Note to all blog readers that are not on Facebook: I put lots of pictures on Facebook. Check them out from time to time.
I had a good weekend. Saturday, I played chess with some people. Everyone is pretty much the same skill level, which makes things fun. I've won a few games when I don't make silly mistakes like giving away my queen, bishop and rook all in a row. Ug.
Then Saturday night we decided to walk to a bowling alley place. First of all, it took us about an hour to get there. We were in a group of about 12 or so, and the slowest person was dictating the pace since everyone had to wait for them. It was also in the single digits in temperature. I'm not talking single digits celsius (for those Romanians reading this), I'm talking single digits fahrenheit. It was dang cold!
I had my "impervious to weather" outfit on, but my nose and lips were still cold. For those that want to keep track. I've used my scarf once, my thermal socks once, my long john pants twice, my long john thermal shirt zero times. Mostly one pair of socks is enough, and if I need more, I can double up. Thermal socks are not really needed. I also decided that pajama pants work just as well as an extra warmth layer as long johns, and they're more comfortable. Scarves are also not needed since my big jacket has a thing that covers my neck. I also have a sweater with a hood which can keep my neck warm too.
Anyways, we get to the place and we don't bowl. We head to the back to play pool. It costs 2 lei per game, which is about 63 cents. Some other people played darts, and air hockey, and foosball. It was really fun. I really like pool. They also had the music turned up loud and I think I was the only one that felt the urge to boogie. It was kind of a weird sensation to be the only person there outgoing enough to move to the beat. I'm never the most outgoing person. After that, we took cabs back to the base.
On Sunday I went to church with some people. The pastor of this particular church is from Texas, so the sermon is in English and is translated to Romanian. He is a crack up. This is probably my favorite church so far, although I still need to try out a couple more.
After I got back from church I messed around with the keyboard in the prayer room. I re-taught myself how to play Canon by Pachabel. I don't have it perfect yet, but it's almost there.
Yep, that was my weekend.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
3 Weeks
I've been here for three weeks.
I can't tell if time is passing quickly or slowly. On the one hand I feel like I've been here forever. I feel like I'm really good friends with the students and the staff. I feel like I've learned a lot from the teachings. I'm used to the routine of things.
But on the other hand, I'm still going to be here for another two months of training, and two months of outreach. How much more am I going to learn? How much closer will I get with everyone here?
Have I changed? Do I seem different to anyone back home?
Have I changed? Do I seem different to anyone back home?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Me or You?
Just a quick thought before I head out to watch a movie with the rest of the people here.
If you only want to sing songs to yourself, all you really need to know is the words and the melody. You don't really need to know who sings it or the name of the song. However, if you want to share this song with someone else, it's critical that you know the singer and song name. People can search on the lyrics, but it's so much easier with the name.
The same is true of Bible verses. I know a lot of verses, but I don't know their references. That's fine for me. I know that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that I don't have to fear evil. But if I want someone else to know that, then I have to know that it is from Psalm 23.
I'm going to start trying to memorize the references to all the verses I know (and the titles of the songs I'm singing). Quiz me sometime. :)
If you only want to sing songs to yourself, all you really need to know is the words and the melody. You don't really need to know who sings it or the name of the song. However, if you want to share this song with someone else, it's critical that you know the singer and song name. People can search on the lyrics, but it's so much easier with the name.
The same is true of Bible verses. I know a lot of verses, but I don't know their references. That's fine for me. I know that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that I don't have to fear evil. But if I want someone else to know that, then I have to know that it is from Psalm 23.
I'm going to start trying to memorize the references to all the verses I know (and the titles of the songs I'm singing). Quiz me sometime. :)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Driver
I'm stealing this story from my teacher.
There was a king in a far off country. He had an amazing driver. The driver always took the best routes and never endangered the king by taking short cuts through rough neighborhoods. However, the driver was very old and it was time for him to retire. The king gathered his servants and told them to go out into the kingdom and find him another driver that was as good as the previous one.
His servents went throughout the kingdom. They searched high and low for the best drivers in all the land. After weeks of searching they finally came back with three of the most respected and professional drivers they could find.
The king brought in the first driver to ask him one question. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The first driver thought for a second then responded, "I'm so good that I can get within 12 inches of the edge and not go over." The king nodded and sent him away.
The king brought in the second driver to ask him the same question. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The second driver paused to consider the situation. "I am such a good driver that I can get within six inches of the edge without going over." The king nodded and sent him away.
The king brought in the third driver to ask him the same question as the other two. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The third driver looked confused. "How close to the edge? I beg your pardon, but when I drive up a mountain I stay as close to the mountain as possible." The king smiled. He had found his driver.
Being a Christian is not about how close you can get to the world and still be a Christian, it's about how close you can get to God.
I've heard this before, but not attached to the cool driver story. It was attached to some other story that wasn't as cool. Everytime I hear it, I nod and say, "Yes, I agree," and then I go on living my life as I always do. Why?
Why don't I find practical ways to live this out? Why don't I choose my Bible instead of watching TV? Here on this DTS it's really easy to draw near to God. Why wasn't it easy back home? Was it my environment? If you surround yourself with people that only care about video games and girls, you might find that eventually those are the only things you care about. If you're on a diet, it doesn't make sense to hang out in a donut shop.
Yes we should have friends from all over the place, but do not be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:something.
There was a king in a far off country. He had an amazing driver. The driver always took the best routes and never endangered the king by taking short cuts through rough neighborhoods. However, the driver was very old and it was time for him to retire. The king gathered his servants and told them to go out into the kingdom and find him another driver that was as good as the previous one.
His servents went throughout the kingdom. They searched high and low for the best drivers in all the land. After weeks of searching they finally came back with three of the most respected and professional drivers they could find.
The king brought in the first driver to ask him one question. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The first driver thought for a second then responded, "I'm so good that I can get within 12 inches of the edge and not go over." The king nodded and sent him away.
The king brought in the second driver to ask him the same question. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The second driver paused to consider the situation. "I am such a good driver that I can get within six inches of the edge without going over." The king nodded and sent him away.
The king brought in the third driver to ask him the same question as the other two. "If you are my driver, and we are driving on a mountain road, how close to the edge can you drive without going over?" The third driver looked confused. "How close to the edge? I beg your pardon, but when I drive up a mountain I stay as close to the mountain as possible." The king smiled. He had found his driver.
Being a Christian is not about how close you can get to the world and still be a Christian, it's about how close you can get to God.
I've heard this before, but not attached to the cool driver story. It was attached to some other story that wasn't as cool. Everytime I hear it, I nod and say, "Yes, I agree," and then I go on living my life as I always do. Why?
Why don't I find practical ways to live this out? Why don't I choose my Bible instead of watching TV? Here on this DTS it's really easy to draw near to God. Why wasn't it easy back home? Was it my environment? If you surround yourself with people that only care about video games and girls, you might find that eventually those are the only things you care about. If you're on a diet, it doesn't make sense to hang out in a donut shop.
Yes we should have friends from all over the place, but do not be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:something.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Bus
Today in class we listened to a song. I don't remember the name of the song, but it was about a conversation between the singer and God, and God missed the singer and the time they used to spend together. The singer kept busying himself with different missions, but forgot to spend time with God and fill himself up with His Holy Spirit, and so the missions weren't as fruitful.
Anyways, one of the first lyrics in the song mentions finding God in a familiar place. Next to God is another familiar place, but this seat is empty. It's the seat that the singer used to sit in when hanging out with God.
My imagination took this and ran with it. I imagined God hanging out on a bench, and the singer walking up to God on the bench, motioning him to sit down. The bench was a bench at a bus stop. They were waiting for the bus.
Then I started thinking some more. On Monday, one of the main points of the teachings was to not get ahead of God's plan. So I was imagining myself and God sitting on this bus bench. We're talking about different things, and I ask God where we're going. He tells me all about it, and I get so excited to go there that I want to leave right away. I jump up off the bench and start jogging in the direction of the place we're going to go.
God says, "No, wait. Come back." "Why God? I want to go right now. The place you described sounds amazing. I don't want to wait any longer." "Yes. It is amazing, but it's a long ways away. If you run there you will be very tired when you arrive and you won't be able to enjoy it. It is better if we take the bus."
So I came back and sat with God on the bench and we chatted until the bus came. When it did, I followed God onto the bus and we set off to our destination.
Sometimes God tells me cool things. These things are so cool that I want them to happen right away. When I start to head towards them, I get frustrated when God tells me to wait. There are many reasons why it's a good thing to wait, and in this example it's good because waiting will make the journey much easier.
I hate waiting for long term things. I may have said this already, but my least favorite story in the Bible is when Abraham has to wait 25 years for his promised son. 25 years would drive me insane. So I really appreciate all these different things God is telling me about waiting, and all the different ways that waiting can be useful.
Anyways, one of the first lyrics in the song mentions finding God in a familiar place. Next to God is another familiar place, but this seat is empty. It's the seat that the singer used to sit in when hanging out with God.
My imagination took this and ran with it. I imagined God hanging out on a bench, and the singer walking up to God on the bench, motioning him to sit down. The bench was a bench at a bus stop. They were waiting for the bus.
Then I started thinking some more. On Monday, one of the main points of the teachings was to not get ahead of God's plan. So I was imagining myself and God sitting on this bus bench. We're talking about different things, and I ask God where we're going. He tells me all about it, and I get so excited to go there that I want to leave right away. I jump up off the bench and start jogging in the direction of the place we're going to go.
God says, "No, wait. Come back." "Why God? I want to go right now. The place you described sounds amazing. I don't want to wait any longer." "Yes. It is amazing, but it's a long ways away. If you run there you will be very tired when you arrive and you won't be able to enjoy it. It is better if we take the bus."
So I came back and sat with God on the bench and we chatted until the bus came. When it did, I followed God onto the bus and we set off to our destination.
Sometimes God tells me cool things. These things are so cool that I want them to happen right away. When I start to head towards them, I get frustrated when God tells me to wait. There are many reasons why it's a good thing to wait, and in this example it's good because waiting will make the journey much easier.
I hate waiting for long term things. I may have said this already, but my least favorite story in the Bible is when Abraham has to wait 25 years for his promised son. 25 years would drive me insane. So I really appreciate all these different things God is telling me about waiting, and all the different ways that waiting can be useful.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Promises
Genesis 22 (paraphrasing)
God: Hey, Abey boy.
Abraham: What's up G-dawg?
God: Do you remember that thing that I promised you, and then you had to wait 25 years, and then you finally got it?
Abraham: Of course! Isaac, love that kid! You're so amazing and so faithful! I will love that kid all the days of his life!
God: About that...
Abraham: Yeah?
God: I want you to go up on the mountain and kill him.
Abraham: Sure thing! I'll get right on it!
Pause there.
In verse three it says that he got up early in the morning to obey what God had told him. Really Abe? You were so excited to obey God in this that you got up early to do it? I don't even wake up early for Christmas anymore. You didn't have any questions? For instance, "Ummm, God, why are you taking the thing away that you promised you'd give me?" Or how about, "God, could you explain to me how you're going to make me a great nation through Isaac if you want me to kill him?"
Nope, nothing like that. Abraham just obeyed.
Yesterday, God asked me to do a similar thing.
God: Hey Mikey boy.
Me: I like Mike better.
God: I'm God.
Me: Mikey boy it is. What's up?
God: You know that thing that you really really want, and I've been telling you that you're going to get it, and I've been confirming that you'll soon receive it?
Me: Of course! I'm so excited!
God: I want you to kill it.
Me: Wait what? You want me to kill it? But I've been wanting this thing for so many years, and You kept telling me that I was going to get it, and You even started confirming that it was going to happen soon, and I've been good...
Me (starting to get inside my own head): ...or maybe I haven't been good, or maybe I'm not ready to receive this fancy thing. Yeah, that must be it. I'm not ready, which means I'm not good enough, which means I'm a bad person...
Me (on a downward spiral): ...which means I don't deserve this good thing, etc, etc, etc....
I didn't recognize the lies I was being fed.
I didn't recognize the truth of the situation.
God didn't ask Abraham to give up Isaac because he wasn't ready to receive the promise. He asked Abraham to give him up because He wanted to make sure that Abraham was more in love with the Promiser than the promise.
Like a parent giving a baby a new toy, I got all wrapped up in this new shiny thing I was given. I forgot all about the One that gave it to me. So when the the Parent took the toy away, I cried. (metaphorically and literally)
The Giver is better than the gift, and if I need to lay some things on the altar from time to time to remind myself of that, then so be it.
God, let me never forget who You are. You are number one. Other things will come and go, other people will come and go, but as long as I am with you, I will be fine.
Abraham had that perspective. He valued God, more than Isaac. What's your "Isaac"? Do I have any other "Isaacs" besides the ones I've already laid down? What do I have, that if I lost, would devestate me?
Time to go pray about it. :)
God: Hey, Abey boy.
Abraham: What's up G-dawg?
God: Do you remember that thing that I promised you, and then you had to wait 25 years, and then you finally got it?
Abraham: Of course! Isaac, love that kid! You're so amazing and so faithful! I will love that kid all the days of his life!
God: About that...
Abraham: Yeah?
God: I want you to go up on the mountain and kill him.
Abraham: Sure thing! I'll get right on it!
Pause there.
In verse three it says that he got up early in the morning to obey what God had told him. Really Abe? You were so excited to obey God in this that you got up early to do it? I don't even wake up early for Christmas anymore. You didn't have any questions? For instance, "Ummm, God, why are you taking the thing away that you promised you'd give me?" Or how about, "God, could you explain to me how you're going to make me a great nation through Isaac if you want me to kill him?"
Nope, nothing like that. Abraham just obeyed.
Yesterday, God asked me to do a similar thing.
God: Hey Mikey boy.
Me: I like Mike better.
God: I'm God.
Me: Mikey boy it is. What's up?
God: You know that thing that you really really want, and I've been telling you that you're going to get it, and I've been confirming that you'll soon receive it?
Me: Of course! I'm so excited!
God: I want you to kill it.
Me: Wait what? You want me to kill it? But I've been wanting this thing for so many years, and You kept telling me that I was going to get it, and You even started confirming that it was going to happen soon, and I've been good...
Me (starting to get inside my own head): ...or maybe I haven't been good, or maybe I'm not ready to receive this fancy thing. Yeah, that must be it. I'm not ready, which means I'm not good enough, which means I'm a bad person...
Me (on a downward spiral): ...which means I don't deserve this good thing, etc, etc, etc....
I didn't recognize the lies I was being fed.
I didn't recognize the truth of the situation.
God didn't ask Abraham to give up Isaac because he wasn't ready to receive the promise. He asked Abraham to give him up because He wanted to make sure that Abraham was more in love with the Promiser than the promise.
Like a parent giving a baby a new toy, I got all wrapped up in this new shiny thing I was given. I forgot all about the One that gave it to me. So when the the Parent took the toy away, I cried. (metaphorically and literally)
The Giver is better than the gift, and if I need to lay some things on the altar from time to time to remind myself of that, then so be it.
God, let me never forget who You are. You are number one. Other things will come and go, other people will come and go, but as long as I am with you, I will be fine.
Abraham had that perspective. He valued God, more than Isaac. What's your "Isaac"? Do I have any other "Isaacs" besides the ones I've already laid down? What do I have, that if I lost, would devestate me?
Time to go pray about it. :)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Needs
Wisdom to know what to do,
and the strength to do it.
and the strength to do it.
Please pray for me. I'm on the front lines of some spiritual warfare, and I need some reinforcements from the home base. I don't know how to tell you how to pray except for wisdom and strength.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Temptation
Today I noticed a strange temptation, the temptation to make the place that I am like the place that I was. Think about that for a moment.
One the one hand, it's perfectly natural to set your bed up the way you like it, and to put some pictures of home on the wall. No one would rebuke you for that. It's also natural to check emails and post pictures so that friends can keep track of your adventure. I consider it borderline selfish to not share your life and your adventure with your friends and family that want to join with you in it.
What I would argue is not good is bringing over some of my habits regarding how I spend my free time. Back in Carpinteria I was content to distract myself all day until it was time to go to bed. I would spend hours online watching different videos, and reading different articles, and watching different shows on Hulu.
Now that I find myself with some free time, I find that I'm tempted to distract myself until dinner with similar things. However, that is not the design of this place. This DTS was set up in such a way so that I would grow closer to God and learn more about Him. I should be spending my free time with that in mind. It would be a terrible waste to have this time, and not use it in that way.
I see similar things happening in all of the other students. They are on vacation, not in boot camp. Playing is a greater priority than studying. During classes, everyone used to take lots of notes. Now people mostly slouch in their chairs and listen. I admit I do it too sometimes.
Then when I look out the window, I'm reminded that I'm not in Carpinteria. I'm in Romania, and I'm reminded of why I came to Romania. I came with a purpose: to grow closer to God. I should spend my free time praying, and reading the different books they're giving me, and filling out the journals they give me, and meditating on the teachings.
What's the point of coming to a DTS if you're not willing to do those things? Imagine going to the barber and refusing a haircut. Imagine going to the gym to eat fast food, and sit on the couches. What's the point? At best you're there with the wrong purpose in mind. At worst you are actively distracting and hindering the other people that are there.
People go to the barber to get a hair cut and if you're playing with all of the scissors, then they can't do that. Likewise, if you're handing out french fries to everyone at the gym, they're going to gain weight instead of lose it.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about how much this situation parallels life as a whole and what is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
When Jesus enters the picture, you're a new person. Don't bring those old habits with you. Leave them all behind. You're in a new place now, with a new purpose. Even year to year you can do this. Don't let the things that tempted you and caused you to stumble in 2010 do the same in 2011. Leave them all behind.
I'm probably guilty of this the most. Year after year I'd do the same things, and stumble in all the same ways. There was no growth. If you compared 2010 with 2005, I was probably the same person. I'm going to try my best to be better in 2011 than I was in 2010. From your perspective, you may not notice any changes, but from my perspective and God's perspective, there's going to be some changes.
One the one hand, it's perfectly natural to set your bed up the way you like it, and to put some pictures of home on the wall. No one would rebuke you for that. It's also natural to check emails and post pictures so that friends can keep track of your adventure. I consider it borderline selfish to not share your life and your adventure with your friends and family that want to join with you in it.
What I would argue is not good is bringing over some of my habits regarding how I spend my free time. Back in Carpinteria I was content to distract myself all day until it was time to go to bed. I would spend hours online watching different videos, and reading different articles, and watching different shows on Hulu.
Now that I find myself with some free time, I find that I'm tempted to distract myself until dinner with similar things. However, that is not the design of this place. This DTS was set up in such a way so that I would grow closer to God and learn more about Him. I should be spending my free time with that in mind. It would be a terrible waste to have this time, and not use it in that way.
I see similar things happening in all of the other students. They are on vacation, not in boot camp. Playing is a greater priority than studying. During classes, everyone used to take lots of notes. Now people mostly slouch in their chairs and listen. I admit I do it too sometimes.
Then when I look out the window, I'm reminded that I'm not in Carpinteria. I'm in Romania, and I'm reminded of why I came to Romania. I came with a purpose: to grow closer to God. I should spend my free time praying, and reading the different books they're giving me, and filling out the journals they give me, and meditating on the teachings.
What's the point of coming to a DTS if you're not willing to do those things? Imagine going to the barber and refusing a haircut. Imagine going to the gym to eat fast food, and sit on the couches. What's the point? At best you're there with the wrong purpose in mind. At worst you are actively distracting and hindering the other people that are there.
People go to the barber to get a hair cut and if you're playing with all of the scissors, then they can't do that. Likewise, if you're handing out french fries to everyone at the gym, they're going to gain weight instead of lose it.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about how much this situation parallels life as a whole and what is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
When Jesus enters the picture, you're a new person. Don't bring those old habits with you. Leave them all behind. You're in a new place now, with a new purpose. Even year to year you can do this. Don't let the things that tempted you and caused you to stumble in 2010 do the same in 2011. Leave them all behind.
I'm probably guilty of this the most. Year after year I'd do the same things, and stumble in all the same ways. There was no growth. If you compared 2010 with 2005, I was probably the same person. I'm going to try my best to be better in 2011 than I was in 2010. From your perspective, you may not notice any changes, but from my perspective and God's perspective, there's going to be some changes.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Saturday
It's Saturday. All the rowdy people are out on a hill somewhere sledding. The girls invited me into town to visit thrift stores for seven hours, no thanks. I mean, I'd love to hang out and get to know them better, but somewhere in my childhood, I developed a hatred of thrift stores. It's not adventurous to me to have to look through piles of crap to find one gem. So that leaves me and a few other people here at the base. It's very peaceful.
I've been uploading pictures to Facebook and getting caught up on American sports, and reading a couple articles about video games, and then I looked out the window and remembered: "I'm in Romania!" Hahaha.
I mean, there's a guy in the room with me right now talking on the phone in Romanian, but it still didn't feel like anything special. It feels completely normal to be here. It feels normal to have the friends that I have right now. It's the end of the second week, and I feel like I've known these people for years.
Romanian progress: I can play Uno entirely in Romanian. Thank you, and Good morning, are common phrases that I use a lot in Romanian. And when someone reads the Bible in Romanian, I can follow along in English and know pretty much where they are. :)
I've been uploading pictures to Facebook and getting caught up on American sports, and reading a couple articles about video games, and then I looked out the window and remembered: "I'm in Romania!" Hahaha.
I mean, there's a guy in the room with me right now talking on the phone in Romanian, but it still didn't feel like anything special. It feels completely normal to be here. It feels normal to have the friends that I have right now. It's the end of the second week, and I feel like I've known these people for years.
Romanian progress: I can play Uno entirely in Romanian. Thank you, and Good morning, are common phrases that I use a lot in Romanian. And when someone reads the Bible in Romanian, I can follow along in English and know pretty much where they are. :)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Update
Maybe I should mention that my attitude has been much better. We're still going over stuff that is repetitive, but somehow it's reasuring. The teacher described what we were learning as bricks of knowledge that we were using to build a solid foundation. Each section that I already knew was a brick that I already had in my foundation. It made me happy to have so many bricks already.
I have more pictures to post to Facebook, but I don't want to overload people with pictures. It snowed here so the next pictures will be of that. :)
I finished first book, and now I'm reading Wild At Heart. It's a book about manly men, or rather how men need to embrace their manliness. Reading it makes me want to climb a mountain or build a log cabin or punch a bear.
Allow me to take this time to explain something about myself that you may not realize. I may be shy and timid most of the time, but I'd fight a bear if I had to. If we were hiking at night and a bear showed up, I'd fight that thing.
When I say fight, I mean delay the bear's attack long enough so that everyone could get away. I mean, let's be honest, I bear would eat me, but I'd still fight it if it meant saving everyone else's lives.
I have more pictures to post to Facebook, but I don't want to overload people with pictures. It snowed here so the next pictures will be of that. :)
I finished first book, and now I'm reading Wild At Heart. It's a book about manly men, or rather how men need to embrace their manliness. Reading it makes me want to climb a mountain or build a log cabin or punch a bear.
Allow me to take this time to explain something about myself that you may not realize. I may be shy and timid most of the time, but I'd fight a bear if I had to. If we were hiking at night and a bear showed up, I'd fight that thing.
When I say fight, I mean delay the bear's attack long enough so that everyone could get away. I mean, let's be honest, I bear would eat me, but I'd still fight it if it meant saving everyone else's lives.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Bad Attitude
This is a story of my bad attitude and God's response.
The main thing we do here is go to class. For about six hours every day we are sitting in the classroom listening to different people talk about different things. This is the situation from the perspective of my bad attitude:
Teacher: Today we're going to talk about this and that.
Bad Attitude: This and that?? I already know that stuff. Can't we talk about something else?
Teacher: Here are some statements and some Bible verses to back them up.
Bad Attitude: You just gave me 25 different verses, and told me to go and meditate on them. I might as well just read the whole Bible!
Teacher: Do you have any questions?
Bad Attitude: No, because I already know this stuff. God, why can't we just sit around and have a round table discussion about things. That would be interesting. These classes are so pointless. I'd much rather just read my Bible, and the books they've been giving me, and fellowship with my fellow believers.
God: I heard that.
Teacher: Okay, before we head to lunch, I have some announcements. The afternoon class that we were supposed to have is cancelled. Feel free to use that time to get to know one another. These five months are going to be over before you know it. Also, on Friday, instead of me talking so much, how about I talk less and we leave more time for discussion?
Bad Attitude: I'm melting!
Normal Mike: Wow, God. I had a bad attitude and you responded with grace. I would have smote me. (Smited? Smoten? Smitten?)
"My grace is sufficient for you."
I am just a little blown away right now by the fact that God's patience is more than my stubborness. I'm a very stubborn person, and God patience exceeds it.
Jesus, I repent of my bad attitude. It should be exicting to me to know You so well that each topic is one that I already know about. I'm so foolish and forgetful and reminders of who You are are always a good thing. At the same time, I know that I don't know everything. Continue to reveal new things to me about your character in my quiet times and as I read the books they keep giving me. (I'm starting Wild At Heart soon.)
Thank You so much for Your grace. Amen.
The main thing we do here is go to class. For about six hours every day we are sitting in the classroom listening to different people talk about different things. This is the situation from the perspective of my bad attitude:
Teacher: Today we're going to talk about this and that.
Bad Attitude: This and that?? I already know that stuff. Can't we talk about something else?
Teacher: Here are some statements and some Bible verses to back them up.
Bad Attitude: You just gave me 25 different verses, and told me to go and meditate on them. I might as well just read the whole Bible!
Teacher: Do you have any questions?
Bad Attitude: No, because I already know this stuff. God, why can't we just sit around and have a round table discussion about things. That would be interesting. These classes are so pointless. I'd much rather just read my Bible, and the books they've been giving me, and fellowship with my fellow believers.
God: I heard that.
Teacher: Okay, before we head to lunch, I have some announcements. The afternoon class that we were supposed to have is cancelled. Feel free to use that time to get to know one another. These five months are going to be over before you know it. Also, on Friday, instead of me talking so much, how about I talk less and we leave more time for discussion?
Bad Attitude: I'm melting!
Normal Mike: Wow, God. I had a bad attitude and you responded with grace. I would have smote me. (Smited? Smoten? Smitten?)
"My grace is sufficient for you."
I am just a little blown away right now by the fact that God's patience is more than my stubborness. I'm a very stubborn person, and God patience exceeds it.
Jesus, I repent of my bad attitude. It should be exicting to me to know You so well that each topic is one that I already know about. I'm so foolish and forgetful and reminders of who You are are always a good thing. At the same time, I know that I don't know everything. Continue to reveal new things to me about your character in my quiet times and as I read the books they keep giving me. (I'm starting Wild At Heart soon.)
Thank You so much for Your grace. Amen.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
12 Points
I just finished the book about hearing God's voice, and after re-reading my earlier post about it, I decided that I didn't explain it very well. Luckily, the end of my book contains 12 points to remember about hearing God's voice.
Is That Really You God?
Loren Cunningham
1. Don't make guidance complicated. It's actually hard not to hear God if you really want to please and obey Him! If you stay humble, He promises to guide you (Prov 16:9).
Here are three simple steps that have helped us to hear God's voice:
Submit to His lordship. Ask Him to help you silence your own thoughts and desires and the opinions of others that may be filling your mind (2 Cor 10:5). Even though you have been given a good mind to use, right now you want to hear the thoughts of the Lord, who has the best mind (Prov 3:5-6).
Resist the enemy, in case he is trying to deceive you at this moment. Use the authority that Jesus Christ has given you to silence the voice of the enemy (James 4:7; Eph 6:10-20)
Expect an answer. After asking the question that is on your mind, wait for Him to answer. Expect your loving heavenly Father to speak to you. He will (John 10:27; Ps 69:13; Exod 33:11).
2. Allow God to speak to you in the way He chooses. Don't try to dictate to Him concerning the guidance methods you prefer. He is Lord ---you are His servant (1 Sam 3:9). Listen with a yielded heart; there is a direct link between yieldedness and hearing.
God may choose to speak to you through His Word: This could come in your daily reading, or He could guide you to a particular verse (Ps 119:105); through an audible voice (Exod 3:4); through dreams (Matt 2) and visions (Isa 6:1, Rev 1:12-17). But probably the most common of all means is through the quiet inner voice (Isa 30:21).
3. Confess any unforgiven sin. A clean heart is necessary if you want to hear God (Ps 66:18).
4. Use the Axhead Principle - a term coined from the story in 2 Kings 6. If you seem to have lost your way, go back to the last time you knew the sharp, cutting edge of God's voice. Then obey. The key question is, Have you obeyed the last thing God told you to do?
5. Get your own leading. God will use others to confirm your guidance, but you should also hear from Him directly. It can be dangerous to rely on others to get the word of the Lord for you (1 Kings 13).
6. Don't talk about your guidance until God gives you permission to do so. Sometimes this happens immediately; at other times, there is a delay. The main purpose of waiting is to avoid four pitfalls of guidance: (a) pride, because God has spoken something to you; (b) presumption, by speaking before you have full understanding ; (c) missing God's timing and method; (d) bringing confusion to others; they, too, need prepared hearts (Luke 9:36; Eccles 3:7; Mark 5:19).
7. Use the Wise Men Principle. Just as the Three Wise Men individually followed the star, and in doing so, were all led to the same Christ, so God will often use two or more spiritually sensitive people to confirm what He is telling you (2 Cor 13:1).
8. Beware of counterfeits. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit dollar bill? Yes, of course. But have you ever heard of a counterfeit paper bag? No. The reason is that only things of value are worth counterfeiting.
Satan has a counterfeit for everything of God that is possible for him to copy (Acts 8:9-11; Exod 7:22). Counterfeit guidance comes, for example, through Ouija boards, seances, fortune-telling, and astrology (Lev 20:6; 19:26; 2 Kings 21:6). The guidance of the Holy Spirit leads you closer to Jesus and into true freedom. Satan's guidance leads you away from God into bondage.
One key test for true guidance: Does your leading follow the principles of the Bible? The Holy Spirit never contradicts the Word of God.
9. Opposition of man is sometimes guidance from God (Acts 21:10-14). In our own story, we recognized much later that what seemed like blockage from our denomination was, in fact, God leading us into a broader scope of ministry. The important lesson hear, again, is yeildedness to the Lord (Dan 6:6-23; Acts 4:18-21). Rebellion is never of God, but sometimes He asks you to step away from your elders in a way that is not rebellion but part of His plan. Trust that He will show your heart the difference.
10. Every follower of Jesus has a unique ministry (1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10-11; Rom 12; Eph 4). The more you seek to hear God's voice in detail, the more effective you will be in your own calling. Guidance is not a game --it is serious business where we learn what God wants us to do in ministry and how He wants us to do it. The will of God is doing and saying the right thing in the right place, with the right people, at that right time, and in the right sequence, under the right leadership, using the right method, with the right attitude of heart.
11. Practice hearing God's voice and it becomes easier. It's like picking up the phone and recognizing the voice of your best friend --you know his voice because you have heard it so much. Compare young Samuel with the older man Samuel (1 Sam 3:4-7; 8:7-10; 12:11-18).
12. Relationship is the most important reason for hearing the voice of the Lord. God is not only infinite but also personal. If you don't have a communication, you don't have a personal relationship with Him. True Guidance, as Darlene pointed out, is getting closer to the Guide. We grow to know the Lord better as He speaks to us, and as we listen to Him and obey, we make His heart glad (Exod 33:11; Matt 7:24-27).
I love these things. Some I already knew, and some are new. God uses the still small voice the most in my life. Second most is my daydreams. Sometimes in church or at another part of the day, I'll just start daydreaming about something random, and by the end I think, "Wow, God. That was cool." That's sort of how the sand castle story happened. I was reading my Bible and I started daydreaming about Jesus on the beach. :)
Is That Really You God?
Loren Cunningham
1. Don't make guidance complicated. It's actually hard not to hear God if you really want to please and obey Him! If you stay humble, He promises to guide you (Prov 16:9).
Here are three simple steps that have helped us to hear God's voice:
Submit to His lordship. Ask Him to help you silence your own thoughts and desires and the opinions of others that may be filling your mind (2 Cor 10:5). Even though you have been given a good mind to use, right now you want to hear the thoughts of the Lord, who has the best mind (Prov 3:5-6).
Resist the enemy, in case he is trying to deceive you at this moment. Use the authority that Jesus Christ has given you to silence the voice of the enemy (James 4:7; Eph 6:10-20)
Expect an answer. After asking the question that is on your mind, wait for Him to answer. Expect your loving heavenly Father to speak to you. He will (John 10:27; Ps 69:13; Exod 33:11).
2. Allow God to speak to you in the way He chooses. Don't try to dictate to Him concerning the guidance methods you prefer. He is Lord ---you are His servant (1 Sam 3:9). Listen with a yielded heart; there is a direct link between yieldedness and hearing.
God may choose to speak to you through His Word: This could come in your daily reading, or He could guide you to a particular verse (Ps 119:105); through an audible voice (Exod 3:4); through dreams (Matt 2) and visions (Isa 6:1, Rev 1:12-17). But probably the most common of all means is through the quiet inner voice (Isa 30:21).
3. Confess any unforgiven sin. A clean heart is necessary if you want to hear God (Ps 66:18).
4. Use the Axhead Principle - a term coined from the story in 2 Kings 6. If you seem to have lost your way, go back to the last time you knew the sharp, cutting edge of God's voice. Then obey. The key question is, Have you obeyed the last thing God told you to do?
5. Get your own leading. God will use others to confirm your guidance, but you should also hear from Him directly. It can be dangerous to rely on others to get the word of the Lord for you (1 Kings 13).
6. Don't talk about your guidance until God gives you permission to do so. Sometimes this happens immediately; at other times, there is a delay. The main purpose of waiting is to avoid four pitfalls of guidance: (a) pride, because God has spoken something to you; (b) presumption, by speaking before you have full understanding ; (c) missing God's timing and method; (d) bringing confusion to others; they, too, need prepared hearts (Luke 9:36; Eccles 3:7; Mark 5:19).
7. Use the Wise Men Principle. Just as the Three Wise Men individually followed the star, and in doing so, were all led to the same Christ, so God will often use two or more spiritually sensitive people to confirm what He is telling you (2 Cor 13:1).
8. Beware of counterfeits. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit dollar bill? Yes, of course. But have you ever heard of a counterfeit paper bag? No. The reason is that only things of value are worth counterfeiting.
Satan has a counterfeit for everything of God that is possible for him to copy (Acts 8:9-11; Exod 7:22). Counterfeit guidance comes, for example, through Ouija boards, seances, fortune-telling, and astrology (Lev 20:6; 19:26; 2 Kings 21:6). The guidance of the Holy Spirit leads you closer to Jesus and into true freedom. Satan's guidance leads you away from God into bondage.
One key test for true guidance: Does your leading follow the principles of the Bible? The Holy Spirit never contradicts the Word of God.
9. Opposition of man is sometimes guidance from God (Acts 21:10-14). In our own story, we recognized much later that what seemed like blockage from our denomination was, in fact, God leading us into a broader scope of ministry. The important lesson hear, again, is yeildedness to the Lord (Dan 6:6-23; Acts 4:18-21). Rebellion is never of God, but sometimes He asks you to step away from your elders in a way that is not rebellion but part of His plan. Trust that He will show your heart the difference.
10. Every follower of Jesus has a unique ministry (1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10-11; Rom 12; Eph 4). The more you seek to hear God's voice in detail, the more effective you will be in your own calling. Guidance is not a game --it is serious business where we learn what God wants us to do in ministry and how He wants us to do it. The will of God is doing and saying the right thing in the right place, with the right people, at that right time, and in the right sequence, under the right leadership, using the right method, with the right attitude of heart.
11. Practice hearing God's voice and it becomes easier. It's like picking up the phone and recognizing the voice of your best friend --you know his voice because you have heard it so much. Compare young Samuel with the older man Samuel (1 Sam 3:4-7; 8:7-10; 12:11-18).
12. Relationship is the most important reason for hearing the voice of the Lord. God is not only infinite but also personal. If you don't have a communication, you don't have a personal relationship with Him. True Guidance, as Darlene pointed out, is getting closer to the Guide. We grow to know the Lord better as He speaks to us, and as we listen to Him and obey, we make His heart glad (Exod 33:11; Matt 7:24-27).
I love these things. Some I already knew, and some are new. God uses the still small voice the most in my life. Second most is my daydreams. Sometimes in church or at another part of the day, I'll just start daydreaming about something random, and by the end I think, "Wow, God. That was cool." That's sort of how the sand castle story happened. I was reading my Bible and I started daydreaming about Jesus on the beach. :)
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Giving Tree
Today we did an exercise where we had to draw four pictures. The first was a picture representing your past. The second was a picture representing the happiest memory you have. The third was a picture representing the saddest memory you have. And the fourth was a picture of either what you hope to get out of this DTS or who you hope to be in the future.
I thought of the first and last pictures immediately, but the other two took some thinking.
For the first picture, I drew myself standing on a podium holding a first place trophy. That represents my past because I've done a lot of good things in my life, and for a long time, it was a huge sense of pride for me to have done those things. Now I try to be more humble about things, but sometimes I'm probably too humble. For example, God will tell me something, and I won't share it. "Don't be prideful Mike, what God told you isn't that amazing. You don't have to share it with the group." I've been trying to fight that, but it's a process.
The second picture I drew a couple of people sitting at a table playing a board game. I knew most people would talk about Jesus as their happiest moment, so I picked a different moment that wasn't Jesus related. I felt a bit weird to be the only one that didn't say something about Jesus in my happiest moment picture, but they already know I love Jesus. They didn't know I love board games, so I drew that.
The memory I was thinking of was the last time (and every time) we played telephone pictionary as a family. We were all laughing so hard that our stomachs hurt. I love laughing that hard.
The saddest moment took me a while to think of. No one has really died or abandoned me or anything tragic like that (thankfully!). The moment that came to mind is back when I was in high school, and John was in the hospital after smashing his head on a rock in a mountain bike crash. I was at school eating my lunch and I didn't really know how John was doing. He had been in the hospital for a few days at that point.
I have this vivid memory of the school announcing my name on the speaker system and asking me to come to the office. I just knew in the pit of my stomach that I was about to get some very bad news. That was the longest walk to the office ever. I forget what the news was, but it wasn't good news.
Thankfully John recovered, but when they announced my name on the speaker system, that was a very sad moment in my life as I imagined the worst had happened.
Then the fourth picture I drew a picture of a stump. That's who I hope to be in the future...metaphorically. Have you guys read The Giving Tree? It's a story about a boy and a tree. When the boy is young, the tree gives its shade. When the boy is older the tree gives its apples. When the boy is a man, the tree gives its branches so that he can build a house. Finally when the man is an old man, the tree is only a stump, but he can still offer him a place to sit.
That's who I want to be. By the end of my life I don't want to have anything left that I could have given away to God or other people.
(Side note: After sharing this, one of my friends asked me to find him a copy of The Giving Tree. I went online and printed him out one, but as I was reading the actual story I discovered that the boy is kind of a jerk to the tree. That made me a little sad for the tree.)
I thought of the first and last pictures immediately, but the other two took some thinking.
For the first picture, I drew myself standing on a podium holding a first place trophy. That represents my past because I've done a lot of good things in my life, and for a long time, it was a huge sense of pride for me to have done those things. Now I try to be more humble about things, but sometimes I'm probably too humble. For example, God will tell me something, and I won't share it. "Don't be prideful Mike, what God told you isn't that amazing. You don't have to share it with the group." I've been trying to fight that, but it's a process.
The second picture I drew a couple of people sitting at a table playing a board game. I knew most people would talk about Jesus as their happiest moment, so I picked a different moment that wasn't Jesus related. I felt a bit weird to be the only one that didn't say something about Jesus in my happiest moment picture, but they already know I love Jesus. They didn't know I love board games, so I drew that.
The memory I was thinking of was the last time (and every time) we played telephone pictionary as a family. We were all laughing so hard that our stomachs hurt. I love laughing that hard.
The saddest moment took me a while to think of. No one has really died or abandoned me or anything tragic like that (thankfully!). The moment that came to mind is back when I was in high school, and John was in the hospital after smashing his head on a rock in a mountain bike crash. I was at school eating my lunch and I didn't really know how John was doing. He had been in the hospital for a few days at that point.
I have this vivid memory of the school announcing my name on the speaker system and asking me to come to the office. I just knew in the pit of my stomach that I was about to get some very bad news. That was the longest walk to the office ever. I forget what the news was, but it wasn't good news.
Thankfully John recovered, but when they announced my name on the speaker system, that was a very sad moment in my life as I imagined the worst had happened.
Then the fourth picture I drew a picture of a stump. That's who I hope to be in the future...metaphorically. Have you guys read The Giving Tree? It's a story about a boy and a tree. When the boy is young, the tree gives its shade. When the boy is older the tree gives its apples. When the boy is a man, the tree gives its branches so that he can build a house. Finally when the man is an old man, the tree is only a stump, but he can still offer him a place to sit.
That's who I want to be. By the end of my life I don't want to have anything left that I could have given away to God or other people.
(Side note: After sharing this, one of my friends asked me to find him a copy of The Giving Tree. I went online and printed him out one, but as I was reading the actual story I discovered that the boy is kind of a jerk to the tree. That made me a little sad for the tree.)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Worship
This one was a two part lesson so it's going to be longer.
Worship
by Alin
Worship is a lifestyle.
God has so many names because he has so many attributes.
Skills in music are important, but not that important.
God's presence can be in all worship forms.
As many people as there are in the world, there are that many ways to worship.
God values an honest heart.
Praise - What is it?
Surrender, excitement, giving God glory, appreciation.
It needs to be a part of us, and something we're used to.
Encourage one another, don't keep it to yourself.
Definition - to speak highly of someone/something, express agreement, give glory through song.
Praise can be direct (praise, sing, pray to God), and indirect (talk to others about God).
Praise god for who He is and not only for what He's done.
Praise Him in your own way out of an honest heart.
Don't push or force anyone to praise in a certain way.
Why Praise God?
We are commanded to.
Psalm 150
Psalm 22
God loves our praise so much that He surrounds Himself with it.
They conquered Jericho through praise.
Paul and Silas were in jail, and they praised God, and then the chains broke free.
Take your eyes off the problem and focus on God.
Praise God because He is beautiful
Psalm 92
Psalm 135
And because He is worthy.
What is the right time for praise?
There are only two times you need to praise God: When you feel like it and when you don't.
Psalm 57: Praise at dawn (other times work too)
Hebrews 13-15
1 Peter 2:5
Psalm (I didn't get the chapter, so I think he was referencing all of the Psalms as types of praise.)
Do not give God something that cost you nothing.
You can offer your belongings to God as an act of praise.
Give your first fruits, your best, when giving to God.
Habbakuk 3:17-18 Yet I will praise Him.
It's not hypocritical to praise God in hard times.
1 John 4:20 You can't say you love God if you hate your brother.
Eph 5:19
Col 3:16
God speaks in the Bible, but He can also speak in visions in revelations
God's presence is the most real thing in our life.
Don't study the Bible without the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear God.
Jeremiah 33:3
Take the word of God and sing it back to Him
Repeat God's word until is is planted deep into you, and then it becomes real.
We praise God together so we can build our faith.
We talk to God with one another so that we can be comfortable talking with others about God.
Evangelism - Telling others about God.
The more you practice it the better you become.
But we are not called to convince people, that's God's job.
But we can still plant the seed and create an environment for God to work.
You are truly free when you can go into a bar and share God without shame.
God appreciates variety: praise standing, kneeling, dancing, painting, all for God's glory.
We shouldn't try to make everyone the same.
Part 2
Every nation will know of You, and of Your greatness.
Things God created for good, the devil perverts
The New Testament doesn't really talk that much about worship because they were already experts.
They didn't need to hear those messages.
God values an honest heart, if you feel lead to dance then do it.
Forms of worhship: painting, singing, dancing. None of these should be more important than God.
Worship is a little harder to define than praise.
It's:
A conversation with God
A permanent dialogue
Giving yourself to God (we offer our lives as a living sacrifice)
It's an affirmative answer to God's revelation
It should be a fellowship with those who love Him.
shachah - Hebrew - to bow
proskuneo - Greek - to kiss the dirt / bow
latreuo - Greek - to serve / minister
leitourgous - Greek - priestly ministry / a divine service
Differences between praise and worship:
John 4:23 worship in spirit and in truth
God seeks for eager worshipers like in John 4:23
Praise can be distant. We don't have to be in His presence to say "God is good."
Worship is close. You draw close to His heart.
A non-Christian can praise God, but cannot worship Him.
Praise is always seen or heard, but worship is less obvious.
It's in the heart, and we can't judge what's in the heart. Only God can, so don't judge people.
Sometimes we need to be agressive in our praise.
But worship is softer and can even be silent.
Should there be an order between praise and worship? Not necessarily.
There are some bad attitudes we can have when we worship: anger, envy, frustration, pride, and we need to deal with them.
Pride can lead you to be more conservative. (Example: You don't want to sound weird so you sing quietly.)
This robs us of Joy.
We can't assume that we can just enter into God's presence after being away from Him for so long if we don't maintain our relationship with Him.
God honors faithfulness.
Another bad attitude is to be a spectator. We are called to participate.
Sentamentalism can confuse worship time. Instead focus on the message.
There can be fear of being manipulated by the worship leader. ("Should I lift up my hands.")
The worship leader leads by the Spirit. It's not because they are manipulating.
Worship should be the center of the Church.
It's our relationship with God and our highest calling.
Luke 7:36-50
The disciples didn't understand worship like the woman in this passage.
Worshipers need to give themselves to God like this woman.
She gave everything. She might not have eaten the next day beause she gave her valuable perfume to God instead of selling it so she could buy food.
Ps 96:8 Give to the Lord the glory due His name
Don't show up with yoru leftovers.
The same with donating to charity, give good things, not trashy things.
The lady in Luke was crying. She was so eager to know God. She didn't hold anything back.
Tears can be signs of a broken heart and God appreciates a broken heart.
A clay pot first needs to be broken down before it is made new.
She kissed His feet and honored Him and wiped his feet with her hair.
The sign that a prostitute wanted to sleep with someone was wiping feet with their hair. This probably freaked the disciples out.
We are called to worship God.
When the lady put ther perfume on Jesus, it probably got on her as well.
Likewise, when we worship Jesus, we can begin to "smell" like Him. So much that people notice.
2 Cor 2: 15-16
Steps to get into God's presence:
Tell God (and others) that you love them.
Start at home or in your room.
Deal with the attitudes that you may have.
Pray for the pastor and worship leaders and staff. They have a huge responsibility and sometimes they may feel alone if people aren't engaging. So pray.
Enter into God's courts with shouts of praise.
Be extroverted.
These steps are similar to the whole church service in the Old Testament and today.
We get closer and closer to the Holy of Holies.
Many people are afraid of entering the Holy of Holies. Don't be afraid.
If you are close to God's heart, you can hear His whispers.
2 Cor 3:7-18
Try to make the Holy of Holies your living room. :)
Being saved doesn't mean you have a relationship with God.
Song of Solomon 2:8-14
"Rise up my love" God is calling us
"and come away" out into the world
"The winter is gone and flowers appear on the earth" Now is the time of the harvest.
"Let me see your face" Draw near to God
"let me hear your voice" and speak the words He gives you
"For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely"
1 Peter 2:5-9 We are called to be a royal priesthood.
Worship
by Alin
Worship is a lifestyle.
God has so many names because he has so many attributes.
Skills in music are important, but not that important.
God's presence can be in all worship forms.
As many people as there are in the world, there are that many ways to worship.
God values an honest heart.
Praise - What is it?
Surrender, excitement, giving God glory, appreciation.
It needs to be a part of us, and something we're used to.
Encourage one another, don't keep it to yourself.
Definition - to speak highly of someone/something, express agreement, give glory through song.
Praise can be direct (praise, sing, pray to God), and indirect (talk to others about God).
Praise god for who He is and not only for what He's done.
Praise Him in your own way out of an honest heart.
Don't push or force anyone to praise in a certain way.
Why Praise God?
We are commanded to.
Psalm 150
Psalm 22
God loves our praise so much that He surrounds Himself with it.
They conquered Jericho through praise.
Paul and Silas were in jail, and they praised God, and then the chains broke free.
Take your eyes off the problem and focus on God.
Praise God because He is beautiful
Psalm 92
Psalm 135
And because He is worthy.
What is the right time for praise?
There are only two times you need to praise God: When you feel like it and when you don't.
Psalm 57: Praise at dawn (other times work too)
Hebrews 13-15
1 Peter 2:5
Psalm (I didn't get the chapter, so I think he was referencing all of the Psalms as types of praise.)
Do not give God something that cost you nothing.
You can offer your belongings to God as an act of praise.
Give your first fruits, your best, when giving to God.
Habbakuk 3:17-18 Yet I will praise Him.
It's not hypocritical to praise God in hard times.
1 John 4:20 You can't say you love God if you hate your brother.
Eph 5:19
Col 3:16
God speaks in the Bible, but He can also speak in visions in revelations
God's presence is the most real thing in our life.
Don't study the Bible without the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear God.
Jeremiah 33:3
Take the word of God and sing it back to Him
Repeat God's word until is is planted deep into you, and then it becomes real.
We praise God together so we can build our faith.
We talk to God with one another so that we can be comfortable talking with others about God.
Evangelism - Telling others about God.
The more you practice it the better you become.
But we are not called to convince people, that's God's job.
But we can still plant the seed and create an environment for God to work.
You are truly free when you can go into a bar and share God without shame.
God appreciates variety: praise standing, kneeling, dancing, painting, all for God's glory.
We shouldn't try to make everyone the same.
Part 2
Every nation will know of You, and of Your greatness.
Things God created for good, the devil perverts
The New Testament doesn't really talk that much about worship because they were already experts.
They didn't need to hear those messages.
God values an honest heart, if you feel lead to dance then do it.
Forms of worhship: painting, singing, dancing. None of these should be more important than God.
Worship is a little harder to define than praise.
It's:
A conversation with God
A permanent dialogue
Giving yourself to God (we offer our lives as a living sacrifice)
It's an affirmative answer to God's revelation
It should be a fellowship with those who love Him.
shachah - Hebrew - to bow
proskuneo - Greek - to kiss the dirt / bow
latreuo - Greek - to serve / minister
leitourgous - Greek - priestly ministry / a divine service
Differences between praise and worship:
John 4:23 worship in spirit and in truth
God seeks for eager worshipers like in John 4:23
Praise can be distant. We don't have to be in His presence to say "God is good."
Worship is close. You draw close to His heart.
A non-Christian can praise God, but cannot worship Him.
Praise is always seen or heard, but worship is less obvious.
It's in the heart, and we can't judge what's in the heart. Only God can, so don't judge people.
Sometimes we need to be agressive in our praise.
But worship is softer and can even be silent.
Should there be an order between praise and worship? Not necessarily.
There are some bad attitudes we can have when we worship: anger, envy, frustration, pride, and we need to deal with them.
Pride can lead you to be more conservative. (Example: You don't want to sound weird so you sing quietly.)
This robs us of Joy.
We can't assume that we can just enter into God's presence after being away from Him for so long if we don't maintain our relationship with Him.
God honors faithfulness.
Another bad attitude is to be a spectator. We are called to participate.
Sentamentalism can confuse worship time. Instead focus on the message.
There can be fear of being manipulated by the worship leader. ("Should I lift up my hands.")
The worship leader leads by the Spirit. It's not because they are manipulating.
Worship should be the center of the Church.
It's our relationship with God and our highest calling.
Luke 7:36-50
The disciples didn't understand worship like the woman in this passage.
Worshipers need to give themselves to God like this woman.
She gave everything. She might not have eaten the next day beause she gave her valuable perfume to God instead of selling it so she could buy food.
Ps 96:8 Give to the Lord the glory due His name
Don't show up with yoru leftovers.
The same with donating to charity, give good things, not trashy things.
The lady in Luke was crying. She was so eager to know God. She didn't hold anything back.
Tears can be signs of a broken heart and God appreciates a broken heart.
A clay pot first needs to be broken down before it is made new.
She kissed His feet and honored Him and wiped his feet with her hair.
The sign that a prostitute wanted to sleep with someone was wiping feet with their hair. This probably freaked the disciples out.
We are called to worship God.
When the lady put ther perfume on Jesus, it probably got on her as well.
Likewise, when we worship Jesus, we can begin to "smell" like Him. So much that people notice.
2 Cor 2: 15-16
Steps to get into God's presence:
Tell God (and others) that you love them.
Start at home or in your room.
Deal with the attitudes that you may have.
Pray for the pastor and worship leaders and staff. They have a huge responsibility and sometimes they may feel alone if people aren't engaging. So pray.
Enter into God's courts with shouts of praise.
Be extroverted.
These steps are similar to the whole church service in the Old Testament and today.
We get closer and closer to the Holy of Holies.
Many people are afraid of entering the Holy of Holies. Don't be afraid.
If you are close to God's heart, you can hear His whispers.
2 Cor 3:7-18
Try to make the Holy of Holies your living room. :)
Being saved doesn't mean you have a relationship with God.
Song of Solomon 2:8-14
"Rise up my love" God is calling us
"and come away" out into the world
"The winter is gone and flowers appear on the earth" Now is the time of the harvest.
"Let me see your face" Draw near to God
"let me hear your voice" and speak the words He gives you
"For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely"
1 Peter 2:5-9 We are called to be a royal priesthood.
Living in Community
My notes are probably a little scattered, and are actually more like bullet points than a clear message. Sometimes I'd just sit and listen to what was being said instead of writing everything down. However, here is everything that I thought important enough to write down. Some of it might be obvious, but that just means that you're already really good at living in a community. :)
Living in Community
Speaker: Lia
Living in community doesn't mean they are all alike, and often their commonalities outweigh their differences.
Our commonality is to know God and to make Him known.
Teamwork is emphasized and the sharing of resources, and talents.
Bringing more people together gives us a broader image of who God is and we get to see more of His variety.
There can be unity in diversity. (Ex. European Union)
Celebrate differences and who God created you to be.
There is a little bit of God in everyone, and since we love God we should love other people.
After the honeymoon phase, the differences really kick in.
Practical ways we can better live in a community:
keep floor clean
who should turn off the lights? ("Not me, I'm already in bed. You do it." "No, I'm way over here, you do it.") Someone needs to do it.
Don't stay in the bathroom too long.
Keep good hygiene.
Be sensitive to food likes and dislikes.
Communicate nicely about pet peeves.
Be inclusive. It's easy to feel left out.
Ask before borrowing someone's personal belongings.
Be on time.
Be mindful of cultural differences.
Be mindful of people's personal space.
Differences can cause disagreements, which can turn into conflict if our attitudes are bad.
Pick your battles.
Romans 12:8 As far as it depends on your, live peaceably with one another.
If feelings get hurt, walk in forgiveness.
You have to be willing to receive forgiveness as well as give it.
Ask questions, talk to people, get facts straight.
Learn from others and think about what you want others to learn from you.
Treat others as God treats them.
Phil 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Be where you are and enjoy each moment.
Living in Community
Speaker: Lia
Living in community doesn't mean they are all alike, and often their commonalities outweigh their differences.
Our commonality is to know God and to make Him known.
Teamwork is emphasized and the sharing of resources, and talents.
Bringing more people together gives us a broader image of who God is and we get to see more of His variety.
There can be unity in diversity. (Ex. European Union)
Celebrate differences and who God created you to be.
There is a little bit of God in everyone, and since we love God we should love other people.
After the honeymoon phase, the differences really kick in.
Practical ways we can better live in a community:
keep floor clean
who should turn off the lights? ("Not me, I'm already in bed. You do it." "No, I'm way over here, you do it.") Someone needs to do it.
Don't stay in the bathroom too long.
Keep good hygiene.
Be sensitive to food likes and dislikes.
Communicate nicely about pet peeves.
Be inclusive. It's easy to feel left out.
Ask before borrowing someone's personal belongings.
Be on time.
Be mindful of cultural differences.
Be mindful of people's personal space.
Differences can cause disagreements, which can turn into conflict if our attitudes are bad.
Pick your battles.
Romans 12:8 As far as it depends on your, live peaceably with one another.
If feelings get hurt, walk in forgiveness.
You have to be willing to receive forgiveness as well as give it.
Ask questions, talk to people, get facts straight.
Learn from others and think about what you want others to learn from you.
Treat others as God treats them.
Phil 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Be where you are and enjoy each moment.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sandcastles
Jesus and I were walking along the beach. To our left was the ocean. To our right loomed giant cliffs. The beach stretched for miles in front of us. Every once and a while, Jesus would stop, bend down, and build a sand castle. We would pause and play in the sand, and then continue walking. I loved Jesus' sand castles, and looked forward to whenever He would build them for me.
When we stopped the next time, Jesus taught me how to build my own sand castles. We each built one, played in the sand for a while, then continued walking. After walking a bit further we stopped again. This time Jesus watched as I built a bigger sand castle than the previous one that I had built. It took a little bit longer to build, but when I was done we continued walking.
We stopped a third time, and I set out to build the biggest sand castle. I used every skill that Jesus had taught me and soon I had built a giant sand castle with walls that were five feet in length and ten foot high on every side of me....and Jesus stood on the outside.
I continued to build and decorate my sand castle with intricate patterns on every wall. I wondered if this was the greatest sand castle ever created. As I finished, I sat down to enjoy what my hands had made.
Jesus waited patiently on the outside. The tide started to come in, and each small wave removed a chunk of the wall that was facing the ocean. Little by little more sand was removed from that wall until a crack began to form.
I panicked when I saw the crack and set to work to fix it. The more I tried to fix it, the bigger it got. Even with all of my sand castle skills, there was nothing I could do to fix this crack. I sat and wept bitterly on the floor of my sand castle as the crack grew larger and larger. I waited expectantly for the time when the wall would come crumbling down.
Soon a mighty wave crashed into my sand castle and the wall fell. I stood up and walked outside of my sand castle to survey the damage that had been done. I felt a tapping on my shoulder. I ignored it. As the high tide receded, I imagined how I could build up my sand castle even bigger than before, even stronger. I felt a second tap on my shoulder, and also heard a faint whisper. I shrugged those off as well. I continued to think and plan on how I could make my sand castle the best sand castle when I felt a third tapping on my shoulder.
Annoyed, I turned to look. There was Jesus waiting patiently for me. How foolish I had felt in that moment! How could I have forgotten about Jesus?! Without a word or single glance of judgement He gently put his hand on my shoulder and pointed off in the distance in the direction we were headed.
I looked and strained my eyes, and saw the faintest glimpse of our destination. It was a giant city! Towers loomed higher than the clouds! It was full of bright lights and shouts of joy. They were having a party! Fireworks exploded in the sky, and thousands of balloons rose into the air.
I turned to look at my sand castle. Five feet in length on each side with ten foot walls. One of the walls was crumbled away. How small it seemed in comparison, how feeble. I felt a light tapping on my shoulder. When I turned to look, it was Jesus beckoning for me to follow Him.
I turned away from my sand castle and walked with Jesus.
Week One
I've been here a week, and I'm getting used to the routine of things, so I thought I'd share a bit about that.
The theme of the DTS is, "Know God, and make Him known."
A typical schedule starts out with breakfast. The first few days, breakfast was at 8, yesterday it was at 7:30, and today it was at 8:30, so I don't know when the usual time is. After that we have quiet times for an hour. You can go wherever you want and just be with God. I spend mine reading my Bible. (I'm doing one of those things where you read the whole Bible in a year. Having a scheduled set of readings really helps to keep me disciplined and reading my Bible everyday.) If that doesn't take up the whole hour, and it usually doesn't, then I'll read my other book, "Is that you God?" and I'll pray, or I'll sing, or I'll just be quiet and try to listen for God's voice. My prayers are usually about India and Thailand. Lots of people already know which one they want to go to, but I don't know yet. I was feeling more called to go to India, but then they said that there's no toilet paper in India. Now I'm feeling more called to Thailand, haha. (But seriously, India is still my top choice dispite the lack of tp. In fact, the more I hear about all the difficult things there are about going to India, the more I want to go there. I'm stubborn like that. :) )
After quiet times we have class until 11, then a break for thirty minutes, then class until one. Lunch is from one to two. Work duties are from two to four, and dinner is at six.
Some of the topics in our classes have been: Intercession, Quiet Time, Small Groups, Work Dutys, Living in Community, and Worship & Praise. Let me know if you want me to give you my notes on any of those subjects.
This weekend I want to walk around the base and take lots of pictures. I want to do one of those things where you click through them really fast and it looks like you're walking around the place. :)
The theme of the DTS is, "Know God, and make Him known."
A typical schedule starts out with breakfast. The first few days, breakfast was at 8, yesterday it was at 7:30, and today it was at 8:30, so I don't know when the usual time is. After that we have quiet times for an hour. You can go wherever you want and just be with God. I spend mine reading my Bible. (I'm doing one of those things where you read the whole Bible in a year. Having a scheduled set of readings really helps to keep me disciplined and reading my Bible everyday.) If that doesn't take up the whole hour, and it usually doesn't, then I'll read my other book, "Is that you God?" and I'll pray, or I'll sing, or I'll just be quiet and try to listen for God's voice. My prayers are usually about India and Thailand. Lots of people already know which one they want to go to, but I don't know yet. I was feeling more called to go to India, but then they said that there's no toilet paper in India. Now I'm feeling more called to Thailand, haha. (But seriously, India is still my top choice dispite the lack of tp. In fact, the more I hear about all the difficult things there are about going to India, the more I want to go there. I'm stubborn like that. :) )
After quiet times we have class until 11, then a break for thirty minutes, then class until one. Lunch is from one to two. Work duties are from two to four, and dinner is at six.
Some of the topics in our classes have been: Intercession, Quiet Time, Small Groups, Work Dutys, Living in Community, and Worship & Praise. Let me know if you want me to give you my notes on any of those subjects.
This weekend I want to walk around the base and take lots of pictures. I want to do one of those things where you click through them really fast and it looks like you're walking around the place. :)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Gift
So I was helping out with the dishes after dinner the other night, and some of the older ladies were commenting on how I'm so amazing for being a guy that knows how to wash dishes. I was a bit shocked at my response.
Normally I would have soaked up that compliment like a sponge and asked for more, but this time I was mildly annoyed by it. I didn't know why I was annoyed until I thought about it more later.
God gave me this picture of two carpenters, one mentor and one mentee. The mentee was tasked with hammering a bunch of nails into the wood, and to complete this task the mentor gave him a fancy hammer. Now, we're not talking normal fancy, we're talking imagination dream world fancy. This hammer was so fancy that all you had to do was hold it next to the nails and they would jump into the wood. Raise your hand if you want one of those in your tool box. :)
Anyways, the mentee was hammering nails like a pro with this new hammer, and someone came up to them and complimented them on their hammering ability. The mentee's immediate response was to point to the mentor. "Don't look at me, it's all because of this gift I was given by my mentor. Go talk to him, he's the one that made this hammer."
That's analogous to me washing the dishes. God gave me a gift to serve others. (I don't know about the others, but here in the thick of God's presence in Romania, all my spiritual gifts are magnified.) Don't come up to me and compliment me on my dish washing ability. Go and praise God for giving me this gift, and for creating it in the first place.
Now that I think about the carpenters some more, I'm reminded that if you have a fancy hammer, you should use it. Don't stick it up on the shelf inside of a fancy display case. That's not why he gave it to him. He gave it to him to be used for hammering. If the mentee never used the hammer then the mentor might as well give the fancy hammer to someone else that will actually use it.
I don't know if the taking away of gifts is scripturally based, but my experience is that the more I use my gifts the stronger they become, and the less I use them, the weaker they become.
On a cuter note, Allison and Austin's kid Elijah likes to shout my name whenever he sees me. Sometimes we'll be eating lunch or dinner on opposite sides of the room, and through the crowd he'll look over at me. "Mike! Mike! Mike!" Of course I have to smile and wave at him. Cutest kid ever.
He's two and can't say full sentences when you talk to him, but he knows lots of individual words.
"Hide" means he wants to play hide and seek.
"Boom" means he likes the sound that kicking the table makes.
"Cards" means he wants to play with the Uno cards that are sitting on the table.
"Oatmeal" means he sees me eating something out of a bowl at breakfast, and he thinks I'm eating oatmeal.
During worship someone said a joke and everyone laughed, and for the next few minutes he'd shout "Funny! Funny! Funny!"
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Is That Really You God?
Part of our required reading is this book called "Is that really you God?" It talks about how YWAM got started.
It's so good. Little by little it tells the story and why some of the rules are in place. For instance, there is a no dating rule here. The book says that rule came because some guys went overseas and started dating the locals, and they didn't understand that there was no such thing as casual dating over there. It caused some problems with the locals so a rule was created.
Another thing in the book that I really thought was interesting was how God speaks to you. If you hear something from God about someone else, it's best to let God confirm it with that person directly. They call it the three wise men principle or something like that.
Each wise man found the star above Bethlehem for themselves, and all three followed it to the same place. For instance, the husband and wife that started YWAM were just getting started with everything. The wife was feeling a bit out of place with everything and didn't really know her place. The temptation for the husband was to just tell her what she needed to do, but instead he prayed and let God tell her directly what her specific calling would be.
Another thing they talked about was how God will confirm something with multiple people. The husband heard a call that he should start a headquarters in Switzerland. He asked God if that was truly from Him or not. He told his wife, but no one else. A couple days later he got a call from someone that heard from God about the same headquarters in Switzerland.
God knows how confused we can get down here. Are the things we hear directly from God, or are they from ourselves, or even Satan? If you ever have doubts, ask Him to confirm what you heard.
A while back, I thought I heard something from God, but I never asked Him to confirm it. I'm going to go ask Him to confirm it right now, so let me know if he uses you to confirm what He has told me.
If anyone out there wants to know more about how to hear from God, I recommend picking this book up.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Good News
God's presense is thick in this place.
Our lessons on intercession and quiet times, and other subjects have been really good.
They gave us all a book about how YWAM got started and it heavily emphasizes how they listened to God's calling, and how we can do the same. So good.
The Monster Hunter book that I was gifted before I left is also really good. It is on hold for now though.
Our team is really coming together as a community. Some of my favorite people include: Dan from Great Britan (ladies choice for favorite accent); Austin, Allison, & Elijah: Dad, Mom and son from Kansas City: Paul, Stacey, Emma, and Lia: Staffers; & Christina #1: first of two Christina's and a very good Mafia player.
Jeans and a sweater are entirely warm enough to endure freezing temperatures from my bedroom to the kitchen, and back.
Our lessons on intercession and quiet times, and other subjects have been really good.
They gave us all a book about how YWAM got started and it heavily emphasizes how they listened to God's calling, and how we can do the same. So good.
The Monster Hunter book that I was gifted before I left is also really good. It is on hold for now though.
Our team is really coming together as a community. Some of my favorite people include: Dan from Great Britan (ladies choice for favorite accent); Austin, Allison, & Elijah: Dad, Mom and son from Kansas City: Paul, Stacey, Emma, and Lia: Staffers; & Christina #1: first of two Christina's and a very good Mafia player.
Jeans and a sweater are entirely warm enough to endure freezing temperatures from my bedroom to the kitchen, and back.
Spiritual Warfare
Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything that could go wrong, does go wrong? I already told you about my travelling story. That was a few days ago, and more things have gone wrong since.
Let's start with sleeping. Falling asleep is easy. I'm so tired at nights that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. However, my body overheats sometimes if I don't control the settings of the environment just so.
My hands and feet need to be out from underneath the covers: hard to do when you are borrowing a sleeping bag. I can't ever wear socks to bed. I have to be careful about which pajamas I wear to bed. If they're too warm, I'll wake up in the middle of the night.
Anyways, I've been waking up at 4am everyday very very hot. Maybe the time zone change is affecting me as well, but I'm always so hot.
Waking up that early means that every day is a 20 hour day. I'm not built to function like that. I need my eight hours. It's so hard to stay awake when we're on the couches sharing testimonies. People will be sharing this heavy stuff about how they were supposed to be aborted, but God saved them, and I'll be nodding off. I'm sorry!!
Oh, another thing, on the very first day, right in the morning, I slipped on the frozen steps and landed on my hip bouncing on a few more steps on the way down. Nothing's broken, but it left one doosey of a mark. I tried to hide the limp it gave me for the next 24 hours, but it hurt pretty badly.
Also, the neighbor's dog barks throughout the night, keeping everyone awake. The Arrowhead water guy was a day late, so we ran out of water for about 24 hours. The internet died, so I couldn't tell people that I even made it to Romania. (Imagine being my parents after the ordeal in LAX, then not hearing from their son for three days.)
It just seems like everything is going so very wrong over here. It can't be coincidence because the statistical likelihood of this many things going wrong would be a terrible outlier in the data.
I'm pretty sure Satan is attacking us.
Please pray against his schemes.
I'm trying to remain hopeful that so many attacks means we are about to do something so very powerful, but it gets harder and harder to be positive when my body shuts down during dinner, and decides that it doesn't want to be awake anymore.
Let's start with sleeping. Falling asleep is easy. I'm so tired at nights that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. However, my body overheats sometimes if I don't control the settings of the environment just so.
My hands and feet need to be out from underneath the covers: hard to do when you are borrowing a sleeping bag. I can't ever wear socks to bed. I have to be careful about which pajamas I wear to bed. If they're too warm, I'll wake up in the middle of the night.
Anyways, I've been waking up at 4am everyday very very hot. Maybe the time zone change is affecting me as well, but I'm always so hot.
Waking up that early means that every day is a 20 hour day. I'm not built to function like that. I need my eight hours. It's so hard to stay awake when we're on the couches sharing testimonies. People will be sharing this heavy stuff about how they were supposed to be aborted, but God saved them, and I'll be nodding off. I'm sorry!!
Oh, another thing, on the very first day, right in the morning, I slipped on the frozen steps and landed on my hip bouncing on a few more steps on the way down. Nothing's broken, but it left one doosey of a mark. I tried to hide the limp it gave me for the next 24 hours, but it hurt pretty badly.
Also, the neighbor's dog barks throughout the night, keeping everyone awake. The Arrowhead water guy was a day late, so we ran out of water for about 24 hours. The internet died, so I couldn't tell people that I even made it to Romania. (Imagine being my parents after the ordeal in LAX, then not hearing from their son for three days.)
It just seems like everything is going so very wrong over here. It can't be coincidence because the statistical likelihood of this many things going wrong would be a terrible outlier in the data.
I'm pretty sure Satan is attacking us.
Please pray against his schemes.
I'm trying to remain hopeful that so many attacks means we are about to do something so very powerful, but it gets harder and harder to be positive when my body shuts down during dinner, and decides that it doesn't want to be awake anymore.
Going to church
I woke up on Sunday at 4am. Getting to sleep was easy. Staying asleep was hard.
At breakfast, I was invited to go to church with a few people. I accepted. This would be fun. However, on the way over, my thoughts wandered to the bed I used to sleep in back in my own time zone. Mmm, that bed would be so nice to sleep on right now. I wouldn't wake up at 4am.
Like most churches that I went to, there were greeters at the door. They said hello to me in Romanian, and when I said hello back to them in English, it shocked them a bit. Do I look Romanian?
The pastor was from Texas, so the sermon was supposed to be in English, but he was on vacation for another couple days. That meant that the sermon would be in Romanian. We found someone to graciously translate for us. They sat behind us and talked in our ear. I would have whispered, but he just talked. I wonder if the other people heard us.
During the service, God showed me something.
I was a citizen of the United States, and part of me longs to be back there. I could sleep at nights. I could see friends. I could get a job and pay down my loans. There are things that are just plain better in the US.
However, it is good that I am here. God has a plan and I am going to see it through.
Isn't that just like Heaven? We are citizens of Heaven and we long to be there, but it is good for us to be on the Earth while we are here. God has a plan for this Earth and we should all see it through.
Continuing the analogy, I was reminded of the greeter at the door. He thought I was Romanian, but as soon as I opened my mouth, he knew that I wasn't. When the world looks at me, they might think I'm one of them. They might assume that I go out and drink and have sex just like they do, but as soon as I open my mouth, they know something is different about me.
I thought that was cool.
At breakfast, I was invited to go to church with a few people. I accepted. This would be fun. However, on the way over, my thoughts wandered to the bed I used to sleep in back in my own time zone. Mmm, that bed would be so nice to sleep on right now. I wouldn't wake up at 4am.
Like most churches that I went to, there were greeters at the door. They said hello to me in Romanian, and when I said hello back to them in English, it shocked them a bit. Do I look Romanian?
The pastor was from Texas, so the sermon was supposed to be in English, but he was on vacation for another couple days. That meant that the sermon would be in Romanian. We found someone to graciously translate for us. They sat behind us and talked in our ear. I would have whispered, but he just talked. I wonder if the other people heard us.
During the service, God showed me something.
I was a citizen of the United States, and part of me longs to be back there. I could sleep at nights. I could see friends. I could get a job and pay down my loans. There are things that are just plain better in the US.
However, it is good that I am here. God has a plan and I am going to see it through.
Isn't that just like Heaven? We are citizens of Heaven and we long to be there, but it is good for us to be on the Earth while we are here. God has a plan for this Earth and we should all see it through.
Continuing the analogy, I was reminded of the greeter at the door. He thought I was Romanian, but as soon as I opened my mouth, he knew that I wasn't. When the world looks at me, they might think I'm one of them. They might assume that I go out and drink and have sex just like they do, but as soon as I open my mouth, they know something is different about me.
I thought that was cool.
Travelling Adventure (long)
This story starts at 4am on Friday morning. Waking up was surprisingly easy. I'm pretty sure my parents live in the Eastern time zone. They get up three hours before I'm ready and go to bed three hours before I usually go to bed. Spending the holidays with them helped me adjust to getting up earlier.
So we get up and put my bags in the car. One of my bags weighed 65 pounds. This is a $200 fine waiting to happen, so I had to adjust some things. I got it down to 52 pounds. We head out on the road and I decide that we should listen to one of my church's sermons that I brought. We pop in the cd and it is either super scratched or the cd player is deathly allergic to bumps in the road. Whenever my dad changed lanes or hit any kind of bump, the cd would skip. Ironically, the sermon was on a verse in Peter that says, "My brothers, do not be surprised at the firey trials that you face as if something strange were happening to you."
We made it half way through the terrible skipping, but we turned it off and my mom plugged in her iPhone so we could listen to music. During the ride I wasn't nervous, but when we pulled off the freeway, I started to get really nervous.
We pulled up to the curb and my mom and I went inside and started waiting in line while my dad parked the car. After a few minutes, my dad showed up, and after about an hour, we get to the front. We would have gotten to the front sooner, but apparently the airport has a new policy where they will call out flight numbers of flights that are leaving so they can see if anyone is about to miss their flight. Whenever they called out a flight, five people would raise their hands. These people would get an automatic ticket to the front of the line. Annoying. On top of that, everyone in front of us was having issues with their luggage or tickets. I don't remember a single person that went through without an issue of some sort.
I get to the front and give them my itinerary and passport. She punches in some things into her computer, prints out the tickets and hands them to us. Then she weighs my bag. 52 pounds. I take out my shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream. 50.5 pounds. She said that was fine. Then she looks at where I'm going and punches in a couple other things into her computer. When she stopped typing, she had some bad news. I can't go to Romania. They can't legally allow me on my flight.
My arrival date is January 8th, and my departure date is May 31. You're only allowed to be in the country for 90 days without needing a Visa. My tickets said I was going to be in the country for more than that. They couldn't let me through.
I tried to explain to them. I would only be in the country for 90 days, then I'd leave on a mission trip to India, or Thailand. I was going to be in full compliance with the Visa laws. However, my itinerary didn't say that. I had no way to prove to her that I was telling the truth. The fact that I was going on a Christian mission trip didn't give me any added credibility. She told me that I needed to call my travel agent and have them change the date of my return flight before I could leave. I called them up while I was in line. It was 7am, they were closed.
I was freaking out. I'm going to miss my flight, and I have no idea how much it's going to cost me to get my ticket changed so I can get into Romania, then changed again so I can leave at the proper date. On top of that, my parents would have to make another 2 hour trip to LAX to get me to the airport. Neither of them had the time off saved up to do that. Freaking. Out.
I wanted to step aside so people behind me could get through, and I wouldn't be one of those annoying people that was holding up the line, but this is where my mom became awesome. (Well, more awesome. I already thought she was awesome.) She said No to the idea of stepping out of line. We were going to force the airline to deal with us.
We called over the manager. The lady behind the counter showed him the Visa requirements for Romania, and he glanced at them, but then left. He had to deal with 10 other customers first. We waited and waited. Twenty five minutes isn't very long to wait, unless of course your flight starts boarding in 30 minutes and you haven't gone through security yet. Freaking. Out. Yet still trying to remain calm. If I missed my flight, I could just take another one. I tried to repeat that fact in my head, but it didn't calm me down.
Finally the supervisor comes back, and my mom calls Paul in Romania. She hands the guy the phone and Paul talks to the supervisor. They talk for a few minutes. He hands back the phone and decides to overrule the mean lady. He explains that he and the airline could get in big trouble if I decide to go against my word and stay in Romania for longer than 90 days. Apparently there are big fines to pay if they let me through without a Visa.
He prints out new tickets under his name so that it doesn't get traced back to the mean lady in the case that I'm a delinquent. Yay! I have my tickets! Now I just have to get to my flight in 5 minutes.
We run over to the security line and show the bouncer dude my ticket. He gives us a free pass to the front of the line. Now it was my turn to be annoying and take cuts. I didn't care. I strip down. Shoes off. Jacket off. Pockets empty. I went into the scanner and they scanned me. I don't care if they see me naked. I look good naked. They should be so lucky. When I get through, the guy asks me if it tingled. Nope. Thanks for not blasting me with so much radiation that it tingled my bones. I appreciate that.
I get through security and put on my shoes and my jacket and get ready to run. One of the nearby guys calls out my name. Yeah? I'm still here. I left my drivers license in the bin. Woops. That would have been sad to lose that.
Everything on, I start to run to my flight. It's at gate 6. Phew, that's a good thing. I would only have to run to the 6th gate. I looked at the gate number that I just ran by. Gate 30?? Counting down??? ARGH!!
I tried to run, but I only made it about a hundred feet. Am I that out of shape, or is it just the fact that I'm carrying a 20 pound backpack, and another 30 pound carry on bag? My run turned into a brisk walk. Shin splint city increased in population, but I pushed through it. (Side note to sister: remind me to work out before we go on The Amazing Race...if they pick us.)
I get to my flight, and I'm the last one to board. Phew! I made it. Now it was smooth sailing to Romania, right?
WRONG!
The flights were all pleasant, and I decided that I like peeing on airplanes. I got to Washington DC and started looking for gate 9. I was at gate 23 or something, and it was counting down again. Why do all airports count down? Am I backwards, or are they backwards?
I get to my gate and buy some Wendys at the convenient price of 8 dollars for a 4 dollar meal. I wait for my food to be ready, and when it is called, someone else comes and grabs it. What the heck guy? Oh well, I'll just take his burger. He ordered a fancier burger anyways. I'm eating my food at the gate and texting my mom telling her that I'm all right.
A few girls sit next to me. They are all super athletic and have Nike USA backpacks. I turn my stalking skills up to eleven and start to listen in on their conversations. I thought they were on the US soccer team, but it didn't make sense that they would each have helmets. Later I heard one of them say they were on the bobsled team! Google search Megan Hill bobsled for proof. Awesome!
"We have an announcement. If you are waiting to go to Munich, Germany. You are screwed. The plane broke down. We'll keep you updated on exactly how screwed you are as we get more information."
Not Awesome!
Munich was supposed to be my next stop on my way to Romania. We waited and waited. They came back and told us that they knew what the problem was and that they couldn't fix it. They'd have to find a new plane.
More waiting. They found a new plane. Everyone needs to move to the next gate down. We waited and waited. I think the total wait time in this airport was close to three hours. Since my layover in Germany wasn't that long, that meant that I was going to miss my connecting flight. UGH!
I get on the plane and they have movie and tv selections. I watch an episode of Psych, then Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Then I try to sleep. Didn't happen. About an hour away from our destination, they flip on the lights and give us breakfast. Good morning? According to the time zone we were in, it was 6am or so, but according to California time it was 1am or so. My body clock was already getting messed up.
I exit the plane in Germany and now I need to decide which security check I need to walk through. There are no signs. There are no employees that I can ask. One of them leads somewhere, and the other leads somewhere else. I'm not really sure if going through these security lines is a one way trip, so I better make the right choice.
As I was pondering, and overhearing other people ponder, I notice a help desk for the airline I was supposed to go to next. I would need to talk to them to get me on a new flight. I hopped in line and went through security. I took my shoes off, but I don't think they cared. No one else was taking their shoes off.
I get to the help desk and this guy was actually helpful! What a concept! I'm in Germany, so I just assume that he speaks German and not English, so I spit out a few key words. Flight delayed. Missed connection. Going to Romania. I hand him my ticket that shows where I was going and he gives me two tickets to replace it. Two tickets means that I just added another layover to my trip. UGH.
I start walking to find my gate. I was looking for gate 24, and I was happy to find that it started counting down from 30. There are some useful signs every now and then. "Gates 26 & 25, this way." "Gates 23 & 22, this way." "Gates 21 & 20, this way." (Except instead of "this way" they used the universally understood arrow.)
As I realized that the numbers were less than 24 and getting smaller, I had to turn around. What happened to gate 24? Did I miss something? I walked back and found the same signs as before. There was no mention of gate 24. What is going on here? I decide to walk over to gate 25 and ask somebody. When I get closer, I see that Gate 24 is right where it should be, inbetween 23 & 25. Stupid signs.
I give them my ticket and walk down the runway. The runway turns into a stair case. The stair case goes outside. Outside leads to a bus. Now I'm on a bus. Am I supposed to be on a bus? I thought I was headed to an airplane.
I try to listen to other conversations to get an indication that I'm in the right place. They were all in German. Then a couple of English speakers got on. They started talking about the time zone in Romania. Score!
The bus drove down the freeway a bit, then turned back into the airport and pulled up next to a plane. The english speakers got on, so I got on. I had the option to put my bags on this cart, and they would load them for me. Screw that! I'm keeping these things with me!
I get on the plane. It's tiny. It doesn't need to be big since the flight is only 40 minutes or so. When I get to my seat, neither of my two bags fit in the overhead compartments. They also don't fit on the floor under the seat in front of me. This is in noncompliance with airplane emergency exit codes or something because the pretty flight attendant came and told me that I had to put my bags in the empty seat behind me. Whatever. That's fine.
We fly and land at the next airport. The entire flight heads one direction, but I notice a sign that says "connections" in the other direction. I walk up the stairs to find a security checkpoint that is completely deserted. Weird. Maybe this is not the way to go. I go back to where everyone else went. It was a populated security check, but it said "exit" above it.
I went back through the deserted one. This was a small airport, and it was easy to find my gate. It was right behind the closed door, red tape, and security guard. "Can I get through? My flight is through here." "No." I hand him my ticket as proof. Thankfully he speaks english well enough to tell me that I have plenty of time. I was confused by this, but went and found a seat nearby. I found a clock, and I checked my ticket. My flight didn't leave for another three hours?? Whatever, I don't care anymore.
After about an hour, they start letting people through. There are two passport lines: EU and Other. I jump in the other line. When I get to the front, I hand the lady my ticket and passport, that says United States of America in bold font on the front. She then starts asking me about my trip in Romanian. (This airport was in Romania, but not in the city of Cluj where I needed to go.) I responded as passively aggressively as I could in English indirectly informing her that I didn't speak Romanian and that she was an idiot. I don't think she picked up on it.
She switched to English, and asked me how long I was going to stay in Romania. The ticket I handed her didn't have the same information as my itinerary. My itinerary says I'm staying for longer than 90 days, which is what caused so many problems in LA. I knew not to show her that. I told her I would be staying for 90 days.
She frowned a bit at the preciseness of my response, since it was the exact amount I could stay without a Visa, but then she moved on. "Business or pleasure?" "Pleasure." "Is this your first time to Romania?" "Yes." No one else had this much trouble by the way. They all got through pretty quickly. She stamped my passport and let me through. Now I had the privilege of more waiting.
When they called Cluj, I got up and followed people onto a bus. This bus took us to another plane. I knew I was in the right place, because someone in front of me asked about which bus to take. They had clearly responded that if you want to go to Cluj, that was the bus to take.
I get on the plane, and it was another nice flight. They were all pretty pleasant, except for when I couldn't sleep. I get off the plane and go to pick up my bag. When it comes, I grab it off the carousel. All of the exterior zippers are unzipped! The baggage guys went through my stuff, and they took things!!
So far, the only thing that I've noticed is missing is the fancy iPod docking station that will work in any outlet worldwide. My friend Stacey ordered it online, and I was supposed to bring it to her. Fail! I have no idea if they took anything else. I guess I'll notice it when I go to look for it and it isn't there.
I go out to meet Paul and find out that he had been to the airport twice today. Once to show up for when I was supposed to get to Cluj, and once when I actually got to Cluj.
We got to the base around 6pm local time on Saturday. I had been travelling for 38 hours. Well...actually, I crossed ten time zones so it was 28 real hours. I hadn't slept, and I hadn't showered. I tried to stay up as late as I could so that I would sleep through the night. I made it to 9pm, then I fell asleep.
So we get up and put my bags in the car. One of my bags weighed 65 pounds. This is a $200 fine waiting to happen, so I had to adjust some things. I got it down to 52 pounds. We head out on the road and I decide that we should listen to one of my church's sermons that I brought. We pop in the cd and it is either super scratched or the cd player is deathly allergic to bumps in the road. Whenever my dad changed lanes or hit any kind of bump, the cd would skip. Ironically, the sermon was on a verse in Peter that says, "My brothers, do not be surprised at the firey trials that you face as if something strange were happening to you."
We made it half way through the terrible skipping, but we turned it off and my mom plugged in her iPhone so we could listen to music. During the ride I wasn't nervous, but when we pulled off the freeway, I started to get really nervous.
We pulled up to the curb and my mom and I went inside and started waiting in line while my dad parked the car. After a few minutes, my dad showed up, and after about an hour, we get to the front. We would have gotten to the front sooner, but apparently the airport has a new policy where they will call out flight numbers of flights that are leaving so they can see if anyone is about to miss their flight. Whenever they called out a flight, five people would raise their hands. These people would get an automatic ticket to the front of the line. Annoying. On top of that, everyone in front of us was having issues with their luggage or tickets. I don't remember a single person that went through without an issue of some sort.
I get to the front and give them my itinerary and passport. She punches in some things into her computer, prints out the tickets and hands them to us. Then she weighs my bag. 52 pounds. I take out my shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream. 50.5 pounds. She said that was fine. Then she looks at where I'm going and punches in a couple other things into her computer. When she stopped typing, she had some bad news. I can't go to Romania. They can't legally allow me on my flight.
My arrival date is January 8th, and my departure date is May 31. You're only allowed to be in the country for 90 days without needing a Visa. My tickets said I was going to be in the country for more than that. They couldn't let me through.
I tried to explain to them. I would only be in the country for 90 days, then I'd leave on a mission trip to India, or Thailand. I was going to be in full compliance with the Visa laws. However, my itinerary didn't say that. I had no way to prove to her that I was telling the truth. The fact that I was going on a Christian mission trip didn't give me any added credibility. She told me that I needed to call my travel agent and have them change the date of my return flight before I could leave. I called them up while I was in line. It was 7am, they were closed.
I was freaking out. I'm going to miss my flight, and I have no idea how much it's going to cost me to get my ticket changed so I can get into Romania, then changed again so I can leave at the proper date. On top of that, my parents would have to make another 2 hour trip to LAX to get me to the airport. Neither of them had the time off saved up to do that. Freaking. Out.
I wanted to step aside so people behind me could get through, and I wouldn't be one of those annoying people that was holding up the line, but this is where my mom became awesome. (Well, more awesome. I already thought she was awesome.) She said No to the idea of stepping out of line. We were going to force the airline to deal with us.
We called over the manager. The lady behind the counter showed him the Visa requirements for Romania, and he glanced at them, but then left. He had to deal with 10 other customers first. We waited and waited. Twenty five minutes isn't very long to wait, unless of course your flight starts boarding in 30 minutes and you haven't gone through security yet. Freaking. Out. Yet still trying to remain calm. If I missed my flight, I could just take another one. I tried to repeat that fact in my head, but it didn't calm me down.
Finally the supervisor comes back, and my mom calls Paul in Romania. She hands the guy the phone and Paul talks to the supervisor. They talk for a few minutes. He hands back the phone and decides to overrule the mean lady. He explains that he and the airline could get in big trouble if I decide to go against my word and stay in Romania for longer than 90 days. Apparently there are big fines to pay if they let me through without a Visa.
He prints out new tickets under his name so that it doesn't get traced back to the mean lady in the case that I'm a delinquent. Yay! I have my tickets! Now I just have to get to my flight in 5 minutes.
We run over to the security line and show the bouncer dude my ticket. He gives us a free pass to the front of the line. Now it was my turn to be annoying and take cuts. I didn't care. I strip down. Shoes off. Jacket off. Pockets empty. I went into the scanner and they scanned me. I don't care if they see me naked. I look good naked. They should be so lucky. When I get through, the guy asks me if it tingled. Nope. Thanks for not blasting me with so much radiation that it tingled my bones. I appreciate that.
I get through security and put on my shoes and my jacket and get ready to run. One of the nearby guys calls out my name. Yeah? I'm still here. I left my drivers license in the bin. Woops. That would have been sad to lose that.
Everything on, I start to run to my flight. It's at gate 6. Phew, that's a good thing. I would only have to run to the 6th gate. I looked at the gate number that I just ran by. Gate 30?? Counting down??? ARGH!!
I tried to run, but I only made it about a hundred feet. Am I that out of shape, or is it just the fact that I'm carrying a 20 pound backpack, and another 30 pound carry on bag? My run turned into a brisk walk. Shin splint city increased in population, but I pushed through it. (Side note to sister: remind me to work out before we go on The Amazing Race...if they pick us.)
I get to my flight, and I'm the last one to board. Phew! I made it. Now it was smooth sailing to Romania, right?
WRONG!
The flights were all pleasant, and I decided that I like peeing on airplanes. I got to Washington DC and started looking for gate 9. I was at gate 23 or something, and it was counting down again. Why do all airports count down? Am I backwards, or are they backwards?
I get to my gate and buy some Wendys at the convenient price of 8 dollars for a 4 dollar meal. I wait for my food to be ready, and when it is called, someone else comes and grabs it. What the heck guy? Oh well, I'll just take his burger. He ordered a fancier burger anyways. I'm eating my food at the gate and texting my mom telling her that I'm all right.
A few girls sit next to me. They are all super athletic and have Nike USA backpacks. I turn my stalking skills up to eleven and start to listen in on their conversations. I thought they were on the US soccer team, but it didn't make sense that they would each have helmets. Later I heard one of them say they were on the bobsled team! Google search Megan Hill bobsled for proof. Awesome!
"We have an announcement. If you are waiting to go to Munich, Germany. You are screwed. The plane broke down. We'll keep you updated on exactly how screwed you are as we get more information."
Not Awesome!
Munich was supposed to be my next stop on my way to Romania. We waited and waited. They came back and told us that they knew what the problem was and that they couldn't fix it. They'd have to find a new plane.
More waiting. They found a new plane. Everyone needs to move to the next gate down. We waited and waited. I think the total wait time in this airport was close to three hours. Since my layover in Germany wasn't that long, that meant that I was going to miss my connecting flight. UGH!
I get on the plane and they have movie and tv selections. I watch an episode of Psych, then Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Then I try to sleep. Didn't happen. About an hour away from our destination, they flip on the lights and give us breakfast. Good morning? According to the time zone we were in, it was 6am or so, but according to California time it was 1am or so. My body clock was already getting messed up.
I exit the plane in Germany and now I need to decide which security check I need to walk through. There are no signs. There are no employees that I can ask. One of them leads somewhere, and the other leads somewhere else. I'm not really sure if going through these security lines is a one way trip, so I better make the right choice.
As I was pondering, and overhearing other people ponder, I notice a help desk for the airline I was supposed to go to next. I would need to talk to them to get me on a new flight. I hopped in line and went through security. I took my shoes off, but I don't think they cared. No one else was taking their shoes off.
I get to the help desk and this guy was actually helpful! What a concept! I'm in Germany, so I just assume that he speaks German and not English, so I spit out a few key words. Flight delayed. Missed connection. Going to Romania. I hand him my ticket that shows where I was going and he gives me two tickets to replace it. Two tickets means that I just added another layover to my trip. UGH.
I start walking to find my gate. I was looking for gate 24, and I was happy to find that it started counting down from 30. There are some useful signs every now and then. "Gates 26 & 25, this way." "Gates 23 & 22, this way." "Gates 21 & 20, this way." (Except instead of "this way" they used the universally understood arrow.)
As I realized that the numbers were less than 24 and getting smaller, I had to turn around. What happened to gate 24? Did I miss something? I walked back and found the same signs as before. There was no mention of gate 24. What is going on here? I decide to walk over to gate 25 and ask somebody. When I get closer, I see that Gate 24 is right where it should be, inbetween 23 & 25. Stupid signs.
I give them my ticket and walk down the runway. The runway turns into a stair case. The stair case goes outside. Outside leads to a bus. Now I'm on a bus. Am I supposed to be on a bus? I thought I was headed to an airplane.
I try to listen to other conversations to get an indication that I'm in the right place. They were all in German. Then a couple of English speakers got on. They started talking about the time zone in Romania. Score!
The bus drove down the freeway a bit, then turned back into the airport and pulled up next to a plane. The english speakers got on, so I got on. I had the option to put my bags on this cart, and they would load them for me. Screw that! I'm keeping these things with me!
I get on the plane. It's tiny. It doesn't need to be big since the flight is only 40 minutes or so. When I get to my seat, neither of my two bags fit in the overhead compartments. They also don't fit on the floor under the seat in front of me. This is in noncompliance with airplane emergency exit codes or something because the pretty flight attendant came and told me that I had to put my bags in the empty seat behind me. Whatever. That's fine.
We fly and land at the next airport. The entire flight heads one direction, but I notice a sign that says "connections" in the other direction. I walk up the stairs to find a security checkpoint that is completely deserted. Weird. Maybe this is not the way to go. I go back to where everyone else went. It was a populated security check, but it said "exit" above it.
I went back through the deserted one. This was a small airport, and it was easy to find my gate. It was right behind the closed door, red tape, and security guard. "Can I get through? My flight is through here." "No." I hand him my ticket as proof. Thankfully he speaks english well enough to tell me that I have plenty of time. I was confused by this, but went and found a seat nearby. I found a clock, and I checked my ticket. My flight didn't leave for another three hours?? Whatever, I don't care anymore.
After about an hour, they start letting people through. There are two passport lines: EU and Other. I jump in the other line. When I get to the front, I hand the lady my ticket and passport, that says United States of America in bold font on the front. She then starts asking me about my trip in Romanian. (This airport was in Romania, but not in the city of Cluj where I needed to go.) I responded as passively aggressively as I could in English indirectly informing her that I didn't speak Romanian and that she was an idiot. I don't think she picked up on it.
She switched to English, and asked me how long I was going to stay in Romania. The ticket I handed her didn't have the same information as my itinerary. My itinerary says I'm staying for longer than 90 days, which is what caused so many problems in LA. I knew not to show her that. I told her I would be staying for 90 days.
She frowned a bit at the preciseness of my response, since it was the exact amount I could stay without a Visa, but then she moved on. "Business or pleasure?" "Pleasure." "Is this your first time to Romania?" "Yes." No one else had this much trouble by the way. They all got through pretty quickly. She stamped my passport and let me through. Now I had the privilege of more waiting.
When they called Cluj, I got up and followed people onto a bus. This bus took us to another plane. I knew I was in the right place, because someone in front of me asked about which bus to take. They had clearly responded that if you want to go to Cluj, that was the bus to take.
I get on the plane, and it was another nice flight. They were all pretty pleasant, except for when I couldn't sleep. I get off the plane and go to pick up my bag. When it comes, I grab it off the carousel. All of the exterior zippers are unzipped! The baggage guys went through my stuff, and they took things!!
So far, the only thing that I've noticed is missing is the fancy iPod docking station that will work in any outlet worldwide. My friend Stacey ordered it online, and I was supposed to bring it to her. Fail! I have no idea if they took anything else. I guess I'll notice it when I go to look for it and it isn't there.
I go out to meet Paul and find out that he had been to the airport twice today. Once to show up for when I was supposed to get to Cluj, and once when I actually got to Cluj.
We got to the base around 6pm local time on Saturday. I had been travelling for 38 hours. Well...actually, I crossed ten time zones so it was 28 real hours. I hadn't slept, and I hadn't showered. I tried to stay up as late as I could so that I would sleep through the night. I made it to 9pm, then I fell asleep.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Last Day
I'm taking three bags. I'm allowed one checked bag, one carry on, and one back pack. If I bring more than that, I pay fees. The checked bag is allowed to be up to 50 pounds, it currently weighs 65 pounds. (I'm going to have to fix that. :-p) Please note how puffed up all three bags are. I packed those things to the gills. :)
Remember a couple days ago when it didn't feel real that I was going to Romania? Well it feels real now!
Today is my last day in Menifee. Tomorrow I'll wake up at 4am and head to LAX. My flight leaves LAX at 7:55am, and arrives in Washington DC at 3:45pm local time. I get a couple hours to mess around in the airport, then my next flight leaves at 5:33pm. It arrives in Munich, Germany at 7:35am. This is the airport where I'm going to change into all my warm stuff. Then at 9:25am my flight leaves to Romania with an arrival time of 12:20pm.
If you count my starting point in Menifee, and figure that I'll get back to the YWAM base in Romania at around 1pm, that is 33 hours of travelling. Although, if you want to get all technical, I'm crossing ten time zones. That means that in real time I'll only be travelling for 23 hours.
Yay, finally going!
Update: My bag now weighs 50.2 pounds on the bathroom scale, and is 62 linear inches. According to the official rules, if my bag is above 50 pounds, then I have to pay a $200 fee. Also if the height plus width plus depth is above 62 inches then I have to pay a $200 fee. I'm flirting with the edges on both of those limits so please pray that I get a nice bag checker that will let me check my big bag with no fees.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Yay, an actual prayer request.
So, the program is set up in such a way so that I don't need to get a Visa. I'm allowed to stay in Romania for three months, then I have to leave for one month. The program is three months of schooling/discipleship training, and then two months of outreach. Perfect.
However, one of the staff members was recently returning to Romania to get ready for the next DTS, and she was detained. It seems that the new requirement is that you have to leave the country for six months. The other staff members were shocked at this change because they were keeping up to date with the requirements, and were told that it was only one month. They are going to talk to the people today to get the facts straight.
If it turns out that the requirements have changed for 2011, then 6 of us, myself included, will need to get $400 Visas. We'll all be able to get into the country when we travel in a few days, but we'll need the Visas when we get back from our outreach. The outreaches are only for a couple of months.
Please pray that, either the requirements haven't changed and it was simply some miscommunication, or that the 6 of us will find the funds needed to be able to pay for the Visas.
My situation is this: I don't need any money. My friends and family have been very very generous, and I have some extra money so that I can afford an extra $400. However, if I find out that other people are having trouble raising the money, I'll let you know.
Does spiritual opposition excite anyone else, or is it just me?
However, one of the staff members was recently returning to Romania to get ready for the next DTS, and she was detained. It seems that the new requirement is that you have to leave the country for six months. The other staff members were shocked at this change because they were keeping up to date with the requirements, and were told that it was only one month. They are going to talk to the people today to get the facts straight.
If it turns out that the requirements have changed for 2011, then 6 of us, myself included, will need to get $400 Visas. We'll all be able to get into the country when we travel in a few days, but we'll need the Visas when we get back from our outreach. The outreaches are only for a couple of months.
Please pray that, either the requirements haven't changed and it was simply some miscommunication, or that the 6 of us will find the funds needed to be able to pay for the Visas.
My situation is this: I don't need any money. My friends and family have been very very generous, and I have some extra money so that I can afford an extra $400. However, if I find out that other people are having trouble raising the money, I'll let you know.
Does spiritual opposition excite anyone else, or is it just me?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Reading
Today is a reading day. I decided to do one of those 'read the Bible in a year' things this year. I did it in 2009 and it was awesome. Before I left Reality, I found a pamphlet that mapped it all out for me. I get a little Old Testament, a little New Testament, a little Psalms, and a little Proverbs every day. It's really awesome having that mix every day.
However, like I said earlier, today is a reading day. It's only 4 days into the new year and I'm already three days behind on my Bible reading. :-p
Also, I spent my morning and lunch time reading through my latest novel. I lollygagged about proofreading it because I didn't think it was any good, but I'm half way through reading it, and it's a decent enough story. Not good enough that I care too much about making it better, but good enough that if you want to read it, I can send it to you.
At the start of November, I had all these ideas in my head that I wanted to play with. From a philosophical standpoint, they're fun ideas to discuss, but from a plot standpoint, I'm not sure they make the greatest stories. Or, if they do, I'm not able to write them. Stories with a clear cut antagonist are much simpler. :)
Ideas in my novel that I was playing with:
Identity: What makes you, you? How much can you change and still retain your definition of self.
Trust/Manipulation: How easy is it to manipulate someone into trusting you? How hard is it to build trust, and how easy is it to tear it down?
Slippery Slope: No one ever wakes up and decides to jump off a mountain. It's often the small compromises that get us to the bottom.
Glory/Ambition: What would you be willing to give up if it meant being remembered forever?
Let me know if you want to read it.
PS, I should mention that Romania is starting to feel real. Things I was putting off to do right before I left need to get done because I'm running out of time. I have to go to Walmart tomorrow. How much deodorant do I need to last me six months...?
However, like I said earlier, today is a reading day. It's only 4 days into the new year and I'm already three days behind on my Bible reading. :-p
Also, I spent my morning and lunch time reading through my latest novel. I lollygagged about proofreading it because I didn't think it was any good, but I'm half way through reading it, and it's a decent enough story. Not good enough that I care too much about making it better, but good enough that if you want to read it, I can send it to you.
At the start of November, I had all these ideas in my head that I wanted to play with. From a philosophical standpoint, they're fun ideas to discuss, but from a plot standpoint, I'm not sure they make the greatest stories. Or, if they do, I'm not able to write them. Stories with a clear cut antagonist are much simpler. :)
Ideas in my novel that I was playing with:
Identity: What makes you, you? How much can you change and still retain your definition of self.
Trust/Manipulation: How easy is it to manipulate someone into trusting you? How hard is it to build trust, and how easy is it to tear it down?
Slippery Slope: No one ever wakes up and decides to jump off a mountain. It's often the small compromises that get us to the bottom.
Glory/Ambition: What would you be willing to give up if it meant being remembered forever?
Let me know if you want to read it.
PS, I should mention that Romania is starting to feel real. Things I was putting off to do right before I left need to get done because I'm running out of time. I have to go to Walmart tomorrow. How much deodorant do I need to last me six months...?
Monday, January 3, 2011
Four More Days
Seven comes after three, right? Today is the third, tomorrow is the seventh. Then I can get on my plane and fly to Romania. Right?
My trip is just a few days away and it still doesn't feel like I'm actually going. Romania is just this dream I had once, and it would be nice if it were real, but it isn't. That's what I feel like right now.
Everything is ready to go. I have my bags mostly packed up. I still need to wait for a couple packages to arrive in the mail, and I still need to make one more phone call to my loan people, but I'm pretty much ready to leave.
Have I mentioned that waiting is one of the hardest things for me, and the story of Abraham having to wait until he was 100 to get his promised son is one of my least favorite stories in the Bible?
I'm completely fine with short term waiting: traffic, in line at the bank, etc. That has an end date that is only, at the most, a couple hours away. Long term waiting is much harder. The hardest is when you don't even know the end date. God told Abraham, "I'm going to bless you with a son some day in the future," but Abraham didn't really know when. That would be the worst for me. That would drive me insane.
That is one of the differences between me and God. I'm all about destinations, and God is all about the journey. Think about the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years. You think God wasn't at work during those years? You think He was just waiting around until they finally reached their destination? Or what about Noah on the ark for forty days and nights? If God's only purpose was to wipe out life with a flood, He could have done that in a day.
Some things can only be taught in those moments of waiting. If God has you in a period of waiting, pray about it. Ask Him what He's trying to teach you. Oh! That reminds me. I need to ask God what He's trying to teach me. (Hahaha, whenever I type something that sounds preachy, it's because God is preaching to me. I always reach the end and think, Holy Crap, that applies to me!)
Four more days!
My trip is just a few days away and it still doesn't feel like I'm actually going. Romania is just this dream I had once, and it would be nice if it were real, but it isn't. That's what I feel like right now.
Everything is ready to go. I have my bags mostly packed up. I still need to wait for a couple packages to arrive in the mail, and I still need to make one more phone call to my loan people, but I'm pretty much ready to leave.
Have I mentioned that waiting is one of the hardest things for me, and the story of Abraham having to wait until he was 100 to get his promised son is one of my least favorite stories in the Bible?
I'm completely fine with short term waiting: traffic, in line at the bank, etc. That has an end date that is only, at the most, a couple hours away. Long term waiting is much harder. The hardest is when you don't even know the end date. God told Abraham, "I'm going to bless you with a son some day in the future," but Abraham didn't really know when. That would be the worst for me. That would drive me insane.
That is one of the differences between me and God. I'm all about destinations, and God is all about the journey. Think about the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years. You think God wasn't at work during those years? You think He was just waiting around until they finally reached their destination? Or what about Noah on the ark for forty days and nights? If God's only purpose was to wipe out life with a flood, He could have done that in a day.
Some things can only be taught in those moments of waiting. If God has you in a period of waiting, pray about it. Ask Him what He's trying to teach you. Oh! That reminds me. I need to ask God what He's trying to teach me. (Hahaha, whenever I type something that sounds preachy, it's because God is preaching to me. I always reach the end and think, Holy Crap, that applies to me!)
Four more days!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year
I find myself in a moment of quiet reflection as I wait for 2011. None of my thoughts are on 2010. All of them rest solely on 2011.
At the start of most years you have a pretty good idea about what the year will hold for you. When you're in school, it's just the next year of school. When you have a job, it's just the next year of work. Another year with the same roommates. Another year with the same friends. Another year with the same hobbies.
That's not what next year looks like for me.
Next year I will be doing so many things that I've never done before, in places that I've never been. Where will I be 12 months from now? Who will I be 12 months from now? Will I have any savings left when I get back? My unemployment runs out in a week, what if I can't find a job when I get back? So many unknowns, and that's normally a problem for me.
But not this time.
I feel nothing but peace about everything. I'm not really worried about what to pack. I'm not really worried about my money anymore. I'm not really worried about what's going to happen in Romania when I get there. I'm not really worried about anything. The only thing I feel right now is excitement.
I just want to go. I don't want to wait until the 7th. I want to go now.
At some point my excitement was based on the fact that I'm doing this fancy thing, and you're not, so I must be better than you. But it's not based on that anymore. I don't even like to tell people that I'm going to Romania. I went to Wednesday night church with my parents and they introduced me to their friends. My parents wanted me to tell their friends about my plans to go to Romania. I was surprised at my reaction. Normally I would boast about such a fancy trip, but this time I felt embarrassed. "Romania? I don't want to talk about that. It's not that big of a deal."
At another point my excitement was based on the fact that sometimes, there's the potential to meet your spouse on a trip like this. While the potential is still there, my excitement isn't based on that anymore. Even if the place I was going to was guaranteed to be all men, I would still be excited. We could serve Jesus in manly ways, build orphanages with our shirts off, punch demons with our "bare hands", that sort of thing. (Of course, "bare hands" is a metaphor for the spiritual weapons we'd actually be wielding. ;) )
As I think more about it, all of my excitement is based on Jesus. One of my fruits of the spirit is serving others, and I just get excited about the prospect of serving Jesus. My situation reminds me of one of my favorite Bible stories, Peter walking on the water.
When he was waiting in the boat, he didn't worry about the storm. He didn't worry about leaving his friends. He didn't worry about what would happen once he got out of the boat. He only worried about one thing. Was it Jesus, or wasn't it Jesus? Once he found out that it was Jesus, he was excited to jump out of the boat.
Jesus trumps everything else. I've known people that have believed that and lived their lives in that way, but I've never been there until now. It's weird. It's fun. I feel a little impervious.
Like Peter, there will probably come a day when I start to sink. But even then, there have been so many people that have been so generous with their support that I know I won't be alone when I fall. I have all of you guys to help lift me up, and if any of you need my help don't you dare hesitate to ask.
Happy New Year everybody. I hope and pray that the abundance of Heaven is poured out on each of you in 2011.
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