Lordship

The weeks here are flying by, yet also moving in slow motion. It feels like so long ago that we had our last speaker, and yet it was only a few days and that week was jam packed with lots of intensity and seemed to go by quickly. I've been challenged to really embrace living in the "now" and not looking into past or future because each day holds so much oppurtunity.

last week's speaker was an energetic, passionate kiwi from NZ and spoke boldly all week long on making Jesus our LORD, not just savior. I was really looking foward to the week. Everyone on base was warning us that Mark was a challenger and would get us out of our comfort zone, but I was excited about it all. One thing I have learned thus far is to put yourself out of your comfort zone-life is more fun when you just go for it! So i started the week with open arms and ended the week with open arms-now the hard part is living out what was talked about. ...which basically boiled down to-have you put yourself on the altar for God to use you how He would like? Or are we holding onto rights (that aren't really ours in the first place)?

The whole week led up to a 12 hour worship/repentance/celebration day on saturday which was an amazing expeirence for all. Our classroom was transformed into a symbolic version of the OT Tabernacle and we went through the different stages (praise/acknowledging who God is, repenting/looking to cross, anointing, commuion, celebration in "holy of holies"...). it took a few hours to get hearts humbled and softened enough for the Holy Spirit to work. We had talked a lot about the "fear of man" and how it traps us from truly living out God's call on our lives, so we had to work out some "fear of man" issues, but God certainly did move. I will never forgot watching my fellow brothers weep and pour out their hearts-it was an awesome picture of boys becoming Men who truly wanted to pursue God with all of their hearts.

The repentance stage was also a moving time as people got a lot of baggage off of their chest. For me, it was a time to offer some burnt sacrifices and consecrate my future dreams and aspirations to God. We were asked to bring some symbols to "lay down", so I brought my soccer cleats and passport. I believe God wants to use my passion for sport but I don't want my idea of what that looks like to block HIS. and similarily, I don't want to put boundaries on where I will go and serve, so He holds my passport! And even I still feel like I'm looking through a muddy glass, I'm pressing on with faith that He will continue to reveal little bits of His desire for my life.

The day then ended in some awesome celebration-and even though it was a long day, I never really felt like I was trapped by time. We were in the presence of God and there was really nothing else we wanted to be doing.
so it was an awesome intense week, but now the challenge starts. I don't want that to be just a 24 hour "experience" for me or my team. Mountain-tops are great, but we are not meant to sit on them and living out your Christian walk is not about emotions or "feeling" something. It's about obedience to God in the mundane and extraordinary. A lot of people had a new experience with God, but I don't want to be ruled by emotions, I want to continue pursuing His presence every day....

so please pray that my group and I will not just sit on the mountaintop. That we would be ready to live out a life on God's altar. it is easy to say you put yourself up there, but it's not alwasy easy to stay up there.

sorry that was a long blog-but a lot happened in one week-i could have shared so much more. but I'm off to our sports' practice. Got the chance to teach the aussie's and europeans some ultimate frisbee-catching on pretty quick :)

other prayer requests:
hurt quad-it's been bugging me all week, afraid i have a strain
unity in team-it's been frustrating trying to get people on the same page in our room

Seek HIM!!!!!!