Early Birthday Gift from Jesus =)

    So, my Birthday is coming up this weekend; Sunday, October 2nd. No, that's not a hint. LOL. But, every year, Jesus always gives me something special. Always. Seriously. Sometimes more than one thing. So, that's where this story comes in. Remember how I said I LOVE deer? ...

    The road connected to our street is very dark and just a few minutes ago I was driving home and suddenly I saw three deer on the left side of the road; and I was very excited to find that there were 2 does and 1 buck!! A BUCK! So, why is this important? Well, literally sometime this week, I told the Lord that I loved that He gave me the gift of being so near that doe in the woods the other day and I love seeing does, but I have NOT seen a buck since I've been here. Ever. So, I asked Him if I could see a buck sometime! And a few days later... here one was.
  
     Well, that's not the end of the story... when I stopped to watch them, the buck took off running along the left side of the road. It was so beautiful to watch. He didn't go to the left or the right, he just went straight ahead and I was able to follow him in the car. Then he stopped for a second and when I stopped he took off running again. Then he made the move to go across the road (I realized it in time so I had already slowed down) and he ran into the road right in front of me so that my headlights shown on him and I saw him really clearly! Then he took off into the woods on my right.

    It was SO cool! And I KNOW that I know that I know that it was part of my birthday present from the Lord. I love His creation so much! I enjoy it all! It's so beautiful. What a wonderful Creator we have. What beautiful creations He's made.

   The Lord loves it when we ask Him for small, (supposedly mundane) things and not just the huge things. While asking for the small things and seeing Him answer quickly, it gives us faith, endurance and patience for waiting on the bigger things. Praise His Holy Name.

Beauty of God's Creation

     We have had such beautiful days here lately and I've been loving it! The Toyota 4Runner that I'm borrowing has a sunroof, so I've been able to roll all the windows down and just enjoy driving in this gorgeous weather. I've been doing it a lot too! We have some really pretty country roads around here. One in particular is called Blue River Rd- because it's right next to Blue River- and it's my favorite road around here! It's windy and completely covered with trees besides a few parks here and there. Several times this week when I've had a small break, I've driven up and down that road, windows down, instrumental music playing and just worshiping Jesus. It's been wonderful and a perfectly soothing time in the middle of business.
     Last night, my sister and I decided to take a trip down memory lane and go on a 'pajama ride'! My parents used to drive us around in our pajamas and either we would go looking for deer (especially when we were in Michigan) or we'd go to the airport and watch the jets come in or go out. Those are some good memories. =)   So, my sister and I got in our pajamas, made some hot chocolate, took Kenzi and got in the 4Runner (at 11 0'clock at night mind you) to go on a pajama ride. We drove around for quite a while on a few country roads. I asked the Lord that I could see deer, and we did a couple times, but it was either too dark to see them or they'd run away really quickly. (Just fyi, I LOVE deer.) Carolyn and I had an enjoyable time though, talking, singing, joking, driving. Praise the Lord we were able to sleep in this morning! (Only reason why we were able to do.)
     Then, this morning, I decided to go hiking with Kenzi along Blue River. I had such a good time. We were walking & running a few times and I was praying and all the sudden I saw a doe run past me on my left between me and the river. She was so beautiful! She stopped for a second and stared at me and then ran acorss the path I was on to the other side of me. When I got to the spot that I thought she had crossed at I stopped and looked to see if I could find her. At first I didn't see her and thought she had left, but then I saw her standing literally right in front of me within maybe ten feet and she was just staring at me! I think she was there for maybe 2 minutes or so! So beautiful. We just stood there, staring at each other. Then she finally took off. I felt like it was a kiss from the Lord because I had been disappointed last night; so He let me see one REALLY close today. Oh, how He loves us.
Here are some pics of Blue River and my hike:

Kenzi on the trail next to Blue River. The River is to the left.

Stopped to refresh my feet. =) The water was VERY cold!

Blue River

Blue River

The Trail

Tiny Rapids on Blue River =)

Me and Kenzi... I wonder what has caught her eye?

Isn't it so pretty?

My beautiful dog. I think she would've made a GREAT hunting dog; she loves using her nose!

     So, the Lord LOVES loving on us and blessing us! And He loves to answer our little prayers as I talked about in a previous blog. A couple more examples: they use the New King James Version here a lot and especially for Intro it was hard having an NIV. When I first got here I ended up buying a $3 NKJV Bible and I've used it so much it's already started falling apart. So, the other day I told the Lord that I would really like a new Bible for my birthday. (Oh yeah, my birthday is in a week & a day, just fyi. LOL.) Anyway, I randomly mentioned it to my roommate, not hinting at all, and she said, "Great. Let's go get you one!" So a couple days ago we went and got one; and I got my name engraved on it. It's a pretty blue one. =)

   The same day that we got it, I told the Lord that I'd really like to be able to give away Bibles. That would just be awesome. But most people around here already have one! I have a couple other Bibles that I could give away, they're just either really worn or a version that I don't use.  And there was one in my purse that I carry around that I rarely use cause it's really small and I usually have my regular Bible with me anyway. So, I was in class and sad, "Yeah, I could give away that one, Lord. Give me the opportunity." 5 minutes later I told a couple friends that sit next to me that I was really excited about my roommate getting me a new Bible for my Birthday. Then one of them said, "That's so cool. I need a small Bible," as he pointed to his rather large Bible in his lap. So, right away, I took out the Bible in my purse and said, "Is this small enough?" It was so cool!! Praise the Lord.

    Anyway, I hope all of you are well, my friends. You are in my thoughts and prayers. =)

Adventure of God's Eternalness

   Okay, so I made a little video of me basically reading my paper to you (that way I put my personality into it and it sounds better than if you just read it yourself. lol.)
Here it is:

God's Eternalness

Just in case you can't really understand me since the sound is a bit messed up  ( I did it on my phone) I'm posting the acutal paper too. I hope that this boggles your mind and strikes awe into your heart as much as mine! P.S. Recommended reading: A.W. Tozer's The Attributes of God Vol. 1 & 2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SIHROA/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0875099572&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1B5ZPR81F24B49F8EGCM

God’s Eternalness

                 God is eternal. Basically, that means God is and always has been. He was never created, but was and forever will be.   He is from everlasting to everlasting.  He has always existed.

                I chose this attribute to do this assignment on because it has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. How is it possible for God to have always been?!  I mean, if He hadn’t ‘always been’ then He wouldn’t be God, but I can’t wrap my head around it.  Before there ever was anything: any angels, or space, or stars, or earth; God was!

                This thought causes so many questions to pop up.  What was it like then?  Before He created everything what did He do?  Has He always had a temple He lived in?  When did He create it and where was it? I mean, God has form so that means He has a place to sit, right?  So, has He always had a throne? Who made the throne?  Himself?  What did Father, Son and Holy Spirit do together before everything else?  What caused them to create us?  How long before creating the earth did He create angels and living creatures?  SO MANY QUESTIONS!  Do I have an answer to any of them?  No, not really; and I feel like each question just brings more questions to the surface.

                Wondering all this, though, gives a whole lot more meaning to the Lord’s title the “I Am.”  In Exodus 3 Moses asks, “Who shall I tell them sent me?” And God’s response: “say… I AM has sent me to you.”  It’s kind of a “blow you away” statement.  Who can argue with that?  What do you say?  “…Um… No you’re not.” No! You wouldn’t say that!

                “I AM.”  Wow!  HE IS!  When I was younger I never understood why He said that.  I’m still not in full understanding, but I know it’s not something that the Israelites couldn’t argue with. They were in a place of almost not even believing in God anymore because they hadn’t heard from Him in 400 years; but I bet that they believed if there was a God then He’s eternal.  Forever and always.  And saying, “The I AM sent me to you” is not something a human would come up with!  Who is God?  He is the I AM!  When I think of Moses saying this to the Israelites, I imagine many of them falling over at hearing this. Those two tiny words pack so much meaning!

                One of the things that A.W. Tozer said that I really liked was, “God is not in time… so time began in God and will end in God. And it doesn’t affect God at all. God dwells in an everlasting now… God sits above time, dwelling in eternity… He can’t have yesterdays and tomorrows, because yesterday is time and tomorrow is time, but God surrounds it all and God has already lived tomorrow.” (Tozer, The Attributes of God Vol. 2, pp. 58 & 59.)  These thoughts give a whole new meaning to “A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day” (2 Peter 3:8.)  Being here at IHOP has given me a glimpse of what it means. Seriously, every day here feels like it’s been forever, but it doesn’t seem very long at the same time.  But this statement is not about how God feels, this is how it truly is for Him because there is no time for Him!  He doesn’t have a watch and doesn’t have to be anywhere at exactly 6 p.m. (I am so looking forward to when we will live this way too!)  That’s why when He says “soon” to us, it could be anywhere from the next day to two thousand years later!  To us it is at least; to Him time hasn’t moved at all! Woah!

                My favorite thing to do when thinking about God’s eternalness is just what A.W. Tozer suggested in the chapter.  I imagine away my past, imagine away the past before mine etc.  Then I imagine away all the cities, then all living things, then the earth and universe and remember that God WAS.  There was nothing else, but God.  This strikes so much awe into my heart and I can barely breathe.  God is God and He always was and always will be.  He lives forever; has neither beginning nor any end.  And He has invited us to live in His forever with Him!  Here, I bow my head and say no more, for my finite mind cannot comprehend any more of His infiteness.

                 

Adventure in Humility

We went to a Peter Pan Themed Birthday Party and I dressed up as an Indian. It was fun. :) No... we weren't celebrating halloween. ;-P

My name is Like To Dance For the Father

Here's our little group. From left to right: my sister's friend who was visiting (dressed up as a Pirate); My roommate (dressed up as a 'lost boy.'); Me; and my sister (dressed as a fairy.)

My sister, Kenzi (my dog) and I go to a park for a walk/run most Saturdays. It's right by a stream and really pretty. It's called Leawood Park. I like it because not only is it pretty, but it's mainly in a wooded area, so covered by trees. I LOVE the Lord's Creation

Here I am playing guitar for one my worship team set. It's one of the music classes we have. The picture didn't turn out the greatest, but hopefully I'll have more soon. :)

Here are some more photos of my house: (inside the house):

Okay, so this really more of my dog than the house, BUT she IS in my bedroom!! ;) lol. I couldn't resist. Isn't she adorable? I'm so happy to have her with me.

Our little dining area. Yes, we only have 2 chairs right now. Lord, thank you for providing these two chairs and for two more!

Our cute kitchen, with a nice gas stove and my bird in the corner. ;)

Our living room. The couch my mom & dad got us (thank you mom and dad!) and the leather chair Abba provided. It's comfy. And, hey, look! There's my adorable dog again! ;)

     So, friends, it's been an interesting couple weeks. The Forerunner Music Academy is not very easy. It's not really hard grade wise; it's just very time consuming, and very humbling. As I said in a previous post I know that one of the reasons I'm here is not only to receive training for the ministry the Lord has for me but to learn to be humble and meek. I'm in classes with people 22 and younger, and being almost 27 and having already gone through college & Intro I'm kinda feeling the gap- though, I really love them a lot.

     I'm in level 1 keyboard class and level 1guitar class- already talked about how offended I got about being in level 1 guitar.  Level 1 keyboard class is moving a bit slow for me and I've really had to be humble about not going as fast as I'd like to go; and not be prideful about getting it quicker than some other students. I really HATE pride and I don't want it a part of me! But I wish the Lord would just MAKE me humble & meek instead of making me go through all this stuff to get me there! lol. That's not the way He does things though. 

     Level 1 Guitar has been moving faster than keyboard and I really like my teacher. (I like my keyboard teacher too, btw.) My guitar teacher is like a dad to us all. He's really encouraging, quirky, funny, kind and helpful. He's a good teacher too. He tries to go slow enough for the people who aren't as far but then does challenging stuff for those who may be farther than others. He has us practicing so much!! Which is good; I mean, I should've been practicing this much before, really. I get really discouraged with how not good I am though, I guess. I better get better with all the practice I'm doing!

      So, the Lord is putting me through an even more humbling process. I truly desire to prefer others above myself. I want to have sincere love, be devoted to others and honor others above myself: I want to live as Romans 12 says: "Love must be sincere... Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves...Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitatlity... live in harmony with one another... do not be proud... do not be conceited." (Romans 12:9-16.) And Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth." (Matt. 5: 5.) That's such a huge statement!! Being meek brings reward: we will inherit the earth. The meek will RULE the earth. Being meek is having strength under control. It's not weakness. It's having power over someone yet choosing not to use it! That's what Jesus did when He chose to die for us. HE has ALL the power; He could have called legions of angels to His side to save Him. In ONE word, He could've put everyone to death who were putting Him to death! But He CHOSE not to! Why? Because He is meek. He desired to pave a way for us to come to the Father, and the only way to do that was through the death of a perfect, faultless man. Woooooooooah! Man; I am so AWED by Him!

     He is so amazing and I desire to be like Him! I have a long way to go... as in, it's not going to happen before my death or before the Lord comes back! But He's putting me through the refining fire to at least be MORE like Him. Friends, International House of Prayer is definitely a refining fire. I've said it before, I'll say it again: it's like being in a boiling pot of Holy Spirit! All the impurities come to the surface and (hopefully) get burned off, while He perfects Himself in us.

 I am UNDONE by His goodness!! (This reminds me; I'm going to finish this post and right away do another post of homework I recently did that I want to share. Hopefully, it hits you as much as it did me.)

   So, now I want to share a couple testimonies. Firstly, about that vehicle I told you friends are letting me borrow- I got it yesterday and I'll have it for 10 weeks! It's a Toyota 4Runner!! I LOVE it and I LOVE driving it. It's a neat story because the Lord was using it in both me and my friends. For me, He's teaching me how to ask people for help and not be ashamed. For them, He's been teaching them how to be good stewards of all that He's given them and that NOTHING they have is actually THEIRS, but all HIS. So, when I asked them if I could borrow their car, they knew the answer was yes, but they just had to discuss it. My friend's husband initially said, "Well, of course, we'll lend her your car..." and went on assuming that's what they would do. My friend said, "Why my car?" And he went into all the reasons: because it's been paid off, it's less of a liability, it's not worth as much etc. (On my part, I assumed that I would be driving her car just because it isn't as nice as his; but I thought, well it's better than nothing! And I would be grateful to them for letting me borrow it, period!) So, my friend said to her husband: "If Jesus asked us if He could borrow our car then we would give Him our best one." And her husband hung his head, "Oh... yeah... you're right." He said all he could think was about getting to heaven and the Lord asking Him why he let the car that He gave him sit for 2 months without letting me borrow it. lol! They're so awesome. They're also letting people stay at their apartment for free while they're gone. Talk about hospitality. They are kind, loving, givers who reflect Jesus to those around them.

     Another story: I told you all that we don't have a washer or dryer and so I've had to wash my clothes in the sink and go to the laundromat. Well, last week, a friend of ours told my sister that their neighbor was selling their washer for $25! They bought it for us and said we could pay them back. Then a different friend of Carolyn's gave my sister the money to pay them back! And THEN our friends who bought it originally said, "Nevermind, it's a gift. You don't have to pay us back." But we ended up needing that other $25 too to buy the hoses and stuff. And then a couple guy friends of ours picked it up, moved it in for us AND hooked it up for us! Praise the Lord. That same day to test the washer out (it's a pretty nice one too, btw) I did some laundry and then hung it up to dry. It was supposed to rain later in the day, but we were going to be gone, so I prayed over my clothes for the Lord to either just keep the rain off of them or get someone home in time to get them off the line. Later, my sister, her friend and I were downtown and it started raining and I thought, 'Oh well, I guess they'll have to stay up to dry longer." But a little bit later my roommate texted me (who had been at the Prayer Room) and said she felt the Lord prodding her to go home and she didn't know why, but when she got home it started sprinkling and she remembered that my clothes were on the line so she got them down before it started pouring!

     Isn't it neat that the Lord cares about such small things? He really does! He often answers my tiny little (insignificant to me) prayers sooner than other prayers. Another example: this past week since my sister's friend was in town my sister shared my full size air mattress with me. Whenever my sister has ever slept in bed with me I very much notice she is there and don't sleep well... dont know what I'm going to do when I get married! lol. So, the first night, I asked the Lord to make the bed feel bigger than it was and help us sleep well. And He did. He definitely did. It was a noticeable difference. I think that He just loves it when I ask such little things of Him, He's like: of course I'll do that for you, Beloved! Thank you for asking Me! :D

     Oh, how I love Him. Lesson right now: how to walk in humility and how to walk in day by day provision. Lord, thank You for providing my daily bread tomorrow. I love You.

    

Testimonies!

I got some testimonies about Jesus I'd like to share:
    
    1. In my previous post I requested prayer for finances because my rent was due and I didn't have any money. When I posted that, I literally had $10 to my name. Then within a few days one of my supporters got her check to me, I babysat for friends (totally not expecting any money) and they paid me really well to help me out and another friend randomly gave me unexpected money! So, I was able to pay my rent the DAY it was due. Amen! I am literally living day by day. This is not easy, but it's amazing to see the Lord break in.

    2.  My sister has had chronic knee pain for many years now and one problem she has had is that whenever she would kneel she would have sharp shooting pain in her knee. The other night there was a word of knowledge that the Lord wanted to heal knees and several people were getting their knees healed.   :)    During that time my sister realized she had never had prayer over her knees before so she asked some friends to pray for her. As they were praying she told the Lord that she wanted to be called "camel knees" like James for praying on her knees all the time and she heard the Lord say "Okay then, be healed." She didn't believe it at first, but when she knelt to test it out she didn't have any pain, and ever since then she hasn't had that pain in her knee!!

   3.  Saturday was such an interesting day for me and my sister, we ended up spending three hours at the laundromat; which is funny cause the main reason we went to the laundromat was because how long it took to wash the clothes in the sink and it ended up being about the same amount of time! Anyway, while we were there we met a really cool older lady and my sister told her about her knee being healed. As my sister was talking the lady got a funny look on her face and started touching her own knees. So, my sister asked her if she needed prayer for anything and the lady said, "Well, yeah. While you were talking I was just thinking about how much my knees hurt!" Apparently she had had knee surgery on one knee and was needing surgery on the other. So, she sat down and my sister and I prayed over her and after a few minutes asked her if she felt anything. She said she could feel heat on her knees. So, we prayed again and then she stood up to test them and she said that they went from a pain of 10 to a 3!  We prayed one more time and before she left the laundromat she said that it was 100% better! What an amazing Healer our Father is!   

   4.  Another reason Saturday was an interesting day was because apparently it was 'pray over strangers day.' LOL. Later in the day, after praying over that lady at the laundromat, my sister and I were at WalMart with one of my sisters friends. While we were in line an older gentleman and his wife came up behind us and, seeing my IHOPU t-shirt, asked us if we were all from IHOP. We said yes, of course, and then were surprised to hear him say, "I saw you in the store a couple times and I said to the Lord that if I saw you again I would ask you to pray for us." Wow. This was a first. Being asked by a stranger to pray over him without offering it up first. So, we did. Right there in the middle of the line at WalMart we prayed over this couple who were going through some difficult things. They were such a sweet couple.
Then, when we got up to the cashier she said, "You're from IHOP aren't you? I saw you all praying back there and I said to myself, they're from IHOP. Remember my name and pray for me as you go." Yet another first!

   5.  I should've shared this a lot sooner, but I forgot. As most of you know I am without a vehicle. I have been and continue to pray in my vehicle but it hasn't come yet, though I am trusting the Lord for His provision in that area (as well as many others.) It was hard not having a car while in Intro and it's even harder not having a car in IHOPU; and it's really frustrating not being able to go somewhere when I need to, as well as not being able to go to the prayer room at an unscheduled time. I used to live behind the prayer room, within walking distance, but I don't anymore.  Anyway, some friends of mine that I know from Intro are involved with Exodus Cry which is about to be traveling around the U.S. showing a documentary about Human Trafficking: http://nefariousdocumentary.com/the-films/nefarious-i/  it's really awesome; check it out and go to this website (http://nefariousdocumentary.com/screenings/benefit-screenings/)  to see if they are heading your way or to register your church to have them come to you.
  So, since they're going to be gone for 2 months I felt the tug of the Lord to ask them if they'd let me borrow their vehicle. It took a lot of courage, even though I know they love me dearly it's not easy to ask something like that. But they said YES! So, in a weekish, I'll be able to drive myself around! I'm so excited. Please pray that I take VERY good care of their car. :)

God bless you all! I feel like I have so many things to share I could explode. Sometime soon, hopefully this week, I'd like to share some class lessons I've been learning that are really good! May your week be filled with His love, joy and peace.