed by guilt, depression, anxiety, or addiction.
The battle belongs to the Lord.
(Probably gonna post a longer blog about this later on cuz I’m all fired up about it)
3. I learned that there has been a ton of damage done to my heart.
While some of it has been healed, or is in the healing process, I still have a ways to go. Really. This was a painful realization, because honestly I want to be done with certain healing processes. I’m tired of crying about the same stuff.
I also did not want revelation into other places that Jesus needs to touch and heal. I don’t want to start fresh healing processes. I don’t like being in pain (Ya know, like most other sane individuals).
But the Lord is good to me. He has promised that those painful things will be taken care of. Redeemed, reconciled, restored. All the broken pieces are being picked back up and getting put back together.
And it’s gonna be tough. It’s gonna be a tough 11 months.
But it’s going to be so good, y’all. So good.
So yeah. That’s what I learned at training camp. I also learned some more about the impact of vulnerability, the power of worship, the peace attached to intimacy with the Lord, and the inexpressible joy that comes from beating the pants off all the other squads in a dance competition (There’s a video, it’s on Facebook, you should watch it).
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