Last night the speaker at Gateway House of Prayer said that we don't pray enough. He had us spend 15 minutes praying for our unsaved friends and family. Immediately I started praying for my dad, which is kind of weird because I hate to say he's unsaved ... but really, is he walking with the Lord?
After years of praying for my dad I’ve become fed up with it and recently my grumble to the Lord has been "You know what, either heal him and transform him completely or ..." BUT LAST NIGHT I WAS CONVICTED OF HOW BACKWARD THAT IS! God is God and nothing is impossible for Him! Who am I to doubt the power of God to do anything? Especially when it’s something He desires even more than I do – like to see my pops transformed by the grace of God and for him to walk in victorious transformation.
This Sunday Andy Byrd spoke at the church I’ve been going to, and I’ve been soaring on the words the Lord spoke through him. He asked whether we think the angels in heaven ever experience insecurity around the presence of God. Do you think they question the plans He gives them? Maybe they look at your financial system and say, “Gee, God’s big but ______ money issues are bigger …” Or maybe they look at my dad and say, “God’s big, but Joe’s just too far gone …” NO ONE IS TOO FAR GONE! How could I give up on someone when God has never lost a battle? I think about how much I want to see my dad saved, and then how much more God must want it and weep on his behalf … and I can’t believe that I’d ever give up praying.
Something else that stuck out from Andy’s message: it is time for us to stop living by our circumstances and start ruling them! The Living God lives inside of us and we have more power in our little finger than all of hell – the only thing stopping us is ourselves!
God will have His people and He will not lose. As I prayed for my dad last night more revelation kept coming to me and I felt the urgency of praying for him, and for all of the other people I desperately desire to see walking intimately with the Lord! I wrote a list and then I had to stop because there are so many people on it. But I just kept coming back to Dad. And God kept encouraging me: Don’t believe these thoughts and fears of failure. That is the enemy’s plan to thwart what he knows will produce an unstoppable burning endurance in you Chelsea! And a fireball effect coming out of you and your dad’s life and your whole entire family. Do not give the enemy credit or open grounds to take that which does not belong to him.
Then I got a picture of my dad’s bedroom with an old army tent set up in it, almost like a whole camp. It reminded me of the ones I’d see at Civil War reenactments I went to with him when I was younger. At first I thought it was angels in the tents, but the more I thought about it there seemed to be enemy tents close by. Almost as if both sides were waiting and it was up to me to commit to the battle, to claim victory. There was also no ceiling/roof above his room, it was wide open to a bright starry sky. It seemed like God was saying that there is an OPEN HEAVEN above the life of my dad, and now is the time to pray without ceasing. (This might be the coolest clearest picture God's ever given me.)
Please join me in praying for my dad; and for all the ones you love that don’t YET know the Lord. Time in prayer for someone is never wasted. God cares about the one! He cares about YOU more than you know.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Vision
No idea who wrote this, but it's my favorite! I love listening to it being read by the guy with an Aussie accent, but alas, I'm a computer sped sometimes so I couldn't post the link. Whether you've heard it before or not, read it, be inspired and keep charging after the vision the Lord has for you!
So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this… The vision?
The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.They wouldn't even notice.They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision ?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.A million times a day its soldiers choose to loosethat they might one day winthe great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"
And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…This is the sound of the underground
And the army is discipl(in)ed.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?
And the generation prays like a dying manwith groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears andwith great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.
Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive
inside.
On the outside?
They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.
Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be.
It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.
Guaranteed.
So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this… The vision?
The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.They wouldn't even notice.They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision ?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.A million times a day its soldiers choose to loosethat they might one day winthe great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"
And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…This is the sound of the underground
And the army is discipl(in)ed.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?
And the generation prays like a dying manwith groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears andwith great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.
Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive
inside.
On the outside?
They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.
Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be.
It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.
Guaranteed.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Day In The Life
This weekend one of my best friends mentioned how much she loves her mom and asked if I ever get that feeling, where I love something so much I don't even have words for it. My answer? Yes, yes, and absolutely YES!
I can't tell you how many times this basically indescribable feeling comes over me and I want to shriek with happiness. It's such an intensely wonderful way to feel and I wish I could explain it to you, but I can only hope to trigger your brain about those things you might take for granted but are really thankful for. Becky probably rolled her eyes at my crazy excitement as I explained that not only do I feel euphoric about my mom or brother or dad or friends (muah!) ... but sometimes I can't contain my happiness about sunsets or my bedroom or songs on the radio or naps or new shoes. (It's always the little things, right?) I love it so much when it just hits you how good you have it; how awesome someone or something is. Life is a such a great gift.
Something else I love about my life is how comically unpredictable it can be. I kind of thought this only applied to me when I lived in Hawaii, but it's all the time. Whenever anyone called me in Maui I'd struggle to catch them up on the weeks because a single day held a month's worth of happenings. I'm back in Lancaster and it's still the same scenario. :)
So I was inspired today to chronicle just that: a day in the life of me. Ridiculous? Well, no one is holding a gun to your head making you read this - so now's your chance to save yourself and exit if you're annoyed.
Wake up 5am and head to the gym. Gym attendant is sleeping at the desk - hilarious. Watch Fox News from the eliptical. Become frustrated and respond verbally - hilarious to guys laughing around me. Love talking to the senior citizens at the gym in the mornings. Drove to work and tried to apply mascara en route. Turning a city corner leads to a long streak of black across my dash. (And my arm?!) Oops. Suddenly the guy in the truck beside me is waving and mouthing something. Is he seriously looking for chicks before 7am?! OMG, that guy went to my elementary school. I start laughing which makes him smile more. Oops.
Get into my work routine and things are going smoothly. Lots of people didn't show up. Midmorning the director of food services hands out chocolates as a condolence for being overworked and underpaid. I'm rooting around for dark chocolate and he says, "Nice nailpolish! Is that maroon or purple?" "Oh thank you! It's more like a dark plum." He leaves and it registers that he's the head honcho of the department where nailpolish is strictly off-limits. Was he kidding? Am I going to get a write-up? I laugh it off.
A lady is coughing up a lung in the employee bathroom so I ask if she's okay. "I ca-n't ge-t ai-rrr ..." "Ummm ... " God, I hate situations like this! You know I don't know the heimlich or anything! An EMT walks in that very second! "Hey, this lady can't breathe!" And I'm out of there.
Every room is an adventure as I get breakfast and supper orders. You've gotta love the lady who says she eats a lot because she once dated a Jew who was 16 years older than her. (Yep, that's probably the reason for obesity across America, come to think of it.)
Things in the kitchen are chaotic & one coworker starts venting, "Where is the work ethic Chels?! I mean honestly. You've got it." I just shake my head and we talk about how no one is willing to work and how scary that is for the future. She thinks it all went downhill when they took prayer out of public schools and I want to yell hallelujah and AMEN.
Just before supper one of my supervisors says, "Is that purple?" "What? No, it's green. I'm drinking green tea." "No, your nails ... that's different, I like it!" I clock out thirty minutes later with two nailpolish compliments and no write-ups. Seriously?
I can't tell you how many times this basically indescribable feeling comes over me and I want to shriek with happiness. It's such an intensely wonderful way to feel and I wish I could explain it to you, but I can only hope to trigger your brain about those things you might take for granted but are really thankful for. Becky probably rolled her eyes at my crazy excitement as I explained that not only do I feel euphoric about my mom or brother or dad or friends (muah!) ... but sometimes I can't contain my happiness about sunsets or my bedroom or songs on the radio or naps or new shoes. (It's always the little things, right?) I love it so much when it just hits you how good you have it; how awesome someone or something is. Life is a such a great gift.
Something else I love about my life is how comically unpredictable it can be. I kind of thought this only applied to me when I lived in Hawaii, but it's all the time. Whenever anyone called me in Maui I'd struggle to catch them up on the weeks because a single day held a month's worth of happenings. I'm back in Lancaster and it's still the same scenario. :)
So I was inspired today to chronicle just that: a day in the life of me. Ridiculous? Well, no one is holding a gun to your head making you read this - so now's your chance to save yourself and exit if you're annoyed.
Wake up 5am and head to the gym. Gym attendant is sleeping at the desk - hilarious. Watch Fox News from the eliptical. Become frustrated and respond verbally - hilarious to guys laughing around me. Love talking to the senior citizens at the gym in the mornings. Drove to work and tried to apply mascara en route. Turning a city corner leads to a long streak of black across my dash. (And my arm?!) Oops. Suddenly the guy in the truck beside me is waving and mouthing something. Is he seriously looking for chicks before 7am?! OMG, that guy went to my elementary school. I start laughing which makes him smile more. Oops.
Get into my work routine and things are going smoothly. Lots of people didn't show up. Midmorning the director of food services hands out chocolates as a condolence for being overworked and underpaid. I'm rooting around for dark chocolate and he says, "Nice nailpolish! Is that maroon or purple?" "Oh thank you! It's more like a dark plum." He leaves and it registers that he's the head honcho of the department where nailpolish is strictly off-limits. Was he kidding? Am I going to get a write-up? I laugh it off.
A lady is coughing up a lung in the employee bathroom so I ask if she's okay. "I ca-n't ge-t ai-rrr ..." "Ummm ... " God, I hate situations like this! You know I don't know the heimlich or anything! An EMT walks in that very second! "Hey, this lady can't breathe!" And I'm out of there.
Every room is an adventure as I get breakfast and supper orders. You've gotta love the lady who says she eats a lot because she once dated a Jew who was 16 years older than her. (Yep, that's probably the reason for obesity across America, come to think of it.)
Things in the kitchen are chaotic & one coworker starts venting, "Where is the work ethic Chels?! I mean honestly. You've got it." I just shake my head and we talk about how no one is willing to work and how scary that is for the future. She thinks it all went downhill when they took prayer out of public schools and I want to yell hallelujah and AMEN.
Just before supper one of my supervisors says, "Is that purple?" "What? No, it's green. I'm drinking green tea." "No, your nails ... that's different, I like it!" I clock out thirty minutes later with two nailpolish compliments and no write-ups. Seriously?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Red Envelope Day
Have you heard about this yet?
Buy a red envelope or color one redand mail it to President Obama (1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC20500) on March 31st. Don't put anything inside, but write on the back:"This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of ourworld."
Don't push abortion to the back of your mind or think that it's impossible tosee it end. Pray for abortion to be eradicated now, in our lifetime! If anyone Iknew were suddenly put in a life or death situation, would I not be desperatelypassionately constantly interceding on their behalf? YES. Abortion is life ordeath on a much larger scale. I need to pray consistently - not ask forsomething once or twice and give up, but to charge it a lot more than I have been.
Go to YouTube.com and type in "12-year-old girl speaks out against abortion." I couldn't figure out how to make it work as a link, but it encouraged me greatly and is well worth your time to watch! Children sure seem to know the business of God, yeah? I want their unabashed passion to rub off on me. They have the confidence tochange the world! I remember being completely enthusiastic about every world dilemma that my teachers taught us about. You name it, I wanted to fight it,help it, save it.
Once my fifth grade teacher came in saying that we would start having to pay a tax for every worksheet we were given and to take tests. Everyone was upset and I raised my hand and started protesting and rallying my classmates - "We don't have to pay this guys! No way! You know what we're gonna do? Boycott this!" Everyone in my class was cheering and honestly it started getting a bit out of control. Mrs. Moore starts cracking up and explained that she was just using it as an illustration to introduce our history lesson about the Boston Tea Party. "It was people like Chelsea leading rebellions and getting things done ..." HAHAHA, my teachers must've been entertained. :)
In seventh grade I got into a fight with my social studies teacher about abortion. Once again my class ate it up, because here's this quiet kid whipping out statements that lead to the teacher yelling and saying we're never bringing abortion up again. I pressed him about a passing comment that he made about abortion and while I forget a lot of the details of our talk, I know he said that if someone found out that their baby was going to be "deformed" with Down syndrome an abortion would be the only intelligent choice. Knowing his wife was pregnant, I asked, "So you're telling me that if you found out your baby had Down syndrome you would kill it?" Every eye was on our teacher as he swallowed and didn't answer, but after a moment began yelling and saying we could not discuss abortion anymore in his class. (Of course after that it seemed like everyone deliberately brought it up every chance they got, even if they had no strong opinion about it.)
What strikes me as "ironic" is that his son was born a month or so later on December 16 - my birthday. And I've heard varying dates for the Boston Tea Party, but a lot of times they say it was also on December 16!
That little girl's speech on the video reminded me of how I used to care so much. And how I used to not care what others thought, because it never crossed my mind to be "politically correct" or practice postmodern "tolerance." I hate that I'm held back by those bounds now. There's right and wrong - period. I want to start speaking out in my college courses like sassy seventh grade Chelsea, instead of silently leaving class frustrated by the ignorance and immorality.
Hmmm ... here I go!
Buy a red envelope or color one redand mail it to President Obama (1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC20500) on March 31st. Don't put anything inside, but write on the back:"This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of ourworld."
Don't push abortion to the back of your mind or think that it's impossible tosee it end. Pray for abortion to be eradicated now, in our lifetime! If anyone Iknew were suddenly put in a life or death situation, would I not be desperatelypassionately constantly interceding on their behalf? YES. Abortion is life ordeath on a much larger scale. I need to pray consistently - not ask forsomething once or twice and give up, but to charge it a lot more than I have been.
Go to YouTube.com and type in "12-year-old girl speaks out against abortion." I couldn't figure out how to make it work as a link, but it encouraged me greatly and is well worth your time to watch! Children sure seem to know the business of God, yeah? I want their unabashed passion to rub off on me. They have the confidence tochange the world! I remember being completely enthusiastic about every world dilemma that my teachers taught us about. You name it, I wanted to fight it,help it, save it.
Once my fifth grade teacher came in saying that we would start having to pay a tax for every worksheet we were given and to take tests. Everyone was upset and I raised my hand and started protesting and rallying my classmates - "We don't have to pay this guys! No way! You know what we're gonna do? Boycott this!" Everyone in my class was cheering and honestly it started getting a bit out of control. Mrs. Moore starts cracking up and explained that she was just using it as an illustration to introduce our history lesson about the Boston Tea Party. "It was people like Chelsea leading rebellions and getting things done ..." HAHAHA, my teachers must've been entertained. :)
In seventh grade I got into a fight with my social studies teacher about abortion. Once again my class ate it up, because here's this quiet kid whipping out statements that lead to the teacher yelling and saying we're never bringing abortion up again. I pressed him about a passing comment that he made about abortion and while I forget a lot of the details of our talk, I know he said that if someone found out that their baby was going to be "deformed" with Down syndrome an abortion would be the only intelligent choice. Knowing his wife was pregnant, I asked, "So you're telling me that if you found out your baby had Down syndrome you would kill it?" Every eye was on our teacher as he swallowed and didn't answer, but after a moment began yelling and saying we could not discuss abortion anymore in his class. (Of course after that it seemed like everyone deliberately brought it up every chance they got, even if they had no strong opinion about it.)
What strikes me as "ironic" is that his son was born a month or so later on December 16 - my birthday. And I've heard varying dates for the Boston Tea Party, but a lot of times they say it was also on December 16!
That little girl's speech on the video reminded me of how I used to care so much. And how I used to not care what others thought, because it never crossed my mind to be "politically correct" or practice postmodern "tolerance." I hate that I'm held back by those bounds now. There's right and wrong - period. I want to start speaking out in my college courses like sassy seventh grade Chelsea, instead of silently leaving class frustrated by the ignorance and immorality.
Hmmm ... here I go!
Monday, December 29, 2008
already memories ...
sometimes i can figure out how to add captions like a normal person & other times i can't, so who knows. i didn't think i'd keep using this blog after my little YWAM stint, buuut there have been some requests. and if they persist, maybe i will write even more. :) the first windblown pic is me & ash in the back of a jeep some guys rented and took us all over the island for our early birthday celebration, since our birthdays are two days apart. the next two are at our birthday dinner, and the guy with his mouth wide open is actually our really good friend - despite what ashley's face says. (haha i love that pic!) and finally there are two pics of commissioning night. Wednesday, December 3, 2008
life is like a box of chocolates!
Fun times in Lahaina! It rained all over the island this weekend so we wandered around the harbor town.
We toured the Baldwin house, where some awesome missionaries from Connecticut lived back in the day. I love learning about history & I've always wanted to tour this place since I read about it in the Christy Miller books, hahaha.
It was great to tour, because normally everyone harps on the missionaries for bringing disease and starting fights, but the Baldwins were loved by the Hawaiians. Their house was always full of people. Dr. Baldwin provided medical care and helped the people to establish their language in writing. They loved on the people constantly. It took about six months to reach Hawaii by boat, so they stayed for twenty years before they ever went home to visit their family in New England! Talk about an inspiration!
a jumbled up "story"
one night in the van (we travel everywhere in 15 passenger vans that are only still running by the grace of God, but that's another story ... or set of stories.) someone was talking about how they're worried about doing what they were sure God called them to do because they didn't have money for it. i am not very trusting in this area either, but the way this guy was going on and on i felt like i had that faith to move mountains compared to his griping. clearly this happens to be a guy that i (let's be frank, because i usually am) can't really stand.
i can see where he's coming from. i think that nearly everyone struggles in the area of money. clearly it's the god of choice for the majority of the west and it controls the majority of our decisions, if not the course of our lives. i'm as guilty as the next guy. i want to be in control and it scares me to let God have total control. (which is weird because if He's in control and something goes wrong, it's not my fault ... and nothing will go wrong if He's in control, so why worry in the first place?)
all of that aside, i still firmly believe that if God calls us to do something He will provide more than enough for us. i'm still learning a lot in this area, and it's interesting to hear different believers perspectives on money and provision. i feel convicted to study more of what the Bible says about money, instead of shaping God into my own preferences. i don't want to come to my own conclusions based on my own desires. but from what i've studied of the Bible and seen in the lives of people around me, i can safely say that He will provide! He deserves our trust and nothing less in every area of our lives, even finances.
so when this guy was going on and on about how miserable these next few years are going to be because he doesn't have money, something in my spirit did not settle. i said, "i don't get it. didn't God call you to this? so why wouldn't He provide for you? do you really think that God wants you to be suffering the next few years?" and i tend to cross lines without realizing it, but i kept going and didn't feel dumb until after the conversation was over. i explained to him and the other few people who were there that during my DTS when there were people who didn't have enough money for outreach, we all prayed about it. and then we all gave what we felt God nudging us to, because we're family. and in a family if there's one person "going hungry" while the others are livin it up at the hotel california ... that's a dysfunctional family and the last thing God wants for His body of believers. if someone doesn't even have money to go on outreach and there are tons of other people buying lattes everyday ... is that really what love looks like? everyone in my DTS ended up with enough money to go on outreach. it's not about forcing people to give money, cause that's not right either. it's living under complete surrender to God and asking Him what He wants your money to go toward, and i believe that when we live that way there will be blessings untold for us and for those around us!
the guy was pissed at me for saying it and i felt really dumb. i'm quiet and rarely give unsolicited advice, but i was so upset that he didn't give God the glory that is due to Him. if God is who we say that He is, if He is the omniscient provider ... then i really don't think that guy needs to worry about a miserable next few years following God's call in His life. sigh. even so, i got out of that van wondering why i opened my mouth. why did i even bother saying anything?
fast forward to this morning. announcement time. "i've been thinking about something chelsea said ..." (whaaat?!) she had been in the van that night and (to make a long announcement short) has really been convicted about money and felt like we should collect money for everyone who still needs outreach money.
it's really not a big deal or miracle, but God really encouraged me through it. i hold back so much from speaking things on my heart, probably doubting whether they're from the Lord or not, but i need to stop doing that. i need to start realizing the impact that my words could be having. i need to choose my words carefully because people do listen, whether i feel like it or not. whether i see results or fruit, God is using me. and i needed to be reminded of that, so thank you God.
i can see where he's coming from. i think that nearly everyone struggles in the area of money. clearly it's the god of choice for the majority of the west and it controls the majority of our decisions, if not the course of our lives. i'm as guilty as the next guy. i want to be in control and it scares me to let God have total control. (which is weird because if He's in control and something goes wrong, it's not my fault ... and nothing will go wrong if He's in control, so why worry in the first place?)
all of that aside, i still firmly believe that if God calls us to do something He will provide more than enough for us. i'm still learning a lot in this area, and it's interesting to hear different believers perspectives on money and provision. i feel convicted to study more of what the Bible says about money, instead of shaping God into my own preferences. i don't want to come to my own conclusions based on my own desires. but from what i've studied of the Bible and seen in the lives of people around me, i can safely say that He will provide! He deserves our trust and nothing less in every area of our lives, even finances.
so when this guy was going on and on about how miserable these next few years are going to be because he doesn't have money, something in my spirit did not settle. i said, "i don't get it. didn't God call you to this? so why wouldn't He provide for you? do you really think that God wants you to be suffering the next few years?" and i tend to cross lines without realizing it, but i kept going and didn't feel dumb until after the conversation was over. i explained to him and the other few people who were there that during my DTS when there were people who didn't have enough money for outreach, we all prayed about it. and then we all gave what we felt God nudging us to, because we're family. and in a family if there's one person "going hungry" while the others are livin it up at the hotel california ... that's a dysfunctional family and the last thing God wants for His body of believers. if someone doesn't even have money to go on outreach and there are tons of other people buying lattes everyday ... is that really what love looks like? everyone in my DTS ended up with enough money to go on outreach. it's not about forcing people to give money, cause that's not right either. it's living under complete surrender to God and asking Him what He wants your money to go toward, and i believe that when we live that way there will be blessings untold for us and for those around us!
the guy was pissed at me for saying it and i felt really dumb. i'm quiet and rarely give unsolicited advice, but i was so upset that he didn't give God the glory that is due to Him. if God is who we say that He is, if He is the omniscient provider ... then i really don't think that guy needs to worry about a miserable next few years following God's call in His life. sigh. even so, i got out of that van wondering why i opened my mouth. why did i even bother saying anything?
fast forward to this morning. announcement time. "i've been thinking about something chelsea said ..." (whaaat?!) she had been in the van that night and (to make a long announcement short) has really been convicted about money and felt like we should collect money for everyone who still needs outreach money.
it's really not a big deal or miracle, but God really encouraged me through it. i hold back so much from speaking things on my heart, probably doubting whether they're from the Lord or not, but i need to stop doing that. i need to start realizing the impact that my words could be having. i need to choose my words carefully because people do listen, whether i feel like it or not. whether i see results or fruit, God is using me. and i needed to be reminded of that, so thank you God.
"Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble."(1Tim 6:10, the Message)
"Don't be obsessed with getting more (money). Be relaxed with what you have. God assured us, 'I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you . . .'" (Heb 13:5, the Message)
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