More of a Lifestyle

This week has been a really good week as it was really powerful in the topic itself, but also we had a couple of relaxed days! The lecture topic was on gaining an intimate relationship with God and really coming to know his love for us that then drives us to love Him and others in the same way. The speaker, Andy Byrd, was explaining that change that needs to happen needs to start within each of our own hearts. We need to come to the full realization of just how much God really loves us! (1 John 4:10 - This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins). Andy explained that we can't strive in doing good works so that God will love us, but rather live our lives in the realization that God already loves us even though we are no where near perfect! This revival of the heart will lead to us transforming our lifestyles in one that would reflect Jesus's life. Once we are able to understand that we can't try and do "all the right things" but rather just live out our lives in complete humbleness as God already loves us so much, we will begin to act differently towards others. (1 John 3: 1 - How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...) As well we will begin to love God in return, which is the first command, and really want to get to know him better. This is what I have been excited to get to since I have been here. I really want to get to know God on a more relationship level, which is what he wants with each one of us, and learn to have the faith that "moves mountains" :D I have often found it difficult to just believe in miraculous stories that I have heard of, maybe because I haven't seen them first hand, but I am praying for an increase in faith so that I don't have any doubt in what God can do. It is too bad how much we limit God with the way we think... I believe so much more miracles could happen if we all had more faith in God's ability, as He can do all things! Once we as individuals begin to change our mind set into one that is living from love rather than for love our lifestyles begin to be transformed. As our individual lifestyles change, we will begin to see a change in the church and hopefully see a change from 'religion' to relationships with Jesus! Churches, communities, cities, countries, and eventually the world could become changed... The speaker this week was very enthusiastic and passionate about the change that individuals could be a part of and I agree that we should all try and dream big! Why not? Jesus didn't just sit back and think, well did God really ask me to do that? No, he just obeyed. This doesn't mean we can all be Jesus, but I do believe we all have the ability to just obey. That could be done in many different ways: giving financially/your time/possessions; helping out in church/community; helping a friend in need; missions work at home or away from home; and many more! We need to rid ourselves of striving for God's love (as he already LOVES US) and get rid of passivity in our lives. Passiveness is something I can say I was pretty good at. It's much easier to just sit back and think 'well someone else will probably tell them, or ask them to church, they probably don't want to hear it anyway'. But God asks us to speak up for Him and share the gospel to all those that will listen! We need to be confident in who God is and let Him shine through each one of us. We can't be scared of what others here on earth might think of us, cause in reality their opinion is not the one that counts. We should be worried about what God might think of our actions. One challenge that I read in the book 'Crazy Love' was to try for a whole day to be conscious of heaven. Would our words and actions for the day be the same? This week has definitely made me feel challenged in to really make being a Christian a complete lifestyle and not just a 'follow the rules' and then live however else you want.
After being encouraged and challenged this week by Andy and his enthusiasm, we were able to hear a testimony of an amazing woman that had grown up as a missionary in Africa that had a disease that made here muscles really weak that has eventually led here to be unable to walk. The things that she has been able to accomplish even through her disabilities was really amazing and encouraging. Then on friday our leaders surprised us with a 'family day'. We got to play board games and then watched Lion King. It was a nice way to end the week :D
That's all I got for now !
Love and miss you all!!!

Outreach...Voice of God...Fatherheart

You're Love is Extravagant! (This should be a link to a song on Youtube - You should listen to it while you read the blog! :D I have listened to it over and over this week :D)

This week has been very busy and challenging... To start off, this week our outreach locations were revealed! By mid December I will be heading off to Colombia and then Chile! I am very excited that these are my locations and I am really happy with my everyone who is on my team! Our leaders told us a little bit about what we will be doing, but nothing is set in stone so you'll have to just follow along as I go ;). One thing I know for sure is that we will be working with kids!
The lectures this week was on hearing God's voice and the Fatherheart of God. Both of these topics are very important, yet somewhat difficult to understand and try and live life accordingly...
The beginning of the week started off with the speaker talking to us about hearing God's voice. He explained that hearing God's voice can occur in many different ways and that everyone is different. This was really encouraging me to hear as when people would tell me "oh God said this to me", I would think that they actually heard his voice audibly. Being that I never personally heard God's voice like this, I felt like maybe I just couldn't hear him. Some of the other ways that the speaker explained that we can hear God's voice is through reading the Bible, through other people (which we need to always have God confirm it to us personally), through daily devotional (like when you have one and it seems to speak exactly into what you are feeling that day),  through songs, and many more. Hearing all these different ways that God speaks to us it encouraged me that I do actually hear God's voice, which then encouraged me to want to hear more! I want my relationship with God to become stronger and stronger so that I can learn the difference in what is God and what isn't. The speaker also said that in the times that we don't hear God it is probably because of the worldly possessions or worries that we are holding on to. These hinderances can be money, reputation, fear, doubt, pride, love for family.... (list goes on). God wants us to have complete faith in him for all our needs. Another statement that the speaker said that had an impact on me is that God wants to communicate more than we do!
The second topic for this week, the Fatherheart of God, was also another 'thinking' topic. When I think of God, I think of a God as the creator of all things and that he loves me and wants to take care of me... but I don't know if I really thought a whole lot more about that statement and into who he really is. But when you really think about it, He created all things, yet still takes the time to love and think about each one of us individually! That kinda seems crazy!... there has been many times, that being someone who is pretty quiet (at least when you first meet me), that I go into a room with a group of people and feel like people don't know me and probably wouldn't notice if I wasn't there (not as a bad thing lol, just that in big groups its easy to get missed). But with God, he sees everyone and knows everything about us! He loves each one of us and wants each of us to love him back. This makes me feel important and very much loved.. and this is what it is to kind of know God as the Father he really is. If you look at a good example of an earthly father and how they would do anything for their child, no matter what it might mean for their personal life, just think about what our Heavenly Father would do for all of us as his children if we only ask. God wants to bless us and give us all we ask for, but we often lack the faith in that he is there and wants to help, or we don't even bother asking! The speaker this week explained 6 of  God's characteristics: Authority, Faithful, Generous, Affectionate, Attention, and Acceptance. I think that it is very important for us to understand God as our Father, but not understate that he is also the creator of all things! We not only need to feel loved by him through an intimate relationship with him, but we need to understand the significance of who he is and not take advantage of that. We need to try and find the balance that he loves us no matter what, and because of grace we will always be forgiven once we have asked Jesus into our lives, and that God is all powerful and that we need to worship him humbly as his servants....

This blog was kinda hard for me to write, so let me know if anything is confusing or maybe not what you believe to be true... everything that you read or hear from others should always be questioned and taken to God on your own so that you can fully understand what God wants to tell you and not others (because people can often times mess up and give wrong information).
Chow!
Rachael

Gifts, Grace, Rights, Hunger, Generosity!

small beach close to campus

There has been many things to be thankful for here so far! Being that last weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada and I missed out, I thought I would say a few things of what I am thankful for. I am very thankful for the opportunity of being able to come to Hawaii and be apart of the Compassion DTS. At first, honestly I wasn't super excited to come. I know that I was supposed to come and that God was directing me to come, and I did want to do what God wanted we to do, but I just wasn't sure I wanted to step this far out of my comfort zone. Although, so far it has been great. I am very thankful for my family and friends at home that are praying and supporting me! And also I am very thankful for the roommates that I have here!

another amazing sunset

This week the lectures were on the 'what's in your hands', 'the grace ticket', 'letting go of our rights', 'hunger for God', and 'generosity'. The lecture on what's in your hands was all about understanding that everyone has their own talents and gifts and that we should all each use those gifts to glorify God and honor him. Along with this, it is important for us to be aware that each one of us have unique gifts and that we should not envy other peoples gifts. This is often a hard concept to master as it is hard to sometimes see our own talents and easy to see others. But each persons talents and gifts are special to each individual and can all be used to advance God's kingdom. For example, I have always wanted to be musically talented, but unfortunately have not been successful in that area, and so it would be easy for me to look at someone who can sing and play and instrument and wish that I could be like them, but rather what I should do is look at them and see how amazing they are and be thankful that God has made us all different so that we have people with these talents as they can share them with us!

The lecture on the grace ticket was also a very good one (they all pretty much are..). The definition of grace in the dictionary is 'a state of sanctification (made holy) by God. This definition seems like a pretty amazing statement! But then the next question that most likely would be, well why and how does someone receive the grace from God. It seems crazy and simple, but all that God asks of us is to accept Jesus into our lives. Once we have received God's grace, we start to think, well what's next? This is what the speaker discussed; what should do when we don't know what to do next? (something that has definitely passed through my head lots). She started by saying that it is important to get to know the character of God, as for anyone, one needs to know a person before they can come to trust them completely. Then we should remind ourselves about what God has done in our lives in the past and thank him for it. Lastly she said that it is important for us to hang on to the word of God and really think about and study it. If we do this we will begin to understand the character of God and what he wants to do in our lives. This can often be hard to do as we can easily can become distracted, but throughout the past two weeks, it has become very clear that it is imperative in our walk with God to read the Bible. The more we understand who God is and what he wants for us, the more we can achieve for him. The speaker made the statement that 'we often limit God to what we can think up' which I agree with. Many times if we feel that God is asking us to do something, we think - ya right, that's impossible - which according to what we know it most likely is - but God can do the impossible! We need to stop thinking so much about what we know is possible and just go along for the ride and watch what God can do. He will provide all that is necessary if we are willing to just believe! - This is something that I am definitely trying to work on while I am here. I want to try and stop analyzing everything, and just know that God has it in control and that he will provide me with the grace ticket right at the moment that I need it.

The lectures on giving up our rights and hunger for God kind of go together. In order to know if you are truly hungry for more of God and want to know more about him, you have to think about your rights you have and whether or not you are willing to give them up. This can include family, friends, finances, materialistic items, reputation, marriage, food, and even your life. This is a bit difficult for me to think about as it is hard to let go of things that you care so much about. But what the speaker was saying was that in order to fully serve and live life to its fullest, you need to give it up (in which he may give back)... I believe this is true, and that it doesn't necessarily mean that God will ask you to go and live on nothing, but he will ask you to trust him to provide and for you not to lean on your own knowledge and the world. Proverbs 3:5-6 says "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight", and then in 1 John, it says "do not love the world or anything in the world..."Both these verse show us that we need to trust God for all we need and not the world, as you will never be at peace or satisfied with the world, but you will be with God. (as I am writing this, I am also listening to music and a song came on called 'give it all away', which is kinda funny cause it is talking about giving your life away to God as it isn't even ours to begin with!)

The last lecture of the week being on generosity tied all the lectures together. Through the grace of God we learn that we need to give up our lives as Jesus did in order to advance the kingdom of Heaven. Generosity is not only about giving financially, but more specifically having a generous heart in that you are willing to do anything for someone else because you know that is what is right. Being generous is 'walking in abundance with people around us'. It was cool because at the end of the lecture the speaker asked us to pray and ask God what it was that he wanted us to give away. People began giving money, possession, and even just an encouraging word or prayer. People were giving away things they loved because they knew that the other person really needed it or really would appreciate it. In giving away things that mean a lot to you or may put you in a different situation financially, shows that you don't care about the earthly worries and that you trust God to provide for all your needs. It's not about what you give, it's the spirit that you have while you give.

For me personally, this week has been pretty good. It has been corporate week (which means all the dts's together, about 500 people), so it has been a bit harder to focus, but the worship was really good. I have found that the most important things that I need to do while I am here is to go over and try and absorb what I have heard during the lectures (which writing the blog has helped with), and trying to read the Bible more and spend more time in prayer... something I haven't really done much of before, prayer was more of a before bedtime and at meal times type of thing. I want to become strong in the Lord and learn to hear his voice so I know where he wants me to go.

Prayer Requests: Is that I can focus on spending time with God and read the Bible, and learn how to hear his voice and know what he wants me to do (but at the same time not trying to get ahead of myself, but rather living each moment as it comes)

If anyone else has a prayer request or comments please let me know! Also let me know what you think about the blog.... like if you would like me to continue to write about my lectures or if I should just make it shorter and comment on how my week was going... Thanks :D

A really great picture of me and two of my roommates :D

Check ya lata!
Rachael

Week One of Classes

Sunset that can be seen from campus

So the first full week has been completed and if I am being honest it feels like it has been longer than that... its not that i am not enjoying it (cause i am!) but it has just been a long week. This week the speaker that came was discussing the kingdom of God and how it is truly the most important thing for Christians to understand and be able to discuss. The unfortunate reality though is that many people have not heard much about the kingdom of God and don't fully understand it. I will definitely not be able to discuss it all here, especially being that I still need to process it all, but I do want to share a bit of what I got out of this week. The speaker first discussed how God's glory can be seen in all things and is why us humans love to look at beautiful sunsets, listen to amazing music, and many other specific things that bring us joy. Us humans were built with the inner yearning for the beauty of God's kingdom and explains why we feel so much joy when we see the beautiful things around us, or watch a happy ending of a movie. This glory of God's kingdom that can be seen in all things and brings about emotion within people can also be revealed in the way we each individually live out our lives. We need to choose to live our lives in order to reflect God's glory in everything - even the small things like clean dishes, taking out the trash - as well as the big things such as interacting with others in social settings and work places. We need to do everything with a positive mind set and know that even if we don't enjoy doing a particular job or don't feel like talking to certain person, we need to do it anyways. Imagine if everyone began to take even just one part of their lives and live it completely to reflect God's glory and really begin to care about others around them before themselves. People's workplace, home, school, and social settings would be completely altered for the better. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. It can be really difficult to try and live this out, especially on days that you are feeling grumpy, but the positive attitude becomes contagious and you will definitely see a difference in the people around you. I have found this to be apparent here at YWAM as everyone here is really here to try and live their life for God and really get to know him more. Everyone wants to try and live their life for the glory of God and you can see a difference in the atmosphere. Everyone is very friendly and does things for each other even if it may be a bit out of the way for themselves. I thought it might be a bit overwhelming, but it really isn't... it is just like everyone is a big family (of course not everyone is perfect and it isn't quite heaven... but it does give you a glimpse to how life could be if everyone just chose to love one another and place other people above themselves). The second part of the lectures this week that I really liked and agreed with was that when we "evangelize" towards others and try and tell people about Jesus, we really have to invest time into that person's life rather than just going up to them and asking if they know God and then asking if they would like to ask Jesus into their life. Evangelizing cannot be a 5 minute thing and then just move on to the next person and tallying up how many people you have 'converted'. It needs to be about investing in people's lives and really getting to know them. You may never even see the results of the person, but people are definitely going to be more responsive, and willing to hear what you have to say (in their timing), if you just want to listen to them rather than just making them another person you have converted.
Anyway I could probably write a lot more (which is weird cause I'm not really a 'writer') but I want to try and keep it somewhat short and concise so you actually might get through it all :D
We have the weekend off, which is nice so that I can get some rest and journaling done, but here in Kona it is actually the Iron Man on Saturday (which is the longest triathlon that is held here every year - so that will be really exciting). It's been pretty nice here so far as for the last 3 years pretty much I have always been go go go with school and work, so now that I actually have free time and weekends off, this will definitely be a time of rest! (if I can.. sometimes I get a bit bored and feel like I don't want to just sit, which I guess is kinda good cause I have been able to go for quite a few runs.. so Jess and Na I be ready to train again when I get home for the half marathon!) Anyway thats all I gonna say for now!
Miss you all!!!
Keeping it Real :p
Rachael :D

Me and Two of my roommates

Something to write about...

I have found it somewhat difficult to gather my thoughts in order to write a blog to post, as it has been a good few days but definitely a transition. I have never had to live with roommates before, especially 7 other girls with one bathroom, but it has actually worked out quite well. God blesses us even in the little things, like putting the right people all together in a room knowing that their personalities would work well together. This weekend has been pretty relaxing as we are just settling in. On Saturday my whole class, Compassion DTS (101 people), went to the beach to relax and get to know each other. It was hot and the ocean was soo nice :D. I don’t want to say too much, as many of you who are reading this are in the cold weather :s ( I did get pretty burnt, so maybe that makes it a little easier to hear) As for today, Sunday, me and two other girls from my room were going to walk to a church this morning, but ended up not finding it and were walking around for 3 hours, again getting burnt… I do use sunscreen, but my white skin is just not used to all this sun! Classes start tomorrow so I will fill you in !

Check ya later! 

Rachael