Forgiveness is not saying that what they did to you is okay.
Forgiveness is not shoving the hurt down.
Forgiveness is not saying that it didn’t hurt.
Forgiveness is not saying that they’re awesome and you’re wrong.
Forgiveness is admitting that what they did to you was not right, what they did to you was not okay, and you were hurt by what they did to you.
And then you hand the “judgement” of this offense over to God. You don’t say this is okay, you say I trust you God to judge this better than me, and I hand it over to your jurisdiction. I take my hands off of it, and I never hold it against them ever again. Never to be picked back up. Never to be picked back up.
And then you bless the person, since you are now free from thinking of them in that light.
And on the days when you want to take it back, and hold the offense against you, you ask the Holy Spirit to help you, and remind yourself that you have given that over, and you are never to pick it up again.
*This does not mean you put yourself in the same situation again, or trust immediately.
God always commands forgiveness, but does not always command trust. But God always commands forgiveness. This is a challenge, so let’s work on it.
But (as in the Relationship Week notes) ask God for healthy boundaries (not walls), and create them with the Holy Spirit.
:) And so, as Christians, we press on, asking for help to become more and more like Him. Help us Jesus :)
+You can love much before you can trust. Trust is the purest form of love.
+You don’t want someone who needs, you want someone who has plenty to give, so it’s a give give.
+If you’re lonely now, you’ll still be lonely when you’re married, if you’re insecure now, you’ll still be insecure when you’re married… and so on..
+Yay for your cool calling! But 99% of your life is simply relating to (loving) the people around you.
Things you get from your father:
*Protection and Identity
-hatred of yourself comes from ignorance of who you are (if no one spoke your true identity into you)
-if your father isn’t there for you, there is fear & confusion, making it hard to step out in faith
Things you get from your Mother:
*help, teaching, nurturing
-when you don’t have that, you try to do it yourself
-if mom told you to “be strong and not cry”, that misrepresented God
Things you get from your Siblings:
*companionship, friendship, partner
Now think of the Father, Holy Spirit, and the Son, and ask how that relates to a family. The trinity is really the picture of a family.
Love transforms, it’s not static. Love moves.
If we can love everyone who comes into our lives, that’s it! We did it! That is your highest calling! (next to loving God)
Conflicts:
1. Take your heart to God. Are you just hurt? Is there some lie you are believing about you, them, or God? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you. (that avoids lots of conflicts!)
2. Go straight to that person. Matthew 18. Don’t talk to all your girlfriends about it first, just to get sympathy (or even to “help you figure out what to say”! You’re heavenly Father can do that)
-when you come in humility, not one thing can’t be resolved
- they need to know that it matters to me that they felt that way, see and acknowledge their pain, and agree that that’s painful
- don’t come with “You did this” statements, but “I felt this way when you did this” statements
3. If it is not getting resolved, go with a mature, mutually trusted person to them and try again.
Building Boundaries: agree with God on safety, always loving and kind
Building Walls: out of fear, rejection, hurt, disrespect, made by yourself
It’s goooood to grieve. Grieving (going back there in your emotions, mind) will allow the Holy Spirit to come and comfort you in the depths of your hurt. Have you forgiven yourself? Freed yourself?
Worship Week:
What is worship? Who are we worshipping? What does worship look like? When should we worship?
What I Need to Worship:
1. Faith
2.Encounter
3. Relationship
Looked at Revelation chapter 4 – when we say “Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, what does worship in Heaven look like?
Elements of Heaven:
1. God is exalted, in the center of everything
2. “People” are responding voluntarily
3. Dramatic
4. Creative
5. Beautiful
6. Musical
7. Story Occurring
To begin to worship, start with thinking of (1.) WHO God is (2.) WHERE God is (3.) WHAT God has done (4.) HOW He feels
There is a Call and a Command to Worship
The Effects of Worship:
a.) Intercession
b.) Prophesy
c.) Warfare
We are Walking Tabernacles and Priests.
We found this waterfall the other day! AMAZING! And the water was so cold, I literally couldn’t breathe for at least 10 seconds after I dove in!
And the most Kiwi part about it is that it’s barely marked, and the path to get there is at least a 20 minute hike over and under trees, mud slips, repelling down ropes, and using tree roots as ladders. Brilliant!
As the school began in New Zealand, we were properly welcomed onto the land by our local komatua (chief) Huikakahu and most of the staff stood on the welcoming side. I stayed with the students while we were first challenged by the warrior, to find out if we were here for peace or for war. Then the warrior lays down a gift, and if we pick it up, it means we come in peace. Then we are welcomed to sit down and exchange speeches and songs. After we have both introduced ourselves and blessed each other, we each hongi (their greeting, pressing noses and foreheads to exchange the “breathe of life”) with the welcoming side. Then, of course, we feast together!!
(the older man holding the stick is our komatua Huikakahu)
(the man with dreads is the leader of YWAM in New Zealand, Ray Totowera, married to a lovely blonde Aussie)
(the girl hongiing the warrior is a student from Austria)
(about 15% of Kiwis (New Zealanders) are Maori, and 70% European decent)
Just after Christmas, I took off to Urbana Missions Conference, which is one of the biggest missions conferences in the world, just for college kids. It was so fun just seeing hearts get moved and changed for missions all around the world (including here!).
Also, I went with a group from UNI, so I got to make some new friends, and also got to reconnect with some old friends!
(the two in the bottom picture had gone to Kenya with me when I was 16!
Classic transportation in the Philippines.
*We got all 13 of us on those two Trycies to go to the mall.
True Story: In the Philippines I worked in the pharmacy section of the medical clinics sometimes. On one such occasion, I was trained on how to administer the Urine Tests, and soon, instead of writing “Urine Test” on the prescription paper, the doctor just wrote “Cadi”.
That day, “Cadi” = “Urine Test”
… :D Oh life! Oh Jesus..
A girl just put on some dubstep, and the guy to my right says “This sounds like my brain during lectures!”
:) One of the most common phrases you’ll hear the first couple weeks of DTS (and many after that, actually) is “MIND BLOWN!” And people making motions across the room of their brains exploding.
:) Welcome to class in the Kingdom. ( OF JESUS )
| — | UNI people :) Yayyy! |
1. God is exalted, in the center
2. “People” are responding voluntarily
3. Dramatic
4. Creative
5. Beautiful
6. Musical
7. There is a story occuring
Ever wonder why we long for these things? Because they existed before we did, and we were created to one day follow the model of Heaven, and in the nowadays to bring Heaven to Earth.
Heaven is not just angels floating.
Revelation 4.
God isssss extravagant. God is so much bigger than the little “God box” we like to think He’s safely contained in.
In the words of C.S. Lewis:
“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king I tell you.”
Everything will change for me. A decent amount of times!
Moving back home, settling from the nomad life for a while.
Obtaining a college degree.
Getting Married.
Kids.
Resettling in another country.
Lord Jesus, I just want to be obedient, and to love you more each year each week each day.
Help me never try to do any of these things without you.
You are the best!
And you know eeeeverything.
:) That is so good.
Amen.
