Thailand.Oct25.13
Sawat dee kha! (Hello!)
It's officially outreach time.
let me give you a somewhat condensed version of the past couple of days.
On Tuesday in Bangkok we had orientation. Quite an amusing/informative morning, that was. In the afternoon we had a scavenger hunt (we students split into groups of 3 and explored Bangkok).
In the evening we went to a very large mall, where I was thrilled to find a Starbucks-!!!!-
My first Starbucks in 3 months. Salted Caramel Mocha. I think I may have been floating through the mall out of sheer bliss.
On Wednesday we went on a prayer walk through Bangkok.
We went to a temple, a palace, and another temple (which was located on top of a giant hill). We walked 300+ steps to get there... My legs are still sore :)
We prayed at each place for different things. It was awesome.
Not to mention all the modes of transportation throughout the day:
Buses, trains, boats, Tuk tuks, and lots of walking.
That evening we squished ourselves into a van and drove 5 1/2 hours nonstop to Korat.
We were warmly welcomed by our hosts and shortly thereafter caught some serious zzz's.
Thursday morning we woke up, had a time of worship together, ate breakfast, and headed out.
We cleaned out the building that we are now staying in. It's a lovely place! Seriously.
I'm stoked and feeling extremely blessed to spend the next 3 weeks here.
We got ourselves settled in, then explored the area.
And in the evening we ventured out to the mall. Guess what? Another Starbucks!
:)
But today was the best day yet.
Our first official day of outreach-ing. :D we went to a high school and taught English! It was soooooooo much fun.
There were about 200 students for the 11 of us.
So first, we split all of the students into 5 separate groups. Each with 2 of us YWAMers as teachers. Some groups had translators, some did not. Thankfully, Rebekka and I had a wonderful translator. Otherwise, our class would have been a mess.
So we started with about 2 hours of "English Class" with our group. In this time, we introduced ourselves and prayed for our time. Then we had each of the students introduce themselves, tell us how old they are, when their birthdays are, and stuff like that.
They also had a worksheet that we helped them with. Most of the kids had no trouble with it, though.
Then we all read about the prodigal son together. (At this time we were able to share about God's love. We had no restrictions on telling about God while at the school, so we went for it as much as possible :D)
Then we sang "Jesus' love is sweet and marvelous". I made up some hand motions and we had some fun with it. Especially when the students sang the song in Thai and did the motions with me :)
Eventually we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we were informed that we had another hour and a half to teach our groups.
Rebekka and I had an "oh, shoot" moment then, as we'd already gone through all of our teaching material. But we came up with things to fill the time, although they were not incredibly informative regarding the English language. :P
We played "duck, duck, goose", which was adorable. The kids got the biggest kick out of it. Everyone was wearing socks and the floor was slippy, so it made for some amusing playtime. We also played "red light, green light" for a bit. After that, we sat down and I shared my testimony. It was sweet, at one point I mentioned how I used to feel like I was not very beautiful or confident, and when the translator said it, all the kids said "aww! :("
But I got to tell how God has changed my life, so it was awesome.
Then they asked Rebekka and I to sing for them... So we did what we could on a whim.
I think we sang 3 or 4 worship songs before I found myself leading the group through the hokie pokie. Hahaha! Good times.
After our class time ended, all of the students came together again and we played some songs, people gave testimonies, and we did a skit.
At the end of our time, we thought we'd finish with the song, "Oh, Happy Day". All of us were on a stage, doing hand motions and dancing around. I can't explain to you what joy filled my heart to see 200 students having fun and doing the motions along with us.
Then it went crazy.
Our wonderful musicians played covers of a few super popular songs (One Direction, Taylor Swift) while the rest of us were pulled into the crowd ;) we jumped and danced and sang. It was practically a concert. Lots of fun.
It was an amazing day, and I'm so glad that we were able to speak openly about God.
I'm really hoping to see the students again during our time here. God is really, really giving me a heart for them.
So anywho.
That's what's going on.
I'll try to keep you updated, of course!
Chelsea
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Posted from Thailand
Thailand.Oct 22.13
At nearly 9PM (Bangkok time) last night, our plane landed in Thailand.
I don't know what it was, but before we even touched the ground, I just started to love this place. I'm totally captivated and intrigued at the differences in culture (of which there are many, of course) everything is so new and exciting...
And think; God loves and watches over this place just as much as He does the States, or Australia, or anywhere. I'm incredibly honored to spend time here and excited to feel more of God's heartbeat for Thailand.
So yeah, I'm elated.
We're staying in amazing accommodations. We each have our own bed, there are super accessible and good showers, there's even air conditioning in our room!
When we got here, we found a bottle of water, a note, and a sweet smelling ring of flowers on each bed (which were neatly covered with sheets, and topped with a pillow!)
It may sound strange for me to be so excited about these things, but honestly I had no idea what to expect and was prepared to be fine with a sleeping bag on the ground.
Our ride here from the airport was exciting. I don't know how to describe the vehicle.. We were basically in a partially enclosed truck bed with benches. One of the guys stood in the back of the thing and held on tight as we cruised along the highway and zippy little cars and motor scooters sped past us.
I'm stoked, guys. This place is good.
The whole ground/sleeping bag situation will probably become reality at some point, and that's fine.
I'm just so blessed to have the opportunity to experience a different part of God's creation like this.
Can't wait to have more to tell!
Chelsea
At nearly 9PM (Bangkok time) last night, our plane landed in Thailand.
I don't know what it was, but before we even touched the ground, I just started to love this place. I'm totally captivated and intrigued at the differences in culture (of which there are many, of course) everything is so new and exciting...
And think; God loves and watches over this place just as much as He does the States, or Australia, or anywhere. I'm incredibly honored to spend time here and excited to feel more of God's heartbeat for Thailand.
So yeah, I'm elated.
We're staying in amazing accommodations. We each have our own bed, there are super accessible and good showers, there's even air conditioning in our room!
When we got here, we found a bottle of water, a note, and a sweet smelling ring of flowers on each bed (which were neatly covered with sheets, and topped with a pillow!)
It may sound strange for me to be so excited about these things, but honestly I had no idea what to expect and was prepared to be fine with a sleeping bag on the ground.
Our ride here from the airport was exciting. I don't know how to describe the vehicle.. We were basically in a partially enclosed truck bed with benches. One of the guys stood in the back of the thing and held on tight as we cruised along the highway and zippy little cars and motor scooters sped past us.
I'm stoked, guys. This place is good.
The whole ground/sleeping bag situation will probably become reality at some point, and that's fine.
I'm just so blessed to have the opportunity to experience a different part of God's creation like this.
Can't wait to have more to tell!
Chelsea
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Week 11. Missions
Week 11- Missions/Outreach Prep (last week of lectures!)
Journal entry no. 10
That's right, this is our final week of lecture phase. I can't believe it but on Friday afternoon, Outreach Phase begins!
On Saturday morning we'll head to a small town here in Australia (about 2 hours away from our base). We'll be partnering with YWAM Brisbane and helping out with the "Go Pass It On Tour". These guys run to a town, set up a giant tent, host people from the town for exciting events, help out with projects in the community, go door-to-door giving out fun packages which are full of stuff focused on bringing families closer together, and teach about God :)
We'll be with them for one week, and it's going to be awesome!
Then we come back to our base, get re-packed, and head to Thailand on Monday morning!
Yikes!
So this week we've been talking about missions. (Makes sense, right?)
We have a crazy awesome speaker named Angel McGill. She's a hardcore missions chick, and exactly what we needed this week as we prepare for outreach.
We've covered a ton of super helpful topics.
Such as...
1. Knowing what type of prayer/worship is most appropriate for whatever setting you're in, and being able to discern what will be beneficial and uplifting to those you are worshiping with (assuming you're in a corporate setting). If you're by yourself, pray whatever way you do. But there's a reason why everything gets super weird when someone randomly shouts "hallelujah!" In a time of corporate prayer that's solemn/reflective. It doesn't fit and immediately disrupts some deeeeep thought processes, I'm sure.
It doesn't mean that you aren't communicating with God the right way if you have a joyous moment with the Lord while everyone else is meditative.. But you should be sensitive to the atmosphere and respectful of others.
If you're a shoutin' praise kind of person, awesome! That's great! But there are certain worship and prayer settings where that isn't going to be a very helpful addition to the worship. Holding back praise in a time of corporately speaking things out isn't uplifting to the body, either, for the record.
It's about being wise in how you act, and being loving towards your brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. We talked more about spiritual warfare, and the authority we have with our identity in Christ. It's powerful, man.
Angel made an excellent point:
The enemy has power, but not authority. There's a difference.
Power can do nothing without authority saying so.
3. When on outreach (and in life), you communicate a lot more with your actions/attitude than with your words.
I could genuinely feel loving toward someone without them ever knowing it if I don't act like it. If I'm too shy or nervous to go talk to them, for instance.
Clothes also have a lot to say. There are certain pairs of shorts that could seriously damage a ministry, and chances are, the offender would have no idea. Because different cultures have different opinions on what is acceptable and what is not. (Although there are some shorts that shouldn't be accepted in any culture, in my opinion) :P
Anyway, we talked a lot about being aware of yourself and what you may be communicating, even if it's not at all what's on your heart.
So those were the main things that I picked up in lectures so far this week.
Of course there was plenty more, but I can't write everything down here, you know.
So that's all for now, folks.
Chelsea
Journal entry no. 10
That's right, this is our final week of lecture phase. I can't believe it but on Friday afternoon, Outreach Phase begins!
On Saturday morning we'll head to a small town here in Australia (about 2 hours away from our base). We'll be partnering with YWAM Brisbane and helping out with the "Go Pass It On Tour". These guys run to a town, set up a giant tent, host people from the town for exciting events, help out with projects in the community, go door-to-door giving out fun packages which are full of stuff focused on bringing families closer together, and teach about God :)
We'll be with them for one week, and it's going to be awesome!
Then we come back to our base, get re-packed, and head to Thailand on Monday morning!
Yikes!
So this week we've been talking about missions. (Makes sense, right?)
We have a crazy awesome speaker named Angel McGill. She's a hardcore missions chick, and exactly what we needed this week as we prepare for outreach.
We've covered a ton of super helpful topics.
Such as...
1. Knowing what type of prayer/worship is most appropriate for whatever setting you're in, and being able to discern what will be beneficial and uplifting to those you are worshiping with (assuming you're in a corporate setting). If you're by yourself, pray whatever way you do. But there's a reason why everything gets super weird when someone randomly shouts "hallelujah!" In a time of corporate prayer that's solemn/reflective. It doesn't fit and immediately disrupts some deeeeep thought processes, I'm sure.
It doesn't mean that you aren't communicating with God the right way if you have a joyous moment with the Lord while everyone else is meditative.. But you should be sensitive to the atmosphere and respectful of others.
If you're a shoutin' praise kind of person, awesome! That's great! But there are certain worship and prayer settings where that isn't going to be a very helpful addition to the worship. Holding back praise in a time of corporately speaking things out isn't uplifting to the body, either, for the record.
It's about being wise in how you act, and being loving towards your brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. We talked more about spiritual warfare, and the authority we have with our identity in Christ. It's powerful, man.
Angel made an excellent point:
The enemy has power, but not authority. There's a difference.
Power can do nothing without authority saying so.
3. When on outreach (and in life), you communicate a lot more with your actions/attitude than with your words.
I could genuinely feel loving toward someone without them ever knowing it if I don't act like it. If I'm too shy or nervous to go talk to them, for instance.
Clothes also have a lot to say. There are certain pairs of shorts that could seriously damage a ministry, and chances are, the offender would have no idea. Because different cultures have different opinions on what is acceptable and what is not. (Although there are some shorts that shouldn't be accepted in any culture, in my opinion) :P
Anyway, we talked a lot about being aware of yourself and what you may be communicating, even if it's not at all what's on your heart.
So those were the main things that I picked up in lectures so far this week.
Of course there was plenty more, but I can't write everything down here, you know.
So that's all for now, folks.
Chelsea
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Week 10
Week 10.
Journal Entry no. 9
This week has been.... Interesting.
Monday was fun! We ventured out and visited the Easterfest office. (Easterfest is a giant Christian Music Festival that takes place here in Toowoomba over Easter weekend.)
It was so cool to hear about what goes on "behind the scenes", and to get a bit of insight about what the Christian music industry is really like.
I thought it was neat that the folks at Easterfest pray about each step of planning the festival. If God were to tell them not to have it one year, they'd cancel without hesitation.
They're so committed to the Lord before anything else. I like that.
I also like that when booking artists, they don't necessarily look for the best of the best, but rather who will have a big impact. Last year, they had a band that was not a 'Christian' band, but the members were totally followers of Christ.
And apparently, they were one of the highlights of the festival for a LOT of people.
I like that concept, by the way.
Christians creating music that speaks foundational truth into the lives of those who wouldn't go near a 'Christian' album.
Yes, that's right: I think that there should be more Christians operating outside of the Christian music scene.
I totally love Christian artists straight up praising God, but what about the people who don't know God? They're left with very little music that actually speaks life.
And so they tune in to the catchy songs about so-and-so cheating on so-and-so.
How uplifting.
I applaud Christians who are willing to break into that scene and speak Biblical truths through really amazing music.
'Cause we've got talent, people! We could really shift some culture for the better if we accepted our God-given gifts and carried out our responsibility as stewards of God's earth!
Thank you for enduring my rant.
Tuesday was cool. Our speaker was a leader of a YWAM school here in Australia.
He also is a filmmaker who just finished filming a movie. He showed us some 'behind the scenes' clips and talked about what it's like to make a movie.
And he also talked about working as a Christian in a non-Christian entertainment industry.
God was really talking to me in the beginning of the week about taking life one step at a time. As in, one day at a time.
If I'm 1. Enjoying God, 2. Being obedient to God, and 3. Trusting God every day, life just works better.
Really!
Whatever challenge that comes your way, you can handle it with God's help one day at a time.
Don't think about anything beyond every moment or you'll get overwhelmed.
Which is precisely what happened to me on Wednesday.
See, on Tuesday night I may have gotten a total of two hours of sleep.
(Understand that I typically only get 6 1/2ish hours here, so I'm usually a little behind on sleep anyhow)
So on Wednesday, this is what happened:
I was exhausted from thinking and thinking about future, taking in tons of information in lectures for 10 weeks straight, I was feeling homesick, not caught up on sleep at all, and we were talking about the Holy Spirit in lectures (which isn't a bad thing at all, just one of the harder topics for me to think about. Especially when I'm already running out of steam), and I wasn't feeling too wonderful physically, either.
So! I basically had a total breakdown at morning tea time on Wednesday. Ran to my room and had a good weep. From then on, things started getting better.
A good cry usually does help, you know ;)
Anyway. We continued talking about the Holy Spirit for the rest of the week...
There is a lot to think about with that subject, and I'm still thinking.
I'll let you know when I've processed it more or have had a big revelation about it.
The main things I learned this week are:
1. That I can trust God to lead me every step of the way, knowing His character enough to rest assured that He will not lead me astray. Especially if I walk in obedience with Him day by day.
2. God is always, always right there with me. I felt His presence so strongly this week.
Particularly when I was having my little breakdown... It was like His arm was around my shoulder and he was whispering, "it's okay, you can cry. Really, it's okay and I'm here for you". There were quite a few moments like that this week.
God is so good.
I get to sing on the worship team on Monday! I'm excited, thinking of it as "Monday's step of obedience" :D plus, an amazing roomie of mine is the worship leader. Woohoo!
And one week from today Outreach phase begins! Again I say, "woohoo!"
That's all for now..
Chelsea
Journal Entry no. 9
This week has been.... Interesting.
Monday was fun! We ventured out and visited the Easterfest office. (Easterfest is a giant Christian Music Festival that takes place here in Toowoomba over Easter weekend.)
It was so cool to hear about what goes on "behind the scenes", and to get a bit of insight about what the Christian music industry is really like.
I thought it was neat that the folks at Easterfest pray about each step of planning the festival. If God were to tell them not to have it one year, they'd cancel without hesitation.
They're so committed to the Lord before anything else. I like that.
I also like that when booking artists, they don't necessarily look for the best of the best, but rather who will have a big impact. Last year, they had a band that was not a 'Christian' band, but the members were totally followers of Christ.
And apparently, they were one of the highlights of the festival for a LOT of people.
I like that concept, by the way.
Christians creating music that speaks foundational truth into the lives of those who wouldn't go near a 'Christian' album.
Yes, that's right: I think that there should be more Christians operating outside of the Christian music scene.
I totally love Christian artists straight up praising God, but what about the people who don't know God? They're left with very little music that actually speaks life.
And so they tune in to the catchy songs about so-and-so cheating on so-and-so.
How uplifting.
I applaud Christians who are willing to break into that scene and speak Biblical truths through really amazing music.
'Cause we've got talent, people! We could really shift some culture for the better if we accepted our God-given gifts and carried out our responsibility as stewards of God's earth!
Thank you for enduring my rant.
Tuesday was cool. Our speaker was a leader of a YWAM school here in Australia.
He also is a filmmaker who just finished filming a movie. He showed us some 'behind the scenes' clips and talked about what it's like to make a movie.
And he also talked about working as a Christian in a non-Christian entertainment industry.
God was really talking to me in the beginning of the week about taking life one step at a time. As in, one day at a time.
If I'm 1. Enjoying God, 2. Being obedient to God, and 3. Trusting God every day, life just works better.
Really!
Whatever challenge that comes your way, you can handle it with God's help one day at a time.
Don't think about anything beyond every moment or you'll get overwhelmed.
Which is precisely what happened to me on Wednesday.
See, on Tuesday night I may have gotten a total of two hours of sleep.
(Understand that I typically only get 6 1/2ish hours here, so I'm usually a little behind on sleep anyhow)
So on Wednesday, this is what happened:
I was exhausted from thinking and thinking about future, taking in tons of information in lectures for 10 weeks straight, I was feeling homesick, not caught up on sleep at all, and we were talking about the Holy Spirit in lectures (which isn't a bad thing at all, just one of the harder topics for me to think about. Especially when I'm already running out of steam), and I wasn't feeling too wonderful physically, either.
So! I basically had a total breakdown at morning tea time on Wednesday. Ran to my room and had a good weep. From then on, things started getting better.
A good cry usually does help, you know ;)
Anyway. We continued talking about the Holy Spirit for the rest of the week...
There is a lot to think about with that subject, and I'm still thinking.
I'll let you know when I've processed it more or have had a big revelation about it.
The main things I learned this week are:
1. That I can trust God to lead me every step of the way, knowing His character enough to rest assured that He will not lead me astray. Especially if I walk in obedience with Him day by day.
2. God is always, always right there with me. I felt His presence so strongly this week.
Particularly when I was having my little breakdown... It was like His arm was around my shoulder and he was whispering, "it's okay, you can cry. Really, it's okay and I'm here for you". There were quite a few moments like that this week.
God is so good.
I get to sing on the worship team on Monday! I'm excited, thinking of it as "Monday's step of obedience" :D plus, an amazing roomie of mine is the worship leader. Woohoo!
And one week from today Outreach phase begins! Again I say, "woohoo!"
That's all for now..
Chelsea
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Week 9- Music in Missions
Journal Entry no. 8 (week 9)
Music/Worship/Missions
This week we really tackled the 'music' aspect of this "Music and Worship DTS".
It was quite fun :) Our speaker was an awesome musician named Stevie Lujan. (Check out his album, "Welcome Home", It's pretty great! http://stevielujan.com)
It was fun to have Stevie as a speaker because he seemed more like a friend, just hanging out and giving us good advice while telling us awesome stories about what God has done in his life.
We talked about all sorts of things relating to music and ministry.
Ways of worship, callings, (more) Lordship, God's resources vs. ours, influence in the music industry, communication, social media/promoting yourself,
we even had a day of songwriting, in which we broke into small groups and took about two hours to write a song. Then we all gathered back in the lecture room and performed our songs as a group. It was fun! It was also interesting to see how everyone's different styles came together to create something unique.
I don't know if I've mentioned it yet on this blog, but since one of the first few weeks here I've felt like God is actually legitimately calling me to be a musician.
When I first felt Him telling me this, it really threw me for a loop because at that point I was still feeling overwhelmed and inadequate.
I reacted like this: "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the idea, God"
And I think He kind of smiled at me and said, "You'll see".
Ever since then He's been telling me (quite frequently, I might add) that He wants me to do music.
Let me tell you, I've fought and doubted, and said "nah, not little ol' me" a whole lot.
But I'm pretty sure He's not going to let up.
A few weeks back, my friend Ashlee and I had written a song together about how the enemy tries to come and get us and pull us into the dark. But more importantly, how we have the authority to say "forget you". When we wrote it, we said "we should do this at the next 'Open Mic Night'".
Well guess what? Open Mic Night snuck up on me.
I woke up yesterday morning in an inexcusably grouchy mood. Evidently, my nerves translate into grumpiness. I commend my dear friends for encouraging me, rather than telling me to pack up my mood and hit the road. (I'm half joking.. It wasn't that bad).
But I certainly wasn't excited.
I had a solo part, for cryin' out loud. I was freaked.
But I knew that this would be more than just singing a part in a song... It was actually a kind of warfare. I absolutely had to be obedient to God with this, even though I was ready to head for the hills. I guess that's why I was grumpy, I literally had no other option than to do this thing.
Isn't it appropriate that the song was about spiritual warfare?
So basically, Ashlee and I got up there in front of 40-50 people (even guests from the community!) and we did our thing. My voice wobbled during my part and I forgot to finish a line, but that was a part in the song where Ashlee and I were doing a 'call and response' thing anyway. (Ashlee was the 'victim', and I was the evil thing that was after her. Hehehe!)
So yeah, in all honesty: it could've gone better, but I don't care! I was obedient to God and I took that first step. And you know what? I do believe I'll do it again sometime.
My roommates had warned me that performing is addicting, I think they were right :D
So that's that.
I also spent a few hours on Thursday afternoon in the shade of a giant tree, under the clear blue skies, with big purple mountains standing off in the distance. And I wrote a good start
to a song that I believe is going to be awesome when it's finished! I'm actually psyched to finish it and share it with people.
So I'm starting to get excited about where God is taking me.
Life. What a cool adventure :-)
Chelsea
Music/Worship/Missions
This week we really tackled the 'music' aspect of this "Music and Worship DTS".
It was quite fun :) Our speaker was an awesome musician named Stevie Lujan. (Check out his album, "Welcome Home", It's pretty great! http://stevielujan.com)
It was fun to have Stevie as a speaker because he seemed more like a friend, just hanging out and giving us good advice while telling us awesome stories about what God has done in his life.
We talked about all sorts of things relating to music and ministry.
Ways of worship, callings, (more) Lordship, God's resources vs. ours, influence in the music industry, communication, social media/promoting yourself,
we even had a day of songwriting, in which we broke into small groups and took about two hours to write a song. Then we all gathered back in the lecture room and performed our songs as a group. It was fun! It was also interesting to see how everyone's different styles came together to create something unique.
I don't know if I've mentioned it yet on this blog, but since one of the first few weeks here I've felt like God is actually legitimately calling me to be a musician.
When I first felt Him telling me this, it really threw me for a loop because at that point I was still feeling overwhelmed and inadequate.
I reacted like this: "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the idea, God"
And I think He kind of smiled at me and said, "You'll see".
Ever since then He's been telling me (quite frequently, I might add) that He wants me to do music.
Let me tell you, I've fought and doubted, and said "nah, not little ol' me" a whole lot.
But I'm pretty sure He's not going to let up.
A few weeks back, my friend Ashlee and I had written a song together about how the enemy tries to come and get us and pull us into the dark. But more importantly, how we have the authority to say "forget you". When we wrote it, we said "we should do this at the next 'Open Mic Night'".
Well guess what? Open Mic Night snuck up on me.
I woke up yesterday morning in an inexcusably grouchy mood. Evidently, my nerves translate into grumpiness. I commend my dear friends for encouraging me, rather than telling me to pack up my mood and hit the road. (I'm half joking.. It wasn't that bad).
But I certainly wasn't excited.
I had a solo part, for cryin' out loud. I was freaked.
But I knew that this would be more than just singing a part in a song... It was actually a kind of warfare. I absolutely had to be obedient to God with this, even though I was ready to head for the hills. I guess that's why I was grumpy, I literally had no other option than to do this thing.
Isn't it appropriate that the song was about spiritual warfare?
So basically, Ashlee and I got up there in front of 40-50 people (even guests from the community!) and we did our thing. My voice wobbled during my part and I forgot to finish a line, but that was a part in the song where Ashlee and I were doing a 'call and response' thing anyway. (Ashlee was the 'victim', and I was the evil thing that was after her. Hehehe!)
So yeah, in all honesty: it could've gone better, but I don't care! I was obedient to God and I took that first step. And you know what? I do believe I'll do it again sometime.
My roommates had warned me that performing is addicting, I think they were right :D
So that's that.
I also spent a few hours on Thursday afternoon in the shade of a giant tree, under the clear blue skies, with big purple mountains standing off in the distance. And I wrote a good start
to a song that I believe is going to be awesome when it's finished! I'm actually psyched to finish it and share it with people.
So I'm starting to get excited about where God is taking me.
Life. What a cool adventure :-)
Chelsea
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Week 7- the Lordship of Christ
Journal entry no. 7
The Lordship of Christ
This has been the best week of DTS thus far.
It was also the most difficult as far as lectures go.
On Monday, I didn't know if I'd make it through the week. Lectures were intense and long and they convicted me in all the right areas.
And our speaker had the to-the-point style of teaching that I didn't particularly care for at first, but knew the whole time that I needed.
The things I learned this week were 'life lessons', not just information to keep in my head, but new perspectives on life itself and how to live it to the full.
That's my kind of lesson!
So the main points that hit me hard this week were these:
1. Maturity
Our speaker (Mark Parker) was very passionate about the subject of maturity, Spiritual and otherwise. And rightfully so! Because our attitudes, ability to control feelings and emotions, body language, the way we interact with other people, and our sense of responsibility are all based on our level of maturity.
This hit me really hard.
My biggest struggle is with the attitude, which Mark pointed out much is harder to get over than drugs and alcohol.
Hello, conviction! We talked about maturity the most at the beginning of the week, which was good because that gave me the rest of the week to work on denying myself and choosing to be cheerful even when I didn't feel like it.
It's been good for me, and it gets easier all the time.
Not just with attitude, but every area of maturity. :D
2. Being a useful part of the Body.
I feel like over this week we students and the staff have become a family all over again. Somehow we've been unified in a whole new way and on a much deeper level.
It's awesome!! Mark talked a bit about how the parts of the body must work together and how each member should not just do it's own 'duty', but assist and encourage the other members as they do theirs.
One thing that Mark said that also really convicted me was this:
"Everything that you do affects the entire body"
I suppose I had been thinking that my problems were my problems and only sometimes would they effect others. Wrong!
Every single word and action and certainly my body language effect everyone around me. This certainly helped motivate me to adjust my little "woe is me" attitude.
Far be it from me to drag others down!
3. Laying things down/demolishing idols
In anticipation of the subject of Lordship, many of us would make comments like "watch out, Lordship week is coming up. You might just have to give up that chocolate!" Because if Christ is really Lord over your life, you've got to be willing to hand everything over to Him if He asks for it.
That's why everyone feels so free this weekend :) we're not all holding on to our precious little idols anymore.
Friday was a very long, full, exciting, exhausting, amazing day.
We started at 9am and ended at 1am. Yes, really.
We did a 'tabernacle' process. Thanksgiving, praise, publicly handing our lives over to God, giving things away, repenting publicly, laying things down, breaking off bondages, praising more, praying, overcoming obstacles as a body, encouraging one another through the hard things.
It was absolutely awesome.
And I've never felt more free and real and alive and in love with Jesus :)
I know it's not always going to be so fantastic to lay things down, and I won't always have the awesome community around me like I do right now, but another point that Mark made quite a few times was that we have to live today. Not being held back by yesterday, not being afraid of stumbling tomorrow. Just do what you know you have to do today and trust the Lord with it all.
Amen?
Next week we tackle the subject of Spiritual Warfare. o_O
I don't know what to expect with that, but I think I'll just live today while I have it here. And I do believe I'll enjoy it, too.
Bye!
Chelsea
Friday, September 6, 2013
Week 6— Evangelism
Journal entry no. 6
Evangelism
'Getting real' being that moment when someone is completely open about something that's bothering them, or they don't understand, or spilling something they've kept locked inside for ages.
We do it a lot around here, and I'm about to do it with you.
Because this week was pretty rough.
I can't say that I was thrilled about the subject of evangelism when I saw that it was our topic of focus for this week. I'm an introvert and the word 'evangelism' instantaneously sends a wave of fear, even dread, through my system.
(Yes, I am aware that I signed up for two months of outreach in Thailand)
I guess when I decided to come to this DTS, I figured it would be a good opportunity to get over my fear of people ;-)
It has been very good for that, but guess what? I'm still an introvert, therefore evangelism still holds very little appeal to me.
I suppose that I, like most people, immediately think of street evangelism when I think about it. You know, I get this image of someone walking up to a random person, pointing at their nose, and demanding, "Do you know Jesus?!? You NEED to know Jesus or you'll go to hell! Here, have a tract"
.....me and my mental images. I know that that's not what it's supposed to be like, but I'm getting real with you here. That's my first thought when I hear the word 'evangelism'.
Immediately followed by, "no thank you, I want no part in this". Which, if that's what evangelism really WAS, then absolutely, count me out.
But that mental image belongs in the rubbish bin.
It and evangelism have nothing to do with each other.
I was encouraged to hear that evangelism can be something as simple as buying a stranger's coffee for them. Because, as God would have it, evangelism is all about loving people.
One thing about loving people is that you cannot see yourself as better than they are in any way. We Christians tend to think that we are somehow 'above' the guy on the street, because 1. we're not on the street 2. We've got Jesus and we're not dirty anymore.
It is so easy to look at someone who is in need and without even realizing it, thinking "oh, that poor person! If only they had Jesus in their heart, they wouldn't be on the street!"
Sometimes, we might as well wear a hat that says "I'm better and I know it".
Guys. God sees every sin the same way. They're all dirty and deserve punishment.
I could think a nasty little thought that only God and I know about, and be every bit as deserving of hell as the murderer in prison.
The only difference between me and the person on the street is that I've accepted the grace Jesus paid for, and they haven't yet. That's it.
I'm every bit as deserving of eternal death, but I've been shown my need for forgiveness and taken hold of it.
Yeah so, if I'm going to love someone, I need to make sure that I'm not wearing my superiority hat.
I'm going to be honest with you now, though, and let you in on what was really eating away at me this week. (I did learn all sorts of cool things and I could list every note that I took, but this is my journal, and journals are personal)
I felt a rain cloud over me all week long, but couldn't exactly pinpoint what was going on until I spent some hours today pacing, thinking, crying, asking God questions, getting real with myself, thinking some more, and pacing some more.
What a way to spend the afternoon, right? Talk about taking care of business!
God showed me that my little guilt problem was creeping back in.
See, my less than enthusiastic response to evangelism was quite the contrast to most of the other students. At least that's what it seemed like.
Some are even going into town on a weekly basis to evangelize and experiencing such cool things! So my lack of excitement immediately cast an almost imperceptible sense of guilt over me.
It was so small and unrecognizable that I didn't think much of it all week... Until today when God and I dealt with it.
But all the while, it was growing and making me more and more miserable, and therefore incapable of even being happy for those who are reaching out, much less excited to go out myself and talk to people.
I mean, really. By now, I felt like the LAST person God would want to use.
Then He straightened me out.
1. He doesn't love me any less now than He has before.
(Unconditional love. Best thing ever.)
2. I can't learn to love and care about people if I'm too busy feeling guilty and incapable.
3. God teaches people at different times and in different ways... Patience is important.
4. I don't have to be the one out on the streets! The people seeing all the action need prayer, too.
5. It's not about me having a load of really good faith. It's about me having the amount of faith that I have in a really good God.
6. If I'm willing to do what I can within the faith that I have, God is more than willing to make my faith stronger. But the key is not focusing on me at all, just Him.
Needless to say, my rain cloud has moved on and I'm trusting God to work with me just as I am. He knows what I need to learn and how to teach me.
Thank goodness!
Chelsea
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